The readings this week, though seemingly disconnected at first glance, really set the pace for this class. Having already completed a research project on intelligibility and Jennifer Jenkins's work, I really felt the importance of one central question: What is considered standard, correct, English? Having so many different students will allow us to truly see the diverse Englishes we need to embrace. As teachers, we must strive to teach intelligibility, because being understood and being able to negotiate meaning is of utmost importance. Accent reduction, then, would not only be a waste of time, but may even damage our students' identities and foster negative feelings toward learning English. Tolerance, in these two articles, is the main theme.
Tolerance can mean many things, really. It includes understanding of other cultures, breaking down stereotypes, raising awareness in social change, creating a safe environment for everyone, understanding the home lives of others and truly realizing that everyone you meet has their own problems, successes, thought processes and opinions. Tall order for us teachers. But we have to start somewhere. By creating and encouraging many different Englishes, while encouraging home cultures, we can start to get the ball rolling towards more tolerance in the world. TESOL educators really have an important role in the start of such a large movement, and continuing to work towards different methods of teaching and understanding one another, we can be a powerful influence in the lives of our students.
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