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Post by marian on Jul 18, 2020 14:17:11 GMT
I will be quite interested to return to work and start a discussion with my colleagues about plurilithic views of Englishes. I suspect that my setting, like many, is built around quite a traditional monolithic view, and I’m looking forward to challenging a few things and trying to introduce more positive awareness of the variation of Englishes. I have always seen English as plurilithic and I’m really pleased that I’ve now got a full course of ideas under my belt to make more of a case for it and back myself up! I think a starting point for us should be identifying early on whether students are specifically studying for an exam because they NEED to pass it, or whether they just feel they SHOULD have paper recognition of a particular level. I have known schools with tendencies to push students into exam courses because they match the level, but we have discussed in parts of this course that perhaps exams don’t always test a language user’s true communicative ability. In many cases, it might make more sense to apply less exam pressure to students and develop courses that really highlight and celebrate different Englishes with a focus on communicative and expressive effectiveness. It might be difficult to market such a course without the global recognition of an official title and certificate at the end of it, but it’s certainly something I would like to see more of. I am hopeful that the attitudes of policy-makers and educational bodies will keep becoming more accepting of diverse Englishes over time. We already live in a world where the celebrities that young people idolise (professional footballers, youtubers, musicians etc) speak all kinds of varieties of English, so I think it will get more and more difficult to justify holding ‘Standard English’ as the single target English. I totally agree with Jake. We should make a clear distinction between those students who are getting ready to sit for an exam like the FCE, for instance, and those whose aim is to be able to communicate in our globalised world. Rules and standards are required when passing an exam, but this does not mean that during the lessons teachers cannot raise awareness of the different Englishes they will encounter along their lives.
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Post by Amaryllis on Jul 25, 2020 14:11:17 GMT
Who makes the decisions re: content of teaching and testing
When I think about my experience studying in my L2 at a foreign language university (a very long time ago!), I wished at the time that I was not expected to have the same level of proficiency in the language as the NS. But I also understood that the university had its L1 standards to maintain when deciding who would be awarded a degree and who wouldn’t. In the same way, I am not sure that the NS of English is in a position to decide how to make the changes that need to be made in the new reality of ELF. We are coming from a different mindset altogether. Maybe it is the NNS of English who will be in the best position to say how we should turn the oil tanker around? This would not be the first time that the NNS became the catalyst for inspirational change. For example in Montreal in the 1960s it was the Anglophone parents who insisted on the introduction of the French immersion system (their L2) for their children. There’s more info on this here: www.ucs.mun.ca/~emurphy/fiprograms.html#:~:text=French%20immersion%20began%20in%20Canada,small%20group%20of%20Anglophone%20parents.&text=Thus%2C%20Canada's%20first%20immersion%20program,the%20official%20languages%20of%20Canada.
These parents convinced administrators and parents of the need for change, and now it is used as a model for CLIL around the world! So in this case the impetus for change did not come from the NS of French, but from the NNS. Maybe NN speakers/teachers/academics need to be included more in making the decisions as to what we should teach and what goes into the exams our English students take? I think Kurt Kohn’s work is a great example of how invaluable the NNS’s input is. I have really enjoyed discovering his ideas on this course!
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Post by Amaryllis on Jul 25, 2020 14:14:51 GMT
I think that this pandemic will affect teachers positively in terms of plurilithic views because due to the pressure that teachers used to have during their school day, they didn't have time to read or find time to apply different beliefs in class. Now teachers have plenty of time to reflect on different views and can hold workshops or meetings online. Teachers success to change their traditional views will accordingly lead to students' change positively. Maybe it is time for policy makers to take a break and be more open to teachers views. I think the pandemic may also make it easier for teachers to convince students of the importance of different varieties of English. With more time at home and more time online, students have more freedom to explore as many varieties as possible – especially if we encourage them to do this.
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Post by Amaryllis on Jul 25, 2020 14:20:13 GMT
I think the most attainable goals (or at least a starting point) are approaching ways of raising student and fellow teacher awareness through class activities, workshops and formal and/or informal discussions. This is something each and everyone of us can start doing. In today's new-normal teaching-learning online environments that have challenged us all, perhaps we feel a new source of stress, but once we can safely return to our classrooms, perhaps that would be a good opportunity to start rethinking our approaches to language and how we might introduce plurilithic thinking to our learners and our peers. It might be the opportune time to address policy makers as well. Who knows, maybe we will all be more open to new approaches in a new world...In what ways positive or negative do you think this pandemic will affect the world of ELL, TESOL, etc? I agree – we will probably be open to new ways of thinking in the 'new normal'. I think the pandemic may have a positive effect on ELF – the difference between NS and NNS may no longer be as important as everyone is online and the focus is simply on communicating effectively. Maybe the ‘standard’ English norms will become less important in many settings?
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Post by Ulla on Jul 27, 2020 11:26:14 GMT
I think the biggest challenge in teaching English in Asian country is that the students and parents might be the ones who strongly believe in monolithic view of English. It will be helpful for teachers in EFL context to raise awareness of students of plurilithic view of English by presenting them a variety of Englishes from the inner circle. Additionally, if mainstream learning media from the inner circle where EFL students usually learn from, such as BC, BBC and VOA, can accommodate this view by involving more English varieties in their programme, teachers can use this to point out to their students that plurilithic views of English is actually prominent in English speaking countries, ideally speaking. It might be funny, but I think one of the effective ways to raise colleagues' awareness of plurilithic view is to recommend this class to them. Like you, I think we need to present this change gradually and carefully. In one way, the change is happening by itself- it simply is a fact that people are using English in a variety of ways. However, as you point out, abdisyam, we really are trying to turn that oil tanker and while it slowly moves, we still need to 'appease' parents, students, and people whose professions and professional advancement depend on test taking in the now- current testing format. I would like to see major English language publishers of tests start developing ways to accept multiple responses as "correct" through the use of technology to help us move closer to the views most of us now have after this enlightening course. I agree with these summaries of the challenges we face, but I think that the way we all (teachers and learners) now use English in our everyday lives all the time will gradually have an impact. I think teachers need to be prepared for this to make sure our subject remains relevant.
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Post by Ulla on Jul 27, 2020 11:31:14 GMT
I think we have to model a plurilithic approach in our own teaching. If we show an interest in many different varieties of English and make a point of going beyond British/American standard English, our learners will become used to it and it will affect the way they think about English. It might even influence the way they think about other languages as well.
As for our colleagues, I think informal conversations and recommendations for literature and teaching materials are the way to go. I always listen when a colleague I respect recommends a resource or shares a classroom idea.
I don't see a way for me to have an impact on language policy - other people are better placed to achieve that. I think my focus will be on my students and colleagues.
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Post by miabae on Aug 7, 2020 21:54:38 GMT
My approach is to introduce different varieties of English through listening and video activities mainly. I start with small things (e.g. British English and American English) and then add on. The same concerns reading and writing. First, I would make the students aware of the theatre/theater spelling variation, then we would tackle more difficult things. Like some have already mentioned in their comment before me, most teachers lack independence.
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Post by beatrizguerra on Aug 21, 2020 21:53:22 GMT
I try to teach my students what learning English is, which is nothing but negotiating meaning with different people. Being that, I try to raise awareness in my students about the monolithic perspective and how trying to reach a certain pattern does not mean that you're doing great at a language. By bringing discussions to the classroom, to presenting different types of English and letting my student free to communicate that I approach the plurilithic point of view. Of course, there'd be still students willing to speak the 'Standard English' variety, but change does not happen fast.
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Post by Rachel Dry on Aug 24, 2020 15:47:30 GMT
I think as teachers, we are responsible for ensuring our students feel confident and competent in the language we are teaching. Ensuring students are exposed to 'World Englishes' through listening excerpts or TED talks is a vital way for students to feel a sense of belonging and identity. Students know they are speaking Indian English or Japanese English which have their own unique quirks and rules and that at the end of the day, being able to use English to complete functions and express meaning is the greatest skill of all. Their ability to understand, accommodate, negotiate meaning and translanguage in ELF contexts is a skill which many others will not hold, they are impressive linguists! They should celebrate this and the growing global community they are part of, with others who hopefully share similar plurilithic views of English.
I hope that stakeholders and applied linguists continue to work together to uncover the problems and realistic encounters English users are having out there in the real world. It is through this real life experience that we can work together to uncover the growing needs of our students and teachers, and consequently the test/coursebook makers. It is only because of the growing international use of English that we still have a job, therefore we must change and mould as we can to the ever changing beast!
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Post by Anita on Sept 8, 2020 17:49:03 GMT
''who makes the decisions about what you should teach and about what goes into the English exams your students take;
We have pre-determined learning outcomes for the modules that we teach, however we are given the flexibility in designing our own in-house materials.The exams are also designed by the lecturers, peer reviewed by the teaching team and sent to external examiners for approval. Although students cannot be tested on the plurilithic views but they can be provided with opportunities to explore the varieties of English asynchronously.I would definitely use some of the resources available on this course for my students.
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Post by Dauda Pikawi on Dec 28, 2020 19:39:10 GMT
TESOL and other national and international English language bodies should call for conferences and more workshops that relate to plurilithic concept of teaching and learning the language. In Nigeria and particularly among my colleagues, we will do as much as possible to create the awareness more and more. The social media is also a veritable tool for such tasks. When the awareness starts to sink into the minds of teachers, learners, parent and the public; it won't be difficult to convince policy makers and have policies that favour this concept of teaching English and owning it.
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