daronloo

Byram, et al. (1991) is arguably the first scholar to critically analyze the teaching of culture (in the UK English language classroom).  In the early 2000s, studies about the teaching of culture among the EU nations gained prominence with the publication of several studies by Sercu (2005, 2007).  In the Asia-Pacific region, Liddicoat seems to be the sole researcher interested in the teaching of culture, with at least two publications about intercultural communication this year. Reflecting on the scarcity of research in the teaching of culture, we are compelled to wonder whether or not studies in this area are even worth the time.  Many seem to believe that it is worth our time, with official bodies recognizing the value of cultural awareness for successful communication (e.g. ASEAN 2015, ACTFL, and the Common European Framework for Languages).  Aside from its perceived worth, many also believe that cultural awareness should be taught alongside language (Liddicoat,...

Mobile assisted language learning, or MALL, has been around the applied linguistics block for quite some time.  When I think of MALL, I see it as those punk kids - sporting a new look every day, loitering about in the hood, but contributing nothing to the society.   This afternoon I attended a lecture given by Dr. Hayo Reinders  on mobile technology and language education.  Frankly, I was rather disappointed with how MALL has progressed.  Research-wise, nothing has really changed in the past decade.  I wrote a  paper  with  Stuart Towns  about issues in MALL back in 2011, and it seems that nothing has changed.  Recurring issues include behavioristic input, pre- and post-tests (cause and effect studies), and logistical concerns.  It is strange because we have new types of mobile devices released all the time and mobile technology is improving rapidly.  One would expect educational innovations to follow suit bu...

In the past four years of teaching English, the only language skill class that I have (repeatedly) taught is writing.  I've taught different types of writing courses, freshman college writing (narrative, descriptive, argumentative, comparison/contrast, definition, etc.), freshman college research (the basics of research writing), advanced composition (creative writing), news writing, and senior project (fourth-year research writing). I'm not sure if the years of experience teaching writing, or the diverse types of writing courses I have taught would quality me to be an expert in writing.  I actually will say that I am not.  Though I think I am improving in terms of managing writing courses (e.g. planning lessons, deciding on type of assignment, etc.).  Still, knowing how to manage a writing course does not necessarily give me insights to my students' writing processes.  Writing teachers typically receive the assignments, or the end-products, which is the writt...

The past four weeks have really been a whirlwind of events.  July marked my 'official' departure from the FAH at AIU.  I am no longer a permanent employee of AIU, but a contract one.  I've never been on contract or part-time for anyone until this year.  It feels strange, though in a good way.  It feels like I belong to somebody, but not really, if that makes any sense.  The first week of July was spent updating the FAH's SAR for this Academic Year's QA.  I know my 'permanent' ties have been severed, but I thought, they're keeping my office for me, perhaps this is the least I can do.  The second and third weeks of July were really exciting.  I was called for a teaching gig at KMUTT.  The class that I was given is a reading and vocabulary class for (different types of) engineering students.  I haven't taught a skills class for quite some time now.  On top of that, I typically teach writing.  This was a golden opportuni...

Today's readings required me to be in different frames of mind.  I first read about the evolution of the English language learning objectives, then the types of savoir,  or knowledge, needed to gain intercultural competence, and finally finishing my day on Pennycook's (2001) notion on 'critical applied linguistics'.  Pennycook's works easily beat the rest in being the most interesting, for today, that is.   Starting this PhD did not really give me a sense of definiteness to what I know.  Instead, it has coerced me into expanding my limits - which at times can be very uncomfortable.  Pennycook's first chapter in Critical Applied Linguistics: A Critical Introduction , pushed me even more, probably over the edge.  I can't imagine what the other chapters would do to me.   Back to pushing my boundaries and making me cringe - in many of the discussions here at KMUTT, we try to be sensible by looking concepts along a continuum with two polar ends....

My readings this week focused on culture and English language teaching.  It is interesting to note that though scholars (e.g. Liddicoat, Byram) have argued for the value of incorporating cultural lessons in the English classroom, successful implementation has yet to come.  This assumption, however, is made based on researches published about this topic.  This expansion of the 'content' of the English classroom to include cultural elements is an ongoing process for about two decades now.  Despite that, the concurrent teaching of language and culture still seem elusive. Stakeholders are trying to change the ideology of language teachers and learners.  Such efforts can be seen in the European Union's framework for education, where language curricula are developed with culture in mind.  Still, though support from the top may be present, the actual implementation in the language classrooms is still questionable.     Various studies sh...

In my post yesterday, I wrote about the confusion I had regarding the concept of 'narratives'.  I'm glad I got confused because it motivated me to read more on the subject. I returned to Laboskey and Lyons (2002) and read through the first five chapters, again.  I first read this book earlier this year and I must say, I missed a lot of details then!  While reading, I reflected back on what I wrote previously.  This process helped me realize that what I have been concerned with (yesterday) is the 'form' of which a narrative should be in.  This is a concern to me because there are many who still perceive narratives in the form of a story, where you have sections which set the context of the story, sections which introduce the development of the plot, sections which introduce the characters, etc.  We are so accustomed to looking at 'narratives' in the story-type genre, which typically appear in one smooth, uninterrupted, cohesive form (unlike a conversation...