Anthropology Chapter 1

After reading this chapter, I was at first baffled that people used to think that there was one particular method that was "the best" for teaching language.  To me, it seems to be common sense: since we all learn differently, then clearly, there are many different methods and strategies to use when teaching language.  I did agree, however, with the 12 principles of classroom practice.  I am going to focus on a couple that greatly helped/continue to help me in my personal journey with language learning.
The first, and most important for me, is the intrinsic motivation.  If someone does not truly want to learn a language, I believe that extrinsic motivation can only go so far; at some point, there needs to be a transition into intrinsic motivation or the student will never be able to achieve the level that they are truly capable of achieving.  I know that every time I walk into a Spanish class, I am eager to face new challenges and to show my professor and peers everything that I learned. 
Another principle is self-confidence.  In my C&I class, we talked about how crucial it is for teachers to encourage their students to reach for their potential, and that they ARE capable of doing anything that they want to do.  Even though it is called "self-confidence", it is not the sole responsibility of the student to make sure that they are being encouraged. 
The last principle that I whole heartedly agree with is risk taking.  The learning process in general is all about risk taking, for it is through making mistakes that we learn.  When students are afraid to take risks in the classroom or step out of their comfort zone, they are setting themselves behind from their potential level.  It is a two-way street of communication and work between the teachers and students to make sure that the student can fully learn the language.

Who Speaks English Today?

This was a very informative article. I always knew that there were so many different dialects of English, but I had no idea how many! And as far as labeling English-speakers, I kind of always just put them into "native speakers" and non-native speakers."  This article really opened up my eyes to just how particular labeling speakers can be.  In the first paragraph, it is stated that :it is difficult to classify speakers of English..." (15).  I agree with this because there is no one that can fit into a perfect cookie-cutter description because everyone is unique in their language learning abilities.  There are some native speakers that know less English than someone who is learning, and vice versa. And then there is the issue of people that learn two languages at once, or they are fluent in both.  There are just too many different combinations and circumstances.  So the fact that people are trying  to fit every English speaker into 3 different categories is baffling and confusing.  Also, who is to decide if someone if someone is more proficient than someone else? 
In conclusion, I understand why it is important to categorize learners, but if this is to be done, then there needs to be a wide range of categories and more specific descriptions of each category.