Teacher and Neocolonialism
A reflection from the “Primer Seminario Internacional en Metodología de
la Investigación en Lenguaje y Cultura UPTC”
Since I
started this master program, the seminar is the second time that I listen to someone
saying that we, english teachers, are “transmitters
of neocolonialism”, it was in the Dr. Julian Edge Conference. This idea, in
particular, catches my attention because I consider a different thing, I could
be sure that is not true, we are teachers and we try to show to our students the
world in a different way, in other words, with others sounds, in my personal
case I have never been in England or USA, for this reason I do not fell like a “transmitter of neocolonialism”, I am just
a teacher and I try to do my job in a good way. I am trying to understand every people, many
points of view, different cultures, and of course learn about them.
I know the
system, the politicizes in a second language learning/teaching are focused by a
lot of English or North American programs, instead of we as teachers have the
language power, we can teaching in a critical way. Nowadays we can find a lot
of material from different countries and we can contrast different conceptions,
different cultures different English languages and built our concept of a global
knowledge, we have our culture and from this we can make our identity in a foreign
language.
I've also had the same feeling when this neocolonialism topic has come up. In my case, I don't think I was being forced into learning the language by an "evil colonial power". And by teaching English, I don't think I'm helping that "evil colonial power" either. However, it is true that the idea of knowing English as a synonyme of success has been sold constantly and it is present in many people's minds.
ResponderEliminarI think that we need to be teachers in all the sense of the word. For that reason, we need to be in the same way of globalization and its policies. What happens maybe is that we are teaching a language that is not ours. In this sense, we need to talk them about that culture and we can connect our own culture with that language. I believe that it is the way in which we can build an identity; because as students are learning about other language and other culture, they are feeling what it means being Colombian, what it makes us different and equals and what we want to be. I do not know if we are transmitters of neocolonialism, I do not think so. I consider that we are learners and teachers of other language; that has some basis in culture, traditions, stereotypes, history, politics, and so on. Finally, I think that we do not need to travel to those countries to consider us as Transmitters of neocolonialism. We can get other tools in order to communicate what we want.
ResponderEliminar