The purpose of this paper is to examine and compare the concepts of linguistic colonialism and cultural alienation in University textbooks for teaching English as opposed to the theories about culture in the decolonial turn. Dichotomous categories were established based on the analysis of the cultural component of the textbooks for the teaching of English. The corpus consisted of six textbooks produced by multinational publishers and used in Colombia during the years 2006-2018. Documentary analysis procedures were used to discuss emergent themed contents in relation to cultural components from a critical perspective that unveiled imperialism practices. Results showed that the textbook contents dealt with high levels of alienation burden, superficial cultural components and instrumentation to the submissive person who favors the dominant culture of English and does not offer possibilities to embrace interculturality in ELF teaching contexts.
{"title":"Linguistic Colonialism in the English Language Textbooks of Multinational Publishing Houses","authors":"Jairo Eduardo Soto-Molina, Pilar Méndez","doi":"10.19183/how.27.1.521","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.19183/how.27.1.521","url":null,"abstract":"The purpose of this paper is to examine and compare the concepts of linguistic colonialism and cultural alienation in University textbooks for teaching English as opposed to the theories about culture in the decolonial turn. Dichotomous categories were established based on the analysis of the cultural component of the textbooks for the teaching of English. The corpus consisted of six textbooks produced by multinational publishers and used in Colombia during the years 2006-2018. Documentary analysis procedures were used to discuss emergent themed contents in relation to cultural components from a critical perspective that unveiled imperialism practices. Results showed that the textbook contents dealt with high levels of alienation burden, superficial cultural components and instrumentation to the submissive person who favors the dominant culture of English and does not offer possibilities to embrace interculturality in ELF teaching contexts.","PeriodicalId":43460,"journal":{"name":"How-A Colombian Journal for Teachers of English","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.2,"publicationDate":"2020-01-31","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"41876720","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
This study aims at exploring L2 researchers’ perspectives on research ethics in Iran. A total of ten teacher researchers were selected among a larger group of researchers based on the criteria of academic degree and familiarity with research principles. They were interviewed about different aspects of research ethics. Their responses were audio-recorded and transcribed by the researcher. Finally, the emerging themes were extracted from the responses which showed plagiarism, data management, participant rights, and authorship rights as the most frequent themes discussed by the respondents. Furthermore, the extent of the participants’ self-expressed adherence to ethical considerations in research was differential, ranging from a minimum amount of adherence to an acceptable degree of adherence and commitment to research ethics. In addition, the results showed that not all participants had a clear understanding and definition of the four major themes which emerged from the results.
{"title":"Iranian L2 Researchers' Perspectives on Research Ethics","authors":"Zhila Gharaveisi, A. Dastgoshadeh","doi":"10.19183/how.27.1.474","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.19183/how.27.1.474","url":null,"abstract":"This study aims at exploring L2 researchers’ perspectives on research ethics in Iran. A total of ten teacher researchers were selected among a larger group of researchers based on the criteria of academic degree and familiarity with research principles. They were interviewed about different aspects of research ethics. Their responses were audio-recorded and transcribed by the researcher. Finally, the emerging themes were extracted from the responses which showed plagiarism, data management, participant rights, and authorship rights as the most frequent themes discussed by the respondents. Furthermore, the extent of the participants’ self-expressed adherence to ethical considerations in research was differential, ranging from a minimum amount of adherence to an acceptable degree of adherence and commitment to research ethics. In addition, the results showed that not all participants had a clear understanding and definition of the four major themes which emerged from the results.","PeriodicalId":43460,"journal":{"name":"How-A Colombian Journal for Teachers of English","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.2,"publicationDate":"2020-01-31","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"46481666","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
New ways of thinking are constantly emerging in English language teachers around the world, new ways that open windows to other horizons in English language teaching and learning. In this first issue of HOW Journal in 2020, the English language teacher-authors articulate themes related to colonial issues, ethics in research, self-reflection, and novel implementations concerning teaching progress.
{"title":"Editorial","authors":"","doi":"10.19183/how.27.1.545","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.19183/how.27.1.545","url":null,"abstract":"New ways of thinking are constantly emerging in English language teachers around the world, new ways that open windows to other horizons in English language teaching and learning. In this first issue of HOW Journal in 2020, the English language teacher-authors articulate themes related to colonial issues, ethics in research, self-reflection, and novel implementations concerning teaching progress.","PeriodicalId":43460,"journal":{"name":"How-A Colombian Journal for Teachers of English","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.2,"publicationDate":"2020-01-31","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"47879417","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Editorial","authors":"Edgar Lucero Babativa","doi":"10.19183/how.26.2.528","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.19183/how.26.2.528","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":43460,"journal":{"name":"How-A Colombian Journal for Teachers of English","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.2,"publicationDate":"2019-08-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"48261070","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
This study describes the influence of a Virtual Learning Object in the promotion of reading strategies in a class of English for Specific Purposes for the majors of Social Communication and Journalism at a private institution of higher education in Bogota, Colombia. Students’ failure to meet the school standards led to the design and implementation of a virtual tool to support academic achievement. Data came from a sample of 15 students’ reading cycle reports, self-assessment of progress, questionnaires, and interviews. Results suggest that the developed VLO did promote the participants’ appropriation of reading strategies proposed in the design of the course. The process with the VLO not only prompted higher reading comprehension, but also facilitated and enriched learning experiences.
{"title":"A Virtual Learning Object (VLO) to Promote Reading Strategies in an English for Specific Purposes Environment","authors":"Sandra Cecilia Hernández Urrego","doi":"10.19183/HOW.26.2.517","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.19183/HOW.26.2.517","url":null,"abstract":"This study describes the influence of a Virtual Learning Object in the promotion of reading strategies in a class of English for Specific Purposes for the majors of Social Communication and Journalism at a private institution of higher education in Bogota, Colombia. Students’ failure to meet the school standards led to the design and implementation of a virtual tool to support academic achievement. Data came from a sample of 15 students’ reading cycle reports, self-assessment of progress, questionnaires, and interviews. Results suggest that the developed VLO did promote the participants’ appropriation of reading strategies proposed in the design of the course. The process with the VLO not only prompted higher reading comprehension, but also facilitated and enriched learning experiences.","PeriodicalId":43460,"journal":{"name":"How-A Colombian Journal for Teachers of English","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.2,"publicationDate":"2019-07-21","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"43348518","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
The purpose of this article of reflection is to raise awareness of how poor design of language assessments may have detrimental effects, if crucial qualities and technicalities of test design are not met. The article first discusses these central qualities for useful language assessments. Then, guidelines for creating listening assessments, as an example, are presented to illustrate the level of complexity in test design and to offer a point of reference to evaluate a sample assessment. Finally, the article presents a discussion on how institutional school policies in Colombia can influence language assessment. The article concludes by highlighting how language assessments should respond to theoretical, technical, and contextual guidelines for them to be useful.
{"title":"The Designing Language Assessments in Context: Theoretical, Technical, and Institutional Considerations","authors":"Frank Giraldo","doi":"10.19183/HOW.26.2.512","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.19183/HOW.26.2.512","url":null,"abstract":"The purpose of this article of reflection is to raise awareness of how poor design of language assessments may have detrimental effects, if crucial qualities and technicalities of test design are not met. The article first discusses these central qualities for useful language assessments. Then, guidelines for creating listening assessments, as an example, are presented to illustrate the level of complexity in test design and to offer a point of reference to evaluate a sample assessment. Finally, the article presents a discussion on how institutional school policies in Colombia can influence language assessment. The article concludes by highlighting how language assessments should respond to theoretical, technical, and contextual guidelines for them to be useful.","PeriodicalId":43460,"journal":{"name":"How-A Colombian Journal for Teachers of English","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.2,"publicationDate":"2019-07-21","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"44305876","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
One important decision that English language teachers should make is to decide on a pronunciation model. This decision should be based not only on mere preference, but also on technical information. This paper seeks to review the Lingua Franca Core (LFC), a pronunciation model proposed by Jennifer Jenkins (1998, 2000) in an attempt to facilitate communication for L2 speakers. This paper also presents a set of reactions that her proposal has prompted in scholars in the area of teaching English language pronunciation. Such reactions are the manifestation of rejection of the LFC which is based on a number of arguments. First, there is no agreement as to the number of interactions that occur in English in L1 and L2 contexts. Thus, the predominant use of L2 speakers of English is questioned. Secondly, the advantage of the intelligibility of non-native speakers over native speakers in interaction with other non-native speakers is also subjected to scrutiny. Finally, a special focus on implications for the L1-Spanish-speaking learner of English is proposed, as well as for English language teachers who teach pronunciation. For instance, a series of issues which could facilitate the learner’s workload is discussed. One the other hand, the implementation of the LFC implies that the amount of work to be done by the teacher would be drastically increased. This necessarily entails a disadvantage in terms of both time and teaching materials to be allocated by the English Language Teaching (ELT) professional.
{"title":"The Lingua Franca Core: A Plausible Option?","authors":"Marco Sandro Antonio Ugarte Olea","doi":"10.19183/HOW.26.2.479","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.19183/HOW.26.2.479","url":null,"abstract":"One important decision that English language teachers should make is to decide on a pronunciation model. This decision should be based not only on mere preference, but also on technical information. This paper seeks to review the Lingua Franca Core (LFC), a pronunciation model proposed by Jennifer Jenkins (1998, 2000) in an attempt to facilitate communication for L2 speakers. This paper also presents a set of reactions that her proposal has prompted in scholars in the area of teaching English language pronunciation. Such reactions are the manifestation of rejection of the LFC which is based on a number of arguments. First, there is no agreement as to the number of interactions that occur in English in L1 and L2 contexts. Thus, the predominant use of L2 speakers of English is questioned. Secondly, the advantage of the intelligibility of non-native speakers over native speakers in interaction with other non-native speakers is also subjected to scrutiny. Finally, a special focus on implications for the L1-Spanish-speaking learner of English is proposed, as well as for English language teachers who teach pronunciation. For instance, a series of issues which could facilitate the learner’s workload is discussed. One the other hand, the implementation of the LFC implies that the amount of work to be done by the teacher would be drastically increased. This necessarily entails a disadvantage in terms of both time and teaching materials to be allocated by the English Language Teaching (ELT) professional.","PeriodicalId":43460,"journal":{"name":"How-A Colombian Journal for Teachers of English","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.2,"publicationDate":"2019-07-21","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"42815304","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Students’ engagement and determination require the use of self-regulated learning strategies to facilitate adequate preparation. This article reports a research study that looks into how eight instructors, who were trained to promote self-regulation, interact with 18 students of a Bachelor of Arts program in English language teaching in Bogota. The problem was the prevalence of an instructional model of reproduction of knowledge in the English language classes taken by the 18 students. The pedagogical intervention introduces dialogic tutoring. The instructors’ voices, in the role of tutors, and the students’ voices, as tutees, were collected in 40 videos, a questionnaire, and a focus group. Grounded theory allowed transposing the identification of patterns, code tagging, and code grouping into concepts. This process generated four principles that worked positively in the promotion of self-regulation in this socially and culturally diverse sample of instructors and students, namely: (1) addressing needs, interests and beliefs; (2) setting goals; (3) scaffolding learning; (4) providing quality feedback.
{"title":"Principles of Self-Regulation in EFL mediated by Dialogic Tutoring Sessions","authors":"Imelda Zorro Rojas","doi":"10.19183/HOW.26.2.502","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.19183/HOW.26.2.502","url":null,"abstract":"Students’ engagement and determination require the use of self-regulated learning strategies to facilitate adequate preparation. This article reports a research study that looks into how eight instructors, who were trained to promote self-regulation, interact with 18 students of a Bachelor of Arts program in English language teaching in Bogota. The problem was the prevalence of an instructional model of reproduction of knowledge in the English language classes taken by the 18 students. The pedagogical intervention introduces dialogic tutoring. The instructors’ voices, in the role of tutors, and the students’ voices, as tutees, were collected in 40 videos, a questionnaire, and a focus group. Grounded theory allowed transposing the identification of patterns, code tagging, and code grouping into concepts. This process generated four principles that worked positively in the promotion of self-regulation in this socially and culturally diverse sample of instructors and students, namely: (1) addressing needs, interests and beliefs; (2) setting goals; (3) scaffolding learning; (4) providing quality feedback.","PeriodicalId":43460,"journal":{"name":"How-A Colombian Journal for Teachers of English","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.2,"publicationDate":"2019-07-21","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"42088050","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
espanolEsta investigacion accion tuvo como objetivo explorar la contribucion del uso de los puntos de mejora como una estrategia reflexiva para apoyar la capacidad de once profesores en formacion de un programa chileno de pedagogia en ingles para planificar lecciones orientadas a la comunicacion. Por medio de cuestionarios y un grupo focal se examinaron las respuestas de los participantes utilizando un analisis tematico. Los hallazgos arrojaron que sus creencias sobre las lecciones orientadas a la comunicacion estan vinculadas con el enfoque comunicativo. Por ultimo, sus percepciones sobre el uso de puntos de mejora como estrategia reflexiva mostraron una mayor conciencia en el aula, lo que estrecha la brecha mas entre su conocimiento pedagogico y disciplinario. EnglishThis action research study aims to explore the contribution of the use of points of improvement as a reflective strategy to support eleven Chilean EFL pre-service teachers’ ability to plan communicative-oriented lessons. Through questionnaires and a focus group, participants’ responses were examined using thematic analysis. Findings yielded that their beliefs about communicative-oriented lessons were in fact linked with the communicative approach. Lastly, their perceptions towards the use of points of improvement as a reflective strategy showed more awareness in the classroom, narrowing the gap between their pedagogical and disciplinary knowledge.
{"title":"Points of Improvement: Reflective Strategy to Support Chilean EFL Pre-Service Teachers’ Lesson Planning","authors":"Nataly Telles Quezada, María-Jesús Inostroza Araos, Maritza Rosas-Maldonado","doi":"10.19183/HOW.26.2.498","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.19183/HOW.26.2.498","url":null,"abstract":"espanolEsta investigacion accion tuvo como objetivo explorar la contribucion del uso de los puntos de mejora como una estrategia reflexiva para apoyar la capacidad de once profesores en formacion de un programa chileno de pedagogia en ingles para planificar lecciones orientadas a la comunicacion. Por medio de cuestionarios y un grupo focal se examinaron las respuestas de los participantes utilizando un analisis tematico. Los hallazgos arrojaron que sus creencias sobre las lecciones orientadas a la comunicacion estan vinculadas con el enfoque comunicativo. Por ultimo, sus percepciones sobre el uso de puntos de mejora como estrategia reflexiva mostraron una mayor conciencia en el aula, lo que estrecha la brecha mas entre su conocimiento pedagogico y disciplinario. EnglishThis action research study aims to explore the contribution of the use of points of improvement as a reflective strategy to support eleven Chilean EFL pre-service teachers’ ability to plan communicative-oriented lessons. Through questionnaires and a focus group, participants’ responses were examined using thematic analysis. Findings yielded that their beliefs about communicative-oriented lessons were in fact linked with the communicative approach. Lastly, their perceptions towards the use of points of improvement as a reflective strategy showed more awareness in the classroom, narrowing the gap between their pedagogical and disciplinary knowledge.","PeriodicalId":43460,"journal":{"name":"How-A Colombian Journal for Teachers of English","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.2,"publicationDate":"2019-07-21","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"46908141","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Criticality has recently made its way into the field of English Language Teaching. It has mainly fostered the study of teachers’ individual commitments with their social context. A reflective account is offered here based on my praxis when I adopted a critical pedagogy to teach literature in the English language teacher education program at the National University of La Pampa (UNLPam) in Argentina. Drawing on observations and documents, I give in this paper an autoethnographic account of my practice. The results show that I maintained a constant questioning of my practice and a persistent wariness about the appropriateness of keeping a critical position in my teaching context. All teachers should perform these two reflective actions in view of our role as socially and pedagogically responsible agents of practice.
{"title":"Was I being critical? Vision and action in English language teacher education","authors":"E. Basabe","doi":"10.19183/HOW.26.2.506","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.19183/HOW.26.2.506","url":null,"abstract":"Criticality has recently made its way into the field of English Language Teaching. It has mainly fostered the study of teachers’ individual commitments with their social context. A reflective account is offered here based on my praxis when I adopted a critical pedagogy to teach literature in the English language teacher education program at the National University of La Pampa (UNLPam) in Argentina. Drawing on observations and documents, I give in this paper an autoethnographic account of my practice. The results show that I maintained a constant questioning of my practice and a persistent wariness about the appropriateness of keeping a critical position in my teaching context. All teachers should perform these two reflective actions in view of our role as socially and pedagogically responsible agents of practice.","PeriodicalId":43460,"journal":{"name":"How-A Colombian Journal for Teachers of English","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.2,"publicationDate":"2019-07-21","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"48825835","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}