Considering the reality of hegemonic tendencies: English and linguistic diversity

This paper aims to analyze the commodification aspect of dominant languages, in particular, English, while looking into linguistic diversity as a commodity in its own right. In order to illustrate multilingualism as a valuable commodity in itself, we mention Immersion Programs in the US and the increasing recognition of the importance of being proficient in languages other than English, for educational, personal, economic and national security reasons. This research also aims to look into some aspects of the delicate issue of English being strengthened over the weakening of thousands of local languages and cultures. Some arguments are provided in order to illustrate the fact that ‘global English’ represents special politico-economic interests that cannot meet the needs of the people whose languages and cultures are being subjugated by the imperialistic and capitalist ideologies of the spread of English. Unless local language policies are elevated on political agendas, globalization language policies will remain insensitive to the irreplaceable value of linguistic diversity, along with the real needs of citizens from all over the world

Evaluating Classroom Communication: In Support of Emergent and Authentic Frameworks in Second Language Assessment

This paper addresses sociocultural theory and pedagogy (Vygotsky 1978, Lantolf 2000) in the second language classroom, particularly as it relates to student assessment. While teaching practices may be evolving to reflect the theory, methods of assessment are still largely the same: based on a priori structures and grammar (Hopper and Thompson 1993). Authentic assessment (Wiggins 1990) and instructional conversations (Tharp and Gallimore 1988) are introduced as better methods for student assessment in language classrooms that operate within the sociocultural framework. Accessed 53,291 times on https://pareonline.net from July 25, 2002 to December 31, 2019. For downloads from January 1, 2020 forward, please click on the PlumX Metrics link to the right

Considering the reality of hegemonic tendencies: English and linguistic diversity

This paper aims to analyze the commodification aspect of dominant languages, in particular, English, while looking into linguistic diversity as a commodity in its own right. In order to illustrate multilingualism as a valuable commodity in itself, we mention Immersion Programs in the US and the increasing recognition of the importance of being proficient in languages other than English, for educational, personal, economic and national security reasons. This research also aims to look into some aspects of the delicate issue of English being strengthened over the weakening of thousands of local languages and cultures. Some arguments are provided in order to illustrate the fact that ‘global English’ represents special politico-economic interests that cannot meet the needs of the people whose languages and cultures are being subjugated by the imperialistic and capitalist ideologies of the spread of English. Unless local language policies are elevated on political agendas, globalization language policies will remain insensitive to the irreplaceable value of linguistic diversity, along with the real needs of citizens from all over the world

International Teaching Assistants Professional Identity Development in the United States: A Multiple Case Study Perspective

Informed by Critical Theory and Poststructuralist Theory and the intersections of power, ideology, identity, and language, this study investigated how three ITAs construct their professional identities as instructors at a US university. To gain an in-depth understanding of ITAs’ professional identities development, the researchers used a qualitative approach with a multi-case study design to examine various data and variables including a) undergraduates’ feedback to ITAs’ instruction and b) ITAs’ English language use in academic settings and its influence on their teaching. Through narrative analysis, the researchers analyzed data from interviews, classroom observations, and research journals. Findings suggest that students’ course evaluations and the ubiquity of native speaking norm influence the ITAs’ professional identity formation. As a result, the ITAs have become more concerned about how their English language could influence their teaching while backgrounding their expertise in the content knowledge

The Impact of English: Academic Achievement and Identity Investment in an American University

 For Chinesedoctoralstudents, English is the most essentialsubjectwhenstudyingin U.S.universitiesand livinglifein the U.S. UsingEnglish not onlypromotes academic success, butalsohelps them to pursuebetter job opportunities and a better lifein theU.S. Thepurposeof this studywas to exploreChinesedoctoralstudents’English use, perceptions ofacademic achievement in relation to their academic motivation and identityinvestment.Chinesedoctoral student interviews,questionnaires, classroom observations,andjournal entries wereused in this qualitativecase study. The findingsof thestudyshow that Chinesedoctoralstudents’ English use and perception ofacademic achievementhadimpacts on their academicmotivation. Moreover, Chinese doctoralstudents’identities werealso reflected in the investment ofacademic achievement

The Impact of Language Policy in the Basic Education Core Curriculum in Thailand

Over the last 10 years, much research has been completed in the area of English language policy in Thailand. The majority of studies have focused on the pedagogy and methods involved in the teaching practices of Thai EFL educators at primary school level (Prapaisit de Segovia & Hardison, 2009; Tongpoon-Patanasorn, 2011) and secondary school level (Darasawang & Watson Todd, 2012; Nonkukhetkhong, Baldauf, & Moni, 2006). The present study delves deeper into teaching practices and addresses how English language policy is perceived and interpreted at the classroom level through the practices of Thai English teachers in a rural government secondary school in the northeast part of the country. To date, there is only one study which examines the impact of English language policy in the core curriculum on the teaching practices of EFL teachers at both primary and secondary school level has been completed (Fitzpatrick, 2011).In an effort to frame the present study, we apply Hornberger’s (2006) integrative framework as an attempt to support case study methodology. This approach provided us the opportunity to research “one or more instances of a phenomenon in its real-life context that reflect the perspective of the participants involved in the phenomenon” (Gall, Gall, & Borg, 2007, p. 447). And, it offered a grounded view of how this English language policy is being enacted in Thailand

Analysis of attitudinal components towards statistics among students from different academic degrees

Despite its important position in academic and scientific fields, as well as in daily life, statistics is a subject that generates negative attitudes within most t disciplines in the college curriculum. This paper proposes a method for analysing different students’ attitudes toward statistics using paired ANOVA tests for comparing components and groups, and discriminant analysis application for measuring the discriminant power of different components. This method was applied to a sample of 145 teachers in training from the University XXX who were studying for degrees in Spanish, English, social sciences, and mathematics during the 2016–2017 academic year. Pedagogic and anthropologic components were established using Estrada’s Scale of Attitudes toward Statistics (EAEE). All the students were characterized on such a scale. The results show higher scores, mainly in instrumental components (and, to a lesser extent, cognitive and social components) from students majoring in mathematics. Furthermore, the cognitive component that most strongly characterizes students working toward a degree in social sciences, which suggests that they perceive statistics as a reliable subject but are not as aware of its utility when facing problems in everyday life. The information obtained in this study can be used to devise strategies that can lead to an improvement in future teachers’ attitudes toward statistics, which would, in turn, improve the performance of their future students

Mathematics education in the curricula of the preservice teacher in early childhood education in Spain

The objective of this research is to describe the situation of mathematical training in the early childhood education degree curricula in Spain through the analysis of the teaching guides of the subjects with mathematical content offered in the different Spanish universities. The aim is to identify the typology of subjects, the number of subjects offered, and the recommended bibliography. The methodology used is descriptive, exploratory, ex post facto, and census. For this purpose, the registry of universities, centers, and degrees was first consulted during the 2019-2020 academic year to obtain a list of all the Spanish universities that offer degrees in early childhood education and, therefore, to be able to download the corresponding teaching guides. Of the 91 universities in Spain, the early childhood education degree is taught in 66. Likewise, 101 subjects with mathematical content have been identified, although only 99 are available for analysis. Most are compulsory, have a study load of six European credit transfer system (ECTS) credits, and are taught in the third year of the degree. The recommended bibliography mainly concentrates on publications from 2001-2010 and mostly on book references

Profesores en formación de la universidad del Tolima: un análisis de sus actitudes hacia la estadística

La estadística es una de las materias más importantes a nivel académico, científico y cotidiano, y, sin embargo, generan en los estudiantes poco sentimiento de agrado y actitudes negativas. En este trabajo se presenta un estudio acerca de las actitudes hacia la estadística que manifiestan los profesores de secundaria en formación de la Universidad del Tolima en Colombia, de los planes de formación de Lengua Castellana, Lengua inglesa y Ciencias Sociales. Para ello, se utilizó la escala tipo Likert de actitudes hacia la estadística de Estrada diseñada y ampliamente utilizada por los investigadores de la línea de investigación del dominio afectivo de la Educación estadística. Los resultados muestran que los estudiantes encuestados desconocen y valoran desfavorablemente la utilidad de la materia en sus estudios y en su futuro desempeño profesional

Actitudes hacia la estadística en profesores en formación de la Universidad del Tolima

El objetivo en este trabajo es analizar las actitudes hacia la estadística en profesores en formación de las áreas de ciencias sociales. La muestra fueron 101 estudiantes de las licenciaturas de legua castellana, lengua inglesa y ciencias sociales. El método de selección de la muestra fue por disponibilidad o de manera intencional, en consecuencia, el tipo de muestra es no probabilística ya que no todos tienen la misma probabilidad de ser elegidos