scholarly journals Earning the Keys to the Kingdom: Students’ Language Awareness, Identity and Representations of English-Speaking Others

2021 ◽  
Vol 4 (3) ◽  
pp. p1
Author(s):  
Carmen Manuela Pereira Carneiro Lucas
Keyword(s):  
Classroom Practice ◽  
English Language ◽  
Language Teaching ◽  
English Language Teaching ◽  
Language Awareness ◽  
Negative Attitudes ◽  
Teaching Culture ◽  
Intercultural Awareness ◽  
Cultural Aspects ◽  
English Speaking

The present linguistic reality involves finding ways of communication in the globalized environment, where people move all around the world in order to find work, learn, or share experiences. One issue arising from English language teaching is that it has mainly overlooked teaching culture across the curriculum, thus allowing the increase of negative attitudes and stereotypes. This paper is set out to determine to what extent English language teaching (ELT) materials demonstrate the traits of the English-speaking Other, it what ways children are accessing the target ‘Kingdom’, and which are the best teaching strategies to provide them with the keys to the target world. Anchoring our perspective in CLIL and the 4 Cs, this study looks at ways of developing cutting-edge syllabi to develop intercultural awareness and preventing stereotypes. Findings from the application of the syllabi and resulting from an analysis of the cultural content of two internationally distributed ELT textbooks are reported. The present research put in evidence that cultural aspects are practically absent from the analyzed textbooks, thus lacking a key dimension in English Language Teaching and Education. Therefore, some recommendations for future textbook writers and EFL classroom practice are suggested.

scholarly journals IMPROVING STUDENTS’ ENGLISH-SPEAKING SKILLS THROUGH BEHAVIOUR MODIFICATION IN INDONESIAN ISLAMIC BOARDING SCHOOLS

2018 ◽  
Vol 7 (2) ◽  
pp. 146-156
Author(s):  
Izzuddin A
Keyword(s):  
English Language ◽  
Language Teaching ◽  
Boarding Schools ◽  
English Language Teaching ◽  
Daily Activities ◽  
Behaviour Modification ◽  
English Speaking ◽  
Speaking Skills

A number of modern Islamic Boarding Schools (IBS) have long implemented a unique English Language Teaching (ELT) strategy in improving their students’ English-speaking skills. In IBS, for example, head of language department requires the students to communicate in English in daily activities, and punishment is imposed to those who do not speak English. However, there was no specifically academic term used to describe such strategy, nor was there a study to investigate the effectiveness of the strategy. This essay investigates what IBS-applied ELT strategy is, and to what extent it is effective in improving speaking skills of the students. It is found that IBS has made use of a behaviour modification as ELT strategy. The behaviour modification is able to encourage students to communicate in English in their daily activities. It also leads students to acquire accuracy, complexity and fluency in speaking.

scholarly journals A Critical Review Of The CELTA Syllabus Within The Context Of Saudi Arabia

2015 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
pp. 22-28
Author(s):  
Amjjad Sulaimani ◽  
Tariq Elyas
Keyword(s):  
Saudi Arabia ◽  
Cultural Awareness ◽  
English Language ◽  
Language Teaching ◽  
English Language Teaching ◽  
Cultural Aspects ◽  
Practical Suggestion ◽  
Pedagogical Competence ◽  
Main Components ◽  
International Teacher

Abstract The focus of this paper is on the cultural aspects of the internationally, well-recognised and accepted international teacher training course known as Certificate in English Language Teaching to Adults (CELTA), or rather, the lack of it. In what follows, we will first discuss the various aspects related to the importance of culture and its inclusion in the field of English Language Teaching (ELT). Next, we will discuss the main highlights of the CELTA course and its main components and present a practical suggestion for implementing a short ‘culture’ component that can be easily integrated into the course where it will increase cultural awareness amongst new teachers embarking on a career abroad in a foreign country and hopefully achieve pedagogical competence when working abroad.

scholarly journals Teaching Culture through Reading Literature in English Language Teaching

2021 ◽  
Vol 18 (2) ◽  
pp. 185-203
Author(s):  
Leonarda Lovrović ◽  
Cathy-Theresa Kolega
Keyword(s):  
English Language Learners ◽  
Social Relations ◽  
Intercultural Competence ◽  
Cultural Awareness ◽  
English Language ◽  
Language Teaching ◽  
English Language Teaching ◽  
University Education ◽  
Literary Texts ◽  
Teaching Culture

English as a lingua franca (ELF) has become a standardized mode of communication between diverse sociocultural groups. Besides linguistic competence, English language learners should possess adequate intercultural competence to establish successful social relations worldwide. Therefore, one of the main objectives of English language teaching (ELT) has become the development of intercultural speakers (Byram 1997; Kramsch 1998). One way of achieving this is by using literature in the classroom because learners interpret literary texts from their personal experience and are thus engaged both at a cognitive and an emotional level. Their individual interpretations can nevertheless also lead to generalizations and enforcement of stereotypes about foreign cultures. Hanauer (2001) has developed a method called focus-on-cultural understanding to expose learners to different interpretations. The study explores whether his method can be successfully applied in the context of Croatian university education. The method has proven to be effective for raising learners’ cultural awareness, which could lead to further development of their intercultural competence.

scholarly journals Unpacking Reflective Practice in the Praxis of English Language Teaching in Indonesia

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Muhamad Ahsanu ◽  
Tuti Purwati ◽  
Erna Wardani
Keyword(s):  
Reflective Practice ◽  
Classroom Practice ◽  
English Language ◽  
Language Teaching ◽  
Research Question ◽  
English Language Teaching ◽  
Reflection In Action ◽  
New Ideas ◽  
Reflection On Action

This paper portrays the ways Indonesian English Language Teaching (ELT) practitioners review and reflect on their practice, seek to expand new ideas and techniques they can apply in their classrooms. This study aims to enhance our understanding of what it is actually that Indonesian ELT practitioners are doing, understanding, and what they are trying to achieve in their classroom activities. This study investigates explanative answers to a single research question: In what ways are Indonesian ELT practitioners reflective in their classroom practice? This study conducted at secondary schools and universities uses a qualitative approach, utilizing observation, interviews, and documents as data collection methods, and content analysis as a means of data analysis. This research involved four participants selected purposively and voluntarily. Its findings, analysis, and interpretation are presented descriptively. The major finding of this study suggests that Indonesian ELT practitioners are reflective in three ways: being reflective within the process of their teaching, known as “reflection-in-action, being reflective in their post-teaching referred to as “reflection-on-action, ” and being reflective in their future improvement planning known as “reflection-for-action.” The practitioners’ reflexivity aims to improve the quality of their teaching, which can potentially affect the quality of their students’ learning. Thus, arguably Indonesian ELT practitioners have performed the praxis in their language teaching through reflective practice.

scholarly journals CONTENT EDULCORATION AS IDEOLOGY VISUALIZATION IN AN ENGLISH LANGUAGE COURSEBOOK

2020 ◽  
pp. 172-193
Author(s):  
Рафаэль Филиберто Фортеса Фернандес ◽  
Елена Валерьевна Рубцова ◽  
Саймелин Айлээн Фортеса Рохас
Keyword(s):  
English Language ◽  
Language Teaching ◽  
English Language Teaching ◽  
Language Awareness ◽  
Teacher Language ◽  
Post Colonial ◽  
Discourse Practices ◽  
Western Discourse ◽  
The Mind

Основываясь на постструктуралистских определениях дискурса, данное исследование посвящено критике редукционистской сущности канонических определений понятия языковой осведомленности учителя (Teacher Language Awareness – TLA), осознаваемых как формула для регургитации западных дискурсивных практик в преподавании английского языка. Опираясь на принципы мультимодальности и понятие идеологического концептуального квадрата, в статье проводится тематическое исследование, демонстрирующее способы визуализации евро-американской имперской истории в энтекстуализации в неязыковом материале учебников английского языка, где авторы в процессе реэнтекстуализации избегают акцентировать внимание на негативном образе, отрицая не только прошлые колониальные злодеяния, но и их постколониальное повторение, такое как, например, фашизм в Испании. Эта маскировка, или санация, является частью незапятнанного образа Западного проекта, который проецируется в том числе через обучение английскому языку как важный элемент процесса глобализации и его связи с неолиберальными имперскими установками. И этот факт открыто бросает вызов обоснованности концепта языковой осведомленности учителя (TLA) как конструкта. В работе также вводится концепт «edulcoration» (education (образование) + dulce (in Spanish - сладость) + decoration (декорация)), понимаемый как средство синтаксического и лексического манипулирования языком, реализованное также в образах и аудиозаписях, которые делают пригодным для образовательных целей неязыковой материал. С практической точки зрения каждый из примеров, приведенных в исследовании, выражает контрдискурс, необходимый для практик противодействия неоколонизации ума. В работе предлагается переосмысление способов формирования и развития компетенций учителя в эпоху глобализации, а также возможность исследования аналогичных вопросов в других европейских языковых учебниках. Based on post-structural definitions of discourse(s), the article is aimed at criticizing the reductionist essence of canonical definitions of Teacher Language Awareness (TLA)], perceived as a formula for the regurgitation of western discourse practices in the English Language Teaching classroom. Based on a multimodal perspective and an ideological conceptual square, the research reports a case study illustrating how Euro-American imperial history is visualized in its entextualization in the non-language material of an English language textbook. The results of the case study reveal that in the process of re-entextualization the authors have de-emphasized the negative image of the Self by negating not only the Euro-American colonial atrocities but also their post-colonial repetition such as fascism in Spain. This concealment or content sanitation is part of the untarnished image the West projects through ELT as part of its role in the process of globalization and its connection to the neo-liberal empire, a fact that openly challenges the validity of TLA as a construct. The work also introduces the concept ‘content edulcoration’ (education + dulce (in Spanish) + decoration) understood as the means of syntactic and lexical language manipulation as well as its realization in the voice of transcript readers and images, all of which make non-language material suitable for educational purposes. From a practical viewpoint, each of the instances in the case study offers the counter-discourse necessary for resistance to the neo-colonization of the mind. The article suggests a reconceptualization of teacher formation and development in the era of globalization as well as the feasibility of researching similar issues in other major European language teaching textbooks.

scholarly journals English for Academic Purposes: Theory, Trends and Practices

2019 ◽  
Vol 29 ◽  
pp. 1-14
Author(s):  
Gopal Prasad Pandey
Keyword(s):  
English Language ◽  
English For Academic Purposes ◽  
English Language Teaching ◽  
English For Specific Purposes ◽  
Academic Context ◽  
Intercultural Awareness ◽  
Current Trends ◽  
Professional Needs ◽  
English Speaking

English for academic purpose (EAP) emerged as a branch of English for specific purposes in the early 1980s. EAP grounds English language teaching in the linguistic demands of academic context, tailoring instruction to specific rather than general purposes. There is a growth of interest in EAP in the recent years. The interest in EAP developed in response to the growing need for intercultural awareness and of English as a lingua franca (ELF). EAP has become a major area of research in applied linguistics and focus of the courses studied worldwide by a large number of students preparing for study in colleges and universities. The increase in students’ undertaking tertiary studies in English-speaking countries has led to a steady demand for the courses tailored to meet the immediate, specific vocational and professional needs. Thus, most universities in the present day world prioritize the role of academic skills. The aim of the paper is to examine the key approaches to the teaching of English for academic purposes, current trends in teaching EAP, and to argue the centrality and significance of EAP in the academia. The paper concludes by arguing that a greater emphasis needs to be placed on methodology in EAP.

scholarly journals Bridging the Gap Between Discourse Analysis and Language Classroom Practice

2019 ◽  
Vol 12 (8) ◽  
pp. 79
Author(s):  
Maha H. Alsoraihi
Keyword(s):  
Discourse Analysis ◽  
Language Learning ◽  
Classroom Practice ◽  
English Language ◽  
Language Teaching ◽  
Social Contexts ◽  
English Language Teaching ◽  
Linguistic Knowledge ◽  
Teaching Learning

This paper deals with the emergence of discourse analysis (DA), its significance and its application in the classroom environments. It also sheds light on (DA) dimensions and how its relevance to English language teaching (ELT) will enhance the quality of teaching/learning a language. This research paper supports the fact that language cannot be learned or taught in isolation. Effective language learning/teaching requires learners to be engaged in actual/social contexts in order to apply their knowledge and skills for achieving a successful communication which is the ultimate goal of learning a language. This paper discusses various associated applications of discourse analysis in language classrooms in an attempt improve the quality of language teaching/learning techniques and outcomes. The researcher also reviews the most prominent challenges that hinder the effective implementation of this approach and provide certain solutions that can be used in order to overcome these challenges. This paper assumes that learners who focus on relating linguistic knowledge to social and cultural contexts will demonstrate high levels of communicative performance and self-confidence.

The First Step

2021 ◽  
pp. 127-149
Author(s):  
Voghn E. Tatem ◽  
Martha Kimberly Marrast
Keyword(s):  
Thematic Analysis ◽  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
English Language ◽  
Language Teaching ◽  
English Language Teaching ◽  
Pedagogical Practices ◽  
Target Language ◽  
Language Awareness ◽  
Teacher Resources ◽  
Language Teaching And Learning

Many of the current teacher resources fail to address the differences between home and target language; therefore, teachers in Barbados need to intentionally incorporate language awareness in their English Language teaching. Based on Craig's three-step orientation for language teaching and learning, this chapter presents data that sought to assist in concretizing the theory through practical application. For the research, eight teachers participated in a workshop designed to facilitate exposure to innovative uses of language awareness and expressed views about the application of the strategy within a focus group. Moreover, rich textual information was gathered through a thematic analysis of data. While participants expressed mixed views on the value of Bajan Dialect in the classroom, they agreed that some element of language awareness was needed. Further, they held the perspective that the implementation of the strategy would advance English Language teaching and learning in Barbados and move toward transformation in pedagogical practices.

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