What it is like Traveling Places With a Language Barrier

By Erin Lyman

        ¡Hola! and a few numbers were about the extent of my Spanish when I travelled to Costa Rica last January. I was confused, to say the least, when I overheard conversations in Spanish between locals. I was lucky enough to be with a large group so I was not the only one who did not understand Spanish. This did not make it any less difficult, though, when we were allowed to venture on our own. I struggled through how to manage this language barrier but learned the best strategies for future trips with language barriers.

In Costa Rica I went to a market where we bargained with locals for items they were selling. Seeing as how the only language I knew was English and them Spanish it was quite the challenge! If your cellular plan allows, I highly suggest getting a translator app. Although it will not be perfect, it is better than nothing and helps when you are in tough situations! Since I had people who knew English and Spanish around me I asked them for help. For the market, I learned how to ask how much an item costs in Spanish. Then I asked the sellers the price of an item. I luckily know the numbers in Spanish up to twenty, so even though they replied in Spanish I knew the price they were telling me. I then would counter back a price I was willing to pay. If you are going to a Spanish speaking country, want to bargain and do not know the Spanish numbers, I suggest learning them. Also learn that country’s currency exchange rate with your countries! That way, if worst comes to worse, you can hold out how much you are willing to pay and see if they accept.

When it came to conversing with others I felt a bit left out because I could not talk with people that I wanted to. I wish that I had known a few more words or phrases so that I could interact with more locals. Even having a little booklet with common phrases and responses would have been extremely helpful! I would have felt more confident in my abilities to speak to locals. I felt a bit uncomfortable at times because when you do not understand another language, you may say something you do not mean. Also, you probably will not know what they are saying. When I was zip lining I was absolutely terrified and it was obvious to those working there. I was the only one with the workers at times and I got nervous they were joking about me when they were speaking to one another. Now, I doubt they were but it is a legitimate fear when you cannot understand a language!

For the more serious issues, such as driving, I was very lucky that I was not the one doing this because I would not have been able to understand the signs. If you are driving remember that shapes and colors of signs usually represent the same thing from country to country. If this does not make you feel comfortable, get directions from someone who is bilingual. If this is not a possibility or if you prefer, print your directions in your language and their language in advance so that you know where you are going and how to get there! Being lost in a foreign country with a language barrier would not be an ideal situation. Essentially, in all situations it is good to prepare ahead. Bring a translation book, find apps, know someone who speaks both languages or try to work through the barrier on your own if you think you can. Whatever method you choose is good, but if you go unprepared you will struggle and it could affect how much you enjoy your trip.

To me, good and effective teaching involves many different concepts. A good teacher is able to identify with their students, which makes students feel comfortable. Good teachers understand that not all students come from the same background and this may affect how students act or their involvement in school. This brings me to my next point, which is that good teachers get their students involved. They are able to use technology or different ways of teaching to peak their students interest and increase participation. Good teachers also create useful lesson plans. Whether using backward design or another method, good teachers create plans that help students learn the objectives for the unit. Lastly, good teachers encourage their students and help them grow as learners and as people. Since we first talked about what makes a good teacher, I have expanded upon my definition. I learned that it is not just one thing that qualifies a person to be a good teacher. Simply being intelligent is not enough. There are many different qualities that make a person a good teacher and the more a person has the better of a teacher they will be.

In regards to the Standards for Teacher Development and Licensure, this course has definitely prepared me for these standards. Specifically, I understand how children grow physically and emotionally. I know that there are different stages of development and not all children grow the same. Also, I understand that children learn differently and that one way of teaching will not fit all of my patients. I also know how to plan a lesson, which in speech pathology is useful because I could create a plan with objectives for my patients to reach. I have learned how to test for progress because I did that when we created a lesson for the class. Lastly, I learned how to connect with other individuals and future teachers/SLPs because I had to work with different classmates throughout the semester! Overall, the most significant thing I learned this semester is that nothing is cut and dry, especially not people. People have many layers, emotions and circumstances that shape how they are. When working with children, it is my job to understand why they are the way they are. Then, I can help them be the best version of themselves.

For the job market, I will prepare my online identity by first cleaning up what I have posted. I have had social media since I was young so there are things I have posted that may not appeal to companies looking to hire me. Also, I will possibly continue my blog. However, if I do this it would still be a professional/school oriented blog. I will document things I am doing and learning in my classes as well as in my clinicals. This will show companies the knowledge and experience I have developed from school.

One topic that I found interesting this semester is how women are portrayed in the media. Women are often under-represented and portrayed as sexual, feminine objects in the media (Collins, 2011). They are put into very stereotypical gender roles when they are represented. This is not only on television shows but also across many different media platforms. This has an affect on girls’ self-esteem and the way they view themselves. As children are developing, what they see has a large impact on them. In our society, the media is all around and almost always accessible. What girls are seeing needs to be changed to help them be confident, successful individuals.

In our Module 2 online work we read about how gender roles and occupations are portrayed in the media. The University of Southern California conducted a study that we looked at about key findings in gender roles. The study found that female characters are less prevalent across media compared to male characters (Class 10/9). Women were also seen wearing sexy attire 36.2% of the time in prime-time shows whereas this number was only 8.4% for males. On television commercials, only 14% of females were shown as authority figures, whereas for men this number is 70% (Furnham, 1999). Also, women were more likely than males to have thin bodies and be referenced as attractive. In prime-time programs, women were rarely in high-ranking professions. The under-representation, sexualizing and stereotyping of women happens across media and is a serious problem that affects young women.

Women are under-represented in media but when they are portrayed we often see images like those below. This is because women are more likely to be represented for their body and clothing in media than men (Collins, 2011). Women are sexualized and objectified. The portrayal of women this way gives young girls who see this media the idea that what is important about them is the way they look. The result of this can be detrimental to young girls. When girls see women on television that are the thin-ideal image, they are more likely to be dissatisfied with their body image and invest in their appearance (Grabe, 2008).

Not only do girls think less of them selves physically but also mentally. It has also been found that girls’ self-esteem suffers because of the way other women are portrayed (Collins, 2011). Girls put themselves down because they think they are less than the images they are seeing. Viewing sexually objectifying television predicted the self-objectification of college women a year later and viewing appearance focused shows predicted girls would be less satisfied with their appearance a year later (Grabe, 2008). There has been a decrease in advertisements that are stereotyped on sex in the Western world (Furnham, 1999). However, until there is a larger change these negative effects will still happen to girls.

When looking at research in this area, though, it is important to note that white women were primarily the ones studied and women of color were often excluded (Grabe, 2008). This means that if the studies were done using women of color there may be different results. Also, in South Korea women are not under-represented (Collins, 2011). However, they were still stereotyped. Also, the longitudinal studies were only over the period of one year. Researchers should look at data to see how the effects of viewing certain content can affect girls as they grow up and go into adulthood. Longer studies would likely give more conclusive data. Although I only covered studies that conclude negative affects of media on women, there were also studies that found media had a positive effect on women. This was only found in .05% of the studies, but is interesting nonetheless (Grabe, 2008). Lastly, I focused only on women but men are also affected by gender roles and stereotypes in the media.

When teaching, it is important to look at children for who they are as individuals. Some children need more guidance than others. In Module 2 we watched, read and discussed about how when working with children, the best way to be is authoritative. Authoritative adults have strong discipline and parental involvement. This way, whether male or female, children have a positive example to look up to outside of the media. Another difference educators will encounter besides sex is children with unequal childhoods. For online work we watched “Interview with Lareau (Unequal Childhoods author)”. From that we learned that it is important to remember how children are brought up will affect them. Boys and girls self-esteem may suffer not only because of media but also home life. Educators should be prepared to work with children who are brought up many different ways.

The first video I have attached below shows positive ways women were presented in the media, but also how the media failed women. It also highlights how media failed men, which is something I did not touch on.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=596yX2dOFaE

The next video I have added shows how media have presented, objectified, and sexualized women in multiple media outlets.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xNzaHPe7os0

Finally, the third video shows the media bringing light to stereotypes. They look at how the phrase “like a girl” is used and perceived by children of different ages. It promotes confidence in women and is a great advertisement for women of all ages to see and be empowered by.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XjJQBjWYDTs

In conclusion, the way women are being represented across media is continually in a sexual, objectified light. They are not only being under-represented, but represented in a poor manner. This can have negative affects on the way girls see themselves and their self-esteem. There is bias in the data looked at because it only focused on white women. Also, some studies should be looked at longer before drawing conclusive results. There are some positive advertisements aimed at changing stereotypes women face and the way girls see themselves. Overall though, the media needs to change its portrayal of women to help change women’s portrayal of themselves.

References

Collins, R. L. (2011). Content Analysis of Gender Roles in Media: Where Are We Now and Where Should We Go? Sex Roles, 64(3-4), 290-298. doi:10.1007/s11199-010-9929-5

Furnham, A. & Mak, T. Sex Roles (1999) 41: 413. doi:10.1023/A:1018826900972

Grabe, S., Ward, L. M., & Hyde, J. S. (2008). The role of the media in body image concerns among women: A meta-analysis of experimental and correlational studies. Psychological Bulletin, 134(3), 460-476. doi:10.1037/0033-2909.134.3.460

Technology has a large impact on teaching and learning. In the technology in the classroom video titled “Wilmington Dixon”, the teacher Ms. Dixon integrated laptops into her classroom for students to use for research. This had a positive impact because students were able to learn about subjects in a more interesting way and it got them more involved. Ms. Dixon said that she had one student that had not completed an assignment all year. When they used the laptops, this particular student did the project early and even e-mailed her to let her know that they had completed it. This is a great example of how technology can make kids want to learn and have a positive impact.

While technology had a positive impact in Ms. Dixon’s classroom, it does not always work this way. Technology in pre-k through high school may be helpful. However, in college there are some noticeable drawbacks to technology in classroom. If students are able to use technology, such as laptops and cell phones, they can be easily distracted in class. Students may be taking notes on their laptops as well as online shopping or doing other homework. Other students may be taking notes and checking their phones. In our last class, we talked about the myth of multitasking. People do not multitask well and it actually takes them twice as long to complete a task when they are multitasking as opposed to doing the tasks separately. So, if a student in class has technology that they can use to “multitask”, they are likely not paying attention to class and are distracted because of this technology. This is a big drawback of technology usage in classrooms.

Overall, I believe that technology can be a really effective to get students involved, interested and educated. In research done by Pew it is seen that more educated people use Internet than those who are less educated. The more educated may use the Internet to learn more, which is why they are more educated. They may also use it because it is more accessible to them. Either way, this statistic shows that higher education is related to more Internet usage. This is a good example of how technology may be helpful in advancing children and their education. However, I do think there should be limits to technology usage. Cell phones usually aren’t necessary in the classroom and even though students like to check them during class it can be very distracting. Laptops also are not necessary unless students take notes that way or need them for research or in class activities. I would definitely ban cell phone usage in classrooms, unless they are necessary. Also, I would limit laptop usage. I had one professor who only let us use our laptops if we needed to for notes, however if she saw us using them for other things we were not allowed to have them anymore. I think that is a good strategy that will keep students on task.

I intend to use motivation in my future career by rewarding those I work with when they successfully complete a task. I will likely reinforce them verbally if it is an adult that I am working with. If I work with children I would be more inclined to reward them with something physical, such as candy. I will use different assessment techniques to assure that patients are completely able to finish tasks I assign them. Also, different assessment techniques will allow them and I know that they will be successful in speaking when I am not present. Using goals and objectives in my career will allow my patients and I to see how well they are progressing. This will also give us a time frame to see if they are on track, behind, or ahead of their goals! Knowing this may encourage them or let them know we need to practice more for them to be successful. When I talk to my patients about their goals I will also talk to them about what they are learning. This way, students can tell me what they have learned and how. Doing so will allow learner-centered learning to take place. I can use the overall method of Backward Design to frame what the objectives and goals for patients are and what I want them to be able to accomplish by the end of therapy. Then, I will be able to decide how to assess them based on those goals and when to reward them for completing a goal or objective!

I have created an example lesson plan (below) of Backward Design for a fourth grade class learning the states, their capitals, a little of geography, and the 13 colonies. First, I created the goals for students. Then, I listed what I wanted students to be able to understand and questions students should be able to answer by the end of the unit. Next, I created assessments and activities that would show whether or not students understood and were learning the desired content. Finally, I created a learning plan as to how I want to go about having students learn the content that will ultimately allow them to be able to accomplish the desired goals. This is how Backward Design is created: by setting goals, deciding how to assess that students have reached those goals, and then coming up with a lesson plan to teach the curriculum. Using Backward Design to create my lesson plan was helpful because I knew what the final goal was at the beginning, therefore I could work backwards to make sure that every activity done and assessment created will help reach the final goals. I really enjoyed this aspect and found it helpful in knowing that everything I was doing would serve a purpose in reaching the final goals!

The behaviorist perspective of learning sees learners as passive and simply responding to stimuli. The cognitive perspective of learning says that learner’s process, store, and retrieve information, which they will then use later. Behaviorists also believe that the instructor shapes the way a child acts through reinforcement. This is different from Cognitivists who believe that the instructor provides the environment for children to learn and develop.

It is important to apply both of these perspectives of learning to instruction, especially as a future speech therapist, because individuals both with their therapy and in everyday life can use these theories. By reinforcing a behavior, which goes with the behaviorist theory, you can have a patient increase the chance of becoming successful in reaching their goals. By using the cognitive theory, patients can learn information on how to help them articulate words better, store that information, and then retrieve it if they are struggling.

As for limitations of these approaches, the cognitive approach is limiting because it takes the human brain and reduces it to the idea that it simply processes things as memory and attention. It limits the brain, and person, to small parts and does not look at it as a whole unit working together. Humans are more complex than the theory gives credit for. The behaviorist approach does the opposite of the cognitive approach. It looks at humans as, for a lack of a better word, needy. A person needs rewards or punishment to be successful. It focuses very highly on nurturing the person to make them successful in learning.

Personally, I reside more with the behaviorist perspective of learning. I often find that people do well if they have rewards or punishments. Sometimes, simply processing information and storing it may not be enough. Learners may need to complete extra assignments to remember the information. Having points for completing the assignment usually means that students will be more likely to do the extra work. This way, they will be able to retrieve the information easier.

I can see myself applying the things I have learned in this module in a few different ways. First, I can reward my patients when they have done something successfully, even if this is with a simple congratulations or good job. Also, what I have learned has allowed me to understand that people do process and learn things differently and I need to take that into consideration when I am working with patients. Some people may be able to store things simply and easily while others may need more nurturing. I will have to evaluate my patient and decide how to work with them best based on their needs.

In my future career, I hope to be working in a hospital setting. In this setting, I will experience many different types of people, cultures, and beliefs. I know that different cultures have different beliefs regarding medical attention and treatment; therefore I will do my best to educate myself on many cultures. This way, I will be able to help people while taking their cultures into consideration.

One problem about working with people from such different backgrounds is that it may be hard to identify their culture simply by looking at them. I would not want to look at them and assume their culture because that is stereotypical. Some people do not strongly identify with their culture, however for those who do I found some helpful questions to ask them. These questions could provide insight to their beliefs and how to best help them. Here is the link to the questions: http://www.d.umn.edu/~hrallis/courses/1100sp04/assignments/learn_cultures_qs.html

A difference that may be encountered in my future career besides culture is the difference of skin color. This is a difference that may make many children feel as though they do not belong. When children are the only one of their race in a classroom they feel excluded. This feeling could impact the child’s ability to learn, their overall school experience, and their confidence in themselves.

I do not plan on working in schools, however if my career takes me that way there are things I would do to make sure that I am ready for differences and that I am helping students who may feel left out. One thing I would do is similar to the “I would like my teacher to know” notecard we did the first day of class. Instead, I would allow the students to write down one thing they are struggling with, whether that is inside or outside of the classroom. I would do this once a week and doing so would allow open communication where students could tell me what they struggle with, especially if that is race-related.

I find that planning for differences is important because there will be diversity no matter where you work. With this being known, you cannot treat every person and situation the same. Every individual is different, as is every culture. The way that problems get handled should be examined on a case-to-case basis. One culture may not believe or support a solution that another culture does. Students who look different from their peers may not learn as well simply because they are uncomfortable in the classroom. It is important that professionals look at and understand why the people they are working with are behaving or acting a certain way. Then, the professionals can figure out the best way to treat or teach them

Individuals develop and construct knowledge in different ways. Some people learn through seeing, speaking or hearing. Many individuals often develop and construct knowledge from experiences, too. Scaffolding can have a large affect on learning development. Students can learn to teach each other how to perform certain tasks or solve problems, therefore enhancing their knowledge on the subject. Also, as students are challenged with more difficult tasks, they are able to gain more knowledge with the guidance and hopefully be able to do it alone. As time goes on, students may have difficulty completing assignments. This is when it becomes important for teachers to get involved and determine if their students need help. Some benefits of the models and theories we talked about in this unit is that these theories allow us to see where students are developmentally. With Piaget’s stages of cognitive development, we can see if students are ahead or behind of where they should be in regards to his model. With Vygotsky’s Zone of Proximal Development, we can see the potential of development with guidance. However, with Vygotsky’s theory we are unable to know what style children learn best from or their learning ability. With Piaget’s stages model, he did not study a large, diverse group of individuals, which makes this model less reliable.

The role of media can have a great impact on people, especially women. Women are often negatively portrayed in media. They are made to be sexual objects that must be skinny, fit, have large breasts, bottoms and so on. I found a great video that shows the affect of media on girls. It explains how media creates poor body image and self-esteem. When the average girl is spending thirty hours a week watching TV where they see the “ideal women”, it is no surprise that nearly 80% of girls are dissatisfied with their body image. The media needs to change their portrayal of women to ultimately help the way women see beauty and themselves.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F0pwXRQxSYE

Research can immensely help practice in education. As seen in Lincoln Alternative High School as well as schools that use the Turnaround program, graduation rates can increase and dropout/suspension rates can decrease. If the Centers for Disease Control and Kaiser Permanete did not do a study to see if trauma affects education, no conclusions may have been found. This means that children who experienced trauma and educators may have been using and receiving the same discipline techniques that were not helping these children become more successful. It is so important to see what problems are and then research better ways to fix them. Then, once solutions are found they need to be practiced. This is why the Turnaround program is great, because it helps educators put research into practice. This allows room for actual change to take place. Practice can also inform the research to see if the research’s findings continue to work and be successful.

I find this debate about homework to be quite intriguing. Personally, I am all for a teacher that does not give homework. However, I have often been given homework and I personally thought it was helping me. I cannot help but wonder if it depends on the age of the student as to whether or not homework is helpful. Do older students have more success in school if they get homework as opposed to younger students who may need different stimulation? I found that the note home assumes that families can eat dinner as a family, read together and play outside. However, that is not always possible and if children do not get homework or do any of the things the teacher listed, would they be falling behind? These are just a few thoughts I had when looking at this but I feel they would be important to the teacher’s no-homework policy.

Personally, I believe that doing homework does help academic achievement. I believe that spending more time on material makes students retain it better. In research done about homework in early adolescence at Loyola University of Chicago, it was found that if students do homework alone, there is a more negative affect on grades. If students do in class work, the affect is neutral and if student do homework with their parents they often had higher academic achievement. However, another study by Duke University found that there was no strong evidence to support the association between homework-achievement and grades or knowing of the subject matter. This appears to tell me that we need more evidence to support whether or not homework is useful or not. Either way, though, both studies found that doing homework with a parent is helpful so that is quality information to know.

Citations

Cooper, H., Robinson, J. C., & Patall, E. A. (2006). Does Homework Improve Academic Achievement? A Synthesis of Research, 1987-2003. Review of Educational Research, 76(1), 1-62. doi:10.3102/00346543076001001

Leone, C.M. & Richards, H. J Youth Adolescence (1989) 18: 531. doi:10.1007/BF02139072

Hello all! To start off with the basics, my name is Erin Lyman and I am a junior majoring in Communication Disorders. I am from Illinois and yes I am a Bears fan- it’s not easy being one but I can’t jump on the Packers bandwagon. I am not as big into football as I am into college basketball and baseball, though! I love God, my family, sports, adventure, dogs and Dunkin Donuts.

Before coming to Whitewater I attended Philadelphia University in Pennsylvania where I played volleyball and was majoring in Law and Society. I had a professor named Evan Laine and he was by far the best teacher I have ever had. He changed my way of thinking by making me realize that what I was being told was not necessarily the truth. He taught me not to accept everything I heard without questioning it and finding out what was factual.

In high school, I accepted everything I learned or saw as fact. If I watched a 9/11 conspiracy video I would not have questioned it, I simply would have accepted it. Now, because of Professor Laine, I question things I am being told and find myself doing research and then forming my own opinions and ideas. I would look into that 9/11 conspiracy video and try my best to discover if what I was being told was true and if not, why. This has inspired me to be more open minded, independent and confident in what I support. Similar to the Dead Poets society clip, Professor Laine opened my eyes and I was able to see the world from a different, less ignorant view. This is what I hope to do for others in my future career. I want people and my patients to know they have options and not to accept what they are being told.

I will be taking what Professor Laine taught me into the real world both inside and outside of the workplace. The knowledge I gained will help me in my career as a speech pathologist because I will not simply accept what I am told when treating patients. I will try to find different ways to help them and know that there are more options and ways to do things. In my future career I hope to work in the neonatal intensive care unit and do research to advance the speech pathology field.

Finally, I believe what makes a good teacher is someone that pushes students to think outside the box and see the world in a different way. It is easy to get stuck in a routine, especially in a classroom. A good teacher will not just teach so that a student retains information for tests and so on. They will teach life lessons that students can use in and out of the classroom. Also, a good teacher cares about the student as a student and as a person. Many factors outside of school influence one’s success in school. In the reading it talked about one teacher who has his students keep journals where they can tell him about problems, fears and so on. This teacher writes back to his students. I love this because it creates a sense of open communication and trust as well as letting the students know that their teacher cares about them as people. This positive relationship can help a teachers sense of efficacy, therefore helping them be more successful, and it can help the students have more drive to succeed.