Education Commons^™

Critical Cultural Perspectives On Teaching Arabic As A Foreign Language (Tafl): A Critical Ethnographic Investigation Of A Us College-Level Course, Shaimaa Moustafa

Doctoral Dissertations

A gap in the critical cultural research paradigm in foreign language teaching (FLT) and teaching Arabic as a foreign language (TAFL) at the college level in the U.S. context subsists. FLT and TAFL have been characterized by the prevalence of the communicative and proficiency-based pedagogies and their concomitant research frameworks. This prevalence is tied to the growing neoliberal and terror rhetoric in recent years (Kramsch, 2005; Bernstein et al., 2015). In the face of the latter, a need for critical cultural frameworks of teaching and research became plausible to deconstruct the different clichés and biases in the context of Arabic …

The Role Of Translation Style In Fostering Cultural Connections Through World Literature, Bridget Baudinet

Masters Theses

While many high school English instructors in the United States teach world literature in translation, few of them explicitly present the literature as translated. High school English students would benefit from learning more about the linguistic origins of the world literature they read. This awareness would increase student understanding of the source culture and benefit their language skills. Various translation theorists have suggested methods to teach translational awareness, but few have offered advice on the type of translation to select. In my research, I examined the question of whether students would derive more cultural knowledge, and specifically language-related knowledge, by …

Traditional Values And Local Community In The Formal Educational System In Senegal: A Year As A High School Teacher In Thies, Maguette Diame

Doctoral Dissertations

The dissertation explores the discourses of traditional values, local practices, and community engagement within a selected community in Thies, Senegal and its high school environment. The study investigates the ways in which these cultural elements are present in the daily life of the community as well as how they are or could be integrated in formal teaching. In particular, I studied the concepts of Jom (hard work, pride, dignity), Kersa (decency), Suturë (discretion), Muñ (endurance), Teranga (hospitality), Maslaa (negotiation), Kal (kinship), and Suture (Protection) in particular. My own experience as a language teacher who has lived and studied in the …

Preferences In Learning "Hiragana": A Comparative Study Between Mobile Apps And Paper Worksheets, Michiko Nakada

Masters Theses

In 2020, technology is generally accepted, and we can see many people using their digital devices such as smartphones everywhere. It is easy to see how dependent we are on technology, anytime and anywhere. Mobile apps are one of the time-effective tools for our daily lives. College students in the United States are always busy with their classes and assignments, and for them, apps are not only for having fun but are also convenient, reliable, and essential supporting tools for their academic and daily lives.

This paper examines the students’ preferences in learning the Japanese writing system “Hiragana” with mobile …

Inclusion And Exclusion Of Gender, Social Class, Race And Ability In Elementary German Textbooks, Emmalie Keenan

Masters Theses

Elementary German language textbooks today lack diverse representations of gender, social class, race, and ability. This thesis argues that the exclusion of those categories of diversity impedes the objectives of the communicative learning approach for students in first-year German courses. It examines research on diversity in textbooks with a focus on the concept of the “third space”, and shows how these findings apply to German students. An analysis of chapters from three German textbooks published between 2018 and 2020: Netzwerk neu A1, Impuls Deutsch 1, and Grenzenlos Deutsch provides specific examples of how images, texts, dialogs, grammar, and vocabulary exercises …

Reading Power In Thai Young Adult Realistic Fiction: Understanding Ethnicity, Class, And Gender, Mukkarin Wirojchoochut

Doctoral Dissertations

Books that depict ethnoregional and ethnic groups in Thailand can be used as critical tools to help young Thai adults better understand their compatriots from different cultures. At the same time, these tools allow the youngsters from specific ethnoregional and ethnic groups to see themselves in the books they read. In this study, I examine how the diverse ethnoregional and ethnic groups are represented in 15 Thai realistic fiction books for young adults. I also apply a critical multicultural analysis of children’s literature to understand how the power relations of ethnicity, class, and gender work together within the representations of …