Education Commons^™

A World Englishes Study Of Korean University Students: Effects Of Pedagogy On Language Attitudes, Patrick Rousseau

MA TESOL Collection

I examine the impact of raising awareness of World English varieties on the language attitudes of Korean university students. This study triangulated direct attitudinal measurements through the use of a 6-point Likert scale survey with indirect attitudinal measurements by employing a verbal guise test. The verbal guise test used recordings of representative speakers from six varieties of English: American, Chinese, Japanese, British, Saudi, and Korean English. Attitudinal measurements were taken pre and post a series of four 1½-hour practical English classes designed to raise awareness of world varieties, along with global trends in language use that highlight the importance of …

“Teach To The Middle”: A Double Case Study Of Two Multilevel Efl Classes In The Middle East, Teresa Hernandez

MA TESOL Collection

The purpose of this paper is to develop a comprehensive understanding of multilevel classes. It examines the pedagogical challenges that teachers often face in this teaching context, but it also considers the implications for what multilevel classes indicate about access to education in the EFL teaching field. The author has opted to examine two distinct cases of multilevel classes in the Middle East that she taught from 2010-2011 and in 2012. The first was a remedial 7^th grade English class called 7F in an international school in Erbil, the capital city of the Kurdistan region of Iraq. The second …

Movement In Learning: Revitalizing The Classroom, Marcus Van

MA TESOL Collection

Movement is a vital part of our every day lives, and it is also important for a healthy brain. The following paper examines the shift from movement based learning to a more restrictive rote format, which often has adverse effects on learning. This work discusses the ways in which teachers are under pressure to “teach to the test” instead of creating student-centered classrooms. Some of the side effects of a test-centered approach are low self-esteem (from not meeting strict academic requirements) and behavioral problems in students.

Adding more movement to lessons can provide variation and relief from the rote-only system. …

Narrative Inquiry In The Language Classroom: An Incubator Of Identity And Growth Exploration, Olga Culver

MA TESOL Collection

The paper examines narrative inquiry within the precepts of socio-cultural and ecological theories. The work touches upon constructivist learning ideologies and examines social approaches to learning with an emphasis on biographical narratives. The author makes a case for self-discovery, holistic learning, and creating collaborative learning environments. The study also presents a methodology with practical applications for implementing a narrative praxis in a second language learning environment.

Teaching As A Reflective Practice: Orgasmial Theory And Its Refutation, William Culver

MA TESOL Collection

An interdisciplinary study examining teaching as a reflective practice with special emphasis on expanding the underlying factors of constructing and maintaining an empowering learning environment, as well as the need for and development of “transformative integrity” as part of a proactive teaching praxis.

Folktales And Philanthropy: Using Folktales As A Bridge To Community Service, Anne Michelle Myrick

MA TESOL Collection

Using folktales in an ESL/EFL classroom is not a new concept. Many teachers have found these ancient stories to be useful for language learning. In this paper I will explore some rationale for utilizing a student’s culture, folklore and folktales in particular in order to increase reading and writing skills, as well as other academic skills. In addition I will draw a correlation between folktales and philanthropy and show how folktales may be used as a bridge to community service task-based projects.

This paper also contains materials for a Folklore and Philanthropy course that I developed for my current teaching …

Utilizing The Interactive Reading Model In A Continuing Education Course, Shawn Mcrae

MA TESOL Collection

This paper seeks to provide an alternative method of reading instruction to female Saudi Arabian university students enrolled in a continuing education class for banking. Rather than a teacher-centered approach that relies on textbooks for materials development, a student-centered approach has been utilized in order to encourage participation, allowing the learners to have more input in the learning process. The use of student-generated materials allows for an authentic medium of communication, enabling students to practice their language learning skills using topics of social and personal relevance. From a teaching perspective, this is extremely important; it can increase students’ motivation, stepping …

Embracing The Opposition: Normative Culture And Candid Communication At The Buffalo Mountain School, Christian Mccrory

MA TESOL Collection

This paper examines the relationship between two approaches to disruptive behavior used at the Buffalo Mountain School, where the author works as a Special Education Provider for behaviorally and developmentally challenged students. These are the Normative Approach, established by the Northeastern Family Institute, and the Candid Approach, which is defined by the author based on his observations of practitioners at Buffalo Mountain. Each of these are used in an alternative school setting to redirect anti-social or disruptive behavior. The purpose of this paper is to determine the strengths and weaknesses of these approaches along with the parameters of their efficacy. …

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 …

Not You/Like You, With You: Toward A Praxis Of Love, Learning, And Liberation In Teaching Efl Writing — On Zombies, De-Colonial Feminisms, And Freire In Efl Contact Zones, Jessmaya Morales

MA TESOL Collection

This paper explores EFL writing as a critical contact zone in which identity and subjectivity are found, denied, contested, de/constructed and occupied. The author opens with an account of a dream, utilized as a metaphor to examine EFL learning through the analytical lens of Paulo Freire’s Pedagogy of the Oppressed. The paper’s first section is a self-reflexive discussion of Freire’s pedagogy and why his unambiguous analyses of power, subjectivity, and the “banking system of education” are vital to the field of ELT. In the second section, the author discusses subjectivity, identity, and intersectionality as rooted in the work of …

Cuisenaire Rods: Pedagogical And Relational Instruments For Language Learning, Sevilay Akarcay

MA TESOL Collection

Cuisenaire Rods are pedagogical and relational instruments with great potential for exploring the way a language works. With their flexibility and simplicity, they allow the students to focus on the process of learning; helping them notice patterns, make associations, and engage in a social and personal relation with the language and deepening their awareness of themselves as learners. The Cuisenaire Rods’ potential for creating simplicity within complexity enables a way of working with language that engages the playful and creative powers of the users. In the introductory part of the paper, the author explores Caleb Gattegno’s approach to learning and …

English Language Teaching Using The Whole Student Philosophy, Tahira Y. Muhammad

MA TESOL Collection

Education in Kuwait is centered on rote learning methodology. Historically, the Kuwait educational system was created to mimic the Egyptian rote learning systems that date back to Pharaonic times. Furthermore, Kuwaiti educators are convinced that rote learning is the optimal form of education. In this paper, I will attempt to prove that this method is unsuccessful, and that educators, within their classroom and lesson planning, should adapt their teaching strategies to the adoption of the whole language philosophy.

The major limitation of this research is that the observer is also participant. However, the fact that the observer is fully trained …

Using L1 Culture To Acquire L2 Culture: Zpd Framework, Amjad Taha

MA TESOL Collection

Teaching the target language culture has been recently receiving much attention and focus in the fields of second/foreign language teaching. This paper examines the importance of using the learners’ L1 culture as a tool to teach the target language culture. In addition, the paper stresses the idea that the learners develop a dynamic, hybrid identity and space that represents both their L1 and L2 culture. These manifestations are presented in a profound framework that shows the development stages that the learners go through in developing their third spaces by using their L1 culture.

This paper includes four main sections: an …

The Process Approach As Writing Instruction In Efl (English As A Foreign Language) Classrooms, Gregory D. Vanderpyl

MA TESOL Collection

Firstly, this paper will provide a brief historical account of the process approach to writing and follow with a working definition of process approach to be utilized throughout this Independent Professional Project. At present, much evidence points to the benefits to using the process approach as writing instruction, but the reality is that more studies are still needed. Therefore, it is imperative that teachers participate in generating ideas and fortify the cache of available knowledge. The author has experimented with the process approach as writing instruction in two greatly varying contexts and has found the process approach effective on several …