Week 8 Classtime reflection

First, regarding the class discussion about our ancestors' language, i was really amazed by the fact that many of my classmates have very diverse family backgrounds and it was really interesting to hear how the language their great-grandparents talked connect to them and why knowing the language helps them better understand their personal identities. Though in Vietnam families members very often speak the same language throughout the family history, i have met here in the US many young Vietnamese Americans being born and growing up with the English language and knowing very little Vietnamese who also develop a desire to learn Vietnamese at a later point in their life as a means of defining who they really are. This, together with what many students shared in the class, helps solidifies the idea that learning a language is indeed a process of discovering one's own self, and though it is always good to master a foreign language, it is even better that you don't lose your own unique identities as you try to integrate into your target language's environment.

Also, I found Jodie's presentation really interesting, especially when she showed a short video featuring how people speak different dialects in different places in the US. This reminded me of one element in this week's reading, that teachers should not only teach students standard English but also need to direct their attention to various varieties of English, so that the students know what to expect when encountering real English usage in everyday contexts.

The following activity of using post-it items to match settings with definitions was a little bit messed up but still it helped reinforce what i previously read for the class and sort out important points.