Images of “good English” in the Korean conservative press

2010 ◽  
Vol 1 (2) ◽  
pp. 189-208 ◽  
Author(s):  
Joseph Sung-Yul Park

In South Korea, English as a symbolic resource frequently mediates relations of class, privilege, and authority, and the Korean media play a significant role in the negotiation of the place and meaning of English in the country. This paper identifies interdiscursivity (Agha and Wortham 2005) as an important semiotic mechanism for this process, and illustrates this through texts of the conservative print media which rationalize the privileges of Korean elites by representing them as successful learners of English. This paper identifies three distinct yet interrelated processes of interdiscursivity that accomplish this work. First, the process of spatiotemporal extension links geographically and temporally distant communicative events with the here-and-now, setting up the relevance of the English language within local social context. Second, the process of recursivity (Irvine and Gal 2000) reapplies global oppositional relations locally so that the linguistic legitimacy of native speakers of English comes to serve as a basis for local elites’ authority. Third, the process of mediatization (Johnson and Ensslin 2007) allows the media institution to selectively highlight the achievements of elite learners while erasing the problems of unequal opportunities for English language learning in Korea. Together, the three interdiscursive processes in the texts naturalize the linguistic legitimacy of elite learners of English, thereby justifying and reproducing the structure of the linguistic market in which the global language of English indexes local relations of power and privilege.

2021 ◽  
Vol 8 (12) ◽  
pp. 96-104
Author(s):  
Samar Alharbi

English language considers a global language spoken by a majority of people around the world. It is a language used mainly for communication, trades and study purposes. This widespread of English language being wildly spoken lead to different varieties of English as a lingua franca (ELF) means that non native speakers of English still be able to communicate with each other. Using ELF as a legitimate variety of English in language classrooms is questioned by some researchers. This paper will provide an overview of the concept of ELF. It will also present implications and limitations of using ELF in Saudi English as foreign language classrooms.


2015 ◽  
Vol 3 (4) ◽  
pp. 294 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mehdi Solhi Andarab

<p><em>The cultural and linguistic hegemony of the native speakers of English over the non-native speakers in the process of language learning and teaching has paved the way for the stereotypical and biased representations of the non-native speakers of English in majority of the English Language Teaching (ELT) coursebooks. Actually, this essentialist approach in the process of materials development is likely to result in reductionist overgeneralization and otherization of foreign societies (Holliday, 1994). However, in recent years, with the advent of English as a International Language (EIL), the issue of native speakerism, the ownership of English, and consequently the cultural content of ELT coursebooks have been the subject of debates. Despite the dominance of native speaker varieties of English in ELT coursebooks, there has been a growing awareness among publishers over the past years and accordingly some EIL-based coursebooks targeted specifically at EIL learners have been published. In this study, a sample group of such coursebooks was subject to close scrutiny. In so doing, an attempt was made to examine the representation of the characters in the claimed EIL-targeted coursebooks. According to the results of the study, despite the claim to be based on EIL, the biased representation of the non-native speakers of English is observed throughout the entire series of the analyzed coursebooks and they superficially surface a stereotypical association of culture and location/country.</em><em></em></p>


Interpreting ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 19 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-20 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ena Hodzik ◽  
John N. Williams

We report a study on prediction in shadowing and simultaneous interpreting (SI), both considered as forms of real-time, ‘online’ spoken language processing. The study comprised two experiments, focusing on: (i) shadowing of German head-final sentences by 20 advanced students of German, all native speakers of English; (ii) SI of the same sentences into English head-initial sentences by 22 advanced students of German, again native English speakers, and also by 11 trainee and practising interpreters. Latency times for input and production of the target verbs were measured. Drawing on studies of prediction in English-language reading production, we examined two cues to prediction in both experiments: contextual constraints (semantic cues in the context) and transitional probability (the statistical likelihood of words occurring together in the language concerned). While context affected prediction during both shadowing and SI, transitional probability appeared to favour prediction during shadowing but not during SI. This suggests that the two cues operate on different levels of language processing in SI.


2010 ◽  
Vol 22 (12) ◽  
pp. 2728-2744 ◽  
Author(s):  
Eric Pakulak ◽  
Helen J. Neville

Although anecdotally there appear to be differences in the way native speakers use and comprehend their native language, most empirical investigations of language processing study university students and none have studied differences in language proficiency, which may be independent of resource limitations such as working memory span. We examined differences in language proficiency in adult monolingual native speakers of English using an ERP paradigm. ERPs were recorded to insertion phrase structure violations in naturally spoken English sentences. Participants recruited from a wide spectrum of society were given standardized measures of English language proficiency, and two complementary ERP analyses were performed. In between-groups analyses, participants were divided on the basis of standardized proficiency scores into lower proficiency and higher proficiency groups. Compared with lower proficiency participants, higher proficiency participants showed an early anterior negativity that was more focal, both spatially and temporally, and a larger and more widely distributed positivity (P600) to violations. In correlational analyses, we used a wide spectrum of proficiency scores to examine the degree to which individual proficiency scores correlated with individual neural responses to syntactic violations in regions and time windows identified in the between-groups analyses. This approach also used partial correlation analyses to control for possible confounding variables. These analyses provided evidence for the effects of proficiency that converged with the between-groups analyses. These results suggest that adult monolingual native speakers of English who vary in language proficiency differ in the recruitment of syntactic processes that are hypothesized to be at least in part automatic as well as of those thought to be more controlled. These results also suggest that to fully characterize neural organization for language in native speakers it is necessary to include participants of varying proficiency.


2008 ◽  
Vol 18 (1) ◽  
pp. 91-108 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ena Lee

While the commodification of English as a global language may give rise to varying degrees of political and economic benefits for language learners, a simultaneous “cost” of this return may be a continued perpetuation of various forms of hegemony. In this vein, this one-year case study investigated a Canadian post-secondary English as a Second Language (ESL) program that analyzed the interconnections between language and culture through a critical dialogic approach. Classroom observations, however, revealed that disjunctions existed between the pedagogy as it was conceptualized and the practices of the instructors teaching there and suggested that the “critical” discourses mediated within the language classrooms essentialized culture and, subsequently, the identities of the students. This paper presents the voices of students from Mainland China as they attempted to negotiate their local and global identities within the larger sociopolitical contexts of the English language, generally, and English language education, in particular. I argue that classroom discourses can (re)create subordinate student identities, thereby limiting their access not only to language-learning opportunities, but to other more powerful identities. This paper thus highlights how ESL pedagogies and practices might address and contest hegemonic discourses and concomitantly reimagine student identities in more emancipatory ways.


2021 ◽  
Vol 5 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Emma Rogers ◽  
Kristen Weatherby

English is considered by many to be the global language of business and communication and, as such, parents and educators in countries in which English is not a native language are now encouraging children to study English at a young age. Much second language teaching and learning, however, does not take into account the real-world context within which language will be put to use. Little Bridge has developed an English language learning platform for students aged 6−12 years, within which learners acquire English vocabulary and skills and are able to apply what they have learned in real conversations with other English learners around the world. As part of UCL’s EDUCATE research accelerator programme, Little Bridge worked with a mentor to design and conduct mixed-methods research into the relationship between this social aspect of their platform and students’ achievement in learning English. Findings suggested that Little Bridge users who are the most active participants in the platform’s social network also complete more of the platform’s learning activities and achieve better results than those with the lowest social participation rates. The relationship between the academic mentor and Little Bridge enabled the company to develop a research mindset, understand the value of the data that they already have, and improve their understanding of the platform.


2016 ◽  
Vol 24 ◽  
pp. 82 ◽  
Author(s):  
Malba Barahona

This paper explores the policy development supporting the implementation of English language teaching (ELT) in Chile at primary level over the last two decades. This policy—which made English instruction compulsory for all Chilean students from fifth grade—has had to deal with a series of significant challenges since its introduction. One key impediment has been the lack of qualified teachers of English at primary school level. In addition, in a crowded curriculum, English teaching has been often allocated inadequate number of hours to facilitate successful language acquisition. Further, suitable learning resources and support materials—especially designed for young learners—have often been limited. Nevertheless, it can be argued that the broader offering of English, particularly at the primary level, has had an important democratising effect. It has been somewhat effective in allowing children from lower socioeconomic backgrounds to access a global language and a potential world of opportunities previously only available to students attending wealthy private institutions. Data suggests that this policy has had some impact in establishing educational foundations for broader access to more advanced language learning for all students in Chile. However, equally it demonstrates further resources and support for teachers and teaching is essential to realise this potential.ation of English language teaching (ELT) at primary level has had to confront a series of challenges since its introduction. One key difficulty has been the lack of qualified teachers of English at primary school level. In a crowded curriculum, English teaching has been often allocated inadequate number of hours for successful language learning. In addition, suitable learning resources and support materials— especially designed for young learners—are often unavailable.  At the same time, it is undoubtedly the case that English being taught at the primary level has had an important democratising effect, with children from lower socioeconomic levels being afforded access a global language and a potential world of opportunities. This has furnished significant foundations for broader social access to more advanced language learning for all students in Chile. 


2021 ◽  
Vol 14 (4) ◽  
pp. 94
Author(s):  
Nnenna Gertrude Ezeh ◽  
Ojel Clara Anidi ◽  
Basil Okwudili Nwokolo

Second language learners especially in English language need further language support in view of the fact that they operate on the performance level of language use as against competence. Achieving success in the teaching and learning of a second language such as English is determined by a number of linguistic and nonlinguistic factors such as the attitude and language skills of the learners, the teacher&rsquo;s innovativeness and competence, effective teaching methods and materials such as visual, audio-visual aids and media aids to language learning. This research is motivated by the problem inherent in the traditional teaching methods which is stereotypical, boring with little active students&rsquo; engagement in the learning process, which makes knowledge transfer an arduous task. The research represents a shift in language teaching and learning - from the known traditional to a more technological mode of learning- giving way to new technologies in which the media plays a prominent role. The work adopts a qualitative methodology in assessing the role of the media in language teaching and learning both on the part of the students as well the teacher, especially in terms of self-development and innovations. It was discovered that media aids in language learning, facilitates the overall learning process and helps the teacher to transcend his limitations in areas such as pronunciation, vocabulary to be able to guide the students aright. This makes learning an ongoing process rather than a product.


2014 ◽  
Vol 2 (2) ◽  
pp. 149
Author(s):  
Priya K. Nair

In India acquisition of English language is imperative if one wants to sell oneself in the increasingly competitive job market. With a booming population the nation is filled with educated, technologically literate youth. English is not merely a foreign language in India. As India is separated by a plethora of languages knowledge of English is imperative. As the teachers in India are not native speakers of English the language they teach is not free from errors. The articulation is quite problematic as the mother tongue influence is quite pronounced. Technology helps to reduce these errors. Movies as a tool can enhance the listening and speaking skills of our students. It is quite boring to work with disembodied voices and the recorded conversations available in language labs do not sustain the learner’s interest. However learners are often forced to listen to recorded conversations of people they never see, the conversation is often stilted and contemporary idiom is hardly used. However, a completely new dimension to aural practice can be added in the classroom by using movies. <br /><p><strong> </strong></p>


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