Education Commons^™

The Culture Boundary: How Awareness Informs Teaching Practice, Angela Richardson

MA TESOL Collection

In this paper I discuss the value of exploring student culture through ongoing reflective processes for effective and responsible language teaching. I reflect on my own experience of teaching in a foreign language context for the first time, and discuss how developing cultural awareness helped me move from a place of frustration to understanding, and how a change in attitude and teaching approach impacted my relationships and significantly improved the quality of teaching and learning in my classroom. Using Pat Moran’s ‘Cultural Knowings’ framework as a guide, I reflect on my personal transformation while working in South Korea and report …

American Cultural Values : A Look At One's Own Cultural Identity, Judith Day, Jane Farrell

MA TESOL Collection

This paper is presented in two sections. Part A sets out a 16-lesson course for American ESL teachers in which people will look at personal and cultural values, with the goal of achieving an objective insight into the values of their culture and developing ways of incorporating this awareness in the ESL classroom. Should this course be used by non-American teachers there is another course outline (see Alternative Course Outline for Non-native Speakers of English) that has been developed. Part B is an articulation of some major values pertinent to American society. Areas covered are success, time, work, individualism, equality, …

Live...From The Language Lab., Ursula H. Raeth

MA TESOL Collection

No abstract provided.

Using A Case Study Method To Teach Culture In The Esl Classroom, William Peter Polaski

MA TESOL Collection

No abstract provided.

A Hodge-Podge Of Written Realia, Suzanne Petrick

MA TESOL Collection

No abstract provided.

Units Of Study On Eight American Patriotic Holidays, Nina Pearson

MA TESOL Collection

This materials development project consists of information and lesson plans related to eight patriotic holidays in the United States. It is intended to be used by English as a Second Language teachers in intermediate classes. Each unit consists of background information on a specific holiday, a lesson plan which included culture and grammar points, and follow-up activities. Each lesson includes three objectives: a sociolinguistic/cultural objective, a linguistic objective, and an interpersonal objective, which deals with the atmosphere in which the learning takes place. Similar interpersonal objectives are stated in each lesson and emphasize the importance of a supportive, no-threatening learning …

Responsibility - A Foreign Perspective On Four Issues In The Master Of Arts In Teaching Program, Margaret Elizabeth Mcdonald

MA TESOL Collection

This paper is a foreign perspective on four issues: Responsibility and Student-Centered Learning, Group Process, Experiential Learning, and Culture and Individuality in the Master of Arts in Teaching Program at the School for International Training, Brattleboro, Vermont. Personal Experiences as a student and student-teacher are combined to address these issues as they relate to foreign students at the school. The central theme is responsibility. Each section marks a disctinct stage and describes the author's development of the ability to take responsibility for learning in a system that is fundamentally different from her own. The author concludes with the view that …

An Esl Program With Laotian Refugees, Patricia A. Ryan-Croes

MA TESOL Collection

This project is a report on an ESL program developed for and taught to a Laotian couple who arrived in Brattleboro, Vermont in December 1979. The program took place from January to March 1980. The purpose of this report is to present and discuss issues, incidents, suggestions and conclusions regarding the teaching of ESL to Laotian refugees which may be helpful to program organizers and teachers.

The first part of the report details the refugee couple's background before their arrival in Brattleboro. Next is a description of the process of organizing the program and establishing the classroom procedure. This is …

Teaching Culture - A Texas Model: Materials Development For Teaching American Culture, Focusing On Regional Variations, Melanie Anne Dando

MA TESOL Collection

No abstract provided.

A Cultural Observation Project For Outbound Students To France, Fiona Stewart Cook

MA TESOL Collection

This project contains guided question sheets and topics for discussions on cultural values which I developed while leading a summer Outbound group to France. They are designed to help students who are in an immersion or homestay siatuation to focus their attention on the various aspects of everyday life in France, to make careful observations, to share and compare their findings with other group members with the goal of gaining greater understanding of and appreciation for the French culture

Teaching Overseas, Maria Angeles Albarracin Boggs

MA TESOL Collection

The following paper is geared to language teachers planning to work and live abroad. It is an account, in the form of reports, of the life and educational systems of seven non-western countries, based on personal experiences.

This project is intended to serve as a cultural and professional guide to teachers going to any of these seven countries; therefore, I have included pertinent data tho this effect.

The nature of this project is for the most part subjective; therefore, some of the facts and opinions are based on the kind of experiences the persons interviewed had in the countries where …

Tres Cuentos, Beatriz Cespedes De Fantini

MA TESOL Collection

Teachers of Spanish are often concerned primarily with the mechanical aspects of language. A student's knowledge of the language is principally determined by his mastery of vocabulary, correct verb forms, etc. By devoting so much concern to the purely linguistic aspects of communication, other important dimensions have often been ignored; for example, the "appropriateness" of language use in a given social context. Once this dimension is considered, it becomes clear that besides knowledge of the mechanical construct of language, the student must also acquire knowledge of what language choices are appropriate for each social situation.

In this work, three original …

An Annotated Bibliography Of M.A.T. Projects, Reports And Papers In The S.I.T. Library, David Michael Bumbar

MA TESOL Collection

This project is an annotated and edited bibliography of the independent professional projects, reports and other materials that have been written by students in the Master of Arts in Teaching program. This booklet which is a reference guide to the MAT writings found in the S.I.T. library has been indexed according to the major topics within the MAT program and is accompanied by a set of index cards.

Teaching English To Japanese, Kayoko Hisano

MA TESOL Collection

This paper aims at offering some information on the background of Japanese students to native teachers of English. Japanese students have a unique background in English education, which it is advisable for teachers of English to know about if they are to be as effective as possible when teaching them.

CHAPTER I touches on why the Japanese learn English, and CHAPTER II examines the kind of English education that is taught at Japanese high schools. CHAPTER II covers linguistic differences between Japanese and English, and CHAPTER IV deals with the psychology of Japanese students.

Teaching Across Cultures: A Review Of The Personal Accounts Of Twelve Teachers, Nicholas Hilmers

MA TESOL Collection

This is a review of the personal accounts of twelve teachers who have worked in cultural settings other than their own. It is intended to be useful to teachers who plan to enter a different culture. The twelve critical reviews are supplemented by a commentary which points out the limitations of the literature and discusses common adjustment problems which appear. It is argued that the success of a teacher in adjusting to a different culture can be attributed to certain qualities of personality. Briefly stated, these qualities are adaptibility, a strong will, creativity and a humanistic attitude.

Some Thoughts On The Effects Esl Teachers Can Have In A World Community, Ann Frentzen, Ann Brooks

MA TESOL Collection

Since Teaching English as a Second Language is a profession involved with the humanity of all nations and cultures, as ESL teachers, we can play an integral part in the inevitable process of the world growing smaller and nations growing more and more interdependent.

This paper looks at ESL teachers in this context. The first part examines the role of ESL teacher and the potential effect those in that role can have in the world. Part two consists of a series of questions that grew out of real teaching situations, and that might provide a springboard for examining our values …

A Guide For Teaching English At Language Schools In Osaka & Kyoto, Japan - A Description And Analysis With Job Hunting Reports, Kimiko Kunii

MA TESOL Collection

This is a report about teaching conditions in the private language schools based on my own direct experience and on information collected from interviews and from a questionnaire sent to schools in Kyoto and Osaka, Japan. The teaching conditions in lower secondary schools are also written in contrast to those of the private language schools. The questionnaries collected from each school are attached in this report.

The Community Issues And Social And Cultural Activities Component Of The Japanese Teachers' Program At Boston University, Summer 1973, Karen M. Zeller

MA TESOL Collection

No abstract provided.

Teaching Language In-Country: A Report On The Use Of The Environment While Teaching Spanish At The Language Camp In Oaxtepec, Mexico, Jesus Burgos Marin

MA TESOL Collection

No abstract provided.

A Summer's Learning Experience, Arlene Feskanich

MA TESOL Collection

No abstract provided.

On Becoming A Leader, Patricia A. Wall

MA TESOL Collection

No abstract provided.

Teaching Latin American Culture: A Values Oriented Approach, Willis E. Poole

MA TESOL Collection

This is a report on the author's experiences in teaching a course concerning Latin American culture. The approach used concerns itself with value clarification on the part of the students. Specific activities involving attitudes, beliefs and values as they pertain to American and latin American cultures are included.

Some Cultural And Linguistic Background Information For A Beginning Teacher On The Navajo Reservation, G. Scott Harrison

MA TESOL Collection

No abstract provided.