scholarly journals Deconstructing dominant English language discourses in the Ghanaian curriculum : reimagining a curriculum centered on Ghanaian languages and literacies

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
◽  
Edwin Nii Bonney

Decades of research in language-in-education policies in Ghana can be summed up in the statement: "Ghanaian languages matter but they matter only as tools for learning English." Although researchers continue to call to include more content delivery in Ghanaian languages in schools, educational policies and practices in Ghana continue to prioritize English education inherited from Ghana's colonial past while devaluing and deprivileging Ghanaian languages and cultures (Dei and Asgharzadeh, 2001). Scholars continue to call for stakeholders to decolonize the curriculum by centering Ghanaian languages, culture, and knowledge in schools (Dei, 2005). This study heeds that call. Grounded in studies and theories of English linguistic imperialism and critical literacy, I first examine the discourse of the newly implemented 2019 K-6 primary school curriculum and public discourses of educational leaders to learn how curricular policies, content, assessment, and teaching and learning activities continue to center English-centric language practices and policies. Second, I reimagine how to center Ghanaian languages in education. I found that the curriculum does not resist English language dominance or question it but treats it as normal and aspirational for Ghanaian students. The topic of Ghanaian languages is absent in the public discourse of educational leaders including when they are addressing how to make education more equitable for students. This study is significant because it shows how formerly colonized spaces like Ghana through their own educational curriculum might be silencing and devaluing their own indigenous languages (and cultures) and it also demonstrates the role of educational leaders in shaping public discourse.

Author(s):  
Dentik Karyaningsih ◽  
Puji Siswanto

Lecture courses in the English Language Education Study Program of STKIP Setiabudhi Rangkasbitung are still conducted in face-to-face class, so the students who do not attend lectures cannot know the pronunciation material at that time, because the Pronunciation course is a practical course in the English pronunciation system. The E-Learning Pronunciation is built so that lectures can be carried out anywhere and anytime without reducing the quality of the teaching and learning process. Therefore, the students who are left behind can continue to follow the Pronunciation course material, as well as habituating students in utilizing communication and information technology. E-Learning Pronunciation is important to be built to improve the ability of students’ pronunciation when doing distance learning, so that students are clearer and more firm in understanding Pronunciation so that there are no errors in English pronunciation. Participants in this study were first semester students of English education study programs. This study uses an experimental research design with the Prototype System development method and system of testing uses Black box testing.


RELC Journal ◽  
2021 ◽  
pp. 003368822097931
Author(s):  
Ulugbek Nurmukhamedov ◽  
Shoaziz Sharakhimov

In addition to movies, television programs, and TED Talks presentations, podcasts are an increasingly popular form of media that promotes authentic public discourse for diverse audiences, including university professors and students. However, English language teachers in the English as a second language/English as a foreign language contexts might wonder: “How do I know that my students can handle the vocabulary demands of podcasts?” To answer that question, we have analyzed a 1,137,163-word corpus comprising transcripts from 170 podcast episodes derived from the following popular podcasts: Freakonomics; Fresh Air; Invisibilia; Hidden Brain; How I Built This; Radiolab; TED Radio Hour; This American Life; and Today Explained. The results showed that knowledge about the most frequent 3000 word families plus proper nouns (PN), marginal words (MW), transparent compounds (TC), and acronyms (AC) provided 96.75% coverage, and knowledge about the most frequent 5000 word families, including PN, MW, TC, and AC provided 98.26% coverage. The analysis also showed that there is some variation in coverage among podcast types. The pedagogical implications for teaching and learning vocabulary via podcasts are discussed.


Author(s):  
Wenyang Sun ◽  
Xue Lan Rong

Language education is becoming an increasingly important topic in education in Asian countries, especially as schools in Asian countries have become more multilingual and multicultural as a result of rapid urbanization and globalization. A comparative analysis of the issues in language education reform in Asian countries—using China, India, Japan, South Korea, and Singapore as examples—shows that, historically and currently, English language education policies are shaped by various underpinning ideologies such as linguicism, nationalism, and neoliberalism. English can serve as a vehicle for upward socioeconomic mobility, or an instrument of linguistic imperialism, or both, in Asia contexts. These ideologies, through language education policies and reforms, impact the status as well as the pedagogy and promotion of the English language. There is a trend and a need with regard to addressing critical consciousness in English education in order to counter the forces of linguicism and neoliberalism in an increasingly multilingual, multicultural, and globalized world.


2017 ◽  
Vol 16 (1) ◽  
pp. 40-54 ◽  
Author(s):  
Samuel Jaye Tanner ◽  
Christina Berchini

Purpose The authors of this paper are both white English education scholars with antiracist agendas. This conceptual manuscript aims – in part – to better understand the backlash both of them have faced in trying to contribute to antiracist teaching and research in English education. Design/methodology/approach This manuscript uses practices of narrative inquiry to tell and interpret stories about the authors’ work. Findings The authors hope to critique traditional notions of white resistance in favor of more careful theorizations of whiteness that can be helpful for teachers and scholars in English education and English Language Arts (ELA)with an interest in facilitation antiracist pedagogy. Originality/value Ultimately, with this work, the authors hope to provoke readers to consider how work with whiteness is processed by white people, especially in terms of teaching and learning in English education and ELA. They believe the field of English education should begin to discuss this issue.


2014 ◽  
Vol 13 (1) ◽  
pp. 104
Author(s):  
Idham Syahputra

This study described and examined on the current English language learning strategies used by Indonesian Students English Education Department enrolled at State Islamic University of Sultan SyarifKasim Riau in Indonesia. The subjects of the study were (99) male and female students still studying for their Undergraduate degree in English Education Department. The study investigates the frequency of strategies use among these students according to gender and proficiency variables. Proficiency is reflected by students’ learning level (i.e., sophomore, junior, senior), self-reported proficiency in English (i.e., the students’ university average in English courses) and language self-efficacy (i.e,. how good the students perceived themselves as English learners). The collecting data used Questionnaire adopted from Oxford (1990a), Mohammad Amin Embi (1996) danPolitzer (1993), interview lecturers about the language learning strategies used by students. The results of this study showed that State Islamic University of Sultan SyarifKasim, English Education Department used learning strategies with high to medium frequency, and that the highest rank (79.6%) was for Metacognitive strategies while the lowest (63%) was for compensation strategies and the others used cognitive, memory, affective and social. In general, the results showed that gender and proficiency had no significant differences on the use of strategies. Based on these findings, the researcher recommends that more training should be given in using Cognitive, Memory, Affective, social and Compensation strategies by embedding them into regular classroom activities or teaching and learning process


AILA Review ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 32 ◽  
pp. 36-63 ◽  
Author(s):  
Peter Sayer

Abstract There has been a rapid global expansion of English instruction in the early grades in public school curricula. Particularly in so-called developing countries, the increase of and its shift from exclusively private to public education is linked to the idea that acquiring English promotes personal, social, and economic development. The author takes one case of a recent early English program, the national program in Mexico, and argues that it is a representative case of a language education programme and policy organized around neoliberal principles. The policy’s stated goal is to address issues of access and equity for public school students; however, findings indicate that the actual processes of teaching and learning at the classroom level remain highly stratified across social class lines. An analysis of English lessons in schools at different points on the socioeconomic spectrum illustrates that instruction is preparing children with certain types of skills and dispositions congruent to their class position and revealing the hidden curriculum of work in early English education.


2018 ◽  
Vol 5 (2) ◽  
pp. 13-21
Author(s):  
Nurteteng Nurteteng

The study attempts to analyze the types of communication strategies used in English classroom presentation by the English education students of UNIMUDA Sorong and the reasons why they used the strategy. The study took place at UNIMUDA Sorong in TEFL class where 30 students were participated and observed during their presentation activity in this subject. The study employed descriptive method, where the data obtained through open interviewed and video recording. The result showed that from twelve features of communication strategies, there are six of them that the students used during presentation. They are appoximation, circumlocation, examplification, word coinages, code switching and use fo fillers. Circumlocation was used because the students wanted to make direct contact to the students in order to make the successful teaching and learning process. Examplification was used because it can reflect the meaning of the concept. Word coinages was used because they might forget the appropriate words/term. Code switching was used because they felt more comfortable in case she combined between Bahasa Indonesia and the English language. Use of fillers was used because the strategy was very significant particularly second or foreign language speaker. The most frequently communication strategy that the students used is use of fillers.


HOW ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 28 (3) ◽  
pp. 119-133
Author(s):  
Carmen Helena Guerrero-Nieto ◽  
Álvaro Hernán Quintero-Polo

This article presents our narration of the emergence and development of a research area about the teaching and learning of the English language in Colombia and the creation of a research group named Critical Studies of Colombian Education Policies. The narration includes a description of the bilingual education policy in Colombia and a literature review of how the themes Different Shades of the Colombian National Plan of Bilingualism and Theoretical and Practical Concerns over Bilingualism have been addressed by authors of local journals, such as How, Profile, Íkala, and Colombian Applied Linguistics Journal, in the issues published from 2008 to 2020. The description and literature review link the life stories of our growth as teachers and researchers as related to the research area and research group mentioned above. A final part of the narration refers to our contributions to the ELT field in Colombia through the following two themes: Dimensions of Language Policies: A Political Discourse Perspective and Making Teachers’ Agency Relevant: Bottom-up Approaches to the Study of Language Education Policies.


2019 ◽  
Vol 6 (1) ◽  
pp. 188-192
Author(s):  
Editorial Team

Edukasi: Jurnal Pendidikan dan Pengajaran provides a vital forum for exchanging ideas in order to enrich the theories and practices of English education in Indonesia and across the globe. The journal focuses, but not limited to, on the following topics: English language teaching, language teaching and learning, language teaching methodologies, pedagogical techniques, teaching and curricular practices, curriculum development and teaching methods, program, syllabus, and materials design, second and foreign language teaching and learning, language education, teacher education and professional development, teacher training, cross-cultural studies, bilingual and multilingual education, translation, language teaching for specific purposes, new technologies in language teaching, and testing and evaluation. It provides an academic platform for teachers, lecturers, and researchers to contribute innovative work in the field.


2020 ◽  
Vol 2019 (1) ◽  
pp. 160
Author(s):  
Beni Kudo ◽  
Giancarla Unser-Schutz

Discussions on English education policies often focus on their reception by teachers. However, this can overlook what students think about policy, and students’ support of policies may be crucial to their success. This is especially relevant to English education at universities, given the autonomy that university students have. To understand what students think about policies, a survey on certain aspects of Japanese educational policies and English language education was conducted at a private university. The survey focused on students’ attitudes towards guroubaru jinzai or global workers, a buzzword in Japanese EFL policies. Overall, students reported interest in becoming global workers, but they did not feel that this was realistic for themselves. This suggests that to gain the support necessary from students for their own cultivation as global workers in line with current EFL policies, it may be necessary to show the relevance to their own lives, from their own perspectives. 文科省の英語教育におけるポリシーの1つは「グローバル人材育成」であるが、大学英語教育では、学習に対する学生の主体的な意識や態度が重要である。中堅大学の学生を対象とした調査の結果、彼らは「国際的に活躍することが現代社会で求められている」と認識している一方、「そのような人材になることは自分にとって現実的ではない」と考えていることが分かった。理由の1つは「英語に対する自信のなさ」であるが、同時に「英語学習」には興味を持つ学生も多かった。「グローバル人材の必要性の認識」と「英語学習に対する興味」を利用することで、中堅大学の学生にとっても文科省のポリシーの実現が可能であると考えられる。


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