Week 2: Assignment 1 "The Girl Who Wouldn't Sing."

     "The Girl Who Wouldn't Sing" is a classic example of what happens to ESL students when they are thrown in a monolingual class and forced to learn a new language and culture, without any supports in their native language.  Kit states that she was often afraid to voice her thoughts and feelings due to her limited English skills.  She also states, that she was embarrassed of showing others who she really was for fear of being humiliated or ridiculed.  I think that ESL students should learn in a classroom setting where their culture is valued and respected.  In addition, teachers should encourage students to share their culture and personal experiences in the classroom.  This increases students' self-confidence and their motivation to learn the new language.  I believe that Kit's inability to communicate her thoughts and feelings with others resulted from her lack of identity.
     There were many factors that contributed to Kit's loss of identity.  For example, her parents placed a lot of pressure on her to master the English language and attain the American dream.  This gave her the message that the American culture was more important and valued than her Chinese background.  At school, Kit was also pressured to learn and adapt to the mainstream culture, which was also American.  This caused her to forego and be ashamed of her Chinese roots.  Thus, causing her to hide who she really was.  As she stated in her narrative, this made her walk around feeling invisible and misunderstood.  
     In my opinion, the education system failed Kit.  If Kit's teacher had embraced and incorporated her culture into the school curriculum, Kit would not have experienced difficulties while learning the new language.  The student's first language is critical to his or her identity.  If Kit would have been encouraged to maintain her native language, it would have helped her to value her culture and Chinese heritage. Moreover, this would have contributed to Kit having a positive self-concept.