FL 663 Rebeca R. Hill Review and Relevante Everything in life is about balance.

e. If you tip the scales to one side or the other trouble is usually at the end of the e!uation. It is no different in learning a second language. In the article A restricted curriculum for second language learners a self-fulfilling teacher strategy?, "sa #edin states that you need to have a balance of $interaction in the classroo% & a classroo% setting that is co%fortable and non' threatening but also there needs to be a curriculu% that is challenging and gives the students an opportunity to develop their language s(ills at a higher level. )his was a proble% when the students she observed were studying the *wedish language. The restricted curriculum that these students are offered in school thus restricts their opportunities to school success. Thus, I argue for a more reflective and critical approach regarding language use in classrooms. +#edin ,--./. 0oes the curriculu% really have an i%pact1 It %ost certainly does. I a% privileged to wor( in a school district with a guaranteed curriculu%. #e have three ele%entary schools in the district one 2unior high school and one high school. 3ur school is a%ong one of best schools in the nation ran(ed a%ong ,4 --- H.*. in "%erica. 5ew Hartford *enior High *chool was a%ong the schools ran(ed with a silver rating for acade%ic standing. )his is in part to the type of curriculu% that we offer beginning in the ele%entary level. +6isit us on'line at www.newhartfordschools.org/. #e are a district that believes you can7t tip the scales in 2ust one direction it has to be balanced. *uccessful education has %any different faces curriculu% is one of those. #eding also %entions that Students linguistic development through school may !e descri!ed as a development from ordinary conte"ts to university conte"ts #Schleppegrell $%%&' or as going from conversations that involve e"change of o!(ects, here and no), to conversations that involve e"change of information, there and then #*i!!ons $%%+'. The challenge for teachers and schools is to create !ridges !et)een everyday language and academic language. +#eding ,--./. "s a secondary education teacher it is %y 2ob to e%power %y students to have the necessary s(ills they are going to need for college. #e want our students to be life learners not tas( test %e%ori8ers.

*o whether you are in the secondary classroo% or as an adult learner in the classroo% curriculu% %atters. "nother face of education is critical practices in the classroo%. Rogers and 9ra%er did so%e e:cellent observations of nine case studies in *t. Louis were several teachers used practices that were outstanding. $)he authors solicited no%inees of e:e%plary adult education teachers a%ong their peers in *t. Louis selected a final cohort of nine and provided rich ethnographic descriptions of each all of who% are wo%en ranging fro% young to elderly relative novice to veteran educators. )hey place this wor( in the tradition of 5ew Literacy *tudies a turn in the field that represents a shift away fro% deconte:tuali8ed literacies and toward social literacies.& +Rogers and 9ra%er ,--;/. How did they do it1 *o%e teachers that were observed were teachers that had little or no e:perience other than for%al schooling. Following is a description of that Rogers and 9ra%er observed.
The case studies range from those )ith little or no formal !ac,ground in teacher education to those )ho are in the process of o!taining or )ho have already o!tained their master s degrees. -ach teacher has a great passion for teaching her students ho) to read critically !y infusing their curriculum )ith their students lives and culture. This is a ,ey component of any critical literacy education, and the authors aptly )eave cogent e"amples of ho) this manifests throughout the te"t. In consciously political )ays instructors often incorporate their students histories and lived e"periences as the main content to their courses. The authors aptly point to )ays that teachers deli!erately relate to their students and actively learn from them. The reader learns ho) teachers vie) their role as an ethical, social, and moral responsi!ility. .e see ho) teachers utili/e multiple authentic te"ts across a multitude of genres to relate literacy to their students lives. .ith ne)spapers, sounds, and rhymes of language, teachers tie poetry and music together in )ays that relate to students lives. 0escri!ing ho) teachers validate their students language and openly discuss gender, racial, and economic issues sheds light on critical literacy practices that are often cloa,ed. +Rogers and 9ra%er ,--./.

5ow the !uestion of how does this loo( li(e in %y classroo% arise1 #ell I a% a native fro% <uba. I ca%e to the =nited *tates when I was eight years old. In %y classroo% when we tal( about culture and the <aribbean Islands we ta(e a virtual trip to <uba. I have a >ower>oint >resentation that I show the class. "lso I have a video with other native <ubans that I show the% tal(ing about their e:periences living in a co%%unist country. I%bedded in these lessons is the future tense. For e:a%ple? I will visit <uba so%eday but not until it is free.

)he students have a Frayer @odel to help the% %aneuver through the gra%%ar aspect of the language. I use the Frayer @odel because it deconstructs the tense in a way that it is easy to understand by defining it giving e:a%ples characteristic Afor e:a%ple? I say to %y students that if there is no $will& in English there is no $will& or future tense in *panishB. )he Frayer @odel also lets us see non'e:a%ples of what this tense is not. #e co%pare it to the present tenseCpast tense. )hese are not taught at rando% but in conte:t of a culture lesson. )here are also %any aspects to this lesson that we branch into +I teach in a bloc( schedule at the high school ' .- %inute bloc(s/ and it helps students see real world applications to the language. I do not li(e abstracts. )hey don7t benefit the student. #hen learning about a culture different than our own it is i%perative to as( good !uestions so that students will be engaged in the learning process. @ary Haneda wrote in her Dournal "rticle $Learning over time: empirical and theoretical investigations of classroom talk and interaction that thought is reali8ed over ti%e in interaction with others& +Haneda ,--./. I find this to be very true. #hen we as a class begin discussions on culture different societies govern%ent freedo% or lac( thereof the brain goes to wor( in putting thoughts together to be able to share the spea(ers7 intentCe%otion on the sub2ect being discussed. "lthough 6ygots(y felt that it is over e:tended periods of ti%e AgenerationsB that observations in $seeing, thin,ing, communicating, and learning as social processes1can only !e fully understood !y paying attention to their development over multiple time scales, from the co-construction of a particular thought to the changes that ta,e place across generations in a particular society& +Haneda ,--./ I believe you can see this in a classroo% discussion when as(ing thought provo(ing !uestions. For e:a%ple? In the topic of <uba one !uestion that I as( %y students after having studies a typical student7s life in <uba to the contrast of a typical student7s life in the =.*. %y !uestions is? #hat is one significant change that you would %a(e if you were a student in <uba to pro%ote freedo% of speech and why1 )hey are allowed to ta(e a few %inutes and 2ot down so%e things that co%e to their %ind the process begins. *tudents are then encouraged to share their views.

References? #edin E. +,-4-/. " restricted curriculu% for second language learners a self'fulfilling teacher strategy1. 2anguage 3 -ducation4 An International 5ournal $&+3/ 4F4'4;3. doi?4-.4-;-C-.G--F;-.-3-,63G,. 9et8enberg L. +,-4-/. " Review of $"dult education teachers? designing critical practices&. 2anguage 3 -ducation4 An International 5ournal &+3/ ,6.',F-. doi?4-.4-;-C-.G--F;-.-,F.;;-3. Haneda @. +,--./. Learning over ti%e? e%pirical and theoretical investigations of classroo% tal( and interaction. 2anguage 3 -ducation4 An International 5ournal $6+H/ ,.4',.H. doi?4-.4-;-C-.G--F;-.-,.G,-4,.