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Fulbright U.S. Student
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Gaining Cultural Perspectives Through Language Learning
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Marine Biology and English Collide in Guayacanby Jeremy Schwartzbord, 2008-2009, Venezuela ETAAs class began, ten
Venezuelan marine biology researchers broke into
song - con mucho gusto. The warm-up
tune of the day happened to be the Beatles'
"Octopus's Garden." In the process
of learning the lyrics to Ringo Starr's
cephalopod-starring ditty, the researchers
practiced their pronunciation, worked at
improving their listening comprehension, and
simply enjoyed themselves. The researchers
participate in a weekly English workshop I run at
the Oceanographic Institute of Venezuela, located
at the Universidad de Oriente (UDO) in
Cumaná. The workshop is secondary to
my work with students as a Fulbright English
Teaching Assistant (ETA) in the Department of
Modern Languages. However, one of the most
meaningful components of my job at the UDO has
been my secondary project.
During our first meeting, Dr. Lemus described the research station she directs, explained its English-related pitfalls and put forward a proposition. The research station, Centro de Investigaciones Ecológicas de Guayacán (CIEG), lies nestled in the small coastal town of Guayacán - a boat ride away from Cumaná. The researchers aim to publish their results in academic journals that require English translations of all abstracts. But neither the researchers nor other biology students at the UDO are able to write clear, grammatically correct scientific abstracts in English. Dr. Lemus admitted that grammatical errors in a poorly translated abstract are often cited as grounds for rejecting a research paper. This has been a serious problem for the CIEG researchers, most of whom last studied English when they were in high school. Dr. Lemus sought a remedy for the problem and asked me to lead a weekly English workshop for the ten researchers. When I hold class outside in
Guayacán, my students exhibit an
incredibly ardent desire to learn English, asking
question after question (i.e.,
¿Comó se dice area de
preparación de taxidermia?: “How
do you say taxidermy prep area?”). As
we hold class, the wind constantly sweeps through,
tossing the locals' small, pastel-colored fishing
boats along the shore. Inside, we translate
articles as a group. My students prepare
presentations in English, readying themselves for
international conferences in their fields and in
turn, advancing their scientific articles.
At the same time, they have brought me to the
unexpected surroundings of Guayacán and
taught me about the area's ecology. These
rich exchanges are ones I will never
forget. To comment on Jeremy
Schwartzbord's article on State Alumni, please
click here.
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The Awful English Essayby Han-luen Kantzer Komline, 2008-2009, GermanyWhile teaching an English composition course from 2004 to 2005 at Yantai University (Shandong Province), I learned that a classic Chinese essay is an artful exercise in delayed gratification. The central claim of a Chinese essay is not its starting point, but its destination; its governing pattern not linear, but spiral, as it circles in on a final dénouement. Pursuing a master’s degree in the U.S. upon my return, I was reminded of a very different set of principles for good writing: 1) argue a thesis; 2) state this thesis clearly at the outset; 3) there is no point in defending a thesis if it isn’t new and interesting.
Mark Twain’s essay “The Awful German Language,” has unforgettably if unfairly memorialized some of the German grammatical quirks most exasperating to English speakers. But the minutiae of German grammatical structures, which actually enable more precise communication than their English counterparts, form only the most superficial layer of a deeper contrast - a divergence in the basic understanding of the academic enterprise's purpose. One of my German professors recently outlined a set of guidelines for a historical term paper as follows: 1) the goal is to provide a close reading of the primary text; 2) place this text in its historical context; 3) as a subordinate task, you may investigate a particular historical question. Do NOT, he stated explicitly, take a thesis as a starting point, explain how the inquiry relates to contemporary discussions, or construct an interesting conclusion. Doing the first leads one to manipulate one’s findings, interfering with the work’s objectivity. Doing the second or third distracts one from the primary task at hand, which is not proving that one’s research is relevant, but producing relevant research. It is tempting to speculate about the roots of the radically different intentions of German and Anglo-American academic writing (historical, philosophical, more broadly cultural, etc.). For now, however, I am content to record the observations that emerge from grappling first hand with German academic culture. After all, as my German professor would have it, these observations are the ones worth writing down most of all. To comment on Han-luen Kantzer Komline's article on State Alumni, please click here. |
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A Call for Articles with PhotosWe welcome articles with accompanying photos for future issues of the Fulbright U.S. Student Grantee Newsletter. Articles should ideally be about your experience of being abroad as a Fulbright grantee (and cultural ambassador), and any relevant and/or unique musings you might want to share with your fellow Fulbright grantees and others interested in the Fulbright Program. The length of the article should be no more than 500 words and not require much editing in order to be published. The accompanying photos should show you engaged in program activities, or be illustrative of your article's content. Please submit your articles with photos within two weeks of the release of this newsletter. If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact us. We look forward to receiving your articles! |