Teach English in YouguzhuAng Zhen - Tianjin

Multilingual and multicultural education"Much education today is monumentally ineffective. All too often we are giving young people cut flowers when we should be teaching them to grow their own plants." -- John Gardner What appears to be lacking from the education system and society as a whole is a shared vocabulary, based on shared positive human values (e.g. respect, honesty, compassion, care, humility and responsibility), which can provide a sense of direction and vision as well as improve the quality of education in today?s global society. Multilingual and multicultural education is the future to being a global citizen (Lasagabaster, 2001), which catapults my interest in international affairs and teaching in South Korea. I notice South Korean students and their parents are knowledgeable about this fact and take learning english very seriously which is the reason I specifically selected teaching here as opposed to other countries. Swift technological advances in the diverse modes of communication, transportation as well as globalization, the world today has become a more intimate place. Today, we have people from one part of the world, shifting to another, for work, travel and education, a lot more than what it was a few decades back. This, coming in contact and intermingling of people belonging to different cultures, has increased the importance of learning more than one language and understanding of different cultures. In order for students to be more globally competitive they must take up learning a second language as it not only helps to broaden their perspective and become sensitive to other people's culture when working and interacting, but also gives a sizable boost to their career prospects. My experience, as an educator and teacher of english for International Business and Tourism for Costa Rican youth and adults as well as serving as their life coach during the two years I volunteered at the Peace Corps, has shown that being bilingual is a necessity in the global market. Costa Rican employers need workers who can communicate with a wider audience. Companies that have global aspirations cannot function without people who are bilingual. It allows them to reach a larger group of people than they would otherwise be able to do. Other countries know that being bilingual is a key workforce skill, and they are starting to teach their children accordingly. Unarguably Robert D. Peckham, University of Tennessee Martin, has cited "Children in foreign language programs have tended to demonstrate greater cognitive development, creativity, and divergent thinking than monolingual children (Bruck, Lambert, and Tucker, 1974; Hakuta, 1986; Weatherford, 1986).? When a school develops the moral and spiritual aspects of the curriculum (that is, those that positively contribute to the inner world of thoughts, feelings and emotions of the teacher and the student), it has to take into consideration that it has a lot of catching up to do if it hopes to match the monumental effort being made to educate their youth in english and other global languages (e.g. spanish, Arabic, Mandarin chinese, french, South Korean amongst others), the school community will become a more reflective and harmonious learning environment. I feverishly believe that multicultural education begins by traveling untraveled waters to experience another way of life while co-existing and partaking in local cultural norms. This approach to learning builds, respect, honesty, compassion, care, humility and responsibility; thus incorporates positive racial idiosyncrasies into classroom atmosphere when teaching, learning and interacting with student's from diverse backgrounds. Values-based education seeks to promote an educational philosophy of valuing the self, so that you can value others and your environment (Mullan, 2001). It is a way of conceptualizing education that places emphasis on seeking purpose and meaning at the heart of the educational process. The concept of multiculturalism is needed to provide a framework for effective inclusive and interpersonal interactions that would draw on their similarities and their differences to break down stereotypes and prejudices to support interacting with culturally, linguistically, and racially diverse persons in an environment that is culturally responsive. This causes an individual student to take greater personal responsibility for their learning and behavior, which contributes to the development of an individual As I stated before, I want to teach ESL in South Korea because I not only believe in the importance of Bilingual Language Education but I have also experienced it. In addition to the research that proves my theory that being bilingual provides one with an advantage, my own experiences proves that my ability and knowledge of both english and spanish has opened numerous doors for me that my peers will never have. l feel it is now my responsibility to pass this opportunity to others, especially the youth since they will always have a special place in my heart. For this reason, I am invested in bilingual language education of our children as they are tomorrow's global leaders. References: Bruck, M., W. E. Lambert, and R. Tucker, "Bilingual Schooling Through the Elementary Grades: The St. Lambert Project at Grade Seven." Language Learning 24 (2): 183-204, 1974. Mullan, D. (2001, February). Defining Values Based Education. Retrieved March 12, 2012, from Junta de Andalucia website: http://www.juntadeandalucia.es/averroes/vertie/forum/valuebas.htm Lasagabaster, D. (2001). Bilingualism, Immersion. Multicultural and Multilingual Development, 22(5), 401-425.