Discourse & Pragmatics

TESOL Concepts and Communication strategies, through Immigrant, ELL, Conversation Observation:

Alexandria White

Discourse and Pragmatics

MA-TESOL, USFCA

Introduction

            This paper evaluates conversations between native, English speaking students, in their one-on-one meetings with recent, one to three year, US immigrant students, who attend Newcomer school, which specialized in TESOL, specific academics. Approximately four minutes, of conversation and transcript is observed from New Immigrants Share their Story video, Youtube, 2011.  This video was chosen because the conversation emphasizes Gee’s, seven building tasks to efficient English language learning, sociocultural influences, and pragmatic deconstruction, for ELL conversation practice (Gee, 2014)

New immigrants share their stories:

Background:

Newcomers High School in Long Island City, which specializes in teaching recent immigrants, has partnered with St. Luke's, a private, middle school, in Manhattan, to combat immigrant bias, through the The Building Bridges project. English-learners exchanged letters with their St. Luke’s’ "buddies.” The YouTube video, documents student meetings, where ELL’s share, and receive help, editing their personal immigration stories, for their video diaries. In return, St. Luke's students are preparing research papers on immigration through the letter-exchange, and interviews process (YouTube, 2011).

Transcript:

1:00 (Video diary) Shanjutka, India: I grew up a study to experience discrimination

1:03 For instance, I wasn't allowed to go outside alone. I had to stay home

1:11 (video-diary) Jeanette, Ecuador: Three years ago when it was fifteen

1:15 we had to relocate because our economic situation wasn’t sufficient.

1:23 Learning a new language and adapting into new culture, my father cancer         complicated. He was going to die. 

1:28 (Video diary) Wei Feng, China: My sister and I own on him of time wage my father in amman. US, you couldn't botch on family now yen timing you

1:45 Narrator: since Julie Mann and Kim Allen met twelve years ago facing history  teacher training, students from newcomers and Saint Luke's have collaborated annually on projects centered on human rights. We work with National Students every year. So my students write letters about themselves and we started writing  back. The students are meeting face to face for the first time in this year's project   called building bridges. Newcomers’ students will share their personal       immigration stories, and the Saint Luke's students are interviewed about their lives. They turn their findings into research papers.

2:26 Sagjukta: We include our story as immigrants, we include the difficulties we had to past, when we first came here, and what our conditions are coming to America.

2:41 Student #1: It was full of excitement, and I knew that our life it's gonna be better than before because we had more fortunate living then in Nepal.

2: 42 Interviewer: “Was I hard coming to America?

2:55 Student #2: Yes, because it was not the same language, not the same food, you have   to start a new life, again.

3:01 Interviewer: “Did you feel ashamed to be an immigrant?”

3:14 Student #3, Congo: not really, but I feel ashame to tell my story our we came here  with anything. We came here to the United States because of the Civil War in Congo, or in part of the as a result the Civil War my father was a victim of that.  And kinda everytime I think of that it makes me hate what they did to my father.

3:33 Guy, Student #3, Congo: My buddies name is Owen, he's an amazing kid ass, who lies my story, he says do you mind if I use your story to tell the truth, which I think go ahead that's what I wanted, so people can see that these people came to   the United States because of something.

4:00 Julie’s students, like the larger immigrant population are struggling with the  perception that their present in this country is a threat and that their differences   make them dangerous. It's important that people to know that immigrants are not but people.

Citation:

New Immigrants Share their Story [Motion picture]. (2011). United States:     YouTube.