Communication Commons^™

Globalization’S Impact On Identity Through Billboard Advertisements, Sarah Hogan

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

When one walks down the main streets of Tunis it is clear that the faces represented in billboards do not match the faces of those walking along the streets. Why is this? Are the ads representative of the layering of civilizations that Tunisia has undergone? Are the ads from another source, such as the French, and just implementing their system on top of Tunisians expecting it to be successful? Moreover, what are the implications of these advertisements on the Tunisian identity? W.E.B. DuBois discusses the phenomenon of a “double consciousness” that has developed in African-Americans due to the portrayal of …

Vital Correspondence: Analyzing Local And International Media Coverage Of Armed Conflict, Marissa Moran

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

The atrocities of armed conflicts such as those in Israel’s Gaza Strip and the Darfur region of Sudan are not reaching and affecting Westerners as clearly and potently as they should, considering the technological capabilities of today’s international news media. In this paper, I will argue that media coverage of armed conflict in the developing world is stifled by the politics of international and transnational news media organizations and the unique challenges and limitations to local news organizations at the site of conflict. Private interests, financial constraints, and physical and political limitations cause global media to emphasize mainly the violent …

Seeing Is Believing: How The U.S. Government And American News Networks Spun The Iraq War, Sarah Schenter

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

The American public was doubly deceived into compliance with the Iraq War – first by the government, then by the news media, which disseminated and amplified the Bush administration’s misleading rhetoric and accepted as fact the “evidence” of Weapons of Mass Destruction in Iraq that was used as the main justification for going to war. This paper first provides a background history of the role of American news media in armed conflict up until the Iraq War, starting with the Revolutionary War. The media was a powerful political actor ever since the beginning of United States history. With the evolution …

American Influence In Spain Through Television, Dominic Corsello

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

No abstract provided.

Diarios Bajo Democracia: La Prensa Escrita En Chile, Hoy En Día, Jake Pearson

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

This investigation is focused on the written, printed press in Chile. The basic thesis question is this: how can it be that under democracy, there is such an anti-democratic printed press? Since Pinochet’s defeat by the ‘No’ vote in 1988 and the restoration of democracy, leftist, independent, critical publications have not been able to survive. The Chilean governments under La Concertación have been blatantly preferential, giving around 70% of $500 million dollars in state sponsored ads—each year—to two main printing companies and the papers they own: Edwards group and Copesa. The lack of a diverse printed press has obviously harmful …

Priming The Printing Press: The Growing Print Media In Bhutan, Philippa Wood

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

No abstract provided.

Radio Sawa In Jordan: Different Perceptions, Together?, Michael Turner

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

This study attempted to take the issue of Radio Sawa - a United Sates Congress funded endeavor that has enjoyed significant recent popularity in much of the Middle East - and expound upon issues of its perceived motivations, intentions, attractiveness, credibility and effectiveness in relation to the Jordanian public, primarily the younger generation that constitutes the station's target audience.

An Exploration Of Language Dominance, Michael Bishop

MA TESOL Collection

When two or more cultural groups make contact and interact over a period of time, language dominance often occurs. In this situation, one dominates the others both culturally and linguistically. This in turn, causes the weaker to start using the language of the more powerful until eventually it shifts its language and then its culture over to that of the more dominant group. Eventually its own language and culture dies. Language dominance, language shift and language death are social and linguistic phenomena that has been occurring for thousands of years. Historically, there were two great waves of language dominance, and …

Individual Responsibility Concerning Hiv Transmission Among Msm: A Comparative Study Of The Effectiveness Of Ngo Intervention Policies And Their Practical Applications Within The United Kingdom, Australia, And The Netherlands, Martha Kienbaum

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

This study investigates the complexities involved in utilizing the terms of individual responsibility for the construction of HIV prevention campaigns that target men who have sex with men. Four health workers in the Netherlands were interviewed about their personal opinions regarding HIV intervention, and these interviews were analyzed qualitatively for their points of comparison and contrast. Then, campaign materials from organizations in the United Kingdom and Australia were analyzed for their use of the language of responsibility, their portrayal of MSM, their balance between promoting disclosure and communication, their focus on individual groups within the MSM community, and their overall …

Politics And Propriety In Oman: Omani Reactions To The Danish Cartoon Controversy, Averell Schmidt

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

This paper investigates the unusually quiet reaction in Oman, in comparison to many other Muslim countries, to the Danish cartoon controversy in the spring of 2006. Through interviews with young adults, elites, members of the religious establishment, and the business community, the author demonstrates how people learned about the controversy and how their reactions were influenced by the economic and political concerns of the regime. The survey showed that the young adult survey respondents almost uniformly misunderstood the relationship between press and government in the West, and in Denmark in particular, and that they felt powerless to protest the perceived …

Exploring And Assessing Intercultural Competence, Alvino Fantini, Aqeel Tirmizi

World Learning Publications

The Federation of The Experiment in International Living (FEIL) has now completed its first international research effort – a one and a half year project designed to explore and assess the impact of intercultural experiences provided through service projects conducted as part of the Federation’s Volunteers in International Partnerships program. This research project, titled "Exploring and Assessing Intercultural Competence," involved two sending and one receiving Member Organizations: Great Britain, Switzerland, and Ecuador. The project was made possible through a funding grant obtained from the Center for Social Development of the Global Service Institute at Washington University in St. Louis, Missouri.

Periodismo Medioambiental, Peter Weisberg

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

INTAG is a community run, environmental newspaper that serves the county of Intag on the western slopes of the Andes in northern Ecuador. For the month of November 2005, I worked for the newspaper, writing articles and researching ways in which the paper can increase communication among different organizations that formed over the last eleven years of resistance to proposed mining. After interviewing eleven community leaders, I conclude that the paper can 1) do more to elicit the participation of groups that are currently inactive and 2) maintain its ecological position while gaining credibility by constructively criticizing the anti-mining community …

The Agenda Setting Function Of Mass Media, Tampa, John Howard, Print Media And Public Opinion: How It All Came Together In Melbourne, Rosemary Schultz

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

This paper will explore the ways in which the rhetoric of the Australian news media – the print media of Melbourne, specifically – has the power to shape and construct public sentiment toward national issues. Specifically, the paper explores the crafting of public opinion toward asylum seekers in the country through the use of specific rhetoric in print media outlets. The paper will focus on the “Tampa” incident of August 2001 as a basis for exploring asylum seeker issues in Australia. With the Agenda Setting Function Theory of Media Communications as a research base, and through personal interviews, extensive research …

The Effects Of Acculturation On The L2 Learner, Raya C. Longto

MA TESOL Collection

This paper deals with the deconstruction of a novel (A Sprig of Lemon Blossom) written on the subject of Acculturation. Since the latter half of the twentieth century the world has traveled at an incredible speed towards globalization. Given this reality the number of people who constantly travel abroad for a variety of career and work related purposes is growing by the hour. Under the circumstances the theme of acculturation has become crucial as without an adequate form of this phenomenon people cannot function to the best of their abilities. The deconstruction of this novel addresses the three-fold process of …

Their Own Best Resources: Students And Real-World Interaction, Observation, And Reflection, Brenda Ferreira

MA TESOL Collection

Students can use their experiences outside the ESL classroom to facilitate their own learning of culture and communicative competency. In a course I continue to design, students prepare for real-world interactions and learning. They practice communication strategies and discuss topics largely of their own choosing in a multi-cultural context. They then go out into the community to make cultural and communicative observations, and interact with native- and non-native speakers of English. This IPP presents various definitions of culture and communicative competency and gives suggestions for in-class and real-world activities, including communication tasks, observations, and reflections through journal writing.

The Effectiveness Of Using Computer Assisted Instruction In Teaching English As A Foreign Language In A Japanese Secondary School (Fukuoka, Japan), Robert Guy Chartrand

MA TESOL Collection

This paper examines the history and the current state of computer-assisted language teaching and learning to provide a context for the present study. A discussion of teaching English using computer-mediated communication in japan is also described along with the explanation of the courseware used. The study involved one hundred eighty-six high school students learning Oral Communication 1 in a traditional classroom environment and in a computer classroom environment using Dynamic English 1 courseware. The participants were assessed quantitatively and qualitatively before and after five lessons to determine their progress and attitudes towards CALL. The students’ results were analyzed and compared. …

Harmonized Yet In Tune With The Local Conditions: An Investigation Of Global Advertising And The Inherent Challenges Of Reaching Broad Audiences Without Compromise, Alison Dye

MA TESOL Collection

In the field of advertising communications on a global scale seems to be largely driven and pulled by current trends of thought. And often times pushed through the pipelines of transnational, networked agencies in search of speedy, cost-efficient and unified solutions. Certainly, reaching a broad audience with the most economical route is a real concern of companies today and will continue to be the case. I beckon brand bearers, concept developers and advertisers to merely dare to consider a more nuanced set of factors prior to spinning out global campaigns. Those elements include: inquiry into the true existence of a …

The Importance Of Community Building In The Efl Classroom, Svitlana Trofymenko

MA TESOL Collection

This paper argues that success in the EFL classroom depends less on techniques and materials, and more on the relationships between the class members and the educational climate. It asserts that, because the creation of a sense of community facilitates learning in different ways, the most important talk of a teacher is to foster a sense of community between students in the language classroom as well s to challenge them with linguistic tasks. A classroom community can increase student motivation and self-esteem. It can reduce extreme anxiety and maximize student-student interaction in the EFL classroom. It can also facilitate co-operation …

Transcending Cultural Definitions: A Sense Of Peace, Susan Sanae Sakayori

MA TESOL Collection

Who am I? What am I? This paper is an attempt to tell a personal story of my struggle to answer these questions about my racial and cultural identity. As a Japanese American who has lived the first half of my life in the U.S. and the latter half in Japan, I found it increasingly difficult to find my place in either culture. I was faced with issues of ethnicity, cultural background and personal values that I didn’t realize were so important in understanding who I was. I have traveled down a road of discovery where I was given a …

Drama Methodology And Its Usage In Removing Barriers To English Language Acquisition In Japanese University Students, C Malcom Barry Duff

MA TESOL Collection

This paper examines how drama methodology can be used to remove barriers to English acquisition and to encourage English language production in Japanese university students. The effect of the affective filter and Monitor use in language production will be covered. The use of drama methodology will be analyzed and its usage in the classroom evaluated. The use of drama techniques to create lessons will be demonstrated.

Internet Users’ Manual For English Language Teaching Professionals: Enjoyable Internet Understanding, Jack Bailey

MA TESOL Collection

This paper serves as an overview of the Internet and its resources available to English Language Teaching professionals. The intended audience is both instructors new to Internet technologies as well as those well versed in the Net but looking for further resources. Initial sections give the reader a brief overview of the Internet, its history, and its most prominent component parts including e-mail, mailing lists, newsgroups and chat rooms. Primary emphasis is placed on the categorizing and description of key web sites most useful to English Language instructors and administrators. Each site listing contains addresses (URLs), general site descriptions and …

Council In The Classroom: New Ways Of Knowing, Being And Interacting, Ximena Allub

MA TESOL Collection

This paper examines my learnings on Council, an ancient form of communication, currently being revisited and remolded to suit modern needs. In this vein I explored its application in a school environment. I describe here a year-long study of Council that took me to both Argentina and the United States. The focus is primarily on a different form of classroom management and its impact on students and their learning.

In chapter one, I give an introduction to Council, outlining its history, and providing a brief explanation of the philosophy behind it.

In chapter two, I look at my experience as …

The Independent Professional Point: Use Of A Recorded Musical Story, Entitled The Point, For Teaching English To Speakers Of Other Languages, Robert Stuart Duncan

MA TESOL Collection

This project discusses use of The Point, a recorded story of songs and narrations, as a TESOL tool. A brief summary of the story line is provided followed by why the author feels it has valuable TESOL application. Actual case studies, in which The Point was used, plus suggestions towards classroom applications are presented.

The following materials are included: letters to students which introduce The Point; a transcription of the recording; a comic book; a do-it-yourself dictionary; a cassette recording of The Point and an animated film suggestion.

The project encourages creative thinking and creative teaching.

Development And Use Of Student-Conducted Interviews With Native Speakers For Use In The Language Class, Janie L. Duncan

MA TESOL Collection

No abstract provided.

A Supplementary Reference Guide For Non-Native English Speakers On The Communicative And Cultural Aspects In The Esl Miscellany, Joanne Ching Chao

MA TESOL Collection

This is a supplementary guide designed especially for non-native ESL users to be used in conjunction with The ESL Miscellany. It covers two parts of the book, the Communicative Aspect and the Cultural Aspect. In the Communicative Aspect this guide includes the definitions of all the idioms under the different categories, such as food, music, colors, and religion which appear in The ESL Miscellany. In the Cultural Aspect, six areas have been explained and defined. These are “Famous Americans”, “heroes”, “Historical Sites”, “Dates and Holidays”, “Famous Quotations”, and “Proverbs”.

Three Bible Stories : Creation, Ruth And The Birth Of Jesus According To Matthew, Judy M. Barber

MA TESOL Collection

The primary function of this paper is to provide reading materials of a religious nature for a student on a beginning or lower intermediate level. The simplified texts of the creation, of Ruth and of the birth of Jesus according to Matthew are preceded by a brief overview of structures contained therein. Along with each story are questions for vocabulary reinforcement and others designed for personal reflection. Included with each one is a glossary of terms with translations from English to Spanish. Paralleled Biblical texts from Scofield Study Bibles in English and Spanish are also included at the end of …

A Set Of Student-Invested Materials For A Conversation Class, David J. Kehe, Peggy Dustin Kehe

MA TESOL Collection

This paper describes eleven speaking projects which have been developed around the beliefs that a conversation class is successful when:

- the focus is on the students talking, not the teacher talking

- the atmosphere is non-threatening

- the material is personally relevant

- the students use each other as sources of correction

Each project is comprised of two separate speaking activities. The first uses teacher-prepared material. The second consists of four steps in which students: (1) in groups, create material modeled after the teacher-prepared material, (2) have it checked by the teacher, (3) use it with the whole class.

Language Conflict: A Case Study Of National Language Selection In Iran, Kenneth Pransky

MA TESOL Collection

Iran is a complex nation composed of many nationalities and languages. Through the centuries, it has been plagued by interethnic conflicts, and rapid modernization in this century has exacerbated longstanding differences, especially between the dominant, Farsi speaking group and Iran's numerous non-Farsi speaking minorities. No issue has symbolized Iran's interethnic conflicts in this century more than language problems.

Iran's history of language conflict is treated as a case study through which to explore more universal dynamics of language conflict. Emphasis is laid on the historical development of ethnic attitudes, the function of language as a symbol of ethnicity, the necessity …

A Practical Guide For Teaching Cultural Awareness Using The Community As A Resource, Elaine R. Ford, Steven Cass

MA TESOL Collection

No abstract provided.

On The Radio: Using Radio In Esl Classes, Mary Ann Barnes

MA TESOL Collection

Recent studies have brought about an increased awareness of the need for better listening comprehension skills among ESL students, and as a result there is heightened interest in the use of live language in the classroom. Radio is a highly accessible and versatile source of such, providing the student with a limitless supply of current language. This paper focuses on the use of radio as a live language tool. Included in the paper are a rationale for using radio; a description of the author's work with commercials, news and weather reports; specific lesson plans; guidelines for using radio as a …