Malay language as a foreign language and the Singapore’s education system

The paper highlights the impact of the Singapore’s bilingual education policy on the Malay language and how the language has been regarded a foreign language in the Singapore context given the interest of policy makers in the implementation of a new third language policy. The growth can be hampered, however, to some concerns arising from the bilingual policy namely inadequate manpower, teaching materials, lack of resources and opportunities for using the language

Peer mediation for conflict management: a Singaporean case study

The burgeoning interest in conflict and its management has recently begun to impact on schools and school systems worldwide. Motivated by a concern for increasing levels of violence in schools and student�student conflict, many school administrators are looking at conflict management programs as a means of dealing with the problem. Most of the more widely used programs have their origins in the United States; their appropriateness and effectiveness in other countries and cultures is, at best, unknown, and in some respects open to conjecture. In this paper the cultural appropriateness of a peer mediation program in a primary school in Singapore is the subject of investigation. The study also addresses, in an exploratory manner, the effectiveness of peer mediation as a mechanism for student�student conflict management

Expectations eclipsed in foreign language education: learners and educators on an ongoing journey / edited by Hülya Görür-Atabaş, Sharon Turner.

Between June 2-4, 2011 Sabancı University School of Languages welcomed colleagues from 21 different countries to a collaborative exploration of the challenging and inspiring journey of learners and educators in the field of language education.\ud \ud The conference provided an opportunity for all stakeholders to share their views on language education. Colleagues met with world-renowned experts and authors in the fields of education and psychology, faculty and administrators from various universities and institutions, teachers from secondary educational backgrounds and higher education, as well as learners whose voices are often not directly shared but usually reported.\ud \ud The conference name, Eclipsing Expectations, was inspired by two natural phenomena, a solar eclipse directly before the conference, and a lunar eclipse, immediately after. Learners and educators were hereby invited to join a journey to observe, learn and exchange ideas in orde

English language in rural Malaysia: situating global literacies in local practices

This paper claims that underlying the naturalisation of teaching and learning of English in the Malaysian education system are ideological pressures and political dogmas, often emerging from colonial, urban/rural and even local ethnic conflicts and hierarchies. It suggests therein lie the inherent difficulties of teaching and learning English in rural communities in Malaysia. Three paradigms frame this view in the paper: the overarching view of literacy as a situated and variable social process; the use of an ethnographic perspective in investigating English language and literacy education in Malaysia; the stance on the need for Malaysians to acquire English as an additive rather than as a deficit philosophy

Authoritative discourse in a locally-published ELT textbook in Thailand

This study examines cultural contents in a locally-published English language teaching (ELT) textbook for primary 6 students in Thailand. It aims to investigate whether the locally-published textbook depicts sources and themes of cultures in a way that perpetuate and reproduce dominant ideologies and how cultural contents in the locally-published textbook were dealt with by an English teacher in the classroom. Grounded on Bakhtin’s notions of authoritative discourse and internally persuasive discourse, the findings revealed that there were mismatches between the cultural representation in the textbook and students’ lived experiences. Concerning how cultural contents were represented in the classroom, there was no evidence that the teacher assisted learners to forge effective linkages between authoritative discourse and their everyday life. The findings are discussed regarding how cultural contents are ideologically depicted in the textbook and how the cultural contents adversely affect students’ learning experience. Implications and recommendations for textbook authors, language teachers, and future research are presented

EFL: Revisiting ELT practices in Indonesia

In the last decades, we have witnessed a revolutionary spread of English worldwide. This global spread of English can be attributed to the combination of various historical, political, economic, cultural, and technological factors. This led to the emergence of new varieties of English, multiple linguistic and cultural identities. However, for decades, the Western paradigm of English language teaching has occupied a prestigious position in Asia, including Indonesia. This paradigm neglects the emerging varieties of English. Furthermore, it is important to recognize that language teaching and learning is affected by a host of factors ranging from the macro political and cultural environments of a country or region to the micro perceptions and practices of individual teachers or learners, which calls for different methodologies for different learners or learning situations. This article attempts to discuss briefly the current issues in English language teaching (ELT) in Indonesia from English as lingua franca (ELF) perspectives, particularly by taking a close look at all the local features and limitations in the established theories and practices in ELT in Indonesia.

An Investigation into a Culturally Sensitive Manner of Teaching English as a Foreign Language

How to teach English globally has continued to be a relevant topic of discussion in the field of TESL, especially how to teach in a manner that is sensitive to the various sociocultural and historical factors surrounding the English language, as well as other languages and cultures. Through an examination of the current global status of English, its historical significance, the dilemmas attached to its’ worldwide spread and dominance, and an examination of culture in language teaching, an attempt is made to codify some basic principles of culture-sensitive English teaching, as well as address the Christian position on this matter, considering biblical truth

The Exercise of Power: Analysis of the Role of China English in Cross-Cultural Communication

The globalization of English has caused its localization. With normative English at the core, China English is used to express the unique things of Chinese society and culture. The influence of the Chinese language in the world is still very limited. Thus, the use of China English is the inevitable choice to strengthen China’s foreign exchange and communication with different cultures. Since English is the lingua franca of today’s world, the English-speaking countries, as the case stands, are in control of the discourse power in the international exchanges, which has resulted in the inequalities in the cross-cultural communication practices between the English-speaking countries and non-English-speaking countries. The promotion and use of China English are of great strategic significance to ensure the security of Chinese national culture, highlight the cultural discourse power of China and carry out the external dissemination of Chinese culture