More Second Language Acquisition Fun

Cem Alptekin's article "Towards intercultural communicative competence in ELT" discusses the problems with "the pedagogic model based on the native speaker-based notion of communicative competence" (57). Alptekin outlines the four competencies in language that a person must have to be considered proficient (according to this theory) as grammatical, which is the knowlege of syntactic, lexical, morphological, and phonological features, sociolinguistic, which is the social rules of language use, discourse, which is being able to hold a conversation, and strategic competence, which is the ability to overcome gaps in information or misunderstandings to continue the conversation.

Alptekin sees this theory as a problem in education, especially in teaching English as a Foreign Language. The fact that the goal of communicative competence requires enculturation ignores the many different dialects in English, assuming an air of utopia and "that one set of language patterns is somehow inherently superior to all others"(59). Alptekin argues that there is no perfect native speaker and quotes Rajagopalan who says that it could be considered "the visible tip of an insidious ideological iceberg" (60). Another issue is that it does not consider the different purposes of English for people around the world, especially as a business language between two nonnative speakers. American or British social norms would have no effect on their conversation, thus it is not important to help these speakers in learning English.

Alptekin offers up some new criteria for a new pedagogic model for teaching English for the purpose of "international and intercultural communication." English in this situation should not be taught by a monolingual native speaker, it should aim to make learners comfortable speaking English in any setting, and it should incorporate the background of the language learner (63).

I thought this article was interesting, but relatively vague. I would have preferred to see some examples of lessons that taught without culture imbedded in it. I also thought that this was not applicable for my goal of teaching English as a Second Language in the United States. I will have to be constantly thinking about my lessons in terms of culture so my students can be successful here. Alptekin also brings up the fact that many places are coming up with their own rendition of English, such as German English and Dutch English, as a means of using English without the culture of native English speaking nations and with "distinctive features in the areas of pronunciation, lexis, syntax, and pragmatics." Alptekin does not think this is necessarily a solution and that English needs to be taught as "an international language, whose culture becomes the world itself" (62). I don't believe this to be possible, though. To learn a language you need context and culture has a lot to do with context. The language will be shaped in the perspective of whoever is teaching it. I was exposed somewhat recently to Jamaican English and found it extremely difficult to understand and it makes me wonder about the other versions of English, even someday a possible International English. I would have to learn Jamaican English to be able to effectively communicate with someone who speaks that version of English. If we don't keep some sort of standard for teaching English internationally, when does English stop becoming English and start becoming a whole other language?