Much more interesting than learner autonomy in the ESL classroom!

I came across an interesting documentary this morning while browsing Relevant Magazine over breakfast which has me distracted from the paper I should be writing. It's called "Lord, save us from your followers."

In it, filmmaker Dan Merchant, donning about 50 bumper stickers of conflicting sentiments, travels the USA in pursuit of open dialogue between Christians and - well, everyone else. According to the movie synopsis, his goal was to "discover why the Gospel of Love is dividing America." In a USA Today article, Tom Krattenmaker describes the film as

a humorous and heartfelt examination of the culture wars featuring a Michael Moore-meets-Monty Python style.

I haven't actually seen the entire film yet. I'd like to watch it with Darren so we have to find a time when we're both free to sit down together for an hour and a half or however long it is. However, I've browsed through the "short films" posted on the website and was intrigued.

I particularly like the 4th thumbnail - in which the film is screened on an American college campus and some really good questions are raised (with a little shameless promotion thrown into the mix) and the 6th - which redefines the 10 commandments, according to current "christian" thought (should you be interested in checking it out yourself).

A quick update

Two weeks down and five to go!

I just finished the second week of the course I'm teaching. The workload is quite heavy, but I'm really enjoying teaching it. I'm very impressed by the level of understanding of my students - both in terms of English language and linguistic knowledge. And they're such interesting people. I can't count the number of times I wished I were a part of their MA cohort, rather than my own!

Darren's 10-day vacation is winding down. Of course, we still have Canada Day (and the University-declared holiday on Monday), but he has started to think about lesson planning again. That is after spending the week running errands in preparation for the big move. And fixing the car...again.

In other news, we had a very relaxing time with our friends from small group at a rented cottage last weekend. It was so nice to have nothing to do but read Bill's book (I forgot mine at home) in the shade, or just sit on the dock with my feet dangling in the lake, chatting with friends.

Also, Darren finally put the finishing touches on his first t-shirt design. It's good to have a backup career in case the job at the U of C doesn't pan out. (stay tuned for more!)

What else? We found a really good home for our dehumidifier finally! Still trying to give away other stuff, though!

For now I'm looking at a long research weekend in which I will attempt to finish my major essay once and for all. Oh, and visit with some good friends, as well.

Birthday presents for 5-year-olds

There comes an age when getting money for your birthday is awesome. But before that time it can be quite disappointing, as I learned this past weekend.

Darren and I drove to Forest to celebrate my nephew's 5th birthday. He's visiting Grannie and Papa for a couple of weeks. As we did when his sister turned five and visited the grandparents, we made the trek to join in the party. Imagine a 5-year-old boy's birthday party with 6 adults (2 grandparents, 3 aunts and an uncle) and only one child! That was our Friday night.

At lunch on Saturday, when Levi asked to be excused, he was told he had to stay at the table because there were two more presents for him to open. Auntie Leona brought two envelopes to the table for him and his reaction was one of great confusion:

Levi: Those are my presents?
Grannie: They're cards from your great-grandmas.
Levi: [pausing for a moment to take in this information] Why aren't they toys?

We laughed so much as he expressed his honest confusion. I love that boy.

(In)justice

Darren and I had a lovely visit with our friend from Burundi last Saturday. We enjoyed a nice meal together and had some fascinating discussions.

Darren pulled out his djembe and we got a taste of the national beat that is played at any official gathering. We heard hilarious stories of our friend's antics, both as a student at a Burundian boarding school, and as a student at a Canadian college!

As part of these discussions, he gave us a short history of Burundi and Rwanda - kind of an insider's perspective. We talked about governmental corruption, colonial division of a unified people into currently-warring tribes, international plots to maintain instability in these regions, and the never-ending quest for power. It was a sobering talk.

At the end of the visit, I couldn't help but think about something I had read recently:

“…After all, God’s wrath is a good thing, a saving thing. No, Daniel, the gospel is about how the world will be saved from human sin and all that goes with it – human greed, human lust, human pride, human oppression, human hypocrisy and dishonesty, human violence and racism, human chauvinism, human injustice. It’s answering the question, How will humanity be saved from humanity? How will earth be saved from evil that springs from within human individuals and human groups?” Neil’s arms were waving so wildly that I had to reach over and touch his shoulder so he wouldn’t hit a woman who was walking up behind him, about to pass on his left.

“Hold on, hold on!” I interrupted. “You’re going way too fast for me. What do you mean that God’s wrath is a saving thing? A lot of people would say that God’s wrath is what puts us in peril.”

“Maybe that’s because you’re a white male, my friend,” he said with something like irony, “and all that you represent is put in peril by God’s wrath.” Just then a tall white guy wrapped up in an expensive camel-hair overcoat walked by, heard what Neil said, and gave us both a strange look. Neil continued: “All of the oppressed people of the world are praying, ‘God, how long? How long will you restrain your wrath? When will you intervene and cause the masters to let the slaves go free? When will you intervene and pour out your fury on the careless wealthy colonizers and dominators who profit’ – how did Lincoln say it? – ‘by wringing their bread from the sweat of other men’s faces?’ You could say that God’s wrath is the emotion that puts God into motion, intervening against oppressors and their injustice. God’s wrath is God’s justice in action. God’s compassion is the counterpart – it’s God’s response to those who suffer from the abuses of power of the unjust. Only the oppressors fear God’s justice. The oppressed pray for it to come. In fact, when they pray, ‘Your kingdom come,’ they are in part praying for God’s just wrath to intervene and bring them liberation.”

(McLaren, B. (2005) The Last Word and the Word after That. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass. p. 70)

Just something to think about.

Back to work

So, I'm teaching again. Well, classes don't begin until Monday, but I'm spending the next 2 days at school getting everything ready.

I'm excited about this course - having a reason to get out of my pajamas every day, meeting new people, putting some of the theory I've been studying for the last year into practice, helping to prepare a group of learners for the biggest roller coaster of their academic lives so far!

But I'm also worried about what it will do to the progress of my ME. I'm just going to have to become an expert time manager, I guess. It could be worse - I could have nothing to do. While that seems like everyone's fantasy, too much of a good thing becomes not good. I think I will benefit from having a bit more structure to my days!

We'll see...

Employment History

In order for my new employer to calculate where exactly I land on the pay scale, I had to forward them a document outlining all of my teaching experience. So I raided the "resume" folder on my computer and made the list. And actually, I was surprised by its magnitude.

I know I started teaching in 2000 and stopped in 2007, which ...give me a second to do the math... means I should have 7 years' experience. Not bad. But I was more surprised by the diversity of my experience.

I had been employed by the same school for 6 of those years, off and on, depending on contract availability. But during those "off" times, I taught in two different areas of Bosnia and also in Chile. There's also the ESL summer camp I taught at one summer, as well as the 6-week English course for casino employees I designed and taught in Niagara Falls. And I can't forget the private language school where I got my start. (I also included the Bridging course I'm teaching starting next week, and my TA work as well. They can ignore them if they so choose.)

I feel too young to have had all these experiences. But compared to others in my field, my employment history is pretty short. It's not uncommon for ESL professionals, especially in this area, to bounce around from from school to school as enrollments fluctuate and contracts expire. Full-time jobs for teachers are hard to come by. But then again, the TESL field seems to attract people who find the idea of settling down unsettling.

Compiling the list was a good exercise for me. It made me feel a little more confident seeing my accomplishments on paper, like I could take on the world - or at least a new group of students.
I don't really know what to expect when I get to my new job (either of them!), but I've already taught mining students, casino employees, children, newcomers, International students, monolingual and multilingual classes, both in Canada and abroad...I'd say it's time for a new challenge.

If I were a summer baby...

If my birthday were in June, this is what I'd ask for:

http://www.tomsshoes.com

I love the idea of gifts benefiting someone other than the giver, receiver and 'businessman'. Last Christmas, just about every gift we gave came from Ten Thousand Villages. It made me happy to know that I was supporting local artisans trying to make a living in Bangladesh or India.

Ideally, I'd like to see a huge reduction in the amount of gifts given/received in our families. But until we reach a family-wide consensus to reduce our consumption by eliminating superfluous gifting, I want to continue to try to support people who could use the support when purchasing presents.

Life's adventures

The other day Darren said to me, "I'm really looking forward to our new adventure," referring of course to our upcoming move to the other side of the world. It was quickly followed by a realization: "Hey, this will be our first adventure together!"

I thought about it for a moment and replied, "What about the living-out-of-a-single-room-because-the-landlord- flooded-our-apartment adventure? Or the MA adventure, followed directly by the other MA adventure? Or the anxiety adventure?"

I could have gone on...there's the passport fiasco at our wedding, the time vortex we encountered in Tennessee, the learning to drive standard episodes, the pre-engagement airplane freakout, the sunburn that changed my life, the birthday bamboo mixup...

I know what Darren was saying, and I too am excited about our first "real" adventure. But it seems to me that all of life is an adventure; some events are just a little more adventurous than others!

Research Blues

Around the middle of the first semester I was approached by one of my professors about switching from the coursework-heavy track to the thesis track of the MA I began in September. I thought about it for a long time, made contact with potential sites to conduct my research, formulated my research question and design, and then decided not to do it.

The route I chose to follow includes 8 courses and then a "Major Essay" (ME), which is in essence a larger term paper. I know it was the right decision - there is very little chance that I could have finished my thesis (never mind its defense) in time to move this August. And I've never taken a single course in stats. Oh, and because of the sample size I was using, the results would probably have been invalid anyway. But today I questioned the choice.

The topic I have chosen to for my ME is fostering autonomy in language learning. I really like the idea of empowering learners to take control of their learning. So do lots of theorists! Unfortunately, not many researchers do.

I have read the majority of the literature on autonomy in language learning that I can get my hands on - including books from Windsor, Ryerson, OISE, U of A and 3 I purchased from Ireland! People have defined and redefined the concepts, and then redefined the re-definitions. They've also argued about the cultural appropriateness of autonomous practices in non-Western settings, and investigated learners' beliefs about roles and relationships in the classroom. And they've described classroom settings in which pro-autonomy teachers have "succeeded" in handing more control over to learners.

What is missing, however, is actual research that shows the benefits (or disadvantages) of autonomy in the language classroom. I have come across only one study that used a control group, without which no finding can ever really be attributed to the intervention. Only one!

I'm finding it hard to maintain motivation when what I'm writing is the mantra my classmates and I have been chanting all year: "MORE RESEARCH IS NEEDED". If I had gone the thesis route, on the other hand, I could be helping to fix the problem by actually doing that research. But then we wouldn't be going to Qatar. Sigh, I've just got to get this darn thing written!

Downsizing...again!

The quest to get rid of everything continues. Last year when Darren and I moved from a 2-bedroom apartment to our little 1-bedroom, we thought we did a good job downsizing. As it turns out, we still have a lot of stuff!

In the next two months we have to decide what we're keeping and what we're not. The goal is to take only the necessities (clothes, computer, teaching supplies), and replace everything else when we get there (dishes, sheets, most toiletries). But it's much harder than it seemed at first. For example, we have an electric toothbrush. We love our electric toothbrush. We could go back to manual toothbrushes, but we'd rather not. However, using this toothbrush in the Middle East will require a converter. The same is true for my hair straightener. See? Kinda complicated.

Dealing with the furniture is much easier: our apartment will be furnished so we can pretty much get rid of everything here. Slowly, we're finding homes for our personal belongings. We have a friend whose son will graduate into our "big boy bed;" another family will replace their old rec room furniture with our slightly less-old living room furniture; another couple is inheriting our TV.

If you need anything, let us know. We may just have one that we're trying to find a good home for!

Housewives and their culture shock

These days I spend a lot of my free time (well, the time I call "free" but would better be called "research avoidance") reading up about Qatar. Today I came across a business started by a British woman who has been living in Qatar since 1995. She manages properties in Doha and lets them to expatriates.

We are not in need of her services since the school with which I'm employed arranges for our housing. However, she did have some helpful tips about moving, and it was nice to browse the photos she has posted of potential living spaces. The apartments she advertises look comparable to photos I'd seen on the school's website, which was encouraging.


As I was exploring the site further, I came across something surprising. In the "About Me" section of her website, Maggie cites Dr. Betsy Wells, a family therapist who has lived abroad for over 15 years. She says,

It's not just the employee who signs that contract, often it's an entire family. Typically it's the woman who has the most difficult adjustment and even the most confident women can succumb to feelings of vulnerability and depression.

This quotation probably shouldn't have caught me off guard, but it did. It is assuming that the woman and her children have relocated for the husband's job. Would it still be the woman who has the most difficult adjustment if she is the one who actually signed the contract?

I realize that in the majority of instances, if only one half of a couple works, it is the husband. But I do know men who have taken parental leave and Darren's dream is to work from home so we can avoid childcare costs in the future. Many of the couples I know share responsibilities both inside and outside of the home - they are both employed (or in school) and they both do the housework. It has become a natural way of thinking for me.

It makes me wonder how Darren and I will be viewed when we arrive in Qatar. We had decided that we would move across the globe even if we had only one job in hand. The fact that it turns out to be the woman's job doesn't change our decision. Of course, Darren will look for work once we arrive, but in the meantime, will we be considered odd?

I guess since the first people we meet in Doha will be Canadian, as well, it may not seem so strange. But then again, this woman was talking about expats, too!

Hot, hot, hot

This is the current weather conditions in Doha. Just thought I'd share.