Our guest blogger this week is Dr. Matthew Apple, a second language educator and researcher in the Department of Communication, College of Letters at Ritsumeikan University in Kyoto, Japan. Matt’s research interests in “possible selves” in language learning stems from his personal upbringing, the eldest son of a family of eight children raised in rural Upstate New York, and his movements in multiple social circles. He has blogged quite a bit about his “linguistic upbringing” and family ancestral history. Matt’s academic career as a student and educator extends from one point of the globe to another. It has taken him through the halls of Bard College (BA), University of Notre Dame (MFA) and Temple University (MEd, EdD).
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A Roller Coaster of Questions: The Bi[Multi]lingualism Identity in French Second Language Education (by Jessica Irvine)
Jessica Irvine resides on Treaty 4 land – Home of the Nakota, Dakota, Lakota, Saulteaux, Nêhiyawak (Cree), and Métis. She completed her Bachelor of Education in French Education at the University of Regina. Currently she teaches grade 1 through 8 Core French with Regina Public Schools. She has also returned to the University of Regina and is completing her Masters of Education in Curriculum and Instruction. Her research interests include curriculum development, language policy, identity theory, cultural, Indigenous language revitalization, creating curriculums based on one’s “place”, lifewriting, qualitative inquiry, Indigenous methodologies, bilingualism, and multilingualism. Jessica’s thesis will focus on the cultural outcomes of the Saskatchewan Core French curriculum from both Indigenous and non-Indigenous perspectives. When Jessica isn’t writing, reading, or researching, she is either out running or hiking with her 4-legged running partner, Ginny, or training for Spartan obstacle course races.
Words have a shape, a colour, and a tone… Part 1 (by Sumanthra Govender)
“Words matter. They join into phrases which make up clauses, which build sentences, which become conversations, debates, literature, and ideas. There will continue to be disputes on how the words we say influence the way we speak.” (Why words Matter, BBC World Service)
Hello! My name is… (by Sumanthra Govender)
In a recent conversation with a family friend about first names, she made a very poignant comment about hers; if she hadn’t changed her first name to what she currently goes by, she would have a very different view of herself. She was teased by other kids for her given name and she also really didn’t like it. It didn’t suit her; it wasn’t her. When she was old enough, she legally changed her name to a shortened version of her given name, and that’s who she is. Continue reading
