Bridging the Cultural Gap: Re-shaping Education by Integrating Multiculturalism in Teaching and Learning

In a world in which interracial conflicts and tensions seem to have become an inevitable phenomenon of daily life, one of the effective ways to teach respect for diversity is through education. Although people in society are more knowledgeable about the nature of global acceptance, the idea of equal-status situation and mutual expectations, racial discrimination proliferates.The multidimensional effects of Computer Information Technology (CIT) can have a direct effect on the role of anonymity that challenges the government and reflects issues that might have consequences in countries like Singapore and the Philippines where ‘multiculturalism’ is stressed as a positive part of the economy.This paper aims to focus on the importance of multiculturalism in teaching and in the learning curriculum in order to understand different ‘cultures’ so as to bridge the cultural gap. Reinforcing multi-cultural education especially in English Language Teaching may help the next generation to learn and integrate respect and dignity for all people and thus improve race relations, develop democratic values and attitudes in treating people with some degree of self-worth and not judging groups of people for the actions of a few

Triangulating Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA)

To study ideology is to some extent, to study the ways in which language and meaning are used in everyday forms of social interaction. This is why a theory of language and a linguistic tradition which concerns itself with ideology will be much richer than narrow approaches which concern themselves only with system of signs, fixed meanings or well formed sentences. A theory of language as a social semiotic and of language and ideology has to concern itself with language as a form of social interaction, a meaning potential in and through which subjects and the social are constructed and reproduce while cultural and human conflict are negotiated. Such an analysis depends upon an account of relations of power which takes into account on cultural conflict and the problem of lack of consensus about systems of ideas or beliefs which characterize social systems and includes an account of the relations between action, institutions and social structures.CDA takes particular interest in the relationship between language and power. It is a type of discourse analytical research that primarily studies the way social power abuse, dominance, and inequality are enacted, reproduced, and resisted. Critical discourse analysts, then, take explicit position and want to understand, expose, and ultimately resist social inequality.This study attempts to transcend linguistic elements and to include a systematic fashion of the historical and political, sociological and/or psychological dimension in the analysis and interpretation of specific texts by using the principle of triangulating CDA. This involves Gaventa’s Power Cube, Fairclough’s Three Dimension’s of Discourse and Martin and Rose’ Appraisal System as a conceptual framework of analysis of blogging, one of various social media discourse.

Language And Attitudes Of Invisible Minds: An Appraisal Analysis Of Cyber Discourse

This study examines the interactions of different participants on Yahoo Singapore andYahoo Philippines using the Martin and Rose (2011) Appraisal Theory, focusing on theinterpersonal aspects of discourse, ATTITUDE is used as the framework for a CriticalDiscourse Analysis (CDA). Blogging in the cyberworld, as a different channel ofcommunication, allows the people of a society to discuss issues that matter most to them. The method used to foreground the underlying discourse is an attempt to understand the influence of various elements of the environment surrounding the respondents and participants.This study is an attempt to identify how the discourse employed in the cyber communityis influenced by different elements in society, to provide some understanding of how blogging can be used as a potential tool for learning and education. Blogging, as part of social networking is not only about self expression but also provides a broader perspective in terms of teaching and learning that can be insightful. This is because understanding how choice shapes language, and how language shapes choice, is important in the learning process.Since education is regarded as one of the main phases for change, learning to be aware ofwhat is going on in the world is just one of the aspects of the ‘cyber world’ that can be taught to students, and also can have a big part in changing how teachers and students view education, specifically regarding English Language Teaching (ELT)

Deconstructing Discourse within a Discourse: an Inter-Textual Aspect on Blogging

The ability of the participants to perceive situations around them and bring in various resources to reinforce their belief and opinions, illustrates how an individual’s awareness builds up certain ideologies. This study involves a Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA) of the comments of various respondents on the issues being discussed in the Yahoo! News articles, using Appraisal as a tool in the analysis. The analysis found, various attitudes through language use. Also, different stances from respondents are used to refute or agree with someone else’s comments by using ‘direct quotations’, ‘direct reference’, ‘unreferenced sources’ as well as ‘hypothetical text’ that respondents obtain from various resources. These devices determine the inter-textual aspect of blogging which contribute to a continuing flow of discussion. This sometimes leads to the agreement or argumentation with the previous respondents and often shapes the individual’s ideology

How's My English? The English Communication Needs of Wellness Spa Therapists in Thailand

This study focuses on the English communication needs of wellness spa therapists in Thailand. This is supported by an objective: to identify the needs of spa therapists in English communication specifically to the target situation. This study is deemed important so that a specific English language course can be recommended. The study employed a qualitative method employing observation and semi-structured interviews as instruments to collect data and used purposive sampling to select the participants. There were 30 spa therapists and one assistant manager participated in this study. The findings revealed that spa therapists have different needs with regards to English communication in the target situation. This includes 1) the needs for familiarization of the basic English pronunciation; 2) the needs for knowing specific vocabularies while dealing with customers' situation and needs, and 3) the needs for knowing different phrases and sentences to construct different word-formation. The implication based on the findings, therefore, is that, pedagogically, it is recommended that, ideally, a course should be developed for the spa therapists that can focus on the English language communication that could help them with specific vocabularies, words, and phrases to be used in the target situation. Consequently, as wellness centers are normally visited by people from different part of the world, the aim therefore should not be on the English language alone but varieties of English that people used globally, so that spa therapists would know ‘what words to be used’, ‘how words should be used’ and ‘what context should be used

An Analysis of Metaphors in Sri Burapha’s Behind the Painting and Ma Ma Lay’s Not Out of Hate

This research is a comparative study of metaphors in two Asian novels. A Thai novel, Sri Burapha’s Behind the Painting was first published in 1954 and a Burmese novel, Ma Ma Lay’s Not Out of Hate in 1991. It aims to understand various metaphorical patterns that influence the thematic development and interpretations of these novels. Pragglejaz Group’s (2007) Metaphor Identification Procedure, Ahrens’ (2002) The Conceptual Mapping Model, and Lakoff’s (1992) The Contemporary Theory of Metaphor are chosen as the frameworks of data analysis in this study.The outcome endorses the idea that different metaphorical patterns are the result of interaction between words’ conventional meaning and their contexts. The top three shared themes found are the themes of LOVE, MORALITY, and IDEALISM. It is also found that the representation of Thai and Burmese cultures can be perceived through the cultural background and lifestyle of the writers via their selection of words in these two novels

A Linguistic Analysis of Chinese Patients’ Attitudes Using Appraisal Theory as Reflected Through Translation

Since 2013, the Chinese government has allowed couples to have a second child. This alleviation of the one child policy has encouraged many Chinese to come to Thailand to undergo an In-Vitro Fertilization (IVF) program.In this study, the researcher investigated Chinese patients’ attitudes towards the medical service personnel. This involved how patients view the doctors, staff, interpreters, facilities, and the service they received. One of the main issues was the language barrier, when patients could not speak Thai and the staff could not speak Chinese. Interpreters were used in interviewing patients and both the Chinese and English data recorded and transcribed.The linguistic framework of appraisal based on a functional approach to language involving affect (feelings/emotions), judgment (criticize, praise) and appreciation (evaluate and comment) outlined by Martin and Rose (2007) was used to assess the attitude of the Chinese patients toward the healthcare providers in an IVF department.The findings reflected the prosody of waves illustrating positive and negative attitudes. This detailed procedure was used to avoid the issue of the findings simply being labeled as ‘commentary’ rather than a semantic analysis reflected in the English translations of the texts from the interviews.The pedagogical implications for teaching translation in Chinese universities are also discussed. Baker’s (1992) and House’s (2015) guidelines to develop translation quality assessment is suggested as one way in which the teaching of translation in general can be improved

A STUDY OF UNDERGRADUATE STUDENTS' ATTITUDE, MOTIVATION AND DIFFICULTIES ON THE USE OF MOBILE VOCABULARY LEARNING, ASSUMPTION UNIVERSITY

This study investigates the undergraduates’ attitudes, motivation, and learning difficulties in using mobile devices via vocabulary learning. The participants of this research are full-time undergraduates studying at Suvarnabhumi Campus, Assumption University (AU). This study used a mixed-method and focused on the exploratory design. For the questionnaire survey, 200 participants were selected using convenience sampling from the population. For the semi-structured interview, 15 participants were selected by using simple random sampling. The findings indicated that although 100% of the participants have mobile devices, some still used a traditional method, and the most popular vocabulary applications are Duolingo and BaiCiZhan. Also, students’ attitudes toward using mobile devices were HIGH as the overall mean score (M) = 3.68. The indication is that students have positive attitudes towards using mobile devices at Assumption University. Moreover, students’ motivation towards using mobile devices in AU is also HIGH. The overall mean score (M) = 3.68. As suggested, AU students are highly motivated to use mobile devices in teaching and learning. Lastly, students’ difficulties with using mobile devices are MODERATE, with the overall mean score (M) = 2.76. This can be interpreted those students were having moderate difficulties with using mobile devices. Based on the findings, a few pedagogical implications were discussed, and recommendations for students and teachers were suggested to foster mobile vocabulary learning in the English language classroom