Folklore in the Digital Age: Collected Essays. Foreword by Andy Ross

Online and digital cultures are among the most personally gripping effects of globalisation in our increasingly networked world. While global multimedia culture may seem to endanger traditional folklore, there is no doubt that it creates new folklore as well. Folklore in the Digital Age vividly illustrates the range of e-folklore studies in updated papers and essays from the author’s 21st-century research. The themes covered include not only the most serious issues of the day, such as the 9/11 attacks and natural disasters, but also cheerier topics, such as online dating and food culture. In these essays Professor Krawczyk-Wasilewska paints a convincing picture of digital folklore as a cultural heritage. She covers a wide range of issues from all levels of society and offers fascinating insights into how online culture affects our postmodern lives

Use of literature in developing learner's speaking skills in Bangladeshi EFL contexts

This dissertation arises from an attempt to answer the question whether it is possible to teach conversational skills through literature; and, if 'yes', how any benefit can be made accessible to both privileged and non-privileged sections of society. The stimulus for the present study derives from the view that, in order to develop the capacity of students in the EFL language class, the teaching of language should be taught using literary pieces and should move away from a teacher-centred approach towards a student-centred one. Having used an activity-based and process-oriented integrated approach as a framework, the present study illustrates the impact of the proposed way of literature teaching in an EFL context, specifically in the context of Bangladesh. It is designed to encourage students to experience literary texts directly as a part of a process of meaning creation that develops their thought processes, imaginative faculties and interpretative skills and ultimately has a strong impact on their speaking ability. Such a systematic approach to literature teaching in developing learner's speaking skills, therefore, is likely to enable teachers to have a more student-centred classroom. The present study also utilises the devised teaching activities based on prediction initiating personal growth, in an actual teaching/learning context in a selected research environment and explores students' responses to the proposed approach. The study groups involved in the research consist of two comparable groups: an experimental group (EO) and a control group (CG). The EG was exposed to the proposed teaching approach, whereas the CG followed the usual traditional teaching methods. The data for the study were gathered through interviews, questionnaires, observation sheets and field notes. Qualitative and quantitative investigation techniques were applied to the data and they were compared and contrasted for both the groups. The analyses of the data revealed significant differences between the groups in the nature of the students' responses to the teaching approaches. It was observed that there was a considerable relationship between the teaching methodologies employed in both classes, and levels of motivation, involvement and appreciation of the literary text under study and finally in the development in oral expression. The findings suggested that application of the teaching approach proposed by the study notably changed the classroom dynamics in a positive way

Teachers of action: a narrative study into the Identities of Turkish teachers of English

This narrative study explores the identities of Turkish teachers of English, who engage in volunteering activities in addition to their everyday teaching. These activities include writing local and international development projects for students and communities, spending an entire summer holiday to volunteer in an orphanage in Africa, running an amateur football club for the community, voluntarily tutoring for the economically disadvantaged kids for free, and volunteering in health-related organisations. Being a Middle Eastern country between Asia and Europe, the Turkish context seems to constrain than to support the teachers to engage in volunteering for others, especially in addition to their everyday teaching duties. In this vein, with accountability and standards they enforce, neoliberal trends affect education negatively. Additionally, it is difficult to define the engagement of these teachers within the current literature, as teacher volunteering does not capture what they do, making it necessary to gaze towards teacher activism. Yet, activism, especially in the Turkish context, has different connotations. Hence, while there are already limited studies on the identities of international teachers of English, this study enriches the existing literature around the topic by bringing a unique perspective, identifying the similarities and differences between teacher volunteering and teacher activism as well as offering an additional discourse to teacher activism. Through two in-depth interviews each with five Turkish teachers of English that are analysed narratively, participants’ discussions around activism and volunteering led to the construction of a ‘teacher of action’ concept. Teacher of action recognises the participant teachers’ authentic ways of engaging in volunteering, taking action for others as well as encompassing teacher activism and volunteering. Some teachers in this study choose to see teaching as a political act. Others deliberately refrain from politics to carry out their agendas, whether they have ideas on politics and activism or not. Their engagements are a combination of their personal and professional identities and values, which affect and, were affected by, their actions. In this regard, taking action eventually becomes a stance for them, which informs their behaviours and actions in their personal and professional lives. Taking action as a stance, they are not only active in organised projects but also their everyday teaching, through big and small acts. Moreover, they do not limit themselves to the spheres of school and education, as their engagements are not limited to these spaces, while all affect their professional identities. What they have in common is their beliefs in the transformative power of education and urge to take action to make that transformation more possible, which affects and reconstructs their personal and professional identities. The study demonstrates that taking action can be possible for all teachers and has various benefits for teachers’ identities as well as their motivation in teaching, as it is driven by their beliefs in the transformative power of education, the values they hold about teaching, as well as their care for their students, families, communities and others