CCU 8

Citation: Martinez, Dolores. (2012). Critical learning: critical discourse analysis in EFL teaching,  journal of 

 language teaching and research, 3(2): 283-288.

 

This paper aims to demonstrate how critical discourse analysis can be implemented in foreign language teaching in order to help students develop their internal values and critical thinking skills. The main principles of critical discourse analysis can be incorporated in order to turn a song, a t-shirt slogan or an email into the subject of linguistic exploitation and socio-cultural debate.  Critical discourse analysis promotes the application of critical thinking to social situations and the unveiling of hidden connections between language use, ideology and power.

CDA promotes the application of critical thought to social situations and the unveiling of strategies in texts. Discourse analysis, and more specifically, critical approaches offer the learner new skills to interpret society and culture. Teachers can improve their teaching practices by investigating actual language use both in and out of the classroom. Likewise, discourse analysis stimulates students to reflect on the huge amount of analysable information they receive every day through different means.

Discourse analysis is not restricted to significant texts and contexts. Journalists, writers of e-mails, composers of songs and creators of slogans are conscious of the potential of words to have an impact on the reader and shape his feelings and behaviour. Critical learning awakens students’ curiosity about their surrounding information and leads them to think that they can be manipulated while they think they are just being informed.

CAR 7

Citation :

O. Doody., and M. Condon. (2012). Increasing student involvement and learning through using debate as an assessment, Nurse Education in Practice, (12): 232-237.

After read this article journal, I learn that the purpose of this research is to identify the use of a debate as an assessment method within an intellectual disability nursing programme and a student’s reflective comment on the process, and their experience of a debate as their assessment method.

In nursing program, the students have to be able to think critically to provide effective care whilst coping with the expansion in their role associated with the complexities of current healthcare systems. Because if the nurses have a good critical thinking and problem solving skill, it will help them to provide efficient and quality healthcare. Based on the research it is shown that debate as pedagogical method can improve students’ critincal thinking and oral communication skills. The learning process will be facilitated if the education process begins by bringing out students’ perceptions, evaluating and testing it, after that they have to integrate their opinion or perception with the new, more refined ideas or opinion in the person’s belief system.

After read this article journal, I got some  important information that the lower order thinking skills of knowledge, comprehension, and application focus on rote learning or what students should think, whereas the higher order thinking skills of analysis, synthesis, and evaluation focus on how to think. To make the students develop their higher order thinking, instructional strategies are better suited to be implemented than traditional strategies.

When I become a teacher, I will use debate technique to promote the students’ critical thinking as well as their oral communication skill because students learn more effectively by actively analysing, discussing and applying content in meaningful ways rather than by passively get the information from the teacher.

CCU 7

Citation:
Sultana, Sharmin. (2011). Teaching English in a cross-cultural context: challenges & directions, Nepal English language teachers association, 16(1-2): 114-123. 

After read this article journal, I have learnt that the main purpose of this research is to analyze the challenges faced by the teachers and learners, and finally, recommends some directions to embrace the challenges. Teaching English in a cross cultural context raises a number of challenges. Though we can successfully generalize and predict certain student thought, emotion and behavior patterns, there will always be exceptions to any rules we might formulate. The first and foremost problem faced in teaching English in a cross-cultural context is the language itself. Both teachers and learners face some limitations in different ways, dealing with language. The content of the language class can also be the issue of challenge.

The most challenges occur in teaching English in a cross cultural context are related to:

1.      Native English speaking teacher

Native english speaking teacher usually expect that the achievement of their students’ learning process will like the way he/she is. However, the students got problem to  follow the instructor sometimes or even they do not understand anything.

2.      Non-native speaker teacher

Some of Non-native speaker teacher are being under-estimate by their students. they think that Non-native speaker teacher are not that good compared to Native English speaking teacher. However, Non-native-speaker teacher of English are not necessarily worse off than native –speaker colleagues: they can be, and often are, as ‘expert’ in English and ELT methodology as native speakers.

3.      The learners

accuracy, appropriacy and fluency are the challenges that they usually afraid of because English is not their mother tongue.

4.      Content.

The content can be a problem because they taught by different language so it can be confused for them and can be ambiguous.

5.      Culture Shock.

This happen when there is a big cultural difference that might happen in the classroom such as Ethnocentrism, Discrimination, Stereotyping, Cultural Blindness Cultural Imposition.

Based on those challenges that happen in in teaching English in a cross cultural context, the teacher have to overcome so thatthe students will achieve the goal of the learning process itself. Personally, I think that teaching English in a cross cultural context is neither easy nor difficult. It is challenging. We can overcome the problems if we use the appropriate way to teach them.

CCU 6

Citation: Cakir, Ismail. (2006). Developing cultural awareness in foreign language teaching, turkish online journal of distance education, 7(3): 154-162. 

The main purpose of this article journal has been to provide necessary information for the foreign language teachers and learners so that they can establish a good connection with the target language and its culture. Based on this article journal, I got some information that I might be useful later.

Developing cultural-awareness in Engling as Foreign Language classroom is important because every culture has its own cultural norms for conversation and these norms differ from one culture to another, some of the norms can be completely different and conflict with other cultures’ norms. Consequently, communication problems may arise among speakers who do not know or share the norms of other culture.

To avoid or solve the communication problems in the target language in the EFL classrooms, the students have to know and understand the culture of the target language and the teacher should be more understand to the students’ weaknesses so that they will not lose their motivation.

In developing cultural awareness in the classroom, the teacher should help the students differenciate between the cultural norms, beliefs, or habits of the majority within the speech community and the individual or group deviations from some of these norms. The students should be able to discuus their own culture with their foreign-speaking friends at the same time that they are provided with a real experiential content. Language teaching is a long process in which performance is not absolute so that the teacher should not expect that all of the students will acquire perfect native like behaviour.

CAR 6

Citation:

Fallahi, Carolyn R. Fallahi., and  Haney, Joseph D. (2007). Using Debate In Helping Students Discuss Controversial Topics, Journal of College Teaching & Learning, 4(10):83-88.

After I read this article journal, the main purpose of this article journal is to help students discuss controversial topics using debate. As we have already know, we usually feel shy and do not want to discuss about controversial issues, like sexual, racism, poverty, and other controversial issues. However, through debate technique, students are able to be an open-minded and critical thinker that debating those kind of issues is no longer a taboo, but something that we have to solve.  The athmosphere during the classroom also getting better compared to the traditional discussion. The students enjoyed the debate and believed that it helped them discuss sensitive or controversial topics more easily. Half of the students who participated in the debate believed that being an effective speaker and working with their teammates led to a feeling of empowerment.

Personally, I think that debate technique is a valuable technique for increasing classroom discussion of controversial topics. The debate assignments created a great deal of anticipation and excitement among the students. It also improve students’ critical thinking, speaking skill, and participation during the classroom activity.