scholarly journals Investigation of Intercultural Competence: CDA of EFL Students’ Baseline Portfolios

Author(s):  
Abduljalil Hazaea

In monocultural classes, Saudi English as a Foreign Language (EFL) students have to acquire not only linguistic competence but also to develop Intercultural Competence (IC) when they read and write in English. This article investigates IC scattered in EFL students’ baseline portfolios collected in an enrichment critical reading class at the Preparatory Year of Najran University. IC is operationalised as intercultural attitude, intercultural knowledge and intercultural skills evident as discourses in intercultural texts. The data comprises semi-structured interview and intercultural assignment, which is an encounter discourse to intercultural text. A qualitative empirical research design was used to analyze the data through Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA) techniques. The findings indicate that IC is underdeveloped. Most of the participants represent negative attitude towards intercultural communication. They also lack appropriate intercultural knowledge and effective intercultural skills. The findings suggest that EFL teaching and learning practices need to shift towards a more intercultural perspective.

2021 ◽  
pp. 001458582098650
Author(s):  
Gloria De Vincenti ◽  
Angela Giovanangeli

Researchers examining nationalistic conceptions of language learning argue that nationalist essentialism often shapes the way languages are taught by educators and understood by learners. While numerous studies focus on how frameworks informed by Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA) and intercultural education offer alternative approaches to national stereotyping, these studies tend to focus on theoretical approaches, teacher perspectives or innovative teaching and learning resources. The literature to date, however, does not provide case studies on student responses to activities designed by the teacher to open up the classroom with opportunities that move beyond essentialist representations. This article responds to the need for such scholarship and presents a case study involving a focus group with tertiary students in an Italian language and culture subject. It reveals some of the ways in which students enacted and reflected upon alternatives to nationalist essentialising as a result of language learning activities that had been informed by the discursive processes of CDA. The findings suggest that students demonstrated skills and attitudes such as curiosity, subjectivities and connections with broader social contexts. Some of the data also indicates student engagement in critical inquiry and their potential for social agency.


2015 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
pp. 19
Author(s):  
Hamzah Hamzah ◽  
Kurnia Ningsih

This study is aimed at exploring the way the English teachers at senior high schools exercise power and domination during the teaching and learning process. Conversation analysis and critical discourse analysis were used to analyze the data. The data were generated from thirty transcripts of classroom interaction comprising of two academic hour session for each transcript. The findings of this study revealed that the English teacher still exercised strong power and domination in the classroom. Most exchanges were initiated by the teacher (93%), and the students involvements were limited to providing responses in accordance with the information initiated by their teacher. The teachers’ domination was also seen in the length of the turns. The teachers normally had extended turn comprising one clause or more, while students’ contributions were normally short consisting of one word, one phrase, and one clause was the longest in each turn. Beside the two indicators, the teachers’ power and domination were seen in controlling the topic, giving instruction, asking close questions and providing correction. Key words: conversation, classroom discourse, power and domination


Author(s):  
Phyllis Bo-yuen Ngai

This article aims to explicate the connection between discourse analysis and interculturality in intercultural-communication education. Although communication researchers and students have been using discourse analysis as a method to investigate conversations in intercultural situations for decades, interculturality as a concept has been largely untapped in analysis and applications. Drawing from interdisciplinary insights, this article will discuss how the concept of interculturality and the lens of discourse analysis contribute to the study and teaching of intercultural communication. As examples, two different types of intercultural-communication courses serve to illustrate how educators can apply discourse analysis to facilitate development of intercultural competence. Learning outcomes of the two tested courses indicate that cultural discourse analysis, along with critical discourse analysis and ethnography of speaking, promises to be a useful pedagogical approach for facilitating the development of the competence required for dealing with interculturality.


2017 ◽  
Vol 11 (4) ◽  
pp. 57-74
Author(s):  
Daniel Villegas

The Colombia Bilingüe (Colombia Bilingual)1 program was introduced by the Ministry of Education (MEN) in 2004 with aims of increasing the teaching and learning of English as a Foreign Language (EFL) at primary, secondary and tertiary education level. However, this program has failed to reach its set language goals and has come under strong criticism. Scholars suggest that Colombia Bilingual has not only been unsuccessful in improving English skills but has resulted in unequal practices by favoring language instrumentation, marketization of language services and stratification of people. This paper offers a Critical Discourse Analysis of seven policy papers set forward by the government that have introduced and given continuation to this program. I will argue that the construction of equity in Colombia’s EFL policy is framed within a limited interpretation that has mainly given priority to improving Colombia’s international competitiveness while overlooking other important elements of equity such as autonomy, identity, and equality. I will conclude that the presence of social efficiency messages in the policy documents substantiates previous studies’ criticism and highlights the importance of policy documents towards reaching more equitable language learning practices.


Author(s):  
Dick Ng’ambi

It is difficult to understand students’ social practices from artifacts of anonymous online postings. The analysis of text genres and discursive types of online postings has potential for enhancing teaching and learning experiences of students. This article focuses on analysis of students’ anonymous online postings using Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA). The article argues that social practices reproduce during online interaction and artifacts embody such reproduction. A study involving more than 300 commerce students at a higher education institution (HEI) using a special purpose anonymous online consultation tool, the Dynamic Frequently Asked Questions (DFAQ), and social practices embodied in the artifacts is analyzed using CDA. The analysis used the three dimensions of CDA—description (text genres), interpretation (discursive type), and explanation (social practice)—and insights into students’ social practices were inferred. The article concludes that CDA of anonymous postings provided insight into social practices of students and, in particular, highlighted the tension between perceptions of inflexibility of traditional teaching practices and student demands for flexible learning. Finally, CDA, as described in this article, could be useful in analyzing e-mail communications, short message service (SMS) interactions, Web blogs, and podcasts.


2020 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
pp. 51
Author(s):  
Titin Purwaningtyas

The textbook plays an essential role for students in the teaching and learning process. Imagery, combined with texts in the textbook, makes subjects easy to understand. Images are generally used to convey things we can't tell in the text. Visual images help students make sense of output and input around them. This study investigates the representation of the visual image in the EFL textbook proposed by using a multimodal discourse analysis method. The researcher used the framework from Kress van Leeuwen. Information from all visual images consist of 158 images in the Indonesian EFL textbook is collected as the data in this study. The results showed that females (70%) portions were more commonly portrayed than males ( 30%). In terms of social roles, females have the same proportion of occupations as males. In terms of image appearance, the foreign and Indonesian cultures portrayed to show the tolerance culture. This study aims to explore the meaning of the integrated use of semiotic resources, such as visual image representation in the textbook. The researcher expected students and teachers as textbook users could increase their understanding with the subject of teaching and learning by interpreting the visual images effectively. This study recommends to the textbook user that visual images appearances can strengthen the text or written material in the textbook. Also, it suggests textbook publishers be more concerned and synchronize between the written content and the visual representation portrayed not to occur misinterpretation among the textbook users.


Author(s):  
Tshele J. Moloi ◽  
Moeketsi S. Mosia ◽  
Mogalatjane E. Matabane ◽  
Khanyane T. Sibaya

This paper explores the value of indigenous games in the teaching and learning of word problems in Grade 4 mathematics. In particular, the paper explains how the moves of *kgati (skipping rope) can be used to enhance the teaching and learning of mathematics word problems. Participatory action research (PAR) methodology was used to generate data so as to enable participants to work collaboratively, freely and with confidence. Participants of this study were Grade 4 learners, a head of department, two Grade 4 mathematics teachers, a life skills teacher, a mathematics subject advisor, four parents and three members of the local royal family. The study seeks to answer the question: To what extent can learners use knowledge of the kgati (skipping rope) game to enhance the learning of mathematics word problems? Community cultural wealth (CCW) theory was employed as a lens that acknowledges the huge wealth of knowledge that participants bring from their homes into the classroom. These forms of capitals include aspirational, navigational, social, linguistic, familial and resistant capital which relate to the knowledge learners bring from home and use to tap into word problems. Critical discourse analysis was used to analyse the words of the research team to reach their deeper meanings. The results of the study indicate that learners can interpret, convert and link their indigenous knowledge with mathematics and improve their understanding of mathematics concepts when indigenous knowledge is incorporated. Incorporating kgati moves to learn word problems significantly improved learners’ creativity and imagination. The study further suggests that learners work better when given opportunities for interactive and collaborative activities that relate to their daily practices.


2015 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
pp. 66
Author(s):  
Fauzi Miftakh

This study aimed at discovering the students‟ responses to the implementation of intercultural language learning at the sixth semester students of the English Education Department, University of Singaperbangsa Karawang, Indonesia. The focus of the study was on 1) the students‟ general attitudes toward the course, 2) the students‟ attitudes toward the implementation of teaching and learning and 3) the students‟ responsibility as an intercultural person. This study was designed as a descriptive qualitative study that involved 31 participants. The data were collected through questionnaire and interviews. Based on the findings, the students gave positive responses to the implementation of intercultural language learning and they showed a greater interest in participating in the course. The intercultural language learning also proved that the students were given the opportunity to become intercultural speakers either during the teaching and learning process or in their daily life. Finally, it recommends that the intercultural approach should be implemented by other English teachers in any subject and at all levels of students.Keywords: interculural language learning, intercultural competence, English as a foreign language.


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