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International EFL Teacher Professional Development in the Interests of Decolonization and Peace

International EFL Teacher Professional Development in the Interests of Decolonization and Peace ISLS 2017 Douglas Fleming Faculty of Education. Program Objectives: • English as a Second/Foreign Language teaching methodologies; • English language acquisition; • Cultural exchange.

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International EFL Teacher Professional Development in the Interests of Decolonization and Peace

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  1. International EFL Teacher Professional Development in the Interests of Decolonization and Peace ISLS 2017 Douglas Fleming Faculty of Education

  2. Program Objectives: • English as a Second/Foreign Language teaching methodologies; • English language acquisition; • Cultural exchange. • 35 experienced ESL/EFL teachers from Yunnan • Content: • Lectures on theory • Methodology training • Language training

  3. Funded by the Chinese Scholarship Council • Participation by visiting Chinese scholar • Curriculum developed in concert with the Chinese Embassy and the Beijing Foreign Languages and Culture University • Led by the Faculty of Education with assistance from the Official Language and Bilingualism Institute • Classroom observation facilitated by the Ottawa Catholic School Board and local First Nation • Cultural exchanges; field-trips; conversation practice; computer lab work • Staff: faculty; PhD sts; undergraduates; manager • Good pay-scales

  4. Conditions in Rural China: • Overcrowded classes • Limited resources (esp. IT) • Centralized curricula using Beijing-based texts • Teacher-centered methodology • Grammar and writing focus • Preparation for standardized tests (esp. written university entrance examinations) • Challenging working conditions • Policy: adopt speaking focus/communicative methodologies • Rural Yunnan: o Very little interest in English or higher education o Highly multicultural and multilingual o Low S-ES o Generational change

  5. The Study: • Mixed methods • Ethics • Secondary use of assignments • Semi-structured interviews • Focus groups • Surveys (open-ended and multiple-choice) • Video-taped presentations • Pre and post language testing

  6. Preliminary Findings: • Pedagogy has changed • Enjoyable and worthwhile • Lectures interesting and provocative • IT problematic given conditions back home • Concrete activities and methods extremely useful • Language acquisition substantial • Models of student-centered methodology inspiring • Models of collaborative teaching useful • “Reignited” enthusiasm for teaching • An honor to be chosen • Canada/US differences • Responsibilities for dissemination • Models of multiculturalism and bilingualism valuable

  7. Challenges: How to adopt communicative approaches in light of standardized testing? • Challenges: How to motivate rural Chinese sts in light of the lack of usefulness of English in Yunnan? • Challenges: How to be flexible as a Chinese teacher given standardized curricula? • Challenges: How to deal with overcrowding and lack of resources?

  8. Why Post-Colonial? • Developed with Chinese Embassy and a Chinese university • Use of aboriginal models • Critical lecture content • Decentralized delivery • Multicultural and bilingual teaching staff • Problematizing the notions of native-speaker and standardized (privileged Anglo-American “core” English) • Problematizing binary stereotypes of east and west • Discussing the political nature of English teaching (currently and historically) • Emphasis on adapting communicative approaches to local Yunnan conditions

  9. Ashcroft, B., Griffiths, G. & Tiffin, H. (1998). Key concepts in post-colonial studies. Psychology Press. New York, NY: Routledge Canagarajah, A. C. (1999). Resisting linguistic imperialism in English teaching. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Ibrahim, A. (2011). “Will they ever speak with authority? Race, post-coloniality and the symbolic violence of language”. Educational Philosophy and Theory, 43:6, 619-635. Kumaravadivelu, B. (2012). Individual identity, cultural globalization, and teaching English as an International Language: The case for an epistemic break. In L. Alsagoff, S. McKay, G. Hu, & W. Renandya (Eds). Principles and Practices for Teaching English as an International Language, pp. 9-27. New York, NY: Routledge. Liu, J. (2000). Towards an understanding of the internal colonial model. In D. Brydon (Ed.), Postcolonialism: Critical concepts in literary and cultural studies, Vol. 4 (pp. 1347–1364). London: Routledge. Pennycook, A. (1998). English and the discourses of colonialism. New York: Routledge. Takeuchi, Y. (2005). “Asia as method.” What is modernity? In R. F. Calichman (Ed. & Trans.), Writings of Takeuchi Yoshimi (pp. 149–165). New York: Columbia University Press. Douglas Fleming PhD Associate Professor Faculty of Education, University of Ottawa Director: International Teacher Professional Development Projects Handouts: http://douglasfleming.weebly.com

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