Service Learning Reflection #2

The material artifacts that made the largest impact were the lesson plans that NALC provided.  They influenced not only on the way that I “taught” but what the student learned.  They were a list of vocab words and exercises developed to further their understanding of the words and languages.  They often revolved around one common theme.  For example, one lesson plan was based around the theme of messy vs. neat.  The vocab list was composed of various words revolving around this topic and above the list was a picture of two roommates, one who was messy and always late and the other was one who was organized, composed and always ready for the task at hand.  What I found so interesting, particularly the one dealing with the topic of messy vs. neat, is that they are sanitized, stereo-typical models of what one , in America, would describe as a person who is organized compared to a person who is chronically unorganized.  To start with, both the characters in the picture are white males, about college age.  The typical messy man has papers strewn everywhere, is constantly late, does not keep a tidy room, does not have time for breakfast and focuses on leisure activities rather than on homework. His roommate, on the other hand, finishes all his work on time, studies hard rather than participate in leisure activities, wakes up in the morning with enough time to shower and eat breakfast, and keeps a neat room. How much of this lesson plan is influencing the student and helping to form their opinions?  Are they learning from this picture that our country values tidy people and those who are messy and unorganized turn out to be lazy and unproductive?  Even the vocab words make me question the makers of the lesson plans.  The words are archaic versions that are rarely used in common vocabulary.  Would it not be better to teach the words that are useful to acquire; those that would help these students in their everyday speaking and writing?  It reminds me of the type of lesson plans that were in my French books from high school.  They taught us these words that were outdated and rarely used in everyday language.  We practiced the scenes provided with our newly attained vocab words; scenes that we were unlikely to ever participate in.  Again, the question arises, would it not be better suited to teach foreign language learners the practical vocab of the language, maybe even the slang terms used every day?  That is one of the first signs to cue me in that the person is not a native English speaker.  I can tell that they are reciting from memory, one of the words acquired from a vocab list.  The focus needs to be moved from the more academic words to the more useful everyday vocab.