MICHEL DEGRAFF: So one of the major goals of the course
is for-- because we all speak a language, or sometimes
many languages.
And what the students get to understand
at the end of the courses is that we all hold dear
to an attitude about language.
And some of the attitudes are positive,
for us and for others.
But oftentimes-- and this is actually one of the major
issues that we discuss throughout the course,
is that--
sometimes we have attitudes that have
a negative impact, severe negative impact, on the lives
of other people, the life of sometimes entire communities
and nations.
So I hope throughout that, students can actually
take this theory that is in the course,
and see ways in which they can apply it
to themselves, to their communities,
to their countries.
So clearly, the case that I have in mind the most
is my own Haiti, where attitudes about language
have been one of the engines that have really
gone against the interests of most Haitians,
that have allowed a few to keep the majority,
and the oppression.
But then-- this is true also for the communities.
So I was very pleased to see that the students took
that objective very dearly, and including
some who, in the course of this class,
have applied what they've learned,
and taking it outside, including volunteering in, say,
the dual language program that just started in Boston.
It's a dual language program promoting
the use of books in Creole and English,
and where students are immersed from kindergarten
in both Creole and English.
And now there's a student who took that class, my class,
and was volunteering in that classroom-- for Kindergarteners
who were learning in Creole and in English.
And to me, that's a dream because it's
one case where what you learn in the course
can be directly applied in the real world context, which
can make actual positive change in the lives of these children.