James Munley | University of Scranton (original) (raw)
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Universitetet i Sørøst-Norge / University of South-Eastern Norway
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Papers by James Munley
English as a Second Language (ESL) is an extremely important subject in the world today. The Engl... more English as a Second Language (ESL) is an extremely important subject in the world today. The English language has become a Lingua Franca, or common language, that is used by people of all different nationalities and languages to communicate with each other in order to do business, travel, etc. In fact, in many countries, the ability to speak English in addition to the native language affords people a higher social status than they would have if they did not speak English. This is not unlike the use of Latin and Greek or the ability to read by the ruling classes in the Middle Ages. The ability to speak English presents people with an opportunity to better their lot in life. As a result, how to achieve successful acquisition of the English language is a highly debated topic. The following research concerns the efforts to modernize ESL instruction and the obstacles that are inherent to this modernization process.
The concept of childhood is something that began to develop in ancient Rome and was lost to the w... more The concept of childhood is something that began to develop in ancient Rome and was lost to the world when the empire fell. Neil Postman, the author of The Disappearance of Childhood, talked about three factors that led to the concept of childhood disappearing. "The first is that literacy disappears. The second is that education disappears. The third is that shame disappears. And the fourth, as a consequence of the other three, is that childhood disappears." (Postman, Chapter 1, 1994) Literacy is one of the most important things that separates the ideas of childhood and adulthood. Without it, people cannot attain a good education and therefore there is not much of an intellectual difference between children and adults. Shame is a concept that comes about through education. We realize that children are a special, distinct group of people that need to be afforded certain protections. The Dark and Medieval Ages lacked these distinctions and protections for children. Childhood lost its place, and children were treated as small adults or simply ignored. They were allowed to hang about in taverns, were physically and sexually abused, etc. Things did not change until after the invention of the printing press around 1440.
Running Head: How Race and Socioeconomic Privilege Perpetuate Educational Inequality in America
The Progressive Education movement was spearheaded by renowned intellectuals such as Margaret Mea... more The Progressive Education movement was spearheaded by renowned intellectuals such as Margaret Mead, Ralph Waldo Emerson, and John Dewey. It was primarily a response to the corporate model of traditional education that took hold under pro-efficiency reformers.
In the early 1930s, an educational reform movement based on the Progressive principles of educati... more In the early 1930s, an educational reform movement based on the Progressive principles of education espoused by great American thinkers such as John Dewey, Margaret Mead, and Ralph Waldo Emerson transformed Native American education in the United States. The goal of the Progressives was to develop a system of education that focused on the needs, talents, and interests of individual children and they also prioritized the "lateral transmission" of information from person to person at any age. Dewey wanted schools to be like a mini-society and to include meaningful activities as a part of their lessons so that children could better relate the information they learned to their lives at home. Although it may seem on the surface that Dewey's philosophy of education would be similar to the "traditional" Native American educational philosophy that was not always the case. Dewey's philosophy incorporates Western ideas such as democracy and science that were foreign to the Native American tribes. Some of the Progressive officials charged with the implementation of these reforms, in stark contrast to Dewey, believed that Indian children needed only a vocational education, rather than a more comprehensive, traditional one. The adoption of progressive educational principles in the education of Amerindian children had both pros and cons.
Drafts by James Munley
This paper concerns the adoption of the English language as a Lingua Franca, or common language a... more This paper concerns the adoption of the English language as a Lingua Franca, or common language and what it should mean for ESL instruction. With the advent of globalization, it has become increasingly important for people to learn a second language. This is because people from all over the world regularly interact with each other. Our major cities are no longer dominated by one or two ethnic or cultural groups; they are now very diverse places that act as a home for people from all over the world. Many nonnative speakers work in the service or medical industries. As a result, it is important that people coming from diverse backgrounds with different languages have a way to communicate with each other. This has led to exponential growth in the English as a Second Language (ESL) field. However, it is important that ESL professionals realize that English is no longer a language that can be dominated by native speakers. It is often adapted by people from different backgrounds to fit their cultural or linguistic traditions. These adaptations can reach millions upon millions of people and therefore fundamentally affect the English spoken by nonnative English speakers. This does not make their use of English wrong, per say, as many native English speakers might assume; rather the language is evolving before our very eyes and our education systems need to adapt to this evolution as the main concern in regards to nonnative speakers should be that they can understand native speakers and other nonnative speakers of English and be understood by them.
English as a Second Language (ESL) is an extremely important subject in the world today. The Engl... more English as a Second Language (ESL) is an extremely important subject in the world today. The English language has become a Lingua Franca, or common language, that is used by people of all different nationalities and languages to communicate with each other in order to do business, travel, etc. In fact, in many countries, the ability to speak English in addition to the native language affords people a higher social status than they would have if they did not speak English. This is not unlike the use of Latin and Greek or the ability to read by the ruling classes in the Middle Ages. The ability to speak English presents people with an opportunity to better their lot in life. As a result, how to achieve successful acquisition of the English language is a highly debated topic. The following research concerns the efforts to modernize ESL instruction and the obstacles that are inherent to this modernization process.
The concept of childhood is something that began to develop in ancient Rome and was lost to the w... more The concept of childhood is something that began to develop in ancient Rome and was lost to the world when the empire fell. Neil Postman, the author of The Disappearance of Childhood, talked about three factors that led to the concept of childhood disappearing. "The first is that literacy disappears. The second is that education disappears. The third is that shame disappears. And the fourth, as a consequence of the other three, is that childhood disappears." (Postman, Chapter 1, 1994) Literacy is one of the most important things that separates the ideas of childhood and adulthood. Without it, people cannot attain a good education and therefore there is not much of an intellectual difference between children and adults. Shame is a concept that comes about through education. We realize that children are a special, distinct group of people that need to be afforded certain protections. The Dark and Medieval Ages lacked these distinctions and protections for children. Childhood lost its place, and children were treated as small adults or simply ignored. They were allowed to hang about in taverns, were physically and sexually abused, etc. Things did not change until after the invention of the printing press around 1440.
Running Head: How Race and Socioeconomic Privilege Perpetuate Educational Inequality in America
The Progressive Education movement was spearheaded by renowned intellectuals such as Margaret Mea... more The Progressive Education movement was spearheaded by renowned intellectuals such as Margaret Mead, Ralph Waldo Emerson, and John Dewey. It was primarily a response to the corporate model of traditional education that took hold under pro-efficiency reformers.
In the early 1930s, an educational reform movement based on the Progressive principles of educati... more In the early 1930s, an educational reform movement based on the Progressive principles of education espoused by great American thinkers such as John Dewey, Margaret Mead, and Ralph Waldo Emerson transformed Native American education in the United States. The goal of the Progressives was to develop a system of education that focused on the needs, talents, and interests of individual children and they also prioritized the "lateral transmission" of information from person to person at any age. Dewey wanted schools to be like a mini-society and to include meaningful activities as a part of their lessons so that children could better relate the information they learned to their lives at home. Although it may seem on the surface that Dewey's philosophy of education would be similar to the "traditional" Native American educational philosophy that was not always the case. Dewey's philosophy incorporates Western ideas such as democracy and science that were foreign to the Native American tribes. Some of the Progressive officials charged with the implementation of these reforms, in stark contrast to Dewey, believed that Indian children needed only a vocational education, rather than a more comprehensive, traditional one. The adoption of progressive educational principles in the education of Amerindian children had both pros and cons.
This paper concerns the adoption of the English language as a Lingua Franca, or common language a... more This paper concerns the adoption of the English language as a Lingua Franca, or common language and what it should mean for ESL instruction. With the advent of globalization, it has become increasingly important for people to learn a second language. This is because people from all over the world regularly interact with each other. Our major cities are no longer dominated by one or two ethnic or cultural groups; they are now very diverse places that act as a home for people from all over the world. Many nonnative speakers work in the service or medical industries. As a result, it is important that people coming from diverse backgrounds with different languages have a way to communicate with each other. This has led to exponential growth in the English as a Second Language (ESL) field. However, it is important that ESL professionals realize that English is no longer a language that can be dominated by native speakers. It is often adapted by people from different backgrounds to fit their cultural or linguistic traditions. These adaptations can reach millions upon millions of people and therefore fundamentally affect the English spoken by nonnative English speakers. This does not make their use of English wrong, per say, as many native English speakers might assume; rather the language is evolving before our very eyes and our education systems need to adapt to this evolution as the main concern in regards to nonnative speakers should be that they can understand native speakers and other nonnative speakers of English and be understood by them.