Teachable Moments
Saturday, June 12, 2010
Accent Elimination
The freeways in Los Angeles are absolutely impossible to navigate in the morning rush hour traffic! It's a beast!
I decided to drive to downtown by way of the streets to avoid the overcrowded freeways.
As I was making my way toward the downtown area, I noticed a huge yellow sign that was attached to a pole at a very busy intersection. It read "Accent Elimination". The area that I was driving through is predominantly Asian and Hispanic. I thought it quite interesting that this "service" would be offered to a community of second language speakers.
The sign used the word "eliminate". "To Get Rid Of"....really?
It took me aback that a class to eliminate an accent was even being offered! This gives the impression that having an accent is a negative attribute! A person needs to eliminate something that associates him/her with a language, a culture, a history, a people?
The beauty of America is that this nation has prided itself on the celebration of diversity and unique qualities of all people.
As educators, we must also celebrate the diversity of our students!
I decided to drive to downtown by way of the streets to avoid the overcrowded freeways.
As I was making my way toward the downtown area, I noticed a huge yellow sign that was attached to a pole at a very busy intersection. It read "Accent Elimination". The area that I was driving through is predominantly Asian and Hispanic. I thought it quite interesting that this "service" would be offered to a community of second language speakers.
The sign used the word "eliminate". "To Get Rid Of"....really?
It took me aback that a class to eliminate an accent was even being offered! This gives the impression that having an accent is a negative attribute! A person needs to eliminate something that associates him/her with a language, a culture, a history, a people?
The beauty of America is that this nation has prided itself on the celebration of diversity and unique qualities of all people.
As educators, we must also celebrate the diversity of our students!