Hi and welcome back to another week! Hope you are handling this quarantine thing better than me (who knows how long we will be held hostage in our homes) haha JK. Everyday is going by so fast, it feels like April is coming to an end already when it just started. On the more positive side this means summer is fast aproaching! I’m happy to dive back into the semester and finish strong.
So What Has Darline Been Up to?
I’ve done some free writing this past two weeks reflecting on my childhood experiences as an ESL learner. The first free-write is posted in a previous blog post (so check that out when you get a chance). The second free write I completed on a scrap page sheet and didn’t get to upload a document of my thoughts. Even so, what I noticed between the two free-writes is the determination I had to learn the language. Going to school eaveryday for me was exciting (perfect attendance four years straight)! Growing up I felt that the only barrier between me and society was not being able to communicate. I was nervous to go outside because my neighbors were playing and speaking English and I didn’t know how to interact that way. My classmates at school were making jokes in English and I couldn’t laugh because I didn’t understand. I also didn’t enjoy doing other things because of the language barrier. School for me was my safe haven, my classroom specifically was my sanctuary. There my teachers spoke to me in French and encouraged me to keep learning. Looking back now I understand that elementary work was easy but at the time it was difficult for me.
Another comparison I noticed between the two free writes was the involvement of my family in my education. From elementary to high school my family was very involved in my learning studies and the activities I was involved with at school. They came out to parent-teacher conferences, school plays, choir, and summer activities. It was important for them to stay on top of how I am learning in school. I believe that is another reason why I was more progressive in ESL classes.
Moving Forward
Capturing my childhood experiences is a quintessential step for forming the background of my autoethnography. It is the rooted seed needed to build a bigger tree. In this next step, I created a list of interview questions that are neutral to ask three different groups of people. That is me, an ESL teacher and ESL learner.
- What if the ESL classroom did not exist?
- Why do you believe ESL learners struggle with language in the classroom?
- What is your greatest fear about learning a different language?
- What would have to change in order for immigrant students to acclimate to American education without needing ESL classes?
- What did you assume about ESL learning?
- How important is the ESL classroom?
- How might you incorporate language learning into social learning?
- What is your greatest challenge being in an ESL classroom?
- How important is the background of an ESL teacher? and how does it affect the classroom?
- Do you believe all immigrant students need ESL learning?
Grounded Theory
These questions serve as a tool for case analysis. Case analysis is part of qualitative research, a method rooted in theories of autoethnography. In the book Constructing Grounded Theory: A Practical Guide Through Qualitative Analysis author Kathy Charmaz presents a detailed outline of how to conduct qualitative research in an autoethnography. In the second chapter of the book “Gathering Rich Data,” she explains how intensive interviewing is a method of research. In the chapter, she also presents a sample diagram of grounded theory interview questions about a life change. The purpose of the diagram is to show how textual analysis contributes to a competent research study. Furthermore, this chapter describes the proper procedures and techniques necessary to understand this research concept. Though the process seems extensive and requires much time it has to be done accurately and precisely in order to do good case analysis.
Darline's Thesis Creation 