Joel Foley Journal #6

Questions:
1) I know a little about language because I have taken foreign language courses in high school and I have participated in two study abroad programs. This will help me because I am somewhat familiar with the foreign language program and how it is taught as well as the experience of traveling abroad.
2) I feel that our topic is a fairly easy one to gather information on considering VT has such a diverse population and you are always hearing different languages around campus. Finding out how second languages are important to VT students will be an interesting look into cultures unlike my own.
3) I want to know how VT's foreign language program affects students because I am actively trying to get into the Chinese program. Seeing what roles language and culture play on the college campus will be an interesting topic to look into.
4) We have touched on foreign language and foreign cultures in class but I have not learned anything new that I can put into a fieldwork study. Other than the fact that I should look at the field study from their perspective rather than mine to avoid as much culture bias as possible.
5) I believe that there are a lot of multicultural people on campus and we just don't realize it because they are assimilated into our culture so well.
6) All foreign exchange students at tech as well as students speaking, learning or affected by languages other than English are part of our topic.
7) Student at VT, Foreign, Bilingual, Study Abroad participants, Foreign language studies.
8)I belong to the VT students, study abroad participants and soon to be foreign language studies groups
9) I am part of the dominant culture because I was not raised with a second language and speak almost only English  I am part of a marginalized culture because I have studied abroad, and that group is far smaller. This could affect my research because it will be hard not to see multicultural students from a western perspective, regardless of my attention to biases.
10) I should keep in mind that not all people are interested in a foreign language because they are simply not studying it or do not have to. While others are either required to study it or are even majoring in a foreign language. This difference in passion about the subject will affect their answers just as peoples involvement in art could affect their beliefs on the importance of a arts education or major.