E OL Teacher Cand idates S Experience Cultural Otherness

Debra Suarez
ow does it feel to be the cultural and linguistic other? What is it like to be in a classroom where you cannot understand a word the teacher is saying and feel self-conscious in your social interactions with other students? ESOL teachers are aware that a feeling of cultural otherness plays an important role in the lives and learning of ESOL students living outside their native countries. Cultural otherness often makes students feel marginal, disconnected, and unsure of what is going on. This is discussed in the professional literature and illustrated, all too often, in the daily interactions of ESOL students with their mainstream peers. But what does cultural otherness feel like? What does it feel like to leave your home and go off to another country and place? To learn another lan guage and negotiate a foreign culture?

Walking in Their Shoes

Twenty-two MA TESOL candidates from a university in the southeastern United States did just that. To explore aspects of cultural otherness that ESOL students often experience, they left their homes and families to participate in a summer cultural/linguistic immersion program in Mkrida, Venezuela. This program, designed specifically for ESOL teacher candidates in U.S. contexts, seeks to develop teachers cultural competency by having them experience aspects of cultural otherness. T walk in ESOL students shoes, so to o speak, these MA TESOL candidates lived with host families, attended beginning Spanish classes, negotiated target culture activities, kept a journal, and wrote a reflection paper. This article shares the rationale, objectives, organiza tion, and components of this 3-week immersion program. I developed the program and guided the group while they were in Mkrida. This article aims to be usehl for teachers, teacher candidates, and teacher educators by providing specific examples of the program design, assignments, and activities that focused on the development of cultural Competency. I hope to demonstrate the value of interna tional cultural and linguistic immersion experiences in ESOL teacher education and professional development.

Experiences o Cultural Otherness as f an Avenue to Cultural Competency

As the U.S. student population has become more culturally
and linguistically diverse, culture has become an issue of
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greater importance for educators. This demographic change has influenced national and state standards for teacher education programs, including programs that prepare L2 teachers (Campbell, 1996; Valdes, 1995). To meet the standards set by accrediting agencies, such as the National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education (NCATE), ESOL teacher education programs must account for how their teacher candidates will gain various critical competen cies. Most standards include cultural competency. There is no single definition for cultural competency within teacher education. Nonetheless, to ask What is cultural competency? is inevitably to look at how teachers effectively address diversity and cultural issues in their classrooms. ESOL teachers may demonstrate cultural competency through their understanding of culture in the process of learning a L2 or by their knowledge of method ologies for teaching language and culture together (Byram & Morgan, 1994) and how they weave this knowledge into their instruction. The theme of cultural competency can be found in many of the discussions in recent ESOL literature. TESOL /oumal, for instance, has published several articles that describe cultural challenges in the classroom and solutions that rely upon the cultural competency of teachers. Coffey (1999), for example, describes the importance of building a cultural community, a space for meaningful communica tion, for those who do not share a common worldview. Ortmeir (2000) presents Project Homeland, a writing project that can be used by teachers wishing to create a sense of community and validate our students cultures (p. 11). And Kubota, Gardner, Patten, Thatcher-Fettig, and Yoshida (2000) offer a shock language activity (p. 12), a simulated experience in which mainstream peers are taught in a different language and a different culture to raise their awareness of the linguistic, cultural, and academic chal lenges that ESOL students experience. What are some ways that ESOL teacher preparation programs can help teacher candidates develop cultural competency? In addition to courses that allow the opportu nity to study about the teaching and learning of culture, MA TESOL programs can provide opportunities to experi ence aspects of cultural otherness. Cultural and linguistic otherness can be defined as the feeling of being marginal, not understanding the implicit rules, not knowing the. unspoken-r even the importance of the unspoken. To step outside of ones own culture is often to experience cultural otherness. The importance of moving beyond ones
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own cultural perspectives cannot be overemphasized, particularly for educators who wish to encourage accom modations for culturally and linguistically marginalized students. As Kubota et al. (2000) state, [Iln school and society, it is often the marginalized who are forced to adapt

stand the implications of cultural competency for teaching ESOL in U.S. contexts.

Curriculum
The curriculum consisted of the following cultural and linguistic educational activities:

The importance of moving beyond ones own cultural perspectives cannot be overemphasized,particularly for educators who wish to encourage accommodations for culturally and linguistically marginalized students.
to the dominant norm. However, in a truly democratic society, accommodation is a two-way process (p. 13). The movement beyond ones cultural perspectives can happen most dramatically through study abroad. Several studies support the significant positive effects of study abroad upon cultural attitudes (Austin, 1989; Carlson, 199 1; Kauffman & Kuh, 1984; Miller, 1993). Given the positive effects, authors suggest that L2 teachers be given opporrunities for intercultural and cross-cultural experi ences via study or travel abroad, summer institutes, and seminars (Tedick & Tischer, 1996). Scholars have even suggested that teacher preparation programs expand their criteria for graduation beyond language proficiency and academic achievement to include experiences with different cultures (both in the United States and abroad) (Caine & Zarate, 1996; Lange, 1991; Phillips & Lafayette, 1996). Hence, it seems that a carefully designed international study abroad program could be a critical experience for ESOL teacher candidates.

living with host families, including taking daily

meals with them
attending Spanish classes (with peer-bilingual
tutoring)
participating in school tours
engaging in student teaching
participating in target culture activities
keeping a guided, daily journal
The program culminated in a final paper, designed to encourage reflection upon firsthand experiences.

Teacher Candidates
Twenty-two MA TESOL candidates (20 women, 2 men) participated in the Mtrida program. Their ages ranged from early-twenties to mid-fifties, with the majority in their late twenties. All but two taught ESOL (most of them part time). Two were international students (from Brazil and Guatemala) who were planning to teach ESOL in U.S. schools. Twenty were U.S.-born. Although some partici pants had varying degrees of Spanish competency, the majority were monolingual English speakers. Each had received a competitive, prestigious graduate fellowship to pursue their masters degree. Most had never been outside of the United States, and, for many, the classrooms in which they were teaching constituted their most significant experience with cultural and linguistic diversity.

Program Description
This program was held in Mtrida, Venezuela, because our MA TESOL candidates were working with ESOL students primarily from Latin America. Our university collaborated with the International Studies Office of a Venezuelan university. This program took a year to develop and was held during the summer of 2000. The primary features of the program are presented below, including the objectives, curriculum, teacher candidate profiles, and reflection paper assignment.

Final Reflection Paper

The purpose of the reflection paper was to encourage the teacher candidates to make connections between their cross-cultural experiences and their own ESOL teaching (Figure 1). The paper, based o n the participants experience in Mbrida, ensured that this 3-week program constituted a cross-cultural, experiential learning program-not a vaca tion. As Wilson (1982) describes in her seminal work on creating cross-cultural experiential learning: A summer trip to Europe does not necessarily a global
perspective make. Persons are more likely to learn from ex perience when they are prepared for the experience, engage in educational activities during the experience, and evaluate the experience . . . Experiences become experiential learning upon reflection-mulling over, wondering about, and confirming or changing ones previously held ideas. (p. 185)

0bjecfives
The purpose of this program was to enable MA TESOL candidates to experience aspects of cultural ot mess in preparation for becoming teachers of culturally nd linguistically diverse students in the United States. The objectives of the curriculum were to enable the teacher candidates to experience, identify, and analyze challenges related to language, schooling, and culture, and to under

ba

The reflection paper was the culminating activity, written within 2 weeks after returning home. With the exception of Sarahs program evaluation (see Cultural
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public transportation, maps, schedules, and conversations with local residents. Home-stays, more so than dormitory or hotel residence, necessitated interaction in everyday life, therefore providing a more genuine experience as the cultural/linguistic other.

Aftending Spanish Classes

Beginning-level Spanish language instruction helped facilitate the desired experience of being the linguistic other. The programs Spanish teacher had taught international students for many years and, as a monolingual Spanish speaker, provided a Spanish-only classroom. In this pro gram, she attempted to simulate the experience of an English-only classroom. During the lessons, she used a variety of L2 teaching methods. After each lesson, she organized the class into small groups, using the more competent Spanish speakers as peer tutors. The teacher candidates had the expected difficulties with monolingual Spanish lessons, At first, they cheerfully and enthusiastically tried to figure out the lessons. However, as the Spanish class progressed, there were some surprising developments: For a few of the teacher candidates, cheerhlness soon dissipated and enthusiasm waned. During the last few days, three of the teacher candidates did not want to attend Spanish class because their lack of Spanish proficiency made them feel confused, despite the fact that the Spanish teacher provided a warm classroom environment. They were worried about their progress. Spanish class took a lot of energy. They felt embarrassed to speak in class. As one wrote, I was the student with a teacher that did not speak my language. It was scary. I would get so nervous when she would call on me (Lisa, final reflection paper, 7/27/00). Significantly, the teacher candidates universally recog nized that their own reactions to Spanish class were similar to the behaviors they had observed in their own ESOL students, behaviors that they had attributed to other causes, such as being inattentive or lacking motivation. Another teacher candidate wrote, I was exhausted . . . . I will never forget those Spanish classes. When I see a student tuning me out, I will search for ways to reach him or her without putting them on the spot (Calli, final reflection paper, 71

Figure 1 Directions for final reflection paper.

I

Otherness: Final Reflections, p. 23), all of the participants comments and written excerpts come only from the final papers.

Program Activities
The following program activities were designed and implemented to meet specific goals in support of program objectives.*

Living With Host Families

The program promoted living with host families as a critical way for participants to experience elements of cultural and linguistic otherness. By living with host families, the teacher candidates needed to discover how to communicate with the families during mealtimes and outings. For many, the host family experience prompted unexpected insights. As one participant describes:

I had to think of a way to let my host family know of my upcoming schedule. I decided to write it down using the dictionary. This seemed so much easier than trying to say the words. . . . [My host mom] read my letter and nodded with understanding. Later that night, [she] invited me to watch television with her. She actually talked to me, and I understood what she was telling me . . . . I was probably experiencing feelings my ESL students have when they finally have communicated and been understood. (Lisa, final reflection paper, 7/27/00).
Living with host families also meant that the teacher candidates had to navigate their way around the city, traveling from home to school, making site visits, and visiting other locations. To do so, they needed to negotiate

22/00).
One teacher candidate made the following observation: On the eve of the final class, it finally dawned on me what this whole experience was about. I suddenly became the foreign student in my own classroom who could not understand the teacher, could not read her writing, and did not have a clue as to what was going on around her. I immediately understood why Eduardo continued to cut up during my class or why Wei insisted on making paper airplanes instead of learning his multiplication tables. This is without a doubt one of the most valuable lessons I have learned from any class I have ever been involved [sic]. (Paula, final reflection paper, 7/24/00)

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School Tours
The program provided school tours so that the teacher candidates could experience firsthand how school settings vary around the world and how ESOL students expecta tions might differ from those of their teachers. The teacher candidates visited a mixture of private and public school settings: a private, all-girls Catholic school; a public elementary school in a poor section of town; a public K-12 school on the rural outskirts of town; and a private or phanage school. At these sites, they observed a variety of instructional moments: an EFL class (approximately 6th grade), a Spanish language class, a speech class, an EFL class taught in a language lab, and a classroom testing session. After the classroom observations, the teacher candidates conversed in small groups with the Venezuelan children and teachers. In the evenings, the teacher candidates would recon vene with a Venezuelan professor of TEFL to discuss the schools and classes they had observed. They noted the physical settings, the students and behaviors, the teaching methodology, and the roles of the teachers and students. They reflected upon how their observations challenged some of their deeply held cultural notions about schools and schooling contexts. This point was made most poignantly on one particular issue: In the schools the teacher candidates visited, it was quite common for the classroom teachers to occasionally put an arm around a student while talking or to hug a child who seemed upset. This is so different from behaviors between teachers and students in the United States. The teacher candidates commented that they will not touch a child in their own classrooms, even though at times they feel such a small gesture might give reassurance to a student. There was a feeling of sad recognition when the teacher candidates considered the possibility that U.S. classrooms may feel cold and distant to a child coming from another classroom setting. The candidates discussed how this might negatively affect students learning and alternative ways to demonstrate approval and reassurance in ways that are appropriate for a U.S. cultural setting. As one candidate reasoned, [This might] explain why my students many times feel a need to work with someone. They must doubly feel a need to get assistance . . . . Group work and coopera tive learning seem to be a natural classroom state and culturally accepted (Kerri, final reflection paper, 7/21/OO).

The student teaching component gave the teacher candidates some insights into the pedagogy and practices of other cultures and implications for their own future teaching. For example, one teacher candidate questioned why her own students may have communication difficul ties, even though they had studied English in their home countries: The professors method was definitely grammar translation. However, for his purposes, this was the best that could be done. He had only one semester, and his goal was to give his students attack skills suitable for comprehension of written material in their discipline [accounting] . . . . But now I can see the effects of the rote learning and drill methods. For the students to have had five years of English language instruc tion and to be so reluctant to actually try their English skills shows that these methods alone are not enough. (Ruth, final reflection paper, 7/21/00)

Target Culture Activities

The teacher candidates conducted target culture activities designed to guide them through their observation and examination of, and reflection on, the implicit cultural rules and expectations of daily life, from the perspective of the outsider (Figure 2). They presented their results in pairs. One pair reported on the cultural intricacies of buying postage stamps. Another pair reported on riding the bus. Each pair described how they violated implicit and unknown rules. The target culture reports were humorous because the teacher candidates violations were not serious offenses, as determined by the tolerant reactions of the local residents. The target culture activity also prompted more serious inquiry into the feelings of being a cultural other. After the Annoying the Locals? activity, one teacher candidate commented, This past weekend I have been particularly aware of being conspicuous, of sticking out, of being different. It is a bizarre position to be in, to attract atten tion just because of how you look. She continued her reflection, connecting her experience as cultural other to her teaching:
It doesnt bother me all the time ... but thinking about the affect [sic] this had on me personally, I wonder if my ESL students ever felt the same way? Do they ever get over that uneasiness of sticking out, being noticed, or do they just learn to ignore the feeling?It would probably be helpful for at least some of my students if I designed some lessons and writing assignments centered around a topic that would address this issue in some way. (Della, final reflection paper, 7/00)

Student Teaching
The teacher candidates participated in cross-cultural exchanges with Venezuelan teachers. Because they had arrived in Mkrida toward the end of the K-12 school year, the teacher candidates assisted in adult EFL settings, some at a local college. Others assisted at a hotel management school. The candidates observed and taught minilessons. The U.S. teacher candidates and Venezuelan teachers often met outside of class to continue their exchange of ideas.

Guided Journal
The guided journal activity encouraged daily reflection and recording of experiences and emotions. The teacher candi dates wrote at least one guided journal entry per day. They
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Directions

Work in pairs. Incorporatethe descr n and your ieflection of the actlvlfy I Periodically,we wlll allow tlme IrZ.%lass

such as physlcal distance,touchlng, facial expressions, politeness, eye contact, hand motions. At times, you be a partlclpantobserver. Ask people observe how they interactwlth strangers and wlth North Amerlcans.

speciflc activitlesthaf +All alrow you interactwlth the culture of Mbi activity is deslgned to allow roo and culturalcuriositles.You are,

ActlvHy 3 Tl M , Teacher. : e e

If poss?f%d, Intervlewone of the teachers that you are

working wifh. Deslgnan Interview(In accordance with
the teachers availability) that wlll help you to learn the
teachers bellefs and attitudes about teachlng. Report
the lntervlewand reflect upon how the teachers
hdes may affect his or her decislons in

..

Ith a member o your host family. As you prepare the intervlew, consider how you wlll overcoqe posslble language barriers.

During the course of 1 day, write a list of reactionsto you and the situatlons In which they happened. Based on these reactions, how do you think you are being percelved?Are you percelved as loud, nolsy, rude, e, ignorant, smart, amuslng, rich,

Informationyou recekr mlllar wlth in the

* ?

racterlstlcs and, if avlor of the people Inthem. What does thls revealto you about the host culture, people, and values as compared to the people, and values at home? Figure 2. Target culture activities.

also wrote five additional entries on any relevant topic of their choosing (Figure 3). Writing the requisite guided journal entries was not a favorite activity while in Mtrida because it was time consuming. It was a surprise, therefore, when the teacher candidates commented on the usefulness of systematic recording and reflection for experiential learning. O n e participant noted her appreciation of the journaling activity:

I think that our journaling and keeping our hourly diaries has led to growth in self-awareness. Having to comment on events has forced me to decide what I think about them instead of simply letting them pass before my eyes. Writing down my reactions has given me the opportunity to reflect on those reactions later. (Ruth, final reflection paper, 7121/00)

How one evaluates this trip really depends on the desired outcome of the Venezuelan experience. Yes, the bus trips were long and difficult, but were they any longer or more difficult than the means of transportation taken by our students when they came to the U.S.? Trying to get around town was confusing and stressful, but how long did it take our students to learn how to successfully get around our fair towns?The Spanish class was way too advanced for us, but . . . . How many !ours, days, and weeks have our students sat in classes that were totally incomprehensible?We definitely got to sit in their seats . . . . If the overall purpose of the trip was to help me walk in my students shoes and feel their pain, I will boldly proclaim-MISSION ACCOMPLISHED!!! (Sarah, evaluation report)

Cultural Otherness: Final Reflections

The teacher candidates completed postevaluations of the program. Sarahs Evaluation of the Venezuela Trip ex presses, for her, how the activities met the overall objectives:
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Program Limitations
The program provided the teacher candidates with oppor tunities to experience cultural and linguistic otherness in preparation for becoming teachers of culturally and linguis tically diverse students in U.S. settings. It accomplished
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1. Enroute (given on the airplane)-Everyone must complete thls entry before reachingCaracas. What are you anticipating?Write about your expected learning experience, your host family and the experience of living with them, the cities you will see, conditions,transportation, travel, and schools. Record in detail your preconceptions,expectations, fears, excitements,and hopes.Think in terms of what you expect to see, feel, smell, taste, and touch. 2. Beauty-Describe in detail what you find beautiful around you. Include descriptions of indoors, outdoors, daytime and nighttimescenes, persons, places, things, and what you have experiencedwith your five senses.
3. Language-Refiect on language strategles you

because such experiences are ongoing, their feelings of otherness are often permanent. As members of a dominant society, U.S. citizens often maintain a certain sense of power in their social identity, even in situations where they are the other. ESOL students, however, often experience a power differential. A significant learning outcome of the program was that the reacher candidates recognized these limitations on their own, as expressed by one participant: Although I do think that we can better empathize, we will never fully understand what o u r students go through. Yes, I struggled with the language, missed my home, missed my culture, and felr lost in the crowd. However, 1 had a lot of supports that my LEI students do not when they are often snatched from what they call home: I had a sufficient amount of money; friends with me all the time that spoke my language; the natives actually enjoyed our presence; I had a comfortable place to live; and a plane ticket to go home. (Barbara, final reflection paper, 7/2 1 /OO)

are using and that you see your host family and others using as they attempt to communicatewith you. Describe each strategy and discuss Its benefits or drawbacks.
4. Frustrating-Have you experienced any anger or frustration? What caused it, and what did you do about it? If you have not, why do you think things are going so smoothly for you?

5. Amusing or Embarrassing-What have you found amusing or embarrassing?If you were directly involved, how did you handle it?
6. Condition-How are you? Consider your physlcal.

A program can frame ideas of cultural otherness in the literature. It can impart elements of cultural otherness through immersion. However, a program is limited in important ways. As Denise writes in her final reflection paper, 1 cant possibly imagine everything that my students go through. I wont pretend to.

Conclusion and Future Directions

There are alternate ways to introduce prospective ESOL teachers to intercultural living, work, and study experi ences. For example, U.S. teacher education programs might consider domestic immersion programs, which take advan tage of local cultural diversity by placing teacher candidates in diverse community settings for teaching practicums or community service (Melnick & Zeichner, 1996). Another option is to require candidates to complete experiences prior to admission to MA TESOL programs by serving as Peace Corps or Americorps volunteers, or by participating in study abroad programs. These options constitute differ ent kinds of cross-cultural experiences with different advantages. However, our experiences suggest that interna tional cultural/linguistic immersion programs are valuable when they are aligned with curricular objectives, include well-designed activities, and provide opportunities for reflection. As one teacher candidate in our program wrote: Stepping outside of our comfort zone (the culture and the language of our birth) can be a scary thought. Its much like hang gliding off a mountain for the first time, but once we jump, we discover that we will never be the same. Being immersed in a different world even for a short period of three weeks can change the way we view life and the world around us. (Sarah, final reflection paper, 7/21/00) Any voyage that encourages us to rethink our beliefs, including our basic assumptions about culture, life, and our place in the world, can make us better teachers and is a trip worth taking.
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emotional, and mental state. Describe these In detail and talk about your responseor reaction to each condition.
7. Surprise-What has surprisedyou most? 8. Change-If you could change Something about Merida,what would it be and why? Do not limit yourself.Pretend anything Is possible. 9. Gift-If you could give a gift to your host family, the children, or someone else you have met, what would it be and why? No limits here. Everythingis possible.
10. Return-How soon would you like to returnto Merida?Why?
11. Final Entry-Compare your anticipation entry to your actual experience. How accurate were your preconceptions?Why do you think your experience comparesas it does to your anticipation?

Figure 3. Sample guided journal prompts

this to varying degrees with each participant. However, as most of the participants discovered, there are limits to truly understanding what an ESOL student is experiencing at the deepest levels. The teacher candidates experiences of feeling like the other were different from ESOL students cspcriences in important ways: The teacher candidates experiences were temporary, whereas for ESOL students,
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