scholarly journals Interactants' beliefs in teletandem: Implications for the teaching of Portuguese as a foreign language

Author(s):  
Karin Adriane Henschel Pobbe RAMOS

ABSTRACT Based on the principles of autonomy and reciprocity, Teletandem connects language teaching with technology, by furthering interaction between college students aiming at providing a virtual context for language teaching and learning. A system of beliefs and values can emerge in this fruitful environment and such emergence can directly affect the process. This study aims to investigate the belief system, which emerges out of Teletandem mediation sessions, and to discuss its implications for the teaching of Portuguese as a foreign language from the perspective of Critical Discourse Analysis.

Author(s):  
Ulrika Tornberg

Abstract The purpose of this text is to describe and problematize possible didactic consequences for the communicative aspects of foreign language teaching and learning that the contemporary discussion at both national and transnational levels about ”knowledge” and ”accountability” in education may lead to. This discussion concerns, among other issues,  various standardized measurements of pupils achievements and increasing demands on schools and teachers to deliver measurable and comparable results.   What, then, counts as ”knowledge” in foreign language teaching and learning practices today? By undertaking a critical discourse analysis (Fairclough 1989) of the maybe most important transnational steering instrument for language teaching and learning practices in contemporary Europe, i.e.,The Common European Framework of Reference for Languages: Teaching,Learning and Assessment (CEFR) (2001) at least some answers to this questions may be clarified:  The discourse of ”knowledge” in foreign language teaching and learning as expressed in CEFR is described by means of a typology of decontextualized  ”competences” and ”skills”, cathegorized  in specific domains  and reference levels. One of the consequences for the communicative aspects of foreign language teaching and learning practices may be that a former democracy-oriented discussion about the aims and meaning of language communication in an increasingly heterogeneous and plurilingual world is lost.   Key words: Communicative aspects of foreign language teaching and learning practices, ”Knowledge”, ”Accountability”, ”Competences and Skills”, CEFR, critical discourse analysis.


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


2021 ◽  
Vol 29 ◽  
pp. 52
Author(s):  
Nicholas Tapia-Fuselier ◽  
Veronica A. Jones ◽  
Clifford P. Harbour

Undocumented college students in the United States encounter a number of structural barriers to postsecondary education success, including disparate in-state resident tuition (ISRT) policies across the country. Texas, the first state to establish ISRT benefits for undocumented college students, has been a site of tension respective to this issue over the last 20 years. In fact, there have been eight legislative attempts to repeal the state’s affirmative ISRT policy. In order to investigate this ongoing ISRT debate in Texas, we used critical discourse analysis methods to analyze the implicit and explicit messages communicated in the policy and surrounding policy discourse. Our conceptual framework, grounded in three constructs of critical whiteness studies including ontological expansiveness, color evasiveness, and individualization, allowed us to uncover whiteness as a pernicious undergirding force within this policy discourse.


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.


2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (2) ◽  
pp. 42-57
Author(s):  
Héctor Javier Caro ◽  
Diana Andrea Caro

The use of textbooks in the EFL classroom is a trend that shapes the way language teachers teach and how students learn. Teachers design and use a great deal of materials for teaching and developing foreign language skills, but in terms of culture, they usually prefer to trust publishing houses for the cultural content included in their textbooks. What we do not know is that most of these textbooks promote hegemony and standardization of cultures under the conscious or unconscious ideology of the colonization of being. Teachers need to learn how to analyze and unveil the hidden mechanisms of colonization that are portrayed in some textbooks, a process which can be carried out through the use of Critical Discourse Analysis.


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.


2020 ◽  
Vol 9 (2) ◽  
pp. 153-167
Author(s):  
Carolyn S. Hunt ◽  
Deborah MacPhee

PurposeThis article presents a case study of Kelly, a third-grade teacher enrolled in a literacy leadership course within a Master of Reading program. In this course, practicing teachers completed an assignment in which they implemented a literacy coaching cycle with a colleague, video-recorded their interaction, and conducted critical discourse analysis (CDA) of the interaction. The authors explore how engaging in CDA influenced Kelly's enactment of professional identities as she prepared to be a literacy leader.Design/methodology/approachData presented in this article are taken from a larger study of four white, middle-class teachers enrolled in the course. Data sources included the students' final paper and semistructured interviews. The researchers used qualitative coding methods to analyze all data sources, identify prominent themes, and select Kelly as a focal participant for further analysis.FindingsFindings indicate that Kelly's confidence as a literacy leader grew after participating in the coaching cycle and conducting CDA. Through CDA, Kelly explored how prominent discourses of teaching and learning, particularly those relating to novice and expert status, influenced Kelly in-the-moment coaching interactions.Originality/valuePrevious literacy coaching research suggests that literacy coaches need professional learning opportunities that support a deep understanding of coaching stances and discursive moves to effectively support teachers. The current study suggests that CDA may be one promising method for engaging literacy coaches in such work because it allows coaches to gain understandings about how discourses of teaching and learning function within coaching interactions.


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