prtesolgram version december 2012

P R T E S L - G R A M ! DECEMBER, 2012

! !PUERTORICOTESOL.ORG! 1PAGE

PRTES L-GRAMThe official publication of the Puerto Rico Teachers of English to Speakers of Other Languages

V o l . 3 6 D e c e m b e r 2 0 1 2

TESOL Affilliates in Belize, Colombia, Cuba,

Dominican Republic, Mexico, Panama, and Venezuela

Central American and Caribbean Basin Delegates to the 39

PRTESOL Convention



DR. EVELYN LUGOPresident 2012

This year’s theme, Journey into English as a Global Language: Embracing Diversity has reached its final port. I am proud of the accomplishments for this year. When I began as PRTESOL President, I wasn’t sure how powerful

this experience would be. Now, I know exactly what it means to lead an organizaLon as Puerto Rico TESOL. This year had posiLve and extraordinary professional and personal experiences but the extraordinary opportunity to network was the guiding light. These are some of the accomplishments that were part of the efforts of this president:• My most profound appreciaLon to the TESOL members who trusted this educator with the responsibiliLes of coordinaLng along with the presidents of each regional chapter a number of professional development acLviLes for our English language educators in Puerto Rico.

• Important accomplishments were reached in our organizaLon during this year such as the raLficaLon of the Bylaws, the re organizaLon of the Central Chapter, LifeLme members updated contact informaLon form, seminar and workshops to the Department of EducaLon teachers and facilitators as well as a new PRTESOL informaLonal brochure among other accomplishments.

• As President of Puerto Rico TESOL, I was also responsible of hosLng internaLonal events such as the first TESOL Symposium. I had the honor of receiving internaLonal representaLves and the visit of Dr. Suzanne Panferov, InternaLonal President 2012 and experts that shared their experLse in a full day of professional development.

• Networking and organizing the 11th Central American and Caribbean Regional Conference was an exciLng experience for me. I had the opportunity to meet extraordinary English language educators from the CA & CB TESOL Affiliates. PRTESOL and the CA& CB group met to organize the 12th Regional conference and as host this year, I was appointed as President unLl the next host country is determined.

Finally, our convenLon was an internaLonal event that was covered by the media in Puerto Rico. PRTESOL will come back to its accustomed procedures aYer a year of extraordinary experiences for me. I wish the best to the 2013 PRTESOL Board and I look forward to an exciLng 40th anniversary of Puerto Rico TESOL to be held on November 1 & 2, 2013.

Evelyn Lugo Morales, Ed D TESLPresident 2012

PRTESOL-‐Gram

Table of Contents

Dr. Evelyn Lugo 2012 PRTESOL President......................... 2

Prof. Estella Marquez2013 PRTESOL President......................... 3

Editor’s Corner: .....................................4

Taping into ESL College Students Entertainment PracKces to MoKvate WriKngProf. Víctor R. Quiñones Guerra ............. 5

Burn Out Syndrome in EducatorsDr. Jennifer Alicea CasFllo........................8

L1 Influence on the Use of English Passive Voice and Its AlternaKves in NarraKons The Frog Story and Event Construal Framework Wang, Qian.............................................10

ConvenKon Pictures................... 16-‐17 Using Comics and Graphic Novels in the Classroom Prof. Luis JeKé Lacourt........................... 18Central American and Caribbean Basin Conference at the Annual PRTESOL ConvenKon in San Juan, Puerto RicoDr. Josue Alejandro.................................22

First TESOL Symposium .........................24

Teaching English in Puerto Rico without endangering Spanish Dr. Alicia Pousada, UPR, Rio Piedras.......25



Message from Estella Márquez, PRTESOL 2013 President

Thank you for giving me the opportunity to become your PRTESOL 2013 President. I am honored to again give my passion to this insFtuFon and through it, my support to every English teacher and PRTESOL member.

Having been an ESL student myself, I value and know the quality of educators we all are. PRTESOL has helped me grow professionally and has opened doors to exchange ideas and experiences with colleagues which enrich our profession.

I am delighted to be the president again, because I am commi`ed professionally and personally to a more effecFve English educaFon in Puerto Rico. A decade ago we were just a few months into the century, now we have to ask ourselves: How have I prepared my students for the demands of this new century? MeeFng the 21st Century needs is a challenge for us in creaFng a curriculum that matches teacher performance. The PRTESOL 2013 Board will conFnue working for the growth of PRTESOL in numbers and knowledge. Every year brings a new challenge and great professional development acFviFes for all of us. I know and am confident that the 2013 PRTESOL organizaFon will give both students and teachers, at all levels, an excellent year.

Join us on November 1-‐2, 2013 with our theme, MEETING 21st CENTURY NEEDS: ALIGNING CURRICULUM and TEACHER PERFORMANCE. Start planning registering for our convenFon, presentaFons, recruiFng members for your chapter and a`ending all acFviFes planned just for you.

Bless you all.

P R T E S L - G R A M ! AUGUST 2012

PUERTORICOTESOL.ORG! 4

We close t h e y e a r 2 0 1 2 w i t h graFtude to all the PRTESOL members who worked diligently to m a k e t h i s y e a r s o memorable.

The Central Chapter with its new leadership has made an impact in the region. We expect to see it grow, expand, and conFnue to help improve English educaFon throughout the region. We congratulate Vivian Rivera and all the members of her chapter board for the excellent work done in 2012.

The PRTESOL website, Facebook, and Twièr pages were upgraded and contributed a great deal to get the news and informaFon to the members and nonmembers alike. We received “likes” from many other countries and literally reached thousands. We look forward to using these resources even more during the next year. CongratulaFons to Eric Otero our webmaster who redesigned the website and kept it up to date during 2012.

Two very special events for us this were the InternaFonal TESOL and the Central American and Caribbean TESOL Affiates conference.

PRTESOL hosted the 11th Central American and Caribbean Basin TESOL conference this year. What a priviledge to have met and shared with our colleagues in the region. We look forward to closer collaboraFon and parFcipaFon in similar events. The next CA & CB conference will be in 2014.

PRTESOL 2012 BOARD OF DIRECTORS

DIRECTORY

EXECUTIVE BOARD Dr. Evelyn Lugo -‐ PresidentProf. Estella Márquez -‐ Vice-‐

presidentDr. Josué Alejandro -‐ Immediate Past President

EXECUTIVE BOARD NONVOTINGAuda Pérez -‐ ExecuKve

SecretaryJanytsie Mora -‐ Membership

SecretaryDr. Gladys Pérez -‐ Treasurer

APPOINTED POSITIONS NONVOTING

PRTESOLGRAM EditorCarmelo Arbona

Webmaster Eric Otero

Publishers Liason (Pearson)Victor Coira

NominaKons ChairManuel Echevarria

Chapter Presidents 2012Metro Chapter -‐

Rosa Emma MejiasNorthern Chapter -‐

William AliceaWestern Chapter -‐

Hiramys SanKagoSouthern Chapter

Edward TorresEastern Chapter -‐

Jorge FigueroaCentral Chapter -‐

Vivian Rivera Maysonet

REPRESENTATIVESDr. Myriam Caballero -‐ Elementary EducaKon

Inocencia Nieves -‐ Secondary EducaKon

Dr. Naomi Vega Nieves -‐ Higher EducaKon

Zoila Latoni -‐ Private School RepresentaKve

Jennifer Lopez -‐ Student RepresentaKve

PRTESOL-‐Gram is a periodical service to English language educators and administrators

published by Puerto Rico TESOL, P. O. Box 366828

San Juan, PR 00936-‐6828.

Newslefer Staff Editor: Carmelo Arbona

CirculaKon: 1,000

ArFcles on English-‐language teaching, theory, and e d u c a F o n a r e welcomed. Submissions must be in MSWord format, double-‐spaced, no longer than five pages, and should follow APA or TESOL Quarterly style. All entries are subject to ediFng for style, space, and other professional consideraFons. Copyright NoKce ArFcles may be reproduced for classroom use. QuotaFons up to twenty-‐five (25) words are permièd if credit to the author and the TESOLGRAM are included. In o t he r s i t u aFon s , w r ièn permission is required.

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EDITOR’S

CORNER

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Taping into ESL College Students Entertainment PracKces to MoKvate WriKng

Prof. Víctor R. Quiñones Guerra [email protected]

College students oKen dislike wriFng in their L1, much more so in their L2 because they do not feel comfortable or proficient enough to write competently in English. In today’s technologically fast paced society, wriFng is oKen perceived by undergraduate students as a daunFng and Fme consuming task. As a result, ESL students approach composiFon courses with dismay, negaFve artudes, and a low level of moFvaFon. To further complicate the maèr, ESL instructors must not only teach students to write in English, but they must also prepare them for the rigors of academic wriFng in various disciplines (Carroll and Dunkelblau, 2011).

With so many demands, most instructors sFck to tradiFonal or formal approaches to wriFng instrucFon. Nevertheless, as Fmes are changing, so are our students. As educators we need to modify instrucFonal contexts along with our percepFon of ESL students as a homogenous and staFc group of learners. WriFng should be used as an instrument to validate the rich diversity of our ESL classrooms instead of requiring them to fit a specific mold, which would only highlight their deficiencies as opposed to their strengths (Miller-‐Cochran, 2011). Students should be given ample opportuniFes to write about their passions and interests while sFll targeFng formal academic skills, to further moFvate them in becoming acFvely engaged with the act of wriFng. A significant challenge can consist of modifying students’ negaFve approach or percepFon of the act of wriFng. The act should be purposeful and

meaningful to them, as opposed to wriFng for the sake of compleFng a task. If students become engaged and take the iniFaFve to write more on their own, this addiFonal pracFce could help refine their use of wriFng strategies. Hence, increasing the frequency in which students use wriFng strategies could elevate their wriFng goals, which in turn could have posiFve effects on the quality of their wriFng (He, Chang, and Chen, 2011).

An approach which has been successful with my students has been to incorporate their entertainment pracFces in class discussions and wriFng assignments. In parFcular, using television programs to sFmulate the producFon of wrièn texts has successfully moFvated students to increase the amount of pracFce and Fme dedicated to their wriFng, without appearing to be

“academic.” Furthermore, students’ anxiety and apprehension toward wriFng is lowered. The following instrucFonal context would not replace formal academic wriFng but complement in-‐class instrucFon. That is, students would work on the producFon of a series of short wrièn texts at home and receive feedback from

the instructor on a bi-‐weekly basis, without disrupFng the evaluaFon of other formal wriFng acFviFes.

Procedure:

1. Validate Television as a Discursive Site

Start a class discussion about students’ favorite television programs. Encourage students to describe the specific features, characters, and storylines that enFce them to view the show. Ideally, have students focus on television programs that are related to their chosen field of study (i.e. pre-‐medicine, criminal jusFce, business, etc.) as a means of expanding and reinforcing vocabulary specific to that discipline.

In par t i cu lar, us ing television programs to stimulate the production of written texts has successfully motivated students to increase the amount of practice and time dedicated to their writing, without appearing to be “academic.”

mailto:[email protected]




2. Provide Guidelines and Structure

Once students have selected a television program, ask them to write about the program weekly. For instance, to begin, they could describe one of the characters, or one could assign any other task that may require them to recall details. The length of each text should does not have to be prescribed; however, it should be reasonable (this could be further defined according to the level of the course). The important thing is to keep the length within each student’s comfort zone.

3. Provide Ongoing Feedback

Students should be provided with conFnuous feedback, validaFng each entry posiFvely. More specifically, feedback should focus on the development of fluency in wriFng, as opposed to “correct” or “perfect” wriFng. The goal should be to allow students to focus more on effecFve communicaFon; that is, to successfully get the message across. Students wriFng outcomes will be beèr when they target fluency and clarity of expression instead wriFng correct English, limiFng grammaFcal instrucFon to small intervenFons for persistent issues in their wriFng (Shin, 2002).

4. Challenge Students Gradually

Gradually modify the content requirements of wrièn submissions as students’ wriFng fluency progresses. Bloom’s Taxonomy could be applied to each weekly entry as a means of increasing the quality of ideas that students produce (Kramer, Lundgren, and Mabbo`, 2010). As stated in item 2, students can begin wriFng about each of the characters in the television program, defining who the characters are, which is in compliance with skill of remembering in Bloom’s revised taxonomy (Krathwohl, 2002). Gradually the content of each entry could be modified throughout the semester and the subsequent skills of the taxonomy can be employed, including: understanding, wriFng a summary of the problem presented in an episode; applying, comparing two characters; analyzing, providing a criFque of special effects used in the

show; evalua3ng, defending the choices of the protagonist; and crea3ng, wriFng a predicFon of what will occur in the following episode. Aligning these skills with each wriFng assignment could help foster or reinforce criFcal thinking as students work on improving their wriFng.

Conclusion:

This approach has been successful with my students and they oKen state that their weekly wriFng assignment doesn’t feel like “work,” to the point that they take the iniFaFve to write for pleasure and for further pracFce. The posiFve impact that this wriFng context could have for ESL students is substanFal. They will not only be moFvated to write in English, but they will feel moFvated to share their ideas and thoughts about the television program, to that of even reading aloud their wrièn entries in class. Furthermore, as content requirements become more challenging, students begin to express themselves more knowledgeably and develop a greater sense of confidence in their wriFng. In sum, students will not feel the anxiety of wriFng “perfectly,” but enjoy the act of wriFng and work on improving their skills with the instructor’s guidance through purposeful feedback aimed at improving fluency and clarity.

References

Carroll, J. & Dunkelblau, H. (2011). Preparing ESL students for "real" college wriFng. Teaching English in the Two-‐Year College, 38(3), 271-‐281.

He, T., Chang, S., & Chen, S.E. (2011). MulFple goals, wriFng strategies, and wrièn outcomes for college students learning English as a second language. Perceptual and Motor Skills, 112(2), 401-‐416.

Kramer, D.B., Lundgren, C., & Mabbo`, A.S. (2010). RelaFng language objecFves to Bloom’s taxonomy: How to talk to your mainstream colleagues about language objecFves. MinneWITESOL Journal, 27, 43-‐51.



Krathwohl, D.R. (2002). A Revision of Bloom’s Taxonomy: An Overview. Theory into Prac3ce, 41(4), 212-‐218.

Miller-‐Cochran, S. (2011). Beyond typical ideas of wriFng: Developing a diverse understanding of writers, wriFng, and wriFng instrucFon.” College Composi3on and Communica3on, 62(3), 550-‐560.

Shin, S.J. (2002). Understanding ESL writers: Second language wriFng by composiFon instructors. Teaching English in the Two-‐Year College, 30(1), 68-‐75.



Burn Out Syndrome in EducatorsBy: Dr. Jennifer Alicea CasFllo

Assistant ProfessorUniversity of Puerto Rico, Ponce

The Burn Out Syndrome is a a response to chronic stress made by three fundamental factors: emoFonal Fredness, depersonalizaFon, and low self realizaFon (Maslach, 1999). The concept was used for the first Fme in the 70s, but it was in the decade of the 80s in which lots of research was done. Herbert Freudenberger, a clinical psychologist, used the term to define the experience of long-‐term extreme exhausFon and diminished interest.

This syndrome might affect any profession but it is really harsh on teachers. This syndrome has four developmental stages that go from a simple lack of desire to go to work and back and neck pain to alcoholism, drug abuse, and suicidal a`empts. Quintana (2010) said that the burned-‐out teachers, overwhelmed by job demands and exhausted by their work, show an irritable character which can be unbearable for others, both at work and when the workday is over. Gradually, the teacher feels affected and changes his/her artudes towards work and towards people with whom he/she works.

“Burnout is not just a temporary indisposiFon but an unhealthy condiFon that makes once idealisFc, producFve, enthusiasFc workers detriments to their profession, their colleagues, and themselves. Strangely enough, burnout usually affects the most able individuals-‐-‐those who are the most competent and commi`ed, those who feel the most strongly about the value of what they do and want to do their best” (Benjamin, 1997). The affected teacher might show the following behavior:

• They are unmoFvated.

• They have lost their paFence, opFmism, and their interest in students.

• They have developed authoritarian, intolerant, or rigid artudes.

• Students and their families are perceived in a cynical way.

Research has shown that female teachers experiment more and greater emoFonal Fredness. Another interesFng fact about this syndrome is that male teachers experiment greater negaFve feelings toward students. It has been proven that younger teachers feel higher levels of stress, emoFonal Fredness, and faFgue. It is interesFng to menFon that stress appears to be more prevalent in large school systems than in smaller ones. This is because of all the difficult situaFons

that are present in big schools. Finally, elementary teachers report less stress than secondary teachers (Moriana and Herruzo, 2004).The principal causes of this syndrome are the lack of change, lack of professional opportuniFes, few opportuniFes to influence

curricular decisions, lack of respect towards the profession, and lack of resources and benefits. According to Ortega (2003) educators are especially in risk because of the following factors:

• Amount of work • Time pressure• Physical loads• MoFvaFon • Role conflict • Job insecurity • EmoFonal demand

The manifestaFons of the Burn Out Syndrome are psychosomaFc, behavioral, emoFonal, and at the work place. Some of the psychosomaFc signs are: chronic faFgue, frequent headaches, problems to sleep, ulcers and other

The principal causes of this syndrome are the lack of change, lack of professional opportuniKes, few opportuniKes to influence curricular decisions, lack of respect towards the profession, and lack of resources and benefits.



gastrointesFnal disorders, weight loss, and muscle pain. Absenteeism, drug abuse, inability to live in a relaxed environment, superficiality in the contact with others, high risk behavior and an increase in violent behavior are the signs that might appear in the behavior of the educator. At the emoFonal level the teacher will show affecFve distance as a way of protecFng him/herself, boringness and cynical artude, lack of orientaFon and concentraFon, and depressive feelings. In terms of the work place, the teacher experiences reduced working capacity, an increase of hosFle interacFons, and poor communicaFon. “EmoFonal Fredness is the most clear, evident, and common artude in most cases. The person does not respond to the demands of the job and generally they are irritable and depressed" (Quintana, 2010).

Once the educator begins presenFng symptoms the consequences might alter him/her in the personal and psychological level. At the personal level, the professional will not be able to disconnect from work, will have sleep problems, and will experience physical pain. At the psychological level, the educator will experience lack of self-‐realizaFon, low self-‐esteem, withdrawal, irritability, and negaFve artudes towards themselves and towards other people. Ortega (2003) explains that the burn-‐out teachers, overwhelmed by job demands and exhausted by their work, show an irritable character which can be unbearable for others, both at work and when the workday is over. Gradually, the teacher feels affected and changes his/her artudes towards work and towards people with whom he/she works.

Some of the ideas that experts recommend to prevent this syndrome are the following: support from family, friends and colleagues, increase of the Fme dedicated to the personal life (hobbies, pasFmes), acquisiFon of new skills and retraining courses, effecFve distribuFon of Fme, be relax and calm throughout the workday, and have small breaks throughout the workday. Other

recommendaFons are: do not bring work to your home, sleep at least 7 to 8 hours daily, eat healthy, and be objecFve, pracFcal, and do not be so hard on yourself.

The Burn Out Syndrome is a very serious disorder. That is why its prevenFon is very complex but any technique that helps prevent stress might work. Usually, the person suffering from the syndrome will need professional help. If you want to know if you have the syndrome, go to h`p://www.trubyachievements.com/Business/Stress_Management/Burnout.html and find out.

“Remember that the best way to avoid this syndrome is taking care of your working environment.” (Ortega, 2003)

References:

Benjamin, L. (1987). Understanding and Managing Stress in the Academic World. Retrieved from h`p://www.ericdigests.org/pre27/stress.htm

Maslach, C. (1999). Progress in understanding teacher burnout. En R. Vandenberghe y A.M. Huberman (Eds.), Understanding and preven3ng teacher burnout (pp. 211-‐222). New York: Cambridge University Press.

Moriana, J. and Herruzo,J. (2004). Estrés y burnout en profesores. Interna3onal Journal of Clinical and Health Psychology,4,597-‐621.

Ortega, D. (2003). El síndrome “burnout”: estar “quemado” en el trabajo. Retrieved from h`p://banners.noFciasdot.com/termometro/boleFnes/docs/paises/europa/espana/consumer/

2003/consumer_burnout.pdf

Quintana, A. (2010). Síndrome de "burnout" en los maestros. Retrieved from h`p://sindromedeburnoutenlosmaestros.blogspot.com/

http://www.trubyachievements.com/Business/Stress_Management/Burnout.html






http://www.ericdigests.org/pre-927/stress.htm

http://www.ericdigests.org/pre-927/stress.htm

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L1 Influence on the Use of English Passive Voice and Its AlternaKves in NarraKonsThe Frog Story and Event Construal

Framework Wang, Qian

[email protected]

This study uses the event construal framework (Slobin, 1994) to examine the flexibility differences between Chinese adult English learners and naFve English speakers in using English passive voice and its alternaFves in discourse. The results support the hypotheses that both crosslinguisFc conceptual differences between the learners' naFve and target language and L2 learning progression contribute to the observed flexibility differences in using English passives and alternaFves in story narraFons.

This study compares the range of linguisFc devices used by Chinese adult English learners and naFve English speakers in construing events in narraFng the frog story. The elicitaFon instrument, Frog, where are you? (Mayer, 1969) consists of 24 pictures, portraying an adventure of a boy and his pet dog (the two main protagonists) in search of the boy’s runaway pet frog. Analyses of the recorded narraFons are conducted within the event construal framework (Slobin, 1994), which consists of four dimensions: “selecFon of topic; selecFon of loci of control and effect; selecFon of event perspecFve: Cause, Become, State; and selecFon of degree of agency” (p. 343). Topic is considered as “the focal point and the profiled element” (Chen & Oller, 2008, p. 393). Loci of control and effect refers to the enFty or enFFes receiving effects from the acFon or event. Slobin (1994) defined the three event perspecFves as follows:

A Cause-‐View represents an event as having an actor that, in some way, causes a change of state in an undergoer[The bees are chasing the dog.]; a Become-‐View orients to a change of state without a`ribuFon of external causality [The dog was running.]; and a State-‐View simply orients to a state in itself [The dog was in the pond.]. (p. 345)

The agency scale presented in Slobin’s study

(1994) is listed below.Degree of agencyHigh The bees are chasing the dog.Mid The dog was being chased by the

bees.Minimal The dog was running away (from the bees). (Slobin, 1994; as cited in Chen and Oller, 2008, p. 394)

In this study, a wordless picture storybook, Frog, where are you? (Mayer, 1969) is used to elicit narraFons from 24 parFcipants. Three episodes are chosen for analyses. The contents of the three episodes are:Episode I (picture number 10)

A gopher popped out of a hole and bit the boy’s nose. The dog was trying to knock down a beehive by shaking the tree.

Episode II (picture number 12)

The boy fell down from a tree because of the owl’s sudden appearance from a tree hole. In the meanFme, the dog was chased by a swarm of bees.

Episode III (picture number 16 & 17)

The deer carried the boy on its head and ran to a cliff edge. The boy and the dog were thrown off the cliff, falling into a pound.

NarraFons in both Mandarin and English are extracted from the 16 Chinese adult English learners to provide a pla}orm to compare the crosslinguisFc conceptual differences. Furthermore, the 16 Chinese adult English learners are divided into low (Low_M) and advanced English proficiency group (Ad_M), which allows this study to determine whether L2 proficiency contributes to the observed flexibility differences in using English passives and alternaFves in context. In addiFon, eight naFve English speakers (NE) are recruited as a comparison group.

Analyses and ResultsEnglish Data

English narraFons are extracted from all 24 parFcipants. Table 1 is used to code English data





from aspects of event perspecFve (VIEW), topic, and locus of control and effect. Frequency counts are administered by coding transcribed text against coding schemes. All examples listed in coding schemes come from story narraFons contributed by the 24 parFcipants in this research. This study agrees with previous studies (Chen & Oller, 2008; Sun, 2011; Mi, 2011) that Chinese adult English learners and naFve English speakers do not differ significantly along the three event construal aspects menFoned above. All three groups contribute sentences using varied topics, loci of control and effect, and from all three event perspecFves.

Table 1The coding of English passives and alterna3ves by event perspec3ve (VIEW), topic, and locus of control and effect (Slobin, 1994; Chen & Oller, 2008)TOPIC, LOCUS OF CONTROL AND EFFECT

NEAd_M

Low_M

CAUSE-‐VIEW 35 29 201. The secondary character is AGENT + TOPIC and the main character is PATIENT within a clause containing a transiFve verb.

21 21 19

2. The main character is PATIENT + TOPIC and the secondary character is AGENT in a full get-‐passive construcFon.

3 1 0

3. The main character is PATIENT+ TOPIC and the secondary character is AGENT in a full be-‐passive construcFon.

4 3 0

4. The main character is PATIENT + TOPIC in a truncated passive construcFon, i.e., one in which the agent is not overtly menFoned.

3 0 0

5. The main character is ACTOR + TOPIC and the secondary character is AGENT in a subordinate clause.

3 3 1

6. The main character is ACTOT + TOPIC and the secondary character is menFoned in a peripheral phrase.

1 1 0

BECOME-‐VIEW 14 17 257. The main character is ACTOR and the secondary character is ACTOR in two successive clauses connected with because.

1 0 3

8. The main character is ACTOR and the secondary character is ACTOR in two coordinate clauses.

0 2 1

9. The secondary character is ACTOR. 7 11 1210. The main character is ACTOR. 6 4 9STATE-‐VIEW 5 8 611. The main character is PATIENT + TOPIC.

5 8 6

NO MENTION OF THE EPISODES OR THE TARGET ACTION

5 3 6

12. The narrator skips the episodes. 1 0 213. The narrator does not specify the target acFon.

4 3 4

In addiFon, table 2 is used to address degree of agency, the fourth dimension of the event construal framework (Slobin, 1994). Token frequencies of construcFons encoding high, mid, and minimal agency level are showed in figure 1. NaFve English speakers tend to use all three degree of agency in a similar proporFon, whereas the naFve Mandarin speakers with both advanced and low English proficiency tend to use expressions encoding either high or low degree of agency. Moreover, results from the χ2 test report significant difference between the naFve English speakers and the low English proficiency group in encoding degree of agency χ2(2, N=105) =7.29, p<.05. In contrast, no significant difference is found between naFve English speakers and naFve Mandarin speakers with advanced English proficiency χ2(2, N=108)=3.42, p>.05 or between the advanced and the low proficiency group χ2(2, N=105)=0.90, p>.05. The results indicate the language learning process. The advanced Chinese adult English learners’ group ranks the middle in terms of the flexibility of differenFaFng disFnct degree of agency in narraFons. It suggests that the advanced Chinese adult English learners are on their way out of the low English proficiency range and approaching the



naFve-‐like proficiency.

Table 2 Degree of agency expressed by na3ve English speakers and Chinese adult English learners (Slobin, 1994; Chen & Oller, 2008)

Degree of Agency

Families of ConstrucKon

High transiFve acFve sentences

Midfull passive, agentless passive, lower agency in adjoining phrases or clause

Minimalin t rans iFve and S tate -‐v i ew construcFons

Figure 1Degree of agency expressed by naFve English speakers and Chinese adult English learners

QualitaKve analyses. In general, the qualitaFve analyses along the four dimensions in the event construal framework (Slobin, 1994) report the following facts. This study agrees with previous studies (Chen & Oller, 2008; Sun, 2011; Mi, 2011) in that both naFve English speakers and Chinese adult English learners use varied syntacFc structures in their story narraFons. But there are disFnct differences as to the syntacFc structure varieFes used in each group. Both quanFtaFve and qualitaFve analyses suggest that the major differences lie in the use of the mid agency, which can be encoded in get-‐passives, full-‐passives, agentless passives, subordinate sentences, and because-‐clauses in the current English coding system. Figure 2 below reports the use of each syntacFc structure in English narraFons contributed by all three groups.

Figure 2 The choice of syntacFc structures encoding the mid agency in English narraFons

In the naFve English speakers' group, all five structures are used to suit the purpose of expressing the mid agency and to serve varied pragmaFc purposes. In contrast, less syntacFc varieFes are observed in narraFons contributed by the Chinese adult English learners. The advanced English proficiency group use three out of the five potenFally available structures to encode the mid agency level. The three structures are get-‐passives, full-‐passives, and subordinate sentences, two of which involved morphosyntacFc changes to make grammaFcal sentences. In comparison, the low English proficiency group uses only subordinate sentences and because-‐sentences in their narraFons, which requires no morphosyntacFc changes. In brief, the above results suggest that there is a posiFve correlaFon relaFonship between the parFcipants’ English proficiency and their ability to use the potenFally available linguisFc devices in story narraFons.

Mandarin DataQuanKtaKve analyses. The 16 Chinese adult

English learners contribute narraFons in Mandarin. Table 3 is used to code Mandarin data from aspects of event perspecFve (VIEW), topic, and locus of control and effect. Table 4 shows the agency scale that different syntacFc structures fall into in Mandarin narraFons. The result reports similar pa`ern of using mainly high and low degree of agency in encoding varied degree of agency in



Mandarin narraFons. The same strategy is adopted by Chinese adult English learners in their Mandarin narraFons as well as in their English narraFons. Figure 3 reports the agency scale in both English and Mandarin narraFons contributed by all 24 parFcipants. And the results lend support to crosslinguisFc conceptual transfer. The results suggest that Chinese adult English learners transfer their usage pa`ern of using either high or low degree of agency to their story narraFons in their L2 English.

Table 3 Passives and alterna3ves in Mandarin frog narra3ves (Chen & Guo, 2006; Chen & Oller, 2008)TOPIC AND LOCUS OF CONTROL-‐AND-‐EFFECT

I n total

CAUSE VIEW 611. The secondary character is AGENT + TOPIC and the main character is PATIENT within a clause containing a transiFve verb.

41

2. The secondary character is AGENT + TOPIC and the main character is PATIENT within a clause containing BA and a transiFve verb.

20

BECOME VIEW 693. The main character is PATIENT+ TOPIC and the secondary character is AGENT within a clause containing BEI and a transiFve verb.

10

4. The main character is ACTOR and the secondary character is ACTOR in two successive clauses with cause-‐effect relaFon implied.

4

5. The secondary character or main character is ACTOR.

55

STATE VIEW 156. A state-‐view orients to a state itself. 15NO MENTION OF THE EPISODES OR THE TARGET ACTION

6

7. The narrator does not specify the target acFon.

5

8. The narrator skips the episode. 1

Table 4Degree of agency expressed by na3ve Mandarin speakers in Mandarin data (Chen & Guo, 2006; Chen & Oller, 2008)

Degree of

AgencyFamilies of ConstrucKon

In total

HighSimple acFve transiFve sentence; BA-‐construcFon

61

MidBEI-‐construcFon; Coordinate structure with cause-‐effect relaFon implied

14

MinimalSimple intransiFve sentence 70

Figure 3 Degree of agency in both English and Mandarin narraFons

QualitaKve analyses. Among the three agency levels, the insufficient use of mid agency level contributes the most to the observed flexibility differences. The mid agency expressions, as defined in table 4, encompass both BEI-‐construcFons and coordinate structures with cause-‐effect implied in the current study. Moreover, among the 14 sentences encoding the mid agency, only three of them are produced to describe episode III. The rest 11 sentences are devoted to describe the second episode. Though rich event sequences are pictured in every episode, the producFon of mid agency expressions seem to require other pragmaFc moFons as well. The parFcipants in the current study apparently favor certain episodes than others when assigning



prominence to event components. Discussion and Conclusion

Analyses of both English and Mandarin narraFons report the following facts. Within the event construal framework (Slobin, 1994), there is no significant difference between naFve English speakers and Chinese adult English learners in choosing topics, loci of control and effect, and event perspecFves. The observed differences in story narraFons originate from the flexibility differences between Chinese adult English learners and naFve English speakers in differenFaFng degree of agency in story narraFons. In addiFon, similar agency-‐assigning strategies of favoring either high or low agency expressions are found in both English and Mandarin narraFons elicited from the 16 Chinese adult English learners. This research agrees with the preliminary results reported by Chen and Guo in 2006 that corsslinguisFc event conceptual differences are responsible for the observed flexibility differences in assigning disFnct agency in story narraFons. Second, the results reflect the process of acquiring English as a second language. PosiFve correlaFon is found between English proficiency and the ability to assign degree of agency flexibly.

CrosslinguisKc Conceptual DifferencesSlobin's Thinking for Speaking Hypothesis

(1991) proposed that each language gave its naFve speakers a language-‐specific worldview. In other words, the ways people think while speaking are language-‐specific. People choose to assign different salience to different event components and people from different L1 background organize informaFon in language-‐specific ways. Slobin (1993) extended the above conclusion to L2 acquisiFon and argued that adult language learners were not free form the L1-‐specific influence in conceptualizing events in L2 acquisiFon. Jarvis (2007) extended the Thinking for Speaking Hypothesis (Slobin, 1991) by encompassing concept transfer and proposed the Conceptual Transfer Hypothesis (CTH). CTH addresses both concept transfer and conceptualizaFon transfer. The la`er subcategory,

i.e., conceptualizaFon transfer, in essence, addresses the online language producFon, which echoes with Slobin's studies.

In summary, both Thinking for Speaking Hypothesis (Slobin, 1991) and Conceptual Transfer Hypothesis (Jarvis, 2007) agree in that adult learners' pre-‐acquired L1-‐specific ways of conceptualizing events have residue influence in L2 acquisiFon. In the current study, the 16 Chinese adult English learners use the same strategy in assigning different degree of agency in both English and Mandarin narraFons. The L1, i.e., Mandarin specific way of assigning agency in story narraFons is transferred to narraFons in L2, i.e. English.

Language Learning ProcessBerman and Slobin (1994) reported that

necessary morphosyntacFc knowledge and cogniFve ability to construe events from different perspecFves enFtled children to conceptualize events flexibly in story narraFons. In other words, both linguisFc ability and cogniFve ability are uFlized in narraFng stories. All 24 parFcipants in the current study have the required cogniFve ability for they are all fluent adult speakers of their naFve languages. However, their linguisFc ability in narraFng the story in English do differ from each other. PosiFve correlaFon has been found between English proficiency and the diversity of syntacFc structures used in story narraFons. The higher the parFcipant’s English proficiency is, the more diverse the structures are likely to be found in narraFons. In conclusion, the current study supports the hypothesis that both crosslinguisFc differences between the learners' naFve and target language and L2 learning progression contribute to the flexibility differences between Chinese adult English learners (with low and advanced English proficiency) and naFve English speakers in using English passives and alternaFve structures in context.



Wang, Qian, M.A., Beijing Language and Culture University, E-‐mail: [email protected]; The author is greatly indebted to Professor Tao, Liang, Wu, Ping, and Bell, David for their guidance and help with my research. This research is a BLCU supported project for young researchers program (supported by the Fundamental Research Funds for the Central UniversiFes).

ReferencesBerman, R. A., & Slobin, D. I. (1994). Rela3ng events in narra3ve: A crosslinguis3c developmental study. Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum.Chen, L., & Guo, J. (2006). A developmental study of passives and alterna3ves in Mandarin Chinese narra3ves. Unpublished manuscript. University of Georgia and California State University at East Bay.Chen, L., & Oller, J. W. (2008). The use of passives and alternaFves in English by Chinese speakers. In Sabine de Knop & Teun de Rycker (Eds.), Cogni3ve approaches to pedagogical grammar: A volume in honor of Rene Dirven (pp. 385-‐415). Berlin & New York: Mouton de Gruyter.Jarvis, S. (2007). TheoreFcal and methodological issues in the invesFgaFon of conceptual transfer. Vigo Interna3onal Journal of Applied Linguis3cs (VIAL), 4, 43-‐71.Mayer, M. (1969). Frog, where are you? New York: Dial Press.Mi, Y. J. (2011). L1 influence on Chinese learners’ acquisi3on of English passives (Unpublished master’s research paper). Ohio University, Athens. Slobin, D. (1991). Learning to think for speaking:

NaFve language, cogniFon, and rhetorical style. Pragma3cs, 1, 7-‐25.

Slobin, D. (1993). Adult language acquisiFon: A view from child language study. In C. Perdue (Ed.), Adult language acquisi3on: Cross-‐ linguis3c perspec3ves (pp. 239-‐252). Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.Slobin, D. I. (1994). Passives and alternaFves in children's narraFves in English, Spanish,

German, and Turkish. In B. Fox & P. Hopper (Eds.), Voice: Form and func3on (pp. 341-‐364). Amsterdam/Philadelphia: John Benjamins.Sun, H. (2011). Replica3on study: The use of passives and alterna3ves in English by Chinese speakers (Unpublished master's thesis). Beijing Language and Culture University, Beijing.

EYE HALVE A SPELLING CHECKER

I halve a spelling checkerIt came with my pea sea

It plainly marcs four my revueMiss steaks eye kin knot sea.

Eye strike a key and type a word

And weight four it two sayWeather eye am wrong oar

writeIt shows me strait a weigh.

As soon as a mist ache is maid,It nose bee fore two long

And eye can put the error rite; Its rare lea ever wrong.

Eye have run this poem threw it

I am shore your pleased to noIts letter perfect awl the weigh

My checker tolled me sew.





Dr. Sonia Pagan (far right) and the Tuna from UPR-Bayamon

Drs. Gladys Pérez, Evelyn Lugo, Estella Márquez

Meet the Chapter Presidents and Board members

Southern Chapter board membersPlenary sessions



Drs. Evelyn Lugo and Alicia Pousada

Southern Chapter meeting

Participants enjoying lunch and friendship

Central and Southern chapter presidents and chapter members

Drs. Suzanne Panferov and Evelyn Lugo



Using Comics and Graphic Novels in the Classroom

Prof. Luis JeKé Lacourt, AtlanFc University College

In 1993, the theorist and arFst Sco` McCloud published Understanding Comics: the invisible art, a deep exploraFon on Comics language and its power to communicate and connect with its readers. This book revoluFonized the way people saw comics: 1) It was a comic explaining how comics work; 2) It explained in a precise and concise way how the power of images and words (mainly applied to the comic medium) has culFvated readers since the first pictographic depicFons of the first humans on Earth.

From 2000 unFl today, professors and teachers in the United States have been applying comics in their classrooms. From entertainment resources to pedagogical instruments, comics—and

its book format, Graphic Novels—are now serious topics between librarians and teachers.

In Puerto Rico I have had the experiences of touring throughout private schools in the Metropolitan Area and two schools around the Island, and the acceptance of graphic novels in school libraries is growing fast. Nonetheless, we sFll ba`le, on one hand, to make educators understand how comics can become a complement for any class, and on other hand, make librarians bet for this special form of art that can be the best incenFves for students to develop reading habits and skills.

Image and Word: two ways of learning

From their beginnings, comics use the two main components that are languages themselves and each has different ways of funcFoning: image and word. Today’s private universiFes demand that the professors aènd every need of their students and that includes appealing to their diverse types of intelligence. In fact, we can see today a way of complemenFng the wrièn word with images in order to appeal to all students; for example, Power Point presentaFons. It is curious because we as professors are used to these presentaFons but not using comics, even when both share similar external aspects: the message is divided into panels or slides, using in each one a balance of visual and wrièn informaFon.

But we teach through images and wrièn words, and we sFll dare to tell our students that they don’t read. As a professor of a visually-‐oriented college, I tell my students that they should never let anyone tell them that they don’t read: they do read a lot of visual informaFon, and although they don’t read much text and prose, the intellectual process of decoding images counts as a type of literacy (visual literacy).

Comics creators: mixing words and images

To understand what kind of intellectual process our students do when they read comics, we



have to understand how a comic book is created. The basic working structure for a big company such as Marvel Comics and DC Comics is the following: editor (the leader, assembles the team), scriptwriter (writes the story and the main acFons of the characters for every page), illustrators or designers (work on character design and translate a wrièn world into a visual one using composiFon and clarity2). The illustraFon process is usually divided among different arFsts: the penciler, the inker-‐colorist, and the leèrer.

The craKsmanship of comics is as complex as other narraFve arts. Just like Cinema and Theater, it requires a series of commièd specialists to give life to a story. In the case of many independent comics, a single arFst usually takes care of all these tasks. In Puerto Rico, this is usually the way comics are created.

Comics in the classroom: Four main problems

I agree with the feedback I got when I was visiFng 15 private schools; there are at least four main obstacles for comics to reach students in the classroom:

1-‐Insufficient support from educaFon book publishers: we see many pseudo-‐comics but not comics in their whole splendor. Some pictures with wrièn words don’t make it a comic book.

2-‐Personal prejudice from nonreaders of comics (Example, Parents): the noFon that educaFon shouldn’t be fun and that comics are all for kids are some of the negaFve noFons we sFll have to ba`le today.

3-‐Difficulty incorporaFng comics to the main curriculum: knowing your comics and knowing the curriculum can help uniFng both to improve today’s student experience.

4-‐The high price of graphic novels versus comic books.

Even though all of these problems are part of today’s comic book readers, the teacher or professor could find his or her way to solve the negaFve repercussions of this panorama. Let’s talk about pracFcal soluFons.

ApplicaKons: Examples of Graphic Novels applied to the classroom

First of all, we should rapidly explain the main difference between comics and graphic novels in terms of their binding and use. Comic books go from 12 to 48 pages and have no binding: they’re just stapled pages. The graphic novel is a very extensive comic book that starts and ends in the same volume, and has binding (soK cover or

hardcover). Graphic novels are perfect for the daily use of students in the library, but they are naturally more expensive. If the library budget is too Fght to buy some Ftles and you want to use an example from a graphic novel, you can always

scan some pages of certain Ftles and show them in class.

However, graphic novels should be available in schools because they can be:

1) Reading complements as part of the required curricular reading assignments.

2) Reading complements as extracurricular reading assignments: to reinforce and amplify the understanding of the main topics of the curriculum, to make special assignments, or answer some kind of discussion exercise.

3) Summer reading (in case of schools).

The key is to understand that comic books are not a subsFtute but a complement for a complete

The key is to understand that comic books are not a subsKtute but a complement for a complete educaKonal experience.



educaFonal experience. Works like Robert G. Weiner (ed., 2010) have explained that when educators and librarians include graphic novels to their daily use and/or collecFon, students get involved in the process: they comment on their recent readings and they use their reading material as examples to compare and relate it with the material in the classroom. There are even cases when the students build their own reading club for manga (Japanese comics) and graphic novels.

The following is a list of exercises and Ltles you can apply to different classes:

Class/Course Exercises Comics Resources

Literature, CreaLve WriLng, CommunicaLons

*Analysis of novel’s structure by reading the graphic novel adaptaLon (compare both narraLve ways).*Vocabulary exercises.*Visual Literacy: reading comprehension, analysis of context and situaLon (physical and non physical facts).

*Well known comic strips such as Calvin & Hobbes (Bill Wa`erson), Peanuts (Charles M. Schulz), Mujs (Patrick McDonnell), Mafalda (Quino), Isleño (Franchy Morales).*Graphic Novels by Alan Moore and Neil Gaiman (according to the readers’ ages).

History of Puerto Rico

*Compare and contrast the historical facts depicted by the historian from the text book and the comic book arLst in the graphic novel.

*Puerto Rican comics: Turey el Taíno (Ricardo Álvarez-‐Rivón), 1898 (Editorial El AnLllano).

History of Art *Analyze the way the comic book arLst uses the main aspects of certain ArLsLc Movements in certain comics.

*Madman (Mike Allred), the covers of the single issues of Promethea (Alan Moore, J.H. Williams III, Mick Gray, Jeromy Cox, Todd Klein)

Science, Math, Arquitecture

*Evaluate the way science and math are applied to solve the main conflicts.

*Avengers (Marvel Comics), El Pequeño Profe and Los Verdosos, by the Puerto Rican Vicente Avilés.Arquitecture: Asterios Polyp (+18) and other Ltles that show specific depicLons of arquitectural eras.

World History, Journalism, Sociology, Current Events

*Compare and contrast the historical facts depicted by historians and the comic book arLst in the graphic novel.*Analyze the sociological facts that surround the events and lives of these arLsts.

Maus I & II (Art Spiegelman), Persepolis (Marjane Satrapi), Pyongyang (Guy Delisle), Gorazde or any work of Joe Sacco (16+), Our Cancer Year (Harvey Pekar, Joyce Brabner, Frank Stack), Barefoot Gen (Keiji Nakazawa), Fun Home (Alison Bechdel, 18+).



SemioLcs and Graphic Design

*Analyze and discuss the following elements in a certain comic: image, text, context, sequence, icon, denotaLon and connotaLon, percepLon, codes, frame, stereotypes, body language, background and scenarios design, page and format and elements of composiLon, audience.

*On Comic Language: Making Comics (Sco` McCloud), El Discurso del Cómic (Luis Gasca and Román Gubern). *For applicaLon of exercises: Any work of Quino and Chris Ware.

You must be asking yourself: what about educaFonal comic books? Well, educaFonal comic books are not all entertaining or well done. The key to hook a student’s a`enFon to a reading material is to show them there is something useful and fun to discover in that book, something that he can actually use in real life beyond its school assignments. Applying non-‐educaFonal graphic novels for educaFon purposes can actually work best and they are usually done be`er in terms of art execuFon and story than educaFonal comic books.

Making my personal graphic novel list

Think there’s a lot to read to get you prepared? No worries, you can check the American Library AssociaFon’s webpage for annual lists of the best graphic novels recommended (h`p://www.ala.org/yalsa/booklists/ggnt/2012), or you can always visit my page Funny Fish Fountain Comics (F3Comics.com) to be in touch with the potenFals of comic books around the world, especially in Puerto Rico. You can also surf the Internet for personal blogs of educators that share their experiences with comics and other mediums in the classroom. If you’re in for some good

reading about this topic, check out the books by Michele Gorman and Jessica Abel.

Remember: the most important thing is that the teacher or professor is extremely vital to the process of making comics and educaFon work. Knowing your comics can help you choose the best Ftles for the kind of material you are giving; therefore, the key is to know your material so well you can apply not only comics but movies and other visual arts.

References

McCloud, S. (2007). Making Comics: Storytelling Secrets of Comics, Manga and Graphic Novels. New York: Harper.

_____. (2010). Graphic Novels and Comics in Libraries and Archives: Essays on Readers, Research, History and Cataloging. Robert G. Weiner (editor). U.S.A.: McFarland & Company.

_____(2008). Teaching Visual Literacy: Using Comic Books, Graphic Novels, Anime, Cartoons, And More To Develop Comprehension And Thinking Skills. Frey, N. & Fisher, D. (editors). California: Corwin Press.



Central American and Caribbean Basin Conference

at the Annual PRTESOL ConvenKon in San Juan, Puerto Rico

Dr. Josue AlejandroPRTESOL Immediate Past President

The 11th Central American and Caribbean Basin (CA & CB) Conference and 39th PRTESOL ConvenFon was held on November 16 and 17th 2012 in San Juan, Puerto Rico. TESOL also held an InternaFonal Symposium the day before, November 15. The following countries were represented at the conference: Colombia, Cuba, Belize, Panama, Venezuela, Mexico, and the Dominican Republic.

On the 15th aKer the TESOL Symposium, the CA&CB representaFves were invited to a dinner with a cultural acFvity sponsored by Universidad del Este, the PRTESOL President Dr. Evelyn Lugo’s insFtuFon. TESOL InternaFonal President Suzanne Panferov, along with Sara Sahr, coordinator for the TESOL InternaFonal Symposium parFcipated in this acFvity. We also had the presence of Dr. Kimberly Johnson, and Dr. Charles Hall, TESOL Symposium presenters, with us.

On November 16 we had the first CA & CB presentaFon. There was a panel by representaFves of Belize, Venezuela, Panama, and Honduras. Evelin Ojeda of VenTESOL read Hondura’s paper since the representaFve could not a`end the conference. It was an eye opening event where the parFcipants

could idenFfy with the situaFons in each country and learn how each country dealt with the challenges of teaching English. There was enthusiasm in listening to each country representaFve to know more about them and their countries.

The following were the CA&CB presenters and presentaFons given. Non NaFve Speakers Teachers of English Facing the Challenge by Carmen Elena Guerrero from Colombia; Teacher Training Approaches/Programs in Central American and Caribbean Basin, panel discussion by representaFves from Venezuela, Luisa CrisFna Alvarez, Belize, Ethnelda Ramirez, and Panama, Joanne Pyra; Involving diversity in the English Teaching Process: Experiences in the Caribbean by Antonia Albert and Santa Yokasta Cabrera from Dominican Republic; It’s the 21st Century: Problem-‐Based Learning for ESL Teachers, by Dr. Migdalia Cruz Arthurton from ST. Thomas, U.S.V.I.; AcFve Reading by Octavio Espinoza, Mexico; Developing CriFcal Thinking Skills through Feedback and ReflecFve PracFce by Pia Maria White, Mexico; Overcoming Stereotypes and Labels by Ulrich Schrader, Mexico; Teaching English in Difficult Times: The Role of GELI by Adita Chiappy, Cuba; Teachers Helping Teachers: VENTESOL Experience, by Evelin Ojeda, and Luisa CrisFna Alvarez, Venezuela; Engaging EFL Students in Diverse ExciFng Ways Through Techniques and Digital Technology Applied in Literature, by Sabino Morla, Dominican Republic; Developing Life Competences through ELT by Maria Trapero, Mexico; The Power of Co-‐Teaching: A Look at our Literacy Program and EAL Teaching, by Joanne Pyra, Panama; and Based Approach for MulFlingual Learners, by Ethnelda Ramirez Paulene, Belize.

A booth was provided for the CA&CB representaFves to exhibit informaFon about their affiliate, their publicaFons and craKs. Each representaFve shared informaFon, craKs and products typical of their country.



On Saturday 17th the CA&CB Regional meeFng was held. Josue Alejandro, PRTESOL Immediate Past President, convened the meeFng. Other PRTESOL representaFves present were Evelyn Lugo, President. Estella Marquez, Vice President and Naomi Vega, Higher EducaFon RepresentaFve. The meeFng was cordial and producFve. The following issues were discussed: status of non-‐affiliated representaFve countries, the sponsoring CA &CB affiliate of the 2014 conference, procedures for accepFng new members in 2014, presence of CA&CB group in Dallas, and adopFon of the Logo. It was also agreed upon that the CA & CB should have a board of directors consisFng of three members: a representaFve from the host affiliate the next affiliate that would host the conference and someone with senior experience with the CA& CB.

The CA&CB representaFves agreed, by unanimous consent, to have the next regional conference in Colombia to be sponsored by ASOCOPI. Panama would be the alternate choice. Carmen Elena Guerrero, ASOCOPI’s President, would let us know as soon as possible, of her affiliate’s final decision. The seed money of $500 would be given by PRTESOL at the 2013 TESOL InternaFonal ConvenFon in Dallas to the sponsoring affiliate. As a follow up on the decision made in Cancun 2010, the CA&CB logo will be the flags of the CA&CB countries in a circle around the logo of the Affiliate organizing the convenFon as it was done in Cancun 2010 and San Juan 2012. It was menFoned that each country should collaborate with each other’s publicaFons or journals.

Saturday evening, once the ConvenFon concluded, a group of PRTESOL members took the CA&CB guests on a trip to Old San Juan for a tour and dinner. The fellowship and singing led by past president, Miguel Camacho provided for a joyful

evening. All the representaFves have expressed how saFsfied they were with this enriching experience in Puerto Rico. As Ethnelda, from Belize expressed there was a “strong camaraderie that just bloomed amongst all of us. ”

This event was truly another great step in our integraFon and collaboraFon as the CA&CB TESOL Regional Group. As Uli Schrader from Mexico has stated: “..in San Juan 2012 the CA & CB group has truly become an “hermandad.”



As a prelude to the Puerto Rico TESOL convenKon, InternaKonal TESOL held a symposium, which was well-‐afended by English professors and graduate students. Featured speakers were Kimberly A. Johnson, PhD, Dr. Leni Dam, and Charles Hall, PhD. Dr. María Antonia Irizarry, former Dean of the School of EducaKon and advisor for curriculum and teaching in the TESL Graduate Program, University of Puerto Rico, Rio Piedras Campus, served as symposium host and closing-‐session facilitator.



Teaching English in Puerto Rico without endangering Spanish2

Dr. Alicia Pousada, UPR, Rio Piedras

1.0 IntroducKon

In this paper, I explore key issues relevant to the language teaching controversy in Puerto Rico and suggest ways in which educators can build up children’s language repertoires in both languages so that Spanish and English complement rather than conflict with each other.

2.0 The mulKlingual norm

MulFlingualism is the global norm. According to Crystal (1997, p. 14), approximately two-‐thirds of the world's children are raised in mulFlingual environments. Learning addiFonal languages can be accomplished without displacing the mother tongue (MT). A quick look at Finland, Switzerland, India, and Singapore reveals how mulFlingual populaFons can maintain their vernaculars along with another naFonal or official language plus languages of wider use.

In Finland, Finnish and Swedish are both naFonal languages (NL), and Saami (Laplandish) is a protected indigenous language. Finnish and Swedish are languages of instrucFon at all educaFonal levels, and all Finnish ciFzens are expected to master both. All Finnish children also study at least one modern foreign language (usually English). InstrucFon in the first FL begins in grades 1-‐3 and conFnues for at least 7 years. Teaching of the second NL begins in grade 7, if the student has not voluntarily studied it earlier, and conFnues for at least 3 years (Finnish NaFonal Board of EducaFon, 2005, p. 39).

In Switzer land, language pol icy is territorially-‐based: (1) French along the French border, (2) German along the German, and (3) Romansch and (4) Italian along the Italian. For most purposes, life in a parFcular region is carried out monolingually (Harlow, R. 2005). Approximately

64% of the Swiss speak German in standard or dialectal form, 19% speak French, 8% speak Italian, and less than 1% speak Romansch (Grin, 1998, p 1). The situaFon (relaFvely stable for centuries) has recently experienced pressure from English, and many Swiss now learn English as the first and perhaps only FL and neglect the acquisiFon of another NL. Nevertheless, Switzerland’s language policy is notable for the peaceful coexistence that exists among linguisFcally diverse communiFes.

In contrast, India has 438 languages (Lewis, 2009). It was originally divided during BriFsh rule into 24 States and 8 Union Territories which cut across ethnic, religious, and social lines and caused great conflict. AKer modern reorganizaFon, each state has at least one dominant linguisFc group and several minority languages (Mallikarjun, 2004a). Hindi and English funcFon as NLs. Children learn their local community language, and then do their studies in the official state language, with Hindi and English added as they progress through the grades. Being trilingual or quadrilingual is a normal state of affairs for an educated person in India (Mallikarjun, 2004b).

Singapore is a Fny, former BriFsh possession populated by ethnic groups from China, Malaysia, and India. It is a highly mulFlingual society with an important role in internaFonal trade and banking. There are four official languages: English, Malay, Mandarin, and Tamil. Other Chinese and Indian languages are also spoken. Since1990, a gradual language shiK toward increased use of Mandarin and English as home languages and decreased use of other languages has taken place (Lee Eu Fah, 2009, Singapore Census 2010). English is the language of instrucFon in all government schools, and the MT or “ethnic language” (Mandarin, Malay, or Tamil) is used for imparFng moral educaFon and as a “second language” at all levels. Most Singaporeans are bilingual in English and one of the other three official languages. This situaFon was arrived at aKer considerable government language planning.



We have seen briefly how four highly mulFlingual socieFes funcFon. Each has elements that we should consider in planning language policy in Puerto Rico. Now let us turn to the commonaliFes and differences between L1 and L2 acquisiFon.

3.0 CommonaliKes and differences between L1 and L2 acquisiKon

Both L1 and L2 acquisiFon are gradual and cumulaFve, are moFvated by the need to communicate, require meaningful input, proceed at the learner’s pace, and uFlize strategies of over‑generalizaFon, regularizaFon, and paèrn idenFficaFon.

However, in L1 acquisiFon, the infant has li`le knowledge of the world, limited mental capacity, a short memory, and no literate skills. AcquisiFon occurs unconsciously within the family with li`le teaching involved. Errors are t o l e r a t e d a n d e v e n encouraged. All phonological systems are accessible, and infants regularly produce a wide range of sounds and later se`le upon those that are part of the local phonological repertoire.

In L2 acquisiFon, much depends on the learner’s age. When L2 is acquired along with L1 in simultaneous acquisiFon or “bilingual first language acquisiFon” (Grosjean, 2010), the process is virtually idenFcal to L1 acquisiFon, the main difference being access to two different grammars and lexicons. When L2 acquisiFon occurs in adolescence or adulthood, the learner is more experienced, knows how languages work, can abstract paèrns, and has an extended memory. AcquisiFon oKen occurs in a school serng through direct instrucFon.

Ideally, all children would be exposed to two or more languages at home from infancy. Bilingual first language acquisiFon has many benefits. The child acquires two phonologies naFvely and does not have an “accent” in either language. Recent neuroradiological studies by Dr. Joy Hirsh at

Columbia University indicate that when children acquire both languages together in infancy, they are stored in the same place in the brain (Language BulleFn, 2012). Bilingual children regularly outperform monolingual children in interpretaFon of ambiguous sFmuli, cogniFve flexibility (or divergent thinking), and metalinguisFc awareness (Bialystok, 2001).

In Puerto Rico, bilingual first language acquisiFon is generally only possible for children whose primary caretakers speak languages other than Spanish and return migrant children who grew up speaking Spanish and English in the U.S. For them, bilingual educaFon makes the most sense, since they are equipped from the outset with skills that would be a pity to waste.

For the great majority of Puerto Rican children, learning English takes place in school. However, those who aènd bilingual pre-‐schools have an advantage over those who do not. If the Department of EducaFon is truly serious about creaFng a bilingual populaFon, it should look carefully at the pre-‐

schools where linguisFc skills are established. It should also consider cable TV and closed-‐capFon DVDs as learning tools, since the present generaFon is heavily influenced by the English heard via these audiovisual media.

Let us now consider establishing literacy in L1 before teaching literacy in L2.

4.0 Establishing literacy in L1 before teaching literacy in L2

UNESCO’s 1953 guidelines state: “Mother tongue instrucFon is essenFal for iniFal instrucFon and literacy and should be extended to as late a stage in educaFon as possible.” (UNESCO, 1953, p. 68) Its 2003 EducaFon PosiFon Paper declares that:

Studies have shown that, in many cases, instrucFon in the mother tongue is beneficial to language competencies in the first language,

Ideally, all children would be exposed to two or more languages at home from infancy. Bilingual first language acquisiKon has many benefits.



achievement in other subject areas, and second language learning. (UNESCO, 2003a, p. 15)

The UNESCO bulleFn Educa3on Today addiFonally asserts that:

Years of research have shown that children who begin their educaFon in their mother tongue make a beèr start, and conFnue to perform beèr, than those for whom school starts with a new language. The same applies to adults seeking to become literate. (UNESCO, 2003b, p. 1)

On the other hand, we also know that L2 instrucFon should be iniFated as early as material, social, and educaFonal condiFons permit so as to favor the likelihood of a posiFve, enjoyable, and non-‐threatening learning experience (Singleton 1992). Thus the issue becomes one of balancing L1 and L2 development.

Because of serious economic limitaFons, publ ic schools in Puerto Rico are oKen characterized by deficient infrastructure, lack of well-‐trained and consistent staffing, and lack of teaching materials. Given this reality, it makes sense to devote resources to providing a higher quality educaFon in Spanish. A good foundaFon in Spanish develops the content knowledge and language awareness needed to make input in English meaningful. In addiFon, since the concept of “literacy” is only acquired once and then generalized to other languages, developing strong literacy skills in Spanish helps to jumpstart the process of acquiring literacy skills in English. The similarity in alphabets, physical orientaFon of text, and overall literacy convenFons further insure a transfer of literacy skills from Spanish to English.

This leads us to a consideraFon of the role of language arts in the curriculum.

5.0 Language arts as foundaKon of curriculum

L an gua ge A r t s ( L A ) i n c l u de o ra l communicaFon, phonics and fluency, vocabulary, grammar and wrièn convenFons, reading

comprehension, and wriFng. LA must be given curricular priority because they are the basis for all other learning. The enFre process of pre-‐university educaFon is a linguisFc process in which students acquire the vocabulary and concepts which permit abstract thinking, academic discourse, and analysis. Without language, the content associated with other school subjects cannot be imparted.

Of parFcular importance (and oKen ignored in LA curricula) are certain sociolinguisFc issues I presented back in 1996 in a paper Ftled “New routes to fostering bilingualism: Developing language awareness among the Puerto Rican people,” namely:

1. percepFon of language as a system of human communicaFon

2. recogniFon of linguisFc resources and their funcFons in different communiFes

3. awareness of the role of context in communicaFon

4. appreciaFon of language variaFon both locally and world-‐wide

5. noFons of standard language and norms and the limitaFons of these

6. language comparison and contrasFve analysis as a learning aid

7. the history and contemporary significance of Spanish, English, and other languages

(Pousada, 1996, p. 25)

It should be noted that these language awareness skills must be developed in both Spanish and English if we are to take seriously the task of creaFng bilingual ciFzens in Puerto Rico.

Let us now consider the relaFve status of Spanish and English world-‐wide.

6.0 Two world languages in Puerto Rico

A world language is spoken internaFonally, has many L1 and L2 language speakers, is broadly distributed geographically, and is heavily represented in internaFonal organizaFons. By all



these criteria, Spanish is a world class language with about 358 million L1 users, another 95 million L2 users (Lewis, 2009), and an extensive presence globally. It is the official language in twenty countries and spoken elsewhere as L2 or L3. It is also one of the six official languages of the United NaFons.

I would like to state here clearly my firm convicFon that Spanish in Puerto Rico has nothing to fear from English, provided that the people of Puerto Rico conFnue to teach it to their children at home and make sure their schools approach Spanish as the dynamic and ever-‐changing treasure that it is instead of preserving it as a museum piece, which is the surest way to turn children away from a language. Arguments against bilingual educaFon based upon the noFon of “threat” are groundless. We do not need to go into “red alert” s imp l y be cau se we a re teaching English. However, bilingual educaFon programs need to be well-‐thought out, properly staffed with highly competent teachers, and stocked with appropriate, culturally relevant materials and modern technology. I leave it to the reader to decide whether the current bilingual project in Puerto Rico meets these criteria.

And this leads us inexorably to the quesFon of poliFcs.

7.0 The poliKcizaKon of bilingualism in Puerto Rico

While all poliFcal parFes in Puerto Rico acknowledge the importance of learning English and support Spanish maintenance, there are differences in public policy. PromoFng English in the schools simultaneously with a status plebiscite lent support to the incumbent administraFon’s goal of making PR the 51st state, and one may be forgiven for thinking that the hasFly organized

project was inspired more by ideology than pedagogy. This percepFon is confirmed by a post-‐elecFon salutaFon by Mauro E. Mujica, Chairman of U.S. English, voice of the English-‐only movement, in an arFcle subFtled “English is the next step to statehood”:

Historically, when the United States has considered admirng a state with a large non-‐English speaking populaFon, such territories first had to concede to language-‐related condiFons. In Puerto Rico, more than 2.7 million residents, or 80 percent of the populaFon, are considered limited English proficient. Seventy-‐one percent of households are considered linguisKcally

i so lated [my emphas is ] , meaning no one aged 14 and older speaks English very well. With a clear non-‐English speaking majority, Puerto Rico should expect to be no different when it comes to language requirements prior to statehood consideraFon.

In order to ensure that Puerto Rico would work seamlessly with the other 50 states, the territory should prepare to funcFon as an English-‐speaking

state. Without English proficiency, a resident of the United States is not only unable to parFcipate fully in the democraFc process, but they are also less likely to achieve the social and economic success for which our naFon is known. The United States cannot, and should not, accept a state in which a majority of ciFzens are unable to speak the common language in this country: English.”

(U.S. English to Puerto Rico, 2012)

Now that the electoral tables have turned again, it remains to be seen what the new governor

...Spanish in Puerto Rico has nothing to fear from English, provided that the people of Puerto Rico conKnue to teach it to their children at home and make sure their schools approach Spanish as the dynamic and ever-‐changing treasure that it is instead of preserving it as a museum piece...



will do in terms of school language policy. Will the baby be tossed out with the bathwater? Will it be “borrón y cuenta nueva”? and back to the drawing board?

8.0 Concrete soluKons to the impasse

I offer the following recommendaFons in order to depoliFcize the language debate in Puerto Rico and base policies on the inherently posiFve aspects of knowing more than one language rather than on the vicissitudes of parFsan poliFcs.

• Treat both Spanish and English as living, breathing organisms that must be nourished and allowed to develop naturally

• Avoid placing the two languages in compeFFon by assigning presFgious funcFons to one and not the other.

• Foment posiFve artudes toward both languages so that children feel pride in each.

• Teach children to read and write in Spanish first, since it has greater symbol-‐to-‐sound correspondence. Later, when wri`en English is introduced, they will already have the noFon of “sounding out words” and can begin to process the inconsistencies of English spelling.

• Focus on play, art, and physical movement in the early grade English classes so the children begin to savor the sound of the language and view it as fun.

• Build oral English skills first and then add wri`en skills.

• Help children become aware of language structure and funcFon in both Spanish and English, so they can see the commonaliFes and differences in their two languages. This will open them to later acquisiFon of addiFonal languages.

• Encourage older children to acquire disciplined language study habits, to use

dicFonaries independently, and to be aware of their own learning styles and limitaFons.

• Expand the literature presented in the public schools to include the creaFve prose and poetry of the Anglophone Caribbean, so that Puerto Rican children can understand that English is not the sole property of the U.S.

• UFlize teaching materials created here in Puerto Rico, so that children can learn both English and Spanish in culturally relevant ways.

9.0 Conclusion

I hope that I have given the reader food for thought and that some of these ideas become part of the educaFonal policies of the Puerto Rican educaFonal system that teachers are charged with implemenFng.

Sources cited

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Grosjean, F. (2010). Bilingual: Life and reality. Cambridge & London: Cambridge University Press.

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Dearborn. Retrieved on November 5, 2012 from: h`p://strazny.com/encyclopedia/sample-‐region.html

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Lee Eu Fah, E. Profile of the Singapore Chinese Dialects", Singapore Department of Sta3s3cs, Social Sta3s3cs Sec3on. Retrieved on April 14, 2011 from h`p://www.howardsco`.net/4/Swatow_A_Co lon i a l _Her i tage/F i l e s /DocumentaFon/Lee%20Eu%20Fah.pdf

Lewis, M. P. (Ed.). (2009). Ethnologue: Languages of the world, 16th edi3on. Dallas, TX: SIL InternaFonal. Online version: h`p://www.ethnologue.com/ .

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digital divide. Language in India, 4 (4). Retrieved on November 7, 2012 from: h`p://www.languagein india .com/apr i l2004/kathmandupaper1.html

Mallikarjun, B. (2004b). FiKy years of language planning for modern Hindi: The official language of India. Language in India, 4 (11). Retrieved on November 7, 2012 from: h`p://www. language in ind ia . com/nov2004/mallikarjunmalaysiapaper1.html

Pousada, A. (1996). New routes to fostering bilingualism: Developing language awareness among the Puerto Rican people. In Fiet, L., Pousada, A., & Haiman, A. (Eds.). (1996). Rethinking English in Puerto Rico (pp. 21-‐27). Rio Piedras, PR: University of Puerto Rico. A v a i l a b l e a t : h ` p : / /aliciapousada.weebly.com/arFcles.html

Science Bulle3ns: Language in the brain (video featuring Dr. Joy Hirsh, Neuroradiologist, Columbia University). Retrieved on November 1, 2012 from: h`p://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WK29RAKDzf8&feature=related

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Southern Chapter newsEdward Torres, President

Visit h`p://southern.prtesol.angelfire.com/

Thirty teachers from the Department of EducaKon from the Ponce School District afended the profess ional development session: “The 3R’s in Teaching: ReflecKng, Re-‐examining, and Re-‐invigoraKng yourself.” The session was presente by Prof. Edward Torres, 2012 Southern Chater President and 2013 PRTESOL Vice-‐president.

http://strazny.com/encyclopedia/sample-region.html




http://www.kotus.fi/?l=en&s=1




http://www.howardscott.net/4/Swatow_A_Colonial_Heritage/Files/Documentation/Lee%20Eu%20Fah.pdf






http://www.ethnologue.com/




http://www.languageinindia.com/april2004/kathmandupaper1.html






http://www.languageinindia.com/nov2004/mallikarjunmalaysiapaper1.html






http://aliciapousada.weebly.com/articles.html




http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WK29RAKDzf8&feature=related




http://www.singstat.gov.sg/pubn/popn/C2010sr1/cop2010sr1.pdf






http://unesdoc.unesco.org/images/0012/001297/129728e.pdf




http://www.unesco.org/education/education_today/ed_today6.pdf




http://www.us-english.org/view/924




http://southern.prtesol.angelfire.com





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