Week 10 -- English as an International Language (EIL)

For the next two weeks we will consider the issues raised by English being considered a global language. What does it mean for us, our students, and the content we teach?

1. First please read Graddol_Why global English may mean the end of English as Foreign Language.
2. Next read Graddol The Native Speaker Problem.
3. Then read Whose English Should We Teach.
4. Finally, read EIL Pronunciation, an argument regarding EIL and pronunciation.

Blog Question 1: How do you define "standard English?" Please justify your response.

Blog Question 2: What do you think about the phonological core?

Week 9 -- Stereotypes, Descriptions/Judgments, and Textbook Evaluations.

This week we're going to look at our own teaching material to determine if there are any hidden messages that we are sending to students. Sometimes these are quite obvious, and sometimes they are more subtle. We'll examine our own use of descriptive/judgmental language by modeling a couple activities you can do with your students. Finally, we'll take a closer look at our textbooks to see how effective the cultural content is.

1. First please read DeCapua and Wintergerst, pages 64-67, for a brief overview of stereotypes.
2. Read Cortazzi and Jin's Cultural Mirrors: Materials and Methods in the EFL classroom. This will get you thinking about how best to analyze a textbook. This chapter looks longer than it is -- plenty of diagrams and 24 pages of references.
3. Look over the picturebook My Name Is Yoon.


Blog question 1: As you read My Name is Yoon, consider the good and bad points of the cultural content in terms of images, stereotyping, power, etc. Post your thoughts below. Please include page numbers when you refer to specific scene (page numbers in the .jpg title). Also, please do not waste the paper/ink to print this out for class. I'll put it on the screen and we can all talk about it together.

Blog question 2: Look through your own current textbook. Be prepared to discuss the good/bad points of the cultural content. Don't post this; we'll talk about it in class.

Week 8 -- Lesson Plan Workshop

No reading.

Please bring your Discourse Analysis Lesson Plan to class. It should be ready to be handed in. Be prepared to explain it in detail. You'll have up to 10 minutes to explain it. Also bring your Discourse sources (video,ad, etc). After your explanation of the lesson, we'll have a few minutes to give you feedback. Also, if you have already taught it, you can share some good/weak points.

Week 7

No ICC class this week. Please continue working on your lesson plan, which will be presented (not a microteaching) next week in class.

John's Discourse Analysis

These are adds for the same beauty salon toy set, but from different christmas catalogs. The top is what you would typically be depicted, only girls, for a beauty salon kit from a standard traditional toy catalog in most countries. It was taken from a Denmark catalog. 

Then below there is the same ad, but instead of a girl with a hair dryer, there is a boy and also, he is wearing a hair dresser belt. This was the first time that this company had a change to gender neutral ads. The catalog is from Sweden, where the country has recently made a big shift to making things gender neutral. 

I believe if the bottom ad were to be shown in America, that it would become a giant controversy, especially for Tea Partiers and Right Winged Republicans. I feel that they would say it is promoting children to be "gay" and since they view that as something negative, they might view it as an attack on their morals, that it goes against the norms set by the Bible... This a would have a hard time being printed in America. 

Sweden has added the pronoun, 'hen', which is a combination of their 'he' and 'she', to its country's national encyclopedia and will also spend close to $340 million this year on promoting the equality of gender in the workforce. So, Sweden is definitely pushing in the direction of snuffing out gender stereotyping, wether it's a push in the right direction is up to you. 

Laura's Starbuck's Ads

Starbuck's is a worldwide brand. I randomly chose the UK and the US because I knew both adverts would be in English. What I found surprised me. The first ad is from the UK. The image is of many cups with the word latte being put down. Suddenly, it turns into a friendly, cool cartoon. The voice over says they will start using the customer's name instead of the drink name. Finally, if you come in by noon on a certain day, you'll get a free latte. The catchphrase is, "We're Starbucks. Nice to meet you." The focus of the ad is on personalizing the customer and you get a real sense of the individual. The announcer sounds polite and kind. They're giving away the coffee as a token of goodwill. There's no catch. The second ad is from the US. Starbuck's green letters ask questions about the community and the country. The message is that we should all vote. The promise is that if you vote, you'll get a free drink. The idea behind this is that the group is more important than the individual and that you earn what you get. The final statement is, "It's bigger than coffee." The reason I was surprised by this ad was that it seemed like the American ad was more formal while the British ad was more fun, which is the opposite of the stereotype. If I were to use this in my classroom, I would play the videos without sound first, making sure to cut the video before it showed the .co.uk and ask the students to give me the main idea of the two ads. Then I would have the students discuss which country they thought the two adverts were from. Then the class could vote on it.

Amy's Discourse Analysis Homework Assignment - WK 6

This BMW North America print advert formed part of the “Joy Campaign” which aimed to focus viewers on the joy which owning a BMW could bring.  I think the word ‘Joy’ has become linked with the idea of having a healthy ‘spirit.’  When I think of ‘joy’ I imagine Oprah Winfrey and the way she encourages women to empower themselves, and take time to nurture their spirits.  It feels like an advert geared to ‘strong women’ who value their role as mothers as much as they value their careers (in a sense – for the woman who has both.)  Also – using the word ‘maternal’ strengthens the idea of women being the ‘driving force’ of a family (excuse the pun).

The image of the baby is a strong motivator for parents, who value family, and their role of protecting their family.  The image sets out to show how the car will protect our most precious ‘possession.’  In this way, it suggests that we would have no choice other than to ‘buy this car’ if we wanted to keep our families safe,

To summarize, I think the advert works to motivate women to value their roles as mothers and protectors.  Considering the product, I would go further to say that this advert would speak to more affluent women, especially those who may be part of the workforce – and who are able to buy luxury cars.  In this sense – the advert opens the market up for women, whereas before, it may have been dominated by male consumers.

The below BMW advert was designed by a South African company.  At first I didn’t think the image was that striking, but when I read the text, I got a much stronger sense of its meaning.  The message behind the advert is definitely about wealth, and the status which comes from owning a BMW. The wording reminded me of an ‘involvement’ strategy - by using the word “your” the tone is set more as though a friend is speaking to the viewer.   The text is cocky and cavalier in its assumption that viewers would be able to purchase both the BMW and the penthouse without having to consider their financial situation.  From a South African context, the advert is definitely aimed at young, professionals who are materialistic and who are very much a part of a system of “work hard, play hard.” The message also lends itself to the idea of people being able to ‘have it all,’ a message that is at the core of success for many young professionals.  Even the choice of using a ‘penthouse’ is emphasising the cultural need for status, wealth and success.

When introducing these two images to a class, I would definitely ask them to brainstorm key words that come to them when seeing the images and the text.  I think the ‘gut reactions’ would be valuable and possibly more telling of the values that lay behind the adverts, as well as what cultural values the students themselves hold.  Following on from Hofstede’s cultural dimensions, I would probably guide a discussion around which image would be found in Feminine cultures, and which in Masculine cultures, and why.  Also – I would raise the idea of family and its importance as raised by the North American advert.  Considering that BMW is a luxury brand – I would also open a discussion of wealth, and what it means in different cultures.