scholarly journals Integrating Local Knowledge into Language Learning: A Study on the Your Language My Culture (YLMC) Project

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Arab World English Journal ◽  
Radha M.K. Nambiar ◽  
Nurul Amalina bt Anawar
Keyword(s):  
Language Learning ◽  
Local Knowledge ◽  
English Language ◽  
Language And Culture ◽  
Cultural Information ◽  
Video Recordings ◽  
Aesthetic Sense ◽  
Holistic Understanding ◽  
Teachers And Students ◽  
The Aesthetic

Language and culture share a nebulous relationship with multiple considerations like which culture and how it should be represented, taking into account the diverse contexts in which English is taught. This paper investigates the integration of local knowledge into English language learning by examining the cultural content of the Your Language My Culture supplementary reading module and teachers and students’ acceptance of the module. Using a conceptual framework that incorporated types of culture, cultural senses and representation of cultural information, data were collected using a questionnaire, reflective blogs and evaluation checklists from 57 teachers from various schools in the state of Terengganu in Malaysia. Content and thematic analysis were carried out and the findings show that while local, target and international culture were represented, the emphasis was towards local culture. Most of the cultural information was represented in the form of visual illustrations and less in dialogue and video recordings with the aesthetic sense dominating in terms of cultural sense. It is recommended that types of representations like dialogues, recordings, written tasks, visuals, texts and realia be included to help students attain pragmatic skills to use the language. A richer inclusion of the cultural senses in a balanced way can help students reach a holistic understanding of culture and recognize different perspectives embedded in the language.

The “other(ing)” costs of ESL

2008 ◽  
Vol 18 (1) ◽  
pp. 91-108 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ena Lee
Keyword(s):  
Language Learning ◽  
English Language ◽  
Mainland China ◽  
Language Education ◽  
Economic Benefits ◽  
Secondary English ◽  
Language And Culture ◽  
Post Secondary ◽  
Student Identities ◽  
Global Language

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.

scholarly journals Students' Perception on Blended Learning in English Listening and Speaking Class

2018 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Magdalena Kartikasari Tandy Rerung
Keyword(s):  
Online Learning ◽  
Blended Learning ◽  
Language Learning ◽  
English Language ◽  
Language And Culture ◽  
Face To Face ◽  
Learning Platform ◽  
Face To Face Learning ◽  
Communicative Teaching ◽  
Listening And Speaking

<p>Nowadays, the communicative teaching has been influenced by the development of technology. Becoming interactive teacher would not be enough if it is not supported by technology usage. Online learning in this case has been a powerful tool to help language learners during their learning progress.  It is said that that online instruction raised the good and average student’s reading performance and the performance of the lowest-performing as well. In listening and speaking, online learning can help students improve their pronunciaton as well the comprehension skill. Therefore, the following study is designed to find out the students’ perceptions towards the use of both online and face-to-face learning in listening and speaking classroom. There are 30 students from the 1<sup>st</sup> and 3<sup>rd</sup> semester of English Language and Culture Departement and they joined the class for 1 semester. Online learning platform used was taken from Cambridge Learning Management System integrated with Unlock 2 and Unlock 4 books as the source of learning. The result shows that most of the students see online learning as an alternative tool to help them during their learning process.<strong></strong></p><strong>Keywords: </strong>blended learning, online learning, face-to-face learning, language learning

Improving Online Readability in a Web 2.0 Context

2009 ◽  
pp. 385-410
Author(s):  
John Paul Loucky
Keyword(s):  
Language Learning ◽  
Web Sites ◽  
English Language ◽  
Engineering Students ◽  
Online Reading ◽  
Writing Course ◽  
Teachers And Students ◽  
Efl Students ◽  
Pedagogical Innovations ◽  
User Friendly

This study describes a task-based assessment (TBA) approach to teaching reading and writing online. It then analyzes key factors emerging from the results of implementing this approach with graduate engineering students in Japan. It is argued that these factors should be considered when designing or assessing any online reading or writing course for ESL/EFL students. The findings of this study are especially relevant to task-based approaches and technical or pedagogical innovations which can help foster more effective and enjoyable learning for teachers and students in blended learning environments. It is hoped that this discussion can serve as a model of what can be done to enhance online EAP/ESP/ETP courses, as well as any other online reading or writing course being designed for speakers and readers of languages other than English. The goal in this chapter is to summarize research aimed at integrating some of the most useful Web sites for English language learning into a user-friendly system for optimal online vocabulary development — which could be self-monitored by students as well as tracked by teachers via a course management system.

scholarly journals Students’ Preferences and Attitude toward Oral Error Correction Techniques at Yanbu University College, Saudi Arabia

2016 ◽  
Vol 9 (11) ◽  
pp. 59
Author(s):  
Bushra Alamri ◽  
Hala Hassan Fawzi
Keyword(s):  
Saudi Arabia ◽  
Language Learning ◽  
Error Correction ◽  
Quantitative Research ◽  
English Language ◽  
Classroom Observation ◽  
Language Teachers ◽  
English Language Teaching ◽  
University College ◽  
Teachers And Students

<p>Error correction has been one of the core areas in the field of English language teaching. It is “seen as a form of feedback given to learners on their language use” (Amara, 2015). Many studies investigated the use of different techniques to correct students’ oral errors. However, only a few focused on students’ preferences and attitude toward oral error correction techniques, which determine students’ success in language learning. This quantitative research explored teachers’ and students’ preferences as well as students’ attitude toward the use of oral error correction techniques in the language classroom. The participants of the study were English language students and English language teachers at Yanbu University College (YUC) in Yanbu Industrial City, Saudi Arabia. A classroom observation checklist and questionnaires were used to collect the data. The study findings revealed that recast and explicit correction are the preferred techniques by the majority of the students and teachers. The findings also indicated that students have positive attitude toward oral error correction. As the classroom observation revealed that recast was highly used by teachers, it is recommended that teachers should also use other techniques to correct students’ oral errors. In addition, it is recommended that before correcting students’ oral errors teachers should always take into account the purpose of the activity and the proficiency level of students.</p>

scholarly journals Educational Policy: Voices from Local English Teachers and Students towards National Exam in Yogyakarta

2020 ◽  
Vol 4 (2) ◽  
pp. 217
Author(s):  
Laser Romios ◽  
Nindya Primandita ◽  
Novilda Angela Saragih
Keyword(s):  
Language Learning ◽  
English Language ◽  
Group Discussion ◽  
Sampling Technique ◽  
English Teachers ◽  
School Level ◽  
Learning Activity ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Teachers And Students ◽  
The Government

<p class="AbstractText">This study is aimed at exploring the voices of English teachers and students of a state senior high school towards the National Exam policy and its implementation in Indonesia. Several theories of psychology and language learning were applied in this study as the theoretical framework. This study used a descriptive qualitative method. The participants were chosen by purposive sampling technique. The data for this study were garnered through a Focus Group Discussion (FGD) conducted to the selected twelfth-grade students and semi-structured interviews done to two English teachers. Both data were analyzed descriptively. Upon the analysis, two paramount themes prevailed: (1) the negative response towards the implementation and accuracy of National Exam (NE) policy in Indonesia; and (2) unintended impacts of NE policy on teaching and learning activity, students’ motivation, and English Language Learning and Curriculum. This study offers information for the government as the policymaker, school leaders, teachers, and researchers to understand how the NE is implemented at the school level.</p>

scholarly journals COMMUNICATIVE REPERTOIRES USED BY STUDENTS WITH MULTICULTURAL BACKGROUNDS IN ESL WRITING CLASSROOM

2020 ◽  
Vol 8 (2) ◽  
pp. 835-843
Author(s):  
Firman Parlindungan ◽  
Lia Lisyati
Keyword(s):  
Language Learning ◽  
English Language ◽  
Classroom Interaction ◽  
English Language Teaching ◽  
Writing Classroom ◽  
Esl Writing ◽  
Teaching Culture ◽  
Teachers And Students ◽  
Additional Reference ◽  
Data Collections

Purpose of the study: The objective of this study is to describe the communicative repertoires used by students with multicultural backgrounds in an ESL writing classroom. We drew upon the notion of communicative repertoires and English as an International Language (EIL) to explain how gestures, turn-taking habits, and different dialects shaped the interaction among students during the process of English language learning. Methodology: The research method was a case study in which classroom observation, field notes, interviews, and documentation were carried out as the tools for data collections. The data were then analyzed qualitatively and were discussed within various perspectives from scholars in the related discipline to explain the findings of this study.   Main Findings: We found that the participants used some forms of communicative repertoires (i.e., gestures, turn-takings, and dialects) that are culturally-bound to their own heritage culture. Although the use of these traits was perceived differently among students, these communicative repertoires leveraged their English learning process situated within a dynamic bidirectional classroom interaction. Applications of this study: This study is applicable in a classroom in which students are from different cultural backgrounds. It might also be useful for a teacher who experiences teaching English for students who are culturally different from her/him. In a wider context, this study can be an additional reference for some areas of English Language Teaching (ELT) disciplines like teaching writing skills or teaching culture.  Novelty/Originality of this study: The findings suggest that English teachers and students need to recognize non-linguistic elements of interaction as tools to heighten the awareness of using the language for learning. The goal is not to achieve elegant language performance, but to widen opportunities in demonstrating communicative competences, so intelligibility can be achieved.

scholarly journals Reflecting Translanguaging in Classroom Practices: A Case Study

2018 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Magdalena Kartikasari Tandy Rerung
Keyword(s):  
Language Learning ◽  
Language Production ◽  
English Language ◽  
Classroom Practices ◽  
First Language ◽  
Language And Culture ◽  
Speaking Skill ◽  
Listening And Speaking ◽  
Bahasa Indonesia

<p>Strategies comes from Greek word “strategia” which means the art of planning and directing. Regarding to language learning, a strategy is used to achieve their goal depends on the skill they obtain. Specifically speaking skill is one of the productive skills that can be a challenging thing for university students who majored in English. Besides vocabulary, other element that support their language production is motivation. Avoiding in using Bahasa Indonesia can make them unmotivated sometimes. If this is the case, therefore the students might be passive learners in the classroom. Translanguaging  is a strategy in language learning that can motivate students keep learning the language by combining their first language with the foreign one. The following case study is intended to observe how do students use translanguaging. The study was a class observation involving four students majored in English Language and Culture Program at Bunda Mulia University. They were in fourth semester and enrolling in the Listening and Speaking Class. Apparently the result shows that students who use their first language in the speaking task help them in delivering information and telling stories.</p><p><em><br /></em></p><strong><em>Keywords: </em></strong><em>translanguaging strategies, speaking skill, language learning</em>

scholarly journals UNRAVELING PARENTS' PERCEPTIONS OF ENGLISH LANGUAGE LEARNING

2020 ◽  
Vol 8 (2) ◽  
pp. 193-204
Author(s):  
Claudio Diaz ◽  
Nicolas Acuña ◽  
Barbara Ravanal ◽  
Ignacio Riffo
Keyword(s):  
Preservice Teachers ◽  
Qualitative Study ◽  
Language Learning ◽  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
English Language ◽  
Language Assessment ◽  
Structured Interview ◽  
English Language Learning ◽  
Positive Perception ◽  
Teachers And Students

Purpose of the study: This research aims to analyze parents’ perceptions towards the learning of English and the ways they help their children deal with English and language assessment. Methodology: This qualitative study addresses 74 Chilean parents’ perceptions of English teaching and learning. A semi-structured interview was conducted to capture the participants’ perceptions. The data were categorized using content and frequency analysis and the principles of metaphoric analysis. Main findings: The findings suggest that parents hold a positive perception of the English language and believe it is useful for their children’s lives even though they might find the learning of the language difficult. Social implications/Originality: Participants can produce metaphors that regard English as an ability and metaphors that focus on the process of learning the language. The findings of this research are useful for university stakeholders, teachers, preservice teachers, and students. Novelty/Originality of this study: In this study parents, stakeholders who have usually left aside from the language teaching and learning process, are interviewed to unfold their perceptions of what they see and believe when their children learn English.

scholarly journals Sensing the Poetic Habitat – A Study of Middle School Chinese Teaching from the Perspectives of Life Aesthetics

2021 ◽  
Vol 5 (12) ◽  
pp. 205-209
Author(s):  
Liyao Ma
Keyword(s):  
Middle School ◽  
Aesthetic Experience ◽  
Classroom Instruction ◽  
Chinese Education ◽  
Individual Life ◽  
Aesthetic Sense ◽  
Teachers And Students ◽  
The Aesthetic ◽  
Chinese Teaching ◽  
Natural Characteristics

The concept of life aesthetics reflects an individual’s cry for life and pursuit of beauty, inspiring individuals to discover their spiritual home, sense their poetic habitat, and enjoy the beauty of life flowing from their fingertips. Chinese education, viewed through the lens of life aesthetics, is founded on the natural characteristics of life, stimulating the aesthetic sense of individual life through the allure of language, and teaching students to view life through the aesthetic lens as well as from an understanding of life’s essence. Teachers and students are required to take an aesthetic view of life as theoretical guidance, based on core Chinese literacy, with textbook contents serving as carriers and classroom instruction as the position, closely connected to students’ actual lives, in order to help stimulate aesthetic experience among students, improve their aesthetic ability through aesthetic activities, and thus establish a correct view of life.

scholarly journals Teaching English for Economic Competiveness: Emerging Issues and Challenges in English Education in China

2013 ◽  
Vol 41 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Yan Guo
Keyword(s):  
Language Learning ◽  
Market Economy ◽  
Global Economy ◽  
English Language ◽  
English Education ◽  
Individual Interviews ◽  
Teachers And Students ◽  
Emerging Issues ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Education In China

Under China’s market economy, English language learning has been adopted as a strategy to promote the nation’s economic competitiveness in a global economy. This development reflects a discourse of linguistic instrumentalism. Based upon individual interviews of 24 English teachers in Zhejiang Province, China, the study reveals that teachers question the assumptions of linguistic instrumentalism, the gatekeeper role of English, the impact of the increasing dominance of English on Chinese language, and their students’ internalization of the belief in the superiority of Anglo culture. In addition, the study suggests that as a result of globalization, the delivery of English education in China has experienced unprecedented marketization and privatization. Despite increases in their salaries, teachers still live in poor conditions. Under the fee-paying principle, parents expect teachers to provide the best service to their children, and as such the relations between teachers and students have become like those between businesses and clients. It seems evident that teaching has been devalued and commodified in the age of market economy.

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