•Opinión•
Current and Future Language Teachers, How about These Discussions? Compiled by Susy Esther Porras Polo
S
ome English Advanced II students, guided by professor Pedro Chala, share their opinions regarding nowadays topics that are particularly important for future language teachers. These ideas portray some of the discussions that took place during a class in which notions such as codeswitching, varieties, language, and culture were crucial. What importance do you find in code-switching? María José Loaiza Hernandez As a language student and future teacher, I find that the importance of codeswitching lies in showing respect for the cultures behind the language we learn and use. It is about adapting to a new vision of life and being flexible because if we stick to using our ways but in other language, we are not truly learning the language. An example is the expression "Ahí está usted pintado", that we tend to translate as "There you are painted" in English. Since we did not code-switch, it does not make sense.
Lic. en Lenguas Modernas con Énfasis en Inglés y Francés
Laura Stefania Angulo Benavides Code-switching is fundamental to be interculturally competent, as language students and future language teachers it is the main mechanism to be used when interacting, to acknowledge the value and the differences regarding intangible patterns that are characteristic of a certain culture, distinguishing and demonstrating its social importance and consequently having and promoting an attitude and a behavior in consonance with it. To what extent do you believe in stereotypes? Juan Esteban Estupiñan Guerrero Unfortunately, I believe that stereotypes are everywhere. Even if we do not want to have them, it is impossible not to create an image of someone or something that we have no knowledge of, this could happen out of fear, curiosity or just wanting to assume something. However, I think that stereotypes are important since
many times it is necessary to face those issues or people to change their thinking to understand that things are not just as they look, but something denser, something to which we definitely should be more open without so many prejudices. How relevant are stereotypes? Laura Bibiana Rojas Gutiérrez I do believe stereotypes are useful in order to understand the world since it is multidimensional and information can be easily organized with it. However, they can drive us to an extreme, such as being scared of not accomplishing stereotypes or expecting others to accomplish them. The important thing is to be open when getting closer to reality and realizing it is not as we expected. Julián Chacón García I believe that stereotypes are a way to lock people in circles and only look at them in terms of nationality, race, or appearance, but never beyond that. Personally, I found this sad and disgusting, and I have been stereotyped. As soon as foreign
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