Renart, Laura

Roots & routes in language education: Bi-multi-plurilingualism,

interculturality and [Link] papers from the 38th FAAPI Conference /
Laura Renart y Daro Luis Banegas. - 1a ed. - Buenos Aires: Asociacin de
Profesores de Ingls de Buenos Aires - A.P.I.B.A., 2013.
E-Book.
ISBN 978-987-20307-0-4
1. Capacitacin Docente. 2. Enseanza de Ingls. I. Banegas, Daro Luis II.
Ttulo
CDD 420.711

Fecha de catalogacin: 10/07/2013

1 Edicin: Septiembre de 2013.
Diseo: Sebastin Kladniew
2013, APIBA

Roots & routes in language education:

Bi-multi-plurilingualism, interculturality
and identity
Selected papers from the 38th FAAPI
Conference
Edited by
Laura Renart
Asociacin de Profesores de Ingls de Buenos Aires (APIBA),
FAAPI 2013 Organising Association

Daro Luis Banegas

Asociacin de Profesores de Ingls de Zona Andina y Lnea Sur (APIZALS)

Contents
Acknowledgements ............................................................................................................................... ii
From the editors ................................................................................................................................... iii
From FAAPI President ......................................................................................................................... vi
38th FAAPI Conference ....................................................................................................................... ix
1 Lessons from research on immersion programmes in Canada ........................................................... 1
Fred Genesee

2 The landscape of English language teaching: Roots, routes and ramifications ................................. 17
Cristina Banfi

3 Communicating across cultures: encounters in the contact zone ...................................................... 35

Claudia Mnica Ferradas

4 Narrative inquiry within Argentinean EFLTE: Crafting professional identities and knowledge
through students narratives ................................................................................................................ 44
Mara Cristina Sarasa

5 Designing intercultural and bilingual e-material for primary and secondary schools ........................ 56
Silvana Barboni and Liliana Simn

6 Border pedagogy: Towards re-routing roots in intercultural education ............................................ 73

Florencia Vernica Perduca

7 Pensamiento crtico, reflexin, conciencia cultural crtica: caractersticas de la interculturalidad en la

lectura en lengua extranjera ................................................................................................................. 86
Melina Porto

8 Cultural bonding in the 21st-century language classroom ................................................................ 98

[Link] and S. Carina Fernndez

9 Interweaving critical reading of media texts and culture in a first year teacher training college ...... 109
Claudia Naom and Leandro Carreo

10 Meet the words: a philological and socio-cultural approach to discourse analysis at teacher training
college .............................................................................................................................................. 124
Florencia I. Viale

11 Future teachers: Identities, trajectories and projections ............................................................... 136

Flavia S. Bonadeo and Maria Susana Ibez

12 Cultural awareness and language enhancement through microblogging ....................................... 147

Paola Lorena Barboza and Ana Cecilia Cad

13 Digital identity and teachers role in the 21st century classroom ................................................. 158
Nora Lizenberg

14 Se puede hablar de oportunidades de aprendizajes intraculturales? ........................................... 171

Mara E. Lizrraga

15 Reading and interacting with electronic texts: A multimodal process?......................................... 182

Yael Alejandra Hasbani

16 The future teacher of English in Argentina: The roles of the humanities, of research and of
collaboration in the new curricula...................................................................................................... 198
Mara Susana Ibez and Raquel Lothringer

17 Using Spanish in academic English language learning ................................................................ 210

Nancy C. Gonzlez

18 The use of multimodal resources to explore a texts voices ......................................................... 223

Rosa Ins Cneo and Natacha Carolina Snchez Romera

19 Reflecting on identity and intercultural issues through literature ................................................. 236

Mara Ximena Maceri

20 Computer and Internet mediated narrative construction in EFL ................................................... 248

Mara Cecilia Chiappero, Agustn Massa, and Claudia Elizabeth Schander

Notes on contributors ........................................................................................................................ 262

About the editors............................................................................................................................... 267

Acknowledgements
APIBA wishes to thank:

APIZALS for sharing their experience of editing the 37th FAAPI Conference Selected
Papers (2012) to support APIBA in producing the 38th FAAPI Conference Selected Papers
(2013).

The Members of the Academic Committee, all Members of various FAAPI Associations,
for their conscientious and invaluable work.

ii

From the editors

While Laura is working on these selected papers in Buenos Aires, Daro is in Esquel. Laura
knows that beyond her door, Spanish, Portuguese, English, Chinese, and many other
languages are there, interacting, living, inhabiting different settings and identities which
come to shape and be shaped by a constellation of voices. She knows that there are children
and teenagers learning some of these languages at school, at home, with the help of their
families and the internet. Daro knows that beyond his doors, Spanish, Welsh,
Mapudungun, English and others are being used to create and recreate the world. He knows
that there are children attending a mapudungun-espaol school in Lago Rosario, Chubut.
All these languages attest to our roots and routes in all directions and reveal who we are.
Bi-multi-plurilingualism, interculturality and identity in language education are
growing in different directions (Aronin & Singleton, 2008; Blackledge & Creese, 2010;
Hornberger & Link, 2012; Kramsch, 2009; Taylor & Snoddon, 2013) and may be seen, as
Weber and Horner (2012) discuss, in terms of languages or in terms of linguistic resources
and repertories (see Greer, 2010). An interest in bi-multi-plurilingualism, interculturality
and identity is not new in FAAPI conferences and Argentina. Ferradas (2003, 2006, 2009)
discusses the intercultural speaker, the concept of otherness, identity, and self by building
bridges with literature. Banfi and Rettaroli (2008) and Renart (2003) have also contributed
to this interest by examining bilingualism and bilingual education in Argentina.
The XXXVIII FAAPI Conference focused on such a fascinating topic of language
education and the 20 selected papers which constitute the body of this publication evidence
iii

the different branches we may find and explore. We may group the contributions under
three main categories: (1) reflective and theoretical discussions (Papers 2, 3, 6, 10, 13, 14,
16, and 19), (2) research-based reports (Papers 1, 4, 7, 11, and 12), and (3) classroom
accounts and materials (Papers, 5, 8, 9, 15, 16, 18, 20). It is also remarkable to see how
unifying areas of interest emerge from the authors: language teacher education (e.g. Papers
2, 7, 9, 10, 11, 16, 19, and 20), literature (e.g. Papers 3, 15, 15, and 19), and the use of
digital resources (e.g. Papers 12, 13, 15, 18, and 20). In terms of languages, it may be
interesting to note that two papers (7 and 14) are written in espaol and the rest in English.
Editing these contributions has been a powerful learning experience and a drive to
engage in critical examination of the literature, reflective practices, and research. The
presence of concepts such as border pedagogy (Paper 6), digital identity (Paper 13), digital
narratology (Paper 15), and aprendizajes intraculturales (Paper 14) has been eye openers to
new routes which may motivate us all to develop our curiosity further. Curiosity killed the
cat. Yet, curiosity may help teachers live professional lives more fully.
Laura and Daro

References
Aronin, L., & Singleton, D. (2008).Multilingualism as a new linguistic
[Link] Journal of Multilingualism, 5(1), 1 16.
Banfi, C., & Rettaroli, S. (2008). Staff profiles in minority and prestigious bilingual
education contexts in Argentina. In A. de Meja & C. Hlot (Eds.), Bridging the gap
between prestigious bilingualism and the bilingualism of minorities (pp. 140 182).
Clevendon: Multilingual Matters.
Blackledge, A., & Creese, A. (2010). Multilingualism: A critical perspective. London:
Continuum.
iv

Ferradas, C. (2003). Meeting the other, learning about ourselves: cultural awareness in the
language classroom. In Humanizing our practices: Minding the whole person. FAAPI
2003 Conference Proceedings (pp. 19 27). Salta/Crdoba: FAAPI/ASPI.
Ferradas, C. (2006). Diverse readings, plural [Link] N.L. Sculi & M.B. Lembo
(Eds.), XXXI FAAPI conference. Multiple literacies: Beyond the four skills. Conference
Proceedings (pp. 17 23). Rosario: APrIR.
Ferradas, C. (2009). Communicating identities: Finding a voice in English. In D. Fernndez
(Coord.), XXXIV FAAPI Conference Proceedings. Teachers in action: Making the
latest trends work in the classroom (pp. 20 24). Baha Blanca: FAAPI.
Greer, T. (2010). Identity in interculturality: Using (lack of) cultural knowledge to disalign
with an identity category. The Language Teacher, 34(3), 3 7.
Hornberger, N.H., & Link, H. (2012). Translanguaging and transnational literacies in
multilingual classrooms: A biliteracy lens. International Journal of Bilingual
Education and Bilingualism, 15(3), 261 278.
Kramsch.C. (2009). The multilingual subject. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Renart, L. (2003). Bilinguality and bilingualism in Argentina: A look at privileged
bilingualism. In Humanizing our practices: Minding the whole person. FAAPI 2003
Conference Proceedings (pp. 28 33). Salta/Crdoba: FAAPI/ASPI.
Taylor, S.K., & Snoddon, K. (2013). Plurilingualism in TESOL: Promising controversies.
TESOL Quarterly, 47(3), 439 445.
Weber, J., & Horner, K. (2012). Introducing multilingualism: A social approach.
Abingdon/New York: Routledge.
Disclaimer:
The editors made every effort to ensure the accuracy of all the information contained in this
e-book. However, the editors make no representations or warranties whatsoever as to the
accuracy, completeness or suitability for any purpose of the contents and disclaim all such
representations and warranties whether expressed or implied to the maximum extent
permitted by law. Any views expressed in this publication are the views of the authors only.

From FAAPI President

Siempre es motivo de satisfaccin para FAAPI no slo la realizacin de un nuevo
Congreso, sino tambin la publicacin de una Seleccin de Artculos presentados para cada
oportunidad.
Este Congreso organizado por APIBA en Buenos Aires pone en blanco y negro tpicos
que estn en la agenda de la enseanza de las lenguas en los ltimos aos, cuyo abordaje es
ms que oportuno realizar.
La enseanza de las lenguas tiene facetas fascinantes. Esta tarea ha sido motivo de
inters no slo de profesores, sino mucho de pedagogos, lingistas y psiclogos. Este
desvelo por la enseanza de las lenguas permite contar con una larga tradicin que se
remonta al siglo XVI, desde el mtodo de gramtica-traduccin descripto por primera vez
por Valentin Meidinger (1756-1822), creador del mtodo y con el fin de ensear el francs.
A partir de entonces, han sobrevenido nuevos mtodos y enfoques, y llegamos a este siglo
XXI con la globalizacin con sus luces y sus sombras- la internacionalizacin que deviene
de la primera, y la irrupcin de la tecnologa, los medios sociales, paredes del aula que caen
para dar lugar all aprendizaje ubicuo, donde la sacralizacin del libro se desdibuja para dar
lugar a nuevos modos de comunicacin y aprendizaje.
Vivimos rodeados de sofisticados aparatos electrnicos -que habran hasta intimidado a
nuestros ancestros- que facilitan ? la comunicacin con los otros que hasta pueden estn
lejos. Pero debemos subirnos a la ola, y buscar familiarizarnos con nuevos trminos que se
van acuando: lectoespectador, internauta, interactividad, multitareas, multimodalidad,
vi

multimedialidad, hibridizacin, aprendizaje ubicuo; sin dejar de lado conceptos

sociolingsticos como la otredad y el racismo.
En los aos 1970s se empez a manejar el concepto de competencia comunicativa; en
este milenio, ya hablamos del desarrollo de la competencia comunicativa intercultural, ya
que el cambio de centuria nos enfrenta cambios socio-histricos, y debemos estar
preparados para desaprender lo aprendidos y reaprender un nuevo rol como educadores.
Y esta re-adaptacin pone a los profesores en la encrucijada de decidir o seguir las
directivas institucionales de que los celulares deben desaparecer del aula, o demostrar que
nos sirven para desarrollar las clases, usando Facebook o Twitter de manera significativa.
Tambin irrumpen en el aula las redes sociales y las tablets, de tamaos diversos, con un
lector de libros, que puede ilustrar una clase de lengua o literatura.
Es un fenmeno que se da en todas las sociedades, y en trminos de Clifford, se trata
de definir trminos relativo a los viajes, en condiciones globales de cambio: las rutas
(routes) que se transitan, y las races (roots) que se poseen, que forjan la individualidad y la
historia de particulares mapas e historias, con conceptos como grupos minoritarios,
inmigrantes o etnicidad ligados a los caminos (roads) que recorren las personas. Es ver a los
inmigrantes como personas que luchan para aprender una lengua que les permita participar
en la vida social de la nueva comunidad, ya que su sentido de identidad est unido de
manera inextricable con la lengua materna.
En Argentina dada la conformacin de la poblacin, se dice que venimos de los
barcos, dicho que deja fuera a los grupos originarios. Entonces cuestiones de identidad, la
otredad, las lenguas en contacto, el bilingismo, el plurilingismo son una constante. En
vii

una vuelta de tuerca, asistimos a la revalorizacin de nuestra L1 en el aprendizaje,

impensada hace veinte aos.
Sudhoff juega con las palabras wor(l)d, mundo-palabra, cuando seala que el
aprendiente interculturalmente competente es ms consciente de las convenciones
culturales que subyacen al mundo/a las palabras con que se encuentra y usa, que a la
gramtica y la forma. Es que justamente el reconocimiento de las similitudes y diferencias
culturales promueve claramente el internacionalismo, que es el vnculo entre grupos por
encima de las fronteras de los estados y naciones, al decir de Byram.
Es sobre estos temas tan convocantes que distintos colegas han decidido generosamente
compartir sus estudios, experticia y conclusiones con otros colegas.
Estn invitados a leerlos, y a travs de ellos, seguir abriendo puertas que dan al
conocimiento, el disfrute intelectual y el aprendizaje continuo. FAAPI se regocija!

Prof. Cristina Emilia Mayol, M.A.

Presidente

viii

38th FAAPI Conference

FAAPI 2013 Organising Committee & APIBA Executive Committee

President: Anala Kandel
Vice-President: Corine Arguimbau
Secretary: Beln Tur
Treasurer: Cecilia Cicolini
Deputy Treasurer: Laura Karina Lpez (Web & Social networks)
Members:
Laura Renart (Academic Team)
Maringeles Portilla (Virtual Platform)
Valeria Kharsansky (Volunteers & Social Programme)
Laureana Moreno (Administration)
Collaborators: Mariela Enrici, Silvia Rettaroli, Luciana De Bartolis (Treasury); Daro
Banegas, Luciana De Bartolis (Academic Team); Liliana Simn & Jennifer Verschoor (Virtual
Platform e-moderators); Selected Papers E-book Co-editors: Daro Banegas & Laura Renart

FAAPI Executive Committee

President: Cristina Mayol (APIM Misiones)
Vice-President: Gabriela Tavella (APIZALS Zona Andina y Lnea Sur)
Secretary: Emma del Valle Figueroa (APISE Santiago del Estero)
Treasurer: Marisel Girardi (ACPI Crdoba)
Members:
Perla Anglica Pereyra (AsCaPi Catamarca)
Ricardo Javier Palma (APIT Tucumn)
Mara del Rosario Baigorria (APISN San Nicols)
Ana Isabel Agero de Renner (APISE Santiago del Estero)
Accounts Committee:
Claudia Naom (APIBA Buenos Aires)
Silvia Prez (APIT Tucumn)

ix

Academic Committee:
Coordinators: Laura Renart (APIBA) and Daro Luis Banegas (APIZALS)
Mariel Amez (APrIR Rosario)
Alicia Artusi (APIBA Buenos Aires)
Daro Luis Banegas (APIZALS Zona Andina y Lnea Sur)
Cristina Banfi (APIBA Buenos Aires)
Claudia Ferradas (APIBA Buenos Aires)
Emma Figueroa (APISE Santiago del Estero)
Silvia Iummato (APIBA Buenos Aires)
Mario Lpez Barrios (ACPI Crdoba)
Claudia Naom (APIBA Buenos Aires)
Cristina Mayol (APIM Misiones)
Ricardo Javier Palma (APIT Tucumn)
Silvia Rettaroli (APIBA Buenos Aires)
Sandra Revale (APIBA Buenos Aires)
Gabriela Tavella (APIZALS Zona Andina y Lnea Sur)
Mara Teresa Vias Urquiza (APIBA Buenos Aires)
Elizabeth White (APIBA Buenos Aires)
Conference Coordination: Paula De Gennaro
Conference Organisation: Ana Finochetto
Conference Web: [Link]/faapi13
Federacin Argentina de Asociaciones de Profesores de Ingls (FAAPI) and its Teacher
Associations
[Link]
info@[Link]
Asociacin de Profesores de Ingls de Buenos Aires (APIBA)
[Link]
info@[Link]

Selected Papers

1 Lessons from research on immersion

programmes in Canada
Fred Genesee
McGill University

1. Introduction
Several popular forms of French immersion are available for English-speaking students in
Canada; they vary with respect to the grade when French-L2 is first used to teach academic
subjects and how much academic content instruction is provided through the L2. Academic
content refer here to subjects prescribed in the school curriculum whose primary focus is
not language such as mathematics, science, and history. Immersion in languages other
than French exists in Canada; but, the focus in this review will be on French immersion. In
early total immersion, all school subjects in Kindergarten to Grade 2 are in French.
Instruction in English begins in Grade 3 and increases in each subsequent grade until about
50% of instruction is provided in French and 50% in English by the end of elementary
school (age 11). In early partial immersion, about 50% of instruction in each elementary
school grade is provided in each language, beginning in Kindergarten. In middle
immersion, use of the L2 for content instruction is delayed until grade 3, and in late

immersion the L2 is not used for content instruction until grade 7 (more detailed
descriptions of these programs are provided in Genesee, 2004, and in Paradis, Genesee, &
Crago, 2011). Students in middle and late immersion receive traditional French-L2
instruction in the grades preceding use of French for content instruction.
The following general goals are common to these programs:
age/grade-appropriate levels of competence in speaking, listening, reading
and writing in the L1,
advanced levels of functional proficiency in the L2, and
grade-appropriate levels of achievement in prescribed academic subjects
(e.g., mathematics, science, history).
These general goals have motivated much of the research reviewed in this article. Student
learning outcomes have usually been evaluated by comparing the performance of
immersion students to that of students in the same grade in monolingual school programs
that use the L1 for all instruction or to their performance on standardized tests with norms.
In Genesees research, immersion and non-immersion students were selected to be
comparable with respect to socio-economic status and academic ability so that these factors
would not influence test performance in favor of one group.
The following review is organized with respect to L1 outcomes, achievement in nonlanguage content subjects, and L2 outcomes. Findings within each of these sections are
organized according to important questions which are often asked about each of these
topics. Most research has evaluated the learning outcomes of students in general. However,
many educators, parents, and policy-makers have questioned the suitability of immersion
education for students who might be at risk for academic difficulty in school. This issue is
2

addressed in a section on the Suitability of Immersion Education for All Students. This is
followed by a brief section on Pedagogical Issues.

2. Student outcomes
2.1. First language outcomes
2.1.1. Do immersion students acquire the same competence in English-L1 as students in
monolingual programs?
Evaluations of immersion students L1 skills have consistently shown that, in the long run,
there is no significant difference between their skills and those of students in monolingual
English programs (Genesee, 2004; Lambert & Tucker, 1972; Swain & Lapkin, 1982). In the
case of evaluations of early total immersion, it has been found that immersion students often
score significantly lower than non-immersion students during the primary grades, when all
instruction is in French, on tests of reading and writing in English; they demonstrate no such
lags in speaking and listening comprehension. These lags disappear within one year of
receiving instruction in English. The rapid catch-up in reading and writing in English that
early total immersion students experience is often attributed to the transfer of reading and
writing skills in French to English and the fact that they have extensive exposure to English
outside school. The same pattern of results has been found in immersion-type programs for
majority language students in other countries for example, in Japanese-English immersion
programs in Japan (Bostwick, 2001), Russian-Estonian immersion programs in Estonia
(Mehisto & Asser, 2007), and Spanish-English bilingual programs in the U.S. (LindholmLeary, 2001).
3

2.1.2. Is more and early instruction in English advantageous?

Evaluations of alternative forms of immersion have indicated that students acquire the same
levels of L1 competence as non-immersion students regardless of when instruction in English
begins (early vs. delayed or late) and regardless of how much instruction they receive in
English (50% in the beginning or none) (Genesee, 1981). To the contrary, there is evidence
that, in some cases, the English language skills of immersion students are superior to those of
students in monolingual non-immersion programs despite reduced exposure (Lambert,
Genesee, Holobow, & Chartrand, 1993). The home language advantage demonstrated by
some immersion students has been attributed to their extended exposure to French in school
which, in turn, is thought to have additive effects on their English language development.

2.1.3. Does linguistic similarity matter?

Immersion-type programs have been implemented in a variety of languages in communities
around the world, including languages that are typologically different; for example,
Mohawk-English (Jacobs & Cross, 2001), Hawaiian-English (Slaughter, 1997), JapaneseEnglish (Bostwick, 2001), Hebrew-French-English (Genesee & Lambert, 1983), ChineseEnglish (Johnson, 1997), Estonian-Russian (Mehisto & Asser, 2007), and Swedish-Finnish
(Bjrklund, 1998). Some of these language combinations also entail different orthographies
(e.g., Japanese-English and Chinese-English). There is no evidence from evaluations of
these programs that typological differences, with or without orthographic differences,
influence student outcomes significantly.

2.2. Academic outcomes

2.2.1. Do immersion students attain the same levels of academic achievement as nonimmersion students?
Evaluations of immersion students achievement in their non-language school subjects
indicate that they achieve the same levels of competence as comparable students in
monolingual English language programs -- in mathematics, science, history, and other
subjects. Parity with non-immersion students is often exhibited even in early total
immersion programs when students receive all academic instruction through their L2,
provided the assessment is conducted in the L2 and modifications are made to take into
account that full competence in the L2 has not been acquired. Parity with students in
monolingual programs has been found even in the case of secondary school students who
were studying advanced level mathematics, science, physics, and other school subjects in
French (Genesee, 2004).

2.2.2. Is the academic achievement of immersion students with low academic ability
jeopardized?
Parents and educators often believe that students with below average academic ability are
not good candidates for immersion because they will struggle to acquire new skills and
knowledge if they are taught through a non-native language in which they lack proficiency.
Genesee (1976) found that below average students in immersion scored at the same level as
below average students in monolingual English programs on a variety of academic
achievement measures, including standardized achievement tests and examinations
mandated by the government, in subjects such as mathematics and science. While the
5

below average students in both programs scored significantly lower than their average and
above average peers in their respective programs, the below average immersion students
were not further disadvantaged in academic achievement as a result of participation in
immersion.
Students who struggle academically in school are often advised to switch to a
monolingual program on the assumption that they will struggle less in a monolingual
English program. In fact, academic difficulty is often the main reason for students
switching out of French immersion in Canada. Indeed, Bruck (1985a, 1985b) found that
students who switched out of early French immersion in Montreal scored significantly
lower on a number of achievement measures than students, on average, who remained in
immersion. She also found, however, that the academic difficulties of the students who
switched were no worse than those of a sub-group of students who remained in immersion
despite low academic performance. Of particular interest, the immersion students who
switched expressed significantly more negative attitudes toward schooling (and immersion
in particular) and exhibited more behavioral problems than students who remained in
immersion despite academic difficulties. Bruck suggested that it was not academic
difficulty per se that caused the students to switch out of immersion; rather, they switched
because they had motivational and behavioral problems coping with poor academic
performance.

2.3 Second language outcomes

2.3.1. What level of L2 competence do immersion students acquire?
The French-L2 proficiency of Canadian immersion students has been found to be significantly
superior to that of non-immersion students in monolingual English programs with
conventional French-L2 instruction which usually consists of instruction for about 45-50
minutes in French per day with a focus on vocabulary and grammar. This has been found to be
true for speaking, listening, reading, and writing. In comparison with students who speak
French as a native language, immersion students often score at the same level on tests that
assess comprehension skills listening and reading. Their performance on tests of language
production - speaking and writing - are generally very impressive. They are able to understand
and make themselves understood in all school contexts, and they demonstrate an uninhibited
and creative use of French for communication that is seldom achieved by students in
conventional French-L2 programs. At the same time, immersion students use of French is less
than native-like: (a) they make numerous grammatical errors; (b) they often have restricted
vocabulary and simplified grammar; and (c) their usage is non-idiomatic (see Lyster, 2007).
These gaps in L2 competence have led to discussions of how best to integrate language and
content instruction to maximize L2 proficiency, a point discussed later in the section on
Pedagogical Issues (e.g., Lyster, 2007; Swain, 1998).
Research on immigrant children who spoke neither English nor French as an L1 and who
participated in French immersion programs has shown that they performed as well as
monolingual children who spoke only English (Swain, Lapkin, & Hart, 1990; Swain &
Lapkin, 2005). Of particular note, Swain and her colleagues found that acquisition of literacy
skills in the heritage language (L1) had a significant and positive correlation with the
7

immigrant students acquisition of French-as-a-third language. These findings underline the

importance of promoting literacy in immigrant students heritage language.

2.3.2. Does competence in the L2 depend on students level of academic ability?

Studiesof elementary and secondary school immersion students have revealed interesting
and differential effects of academic ability on L2 achievement. Genesee (1976) found that
below average students in both early and late immersion scored lower on tests of French
reading and writing than average and above average students in the same programs;
similarly, the average students in both program types scored lower than the above average
students. In contrast, while average students in late immersion also showed advantages on
measures of speaking and listening in comparison to average and below average students,
there were no differences among the ability sub-groups in the early immersion program on
measures of L2 speaking and listening. Overall, these results suggest that early immersion
is more effective for students with different levels of academic ability than immersion
programs at the secondary level.

2.3.4. Does more L2 exposure result in higher levels of L2 proficiency?

The relationship between L2 exposure and achievement in immersion programs is complex.
On the one hand, students intotalimmersion programs generally acquire higher levels of
French proficiency than students in partialimmersion programs (Genesee, 2004; see also
Cenoz, 2008). On the other hand, students in two-year late immersion (grades 7 and 8)
have been found sometimes to perform as well as early total immersion students despite the
fact that the former have significantly less exposure to French in school (Genesee, 1981).
8

One explanation for these findings is that older L2 learners need relatively less exposure to
the L2 because they are better learners overall than younger learners. As well, older
learners who are already able to read and write in the L1 are able to transfer these skills to
French, making learning French relatively efficient. Students in late immersion are also
self-selecting and, thus, are highly motivated to do well.
Pedagogical factors are also probably important. Evidence for this comes from research
that compared two types of late immersion one that was teacher-centered and one that
was student-centered (Stevens, 1983). In the teacher-centered program, native Englishspeaking students spent 80% of their school day in French, while in the student-centered
program students spent 50% of their school day in French. Stevens (1983) found that,
despite the time advantage of the students in the teacher-centered program, students in the
student-centered program scored as well on a variety of French language measures. She
argued that students in the student-centered program achieved such impressive French
language skills because their program permitted more active use of French and, as well,
learning was more individualization insofar as students were given opportunities to choose
what they would study and how they would meet curricular objectives.

2.3.5

Is age an important factor in L2 achievement?

It is widely believed that younger is better when it comes to L2 learning. However,

evidence in support of this belief most often comes from studies on L2 learning in nonschool settings. Evidence from research in schools is more complex. Research in Canada
has shown, on the one hand, that students in early total French immersion generally achieve
significantly higher levels of French proficiency than students in programs with a delayed
9

(middle elementary grades) or late (secondary school) starting grade (Genesee, 1981; see
also Wesche, Toews-Janzen and MacFarlane, 1996, for a review). On the other hand,
Canadian research also shows that students in two-year late immersion can sometimes
achieve the same or almost the same levels of proficiency in French as students in early
total immersion in some domains of language, even though early immersion students begin
studying through French earlier and may have had 2 to 3 times more exposure to French
than late immersion students (Genesee, 1981). Similar findings in favor of older learners
have also been reported in evaluations of less intensive forms of L2 instruction in other
countries (e.g., Burstall, 1974; Krashen, Long & Scarcella, 1979).

3. The suitability of immersion for all students

Educators, parents and policy makers often believe that students who are at risk for
academic difficulty should not participate in immersion because such students are likely to
struggle in monolingual programs and, therefore, are likely to struggle even more in
programs where they are taught through a language they do not know.

Research in

Canada has examined the suitability of immersion for at-risk students with the following
learner and background characteristics which often put them at a disadvantage in school
(Genesee, 2007): (a) low academic ability (or intelligence) (Genesee, 1976), (b) low socioeconomic status (Bruck, Tucker, & Jakimik, 1975; Genesee, 2004), (c) poor L1 abilities
(Bruck, 1978, 1982), and (d) minority ethnic group status (Genesee, 1992; Jacobs & Cross,
2001). It has been found consistently that English-speaking students who are at risk for the
above reasons can attain the same levels of competence in English-L1 and in academic
domains in immersion as comparable at-risk students in monolingual programs. At the
10

same time, at-risk students benefit from immersion by acquiring advanced levels of
functional proficiency in French.

4. Pedagogical issues
Notwithstanding the overall effectiveness of various forms of immersion, there is concern
over students competence in French, as noted earlier. There are several possible
explanations why students in immersion struggle with some aspects of French. It may be that
the strong focus on content that characterizes immersion teacher instruction focuses learners
attention on content more than on language per se. In other words, as long as students
understand what is being said about content and as long as they can communicate about
academic content in meaningful ways, the accuracy with which they use language to
communicate may go unnoticed, unchecked, and, thus, underdeveloped. Moreover, teachers
and students are not held accountable for L2 outcomes to the same extent as they are for
achievement in their other school subjects. It may also be that teachers who are teaching
content through French-L2 tend to rely on linguistic forms, including vocabulary, grammar,
and discourse-related skills, that students have already acquired in order to ensure that input
about content is comprehensible and mastered. Thus, the complexity and accuracy of students
competence in French may be limited by the language input they receive from their teachers.
In a related vein, errors in language made by students during content classes may receive little
or unsystematic attention from teachers for the sake of keeping communication going, but
with the unfortunate side effect of stunting students accurate use of French. In any case,
educators and researchers in Canada, and the U.S., have turned their attention on how to

11

optimize language learning in immersion programs while maintaining high levels of academic
achievement.
There is growing recognition that it is critical when teaching through an L2 that
teachers systematically and explicitly promote development of students L2 skills at all
times since students have little opportunity to learn the L2 outside school. This means
that teachers who are teaching non-language-based content subjects, such as mathematics
or science, should be familiar with the academic language skills of their discipline and be
able to plan instruction that promotes those language skills at the same time as students
are learning discipline-specific skills and knowledge. It is especially important that this
be done during the lower grades so that students can comprehend complex academic
content taught through the L2 in higher grade. If students do not acquire advanced
academic language skills in the L2 early on, they will not have the sophisticated language
and literacy skills they need to handle academic instruction taught through the second
language in the higher grades. Researchers and educators working in Canada and in the
U.S. have proposed strategies for promoting language development in immersion
programs (e.g., Echevarra, Vogt & Short, 2008; Genesee, 1991; Hamayan, Genesee, &
Cloud, 2013; Lyster, 2007; Snow, Met & Genesee, 1989; Swain, 1998).

5. Summary
Various forms of immersion education have been implemented and evaluated in Canada. In
general, these programs have been shown to be very effective. In particular,

12

1) English-speaking students in immersion programs demonstrate competence in their L1

that is comparable to, and in some cases better than, that of similar students in
monolingual programs.
2) Immersion students attain grade-appropriate levels of achievement in academic
domains.
3) Immersion students achieve levels of functional proficiency in French-L2 that are
significantly superior to that of students who received conventional French-L2
instruction.
3) However, the L2 competence of immersion students can be enhanced if teachers are
more systematic and explicit in integrating language and content instruction, especially
if these efforts are coordinated across grade levels.
4) L2 outcomes are also enhanced when students are given plenty of opportunities to use
the language actively in interaction with teachers and other students.
5) Immersion education has been shown to be effective even with students who might be
at risk for difficulty in school due to low academic ability, poor first language skills,
and low socio-economic background.
6) In general, students who have greater exposure to French-L2 achieve higher levels of
proficiency than students who have less exposure.
7) In contrast, more exposure and instruction in English-L1 does not necessarily result in
greater levels of proficiency in that language.
There are many advantages to bilingualism the ability to communicate and interact
with others, the ability to access information from electronic and other sources in multiple
languages, for cognitive enrichment, and for personal, cultural, and educational enrichment.
13

Second/foreign language immersion programs are an effective way to students to acquire

competence in additional languages.

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expansion. In J. Cenoz & F. Genesee (Eds.), Beyond bilingualism: Multilingualism and
multilingual education (pp. 85-102). Clevendon, UK: Multilingual Matters.
Bostwick, M. (2001). English immersion in a Japanese school. In D. Christian & F.
Genesee (Eds.), Bilingual Education (pp.125-138).Alexandria, VA: TESOL.
Bruck, M. (1978). The suitability of early French immersion programs for the language
disabled child. Canadian Journal of Education, 3, 51-72.
Bruck, M. (1982). Language disabled children: Performance in an additive bilingual
education program. Applied Psycholinguistics, 3, 45-60.
Bruck, M. (1985a). Predictors of transfer out of early French immersion [Link]
Psycholinguistics, 6, 39-61.
Bruck, M. (1985b). Consequences of transfer out of early French immersion
[Link] Psycholinguistics, 6, 101-120.
Bruck, M., Tucker, G.R., & Jakimik, J. (1975). Are French immersion programs suitable
for working class children? Word, 27, 311-341.
Burstall, C. (1974). Primary French in the balance. Windsor, England: NFER Publishing
Co.
Cenoz, J. (Ed.) (2008). Teaching through Basque: Achievements and challenges. Clevedon,
U.K.: Multilingual Matters.
Echevarria, J., Vogt, E., & Short, D. 2008. Making content comprehensible for English
language learners: The SIOP Model (3rd Edition). Boston: Allyn & Bacon.
Genesee, F. (1976).The role of intelligence in second language [Link]
Learning, 26, 267-280.
Genesee, F. (1981). A comparison of early and late second language [Link]
Journal of Behavioral Science, 13, 115-127.
Genesee, F. (1991). Second language learning in school settings: Lessons from immersion.
In A. Reynolds (Ed.), Bilingualism, multiculturalism, and second language learning:
The McGill conference in honor of Wallace E. Lambert (pp. 183-202). Hillsdale, NJ:
Lawrence Erlbaum.
Genesee, F. (1992). Second/foreign language immersion and at-risk English-speaking
[Link] Language Annals, 25, 199-213.
Genesee, F. (2004). What do we know about bilingual education for majority language
students? In T. K. Bhatia & W. Ritchie (Eds.), Handbook of bilingualism and
multiculturalism (pp. 547-576). Malden, MA: Blackwell.
Genesee, F. (2007). French immersion and at-risk students: A review of research findings.
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Genesee, F., & Lambert, W. E. (1983). Trilingual education for majority language
[Link] Development, 54, 105-114.
Hamayan, E., Genesee, F., & Cloud, N. (2013). Dual language instruction from A to Z:
Practical guidance for teachers and administrators. Portsmouth, N.H.: Heinemann.
Jacobs, K, & Cross, A. (2001). The seventh generation of Kahnaw:ke: Phoenix or
Dinosaur. In D. Christian & F. Genesee (Eds.), Bilingual Education (pp. 109-121).
Alexandria, VA: TESOL.
Johnson, R. K. (1997). The Hong Kong education system: Late immersion under stress. In
R.K. Johnson & M. Swain, M. (Eds.), Immersion Education: International
Perspectives (pp. 171-189). Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.
Krashen, S., Long, M., & Scarcella, R. (1979). Age, rate, and eventual attainment in second
language [Link] Quarterly, 13, 573-582.
Lambert, W.E., Genesee, F., Holobow, N., & Chartrand, L. (1993). Bilingual education for
majority English speaking [Link] Journal of Psychology of Education, 8, 322.
Lambert, W.E., & Tucker, G.R. (1972). The bilingual education of children: The St. Lambert
experiment. Rowley, MA: Newbury House.
Lindholm-Leary, K. J. (2001). Dual language education. Avon, UK: Multilingual Matters.
Lyster, R. (2007). Learning and teaching languages through content: A counterbalanced
approach. Amsterdam: John Benjamins.
Mehisto, P., & Asser, H. (2007). Stakeholder perspectives: CLIL programme management
in Estonia. International Journal of Bilingual Education and Bilingualism, 10(5), 683701.
Paradis, J., Genesee, F., & Crago, M. (2011). Dual language development and disorders: A
handbook on bilingualism and second language learning (2nd Ed.). Baltimore, MD:
Brookes.
Slaughter, H. (1997). Indigenous language immersion in Hawaii: A case study of Kula
Kaiapuni Hawaii. In R.K. Johnson & M. Swain (Eds), Immersion education:
International perspectives (pp. 105-129). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Snow, A., Met. M., & Genesee, F. (1989). A conceptual framework for the integration of
language and content in second/foreign language [Link] Quarterly, 23,
201-218.
Stevens, F. (1983). Activities to promote learning and communication in the second
language [Link] Quarterly, 17, 259-272.
Swain, M. (1998). Focus on form through conscious reflection. In D. Doughty and J.
Williams (Eds.), Focus on form in classroom second language acquisition (pp. 64-82).
NY: Cambridge University Press.
Swain, M., & Lapkin, S. (1982). Evaluating bilingual education: A Canadian case study.
Clevedon, UK: Multilingual Matters.
Swain, M., & Lapkin, S. (2005). The evolving socio-political context of immersion
education in Canada: Some implications for program development. International
Journal of Applied Linguistics, 15, 169-186
Swain, M., Lapkin, S., & Hart, D. (1990). The role of mother tongue literacy on third
language [Link], Culture and Learning, 3, 65-81.

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Wesche, M., Toews-Janzen, M., & MacFarlane, A. (1996). Comparative outcomes and
impacts of early, middle and late entry French immersion options: Review of recent
research and annotated bibliography. Toronto: OISE/UT Press.

16

2 The landscape of English language

teaching: Roots, routes and
ramifications
Cristina Banfi
MEGCBA, ENS en LV SBS, IES en LV JRF, ISP JVG, UB, UBA

1. Introduction
This paper will sketch the current landscape of the teaching of the English language in
Argentina and, to some extent, Latin America. It will trace the roots that reflect the
background of English language teachers and English language professionals. Then it will
outline the options or routes followed by teachers as part of their continuing professional
development and work life. Finally, the ramifications of these options in relation to our
context, with particular emphasis on the past two decades, will be presented and some
current trends will be briefly discussed.

17

2. Roots and routes

When we explore the professional roots of English language teachers we first turn towards
their educational background. As members of FAAPI associations in Argentina what
teachers have in common is a degree of Teacher of English. This may have been obtained
at a university or teachers college; it may be generic, i.e. for all levels or specializing to
teach in Primary or Secondary schools; it may even have been designed as a four or twoand-a-half-year degree. However, in spite of this evident diversity, many teachers are not
aware that their course of studies can trace its roots to the pioneer plan included in the
decree issued by President Julio Argentino Roca and his Education Secretary, Dr. Juan
Ramn Fernndez on February 10 th, 1904 as part of the creation of the institution currently
known as IES en Lenguas Vivas Juan Ramn Fernndez (see Banfi & Moyano, 2003).
The number in between parenthesis indicates the number of weekly periods taken by
students over the course of each year.
1styear
Foreign Language (12)
Geography (3)
Special Pedagogy(12)
Spanish and its literature (3)
Argentine History(3)
General Psychology(3)

2ndyear
Foreign Language(12)
History (3)
Special Pedagogy(12)
Spanish and its literature (3)
Argentine History(3)
Child Psychology (2)

3rdyear
Foreign Language(12)
History (3)
Special Pedagogy(12)
Spanish and its literature (3)
Argentine History(3)
Moral and Logic(3)

This is my translation of the Spanish terms used in the decree. Note that where the
translation says Geography / History, the original plan referred to Geografa / Historia de
ese pueblo to draw a distinction with Argentine Geography / History. This is owing to the
fact that this generic plan was intended for teacher training programmes in English, French,

18

German and Italian. In those days, the reference to the people who speak that language
did not require further clarification. Nowadays it could be considered a more ambiguous
term and, yet, the content of the courses has not varied significantly. In the first instance
only English and French were implemented. This programme was a great innovation for the
time in that it provided specific and specialised education for language teachers, something
that was viewed as a matter for the State to be involved in directly. This model would be
emulated and expanded in subsequent plans in different institutions at various stages.
A trait that appears evident in that plan, and that has continued to be present in the
design of these programmes, is its interdisciplinarynature. Contents and approaches are
drawn from different disciplines and, with the passing of time, new disciplines that
emerged were incorporated, e.g. (Applied) Linguistics, Phonetics, Discourse Analysis, to
mention some. One of the current challenges in the curricular design of teacher education
programmes is, in fact, finding space in any given plan for all the content areas that are
deemed necessary. A related challenge is the nature of teacher educator appointments and
the level of (in-) flexibility when it comes to updating content in rigidly assigned slots. This
is not a minor issue and is linked to the academic vs. professional nature of the programmes
and institutions. Pierce (1991) writes:
Although most studies fail to define the term [discipline] explicitly, they typically
assume that boundaries of disciplines closely follow those of academic departments.
The use of such boundaries may seem to fix overly concrete limits on a highly
abstract phenomenon, excluding too large a number of people with interest in the
subject. But its importance in creating and maintaining disciplinary communities
makes the academic department the building block from which disciplines are
created.(Pierce, 1991, pp. 22-23)

19

A related aspect of the programmes that has been present from the outset is the
devotion of considerable time to the language development of prospective teachers, hence
the presence of a significant number of hours allotted to Foreign Language. This
overarching objective has on occasion distorted the boundaries between instrumental
content/skills development and those areas that are discipline-bound (see Banfi & Iummato,
1998).
At a comparativelevel, the common ground that Argentine teachers share may lead us
to the mistaken belief that this is the way teachers of English have always been educated
everywhere. However, models for educating foreign and second language teachers are as
varied as the contexts and traditions where they exist. There are various reviews of foreign
language teacher education in Europe (Kelly et al, 2002), in various countries from a US
perspective (Pufahl, Rhodes & Christian, 2000), in Chile (Vivanco Torres, 2012), in
Mexico (Ordoez, 2009), in Colombia(Moss & Salamanca, 2012). Some elements that can
be observed in the programmes in many countries in Latin America are the recent creation
or major reform of English language teacher education programmes reflecting the
expansion of English language teaching in schools and the active participation of agencies
such as the American Embassy and the British Council.
The parameters for differentiation are not only geographical or national but temporal.
The late 1990s saw the passing of new educational legislation (Ley Federal de Educacin
LFE Ley24.195 and Ley de Educacin Superior LES Ley24.521) and the birth of
Licenciaturas for teachers (i.e. two year university conversion courses for holders of
tertiary level degrees) and postgraduate courses, particularly Masters programmes. There

20

was also the formalization of different in-service and continuing education courses and
programmes with greater or lesser recognition at an official level. Professional associations
have played a part in providing information about these programmes as they appeared and
expanded to ensure that teachers had access to the information necessary to make a choice
(e.g. Moyano, 1999a &b for the summary produced by APIBA following the 1999 APIBA
Seminar). They also participated in the field of courses with accreditation. Crucially, they
have acted as networks where teachers could share experiences and information (see
APIBA SIGs, Kandel, 2002).
A concomitant effect of the LES was the segmentation and differentiation of two subsectors within the Higher Education area, i.e. universities and non-universities
institutions, as labelled in the law, a clear distinction in status. A direct effect of the
passing of the LES and a related law concerning funding of education (Ley 24.049 Ley de
Transferencia de Servicios Educativos) was the transfer of non-university higher education
institutions to the sphere of the provinces and the City of Buenos Aires. There is
insufficient time to analyse this situation in depth here (see Banfi 2013 and forthcoming),
but we can say that the effect has not been altogether felicitous in strengthening the
teaching profession and raising the status of teachers. Several projects to reform the LES
have been under study in Congress but have not yet obtained sufficient consensus to redress
this situation, as well as other shortcomings of the current law. It would be most important
for teachers associations, as well as colleges, to play a role in these discussions, although
to date they have been underrepresented.

21

Teachers multiple and often overlapping jobs have taken them down various roads.
Teachers of English in Argentina may work in the state or private sector or both. They may
teach at one or more educational levels (i.e. Pre-school, Primary, Secondary, Higher
Education). The courses they teach may fall under the label of curricular or extracurricular. Other possible, and often concurrent, jobs may include: materials writer,
examiner for examiner body, consultant or advisor for different institutions, teacher
educator, etc. (see APIBA, 2006). Along these paths teachers have often needed to go back
to school to update their knowledge-base and acquire news skills in areas as diverse as
educational management, age group specialization, school management, online teaching,
etc., all in the spirit of the much-discussed continuing professional development(see Craft,
2000 and Banfi, 1997). This often took teachers down the road of degree-plus programmes
(NB: Licenciaturas are undergraduate degrees according to Argentine law, even if for
teachers they are second degrees, see Marquina, 2004 for clarification), and has frequently
implied making a choice between specializing, changing track (or even discipline), or
taking a broad outlook.
Along the road teachers often realize that there are different benefits and challenges
associated with the diverse professional and educational paths they have chosen.

3. Ramifications
Now we turn to some further changes and trends that have characterised the last two
decades and that have had considerable impact on the education and professional practice
of English language teachers in our country and, to some extent, in our region. One
22

overarching feature that has characterised this period has been that of almost permanent
change. This trait is not exclusive to our area or profession but probably a defining
characteristic of the Zeitgeist. Let us concentrate on those changes that are most specific to
teachers of English.
As we have mentioned, the last two decades have seen the emergence of a range of
new degrees and institutions that provide teaching qualifications and degrees-plus
qualifications for teachers. During the 1990s we saw a number of instances of what has
come to be known as Transnational Education (Banfi, 2002). Whereas before the only
possibility to specialise at postgraduate level was to change discipline or go abroad, almost
overnight, a number of options became locally available. Also, the passing of the Ley de
Educacin Superior lead to the appearance of different Licenciaturas, initially the only
way, as an intermediate step, to access local postgraduate courses (lvarez & Dvila,
2005). This would later change with the introduction of Artculo 39bis of the law (see
Banfi, 2003), but Licenciaturas, nevertheless, became part of our landscape to the present
as are some MA programmes of interest to teachers. We have yet to see if full-blown fouryear Licenciaturas and Doctorates in relevant disciplines are to follow.
Another change in educational options for teachers was the emergence of new types of
providers of different kinds of certification and accreditation. This is a 21 st century
development that is still very much in its early stages. Various agents are taking part in this
growing market ranging from university extension departments to publishers and
examination groups, sometimes in conjunction, and, in many cases, with profit motivations.

23

We will probably see considerable growth in this area (for a discussion of the issues, see
McGettigan, 2011).
In parallel to these formal developments, and to some extent preceding them, we have
seen great expansion in the area of the organisation of conferences, workshops, courses and
other events of all sorts. Many senior members of our associations remember when the
association was the single most important, if not the only, source of such activities (e.g. see
testimonies in Day, 2002). This was some time ago, however. Over the last two decades we
have experienced what I will label a Cambalache situation (for an early discussion of this,
see Banfi, 2000). In the very mixed bag of events we often find a wide variation in the
quality of speakers, material, content, etc. If we review a list of events presented as teacher
development in a given year or even month, we find pseudo-conferences organised by an
individual with a profit motive, or sponsored activities with commercial backing;
presentations given by researchers or practitioners, others by individuals with vested
interests (e.g. author or bestselling book looking for a platform); and even activities almost
akin to yoga or Reiki. It is not a question of dismissing any of the above as more or less
useful or even attempting to rank them: it is clear that they are essentially different and
hardly comparable. Some of these events have helped communicate certain notions,
methods and approaches vary widely. Thus, ideas such as multiple intelligences (Gardner
1983, 1993), intercultural approaches (Byram, 1997 Colbert, 2003, MEGCBA 2009), TaskBased Learning (Willis, 1996, Willis & Willis, 2007), CLIL and Content-Based instruction
(see Mehisto, Marsh & Frigols 2008,Met 1999), bi-, multi- and plurilingual education
(Genesee, 2002, Garca, 2009, and Hamel, 2008), the benefits of an early start in language
learning (Banfi, 2010 and MEGCBA, 2010), and the educational value of teaching
24

additional languages (MEGCBA, 2001 and Banfi, 2012) are now present in the rationales
of teachers projects as described, for example, in the III Jornada de Intercambio de
Experiencias Pedaggicas de Idioma Extranjero de los DDEE 19 y 21 in July of this year
as well as the Jornadas Buenos Aires y sus Idiomas, held at the Legislature of the City of
Buenos Aires since 2010. Professional associations play a crucial role in the development
of critical appreciation necessary to develop awareness among their members of the
difference between activities of substance and relevance and those that have other
objectives. In other words, there is a place for everything, but different things belong in
different places.
The growth of post-degree activities, particularly postgraduate degrees, has led to the
incipient emergence of research in the area. Much of the work done as part of these courses
is contributing to a better understanding of the issues in the field, but its reach is still
limited, often to the institution or even a cohort of students. There is still great need to share
and communicate these findings. We should be particularly tentative in this respect
because, even though we may have entered an Age of Research (Banfi, 2007), there is still a
scarcity of research positions or positions that combine research and teaching: individuals
have commitment and good will to conduct research, but a proper research structure
requires institutionalised support and initiatives. There are some opportunities for research
projects such as those promoted by the INFD Instituto Nacional de Formacin Docente,
but there is almost no room for what could be labelled curiosity-driven research. There is
much to learn from those who have explored educational research in other contexts (e.g.
Genesee, 2006).

25

The need to form networks among teachers and communicate the results of research
has led to the appearance of different publications and forums. The English Language
Journal ELJ, edited by Aldo Blanco between 1970 and 1989, was a pioneer publication,
possibly too innovative for its time. The newsletter and e-forum ELT News and Views,
published between 1994 and 2000 by Martin Eayrs were important in disseminating
information and getting the ball rolling. Both these publications were the result of the
determined effort of individuals and had difficulties to be sustained in the long run. The
annual Revista Lenguas Vivas published by the IES en Lenguas Vivas J.R. Fernndez has
institutional support and brings the concerns and work of academics and practitioners from
the different languages taught at that institution. The launch of the Argentinian Journal of
Applied Linguistics - AJAL in 2013 is an auspicious event that will hopefully mark the
beginning of a new era in academic publications in our midst. Issues such as the Open
Access debate are bound to have great impact among us as well (for an introduction to this
controversial debate, see Freedman & Anyangwe, 2012). As Milner-Gulland (2013) very
aptly puts it (my emphasis):
At the moment most open access is based on an author-pays mode. However this also risks
imposing substantial inequalities, and means that many people who are best placed to
translate their knowledge into practice authors outside academia and in poorer countries
are precluded from publishing their work. Put crudely, we are moving from a position in
which the less privileged can write but not read, to one where they can read but not
write neither is conducive to open dialogue.

Much has been said about the increasing access to information from all over the world
that globalization and information technologies have brought. This access has forever
26

changed the way language teachers can obtain material for teaching (e.g. authentic audio
and video texts, ready-made teaching materials, automated exercises, etc.) as well as
academic and professional publications for teachers (for very early examples, see Banfi &
Day, 1995). A question that is inescapable if we think about access to information, though,
is that of selection. How, assuming it is true that we have access to everything there is
(and that is a leap in itself), are we supposed to sift through it and get to what really matters
to us?
In the professional arena the status of teachers has been much discussed (e.g. Banfi,
1997, 2006). There is a clear tension between two quite distinct outlooks: one that views
teachers as professionals vs. another that considers them workers. This tension manifests
itself in the organisational structures of professional associations on the one hand and
unions on the other, with significant differences in outlook. Related to this is the porous
nature of the English language teaching profession. A defining characteristic of associations
is the need to possess officially recognised teaching qualifications as the entry requirement
to the profession. Yet, as we are well aware, there are numerous cases of individuals who
engage in the teaching of English, and even teacher development and coordination, without
any such qualifications. Some analyse this as a consequence of the increasing demand for
teachers of English that makes it possible for students, and even those who have no specific
studies, to get formal and informal jobs as teachers. Others refer to the fact that there are so
many job opportunities for teachers of English, many much more glamorous than the
classroom, that many qualified teachers opt out of the education system. Yet others blame
the deceitful and unscrupulous for exploiting the ignorance and misconceptions that the
general public have as regards what it takes to be a teacher of English. They are probably
27

all partly right. Whatever the case, the fact is that we are dealing with an increasingly
heterogeneous and diverse sector with multiple needs and interests. This is a challenge to
professional associations as they cannot think of an ideal or unique type of member but
rather an increasingly diversified reality. The dichotomy between Native and Non-Native
Teachers interestingly presented and reconciled by Peter Medgyes seems to be nowadays
moving in favour of the Non-Native Teacher (though, see Phillipson, 2009 on the native
speaker fallacy). Given the plethora of resources and the ubiquitousness of English
(internet, SAP, cable, see Graddol, 1997) we can safely say that the balance is tipped in
favour of the professional teacher to the detriment of the native speaker with a vocation
for teaching.
If we go beyond the individual level or even the sector and we look around us, we will
notice that many of the changes we have discussed so far have taken place as a
consequence of changes further afield that may involve policy (educational and other),
markets, and other collectives. Teachers cannot abstract themselves away from these
changes or, if they do, they will have to learn to live with their effects. Crucially, in the
period we are discussing, there have been policy changes that have affected the teaching of
English specifically. There has been legislation and government regulation at the national
and jurisdictional levels on curricular design and teacher education. In these changes, the
teaching profession and its representative organisations have had limited representation.
This is partly because we simply lack the strength in numbers and dedicated resources that
other groups have. On the other hand, we have seen the expansion of the teaching of
languages and, in particular, English. This is a worldwide phenomenon but in some
countries and regions it has had quite significant impact in terms of the demand of teachers.
28

The manner in which this demand is met and the long-term projection of this trend vary
considerably from country to country as does the role of the State and of other providers in
this arena.
Another trend that seems to be acquiring significant momentum is the development of
regional links and projects. The ELT N&V e-forum was an early example of these links and
there have been some conferences and other events that have brought project leaders to
share common concerns (e.g. see the British-Council-organised Policy Dialogues English
for the Future, Cartagena, October 2012 [Link]/[Link]). Several projects that can be viewed as regional at
some level are being launched. The programmes Ceibal en Ingls in Uruguay (see Banegas,
2013; Banfi & Rettaroli, forthcoming) and the CiSELT teacher development programme in
Chile are hiring teachers and trainers based regionally to work in various capacities, e.g.
materials design, teaching using IT, etc. Whether this is outsourcing of some kind or
networking and capacity-building at a regional level remains to be seen (for some related
issues see Fairclough, 1989; Phillipson, 1992; and Pennycook, 1994).
Opportunities for collaboration and collaborative projects can be found at levels other
than the regional and have great potential, for example to bridge the gap between different
kinds of language education (see Banfi & Rettaroli, 2008). Or it can serve to bring different
types of experiences to bear when analysing complex situations, such as in the project
SEEDS (Toledo, 2012).

29

4. Conclusions
We touched on the issues of quality when discussing event organisation and we should
return to this at this stage. Quality and separating the wheat from the chaff will certainly
become a central concern in the years to come. References to instances of pseudoscience
(e.g. Emotos crystals; readers need go no further afield than the Wikipedia entry to check
this) or the bastardisation of scientific results (see Drnyei, 2009s critical review of the
misuse of the results of lateralization research) have a short life expectancy in teacher
development activities. When assessing faculty for university or teacher educator positions
we will have to start making distinctions between different degrees, different kinds of
publications and not simply ticking boxes or adding apples and oranges. We should be
prepared to raise the bar, make it clear that not everything goes, or that there is a place for
everything, but everything should be in its rightful place.
If I need to think of a conducting thread for our reality, it would be the notion of
change. We can be sure that change is not innocuous, but remaining unchanged only makes
us move backwards. We have to learn to live with the fact that change is and will continue
to be a permanent feature of our time and, if we dont adapt, we recede. Also, change is not
only some external force we should deal with. We are also capable of generating change. It
is up to us to take stock of these developments and direct our destiny, both individual and
collective. So, in the spirit of plurilingual education, we can safely say Plus a change,
plus on a besoin de changer. The more things change, the more we need to change.
Notes
Manuscripts can be obtained contacting the author at cbanfi@[Link]
30

Previous versions of this paper have benefitted from corrections and comments from Graciela
Moyano and the editors of this volume. Needless to say, any errors or misinterpretations that
remain are the authors sole responsibility.
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34

3 Communicating across cultures:

encounters in the contact zone
Claudia Mnica Ferradas
Instituto de Enseanza Superior en Lenguas Vivas Juan Ramn Fernndez

1. Introduction
Our identities are transformed by everything we learn, and this is particularly evident in
foreign language learning, which involves an encounter between self and other:
Every time language learners speak, they are not only exchanging information with
their interlocutors; they are organizing and reorganizing a sense of who they are and
how they relate to the social world. They are, in other words, engaged in identity
construction and negotiation (Norton, 1997, p. 410).

Rather than encouraging learners to hide behind the mask of an ideal native speaker, thus
sacrificing their own multiple and fluid identities, the overall aim of foreign language
education, in Michael Byrams words, should be the development of an intercultural
speaker:
a learner with the ability to see and manage the relationships between themselves and
their own cultural beliefs, behaviours and meanings as expressed in a foreign language,
and those of their interlocutors, expressed in the same languageor even a combination
of languageswhich may be the interlocutors native language or not(Byram 1997, p.
12).

35

In fact, the development of intercultural awareness is at the core of the national guidelines
for foreign languages in Argentina (Ncleos de Aprendizajes Prioritarios de Lenguas
extranjeras, subsequently referred to as NAPs):
La perspectiva plurilinge e intercultural [] apunta a tornar visibles las relaciones
entre las lenguas y culturas que estn o podran estar en el currculum y a
sensibilizar hacia la pluralidad constitutiva de estas lenguas y culturas. Apunta,
asimismo, a contribuir a que la enseanza de lenguas en el contexto escolar
reconozca el papel del espaol en tanto lengua de escolarizacin y sus distintas
variedades y valorice el lugar de las otras lenguas y culturas maternas diferentes del
espaol que circulan en Argentina. Desde esta premisa, los NAP de LE [Ncleos de
Aprendizajes Prioritarios de Lenguas Extranjeras] privilegian tanto el saber de y
sobre las lenguas y el lenguaje, como la formacin de ciudadanos/as respetuosos/as
de las diferencias lingsticas y culturales, favoreciendo actitudes que promueven
nuevas formas de ser y estar en el mundo y de situarse frente a la diversidad
sociocultural y lingstica.
Esta perspectiva de enseanza de lenguas, entonces, promueve enfoques
multidisciplinarios y combina el aprendizaje de lenguas con la capacidad de
reflexin y disposicin crtica necesaria para convivir en sociedades de gran
diversidad cultural; en otras palabras, propicia la participacin activa en procesos
democrticos y contribuye a la educacin para la ciudadana y la paz. (NAPs 2)

To achieve these aims, which go beyond the acquisition of the language system, the NAPs
are structured into six strands (ejes): the four macro-skills, reflection on the language being
learnt and intercultural reflection, which links language learning to the acquisition of
democratic values and behaviours and the development of citizenship skills.
On the basis of this conception, intercultural awareness is now a transversal objective
in foreign language curricula in different regions of Argentina. However, teachers often
find it challenging to plan classes with an intercultural focus. Often used to syllabi
traditionally designed to develop the four macro skills and only occasionally encourage
metacognitive reflection, teachers may find the intercultural focus an overwhelming
addition to their very busy agendas. This is related to the fact that intercultural concerns are

36

often perceived supplementary aspects of English language teaching, rather than integral,
transversal ones.

2. Materials from the contact zone

It is my contention that what McRae (1991, p. 3) calls representational materials can help
us focus on intercultural issues. These materials include literary works, but also texts
produced and distributed unconventionally, as well as any kind of multimodal texts (verbal,
auditory and/or visual) which involve the imagination of the receiver: comics and graphic
novels, advertisements, graffiti, song lyrics, films, video clips, blogs, v-logs, hyperfiction
. Such texts are rich in cultural content, often metaphorically expressed, and challenge
readers schemata. English, as an international language, can open doors into a wide range
of cultures that express themselves in English. A whole world of multicultural texts is at
our disposal (Ferradas, 2010).
In particular, texts in which intercultural encounters are illustrated may help teachers
highlight intercultural aspects and encourage students personal response and reflection on
identity. Such texts can contribute to developing an awareness of difference, overcoming
stereotypes and leading to a respectful encounter with otherness. They illustrate what Mary
Louise Pratt calls encounters in the contact zone: the space in which peoples
geographically and historically separated come into contact with each other and establish
ongoing relations, usually involving conditions of coercion, radical inequality and
intractable conflict (Pratt, 1993, p. 6).
Dealing with this potential conflict, which Pratt considers unavoidable in colonial
situations, is the challenge we need to be aware of and face in our hyperconnected post37

millennial context. The contact zone may be our own neighbourhood, our Facebook page,
the classroom Our aim should be to educate citizens who do not just tolerate but respect
and enjoy diversity and are ready to consider their own views and customs critically. How
can we empower students to express their own meanings, learn about others and negotiate a
respectful position in the encounter with difference?

3. Travelling and translation revisited

In the constant encounters with otherness we undergo in the post-millennial world, we have
become what James Clifford in his book Routes calls travelling cultures. His use of the
adjective travelling is not to be taken literally, for it embraces not only the ways people
leave

home

and

return,

enacting

differently

centered

worlds,

interconnected

cosmopolitanisms (1997, pp. 27-28) but also sites traversed, as the travel, or
displacement, can involve forces that pass powerfully through television, radio, tourists,
commodities, armies. (Clifford, 1997, p. 28).
In Cliffords use, travel is a translation term.
By translation term I mean a word of apparently general application used for
comparison in a strategic and contingent way. Travel has an inextinguishable taint
of location by class, gender, race, and a certain literariness. It offers a good reminder
that all translation terms used in global comparisons terms like culture, art,
society, peasant, mode of production, man, woman, modernity,
ethnography get us some distance and fall apart. Tradittore, traduttore. In the
kind of translation that interests me most, you learn a lot about peoples, cultures
and histories different from your own, enough to begin to know what you are
missing. (Clifford 1997, p. 39, my emphasis)

38

Cliffords concept of translation, understood as movement, both from one language to

another and from one cultural locus to another, seems particularly suitable to frame the
intercultural awareness we aim at when teaching and learning a foreign language.

4. Exploring routes to express our roots

When our translation, like that of planets around the sun, involves changing places
(though tourism, displacement, exile, or simply virtually on the web or social media), we
find ourselves facing the challenge of translation in the sense of finding the words to
express our own meanings explain our customs, express our values, often to others who
see the world from a very different perspective. This is, according to Claire Kramsch, the
central problem of foreign language learning: wanting to express one world view through
the language normally used to express another societys world view (1992, p. 20).
However, in aiming at intercultural awareness, very often the emphasis is laid almost
exclusively on otherness, on difference, to such an extent that learners may feel that their
cultural identity is at risk, as was the case when the native speaker model was prevalent.
Instead, when selecting materials and strategies to approach them interculturally, teachers
need to make sure learners can profit from the enriching experience of coming into contact
with otherness by reflecting on their own values and identity and on the construction of
their self-image. While teaching the language system, teachers can focus on activities
which aim at developing the linguistic repertoire learners need to express their own
meanings in English.
We can contribute to intercultural awareness by putting representational texts from
different cultures in contact, making sure texts which may be representative of students
39

identities are part of the selection. Besides, the varieties of English used in texts from
different contexts can encourage reflection on the role of English as an international
language and develop awareness of the cultural and linguistic diversity of world
englishes.
Personal response and reflection based on comparison can be encouraged by means of
textual intervention activities (Pope, 1998) that invite students to adapt the text, change it
and extend it creatively. The silences in the text (information and opinion gaps) are left for
readers to fill in with their own reading. Transposing situations in the text to the students
own cultural context can prove particularly enriching, as they will need to find the words to
express their own customs and views and will find opportunities to reflect on their own
identities.

5. Constructing identity
By putting the foreign language and culture in contact with the students own reality, the
comparison invites students to read both cultures from a third place which keeps a critical
distance from both worlds. At the intersection of multiple native and target cultures, the
major task of language learners is to define for themselves what this third place that they
are engaged in seeking will look like, whether they are conscious of it or not. (Kramsch,
1993, p. 257).
By reflecting on similarities and differences, by discussing how to describe their own
context and customs and express their own vision of the world in a foreign language,
students may become aware of the values expressed in the text and wonder how
representative they are of what they consider their own identityand how stereotypical.
40

Texts which exemplify encounters in the contact zone can illustrate potential conflicts in
the

students

context

vicariously.

Racial,

social

and

gender

issues,

cultural

misunderstandings, bullying, etc. are themes which such texts deal with, and the teacher
can then find appropriate ways of reflecting on the students own circumstances and teach
them the language necessary to describe them and discuss them.

6. Suggested resources
Some of my favourite examples of authentic texts (which can be adapted by the teacher) to
bring the contact zone into class are:
Telephone conversation by the Nigerian Nobel Prize Wole Soyinka (racial
prejudice)
Kill to Eat by the aboriginal writer Oodgeroo Noonuccal (the values and beliefs of
Aboriginal Australians as compared to that of the white man)
Robert and the Dog by the Nigerian writer Ken Saro Wiwa (different sets of values
connected with culture and social class)

Some of the most productive resources for the Argentine context are texts written in
English about Argentina, not only travel literature from the nineteenth century but more
recently published accounts that illustrate culture clash as well as attempts at mutual
understanding. Some highlights are:
Tales of the Pampas by William Bulfin
Goodbye Buenos Aires by Andrew Graham Yooll
The Whispering Land by Gerald Durrell
41

 El Omb and Other Stories by William Henry Hudson

Sebastians Pride by Susan Wilkinson
Faith Hard tried: The Memoir of Jane Robson
In Patagonia by Bruce Chatwin
Out of Patagonia by Janet Dickinson

Apart from providing relevant vocabulary, as well as glossing and paraphrasing strategies
to describe the Argentine context and way of life, these texts can become provocative
starting points for discussion, critical consideration of stereotypes and defamiliarisation of
cultural features which may have been naturalised. An elementary level version of the story
of the encounter between the Welsh and the Tehuelche in Chubut, available at
[Link] under intercultural activities, intends to prove that even
linguistically complex texts can be adapted to suit the level and maturity of different
classes. Such texts can provide an opportunity, as early as possible, to reflect on conflict
resolution, encourage respect for diversity and develop democratic citizenship skills.
Our selection of texts and strategies to approach them can make a significant contribution
towards peaceful global citizenship with a local impact, if we highlight not only our
differences but what all human beings have in common.

References
Bulfin, W. (1997). Tales of the pampas (bilingual edition).Buenos Aires: L.O.L.A.
Byram, M. (1997). Teaching and assessing intercultural communicative competence. Clevedon:
Multilingual Matters.
Byram, M., A. Nichols & D. Stevens (Eds.) (2001). Developing intercultural competence in
practice. Clevedon: Multilingual Matters.
Chatwin, B. (1977). In Patagonia. London: Jonathan Cape.
42

Clifford, J. (1997). Routes. Travel and translation in the late twentieth [Link], Mass:
Harvard University Press
Consejo Federal de Educacin (2012). Ncleos de Aprendizajes Prioritarios. Lenguas Extranjeras.
Educacin Primaria y Secundaria. . Available at:
[Link] Last accessed: July 20, 2013
Dickinson, J. A. (2008). Out of Patagonia A collection of short stories set in the beautiful
provinces of the South of the Argentine. Ushuaia: Zagier & Urruty Publications.
Durrell, G. (1961 / 1975). The whispering land. New York:Penguin.
Ferradas, C. M. (2010).Outside Looking In: intercultural and intermedial encounters in ELT
Closing Plenary IATEFL Cardiff [Link] Beaven, B. (Ed.),IATEFL 2009 Cardiff Conference
Selections(pp. 16 - 20). Canterbury: IATEFL.
Ferradas, C.M. (2011). The Anglo-Argentine web. Available at [Link]
Graham-Yooll, A. (1999). Goodbye Buenos Aires. Nottingham: Shoestring Press.
Kramsch, C. (1993). Context and culture in language teaching. Oxford: Oxford University
Press.
McRae, J. (1991). Literature with a small l. London and Basingstoke: Macmillan.
Noonuccal, O. (1997). Kill to Eat In Global Tales, Stories from Many Cultures, London: Longman.
Norton, B. (Ed.). Language, identity and the ownership of [Link] Quarterly,31, 409429.
Norton, B. (2000). Identity and language learning: Gender, ethnicity and educational change.
Harlow: Pearson Education/Longman.
Pope, R. (1998). The English studies book. London: Routledge.
Pratt, M.L. (1992). Imperial eyes. Travel Writing and Transculturation. Abingdon and New Cork:
Routledge.
Robson, J. (2000). Faith Hard tried: The Memoir of Jane Robson. In I.A.D. Stewart (Ed.),
(2000). From Caledonia to the Pampas.
Saro Wiwa, K. (1997). Robert and the Dog. InGlobal Tales, Stories from Many Cultures, London:
Longman.
Soyinka, W. Telephone Conversation. Available at: [Link] Last accessed: July 15, 2013.
Wilkinson, S. (1988). Sebastians Pride. England: Michael Joseph.

43

4 Narrative inquiry within

Argentinean EFLTE: Crafting
professional identities and knowledge
through students narratives
Mara Cristina Sarasa
Universidad Nacional de Mar del Plata

1. Introduction
This paper summarizes a narrative inquiry developed naturalistically during 2007-2011
with sophomores attending the course Overall Communication (OC), in the English
Foreign Language Teacher Education Program (EFLTEP), School of Humanities,
Universidad Nacional de Mar del Plata, Argentina. It considers students identity
descriptions as textual interventions and written biographical narratives emerging after
exploring a syllabus unit on Irish Studies. Categories of analysis derived from narrative
investigation of these texts are interpreted in their local setting. Discussion of results
examines how narratives allowed undergraduates to (re)conceptualize their academic
identities and trajectories.

44

2. Research rationale and design

This research stems from narrative investigations on good university teaching practices, as
recounted by students, and memorable professors biographies by the Education and
Cultural Studies Research Group, School of Humanities, Universidad Nacional de Mar del
Plata, Argentina (lvarez, Porta & Sarasa 2011; lvarez & Sarasa, 2007; Sarasa, 2008). It
aims at describing narratively textual interventions and biographical narratives written by
OC students in the EFLTEP, examining undergraduates productions and their reported
observations on theseexperiences. The study also aims at discussingsome implications these
pedagogical interventionsbear for EFLTE. Its twoancillary goals are to elucidate students
insights into these class activitiesinvolving their family and academic existences and to
appraise the educationaloutcomes of studentcreated stories.
Narrative inquiry in education (Connelly & Clandinin, 1990;Clandinin& Murphy,
2009) involves a way of thinking about experience. As a methodology, it means adopting
a particular narrative view of experience as phenomena under study (Connelly &
Clandinin, 2006, p 477). In EFLTE (Johnson & Golombek, 2011),narrative inquiry
includes research and development to enhance teachers personal practical knowledge. In
this case, the narrative process adopted in the classes, and the current narrative analysis, are
in themselves forms of inquiry in the phenomenal world in which experience is mediates
by story (Xu & Connelly, 2009, p. 222).
This small scale ethnographic study(Wilson & Chadda, 2010) was undertaken during
2007-2011 with sophomores attending the subject OC, which endeavors to boost awareness
of the global status of English (Canagarajah, 2006) through exploring print and media texts,
45

striving to render contents relevant to EFLTE (lvarez, Calvete, & Sarasa, 2012). This
naturalistic research (Bowen, 2008) involved OC syllabus second unit on Irish Studies
(Calvete & Sarasa, 2007). First, from 2007 to 2010, thirty undergraduates(S1S30, out of
four small cohorts totalling fifty six) voluntarily responded in writing to the essay I Am
One of the People (Patterson, 2006b) composing their parallel textual interventions(Pope,
1995).In this paper, Northern Irish writer Glenn Patterson(2006b) defined his identity
embracing his private Belfast domain within the public European realm. Patterson (2006a,
2006c) observed how roots and routes (Clifford, 1997) forged individual and communal
trajectories. Second, in 2011, students explored the films Michael Collins (Jordan, 1996)
and The Wind that Shakes the Barley (Loach, 2006). Among other questions, they
considered representations of Irish heroes ( Giollin, 1998) shown in these pictures.
Afterwards, undergraduates narrated common peoples praiseworthy lives orally. Then,
nineteen (SISXIX, out of a total a large single cohort of thirty) freely wrote their
contribution, providing feedback on this class experience.
This paper addresses categories of analysis derived from a purposive sampling
(Teddlie & Yu, 2007) of students textual interventions and biographical tales in their
context of production and reception (Pavlenko, 2007). Drawing on the theoretical literature
(e.g. Clandinin, Steeves & Chung, 2007),the author interpreted the written productions
conceptually, uncovering emerging themes in students written accounts (Corbin & Strauss,
2007; Polkinghorne, 2007).

46

3. Discussion of results
Volunteered texts problematized undergraduates identities, exploring the itineraries they
wished to follow as students and prospective educators. When composing their writings,
students found sustenance along their demanding course of study. Thus, life-writing
encouraged life-learning (Pope, 2002). Similarly, undergraduates explored a professional
knowledge landscape (Clandinin & Connelly, 1996), reaching into the teaching identity
they wished to acquire and the stories they wanted to enact as future educators (Clandinin,
Downey, & Huber, 2009).
Textual interventions derived from I Am One (Patterson, 2006b) disclosed rich
immigrant origins. As S4 indicated, I am one of the descendants of the three hundred
thousand European immigrants who flocked into Argentina during the late nineteenth
century and the first half of the twentieth. Next, S19 explained that I am one of the great
great-granddaughters of an Italian immigrant who arrived in Argentina together with a
large number of Italian, German, and Spanish immigrants in the 1880s. S18 displayed a
mature awareness of her roots, indicating that
I am one of the many people who find themselves lost in a melting-pot of identities.
I am neither Italian, nor Spanish, nor Uruguayan, nor Native American, nor English,
nor Arab, nor Argentinean, but somehow I am a bit of all that
Concurrently, S3 revealed her all-encompassing background: I am one of the people who,
born in a melting pot and speaking three languages, find myself torn among three cultures:
a mother culture which is already a mixture of many others

47

These origins became a source of strength. S25 asserted that I am one of the people
who are extremely proud of her Italian grandfather, who fought in WWI. Then, S28 stated
that
I am one of the million people who live in a country that has officially welcomed
other peoples since 1853 and has absorbed these peoples culture since then. I am
one of the people who live in a country where everybody is proud of their foreign
lineage.
Students pride in their background was mirrored in their relatives biographies, the
commonthough heroiclives undergraduates retold after watching the two films. SVIs
and SXVIs great-grandparents had fought the two World Wars and had immigrated into
Argentina to build a family life based on hard work. SXV`s grandfather had had to settle
in a country which was not his homeland and adapt to it, witnessing how his siblings and
wife passed away but being strong enough to survive and live without them.
Ancestors migrant existences surfaced in written considerations on the class experience,
when the group created shared [Link] remarked that this gave us a kind of family
feeling, our families had all gone more or less through the same things, allor mostof us
are immigrant descendants and our stories melted into one...
These ancestors itineraries were successful because their pains had been rewarded by
the family ties they had constructed. Therefore, all of the stories were teachings of
courage, endurance and most important of love (SVII). SVIII praised these biographies
value, since students had told true stories of ordinary peoplemainly our grandparents
who had suffered because they underwent many hardships, mainly because they had had to
48

flee from their country, had fought a war, had worked very hard since they were kids, but
who had been happy too because they got married and had kids, succeeded in life, (or)
accomplished their goals.
Eventually, tales signified pride in a non-essentialist heritage while infusing students
with their protagonists valour. These undergraduates, empowered by their telling, gathered
strength to continue an arduous course of study. The textual interventions dwelt on the
EFLTEPs challenging nature. S4 stated that I am one of the few people who, after five
years, still struggle in the English Language Teacher Education Program. Similarly, S15
was one of those English students able to survive the jungle of the state university.
One of those who prefer to remain at university no matter what, rather than choose the easy
option of fleeing to safer private institutions. S13 indicated that I am one of the
hundreds of students who complain that the Course is TOO HARD but who keep on trying
every day to get their degree, adding that I am one of the people who after so many years
of being in the educational system can compare it to a Trail of Tears. More identities were
marked by these difficulties: I am one of the students who have taken very long to
complete their degree, maybe longer than physicians take to qualify. Why then didnt I
change to a private institution if it was so difficult for me? (S19). Finally, S21 linked
textual interventions with relatives biographies by disclosing the perseverance needed and
the lessons learned.
I am one of the hundreds of students of English who really never thought that the
course of study was going to take such a long time! But who still believes and

49

knows that getting a University degree is almost a privilege nowadays and that,
therefore, giving up or quitting is not an option.
Likewise, students who told their families epic narratives found that thosespelt hope
for their future. Shared accounts of relatives overcoming difficulties became stimulating
within their trying EFLTEP context. SIV explained that
We are now convinced that although our course of study gets harder and harder,
experiences such as the ones we gained in (this subject) make students reflect
upon their future as teachers. And in spite of all adversities, we can make it
happen.
Furthermore, these tales encouraged students to visualize their teaching practices
optimistically. SXVII believed that
What mattered was creating a bond, a human perspective so many times absent at
University which I feel is so much necessary if we are to work teaching
people I hope (we) can understand that every time we step into a class it is not
only up to the teacher to make it memorable, it is also up to us.
Inquiring narratively into relatives biographies empowered students. For SV, as I
finished talking I realized I had felt comfortable I also realized that many other students
unheroic characters, especially grandparents, had gone through tough situations just as my
grandmother had. According to SXVII, it was marvellous to share these narrations about
great people, who were close to us, and who touched our hearts and changed our lives
forever. Wisdom was derived from the class, since all of us were surely left pondering
50

not just on grammar or on pronunciation but on what is really important in life. (SVII)
Finally, SVIII explained that
We were given the opportunity to speak about something that we regarded as
meaningful and we were eager to share it with the rest of the class I know that we
are studying to be language teachers so we have to pay a lot of attention to how we
say something instead of what we say but this class was different because we
were paying attention to what we wanted to say instead of how we said it.
Ultimately, this narrative inquiry evolved from a pedagogy of life-telling (ElbazLuwisch 2002, p.408) to a pedagogy of life-learning (Goodson, 2012). Students elaborated
not just their roots but the routes by which they have been arrived at (Patterson, 2006c,
p. 171). They also discovered that their families roads were connected.

4. Conclusion
What are some of the implications of this narrative inquiry into ties between EFLTE and
academic identities (Tedder & Biesta, 2007)?Bauman (2009, pp. 157-163) argues within
education in the liquid-modern setting, students need counsellors who show them how
to walk rather than teachers who make sure that only one road, and that already crowded, is
taken. These counsellors should help students to dig into the depths of their character and
personality, where the rich deposits of precious ore are presumed to lie This EFLTE
class strived for linguistic and cultural authenticity by working with students own expert

51

NNSE productions (Canagarajah, 2006; Morris, 2001) unearthing stories as experiential life
processes (Bathmaker, 2010; Huber, Caine, Huber, & Steeves, 2013).
Likewise, instructors and students created knowledge from class-generated texts
(Trahar, 2009). Consecutively, a narrative pedagogy intervention facilitated the encounters
to produce these accounts constructing identities which shape consecutive teaching
practices. Understanding derived from life-stories and identity papers constitutes narrative
learning proper, suitably meaningful when sustained during scaled-up inquiries (Goodson
& Gill, 2011). Undergraduates experienced narrative research while working towards
agency development (Bruner, 1996), acting upon the family roots revealed in their texts to
envision academic and professional routes. This occurred when students became aware of
how theirand their families lives plots (Biesta & Tedder, 2008) helped them imagine
a hopeful future. Thus, students came to own the English language to voice their meaning
(Bakhtin& Holquist, 1981; Pope, 2002) translating themselves away from NSE-NNSE
dichotomies (Rushdie, 1991). Thus, appropriating the language by confidently using it to
serve ones own interests according to ones own values, helps develop fluency in English
(Canagarajah, 2006, p. 592).
This paper highlighted the centrality of attending to lives and experiential knowledge
in EFLTEPs. Students bring to class rich linguistic and cultural existences and family
storieswhich are undergraduates tales too. These narratives embody roots and routes,
fixed and entrenched in one sense and on the move in another (Friedman, 2002, p. 22).
Indeed, future EFL teachers can learn the language while learning from lives and for their
professional lives (Biesta & Tedder, 2008) within a reflexive teaching and learning context.

52

This was an occasion for balancing family identities, understanding origins, projecting
expectations, and representing identities to others meaningfully (Mosselson, 2006). These
results also suggest the emancipatory significance (Nelson, 2011; Nunan & Choi, 2010;
Smolcic, 2011) of sharing biographical knowledge in EFLTEPs to contribute to teachers
development by implementing scaled-up interventions to support narrative inquiry in these
fields.
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5 Designing intercultural and

bilingual e-material for primary and
secondary schools
Silvana Barboni
Liliana Simn
Universidad Nacional de La Plata
Programa de Educacin Plurilinge e Intercultural Pcia Bs. As.

1. Introduction
1.2 The challenge of a plurilingual pedagogical perspective in ESOL
The last decade has been witness to deep theoretical changes in ESOL education in the
province of Buenos Aires. The changes introduced at regulatory levels since 2006 have
brought about the recognition of English as an international language in the context of a
provincial system of education which is in turn nurtured by the linguistic and cultural
diversity present in its 4.7 million students (Barboni & Porto, 2011). This diversity is the
result of sustained migratory processes especially from neighbouring countries, increased
interaction with an international community in our present knowledge society reality and
policy changes in line with national and regional development policies. The change
processes required considering two main principles in the ESOL education provided by the

56

state which do not constitute the ways in which English was traditionally taught in noncompulsory educational settings in Argentina: social justice and social practice. Social
justice refers to intercultural awareness principles guiding teaching while social practice is
the principle at the basis of a discourse perspective of language teaching.
On the one hand, the principle of Social Justice stems from a need to recognise the
multiple identities that are conveyed in the use of languages and the diverse linguistic and
cultural backgrounds that students reveal in educational institutions of the province. This
diversity is constituted by the diverse trajectories that students bring to the English class in
formal schooling under present educational laws. Unlike ten years ago, when secondary
education was not compulsory and English was not a compulsory subject in all primary
schools, the present legal frame challenges educators and policy makers to develop
inclusive educational strategies. These strategies are aimed at embracing an understanding
of English as one of the languages present in the province of Buenos Aires among other
languages such as Guaran, Wichi and Mapuche as well as Spanish. While Spanish bears
the status of the language of schooling, indigenous languages remain to be the mother
tongue for a great part of the children attending schools in the province. English in this
context acquires the status of an international language that allows speakers from different
linguistic and cultural backgrounds [...] to have their voices heard and to interact directly
without the need of mediators or translators (Byram, 2009) in an international context.
Social justice in the English class is present when the teaching strategy used "enables the
creation of a learning context which is not threatening to students identities but that builds
multiplicities of language uses and linguistic identities, while maintaining academic rigour
and upholding high expectations (Garca, 2009, p. 318).
57

On the other hand, the principle of Social Practiceplaces learning through an

additional language as a result of collaborative social practices in which students try out
ideas and actions (Lave & Wenger, 1991), and thus socially construct their learning
(Vygotsky, 1978). Learning is seen as occurring through doing (Dewey, 1897). Thus, an
action-based pedagogy falls within this principle. In the field of language education, this is
often referred to as task based pedagogy (Ellis, 2009) (Garca, 2009, p. 323). An ESOL
pedagogy stemming from this principle embraces a communicative curriculum prescribed
as part of the learning experiences that children should undergo during formal schooling
with a strong emphasis on a task based pedagogy. This is to be translated in school
programmes that present learning English through using it by solving problems (Ellis,
2003, 2010). Emphasis is given to interactive processes to address some of the present day
concerns with literacies: knowing languages will multiply improved communication
strategies (Garca, 2009: 5-18) in multiple contexts of use for work, study, entertainment or
any other purpose. Languages, whether it be the mother tongue, a second language or a
foreign language, are seen as a resource to the development of translanguagings, that is to
say, multiple discursive practices (Ibid, 2009: 45 - 47) necessary in a world of constant
interaction among people. In this respect, Canagarajah (2011) advocates a focus on what
he calls performative competence, that is, the type of knowledge conveyed through
interactive skills and strategies that people use when they are using and learning to use
languages in specific situations (of use).
These ideas relate to some of the main objectives of the ESOL curriculum of Primary
education which is to help children find ways of saying and doing things in English in a
sheltered environment: one that encourages them to take risks a necessary condition to
58

learn languages. On the other hand, they connect with the theoretical foundation of the
ESOL curriculum for Secondary education when it says:
English being an effective resource for international communication and the spread of
technical-scientific knowledge and literature, it allows access to:
advances of science and technology for its use and adaptation in the development of
self projects;
other cultures and a reflection about self culture;
an education in agreement with present day work requirements and with new modes
of production;
updated information in their original language.
All of the above address language as an object of study as well as the construction of
knowledge on how to do something, that is to say, knowledge to address communicative
situations inside and outside the classroom. (ESOL Secondary Level Curriculum Design,
200, p. 155).

2. The setting of the project

The teacher meetings developed with ESOL teachers across the Province of Buenos Aires
as from 2010 reveal a pervasive concern of teachers in the public sector with teaching
materials. Through the 134 districts of the province, teachers have acknowledged
difficulties to work with the ESOL textbooks in the market, in particular, in contexts of
59

vulnerability. It is evident that the textbook industry studies the populations that are likely
to buy those textbooks and develops a target user as the aim of their publishing projects. In
all cases, they are considering those audiences who invest in books for the commercial
reasons associated to their activity.
The state system of education of the province receives a 20% intake of students within
the social vulnerability index. That intake reaches higher percentages in schools located in
certain areas of poverty and deprivation of the "conurbano" in the province of Buenos
Aires. Also, these schools receive immigrant populations and certain minority groups
established in the territory. The state is responsible for these citizens since children in these
contexts need to have their identities and their linguistic diversity recognised.
The collection "Cuadernos para el Aula de Ingls" (Workbooks for the English class)
was in fact developed for these contexts of vulnerability. Though it is not the intention of
the Ministry of Education to develop a publishing enterprise as a body of the state, it bears
the responsibility to cater for the needs of those who are often neglected and whose
vulnerability is sometimes the reason for their exclusion. In this context of inclusion and
social justice, the project was released to provide resources to schools where vulnerability
rates reach high percentages. Thus, approximately twenty thousand children for each
educational level, out of a hundred and eighty thousand, are entitled to their "cuadernos".

60

3. How are these principles realised in the design of ESOL materials for compulsory
schooling in the Province?
When designing Cuadernos para el Aula de Ingls, a set of aspects were considered in
relation to the principles of social justice and social practices. These aspects were:
An understanding of English as an international language and of language learning
as a process of developing a translanguaging understanding of language use.
A strong local contextual reference as part of a Latin American perspective.
A task-based pedagogic perspective considering a focus on content, language and
thinking skills integration in activities.
A digital support for the analogic publication in the structure of the digital corner

3.1. ESOL learning for translanguaging practices

It is a well recognised fact that people use today the languages available to them to develop
better communication practices. That is part of what researchers are studying in connection
to the ways in which linguistic diversity and plurilingualism is improving the way people
communicate around the world. These practices, which refer to the ways people use
language have been called translanguaging and can be described as the multiple
discursive practices in which bilinguals engage in order to make sense of their bilingual
worlds (Garca, 2009, p. 319). This notion was taken up for the construction of interaction
in the materials developed. As the example in picture 1 in the appendix shows, the flexible
61

use of languages before different interlocutors, the use of non translatable terms such as
che or pichi - both exponents of indigenous language terms reflect that translanguaging has
become natural in our provincial context. The interactions intend to exemplify the
systematic, strategic, affiliative and sense-making process that is carried out by bilinguals
to include and facilitate communication with others, but also to construct deeper
understandings and make sense of their worlds which are lived in different languages.

3.2. From the local to the international

The situations present in the material refer to genuine language uses in the local context to
speak about our local reality. By means of geographical references, explicit allusions to our
natural world in this part of the world and a clear understanding of the world from the eyes
of Latin America, with its ecology problems and its social reality, the teaching of English
becomes highly contextualized in our own land to help us talk about us in an international
context. There is a strong presence of our local natural world with explicit references to
Latin American geographical mobility and sociocultural practices. An example of this can
be found in picture 2 of the appendix in which a picture story is presented.

3.3. Solving problems to learn language and content.

The tasks developed in the material include a wide set of information gap, reasoning gap
and information gap tasks, involving different levels of work in terms of thinking skills,
from lower order to higher order ones aiming at the uttermost objective of critical thinking.
62

All the tasks amount for the construction of a set of four final projects among which
teachers and students can choose depending on their interests and contextual circumstances.
These final inclusive projects are third generation tasks with an educational ethical
dimension accounting to students citizenship education. Picture 3 in the Appendix shows
examples of these tasks.

3. 4. Digital component in the digital corner

Once the "Cuadernos para el Aula de Ingls" were published, the second stage of the
Project was ready to start. This second stage involves the integration of Learning
Technologies in the classroom. Technology is already present in many secondary schools in
the province of Buenos Aires with the National Programme called Conectar Igualdad
which started in 2010. Also this year (2013) the primary schools of the province of Buenos
Aires are launching a new project called Aulas Digitales; thus, primary schools will
receive netbooks to be used in primary school classrooms. Thanks to these programmes,
students have now the opportunity to enhance their learning with the use of technology in
the language classes.
However, computers are not enough to make the big change in the 21st century
learners. Even though teachers from the Province of Buenos Aires have been receiving
training sessions on Learning Technologies delivered by the programme Conectar
Igualdad and the programme of Plurilingualismand Intercultural Education of the Province
of Buenos Aires, we are aware of the fact that teachers still have difficulties in the use of
technologies in their classroom. Teachers need to be confident in order to offer effective
63

technology integration with appropriate strategies in their real contexts. Therefore, we

decided to create a special place for teachers of English who can find motivating eactivities triggered by the content developed in "Cuadernos para el Aula de Ingls" called
Digital Corner (Rincn Digital).
The following text is the introduction of the e-book Digital Corner:
The main focus of the Digital Corner materials is to help and guide
English teachers to walk together the paths towards Learning
Technologies. We all know how technologies have invaded our teaching
context and that we cannot resist its integration anymore. We know that
each teacher has a personal and unique scenario in his/her own class;
therefore, we will suggest different paths to take together with
technology, your students and you.
Remember that you together with your students will be leaving your
digital footprints when you walk through the paths of the web. Hope
this e-booklet will help you throughout your digital way.

All the activities suggested in the Digital Corner were already tested; all the webtools
used are free and all the photos and pictures used are free as well. In this way, we have tried
to avoid copyright issues and we teach teachers how to create online material free of legal
problems. The webtools recommended are user-friendly and appropriate to the age and
level of knowledge of the students and their learning context.
The e-activities suggested by Digital Corner involve the students learn by doing
principle mentioned by Dewey (1897). The four skills are present throughout the e-book:
reading, writing, speaking and listening. Once the students finish with their tasks, all the
projects can be uploaded to a school/class/student blog , wiki, school webpage, etc. In these
virtual environments students have the opportunity to share their work not only with their
64

classmates but also with other institutions, their parents and, of course, the rest of the
world.
Reading and writing activities have always been easy to carry out in our classes
whereas listening and speaking tasks have presented more difficulties as regards the use of
the different technological gadgets we have used in the last years. Nowadays, the
convergence of technologies and the growth of webtools have solved many of our
problems. For example, using tools like Voxopop students have the possibility to record
themselves, to listen to their partners and also to leave a comment on the place. An example
of this task is shown on Picture 4 in the appendix.
Also computer skills are part of the practice in the e-book, such as a puzzle game
where the students drag and drop the pieces of the puzzle. We have to bear in mind that
many students will be touching computers for the first time in their lives. You can see the
puzzle on picture 5 in the appendix.
Sharing different stories, legends and rhymes from the cultures that come together in
the English classrooms is also present in the Digital Corner project. Students play with
games like I spy with my little eye with the pictures offered by the Cuaderno de Trabajo
del Aula de Ingls. You can see an example in picture 6 in the appendix. Students do not
only play the game but compare the games with the ones they have already learned in their
own language and culture. Also students are encouraged to listen and read stories from a
diversity of aboriginal cultures that meet in the classroom. An example of the story of can
be seen on picture 7 in the appendix.

65

4. Concluding remarks
The development of highly contextualized ESOL materials for vulnerable sectors in our
society needs to be understood as part of the responsibility of the state to cater for the
resources and means to guarantee compulsory education. A local perspective may help
ESOL educators approach school intakes that have been traditionally left out of the system
and for whom English was for too long a neglected subject in their education. If we wish
that that happens, it becomes essential to understand the practical, particular and possible
(Kumaravadivelu, 2003; 2006) dimensions of a pedagogic framework that aims at an
education for all paradigms.
As regards technology, we would like to conclude saying that we all know we are
living in a digital world, but maybe we are not aware of the fact that with the advance of
technology we are reaching a stage of normalization in the use of technology in the
language classrooms around the world (Bax, 2003). Ten years ago Bax said that pens and
textbooks were fully normalized whereas computers had not yet reached the stage of
normalization in the classrooms. With the help of the political programmes initiated by the
state, we as teachers have in our hands the possibility to enhance learning through
technology and to help develop computer skills that will be necessary tools in our 21 st
century students.
Cuadernos de Trabajo para el aula de ingls
Educacin plurilinge e intercultural
Webpage:
[Link]

66

References
Barboni, S., &M. Porto (2011). Enseanza de ingls e identidad nacional en la Argentina
del bicentenario: Qu tensiones y qu posibilidades se abren con la incorporacin del
ingls en el currculum de la Escuela? In Barboni, S (Ed),Enseanza de ingls e
identidad nacional a los 200 aos de la Revolucin de Mayo(pp. 13 68). La Plata:
Eds Al Margen.
Bax, S. (2003).CALL Past, present and [Link] of Language Studies,
Canterbury Christ Church University College, Canterbury, [Link] from:
[Link]
xs%20Call%20past,%20present%20and%[Link] Last accessed to: July, 2013.
Byram, M. (2009).Intercultural citizenship and foreign language [Link] from:
[Link] accessed to: April
2012.
Canagarajah, S. (2011). Codemeshing in academic writing: Identifying teachable strategies
of translanguaging. The Modern Language Journal, 95(3), 401-417.
Garca, O. (2009). Bilingualeducation in the 21st century: A global perspective. West
Sussex: Wiley-Blackwell.
Ellis, R. (2009). Task-based language teaching: Sorting out the misunderstandings.
International Journal of Applied Linguistics.19 (3), 221 246.
Kumaravadivelu, B. (2003).
A postmethod perspective on English language
[Link] Englishes, 22(4), 539-550.
Kumaravadivelu, B. (2006). Understanding language teaching: From method to
postmethod. New York: Routledge.

67

Appendix

Picture [Link]

68

Picture 2. Ecology in Context

69

Picture 3. Task Examples

70

Picture 4. Voxopop Talkgroup

Picture 5. Online Puzzle

71

Picture 6. I see with my little eye Game

Picture [Link] from different cultures

72

6 Border pedagogy: Towards rerouting roots in intercultural education

Florencia Vernica Perduca
IES en Lenguas Vivas Juan Ramn Fernndez, Buenos Aires
Universidad del Litoral, Santa Fe

1. Introduction
The currently developing socio-linguistic reality of English, as both a global and a local
language, brings in shifting configurations of power relations, cultural mappings, identity
constructions and educational politics. The paradoxical globalisation and transculturation of
English has shattered the illusion of linguistic fixity, cultural homogeneity and of a pristine
imagined community (Anderson, 1991, p. 2). This is redefining the boundaries of
linguistic, geo-political and educational policies and paving the way for more critical and
integrationist pedagogies that can create and scaffold more glocal (Brooks & Normore,
2010) perspectives and literacies. In this light, the terrain of English teaching/learning
becomes inextricably linked to the rapidly changing parameters of language, place, identity,
history and power.
In a world populated by evolving Englishes, travelling cultures, transnational identities
and expanding borderlands, Assimilationist (English Only) models, based on the
73

achievement of native-speaker-like performance, and curricular designs structured upon

English language, culture andidentity fall apart and no longer hold. Integrationist models,
focused on the development of new literacies for intercultural interpretation, foreground the
educational value of moving back and forth between cultural systems and of negotiating
difference within the contact zone of the classroom.
Within this framework, Border Pedagogy, which conceives of school in general, and
the classroom in particular, as a cultural borderland (Giroux, 2005, p. 24) proposes
working actively with how roots are constantly re-routed in our transculturalised world.
The aim of this paper is to delve into how border pedagogy has crossed the boundaries
of educational discourse by means of contesting received notions on language, culture,
identity and pedagogy within the arena of ELT. The five sections that follow develop how
border pedagogy proposes working with English as a glocal language, a travelling culture,
a transnational identity, a transdisciplinary subject and a resource material for active work
on intercultural interpretation. In doing so, this paper intends to explore to what extent
border pedagogy can contribute to scaffolding teachers and students minds to mediate
dialectically between different levels of cultural signification and to transform otherness
into difference through intercultural mediations.

2. Blurring the boundaries of language

It is in discourse that power and knowledge are joined
together.
(Foucault, 1980, p. 100)

English, seen as an evolving language, is being instrumentally used within the educational
arena, and particularly within the realms of border pedagogy, as a clear example of a how
74

languages develop as representation systems, as discursive sites for ideological interaction

and conflict, and as vehicles for cultural and identity (re)configurations.
For some time after its transplantation by settlement and colonial administration,
English was still centred on England, and its collective imaginary still constructed it as the
voice of authority, regarding it in Bakhtinian terms, as monolithic, monological, univocal,
single-voiced (1992, p. 293). English, as the imperial language, continued expanding and
spreading worldwide, always patrolling its borders, in pursuit of a perfect copy, a replica
of itself.
However, in the process of becoming a world language, English travelled, hybridised
and othered itself. Hence, owing to displacement, formally and functionally, English
camouflaged from mother tongue, to stepmother tongue and to the other tongue. By
the end of the nineteenth century, the English of the formerly colonised subjects had started
to flourish within their own languages and literatures and acquired an importance which
both challenged and dismantled the dominance of the original centre.
Today English is far from being regarded as a European language, and its development
is hardly determined by usage or native-speaker models. Control of the language seems to
be actively held by the others, who have aimed to deconstruct Manichean binarity as well
as hegemonic discourses of otherness, subalternity and voicelessness, seeking to construct a
space of enunciation of their own. This has paved the way for creolisation, interculturality,
and border-crossing processes in different cultural configurations. And yet in all cases,
English has resulted in hybridity, a key term to refer to the state of transnational identities,
and as evidenced in postcolonial, diasporic and border communities.

75

In Rushdies terms, those formerly subjected to Empire started to strike back with a
vengeance (Thieme, 2001, p. 19) by means of conquering English through different modes
of appropriation, subversion and resistance. Rather than silenced by acculturation and
assimilation, formerly colonised subjects were empowered by transculturation, a process
whereby members of subordinated groups appropriated materials transmitted by dominant
or metropolitan cultures. This term was coined in 1940 by Cuban Sociologist Fernando
Ortz proposing his notion that intercultural contact is not unidirectional a process, but a
two-way dynamics (Bass, 1999, p. 372). Mary Louise Pratt (1992, p. 50) adds that the
process of borrowing and lending explodes in all directions within the contact zone,
allowing languages to reconfigure not only identities but also cultures.

3. Exploring the porosity of cultures

Culture is by nature heterogeneous and it
necessarily works through the realm of borders.
(Saldvar, 1997, p. 9)

Border pedagogy posits that if English language is always in flux, relational, dialogical and
contested, then the cultures that it represents are always in the making and in a constant
process of becoming through intercultural mediation. This pedagogy critically explores
that throughout the nineteenth century, English Culture and the Nation were conceived
of as patterned, homogeneous shared instances: imagined communities (Johnson &
Michaelsen, 1997, p. 54). That conception of culture, bound to a specific fixed location,
with a homogenous population, and an identity of its own, established a straightforward
connection between territory, community, culture and identity. Such notion rested on the

76

premise that there exists cultural homogeneity in a given location, ignoring the fact that
what pervades human groups is actually heterogeneity.
As from the twentieth century, the notion of a world divided into cultural islands has
been contested by the fact that people, groups and symbols are interconnected both
regionally and transnationally. Indeed, border pedagogy explores how boundaries that
separate communities are porous and how collectives can no longer be assimilable to a
fixed specific space. James Clifford (1999, p. 3) poses that culture is to be understood as
writing/collage, a pastiche composed by heterogeneous elements in which historical and
political phenomena interact and overlap endlessly in never-ending processes. In his book
Routes (1999), he homonymically plays with routes/roots to delve into the paradox that
culture entails. In his seminal essay, Travelling Cultures", Clifford, drawing on from
research conducted by Michel de Certeau (1988), Pierre Bourdieu (1986) and Clifford
Geertz (1973), refers to the phenomenon of spatial practices resulting from interactions
between dwelling and travelling experiences within the context of historical processes of
dislocation. Culture is the ever-changing result of the dialogue between what travels
[routes] and what dwells [roots], and the ensuing conflicts, as well as resistances, which
emerge from that interaction (Clifford, 1999, p. 3).
Border pedagogy delves into how culture is the vehicle or medium whereby the
relationship between groups is transacted within its borders in a complex interplay of
identities. The border stands as an interstitial space for identity reconstruction and
reconfiguration. In the same way as James Clifford puns with Routes/Roots to delve
into the interstices of travelling cultures, Louis Kaplan (1997, p. 10) homonymically
plays with border/boarder to refer to the bo(a)rder and to inscribe the oxymoronic
77

condition of those who are straddling the frontier, of those being within and without,
assuming oscillating identities in their differential play.
Border pedagogy underscores that through processes of translocation and transposition,
English has remapped itself and gained in translation. English has developed, not only as
it surpassed its own boundaries through (post)colonialism, but also as it let others cross its
frontiers through migration and diaspora. These cross-overs have operated as a rite of
passage, not only in terms of its language and culture, but also in terms of the multiple
identities conferred by English.

4. Expanding the frontiers of identity

Border is the space where the nation and identity either
end or begin.
(Saldvar, 1997, p. 14)

The representation of these shape-shifting, multiplying, increasingly fragmented subject

positions has become a central transdisciplinary object of study and a particular concern of
border pedagogy. Indeed, the constitution of transnational identities in Englishes, springing
from interconnected travelling cultures, characterises the experience of both border and
diasporic communities the world over. However, these cultures are endowed with different
identity configurations, and are characterised by different material conditions.
On the one hand, border cultures inhabit a defined geopolitical territory, whose
boundaries divide two sides at the same time as they create a borderland. It is in this contact
zone where border subjects engage in intricate processes of cultural conflict, interaction and
crossing-over. Border subjects refuse to fuse into a single conglomerate and struggle for

78

both the acceptance of difference and the (re)territorialisation of the deterritorialised

(Deleuze & Guattari, 1977, p. 155).
On the other hand, diasporic communities result from migration, cultural
transplantation and displacement processes (Ashcroft et al., 1995, p. 430). And even though
the diasporic experience binds the multiple communities of a disperse population together,
there is no specific geo-political boundary framing them. Diasporic cultures mythologise
home as a desired place, impossible to return to (Rushdie, 1991). There occurs a split by
means of which longing for the imagined home prevails over the actual geographic location
which is inhabited. These migrants, as well as their descendants, have a discontinuous
relation between their illusory home country and the experience of the physical return to it
as visitors (McLeod, 2000, p. 209).
Nonetheless, what brings both diasporic and border communities closer together is
their interstitial condition. Interstitial subjects acquire knowledge in the various specific
locations in which they inhabit and resist their aggregation to an arbitrary unified whole.
Speakers of Englishes the world over enact and recreate their identities in the breaches left
open within discursive and social relations (Johnson & Michaelsen, 1997, p. 173), being
discontinually located as insiders/outsiders. The relation they establish with the places they
inhabit is that of a dichotomy: fluctuating between being, and not being, either at home or
within the border. Border pedagogy posits that it is in this border zone, such as the one
that English language represents, where cultural symbols, references and meanings can be
read transculturally.

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5. Broadening the borders of pedagogy

Border pedagogy decentres as it remaps.
(Giroux, 2005, p. 22)

Against the background of such evolving Englishes, cultures and identities, which frame
our rapidly shifting global environment, it is necessary to generate and promote evolving
pedagogies; that is to say, pedagogical apparatuses that can offer fruitful educational
responses to transculturality, hybridity and liminality. Our multiplying identities, cultural
configurations and communities (postcolonial, diasporic, border) pave the way for the
development of new pedagogies that can create and/or scaffold more glocal perspectives
and literacies, that is to say the meaningful integration of the local and the global (Brooks
& Normore, 2010, p. 50). A central vehicle for the development of the glocalisation of
culture is the deconstruction of literacy within the very educational arena. This implies
including previously marginalised reading stratagems, pedagogical apparatuses and
curricular designs such as the ones posed by critical pedagogy, intercultural pedagogy and,
in particular, border pedagogy.
Critical pedagogy is posited as central to any educational practice that takes up
questions of how individuals learn, how knowledge is produced, and how subject positions
are constructed. This pedagogy has regained a sense of alternative by means combining
strategies for the critique of hegemonic discourses with stratagems to construct new forms
of identity and social relations (Giroux, 2005, p. 70).
The tenets of critical pedagogy have been crucial to ELTs rite of passage, from
assimilationist (English only) educational policies to integrationist (multicultural/
intercultural) ones; from monolingual transmission models, based on native speaker-like
80

performance, to multilingual transactional models, more sensitive to multiculturalism and

built around expert-speaker (Jenkins, 2003, p. 81) and/or intercultural-speaker (Byram,
1997, p. 21) achievement. These educational responses to the transculturation of English
have contributed to the democratisation of knowledge and cultural capital (Bourdieu,
1986, p. 47). While multicultural policies fostered the coexistence and mutual
understanding of cultural and linguistic differences, intercultural policies encouraged the
exchange and interaction between them, dwelling on the in-between spaces that enable
the flux and interplay of identities.
This is when border pedagogy can complement and even supplement other pedagogies.
Border pedagogy uses school, the classroom, as a site of active reading, reflection and
hands-on work on our evolving languages, cultures and identities. It proposes using our
travelling cultures to work glocally and transdisciplinarily. This presupposes not merely
an acknowledgment of the shifting borders that both undermine and reterritorialise different
configurations of language, culture, power, and knowledge. It also links the notion of
schooling with the broader category of education to a more substantive struggle for a
democratic society that acknowledges that culture happens in the interstices, the
borderlands, the spaces between and within (Clifford, 1999, p. 5). Border pedagogy
points to the necessity to create suitable conditions for students to write, read, speak, and
listen in a language in which meaning becomes multi-accentual and dispersed, and resists
permanent closure (Giroux, 2005, p. 21). This entails a language in which one speaks with,
rather than exclusively for or about, others.
Border pedagogy offers the opportunity for students of English to become border
crossers by means of delving into the multiple references that constitute different cultural
81

codes, experiences and languages. In this way, issues on transculturation, hybridity and
liminality naturally come to the fore and pave the way for active work on critical cultural
awareness and intercultural interpretation.

6. Crossing the borders of ELT

The concept of border crossing has come to represent a project and a commitment to the
democratisation of school and society in search for a notion of commonality without
which a re-founding of democratic politics seems impossible, even unimaginable
(Couldry, 2006, p. 4). In this way, both teachers and learners in the ELT classroom can
become discursive agents who move across borders transforming otherness into difference.
The point of departure is the premise that our diverse languages, cultures and identities
connect us to each other more than they separate us, especially as such borders are
continually changing and mutating within the fast forward dialectics between globalisation
and transculturation.
Border pedagogy, in this sense, becomes proactive and performative in that it is not
merely about deconstructing discourses, but about creating modes of individual and social
agency that enable rather than shut down democratic values (Giroux, 2005, p. 7).Border
pedagogy poses that our main challenge as educators is to construct a policy of difference
(13) drawing on from the contribution of Postmodernism, Feminism, Marxism,
Postcolonialism, not only as theoretical standpoints, but also as enabling tools for teachers
to design hands-on pedagogical apparatuses to work towards the active construction or
mobilisation of difference (Manzanas & Benito, 2003, p. 90).

82

To such end, border pedagogy suggests the instrumental use of postcolonial theory and
border theory with a two-fold purpose. On the one hand, they can be used as dislocating
discourses which challenge how imperial centres of power have constructed themselves as
selves against others through totalising [Link] the other hand, they can be used
to raise awareness about the contact zone as the space where cultures meet, clash and
grapple (Pratt, 1992, p. 25).
Border pedagogy poses that this approach will be of special value to learners if they are
offered texts in Englishes (written, visual and electronic), belonging to different disciplines,
which both affirm and interrogate the complexity of the students own languages, histories,
cultures and identities, as well as those of others.
Border pedagogy suggests a set of stratagems to follow so that students can be given
the opportunity to deconstruct hegemonic discourses and develop counter-discourses, on
the one hand, and to engage in intercultural mediation and border crossing, on the other.
This implies reading texts critically and acutely to raise awareness about the origins and
mechanisms of intolerance and inequality (Giroux, 2005, p. 21). This also entails making
visible the historically and socially constructed places and borders we inherit, and that
frame our discourses and social relations, and subsequently signalling forms of
transgression in which existing borders forged in dominant epistemes can be challenged
and redefined.
Within the project of voice and difference, culture is seen as a shifting sphere of
multiple and heterogeneous borders where different histories, languages, experiences and
discourses (including those forgotten, erased or missing) intermingle amid diverse
relations of power and privilege; for example, within the cultural borderland known as
83

school (25). This in combination with a multi-centric perspective may create the
necessary pedagogical conditions for students of Englishes to engage in cultural
remapping as a form of resistance, and to become border crossers in order to understand
otherness in its own terms, creating borderlands for the fashioning of new identities within
existing configurations of power (20).
This evolving pedagogy delves into understanding how dynamic identity is as it
moves into the borderlands crisscrossed within a variety of evolving languages, cultures,
identities and borders. To border pedagogy, there are no unified subjects, only learners,
whose multi-layered and often contradictory voices and experiences intermingle to stress
the importance of keeping difference within the borderland called school to be able to
mediate interculturally.

References
Anderson, B. (1991) Imagined communities: Reflections on the origin and spread of
nationalism. New York: Verso.
Ashcroft, B., Griffiths, G., & Tiffin, H. (1995).The postcolonial studies reader. London:
Routledge.
Bakhtin, M. (1992). The dialogic imagination. London: Routledge.
Bass, R. (Ed.). (1999). Border texts: Cultural reading for contemporary writers. Boston
and New York: Houghton Mifflin.
Bhabha, H. (1994). The location of culture. London: Routledge.
Bourdieu, P. (1986). The forms of capital. In Richardson, J. E. (Ed.), Handbook of theory of
research for the sociology of education. New York: Greenword Press.
Brooks, J., & Normore, A. (2010).Literacy for a glocal [Link]
Policy,24(1), 52-82.
Byram, M. (1997). Teaching and assessing intercultural communicative competence.
Clevedon: Multilingual Matters.
Clifford. J. (1999). Routes: Travel and translation in the late twentieth century.
Cambridge: Harvard University.
Corbett, J. (2008). An intercultural approach to English language teaching. Clevedon:
Multilingual Matters.

84

Couldry, N. (2004). In the place of common culture, what? The review of education.
Pedagogy and Cultural Studies,26(1), 4.
Deleuze, G.,& Guattari, F. (1977).[Link] York: Viking.
Derrida, J. (1981). Writing and difference. Illinois: University of Urbana.
Foucault, M. (1980).The history of [Link]: Multilingual Matters.
Giroux, H. (2005). Border crossing: Cultural workers and the politics of education.
London: Routledge.
Johnson, E.,& Michaelsen, S. (1997). Border theory: Limits of cultural politics.
Minneapolis: University of Minnesota.
Manzanas, A.,& Benito, J. (2003).Intercultural mediations, hybridity and mimesis in
American literatures. Rutgers University: Transaction Publishers.
McLeod, J. (2000). Beginning postcolonialism. London: Manchester University.
Pratt, M.L. (1992). Imperial eyes: Travel writing and transculturation. London:
Routledge.
Rushdie, S. (1991). Imaginary homelands. London: Granta Books.
Saldvar, J. D. (1997). Border matters: Remapping American cultural studies.
Berkeley: University of California.
Thieme, J. (2001). Postcolonial con-texts. London: Continuum.

85

7 Pensamiento crtico, reflexin,

conciencia cultural crtica:
caractersticas de la interculturalidad
en la lectura en lengua extranjera
Melina Porto
UNLP-Conicet

1. Introduccin
Este trabajo informa sobre un estudio realizado en 2009-10 que utiliza el Modelo de
Competencia Intercultural (MCI) de Byram (1997, 2009, 2012) para investigar la
dimensin cultural de la lectura en lengua extranjera en un contexto universitario. Este
modelo sirve como sustento terico y tambin se constituye en una medida de anlisis. Los
participantes, diez estudiantes del Profesorado y Traductorado de Ingls en la Universidad
Nacional de La Plata (UNLP), de entre 18-20 aos, leyeron un fragmento de Desert Wife
(Faunce, 1961) y produjeron una respuesta textual junto con una entrevista individual. De
los cinco saberes (savoirs) o dimensiones de conocimiento, habilidades y actitudes en los
queconsiste este modelo, la conciencia cultural crtica (saber comprometerse) (savoir
sengager) predomin en los resultados. Esto significa que los participantes evidenciaron
86

un elemento de criticidad y reflexin con respecto al contenido textual, procurando

encontrar sentidos ocultos e interpretaciones alternativas, con gran complejidad y
profundidad de anlisis.
El trabajo est dividido en dos partes. En la primera, describo la investigacin llevada a
cabo. Esta descripcin incluye el MCI de Byram, aspectos metodolgicos como la
definicin de los instrumentos de recoleccin de datos y el uso del MCI como medida de
anlisis, y los resultados. En la segunda parte, ilustro los resultados con el caso de Victoria
(pseudnimo). Tambin hago hincapi en la implicancias pedaggicas que se desprenden
de esta investigacin al resaltar que la conciencia cultural crtica o savoir sengager
posibilita que la enseanza de lenguas extranjeras sea verdaderamente educativa y se refleja
en la actualidad en la nocin de educacin intercultural para la ciudadana (Byram, 2012).

2. La investigacin
El objetivo general de esta investigacin fue describir y comprender cmo la poblacin
estudiada en este contexto (estudiantes del Profesorado y Traductorado de Ingls en la
UNLP, de entre 18-20 aos) entendi el contenido cultural de textos literarios narrativos en
la lectura en ingls como lengua extranjera. En este trabajo la atencin se centra en un
fragmento de Desert Wife (Faunce, 1961, p. 173-181) escrito en ingls. Los participantes
respondieron al texto produciendo una tarea escrita llamada respuesta textual (entre varias
otras tareas) en su lengua nativa, el espaol, y fueron luego entrevistados para expandir
acerca de sus interpretaciones. Ambos instrumentos de investigacin fueron analizados

87

utilizando el Modelo de Competencia Intercultural (MCI) de Byram (1997, 2009, 2012).

Los resultados indican un alto nivel de conciencia cultural crtica, central en el MCI.
Una respuesta textual es un formato de respuesta a la lectura adaptado de Ollman
(1996) que permite el surgimiento de respuestas idiosincrsicas a un texto. Requiere del
recuerdo de informacin y del resumen, pero va ms all al incentivar tambin respuestas
imaginativas y personales. Para producir una tarea de respuesta textual, estos participantes
tuvieron que dar sentido a las pistas culturales del fragmento y a la informacin cultural
contextualizada del mismo, relacionar esta informacin con sus parmetros culturales
propios, y al hacerlo, traer a la superficie sus experiencias, conocimiento y bagaje
relevantes para la interpretacin. Como las instrucciones no requirieron que los
participantes recordaran cada parte del texto exactamente, tuvieron la libertad de responder
a aspectos especficos del fragmento que les llamaron la atencin. Las instrucciones que los
participantes recibieron fueron las siguientes:
Realice una lectura propia/personal del contenido del texto. Plsmela por
escrito utilizando un formato de ensayo/texto que de respuesta a las
siguientes preguntas:
Cmo describira Ud. a la cultura reflejada en este texto?
Desde una perspectiva cultural, cul es el tema del texto?
Esta tarea NO es una sntesis ni un resumen de la historia. No est permitido
hacer un simple resumen del tipo El cuento empieza por ....sigue con ....
termina cuando ... S puede ejemplificar su tarea escrita con eventos o
situaciones de la historia.

Se

administraron

entrevistas

individuales

diferidas

que

tuvieron

lugar

aproximadamente una semana despus de la lectura del fragmento. Los participantes

88

tuvieron a disposicin no solamente su respuesta textual sino tambin el fragmento mismo

utilizado como disparador para la lectura. Esta decisin metodolgica alej la atencin del
factor memoria, cuyo eje es el recuerdo de informacin textual, y permiti las lecturas
crticas que se revelaron como centrales en esta investigacin.

3. Modelo de Competencia Intercultural

Este modelo constituye el sustento terico de esta investigacin. Fue propuesto inicialmente
por Byram en 1997 y desarrollado ms adelante (2009, 2012). Consiste en cinco saberes
(llamados savoirs por el autor). Estos saberes son saber ser (savoir tre) (que consiste, por
ejemplo, en actitudes de inters y curiosidad),

saberes (savoirs) (que se refieren al

conocimiento de diferentes aspectos de la vida como el trabajo, la educacin, las

tradiciones, etc., en una sociedad determinada), saber comprender (savoir comprendre)
(que implica la habilidad para interpretar y relacionar estos saberes), saber aprender /saber
hacer(savoir apprendre/savoir faire) (que implica la capacidad para el descubrimiento y la
interaccin), y saber comprometerse (savoir sengager) (que est implicado en el concepto
de conciencia cultural crtica). Este ltimo saber es central para posibilitar que la enseanza
de lenguas extranjeras sea verdaderamente educativa (a diferencia de mero entrenamiento),
es captado por la nocin de educacin intercultural para la ciudadana (Byram, 2008; Osler
& Starkey, 2005; Starkey, 2007) y explica las dimensiones ideolgica y poltica
involucradas necesariamente en la enseanza de una lengua extranjera (Byram, 2001). Otro
elemento importante en este modelo es el aspecto relacional, tambin sealado por
Kramsch (1993, 1998), Bennett (1993, 2009) y otros, que ha cobrado vida en la figura del
hablante intercultural o mediador intercultural (Byram, 2009).
89

4. Anlisis y resultados
El modelo fue utilizado en esta investigacin para analizar los datos recolectados. En
particular, se observ la presencia de estos saberes en las respuestas textuales y las
entrevistas). Los resultados de este estudio indican un alto nivel de conciencia cultural
crtica (savoir sengager). Los participantes manifestaron la capacidad de reconocer y
articular las dificultades encontradas en el proceso de percibir una cultura desde adentro (es
decir, una perspectiva insider), as como la capacidad de aceptar que la perspectiva cultural
propia y los valores y expectativas propios influyeron en las visiones que adoptaron. La
descentralizacin en relacin a los cdigos culturales propios les permiti la toma de
conciencia sobre su relatividad cultural. Fueron capaces de explorar las reacciones propias
ante los comportamientos propios y ajenos, y pudieron ponerse en el lugar del Otro por
medio de la imaginacin. En este sentido se evidenci la "tercera perspectiva" de Kramsch
(Kramsch 1993, p. 210) que permiti a los lectores adoptar no slo una visin insider sino
tambin outsider e hbrida en la comprensin de las culturas presentes en el fragmento
dado.
La tarea de respuesta textual trajo a la superficie la conciencia cultural crtica de estos
lectores, que las entrevistas sirvieron para [Link] criticidad fue motivada por temas
diferentes y especficos del fragmento de Desert Wife y condujo a reflexiones que
evidenciaron pensamiento crtico, definido como el pensamiento de nivel ms elevado (o el
tipo de pensamiento que se regula y controla a s mismo), que involucra procesos de
anlisis, sntesis y evaluacin (Waters, 2006). Sin embargo, estos lectores fueron ms all
del pensamiento crtico en estos trminos en pos de una conciencia cultural crtica, o
conciencia social crtica, es decir, una criticidad y reflexin conectadas con una dimensin
90

social, con cuestiones de ciudadana, y de humanidad y naturaleza humana desde una

perspectiva filosfica.
Los temas recurrentes que condujeron a este tipo de respuesta en Desert Wife fueron
elde la dominacin y la autoridad entre distintas poblaciones, las culturas primitivas versus
dominantes, los animales tambin como representantes culturales (no slo los humanos).
En conjunto, esta profundidad de respuesta se evidenci en la respuesta textual (as como
en otros instrumentos de investigacin no descriptos en este trabajo) y fue luego justificada
ampliamente en las entrevistas. Todos los participantes ofrecieron anlisis de este tipo, en
mayor o menor profundidad. Incluyo aqu ejemplos producidos por Victoria (seudnimo).

5. Ilustracin de resultados: el caso de Victoria

El fragmento de Desert Wife tiene lugar en el contexto de una reserva indgena en los
Estados Unidos y describe una celebracin navidea en un contexto estadounidense nativo,
presentada al lector a travs de la mirada de la narradora, Hilda, y su compaero, Ken.
Hilda y Ken son estadounidenses que trabajan en el lugar e introducen a los navajos en la
idea de una celebracin navidea, en la que se entrelazan la cultura estadounidense y la de
los nativos. Faltan aqu los elementos tpicos de una celebracin navidea estadounidense.
La narradora se ve confrontada por los cdigos culturales de los navajos, que por ser
diferentes a los de ella misma motivan su nostalgia y su aoranza de su tierra natal.
El tema de la dominacin fue recurrente para la mayora de los participantes y
constituye un buen ejemplo de la criticidad y reflexin de estos lectores (en cursiva en la
91

respuesta textual de Victoria ms abajo). Resalto en negrita las instancias de duda, recursos
modalizadores, modalidad, lenguaje tentativo y lenguaje vago y general. Estas instancias
son reveladoras de la decisin de Victoria de no tomar completa responsabilidad por sus
interpretaciones, es decir, decide presentar sus interpretaciones y luego atenuarlas, o
distanciarse de ellas por medio de estos recursos. Victoria

explora el tema de la

dominacin mediante la dicotoma cultura estndar versus grupo minoritario,

recurrente en todo el extracto. Tambin est presente la nocin de integracin, evidenciada
en el contraste terreno ajeno propio territorio. La dominacin proviene, en opinin de
Victoria, del hecho de que la narradora intenta dominar en un territorio que no es su tierra
nativa o, en otras palabras, en la reserva de los navajos. Esta lectora cita el episodio del
lavado de los platos (en el cual Hilda, la narradora estadounidense, debe pedirle a las
mujeres navajos que laven los platos o no lo hubiesen hecho) como muestra de esta
dominacin. Subrayo las citas directas del fragmento que utiliza Victoria en su respuesta
textual.
Por otro lado, si mis sospechas son ciertas, quienes intentan integrarse aqu
forman parte de lo que podramos considerar cultura estndar
(norteamericana), al menos en relacin a la cultura del grupo minoritario de
los navajos. Quizs por eso, incluso en terreno ajeno, se generan escenas en
que aparentara producirse una sutil dominacin por parte de quienes sin ser
miembros de la tribu ni de la celebracin que tiene lugar en ella, representan la
cultura estndar:
Other women I set to peeling onions and potatoes, and very handy they were at
it too.
After the meal was over, the women cleaned the soot from the tubs and boiler
with sand, while I scalded the spoons and pans. They were willing enough to do
it, though they would have gone away and left everything dirty, if I had not
suggested the dishwashing. I thought it best they do some little thing for their
meal.

92

Es como si, a pesar de hallarse inmersos temporalmente en otra cultura, el

hecho de pertenecer a la cultura estndar concediera ciertos derechos
implcitos de dominacin, al menos sutil,y obligara implcitamente al grupo
minoritario a aceptar el status quo incluso en su propio territorio.
(Victoria, respuesta textual, Desert Wife)

Victoria explica con ms detalle la idea de dominacin en una parte de la entrevista (en
cursiva en el extracto), siguiendo las mismas lneas (la dominacin es sutil, hay un
privilegio implcito de dominacin en lo que ella llama la cultura estndar). Evala el
contenido textual usando adverbios como paradjicamente y comenta sobre lo que llam su
atencin como punto de partida para su interpretacin.
Melina: Habls de dominacin, eso es muy interesante.
Victoria: "Dominacin", me refiero a que en un momento dado, por
ejemplo hay dos casos puntuales...
M.: S, los que cits ac.
V.: Los que cito ah, en los cuales se genera una sutil situacin de
dominacin en la cual el que pone las reglas, o el que intenta ponerlas al
menos, es el forneo, es decir, paradjicamente ellos estn en un...
insertos en una cultura que no es la suya, y sin embargo estn dicindoles
qu hacer.
M.: S.
V.: Es decir, con su cultura, con sus costumbres.
M.: S.
V.: Eso es lo que por ah me llam la atencin.
M.: Y por qu los dominados aceptan?
V.:Y claro, o sea, por eso pongo ms abajo que habra una suerte de cosa
implcita, de..de... quizs contacto implcito, no?, en el cual la... la
cultura mayoritaria o la cultura estndar, en este caso, que podemos
llamar cultura estndar, tendra cierto privilegio de dominacin. Quizs
por eso tampoco se genera ese recelo ante... Yo creo que el recelo incluso
es... Estoy pensando en el trmino ingls "take over", o sea, esa cosa de...
de que el forneo o el extranjero pueda asumir el control.
(Victoria, entrevista, Desert Wife)

93

El anlisis de Victoria en el siguiente fragmento de su respuesta textual est

relacionado con la idea de tomar ms de lo que uno necesita. La participante cita del texto
el extracto que retrata a los navajos pasendose con carne cruda bajo sus brazos por miedo
a que otros la roben, pone esto en perspectiva y ofrece una opinin crtica sobre Hilda, la
narradora (tambin llamada San Chee). Victoria seala que la narradora no es consciente de
que en su cultura la gente tambin roba. Ntese una vez ms la tendencia de Victoria de
respaldar sus afirmaciones con citas directas del texto (las marco con subrayado).
Ciertos factores contemplados desde el punto de vista de la cultura estndar
(cuya mirada, por otra parte, es la que conduce al lector a introducirse en la
cultura de los navajos), focalizan en lo que podran considerarse aspectos
negativos de la tribu: What they did not eat at once they were afraid to put
down because some one would steal it, so all the evening they strolled about
with great raw beefsteaks in their hands. () There was a sort of appreciation
in the Navajo, but it was the sort that wanted all they could get from any one
who wasn't looking.
La narradora pasa por alto el hecho de que, al menos en este ltimo caso,
tampoco su cultura queda excluida de esta conducta negativa.
(Victoria, respuesta textual, Desert Wife)

Se evidencia aqu una actitud crtica y reflexiva. Victoria va ms all de la descripcin,

aprecia la diversidad y explora interpretaciones diferentes y alternativas en la
representacin de otra cultura. En el caso especfico de la idea del robo, un elemento
particular de la cultura propia se emplea para explicar aspectos de la otra cultura. Victoria
observa de manera crtica la cultura y la sociedad propias, evalundolas desde la
perspectiva de la cultura C2 (en este caso, la de la narradora y la de los navajos), lo cual
garantiza el distanciamiento crtico y la descentralizacin de las propias creencias. Estas
son caractersticas centrales de la comprensin intercultural.
94

6. Implicancias pedaggicas
Las interpretaciones de Victoria en este contexto revelan el dilema profundo implicado en
el hecho de que el reconocimiento del Otro siempre conlleva tambin el fracaso para
conocer a ese Otro (Garca Canclini, 2003). Dicho en otras palabras, existe un horizonte
ms all del cual siempre hay algo que permanece opaco, inasequible y oscuro, tanto en la
lectura en lengua extranjera como en la comprensin de otra cultura, o de un miembro de
otra cultura. Victoria hace visible esta imposibilidad por medio de su uso recurrente de
modalidad y lenguaje tentativo y vago: nada en la comprensin del Otro es certero.
Todas las caractersticas de la lectura de Victoria en este contexto demuestran
pensamiento crtico y reflexividad, y van ms all del pensamiento crtico per se en pos de
una conciencia cultural crtica, o conciencia social crtica, es decir, una criticidad y
reflexin conectadas con una dimensin social, con cuestiones de ciudadana, y de
humanidad y naturaleza humana desde una perspectiva filosfica. Ejemplos en esta
direccin son las disquisiciones acerca de los conceptos de cultura estndar y cultura
minoritaria, cultura dominante, grupo minoritario, etc. Estos son elementos centrales en el
Modelo de Competencia Intercultural de Byram (savoir sengager) que reflejan la nocin
actual de educacin intercultural para la ciudadana (Byram, 2012).

7. Conclusiones
Este trabajo informa sobre un estudio que utiliz el Modelo de Competencia Intercultural
(MCI) de Byram (1997, 2008, 2012) para investigar la dimensin cultural de la lectura en
95

lengua extranjera en un contexto universitario. Ms all del sustento terico que ofrece el
MCI, en este caso este modelo tambin se constituy en una medida de anlisis. Partiendo
del anlisis de dos instrumentos de investigacin, una respuesta textual y una entrevista
individual, los resultados indican un alto nivel de conciencia cultural crtica. Esta
conciencia cultural crtica, o conciencia social crtica, revel una criticidad y reflexin
conectadas con una dimensin social, con cuestiones de ciudadana, y con aspectos de
humanidad y naturaleza humana desde una perspectiva filosfica.

Referencias
Bennett, J.M. (1993). Cultural marginality: Identity issues in intercultural training. En M.
Paige (Ed.), Education for the intercultural experience (pp.109-135). Yarmouth, ME:
Intercultural Press.
Bennett, J.M. (2009). Cultivating intercultural competence: A process perspective. En D.
Deardorff (Ed.), The SAGE handbook of intercultural competence (pp.121-140).
California: Sage Publications, Inc.
Byram, M. (1997). Teaching and assessing intercultural communicative competence.
Clevedon: Multilingual Matters.
Byram, M. (2001). Language teaching as a political action. En M. Bax & J. Zwart (Eds.),
Reflections on language and language learning. In honour of Arthur van Essen (pp. 91104). Amsterdam y Filadelfia: John Benjamins Publishing Company.
Byram, M. (2008). From foreign language education to education for intercultural
citizenship. LICE Series. Clevedon: Multilingual Matters.
Byram, M. (2009). Intercultural competence in foreign languages. The intercultural speaker
and the pedagogy of foreign language education. En D. Deardorff (Ed.), The SAGE
handbook of intercultural competence(pp.321-332).California: Sage Publications.
Byram, M. (2012). Conceptualizing intercultural (communicative) competence and
intercultural [Link] J. Jackson(Ed.), Routledge handbook of language and
intercultural communication(pp.8597).Abingdon, UK: Routledge.
Faunce, H. (1961). Desert wife. Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press.
Garca Canclini, N. (2003). Noticias recientes sobre la Hibridacin. Revista Transcultural
de Msica, [Link] presentado en la II Reunin del Grupo de Trabajo Cultura y
Transformaciones Sociales en Tiempos de Globalizacin del Consejo
Latinoamericano de Ciencias Sociales (CLACSO), Caracas, del 9 al 11 de noviembre
de 2000.

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Kramsch, C. (1993). Context and culture in language teaching. Oxford: Oxford University
Press.
Kramsch, C. (1998). Language and culture. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Ollmann, H. (1996). Creating higher level thinking with reading [Link] of
Adolescent and Adult Literacy,39(7), 576-581.
Osler, A.,& Starkey, H. (2005).Citizenship and language learning: International
perspectives. Staffordshire: Trentham Books.
Starkey, H. (2007). Language education, identities and citizenship: Developing cosmopolitan
perspectives. Language and Intercultural Communication, 7, 56-71.
Waters, A. (2006). Thinking and language learning. ELT Journal, 60, 319-327.

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8 Cultural bonding in the 21st-century

language classroom
[Link]
S. Carina Fernndez
Universidad Nacional del Comahue, Facultad de Lenguas, AUSMA
Huellas Servicios Educativos, San Martn de los Andes

1. Introduction
This paper intends to reflect the result of classroom experiences in two completely different
learning contexts, one being with young adults at university level and the other, with young
learners at a language school. In the light of Content and Language Integrated Learning
(CLIL), we will try to show how intercultural awareness can be developed no matter the
age or learning objective of the target group.
Our projects are aimed at creating awareness of the importance of cultural bonding
among our students. We believe that this aspect of language learning can be exploited
independently of the learners' age, the learning aims and the classroom environments.

98

2. Cultural bonding
We intend to foster cultural bonding by developing intercultural communicative
competence, as defined by Byram, Gribkova and Starkey (2010, p.10), the ability to
ensure a shared understanding by people of different social identities, and [the] ability to
interact with people as complex human beings with multiple identities and their own
individuality. Creating bonds is a natural characteristic of human beings. When we are
born, we depend on our parents; our family represents security and the natural environment
where we start socialization. Then, kindergarten is the place where, as kids, we start
socializing with our peer group; and this continues throughout our whole life.
In order to fully develop our self- esteem we need to belong to a group, we need to promote
a sense of belonging. Robert Reasoners (1992) programme on building self-esteem in the
classroom fosters five basic attitudes which influence the level of self-esteem: the sense of
security, the sense of identity, the sense of belonging, the sense of purpose and the sense of
competence. He considers adults should encourage the creation of an accepting
environment through the implementation of specific tasks aimed at creating bonds and
group pride. This will contribute to enhance students self-esteem, students affective side.
In other words, our proposal is taking the individual as the starting point, being cultural
bonding with participants of the wider community, the final target.
Providing our learners with competences for their cognitive and affective development
is of utmost importance in our teaching practice. Sharing and learning with others need to
be fully developed in order to grow as human beings.
Nowadays, interchange is totally favoured by communication and information
technologies. The emergence of the internet has contributed to foster cultural bonding.
99

Bearing in mind that students have opportunities to get in touch with people from around
the world and to access information on varied and numerous cultures, it is essential to give
them the tools to confront these new challenges. This is one of the reasons why it is so
important to introduce learners into cultural similarities and differences from an early stage,
but not leaving aside those whose contact with the second language takes place later on in
life. It is not only significant to create bonds but also to create cultural bonds or better
intercultural bonds.

3. CLIL and cultural awareness

CLIL pedagogies place cultural awareness back on the agenda. The 4Cs framework
developed by Coyle (2007) does not separate subject matter and language. It focuses on the
interrelationship between content (subject matter), communication (language), cognition
(learning and thinking) and culture. This framework puts culture at the core. This involves
being socially aware of the self and others; intercultural learning and understanding
potentially permeate CLIL learning and teaching, ... (Coyle, 2007, p.9); the 4Cs
Framework espouses sociocultural theory where social construction of knowledge and
culturally embedded learning permeate the whole (p.11). In the CLIL Compendium, the
culture dimension is meant to build intercultural knowledge and understanding, develop
intercultural communication skills, learn about specific neighbouring countries/regions
and/or minority groups and introduce the wider cultural context. Having this theoretical
background in mind is that we understand that our experiences can be among the research
which tries to study the role of culture in CLIL. ... rich CLIL environments promote the
learners' skills to decentre, take on and mediate between different cultural perspectives ...
100

(Sudhoff, 2010, p. 35).

Developing intercultural communicative competence is a challenge in the 21st century
classroom context. CLIL lessons give us the opportunity to work on a triple- focussed
approach (Sudhoff, 2010, p. 36), foreign language learners combine learning of the L2,
content and interculturality. The linguistic and cultural competences in respect of each
language are modified by knowledge of the other and contribute to intercultural awareness
... (CEFR, 2001, p.43).

4. Teaching contexts
4.1 Adults at an ESP university context
Our research context is an ESP course at university level with future tour guides. To
introduce this context, we should trace back the origin of this course of studies in our
community. There was a need of tourist guides to respond to the requirements of an
international tourist centre. It is important to point out that San Martn de los Andes could
be considered a melting pot where there are descendants of European immigrants known
as NYC (nacido y criado), born and raised; people coming from other parts of the country
VYQ (venido y quedado), came and stayed; and Mapuche people. In other words,
intercultural communication has always been a distinctive feature of our community.
Within these cultural contexts, English was considered the language to be included in the
curricula so as to give future professionals the tools to communicate with foreign visitors.
Consequently, we considered that the development of local identity was a must in the
design of the English syllabus. The projects to be described intend to provide learners with
relevant language to share aspects of our culture in order to empower their communication
101

skills and create bonds with other groups.

Some of our students have had previous experiences with the language. However, they
report these instances as being mainly grammar-oriented. Thus, in most cases, it is the first
time that learners feel the need to use the foreign language to share aspects of their culture
with people from other countries.
Throughout their course of studies, students are confronted to varied situations in
which they need to reflect upon their own culture. Teaching practices are intended to
connect the foreign language to other areas in the curriculum (Content). Students are asked
to retell local legends, describe historical buildings in town, talk about our ancestors and
give information about regional hand- made products.

Culture and language are

permanently and explicitly interacting. ...we attempt to anticipate students language needs
(Language Dimension) i.e. we try to preview possible language problems and provide
support strategies for each of the content/ skills, aimed at being developed, once needs are
identified. Tasks are carefully planned, scaffolded and presented in a logical way. They are
not based on grammatical complexity but on cognitive abilities. (Tavella & Fernndez,
2010). The aim is, as Marsh states, to build knowledge as construction instead of
instruction. (as cited in Barbero, Damascelli &Vittoz, 2009, p.104).
Language support tasks operate at a number of language levels. They normally
support the learner at the level of vocabulary, grammar, function and textual organization,
and in listening, speaking, reading or writing (Barbero, Damascelli &Vittoz, 2009, p.105).
For instance, when we want our students to be able to retell local legends, we need to give
them support tasks at text level. We provide them with sentence starters so that they can
structure their oral speeches and express themselves more confidently.
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First, students get together in groups organized as they wish and start writing their
legends. The teacher corrects the drafts and then, they choose the modality for their
presentation. Role- plays, short videos and puppet shows have been some of their choices.
Students reports reveal that they have enjoyed working together with a specific aim, learnt
from the others and increased oral practice, as numerous repetitions were needed in order to
produce a fluent oral speech. They have gained in language and cultural development. This
activity is aimed at further developing language as well as cultural bonding.

...

interculturally competent language learners are (more) aware of the cultural conventions
underlying the wor(l)ds they encounter and use (Sudhoff, 2010, 32).

4.2 Young learners at a language school

As regards our other context, the objectives are to broaden young learners views of the
world around them, to respect otherness and to promote values related to cultural diversity.
English Language courses offered at Huellas Language School are built around the idea
that multiple opportunities should be provided in order to guarantee successful language
learning. Not everybody learns in the same way and this should also be reflected in
language classes. At Huellas, language learning is placed within a wider context. Students
are encouraged to develop a myriad of skills through a variety of contents. We will refer to
one of the areas particularly relevant to this paper.
Children join different year- round projects connected to varied ethnic and/or minority
peoples and countries. The project we will talk about has been designed to encourage
intercultural awareness. These classroom actions enable the individual to develop an
enriched, more complex personality and an enhanced capacity for further language learning
103

and greater openness to new cultural experiences (CEFR, 2001, p.43).

As opposed to university students who have already been in touch with the content
proposed in the L1 through other subjects in the curricula, most of our young learners (8 to
12 years old), coming from state- run schools in the province of Neuqun, have not yet
been introduced to these topics in the school curricula. Most of the contents are presented
for the first time.
When we talk about English-speaking countries, geographical features, traditions,
festivities, typical dishes, clothing, music and society are among the topics that are tackled.
Young learners are introduced to these cultures through a variety of activities: cooking,
crafts, web searches, role- plays, oral presentations. Depending on the characteristics of the
country to be dealt with and the interests of the group of students in particular, we choose
among the activities mentioned above. As we want to make sure that all our students join
in, we design classroom actions that cater for different learning styles. When students get
in touch with other realities, they are generally able to respect cultural differences and value
cultural similarities. We believe that cultural awareness is of utmost importance in our
community. Then, it should be encouraged from an early age. Experiencing and
understanding a foreign language in a content- based way opens doors to intercultural
learning processes. (Sudhoff, 2010, p.32). It is worth mentioning that in the assessments
we carry out at the end of each academic year, culture projects have always been mentioned
as young learners favourites.

5. Role of the teacher in both contexts

In the section above we have described two very different teaching contexts, age and
104

learners aims vary widely. Nevertheless, the teachers role and the teachers challenges are
the same.
Learners are placed at the centre of the learning process. Respecting learners
differences is one of our most important proposals. Teachers have to take key decisions
about what will be taught, how it will be taught, when it will be taught, and how it will be
assessed will be made in reference to the learner. (Nunan, 1999, p. 11).
Teachers are conceived under Underhills idea (1999) of facilitator. By Facilitator I
mean a teacher in any educational setting who understands the topic, is skilled in the use of
current teaching methods and techniques, and who actively studies and pays attention to the
psychological learning atmosphere and the inner processes of learning on a moment by
moment basis, with the aim of enabling learners to take as much responsibility for their
learning as they can (p.126).
Working with culture is more risk- taking for the teacher, language queries cannot
always be predicted and preplanned. This aspect can be very challenging or even,
overwhelming for the 21st- century language teacher. At times they feel that they cannot
cope with students demands. Nevertheless, we believe that student- centred approaches
which place culture at the core have more benefits than drawbacks.

6. Next steps with adults at the university context

We are now in the process of gathering data to re-evaluate the contents which form part of
the English syllabus. Surveys are being carried out so as to know the opinions of students
(future professionals) and teachers of other subjects about the relevance of the topics. The
idea is to update the syllabus according to the present needs of a community that is in
105

constant growth and change.

Another aspect to be considered for the reformulation of the syllabus is the cultural
background of the students we receive. This is a very important trait if we want to
strengthen local identity in a town where there is such a myriad of origins and realities.

7. Next steps with young learners at Huellas

Critical reflection is adopted as a means to help the project grow. Asking ourselves
questions about our teaching, about our attitudes, about our students is our constant
position. We intend to be self- critical in order to reformulate and adopt changes when
needed (Tavella, 2004). This reflection is considered an essential component of all the
projects implemented at Huellas. Consequently, new ideas and new groups widen the
original objective of our culture projects.
We still need to incorporate aspects of our local identity in a community which is an
international tourist centre and a very small town where people from different origins and
cultures live together. This need has emerged from students own comments in class.

8. Conclusion
In neither of the above described contexts, we are talking about a language or a culture
class, both, language and culture, are interconnected and form part of the same classroom
practices. In foreign language learning contexts, the immanent tie between language and
culture bears a significant potential for intercultural learning processes. (Sudhoff, 2010,
p.31) Language is noticed, analysed, taught and expanded in terms of the cultural content
we want to deal with.
106

We consider that learning how to respect and value others is very enriching for young
learners. When students learn this from an early age, they are ready for cultural bonding. In
the case of adult learners, who have in most cases had previous contacts with other cultures,
it is relevant to use the L2 as a means to revalue their own culture and be able to share it
with others.
By

recognising

cultural

similarities

and

differences,

we

clearly

promote

internationalism, the bonding of groups across national and state frontiers (Byram, 2011,
p.11). Thus, we educate to know, to do, to live together and to be (UNESCO, 1998).

References
Barbero, Damascelli & Vittoz (2009). Integrating the Common European Framework of
Reference (CEFR) with CLIL. In Marsh & Mehisto; Wolff, Aliaga, Asikainen, FrigolsMartin, Hughes & Lang (Eds.), CLIL Practice: Perspectives from the Field (pp.102109). Finland, University of Jyvskyl: CCN.
Byram, M., Gribkova, B., & Starkey, H. (2002). Developing the intercultural dimension in
language teaching: a practical introduction for teachers. Retrieved from:
[Link]
Byram, M. (2011). Intercultural citizenship from an internationalist perspective. Journal of
the NUS Teaching Academy, 1(1), 10-20.
CLIL COMPENDIUM Retrieved from: [Link]
Council of Europe (2001). Common European Framework of Reference for Languages:
Learning, teaching and assessment. Cambridge: CUP.
Coyle, D. (2007). Content and Language Integrated Learning: Towards a connected
research agenda for CLIL pedagogies. International Journal of Bilingual Education
and Bilingualism, 10(5), 543- 562.
Delors, J. (1998). Learning: The treasure within. Report to UNESCO of the International
Commission on Education for the Twenty-first Century. Paris: UNESCO Publishing.
Retrieved from: [Link]
Marsh, D., & Wolff, D. (Eds.). (2007). Diverse contexts converging goals: CLIL in
Europe. Frankfurt: Peter Lang.
Nunan, D. (1999) Second Language Teaching and Learning. Boston: Heinle & Heinle.
Reasoner, R. (1992). Building self-esteem in the elementary schools. California: Consulting
Psychologists Press, Inc.
Sudhoff, J. (2010). CLIL and intercultural communicative competence: Foundations and
approaches towards a fusion. International CLIL Research Journal, 1(3).
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Tavella, G. (2004). Enhancing language learning through affective approaches

(Unpublished MA dissertation). Leeds, UK: Leeds Metropolitan University.
Tavella, G., & Fernndez, C. (2010). CLIL in an ESP context. Proceedings from 1
Congreso/VI Jornadas 2010 El conocimiento como espacio de Encuentro. General
Roca: FADEL, UNCo.
Underhill, A. (1999). Facilitation in language teaching. In J. Arnold (Ed.), Affect in
language learning (pp. 125- 141). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

108

9 Interweaving critical reading of

media texts and culture in a first year
teacher training college
Claudia Naom
Leandro Carreo
ISP Joaqun V. Gonzlez

1. The genesis of our work

Teacher Training Colleges in Buenos Aires include some form of Cultural Studies in their
Curricula. This is done through various subjects namely Literary Studies, History and
Language. ISP Joaqun V. Gonzlez includes two further subjects: Geography and
Culture of the USA and Geography and Culture of the British Isles. The approach to
Cultural Studies provided by these subjects is saturated with media texts but can students
actually read these texts critically?
There were three main purposes to our work. On the one hand, the aim was to raise
students awareness on issues concerning the construction of the Other in the written media
and how language contributes to this construction. On another level, we wanted to
109

introduce students to critical reading while furthering the deconstruction of the discursive
mediation of the social sphere. A third purpose was to introduce students to research work
during their first year course.
For the first stage of the research, a group of students from ISP Joaqun V. Gonzlez
was asked to participate in a project which would study the construction of the Other in the
media. At preliminary stages, students suggested working with a particular case published
in several articles from The Guardian, in particular how this newspaper chose to present the
riots which involved the Muslim and Sikh communities in 2011. The case was chosen
because, at the time, students had been discussing immigration in Britain and had been
shocked by the amount of violence and injustice the riots had caused. They carried out
thorough investigation of these communities, which required reading about immigration in
Britain, trying to understand the difference in the religious approaches of the ethnic groups
and the cultural diversity in terms of their respective sets of values and traditions. They
presented these findings in September 2012 during a seminar organised by EDAPI (Equipo
de Desarrollo Acadmico, Publicacin e Investigacin from Instituto de Educacin
Superior Joaqun V. Gonzlez). One of the elements which students contributed to the
project was how members of the Sikh community are confused with the Middle East
Muslim community and how all immigrant groups have to bear the effect of stereotyping,
which is the result of constructing an Other of special characteristics based on how the
cultural features of singular groups are seen by members of the various immigrant
communities.

110

Primarily, we decided to adopt Donald Mathesons concept that language and human
society are inextricable (Matheson, 2005, p.3). We thus analysed language trying to reach
the representations of the world that were reflected in the media texts chosen.
Results, though preliminary, demonstrate how various types of analyses can further
students understanding of media cultures in relation to the construction of the Other.
Students were made aware of the multicultural feature of British society and in what way
racial issues seem to be blurred in the written media, especially in a newspaper like The
Guardian, whose foundational purpose was precisely to avoid discrimination.

2. Some basic concepts

For many academics1, the role that language plays is that of giving shape to what people
think or experience. However, people may also think outside the conventions of language.
(Montgomery, 1995 in Matheson, 2005 p.5). This happens when individuals are
consciously thinking and can make choices which are different from certain socially
accepted linguistic conventions. For example, they may make a conscious effort not to use
gendered language. But when they are not consciously thinking, they may resort to current
socially determined patterns of language and these patterns are culturally and ideologically
loaded. As a result, journalists and media producers hardly ever avoid vocabulary
determined by power structures. For authors such as Van Dijk (2000), there is a systematic
ideological bias which can be analysed through the language used in the media. Matheson
(2005) suggests that a critical analysis of media texts is not only linguistic but it is an
analysis of the results of the dominance of certain social interests and what these have
imprinted in language.
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Some consideration on the concepts of power and culture needed to be made clear and
were discussed with the students participating in the project. We agreed with Fairclough
(1989), Matheson (2005), and Van Dijk (2000) that dominant groups use language to
maintain unequal relationships in society. By the same token, culture is thought to be a site
of the struggle of many power groups to keep their dominance, their power (Matheson,
2005).
For Gramsci (1932-1933), power is how certain groups manage to persuade others in
society that their ideas and interests are right. In other words, those with more power
impose their perspectives making these appear as natural truths beyond dispute.
Furthermore, the notion of truth needs to be revised. The media are not simple channels of
communication which open a view to what is assumed to be true. Social sciences and the
study of signs (Semiotics) have contributed to question the notion of truth in the media
since the 1950s. (Branston.& Stafford, 2010, p. 12). In terms of Foucault (1966), each
society creates its own system of truth, according to its beliefs, values and idiosyncratic
characteristics, that is why, he goes as far as to identify five necessary elements for the
construction of truth:
the centering of truth on scientific discourse, accountability of truth to
economic and political forces, the diffusion and consumption of truth through
what we now know as the media, the control of the distribution of truth by
political and economic apparatuses, and the fact that truth is the issue of a
whole political debate and social confrontation(Foucault: 1966, p. 131).

The notion of truth was central to our study since it is essential for the media to create
the idea that what they publish is true. Moreover, the construction of an Other in the
media depends on the views of the Other which prevail at a certain historical period.

112

The analysis of views on the Other date back to 20th Century Cultural Anthropology.
Anthropologists consider three moments in history which determine how the hegemonic
culture constructed the Other. A first stage was early Colonialism, during which Europeans
needed to know and interact with the colonised Other, but understanding was not expected.
This interaction gave rise to later developments of Colonialism and concepts such as
Metropolis versus Colony, where the former meant Europe while the latter obviously meant
the colonies. The notions of Us and the Other clearly reflect this division. When
Colonialism was well developed in the 20th Century, the relationship with the colonies
changed and Europeans needed an understanding of the Other. As a result, diversity was
acknowledged while there was acceptance of the fact that each cultural group satisfies its
basic needs in such a way that this is comprehended only by the members of that particular
culture. Functional Anthropology explains this process. After decolonisation, the Other is
seen as a product of inequalities, in other words: the result of unequal distribution of power
within society. The Other is not a member of the hegemonic culture. (Lvi-Strauss in
Llobera, J., 1988).
The problem of racism and the media also needs to be addressed. Van Dijk states that
although the media purposely deny racism, they have an important role in its reproduction.

Since public discourse potentially reaches a large audience, it is this

latter, social form of denial that is most influential, and, therefore most
damaging: it is the social discourse of denial that persuasively helps
construct the dominant white consensus. (Van Dijk, T., 2000, p. 543)

113

3. Our work
We asked a group of students taking their first year course at Joaqun V. Gonzlez if they
would like to join a research group that would try to determine how the British and
American written media constructed representations of others.
At this point, we must add a caveat. We questioned ourselves from which standpoint
we could carry out our work without either taking the rigid stand of the hegemonic culture
or the weakened stand of the Other, those belonging to different ethnic groups. It was
agreed with students that we would always keep in mind the position from which we would
question a text i.e. acknowledging the limitations that our own culture imposed on us.
At a first meeting, students stated their interest in a case that had taken place in the UK
in the year 2011. In particular they concentrated on the death of three Muslim young men
who had been murdered when they were protecting a petrol station from looters. A car
charged against the crowd killing two of them while the other man died in hospital. The
riots had started a few days before, after the killing of Mark Duggan in an exchange fire
which involved a special police group that deals with gun crime in the African and
Caribbean communities. This event led to riots all over England and, in Birmingham, it
gave rise to the killing of Haroon Jahan and two other men. This was thought to be a racial
crime. Both the Sikh and the Muslim communities mourned the three men killed in
Birmingham.
The articles the students worked with were published in The Guardian a few days after
the incidents mentioned above. The reason why we chose the Guardian was mainly because
of its development in terms of principles and beliefs. Since its beginning, this newspaper
has claimed an objective approach towards their job, stating ideas such as "comments are
114

free, but facts are sacred. It is in this context that we wanted to analyse whether those solid
principles

were

actually

carried

out

in

their

daily

delivery

of

news.

In addition, and for the sake of the investigation, we decided it was necessary, at least at
first, to narrow down the number of sources from which we were taking articles, so as to
make the analysis more reliable.
Once the choice of newspaper articles was settled, we began our analysis from
different perspectives. Fairclough (1995) states that media texts are communicative events
in which there are major temporal and spatial disjunctions, i.e. they are produced at a
different time and place from those of their consumption. As a result, he claims that they
are based on a chain of communicative events and involve the public and the private
sphere. This is discussed below. It was also established that the articles were news reports
because they contained the following features typically present in the genre:

1. Most of them were event-based and communicatively-based.

2. They aimed at objectivity as they presented a diversity of voices, opinions,
perspectives of the event being discussed.
3. They were informative not evaluative or persuasive. (However, they were opinion
forming).
4. Most of the sources were interviews made to demonstrators.

The following features were considered singular, especially the last, but essential to
construct an assumption of truth on the part of the reader.

115

5. The reports drew from the speech of the father of one of the dead boys. Interestingly
enough, one could see how the bereavement of the relatives of the dead men was
made public in the photos chosen by the newspaper, in the captions, in some of the
quotations. This managed to build sympathy towards the families of the victims.
6. One of the articles was exclusively made up of direct quotations from different
participants in the demonstration after the death of the boys, thus giving the
impression of a live interview on TV or radio. Only the voices of those involved
were present, which personalised the event.

For Fairclough (1995 p. 43), one important concern is whose voices exercise
constraints in the structuring of media texts. This will directly affect the ethos (the
trustworthiness of the newspaper, its credibility) of newspaper articles. The Scott Trust plc
is the present owner of The Guardian and The Observer. The aim of the trust is stated in the
following words:
To secure the financial and editorial independence of the Guardian in
perpetuity; as a quality national newspaper without party affiliation;
remaining faithful to its liberal tradition; as a profit-seeking enterprise
managed in an efficient and cost-effective manner. (The Guardian
News and Media Archive)

One of the topics of discussion was whether in this world ruled by market forces, it is so
easy to maintain these aims and how much the printed media have to leave aside to
compete with such media outlets as TV, the Web, etc.

116

4. Applying functional systemic analysis

To establish the interaction between the concepts mentioned above, namely, power, culture,
an assumption of truth and how language is used to create an Other, we needed to
understand how institutions such as newspapers use language to reflect their own interests
and intentions.
Discourse allows us to understand (among other things) the interaction between people,
people and the world, institutions and people, the powerful and the weak members of
society. So discourse is part of a network of relations where language, power and identity
have a role. (Matheson, 2005 p.1).
The linguistic choices made in the articles were analysed on the basis that language
users have a limited range of options given by language to choose words and combine
them. In the reports analysed several examples of these euphemisms were found. Acts of
retribution was used instead of revenge; mown down is a euphemism for run over.
This metaphor was used to indicate not an accident but a wilful action to destroy, to uproot
somehow. This referred to the three Muslim men killed by the hit-and-run driver-who
apparently was a new black immigrant - when the former were guarding a petrol station
from rioters .These choices show the site or location or position from which the writer
chooses to write. (Matheson, 2005 p.20)
Another interesting point is labelling, which constitutes a support for prejudice.
Examples from the reports the group worked on led us into thinking that racial tension lies
not only in the case of Whites against all others. In this particular case, it is old immigrants
against new immigrants though both are not white and both are poor. This conclusion was
reached based on the following:
117

1. The use of metonymical words such as the worshippers (the Sikhs and Muslims),
which connotes religiosity and thus a high moral standard opposed to the looters,
which refers mainly to

Jamaican and other Black youths who were allegedly

looting stores.
2. A very interesting use of the words MAN and MEN. In reference to those hit-andrun individuals. One article states: two boys and a man were arrested, which is
typical of police reports. The identities are hidden, of course, but there is avoidance
of any adjectives regarding race. This indicates the choice of neutrality that the
journalist has made in order to appear objective. But, when the words are used to
refer to the Sikh and Muslim members, the word man and men are used to refer to
culturally shared knowledge. Only men go out to protest, women stay behind. So
here, the underlying effect is not to associate the people with crime but with
identity.
3. Many times the word community is used in reference mainly to the Sikhs and
Muslims who live in the area of Birmingham. References to the community are its
fortitude, its tolerance, etc. all of which indicate positive values. While, on the
other hand, Winson Green, the geographical name of the area, is associated with
crime, looting and men behind masks who are also referred to as the outsiders. In
turn, members from the community are referred to as locals. An area in
Birmingham known as Edgbaston is classified as upmarket by one member of the
community while another area, Soho, is classified as poor in the claim he makes
against the authorities for having changed the constituency boundaries.

118

4. Immigrants in the 1960s is contrasted directly with new immigrants. This

binary opposition reflects the internal conflict mentioned above.
5. Some African-Caribbean and White mourners passed on their condolences
Here, attention is drawn to the quantifier SOME. This quantifier rules out ALL,
MOST, or merely African-Caribbean and Whites. The journalist made some
concession to members of the group of new immigrants, who are in another article
identified as Jamaicans. The aim here is clearly to appear objective while, at the
same time, pinpointing the racial difference and the category of immigrants
members of the community are.

As was mentioned above, one of the texts (The Guardian: Friday, December 9 th, 2011) was
entirely based on quotations from one participant in the riots, a boy of 16. It is an
interesting form chosen by the journalist to report the event. The journalist seems to have
chosen the voice of this teenager to ridicule the reasons why rioters went out on the streets.

The first thing that came to my mind? Lets get wild, lets do it.

In addition, we found interesting issues to discuss which contribute to questioning the

notion of truth in the statements found in the articles. Following Trew (1979), we analysed
one of the articles which presents a statement by the Prime Minister. The journalist states:
David Cameron said on Wednesday that the riots had brought out some of the best of
Britain. David Cameron seems to reflect the views of the social groups who hold power in
Britain and who prefer to hide inequalities and injustices while expressing solidarity with
119

victims of these injustices. However, a deeper analysis of the statement highlighted the
strategies made possible through language choices.
The noun riot effectively conceals the main participant: the agent. A riot is
associated with unrestrained behaviour, which we should be able to attribute to human
actors. However, riot here effectively masks the doers of the action thus diverting the
attention from the real protagonists. As regards the type of process represented by bring
out, it also successfully disguises the doer as if the action had been performed by itself or
had come about spontaneously while at the same time involving an actor . In this case, this
actor has an unidentified collective reference, which we take it to be the rioters. Finally,
Cameron takes advantage of the event to focus on the best of Britain, which is not
accidentally in final (thus focal) position. This strategy obliterates the events and the actors
and places emphasis on a much more crowd-pleasing ending.

The rest of the article highlights the attitude of the Sikh and Muslim communities, who
decided not to demonstrate after the killing of three of their members. This contrasts
heavily with other members who expressed a different reaction- mostly young people-and
who were shouted down. The article ends with A handful of masked youth walked
away and some younger contingent sniggered as he spoke. They were the same
teenagers shaking their heads later, as the tide of opinion turned against street protest.
This obviously associates riots to both young people and masked people, which is the
position that the newspaper takes throughout a series of articles on the event.

120

Therefore, it seems that the newspapers stand establishes a binary opposition: violent
youths against peaceful middle aged men. In the same vein, other articles contrast newly
arrived Jamaicans and recent immigrants from Eastern Europe with the substantial
Pakistani community since the 1960s, thus pitching old immigrants against newly arrived
immigrants.
The police are also mentioned in some of the articles. In one, young men who were
approached by the media outside a mosque stated that the police had failed to protect them.
In another article, the police are said to have kept a low profile. The narrative of the events
following the death of the three young men expresses the idea that violence is subdued,
that members of the community are keeping an attitude of self-control but that wrath runs
underneath.

5. Our conclusions
We set out to work on awareness of the construction of others in British society in the
written media. By analysing how language is used in a particular newspaper, we began to
understand how this paper made linguistic choices to express a certain position, which is
sometimes capable of hiding meanings. The study has to be continued to confirm that this
also happens in other newspapers in order to reach more solid generalisations, therefore
more research and analysis need to be carried out . We also presented students with a
different way of reading texts while questioning the concepts of truth and power manifest
in them. Students participating in the project felt empowered as they carried out the
reading of theoretical material and applied it to the analysis of texts. Although preliminary,
121

this work has allowed them to distance themselves from any piece of news and take a
critical stand on the way information is presented.
We feel that our work has only begun and we think it is by no means a final piece of
work. Nonetheless, students learnt to look for more in texts than meets the eye. They
became much more interested in immigration in the UK and in understanding a
multicultural society a fact that, we feel, may have given them an insight into their own
society.

Notes
1. It is not within the scope of this paper to discuss Linguistic Relativism and its
limitations, but the work of Gumperz and Levinson (Gumperz, John J. and Levinson,
Stephen C. editors. 1996. Rethinking Linguistic Relativity. New York. Cambridge
University Press) can be referred to. An interesting paper by Lera Boroditsky, a
cognitive psychologist, can be accessed online at [Link] She
states: Because English speakers often use horizontal metaphors about time, they
might grow to think about time horizontally even when not explicitly processing a
spaciotemporal metaphor.

References
Branston, G., & Stafford, R. (2010). The media students book (5th Edition). London and
New York: Routledge.
Fairclough, N. (1989). Language and power. London and New York: Longman.
Fairclough, N. (1995). Media discourse. London: Edward Arnold.
Foucault, M. (1966).The order of [Link] York: Random House.
Gramsci, A. (1932-33). Cuadernos de la crcel.(1982) Edicin Crtica de Valentino
Gerratana: Cuaderno 11. Mxico. ERA. p. 296-297
Lvi-Strauss, C. (1988). Las tres Fuentes de la reflexin etnolgica. In Llobera, J. (Ed.),La
antropologa como ciencia (pp. 47 54).Barcelona: Anagrama.
Matheson, D. (2005). Media discourses. Analysing media texts. Glasgow: Open University
Press.
Trew, T. (1979).Theory and ideology at [Link] R. Fowler, B. Hodge, K. Kress& T. Trew
(Eds.), Language and control (pp. 185 213). London and New York: Routledge.

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List of articles
The Guardian
[Link]
[Link]
[Link]
[Link]
[Link]
[Link]
[Link]
[Link]
[Link]
[Link]
[Link]
[Link]
[Link]
[Link]
[Link]

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10 Meet the words: a philological and

socio-cultural approach to discourse
analysis at teacher training college
Florencia I. Viale
IES N 28 Olga Cossettini

1. Introduction
Decades of structuralist submission were swept away in the seventies when the
functionalists came up with the idea that language cannot be understood, and therefore
analysed, without considering the context within which words come to life. This situation,
both of a linguistic and extra-linguistic nature, unravels a number of factors that will
condition the choice of syntax, meaning, register and roles that encode the pre-existing
ideas which we intend to communicate. Thus, Pragmatics understood as the study of
language in use, and in vogue in the 70s gained new significance and became an inherent
component of the hitherto omnipotent Linguistics.
The concept of communicative language ability coined by Bachman in 1990, however,
lacks a fundamental component for effective language development, which has been
neglected for years and which presupposes great proficiency: the metaphoric competence

124

(Littlemore & Low, 2006). Metaphors are closely bound to our reality and, consequently,
filter in our everyday reasoning. Their significance has been widely acknowledged insofar
as humans think, express and live by metaphors (Lakoff & Johnson, 1980).
Contrary to Saussures notion of arbitrariness, language can only become significant to
the learner when it can be attached to a particular reality, and that reality is nothing but a
metaphoric representation of the world around us. Research on the origin and etymology of
certain expressions totally artificial at first sight- might expose revelatory data. By
encouraging students to hear the story the word has to tell we teachers are also encouraging
a more empathetic attitude towards both the system and its speakers insofar as the new
discoveries contribute to shed light on the apparently obscure bond between form and
meaning. Hallidays reference to language texture is nothing but a metaphor, and metaphors
are the guiding principles of human thought and behaviour. By exploiting its sensory effect,
learners are introduced to a completely new world of meaning. Words gain new
significance because their story, the very essence of their existence helps the learner grasp
its full signification. It is only through this non-arbitrary approach that their hidden voice
becomes heard.
The present paper intends to pose a reflection on the way language should be presented
to, analysed and experienced by advanced college students in order to enhance successful
processing and production. Personal experience at this level reveals a general tendency to
failure at comprehension skills, the result of the students incapacity to see language from
above and beyond (Halliday, 1989).

125

2. What is meaning?
Hayakawa (1990, p. 34) states that according to common belief
Every word has a correct indisputable meaning and that teachers and books are the
supreme authority in matters of meaning and usage. [] (However) The writing of
a dictionary is not a task of setting up authoritative statements about the true
meanings or words, but a task of recording, the best of ones ability, what various
words have meant to authors in the distant and immediate past. The writer of a
dictionary is a historian, not a lawgiver.

The Merriam-Websters Encyclopedia defines meaning as the sense of a linguistic

expression, sometimes understood in contrast to its referent. This sense, however, can be
approached through different perspectives to reconstruct a different object of analysis.
Definitions, however, are often far from enlightening. Citing Borges (as cited in Foucault,
1966, p. xvi) we come across the following entry:
animals are divided into: (a) belonging to the Emperor, (b)embalmed, (c) tame, (d) sucking pigs, (e)
sirens, (f) fabulous, (g)stray dogs, (h) included in the present classification, (i) frenzied,
(j)innumerable, (k) drawn with a very fine camelhair brush, (l) et cetera,(m) having just broken the
water pitcher, (n) that from a long way offlook like flies.

Following Foucaults analysis, what is demonstrated through this fabulous taxonomy is the
limitation of our own (thoughts), the stark impossibility of thinking that(p. xviii) taking
into consideration that language is often incapable of encompassing the vastness of
experience.
Thus, we might have to acknowledge different angles to the process of defining a
word: its denotative value (direct specific meaning), its connotative implications (the
associated idea), its pragmatic significance (the bond between the word and its context and

126

users), or its rhetorical power (or effectiveness). Hayakawa (1990) distinguishes between
extensional and intensional meaning, the former related to what the utterance points at in
the physical world and the latter referring to what is suggested inside ones head (p. 37).
In all cases, the link between the expression and its referent might vary considerable. For
this reason, it is necessary to re-conceptualise our attempts at defining words, in particular
when dealing with advanced EFL courses.
Having clarified this semantic taxonomy it is worth relating the class observation that
gave birth to the present discussion.

3. Case study
After years of lecturing and evaluating English Language at teacher training college, I have
recurrently noticed that students/teachers-to-be,who are almost on the verge of obtaining
their degrees, are still struggling to successfully make sense of written texts, not to mention
the added difficulty of encoding their own views in the production of their own material.
Serious comprehension mistakes are recurrent, board after board, in spite of the candidates
use of supporting dictionaries. At first the conflict seemed to stem from the complexity of
the input and the time constraints, before which the helping tools proved ineffective. When
discussing the same samples in class alongside the students, I gradually realised that the
main trouble lay in the ineffective use of the dictionary definitions. Advanced students still
seemed to show overreliance on the entries that best fit the use in the given text without
ever questioning the true significance of that denotation, or, what is more, its origins.

127

This comprehension deficiency desperately called for a different approach to the

analysis of texts, making the most of the data provided in dictionaries, but encouraging a
more inclusive and open-minded decoding of the information.
As a result of this change in perspective, discourse analysis launched in the different
direction, oriented towards a true understanding of the words in question by actually
meeting them face-to-face. This figure of speech meant the critical discussion of the
meaning of words by observing their background and their applications in other spheres,
thus gaining a clearer and more visual interpretation of their use in the given context.

4. A semantic parable
Bevan (as cited in Hayakawa, 1966, p. 76) introduces the following argument within the
field of Politics, a discussion that can perfectly well apply to other spheres in which
language is the medium of expression which after all means every single aspect of
human activity.
He (the student of politics) must also be on his guard against the old words (added
emphasis), for the words persist when the reality that lay behind them has changed.
It is inherent in our intellectual activity that we seek to imprison reality in our
description of it Soon, before we realize it, it is we who become the prisoners of the
description. From that point on, our ideas degenerate into a kind of folklore which
we pass to each other, fondly thinking we are still talking of the reality around us.

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This linguistic chaos must inevitably call for some order, within which to understand what
is hidden in each word we utter, in an attempt to gain further sensitivity about the meaning
of language.

5. The order of things

According to Foucault there is a syntax that binds not only words among themselves but
also holds together words and the thing. This binding follows four main processes of
resemblance, namely: convenience, emulation, analogy and sympathy. To search for
meaning, then, is to bring to light a resemblance (Foucault, 1966, p. 33). In other words
To search for the law governing signs is to discover the things that are alike. The
grammar of beings is an exegesis of these things. And what the language they speak
has to tell us is quite simply what the syntax is that binds them together. The nature
of things, their coexistence, the way in which they are linked together and
communicate is nothing other than their resemblance. And that resemblance is
visible only in the network of signs that crosses the world from one end to the other.
Nature is trapped in the thin layer that holds semiology and hermeneutics one
above the other; it is neither mysterious nor veiled, it offers itself to our cognition,
which it sometimes leads astray, only in so far as this superimposition necessarily
includes a slight degree of non-coincidence between the resemblances.
Words reveal themselves as enigmas to be solved, truths to be unveiled, in which case
language is not absolutely arbitrary but, instead, it conveys a hidden meaning which is
waiting to be discovered.

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6. Natural or conventional signs?

Back to Greek times, Plato introduced the argument of the nature of the link that interrelated the two constituents of the sign. In Cratylus, Socrates Platos fictional interlocutor
is is thouroughly questioned about whether names are "conventional" or "natural", that is,
whether is a system of arbitrary signs or whether words have an intrinsic relation to the
things they signify. Lyons (1971) states that it was the philosophers task to discern the
reality that lay behind the appearance of things. Thus was born the practice of conscious
and deliberate etymology. The term itself betrays its origin (etymo- meaning true or
real).
According to Foucault the essence of the sign is inseparable from its analysis;
consequently, we can say that the meaning of language is latent in each word, yet recreated
through the mediation of cognition.
According to Saussure, the nature of the linguistic sign is arbitrary in that there is no
direct connection between the signifier (the shape) and the signified (the concept). Still,
there is enough evidence to support the opposite. Simply by resorting to a philological and
etymological analysis of certain terms it can easily be observed that, at least in its origins,
the link between form and meaning was quite motivated. The two concepts contain in their
inner structure the meaning they intend to convey: philology derives from the Greek
, philos (love) and logos (reasoned word); etymology in turn combines the
Greek etymon (true sense) and the suffix logia (the study of). From this two-fold
perspective, the analysis of language cannot be done exclusively done on the grounds of the
exclusive denotative value of words, since both its connotation and rhetorical force will

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only be grasped insofar as the reader is capable of tracing relevant clues to achieve full
understanding of the true meaning conveyed.
I strongly support the view that the key to effective language analysis lies in meeting
the words, mingling with their past and present, their evolution and the hallmarks they have
left behind. This perspective, however, requires a particular attitude towards language:
passion to discover the truth hidden behind words, and in doing so, readiness to fall in love
with the art of generating meaning each language possesses.

7. Hands-on experience
What follows is an account of some extracts discussed in class as part of the reading
comprehension training. From each passage I have selected the items which I exploited
applying the etymological-cultural approach introduced above.

SAMPLE 1:
a) Discussion of mind related words: Collocations and lexical chains.
b) Video session to illustrate the expression Dangerous minds: Child-net international cyber bullying.
c) Discussion of the term BULLYING. First a derivational and inflectional analysis was
done in order to identify the starting of this concept: bull-y-ing bully (noun= a
blustering browbeating person, one habitually cruel to others who are weaker; verb = to
treat abusively, to affect by means of force or coercion) bull (noun = bovine; verb =
to advance forcefully and often violently). Visual implications:

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Figure 1. Bullying
Source: [Link]

SAMPLE 2: short story Your obituary, well-written by Conrad Aiken (1927) in parallel
discussion with the movie trailer to The Bucket list (Reiner, 2007) in order to approach
the discussion of death euphemisms. Origin of the expression: KICK THE BUCKET. The
bucket is associated with the tool on which the hangman used to stand. If the bucket was
kicked, the man would surely die. The analysis of the etymology of the idiom makes the
link between the bucket and death less arbitrary.
SAMPLE 3: Reading comprehension Cars and real men (Walenn, 1992, p. 111) Extract:
I cannot see how it is possible to confuse driving a car with having sex, and suspect many
people boast of their driving prowess. Discussion of the term PROWESS. Prow-ess
(distinguished bravery, extraordinary ability) Prow (the bow of a ship). In this case the
analogy alludes to sailing, an inherent constituent of the British culture. Visual implication:

Figure 2. Prow
Source: [Link]

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SAMPLE 4: Reading Comprehension Equal at work? (OConnell, 1984, p. 28-29)

Extracts: Hedged about by our own self-images and Women of all types have blazed
trails in new areas In both cases the participle verbs allude to nature. Thus, in order to
make sense of the link that binds form and meaning it is fundamental to go back to it. The
hedge clearly refers to a tangible object (a fence or boundary formed by a dense row of
shrubs or low trees). When applied to affect, it connotes a similar enclosure, but of an
emotional type. The visual representation speaks for itself:

Figure 3. Hedge
Source: [Link]
In the second case, the reference is to fire. The highlighted element denotes an intensely
burning fire but the metaphoric extension alludes to a definite hallmark. The visual
implication evokes a farming context and conveys the idea of ownership and permanence:

Figure 4. Blaze
Source: [Link]

SAMPLE 5: Reading Comprehension How Green were my Fingers (by Peter Buckham,
Punch Magazine). Expression on the spotlight: London locusts. Beyond understanding
the denotation of word locust what is necessary here is to grasp the value of such an
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insect and its effect on country life. Its allusion evokes a biblical tale thus referring to the
damaging effect they might have on people, very much like a plague.
SAMPLE 6: Newspaper article Relaxing in the part the Iron Lady makes a friend. (Daily
Mail, March 19, 2012) Allusion to the Tory wets. The act of belonging to a moderate or
liberal wing of the Conservative party doesnt actually illustrate the choice of expression.
If we add to this the property of lacking strength of character we might get a little closer
to the nature of this expression. If, on the other hand, we relate this to the verb form and its
allusion to the act of urinating on ones trousers we can immediately visualise a child in
this situation. Thus, being a wet derogatorily refers to being like a child.
SAMPLE 7. Cambridge Proficiency Released Use of English paper (2006). Extract: When
television condones or censors, it is measuring the opinion of at least part of the
population; when audiences boycott certain shows The three choices allude to control
over a situation. The first term finds its roots in the Latin condonare (give up, often
applied to Matrimony and giving way to the discussion of divorce). The second can also
be traced in the Latin language meaning appraise, value, judge. The last term results from
a proper name and results from the behaviour of the Irish Charles Boycott and his refusal to
lower rents for his tenant farmers.

8. Final considerations
This methodology has been welcomed among students, who most of the times had been
ignorant to the real interpretations of words, prior to the suggested tips. The general
tendency was for students to feel lost before the triggering questions but, once scaffolded
throughout the analysis of the chosen words, they managed to see the significance of this
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technique and even manifest some wonder at the possible associations that could be
established.
In conclusion, and quoting Joseph Conrad in Lord Jim we, language teachers, can and
should aspire to achieve this: [] by the power of the written word, to make (students)
hear, to make (them) feel--it is, before all, to make (them) see.

References
Foucault, M. (1966). The order of things. New York: Routledge.
Hayakawa, S.I. (1990). Language in thought and action. USA: Harcourt Brace and
Company.
Lakoff, G., & Johnson, M. (1980). Metaphors we live by. Chicago and London: The
University of Chicago Press.
Littlemore, J., & Low, G. (2006).Metaphoric competence and communicative language
ability. Applied Linguistics, 27(2), 268 294.
Lyons, J. (1971) Introduction to theoretical Linguistics. Edinburg: OUP.
Halliday, M.A.K, & Hasan, R. (1989). Language, context, and text: Aspects of language in
a social-semiotic perspective. USA: Oxford University Press.
Merriam- Websters online dictionary. At
OConnell, S. (1984). Focus on proficiency. Glasgow: OUP.
Saussure, F. (1983). Course in general linguistics. New York: Open Court Publishing
Company.
Video links: Childnet international - cyber bullying retrieved July 2012.
Walenn, J. (1992). Passport to Cambridge proficiency. Students book. London: Macmillan
Publishers Ld.
Online Dictionary of Etymology

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11 Future teachers: Identities,

trajectories and projections
Flavia S. Bonadeo
ISP N 8 Almirante G. Brown

Maria Susana Ibez

ISP N 8 Almirante G. Brown and UNL

1. Introduction
These are times of change in teacher education since during 2013 and 2014 the curriculum
designs for teacher education are to be revised (Res. 167/12 CFE, Res. 2373/12, Ministry of
Education) for new curricula to be implemented in 2015 at the latest. These changes
respond to other innovations --compulsory inclusive secondary education and the
incorporation of information technology to school everyday practices, among others. Future
teachers will teach in schools which differ greatly both from those they knew as students
and from the perceptions about school that permeate teacher education. In this light, reform
can be taken as an opportunity to accommodate our programmes to these new cultural
demands.
This process compels us to make informed decisions that need to incorporate our
students voices among other valuable, significant sources. This perception motivated our

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research group to inquire into the trajectories, identities and projections of the future
teachers of English with the purpose of constructing a knowledge-base which can
illuminate reform and change teaching practices.
In this article we intend to briefly present the theoretical categories and the
methodological choices in our study and then concentrate on the interpretation of the
students perceptions of the teaching profession and their assessments of their own
trajectories in the light of narrative identities (Ricoeur, 1991 in Holler & Keppler,
2013)and the travel chronotope (Bakhtin, 1981).

2. Conceptual framework
One of our research aims was to identify and analyze the evaluations our students make of
their trajectories in our institution, how they narrate their identities as members of our
college community and how they envisage their profession in their imaginative projections.
Trajectories are understood as the paths students choose, either purposefully or by
default, to complete their course of studies. Even though the curriculum prescribes a
duration and a

route by establishing course requirements, students self-constructed

trajectories include shortcuts, detours, halts and times different from the prescribed ones
(Nicastro & Greco, 2009, p. 23-4). Trajectories can be approached statistically by analysing
and correlating quantifiable data and by making generalizations, but this approach fails to
capture the uniqueness and individuality of trajectories and the role perceptions and
expectations play in the way students navigate through the course. As in discourse the
narrative of a trajectory is displayed in time and space, a concept that we have found useful

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for our analysis is that of the chronotope, i.e. the way in which time and space are
represented in narrative (Bakhtin, 1981, p. 84).
Ricoeur defined narrative identity as the sort of identity to which a human being has
access thanks to the mediation of the narrative function (1991, in Keppler, 2013). The
students narrative identities respond to the relationships they establish in their educational
community, to what they think, feel and do in that community, and to the way they relate
their educational trajectories and their imaginative projections. The latter (Atkins &
Mackenzie, 2013) involve the future which is imagined out of the materials provided by the
understanding of the norms governing our lives. Coincidentally, the identification and
acceptance of norms also contributes to narratives of identity, independently of the efforts
one may make towards self-narrative and of the evaluations made of oneself and ones life
(Atkins, 2010, p. 1-2).

3. Methodological approach
Given the complex nature of our object of inquiry, our research group opted for a combined
quantitative-qualitative methodology. We designed a number of instruments for data
collection, each with multiple purposes: a survey, the analysis of institutional records,
workshops and interviews. The on-line survey, which contained closed and open questions
and which was answered by 110 students, yielded information about their family, social,
educational and cultural backgrounds. Some questions inquired about the reasons for
choosing to become teachers of English and their assessment of the course, which rendered
information we then used to plan subsequent stages of data collection. The analysis of
institutional records allowed us to place second to fourth year students in three groups
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according to how their trajectories approximated the one proposed by the curriculum. Out
of each group, we selected six students whose characteristics were close to the tendencies
which had emerged in the survey with respect to gender, provenance, work status and
previous educational histories.
Two workshops were then carried out involving the selected students and three
students from the first year, who were randomly chosen. In the first workshop the students
were asked to write a very short spontaneous narrative text about the moment they decided
to become teachers of English and about what it meant to be a teacher of English today. In
the second workshop they had to draw their progress along the course, including the forces
that benefitted them and the obstacles they had found. In both workshops students
commented on their production and these comments were audio recorded, transcribed and
analysed following the proposal made by Critical Discourse Analysis (Fairclough, 2004).
The analysis of discourses produced by the students, which employed the categories of
chronotope and agency, permitted us to identify some self-narratives and some
representations of the teaching profession, the teaching of English, schools, the teacher
education institution, studying and learning, and about the participants involved in the
different educational processes of which students had been part or of which they planned to
be part.
In order to delve into these representations we interviewed three students who had
participated in the workshops and who were representative of the three different groups
referred to above. The interviews were semi-structured, and organized as a conversation
where the interviewers told students what our doubts were regarding what had been said
during the workshops, and students clarified that which we said we did not understand. We
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centered on what they meant by vocation, what they intended to do when they graduate,
how they related to the educational community and how important different subjects were.
The analysis of interview and workshop transcripts, written and graphic productions and
survey answers allow us to describe trajectories, to approach students narrative identities
and to inquire into their imaginative projections, since CDA provides the tools to access
beliefs and ideologies via linguistic analysis.

4. The travel chronotope in students trajectories

The chronotope of students trajectories could be described as a travel chronotope
(Bakthin, 1981) because of the presence of progress and halts, of sequences relating
adventure, the experience of metamorphosis and the finding of threats and obstacles along
the way. Within this chronotope students included a sequence which predated the beginning
of their studies at college, and which consists of a series of events and decisions: being
sent by their parents to a language school is a stage in most of their narratives; all students
include a moment when they understand that their studies of the foreign language are not an
imposition any longer but a source of joy, and many of them narrate the moment when they
realize they want to devote their lives to teaching English with great emotion. This moment
is mostly associated to the space of the language school and not to secondary school. What
is more, in all narratives the language school is represented as a site of pleasure, fun and
friendship, while English lessons at secondary school are not associated to enjoyment to the
same degree, but to a more chaotic and dull experience. This preparatory stage seems to be
part of most trajectories, since 84 % of the surveyed students attended a language school
before entering our institution. Sometimes the decision to be teachers is not made during
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secondary school studies, but later in the course of other studies, generally at university -36 % of the students started and dropped a different course. After this moment of decision,
which students associate to a crisis in their lives, another landmark is the entrance exam,
which in our college is necessary because of material conditions. Being part of those who
could start the course is evaluated as a huge achievement.
One of the obstacles students mentioned when narrating their experience is the course
load, since it makes it difficult for them to study as much as they need to. When asked
about what they meant by studying and how different it was from learning, it was
possible to notice that the difference was not easy for them to explain. In the individual
interviews one of the students said that they learn throughout the year and only that which
is significant to them, and that they study to pass exams, not necessarily to learn. In the
interviews we also asked them what an exam meant to them. Nobody said that passing an
exam meant that they had learned something important. To them passing an exam means
that they have succeeded in fulfilling the teachers expectations (conformar al
profesor), that they are responsible but also lucky, and that they have studied with the right
method. Not passing an exam means that they have to try again, to study differently, and to
conquer their fears. In the language they use, many associate success or failure with chance
(me fue bien, me fue mal), depriving outcomes of any form of agency.
Students in the senior year acknowledge that the steepest obstacle in their trajectory
was the freshman year. A student said that he expected the course to be easier and more like
secondary school, but it took him a year and a half to adjust to the demands of higher
education. Other obstacles are mentioned, such as that of living far from home, having
attended secondary school abroad, having had to interrupt the course due to pregnancy or
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disease. Trajectories are sometimes delayed by failed exams, but also by teachers
absences, by the computer diversions such as games and social networking make it
difficult for students to concentrate on assignments--, and by inadequate study methods. If
trajectories are delayed, students need to find a new group of classmates to move on with,
and not finding it constitutes yet another obstacle. When speaking about difficult courses,
they frequently resort to a metaphor: monster courses (materias monstruo). Quite
tellingly, in travel chronotopes it is usual to find monsters along the road, and also to
experience metamorphoses (Bakhtin, 1981, p. 111). Regarding this, there is a common
moment of joy in students trajectories, when they realize that they were right to choose the
teaching course. They describe this moment, which is associated with the teaching
workshops and the beginning of their practicum, as filled with emotion and as a turning
point in their studies practically as a metamorphosis.
Along their progress towards their degree, students experience other moments of joy
and fulfillment which in the drawings they produced are represented with bridges, and
among which they include the teaching workshops and some extracurricular activities
lectures, conferences, dancing lessons, theatre workshops. Other bridges represent the
actions of significant people: teachers advice and encouragement, the support of
classmates, parents and friends. Although parents are always presented under a favorable
light, students also say that they feel embarrassed when having to disclose to their parents
that they have failed an exam. Parents are also presented as demanding figures at the
moment of telling them about the decision to drop a university course to take up English
teaching, and when consulted about the possibility of not completing the practicum in a

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fourth year but in a fifth year of studies, which is regarded as a very tough decision to
make.

5. Imaginative projections and identity narratives

We said above that the chronotope of the students trajectories was traversed by visions of
their future as teachers. In one of the writing tasks, one of the students wrote about the
teacher as oppressed by the system, and of a duty to be morally committed (Ser profesor
hoy implica mucho compromiso intelectual y moral. Pero el cambio depende de
nosotros). In spite of this assertion and of the recurrent relationship established between
teaching and words like sacrifice, struggle, devotion, duty, we notice that when asked about
what is to be a teacher of English today, they do not include the word school in their
answers. On top of this, when asked in the workshops about how they evaluate state-run
secondary schools, the most frequent response is generalized fear. We therefore infer that
although they may claim to be committed to social change, they envisage their teaching as
taking place at private schools or language institutes, and that they imagine they will deploy
their activities inside a classroom, not inside a school or a community. The students we
interviewed individually admitted to intending to start working at private institutions or at
rural schools, and justified this by saying that they thought they needed to learn a lot more
before teaching at urban state-run secondary schools. The data emerging from the survey
also suggest the existence of competing projections: even though students showed a slight
preference for state schools as workplaces (66 %), working at someone elses language
school or starting their own ranked significantly high, 64 % and 41 % respectively (students
could mark more than one answer for this question).
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Though the students who were interviewed said that they had chosen to be teachers
because they were driven by a vocation, they also acknowledged that not all teachers seem
to feel the same drive: they have noticed that some go about their work as if it were just
another job. A teacher, they say, should feel a great wish to teach, a passion they should
harbour till the day they retire. They identify themselves with the passionate, driven type of
teacher, from which we can infer that their identity is being shaped at this moment of their
lives by this attitude towards the profession and by this projection. Their utterances are
modalised in terms of obligation and necessity deontic modality (Heyvaert, 2003, p. 84):
teachers need to teach, they should teach. In their identity narratives, they enter college in
an attempt to fulfill a strong desire, and they feel an equally strong responsibility towards
others --mainly parents and teachers.
The students we worked with see themselves as ethically responsible for their failures,
but as sharing the merit of their achievements with parents, teachers and classmates. They
are grateful for their support to the point that a student even said that if she is successful at
a course, the teacher of that course is successful too, because s/he was able to prepare a
student to pass the final examination. Actually, 90 % of the surveyed students admitted to
being either satisfied or very satisfied with the programme proposal. They say they are to
blame for their bad choices for attending too many courses at the same time, for not
submitting assignments on time, for not adjusting to higher education more quickly. They
think of themselves as grown up enough to take responsibility for their mistakes, but as still
dependent for the assessment of their self-worth on what parents and teachers think of
them. From this we infer that though they engage in self-narrative efforts to present

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themselves as adults, needing emotional and economic parental support and teachers
positive feedback fissures their intended adult identities.

6. Towards changes in curricular reform and teacher education

Before we debate a new curriculum and in order to assess our practices, it is necessary to
learn about the students who are being educated to teach at inclusive secondary schools.
Our study shows that they hold a higher regard for the language school they attended as
teenagers than for secondary schools as a site for their future teaching. They have mixed
feelings about secondary schools: they say they are committed to social change, but feel
fear of state-run secondary schools and express uncertainty about their performance. This
representation suggests that colleges need to historise secondary education and the status of
EFL in state-run schools for students to be able to critically examine the purposes and
challenges of our discipline.
Out of what we found in our study, we think it would be recommendable to bridge the
gap between learning, studying and assessment, so that exams become instances where to
account for learning rather than to fulfill teachers expectations. For students to stop
thinking that when assessed they are subjected to chance and to their teachers whims, it
could be interesting to give them a say in the design of their exams --assessment criteria
included-- as part of their learning experience. This could cement their intended adult
identities and make them feel less dependent on teacher approval for the completion of
courses.
In order to make an appropriate content selection, we should be aware that our students
re-narrate their identities many times during their education. Some of those narratives are
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associated to what they feel incapable of doing, to the point that some courses are perceived
by them as monsters. It would be ethical to counter this perception by trying to make
contents more meaningful to a prospective teacher and breaking down assessment into
smaller units for students to be able to learn and cope with academic demands without so
much damage to their self-image.
For curricular reform and teacher education practices to continue holding a fruitful
dialogue with our present culture, we have inquired into the trajectories, identities and
projections of a group of future teachers of English. We hope these findings will be useful
for those engaging in changes that will contribute to an improvement in both college and
secondary school teaching practices.

References
Atkins, K. (2010). Narrative identity and moral identity. New York: Routledge.
Atkins, K., & Mackenzie, C. (2013). Practical identity and narrative agency. New York:
Routledge.
Bakhtin, M. (1981). Forms of time and the chronotope in the novel. M. Holquist & C.
Emerson (Eds.), The dialogic imagination (pp. 84-258). Austin: University of Texas
Press.
Fairclough, N. (2004). Analysing [Link] analysis for social research. London
and New York: Routledge.
Holler, C., & Keppler, M. (Eds.).(2013).Rethinking narrative identity. Persona and
perspective. Amsterdam: John Benjamin Publishing Company.
Nicastro, S., and Greco, M. (2009). Entre trayectorias. Escenas y pensamientos en espacios
de formacin. Rosario: Homo Sapiens.
Pacfico, A., Ibez, M. S., & Bonadeo, F. (2011). Los estudiantes del Profesorado de
Ingls del ISP N 8 Almirante Guillermo Brown: Un acercamiento al perfil sociocultural, a las trayectorias educativas y a las representaciones y valoraciones de la
profesin docente y de los recorridos por la formacin. (Unpublished research project).
Instituto Nacional de Formacin Docente, Argentina.

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12 Cultural awareness and language

enhancement through microblogging
Paola Lorena Barboza
Ana Cecilia Cad
Facultad de Lenguas, Universidad Nacional de Crdoba

1. Introduction
Teachers need to integrate technology seamlessly into the curriculum
instead of viewing it as an add- on, an afterthought, or an event.
Heidi- Hayes Jacobs, Educational Consultant

We live in an interconnected information society in which the skills to learn how to decode,
code and reproduce information are highly valued. Therefore, it is important to include the
teaching of literacy skills in the EFL classroom not only through the conventional teaching
approaches but also through the inclusion and exploitation of new information and
communication technologies. Technological developments have triggered a change in the
traditional concept of literacy which has been enlarged to encompass the news skills that
are necessary to interact effectively in new social and learning communities. The use of
technological tools in the classroom benefits students greatly. According to Lee (2011)
students can become more autonomous learners, become more culturally knowledgeable
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while developing language skills such as reading and writing. XXI century students are
embedded in a global grid in which messages have a fleeting characteristic: images intrepid
with sounds and words moving at incredible rapidness. Therefore, it is a must that students
learn to interact with these messages. Within the classrooms, teachers need to work with
these multimodal messages (Kress, 2010), i.e. messages pertaining to different modes, so as
to train students in digital literacy; in other words help learners to handle different kind of
technological software and hardware.
These new technologies help students communicate across a wide range of distant
realities. Therefore, it is a must that students learn to participate in a responsible and
respectful way in the virtual global environment. Social networks are a good source for
collecting information about other peoples culture as well as a great media for interaction
with members of other communities. This interaction process turns to be really enriching
since to be able to share their culture students have to be more aware of their own cultural
practices. Learning about other peoples cultures helps to gather more understanding about
the other; therefore, stereotypes will be less likely to wrap up students judgment,
avoiding episodes of xenophobia.
Considering the vast amount of time that our students spend on social networks, we
decided to integrate them into our classrooms as a teaching/ learning tool as well as a
motivating ally. By teaching /learning tool we mean having students practice their writing
skills in an enclosed community where they can get peer feedback as well as teacher
feedback, promoting new ways of reading (reading multimodal messages) and contributing
in audiovisual and written formats, fostering the understanding of other peoples
perspectives, applying critical thinking, and enhancing students cultural awareness. The
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motivating ally definition we attribute to social networks lies in the sole intention of raising
students motivation through the inclusion of a non- conventional task (use of Twitter) into
their school environment.
In this paper we carried out a classroom action research. This work was motivated by
our experience of working with teenagers and perceive how difficult is to keep them
motivated and engage them in writing activities. In this paper, we want to share the
outcome of our research which for us has been a very positive one since we used a social
network, Twitter, to enhance language skills as well as raise cultural awareness among our
students. By means of the social network, students adopted a much more active role in their
learning and participated more in classroom activities more willingly, while teachers
acquire the role of facilitator encouraging students participation, and the use of their
problem- solving capacities (Lee, 2011).

2. Theoretical framework
There are different kinds of social networks co- habiting the World Wide Web, such as
Facebook, Twitter or Flickr. Our decision to make use of Twitter was based on the already
existing knowledge that the students in our context shared about this application. Students
have always shown interest in using it and they are willing to try new ways to gain more
profit from it. Also, since Twitter helps to create a learning community in which some
students feel more self- confident that in regular classroom settings, they tend to participate
and interact more in the virtual environment, than they would do in class (Yunus, 2012).
This increase in participation goes in line with Krashens hypothesis (1982) of the low
affective filter.

The more comfortable and self-confident our students feel, the more
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willing to participate they will be. Besides, social networks offer the possibility for students
to establish community bonds that will compel them to participate more (Yunus, 2012).
The theoretical foundation of this project lies on both the constructivist and
interactional approaches of learning that according to Lee (2011) are the approaches that
feed CALL (Computer Assisted Language Learning). We will draw on Lev Vygostkys
Social Development Theory. According to Vygostky, learning is the result of social
interaction (Vygotsky in Wertsch, J. V, 1985) since students learn by being in contact with
more knowledgeable others who will help students gather the knowledge they need to
achieve a desired goal. Through different software that favors a constructivist approach
and inquiry- based learning, teachers can create a space for building learner communities,
fostering collaboration, engaging learners in multiliteracies, and creating opportunities for
global audience interaction and feedback (Alameen, 2011, p 355). Students will make
contributions, agree or disagree with their peers contributions and propose new sub- topics
for interest. Within this frame for interaction students will develop a great deal of learning
autonomy by making meaningful contributions, getting feedback and looking for links to
share to the class.
Since students interaction took place in the classroom, this is project was a case of
synchronous e- learning. One of the advantages of synchronous e- learning is that students
tend to feel part of a community rather than isolated (Hrastinski, 2008). Also, students tend
to feel more motivated. According to Kocks media naturalness hypothesis (Kock in
Hrastinski, 2008), synchronous e-learning shares some elements that characterize natural
media (e.g.: the possibility to observe our peers body language) contributing to

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psychological arousal. The fact that students can observe their peers reactions to their
contribution makes learners commit to their learning (Hrastinski, 2008).

3. Methodology and development

We outlined the project to be carried out with upper- intermediate students at their 4th and
5th year of secondary school (15 and 16 year olds respectively) at a private institution. The
number of students in 4th year is 27, and the number of students in 5th is 23. Each classroom
is equipped with a smart board and our students have their own smart phones. The weekly
class schedule comprises two classes of 95 minutes each.
The topic unit, The teenager and their relationship with the technology of XXI
century, was developed in 8 consecutive classes. Four of them, i.e. two weeks, were fully
devoted to the use of Twitter in classroom. In those classes, students were requested to
participate by twitting their contributions. We set 2 as the minimum number of
contributions they could make and 4 as the maximum number of contributions. We set this
limit to the number of contributions due to the following reasons: if students had been
allowed to participate freely, some might have chosen not to participate at all. Then, those
students who normally liked expressing themselves without giving too much thought to
their contributions would have to think carefully what they were going to write so as to get
a good grade based on the relevance of their comments. Besides, if we had not provided a
maximum for the number of contributions, there would have been students making more
posts than we were capable of keeping track and checking.
Two weeks prior to the first Twitter session, we created a special Twitter account to
carry out the activities and asked students to start following it. We did not use our
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personal accounts, while students did use theirs. (They could opt for creating an alternative
account for classroom tasks but they decided against it.) Right before the first class, we
twitted about the upcoming Twitter sessions to motivate students to participate and get
actively involved.
On the very day of the first session, we shared a code of conduct and behavior with the
students that stated what was acceptable and what was not during sessions in terms of:
behavior, contributions and the sole purpose of the social network in class. The code also
outlined the criteria that would be used for evaluation. Those students who failed to follow
the code were subjected to school rules for misbehavior.
Sessions were carried out through the main use of videos, students oral presentations
and readings that served as triggers for debate and discussion through twits that appeared
on the screen of the interactive whiteboard so as students followed the class interaction.
Regarding contributions or twits, students were asked to make contributions (two
minimum contributions) at different times:
a- During the first session: a video was shown to engage students in an active
Twitter discussion.
b- On the second and the third sessions: some students had to prepare oral
presentations. As a follow up, the remaining students were asked to contribute
to these presentations with insightful comments, questions or links about the
specific topic. Students were asked to read about the presentation topics before
coming to the classroom.
c- The fourth session consisted of a closure activity in which a survey was carried
out to gather insights about the outcome of the activity.
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Our teacher roles varied from following Twitter interactions, walking around the room
answering students questions, to posting new questions or comments to instigate further
debate to make sure students were fully engaged in the task. Students were graded
according to the number and relevance of contributions, the respect and adherence to the
code of conduct, the oral presentations performance and the respect to their peers
contributions and perspectives. (Refer to appendix 1 for detailed criteria).
Before embarking on a project involving social networks, teachers have to become
acquainted with their school policy about their use. In this specific case, we had to write a
letter asking the authorities of the institution for permission to make use of this social
network. In that letter, the purpose of the use of the social media was clearly stated as well
as the activities that were going to be carried out in the classroom. Permission was granted
to make use of Twitter in the classroom setting only. Therefore, tasks outside the classroom
were ruled out.

4. Outcome
In terms of students overall participation, different tasks were proposed through the use of
Twitter, and most of them made more contribution than the minimum required, which it can
be taken as an indicator of students motivation and readiness to participate about the
different topics being dealt with. This arousal in motivation is in accordance to Hrastinskis
(2008) claims about the effects of synchronous e- learning on students psychological
arousal.
The classes which involve Twitter use were four. Students had to respond to polls,
make contributions to other peers oral presentations, pose questions for further discussion,
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present their views on the topic at hand, and finally express their opinion about the use of
Twitter in the classroom. At the end of the session, we went through the comments that our
students have posted to check the relevance of their messages, the number of twits, and the
language employed by the students. When analyzing the quality of the students twits we
observed that over half of the contributions were relevant to the topic and sparked further
debate. Whereas the rest just focus on agreeing or disagreeing with their peers line of
thought. Some contributions, such as I agree with Pia, were dismissed due to their lack of
relevance to the topic. As regards the enhancement of students language, we could notice
that students were more than ready to point and check their peers mistakes as well as ask
for clarification when students twits were not clear enough. As Drnyei (2001) stated it is
noticeable how students production increases when they perceive their environment as
comfortable and friendly (learning situation level), the task as relevant, and they have clear
goals and objectives. Besides, it should be pointed out that at no time did the teachers have
to censor a twit because it could have been considered pejorative or insulting against
other peers or cultures being studied. Moreover, students displayed a genuine interest to
keep on learning about other peoples customs and system of beliefs.
From our teaching point of view, we consider that it was a very rich learning and
teaching experience. Since we discovered that it is possible to integrate social networks
within the classroom to serve a main two- fold purpose: motivating adolescent students to
work inside the classroom and keeping up- dated with current social trends that have an
impact on learning. We make our claim based on the number of contributions we got,
mainly from those students who tend to participate less in regular classrooms settings due
to shyness or lack of confidence. Taking into account our students comments, we believe
154

that the use of Twitter help them improve their writing skills since they express that due to
the limited number of characters that Twitter allows they have to look for way to condense
their message. Thus, using Twitter also promoted drafting, rewriting and the use of online
dictionaries and thesaurus.
Since students were working in a well- known virtual environment, they felt at ease
and more self- confident; as a consequence, they were more willing to participate (Drnyei
2001). Students had to write for a specific audience, so they were more committed to their
learning and tended to pay careful attention to what they wrote (Hrastinski, 2008). Since all
students could read what the others had written they tended to ask more questions to check
the linguistic accuracy of their contributions; thus, we can say that this task help the master
a little more the foreign language.
Besides, the teachers presented material about the content unit (the use of the Internet
and social networks) that prove to be positively challenging for the students since students
had to investigate about other cultures usage of technology and social media. Thus, this
material prompted research as well as cultural awareness.

5. Conclusion
We acknowledge that fact that this project was carried out in a privileged environment in
which students had access to smart phones and teachers had smart boards in their
classrooms. We are aware that this is not the normal classroom setting of the majority of
Argentinian teachers; however, we still believe that it is imperative to share our experience
as an attempt to raise awareness about changes that are taking place in the learning
environment and that, little by little, (should) influence our teaching practices.
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As educators, it is a must that we keep up-date with the latest social trends that have a
bearing on our education setting. Technological developments have brought about new
ways to communicate that rely more on a combination of modes that just on the written one
(Kress, 2010). This change in the nature of messages caused a broadening in the concept of
literacy, so to be literate nowadays we have to be acquainted with the use of technologies,
digital literacy. At the same time, technology has made it possible for us to communicate
with people in different areas of the globe; therefore, teaching our students to be respectful
of their and others culture is key to a harmonious interaction between peoples.
This new century challenges teachers to embrace technology and use it in meaningful
ways. Technological environments are natural for our students who we born in technology
embedded houses, thus they perceive the virtual world as a comfortable place (Krashen,
1982) from where they can make valid contributions. However, we should not forget the
importance of teaching of values that regulate interaction since they are important in the
regular classroom setting as well as in the virtual setting.

References
Alameen, G. (2011).Learner digital stories in a Web 2.0 [Link] Journal,2(9), 355369.
Drnyei, Z. (2001) Motivational strategies in the language [Link]:
Cambridge University Press.
Hrastinski, S. (2008).Asynchronous and synchronous [Link]
Quarterly,31(4).
Krashen, S. (1982- (Internet version 2002) retrieved 2011) Second language acquisition
and second language learning. Retrieved from
[Link]
f
Kress, G. (2010). Multimodality: A social semiotic approach to contemporary
communication. USA and Canada: Routledge.

156

Lee, L. (2011). Blogging: Promoting learner autonomy and intercultural competence

through study abroad. Language Learning & Technology, 15(3), 87109.
Vygotsky, L.S. (1978). Mind in society. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
Yunus, M. (2012). Integrating social networking tools into ESL writing classroom:
Strengths and weaknesses. English Language Teaching, 5(8), 42.

Appendix 1
Criteria for the assessment of students contributions in Twitter
a.
Contributions should be relevant to the subject matter being discuss
b.
They should clearly state a perspective for analysis
c.
If a contribution counters another, that contribution must also include a reason for the
opposition and present a new point of view.
d.
Contributions that include a link should be followed by a comment about its
relevance.
e.
Each student must comply with a minimum of 2 (two) and a maximum of 5 (five)
contributions.

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13 Digital identity and teachers role

in the 21st century classroom
Nora Lizenberg
Instituto Superior de Profesorado Joaqun V. Gonzlez

1. Introduction

While the digital identity of our students and their technology related behaviour tells as
much about themselves and the way they learn, we seem to ignore this valuable information
to create good practices. At the same time, we do not use technology in the same way in our
everyday life and in our role as teachers. In addition, the netbooks in our classrooms are not
generating any real change in teaching or learning, as the Horizon Report 2013 for Latin
America indicates (NMC, 2013). But we live in the network society (Castells, 2000) inside
and outside the classroom.
Therefore, the network society calls for a new role for EFL teachers that of designers
of ecosystems of learning, where the English class is everywhere and at any time, rather to
have technology in the classroom. The design of these ecosystems demands both a teacher
with a critical view on technology and knowledge society (UNESCO, 2005), and a learning

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design that not only aims at language competence of the items stated in a syllabus, but also
competence development for long-life learning that helps learners overcome the cognitive
divide poor teaching with technology in education creates.

2. Who are our students?

In the 21st century, as a teacher of English, all my dreams seem to have come true as
regards access to technology. But an old saying goes: beware of what you dream, for it may
come true. In fact, for many schools and teachers it has become a nightmare, even to the
point of forbidding computers, mobile phones at school or blocking Internet access. So
what has happened? Even if connectivity and ubiquitous devices are not available
everywhere for everyone, it is a fact that society has evolved in such a way that technology
influences every aspect of life to a point of no return. Even if somebody has not access to
Internet, the format and language of the information they get from traditional media such as
TV or radio has been modified, or their attention span, or their ways to get in touch with
others.

Students are on the net. This identity makes sense as long as they receive feedback
from the community. Identity exists, thus, because they relate to others and are accepted as
such by them. For Wenger (2001, p. 187) there is a profound connection between identity
and practice. Developing a practice requires the formation of a community whose members
can engage each other and thereby recognize each other as participants.

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A digital identity is thus the representation through a set of features of the identity of
an individual that is used in some processes of interaction with others in distributed
networks for recognition of the individual.

According to Windley (2005) identity is defined as collections of data about a subject

that represent their traits, preferences and attributes. Thus, it is possible to know who we
are or what our credentials (attributes of that identity) are. In this sense, a digital identity is
the representation of learning through a set of visible features in an instructional context,
the real identity of an individual processes are developed in interaction with others in
distributed networks, and is susceptible of being used in the practice of instructional design
and educational assessment processes.

Huynh (2012) states that although it has a long way to go, no expert can deny that
digital identity is changing the way of building the self-image of young people. It is
therefore essential that school offers means to assess through this image under construction,
or taking it into account. The distinction between private space and public space, data
protection, and e-reputation are factors to consider, deleting certain boundary between the
personal and the public. (Zapata-Ros & Lizenberg, 2012).

Our students do not wait until they see their friends to contact them. Their attention
span is conditioned by the length of a You Tube video about 3 minutes on average. Their
power of synthesis makes them summarise messages into 140 characters Twitter
maximum. Whenever there is something they need to know they will just google it, or ask

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somebody on the net often somebody they dont know. They express themselves through
mash-ups and transmedial messages.

So they are goal oriented, with great power of synthesis, they convey meaning through
media convergence, short attention span and divergent thinking. These are the inhabitants
of our 21st century classrooms. This is the culture we breathe in our classroom.

3. Who are we?

We, teachers of English, seem to have a split personality in this 21st century world. We
share in various degrees several characteristics with our students. Many of us cannot turn
our mobiles off we just silence them because we might be receiving an important
message or call. We yearn for contact with long lost friends and use digital social networks
such as Facebook or Myspace to get in touch and keep relationships, or to know our
acquaintances, relatives and friends whereabouts. We text how we feel, where we are,
what we think, what we do not want to forget. We let off steam in less than 140 characters
or through a shareable commented picture. Marc Prenskys deterministic distinction
between digital native or digital immigrant according to age (Prensky, 2001) has given way
to more accurate labellings according to habits of use, such as David Whites continuum
between digital visitors and digital residents (White& Le Cornu, 2011), and we seem to
find ourselves at different points on this line depending on the aspect of our lives we
scrutinise: leisure time, holidays, business, information gathering, contact with people or
any other we may think of.
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Unfortunately, there is sometimes no consistency between our habits inside and outside
the classroom. More often than not, we include technology for the sake of motivation, using
digital means for activities which could be equally well done on paper. As teachers, we
seem hard to move out of an instrumental rationality that leads us to find the right tool with
the right method for our language teaching objective. One reason for this resistence might
be, as some authors mention (Buckinham, 2008; Cabello, 2006; Dudeney &Hockly, 2008)
that most teachers do not really believe technology is producing a real change or
improvement in learning in general. Perhaps, these poor results in learning derive from the
fact that we are still using ICT under structural or cognitive frameworks instead of under a
sociocognitive one, much more adapted to the networked use of ICT we have today
(Warshauer & Kern, 2000).

4. Where is the English classroom?

[Link] defines classroom as any place where one learns or gains experience.
Then, the classroom can be anywhere in the physical or digital world, as ubiquitous as we
choose. Because we do not want our students to learn English only when they are within
the walls of the school or at the institute with us, but we would rather have them learn
everywhere they are, ending task. Therefore, learning English can take place at school or
institute, and also at home, while travelling, while playing at unpredictable places. And at
unpredictable times, because the classroom can be set during the school hours, and also
whenever the student can and/or want to learn English, for as long as he can or want to stay

162

in it. The flexible and ubiquitous condition of the 21st century classroom is the main feature
of the 21st century learning environment.

However, not any environment becomes a learning one, that is, not any environment
becomes a classroom. There should be a learning intention set by the teacher, the student or
even better, agreed by both. Technology as a motivational agent only is a short-term
investment. We all know by now that netbooks in the classroom or any technological
gadget or program will not create learning intention. In fact, many times ends up being a
disruptive element which is resented rather than appreciated.

Do we need technology in the classroom? I would pose that we rather need the
classroom everywhere,all the time by creating learning environments that take into account
digital identities of the actors involved, the interculturality between the physical and the
digital world and the teacher who works as a learning designer, and that we can have it
thanks to technology. In this way, we can take advantage of the highly valuable face-toface, synchronous and spatial time together with the students to enhance those aspects of
learning that students more and more rarely have the chance to practise when theyre not in
the physical classroom. We already have actors in the classroom who are immersed in a
technological world, so we have technological mindware in the classroom, and this is what
makes a difference.

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5. Identity and digital culture in the classroom.

We can say that we are in a 21st century classroom because both teachers and students are
immersed in a world that is affected by technology, and our culture, habits and feelings are
changing because of it.

As teachers, we need to deepen our understanding of the role and consequences of

digital technologies in contemporary culture, including all areas of activity such as
performing arts, telecommunications, information technology, philosophy, law and of
course, education. By scrutinizing our habits ten years ago and today, we will be able to
spot at least a couple of changes in ourselves. Not only in what we do, certainly in what we
are as well. Therefore, our identity is also built by how and when we show ourselves
online, what we do, who we connect with, how often and what for. We may consciously do
so or not, maybe we are not as careful with this outer image of ourselves as we are when we
choose our clothes to go to work. And the same happens with our students identity.

So we show who we are when standing in front of the class and what can be googled
from us on the Internet. And how much do we know about our students? From the
institution they attend, the way they look, how they talk, how they behave in class, the
information other teachers or the school authorities can give us we outline their identity.
However, we usually ignore their digital identity we do not take into account what they
prefer to do or have on line. Knowing who your students are, and build together with them
a classroom ethos that would let you infuse digital culture in the classroom, including
ethical behaviour and awareness of digital identity.

164

Do we know which games or type of games do our students play online? Which tool do
they use to get in touch with their friends? How often are they online? What topics are they
interested in? How aware are they of their choice of privacy levels? What kind of access do
they have to technology? How is technology used in their families? All this is invaluable
information to build our 21st century classroom.

6. Language teachers as designers of ecosystems of learning

Most activities that include ICT for learning English seem to be, in fact, ways to enhance
teaching, but barely enough to enhance learning in such a way that we take advantage of
our new competences in the digital world and the possibilities technology opens. As
teachers of English, we pave just one part of the road of language learning. This is why
developing lifelong learning skills on how to learn a language together with the stated
syllabus content of the course become central in our role.

If learning can occur anywhere and at any time, if our classroom can expand as much
as we want in time and space, if self-learning competences are to be developed instead of
designing lesson plans for individual sequential isolated language items we could think of
ecosystems of learning in which those traditional lesson plans are just one more element in
a more global and holistic planning.

Why an ecosystem of learning? Because all its elements compose an environment in

which learning is sustainable during the current course but its lifespan can be extended

165

much longer. Its constituents: technology, content, textbooks, students, teacher, school,
digital environment interact in complex relationships.

And the role of the teacher as designer is critical in this new model of teaching. We can
think of three types of teachers: the technical expert who effectively applies methods and
techniques designed by others, the cognitive teacher who analyses the context and the
students and take decisions on non-behavioural competences acting in an autonomous and
reflexive mode. And there is a third type: the critical teacher. A teacher who takes into
account

different

dimensions

semiological/aesthetic,

to

curricular,

design ecosystems
pragmatic,

of

learning:

psychological,

instrumental,
productive,

selective/evaluative, critical and organizational curricular, attitudinal and researchable

(Cabero, 2007); alive and ever changingenvironments where learning takes place.

Ecosystems of learning suit work best under pedagogies such as Problem Based
Learning (Ng, 2008), Task Based Learning (Willis-elt), or Project Based Learning (Beckett
& Chamness Miller, 2006) because they offer multiple opportunities for interaction
between their components and help the development of a variety of competences and
higher order skills. Flipped classrooms (Peachey, 2012) seem to make the most of face-toface instances, by allowing teachers to provide on-the-spot feedback when acquired
knowledge is put at stake during the activities in the classroom.

An ecosystem, as defined by Encyclopaedia Britannica, is a complexity of living and

non-living organisms, their physical environment, and all their interrelationships in a
particular unit of space. Therefore, a learning ecosystem may include:

166

 Living elements: learners and teachers, school administrators and/or

authorities
Non-living elements: learning goals, technology, textbook, devices such as

netbooks, PCs, mobile phones, tablets.

Supporting relationships: projects, social networks, activities, curated

content
Unit of space: physical classroom and all the digital environments

Designing an ecosystem of learning needs clear linguistic competence goals, validated

ways to evaluate them and deep knowledge of the students. Once these elements are
assured, the rest is highly flexible and dependable on context, students and teachers
preferences, teachers creativity and technological availability.

So the task of a teacher as a designer would be to create with their students that
environment by setting a task, project or problem in the traditional way, provide a bank of
resources where students can access to explanations and practice of various types, help the
students develop their own personal learning environment, and foster participation in a
community learning of practice, leaving the face-to-face classroom time to help them with
the core of the problem, task or project.
It is always best to start small departing from creating a community of learning with
the same tools your students use, making them produce similar digital items to the ones
they consume games, pages, audio files, videos, accepting evidence of linguistic
competence in different formats to suit different students intelligences and adapting to

167

students contexts, curating preferences and habits sites and tools they might be interested in
and show you care, and above all, promoting a passion to learn.

7. Conclusions

David Perkins (2012) states that we should educate for the unknown. Understanding our
students relation to technology and our own relationship with it will help us design critical
use of technology in ecosystems of learning that will foster language competence
development, even after we are no longer with them in the classroom.

We need to help them find how to go on learning the language they need. And let
them share their productions. Instead of just testing vocabulary, grammar or structures, lets
help them make their knowledge visible. Lets ask ourselves: how do I know they have
really learnt? How can they show all the class theyve really learnt, taking advantage of the
particular traits of each ones identity? And then, lets design the learning environment
accordingly.

Our ecosystems of learning will become living and changing environments which will
contain a combination of traditional and technological artifacts, and both new and triedand-tested methodologies, without fixed boundaries and highly personalised, so that
language learning competence could go on after our course finishes and becomes part of the
students usual digital environments.

168

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Buckingham, D. (2008). Ms all de la tecnologa: aprendizaje infantil en la era de la
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14 Se puede hablar de
oportunidades de aprendizajes
intraculturales?
Mara E. Lizrraga
I.E.S. N4- I.E.S. N5, Jujuy

1. Introduccin
En el caso de la clase de ingls como lengua extranjerauna realidad comn a un conjunto
social donde los estudiantes y su docente construyen esa realidad interpretando
experiencias y generando comportamientos devenidos de un conocimiento culturalmente
adquirido, se nos plantean

importantes interrogantes: qu tan compartidos son esos

conocimientos entre el grupo y el docente, qu tan aceptados son los comportamientos

culturales de los estudiantes por el docente , qu tan tomadas en cuenta son las diferencias
que se producen por roles no compartidos en el conjunto social por la franja etaria de los
estudiantes, por los intereses tan distintos del grupo y del docente ; y principalmente , qu
tan socialmente elaborada puede ser una realidad trada de una cultura distinta, vehiculizada
por la lengua extranjera.

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Si las oportunidades de aprendizaje que se van a dar dentro de este contexto sociocultural se van a dar a partir de las pautas culturales pre-establecidas en los constructos
sociales del grupo de pertenencia, se puede inferir de acuerdo a las interpretaciones
realizadas que existira una nueva categora no tenida en cuenta por estudios tericos
previos, si el factor de interculturalidad no est tan presente en los constructos sociales de
referencia, s est lo que se ha interpretado como intracultural.
Es el propsito de este artculo definir esta categora nueva que emerge de un trabajo de
investigacin (Lizrraga, 2012) que ha buscado dar respuestas a distintas preocupaciones
nacidas tras aos de prctica de enseanza de ingls como lengua extranjera en escuelas
pblicas de la provincia de Jujuy.

2. Lengua y cultura
El ambiente institucionalizado se ha alejado cada vez ms del lenguaje cotidiano, del
lenguaje que los alumnos y alumnas traen a las aulas, del lenguaje con el que construyen su
realidad, su mundo. Nuestros alumnos y alumnas viven un realidad donde hay nuevos
modos de significar; hay una nueva manera de ser y una nueva manera de comprender,
puestas de manifiesto a travs de un discurso multimodal. Cabe entonces preguntarnos
como enseantes de lenguas extranjeras dnde nos paramos para entender este nuevo
discurso, qu oportunidades brindamos a nuestros estudiantes para que puedan aprender la
lengua extranjera, qu acciones llevamos a cabo para generar un paradigma educativo
distinto que ayude a superar esta brecha abierta entre la nueva manera de ver e interpretar y
significar el mundo de nuestros alumnos y la nuestra.

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Lo que se ha buscado con el trabajo de investigacin mencionado es preguntarnos en qu

condiciones sera posible para el docente de ingls como lengua extranjera ) en escuelas
pblicas de Jujuy posicionarse de otra manera frente a esta nueva realidad, y producir un
primer aporte para sealar, en todo caso, un primer paso o necesidad, como lo es producir
con los docentes de LE (ingls) una reflexin crtica sobre las pautas culturales de
aula/clase y de escuela/institucin tal que permita hacer visible lo que hoy se ha
naturalizado. Desde este trabajo se sugiere que a partir de esta reflexin crtica sera posible
proponer, entre los docentes de LE (ingls) como cuerpo docente organizado, una forma de
trabajo que busque modificar la cultura de lo individual instalada hoy para pensar en las
pautas que permitiran generar una comunidad de aprendizaje o una cultura del aprendizaje
colectivo. Desde este posicionamiento se debe entender en primer lugar que el objeto de
estudio que ensea es el ms complejo de todos los objetos, que lo que ensea no es
nicamente un sistema lingstico sino un hecho cultural. Interpretamos que no puede
separarse la lengua de la cultura que sta representa, pero entendemos que ante todo se debe
capitalizar la cultura del aprendienteque es nuestra propia cultura para hacer base en ella,
y a partir de ella llevar al aprendiente a construir o resignificar la realidad que le
presentamos a travs de la lengua objeto, pero vista a travs de los cdigos culturales de los
aprendientes; en otras palabras hacer uso de aprendizajes intraculturales, de los
conocimientos socialmente elaborados y compartidos juntamente docentes y estudiantes.

3. Aprendizaje intracultural
El anlisis de las oportunidades de aprendizaje que vamos a hacer bajo la luz de las pautas
culturales, se apoya en el concepto de representacin social definido por Denise Jodelet
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(1994, p. 36), como una forma de conocimiento, socialmente elaborado y compartido, que
tiene un objetivo practico y que contribuye a la construccin de una realidad comn a un
conjunto social. Este concepto de representacin social se encuentra inmerso en el de
cultura tal como lo concibe Spradley: el conocimiento adquirido que la gente usa para
interpretar experiencias y generar comportamientos (1980, p. :6; traduccin propia), que
segn Jodelet son socialmente elaborados y compartidos.
De ah la categora del intrprete que el aprendizaje que se est llevando a cabo en el
aula de lengua extranjera tiene ms el carcter de intracultural que de intercultural. La
ventaja que debe tomarse desde este posicionamiento es precisamente afianzar el
conocimiento de la propia cultura, y en contextos ulicos como los que se dan en la escuela
pblica de la provincia de Jujuy donde asisten estudiantes de los diversos puntos cardinales
de la provincia, o inclusive del otro lado de la frontera, se debe tender a promover el
reconocimiento de la diversidad de culturas que se manifiestan dentro de la propia aula.
Existe la interculturalidad vehiculizada por la lengua extranjera que trae inherente su
cultura, pero tambin existe lo intracultural si se observa que la red de pautas culturales
presente se ha tejido desde la diversidad de culturas que se posicionan en la propia aula, y
que si no se recuperan en un tejido social valorado y afianzado como digno de ser tenido en
cuenta, son las que contribuyen al individualismo y al aislamiento.
Entonces vemos por qu se hara menester revisar el concepto intercultural para dar
mayor nfasis a lo intraculturalcategora del intrprete, entendida esta como la red de
conocimientos culturales compartidos que los aprendientes traen como aprendizaje desde su
cultura, y empezar a construir los aprendizajes significativos desde las pautas culturales
establecidas e institucionalizadas, desde una comunidad que ayude a entender la
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importancia de la construccin de conocimiento en colaboracin, en cooperacin, y no en

forma tan individualista como se produce esta construccin.
4.

Contenido global o local? La cuestin de la identidad en la clase de lengua

extranjera
Analizar qu enseamos cuando decimos que enseamos ingls, cmo lo enseamos, por
qu lo enseamos, son preguntas que generalmente se hace cualquier docente enseando
cualquier disciplina, pero stas adquieren una doble dimensin en la clase de LE. La clase
de LE es un espacio intercultural, como dice Genevive Zarate (1993), es en la clase de
lengua extranjera donde se establecen los parmetros que articularn las relaciones entre la
lengua nativa y la LE.
Pero por qu los estudiantes de la escuela secundaria pblica de la provincia de Jujuy
no pueden establecer comunicacin en la lengua extranjera despus de haber estudiado la
misma por seis aos? Ese es uno de los principales interrogantes que motiv el estudio. Lo
que se analiza desde el aspecto cultural es que generalmente la cultura local no es tenida en
cuenta, lo que no se hace es ensear la lengua localmente, a travs de contextos que le sean
significativos al aprendiente, a travs de sus intereses culturales. Como dijo Henry
Widdowson en ocasin de dictar el Seminario English, whose English? Defining the
Subject, y se cita textualmente: .redefining the definition of what the English subject
means in our local schools, to our local people.
El hecho de haber analizado sistemticamente innumerables situaciones de clase en los
contextos ulicos mencionados durante casi una dcada hasta ahora, permite llegar a la
conclusin que no importa cun

presente

los docentes tengan el concepto de

interculturalidad para sus prcticas de enseanza, su posicin nunca es verdaderamente

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clara en el aula de lengua extranjera. La cuestin que emerge entonces es qu posicin

debera tomar el docente en la clase de LE que lo conduzca a cumplir con todos los
requerimientos de su rol: mediador entre los aprendientes y su objeto de estudio, mediador
entre los aspectos lingsticos y culturales de su programa de enseanza, mediador entre la
LE y la cultura que sta trae aparejada; qu posicin tomar para poder, y cito textualmente
de Hall (1990, p.29): ...to understand not the foreign culture but the local one., y actuar
en consecuencia, es decir, ayudando a sus estudiantes cuando los mismos se encuentran en
el difcil proceso de adquisicin de nuevos cdigos lingsticos, brindando esta ayuda
desde la comprensin de que el aprendiente difcilmente podr lidiar con dos aspectos a la
misma vez, el cdigo lingstico y el cultural que trae aparejado esta nueva realidad de
aprendizaje; por lo tanto lo importante sera revalorizar la propia cultura del aprendiente si
se sabe que todo aprendizaje debe estar anclado en los conocimientos previos, este cdigo
cultural propio ayudar al aprendiente a construir significado en la clase de LE sin perder
su identidad cultural.
En relacin a la enseanza de ingls como LE, Widdowson (1999) tambin seala que:
.it is necessary to teach global English through local issues. Este enunciado puede ser
interpretado de esta manera: focalizando en el contexto local se crear la atmsfera
apropiada para que los estudiantes no pierdan el sentido de identidad en la clase de LE,
necesitamos redefinir el contenido de lo que enseamos: la LE en trminos globales, pero
en un contexto particular, local. Esto ayudar tambin a los estudiantes a ver al docente no
como un modelo de cultura de otro grupo de personas que estn fuera del aula y de su
propia realidad, sino como un mediador entre ellos y su objeto de estudio, especialmente en
las primeras etapas de aprendizaje de la LE..
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El docente se encuentra en una posicin de ventaja al poder seleccionar con qu

ensear lo que eligi priorizar segn el grupo de aprendientes con que le toca trabajar. En
esta jerarquizacin de conceptos se privilegia un alto porcentaje de contenido de forma
como surge del anlisis de las clases observadas y de otras fuentes por la situacin de poco
contacto de los aprendientes con la lengua extranjera. De este modo el aspecto cultural
quizs no sea tan relevante en su escala de valores, pero de ninguna manera significa que
no est presente, pues la lengua es inherente a la cultura. Tampoco el docente como ya se
refiri anteriormente ser visto, porque lo elige as, como un modelo de esa cultura, sino
nicamente como mediador entre lo que ese aprendiente todava visualiza como un objeto
de estudio ms dentro de la variada gama de nuevos aprendizajes que debe realizar en el
mbito escolar.

En este nivel el del aprendiente novato el concepto de las

representaciones sociales que se deben construir no pasan tanto por las de la cultura
extranjera, sino por una consolidacin de las representaciones sociales locales construidas
en conjunto dentro de un mbito que los aprendientes irn conociendo cada vez mejor en el
transcurso del dictado de clases del periodo escolar.
El docente de LE debera disear su programa de enseanza sin perder de vista el
hecho de que ambos aspectos, el lingstico y el cultural, comparten el mismo nivel de
importancia; debera tomarse una decisin en la eleccin de los contenidos de modo tal que
stos puedan ser la base slida desde dnde se construya el aprecio por la propia cultura
antes de esperar que los aprendientes puedan construir

conocimiento contrastando o

comparando la cultura de la LE con la propia. Priorizar los contenidos que se ensearn al

igual que elegir el enfoque metodolgico tcnicas, estrategias, actividades, recursos
didcticos, bibliografa que ser puesto en prctica durante los procesos de e-a, requiere
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tomar una valiente decisin, muy bien definida, en el contexto institucional donde uno
trabaja, y adherir firmemente a ella. Como docentes que pertenecen a una comunidad
definida necesitamos identificar los componentes, conceptos bsicos de la lengua que
incluimos en nuestro programa que son globales, que se ensean desde principios generales
y con caractersticas generales donde quiera que sta se ensea, pero tambin necesitamos
explicarlos desde los principios culturales locales que harn el aprendizaje significativo
para esos estudiantes quienes tambin pertenecen a esa comunidad definida.
Se analiza entonces que hay que redefinir los contenidos de lo que se ensea en
trminos globales pero en contextos locales, ya que el objetivo de nuestros esfuerzos es
lograr la comunicacin el objetivo de nuestro programa , se debe comprender que todo
acto de comunicacin est primero ligado a la comunidad de pertenencia de sus actores. Ya
que nuestra realidad es siempre local, se debe permitir al estudiante apropiarse de la lengua
objeto dentro del marco de su propia identidad cultural.
Estela Klett (1998) dice que la principal preocupacin del profesor de LE es que la clase
no es motivadora ya que es ` un lugar de pura simulacin pedaggica, fuera de la realidad:
hablamos pero no decimos nada (Bourdieu, 1987, citado en Klett). En el aula de LE el
discurso no tiene ni las convenciones ni los modos de la interaccin comunicativa. Esa es la
razn por la que Bourdieu califica la relacin con la lengua como `dralise (fuera de la
realidad). Por eso consideramos que un basamento cultural slido puede ser el paliativo a la
inconsistencia pragmtica del discurso del aula.

5. Se puede hablar de oportunidades de aprendizajes intraculturales?

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El conocimiento es un constructo que vive en el lenguaje, tener la oportunidad de acceder al

conocimiento de una lengua extranjera es tener la oportunidad de aprender a construir e
interpretar la realidad de una manera distinta, desde un lugar donde el aprendiente de esa
LE se para como actor de un proceso y en una circunstancia diferente a la de su posicin
para construccin de conocimiento e interpretacin de la realidad que hace desde su lengua
nativa. Si lo que ayuda al aprendiente en esa construccin de significado es el contexto
interpretado este como la situacin, el conocimiento, el texto, el ambiente, el aula de
lengua extranjera genera situaciones donde se privilegia el aspecto gramatical de la lengua
objeto, a travs de textos orales y escritos diseados para alcanzar ese objetivo: el
conocimiento de la gramtica de la lengua, y en un ambiente institucional que no favorece
la espontaneidad del pensamiento desestructurado. Por lo tanto, se interpreta que la
categora de interculturalidad pasa a un segundo plano pues la cultura que la lengua objeto
trae va a estar presente nicamente en la intertextualidad en la interaccin del aprendiente
con el texto escrito y ledo fundamentalmente basado en ejercicios gramaticales; y, como
ya hemos analizado, la oralidad est ausente cuando de pensamiento espontneo se habla.
Concluimos entonces que la intertextualidad, desde el concepto de Bloome y EganRobertson (1993) , es decir la construccin del conocimiento a travs de la interaccin del
aprendiente con el texto ledo y escrito, pero socialmente mediado por la comunidad
cultural donde se llevan a cabo los aprendizajes, esta construccin decamos se da con
muy pocas oportunidades de aprendizaje por la calidad de los mismos textos meramente
gramaticales, presentados a travs de fotocopias, pizarrn, libros, y con poca o nula
interaccin comunicativa. Y en la interaccin con el texto oral la oportunidad es casi nula,
no hay dilogo en la lengua objeto en el aula, la interaccin siempre se produce en la lengua
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nativa. En consecuencia, el conocimiento cultural se est construyendo desde otro

posicionamiento, desde la propia cultura, es decir se estn produciendo aprendizajes
intraculturales.
Los nuevos ambientes institucionalizados deberan convertirse en ambientes de estudio
donde el contexto regional logre imbuirse del contexto global que trae aparejado la
enseanza de la lengua extranjera, y se genere conocimiento que no pase nicamente por el
hecho lingstico en s, sino que se lo funde en el contexto cultural. Cmo hacerlo? Cmo
ensear textos y producir contextos que promuevan estas oportunidades?He aqu el gran
desafo que queda plasmado en la siguiente cita de la Prof. Silvia Helman tomada de su
ponencia De la lengua a la cultura: la clase de lenguas extranjeras como construccin de un
espacio de representaciones contrastivas, en Actas del Congreso de enseanza de lenguas
extranjeras en el nivel superior, UNT (1998).
... la clase de lenguas extranjeras debe convertirse en el espacio ideal en donde
los aprendientes accedan a la dimensin cultural de la lengua del otro, sin perder de
vista los valores de su propia lengua.... La humanidad debe aprender a convivir y a
enriquecerse con lo diferente, lo cual no significa perder su identidad cultural. Deca
el gran maestro quichuista Domingo Bravo: los pueblos pueden ser mancillados,
pero mientras tengan en alto su cultura difcilmente podrn ser dominados.

Referencias
Babot de Bacigaluppi, M.V, & Helman de Urtubey, S. (1991). Representaciones sociales e
identidad cultural en la clase de lenguas extranjeras. Ponencia presentada en las VI
Jornadas Regionales de Investigacin en la Fac. de Humanidades y Cs. Sociales UNJU.
Bloome, D., & Egan-Robertson, A. (1993).The social construction of intertextuality in
classroom reading and writing [Link] Research Quarterly,28(4), 304-333.
Brown, H.D. (2001). Teaching by principles: An interactive approach to language
pedagogy (2nd edition). New York: Addison Wesley Longman.
Byram,, M.; Zrate, G. ; Neuner (1998) Sociocultural competence in language learning
and teaching . Alemania, Consejo de Europa.
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Hall,E.(199084). Le langage silencieux. Seuil, Collection Points, Paris The silence

language. Anchor Books. NY.
Helman de Urtubey, S.( 1998). De la lengua a la cultura: la clase de lenguas extranjeras
como construccin de un espacio de representaciones contrastivas. Actas de Congreso
de enseanza de idiomas extranjeros en el nivel superior, U pp. 110-114. Departamento
de Publicacin de la Fac .Filos. y Letras, UNT,NT, Tucumn.
Jodelet, D. (1997). Les representations sociales. PUF: Paris.
Klett, E. (1998). Manuales de espaol como lengua extranjera: representaciones e
identidad. Identidades y rupturas. Actas del Congreso de enseanza de idiomas
extranjeros en el nivel superior, pp. 123-137. Departamento de Publicacin de la
Facultad de Filosofa y Letras, UNT, Tucumn.
Lizrraga, M. (2012). Un anlisis de la concepcin y puesta en prctica del Enfoque
Comunicativo en la enseanza de ingls en la Escuela Media. Tesis para optar por el
grado de Magister en Didctica de las Lenguas (ORT. INGLS), no publicada. UNT,
Tucumn, Argentina.
Widdowson, H.G. (1990). Aspects of language teaching. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Widdowson, H.G. (1998). Context, community and authentic language. TESOL Quarterly,
32(4), 705-716.
Widdowson, H.G. (1999). English, whose English? Defining the Subject. Seminario no
publicado, Tucumn, Arg.
Zarate,G. (1993). Reprsentations de ltranger et didactique des langues. Didier, Paris.
[Link] Modern Languages: Learning, Teaching and Assessment. A
Common European Framework of Reference.

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15 Reading and interacting with

electronic texts: A multimodal process?
Yael Alejandra Hasbani
I.E.S. en Lenguas Vivas Juan Ramn Fernndez
Universidad Nacional del Litoral

Literature is a combinatorial game

(Aarseth, 1997)

1. Introduction: Lets play!

The developments of ICTs and electronic devices have brought about a fundamental
breakthrough in what has been traditionally considered as unquestioned actions: reading a
book, writing a text, watching a film will be no longer performed as they have traditionally
been. The written text, together with the hegemony of the Book, (Piscitelli, 2011) have lost
their exclusive roles as sources of Knowledge. This marks a radical shift in epistemological
positions: it conjures up a scenario where different devices, interfaces and types of texts
challenge the long withstanding power of the Book ([Link].).
Conversely, contemporary literature will not be a mere witness in these processes of
shift in epistemological paradigms: on the contrary, it is the location where many of the
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battles for hegemony and power are taking place nowadays. Complemented by technology,
literature has become a site for reflection, for experimentation and for (re)creation
(Piscitelli, 2011).
Furthermore, contemporary literature has been witness to the impact and influence of
different media, namely film industry, television techniques and videogames strategies
(Aarseth, 1997; Mora, 2012; Page, 2011). It has become the product of the intersection and
combinations of those semiotic systems: it is the result of a technological process of digital
convergence and the development of new cultural habits (Garca Canclini, 2007). New
types of texts, hybridized forms, born out of various multimodal elements combined with
the characteristics of print tradition, force us to reconsider what literature is today and what
it can be done with it. Highly influenced by computing technology and other devices, it is
argued that contemporary literature has become electronic (Hayles, 2008) and the
transposition into new mediums has further turned it into multimedial (Page, 2011).
Moreover, these hybrid electronic texts (half text/half digital artifacts) will make
readers question how they are interpolated by them and what role they will assume when
experiencing/reading and who they are. Highly characterized by the new media
(GarcaCanclini, 2007; Mora, 2012), readers have become a hybridized combination of
reader and spectator and their own identity needs (re)considering. Their bodies have also
been challenged by the development of electronic devices and the blending processes
(Mora, 2012; Page, 2011; Piscitelli, 2011); to such an extent that the boundaries between
body and machine, self and other, are becoming blurred.
Specifically, it is the purpose of this paper to explore these concepts from the
theoretical perspectives of digital humanities, media studies, electronic literature and digital
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narratology. The Tell-Tale Heart from Ipoe Vol.1, an electronic adaptation of Edgar
Allan Poes short story for iPad, will be used as illustrative to exemplify the concepts to be
discussed. The readers will go beyond the boundaries of their bodies, (re)define their own
self-identity and touch the text, interacting with it in this electronic adaptation of the short
story.

2. Hybrid texts: expansions from the print tradition

Together with the outburst of devices and technology, new types of texts have been
produced. Many scholars even urge for the development of a new narrative theory
altogether to analyze them and the proposal of a taxonomy of subgenres (Hayles, 2008;
Mora, 2012; Page, 2011). Even though consensus has not been reached yet, there is
agreement on the concept that mutations in the processes of perception in general have
occurred: living in the information era, thinking has become more image than it has
always been (Mora, 2012, p. 39).
Following this, text and image will form a communion in most electronic multimedia
texts, giving birth to a hybrid made up of various elements and apart from language. Rather,
meaning would be put across through the interaction of language, images, sound,
illustrations, typography and the readers interaction.
Since many of the electronic multimedia texts are not approached through print, the
digital devices themselves become the door into this type of literature. As a result, pages
are to be accessed through screens, either mobile devices screens (such as the one under
scrutiny in this paper- iPods, iPads, iPhones, other tablets, etc.) or computers screens. The
hybridization process further extends to the pages -a species of page/screens (own
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translation and coinage for pant/pgina (Mora, 2012), a unit of perception and interaction
from where subjects would experience the texts. Mora (2012) explains that screens have
become the frames and targets for literature, reproducing in that unit different
mechanisms and elements that constitute multimedia electronic literature: words, images,
sound, hypertextual links. These page/screens bear strong resemblances with the techniques
employed in other semiotic systems, such as film or videogames; however, they may
expand those by adding an interactive layer. Significantly, these hybrid units enhance the
possibilities of literature by (re)mixing intermedial, audiovisual and border-like elements to
achieve a mayor expressive potential (Mora, 2012, p.88). Following Hayles (2008, p.13)
the page is transformed into a complex topology that rapidly transforms from a stable
surface into a playable space in which [subjects are] active participants.
Multimodality, as defined by Daniel Punday (in Page, 2011, p. 20), focuses on the
way that communicational structures can invoke different senses (hearing, sight and touch)
using different semiotic channels (text, image, audio recording, video). Adding to this
definition, Machin (2007) uses Kress and Van Leeuwens expansion on Hallidays
metafunctions of language to address the different functions of visual grammar. Even
though this paper will not address visual grammar, it is fundamental to state at this point
that different modes used in electronic multimedia texts will inevitably carry meaning
potential, metaphorical associations and connotation. Challenging even more the traditional
hegemony of the written text, multimodality brings to the surface how language is not the
only conveyor of communicative functions.
Punday proposes expanding multimodal and, instead, he suggests using multimedia;
however, I consider this to be reductionist, since the two terms aim at different concepts. In
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the present discussion, multimediality and multimodality will be subsidiary to each other:
multimediality being the combination of different existing media (computers, videogame
consoles, mobile phones, mp5 players, tablets) with multiple uses (Punday in Page, 2011)
and multimodality focusing on the different modes or semiotic systems that carry meaning
potential (Machin, 2007).
A complement to the term multimedia, is the concept of intermediality proposed by
Hayles:
When literature leaps from one medium to another from orality to writing, from
manuscript codex to printed book, from mechanically generated to electronic
textuality - it does not leave behind the accumulated knowledge embedded in
genres, poetic conventions, narrative structures, figurative tropes, and so forth.
Rather, this knowledge is carried forward into the new medium typically by trying
to replicate the earlier mediums effects within the new mediums
specificities(Hayles, 2011, p. 58)
By extension, the object of study for this analysis will correspond into an intermediated
example of a both multimedia and multimodal text, as it will be described further on.

3. New identities: Read/spectators. (Re)considering bodies & machines

Much has been already discussed within literary tradition over the term reader and about
his/her passivity or activity, agency or reception. (Re) defining the characteristics of the
identity of readers within media studies and electronic literature is quintessential. Garca
Canclini (2007) explains these characterizations over fields of action and reception, and
contrasts them with the definition of spectator as being wider in scope and fields of
specification (p. 31). Basically, the author clarifies that spectators are shaped by different
logics and trigger various dispositions depending on which context they are involved in.
GarcaCanclini also proposes another category to define this subject that does much more
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than readers or spectators: internauts. Following the critic, an internaut is a multimodal

agent that reads, sees, listens and combines together diverse materials that come both from
the tradition of reading and that of the spectacle context ([Link]. p. 32).
For this paper, the concept of internaut could possibly be the adopted to explore the
characteristics of this subject. However, Moras (2012) term read/spectator (own
translation and coinage from the Spanish version lectoespectador) will be used to define the
subjects that experience and interact with electronic multimedia and multimodal literature.
Following the author, readers of the printed tradition differ from read/spectators in that
the latters have to negotiate much more elements than only meaning potential or intention
(Mora, 2012). So much so that they have to make a decision as to what he/she considers
legible or not; each and every one determines the extent of participation with the text and
the device chosen for its approach (Mora, 2012, p. 78). Interestingly, read/spectators as a
definition of these subjects bring to the surface the spirit of hybridity, combination of
activities and expand the concept of internaut.
Even though there is still no consensus on how to define these subjects that read, use,
play (Hayles, 2008), interact and experience electronic texts, there is general agreement
among critics on the transformation bodies have undergone with their contact with
technology: a new type of subjectivity and identity is appearing; one that combines the
bodies with the machines. Mora (2012) explains that we are all technological beings and
that there has been a shift in the perception of organic-technological frontiers: the author
rightly insists on the change in the perception of the technological context as now being
fully integrated into the organic reality. In fact, Mora proposes expanding the concept of the
body to incorporate technology in it and thus further hybridize it.
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Coincidentally, Hayles (2008, p. 47) agrees on the fact that the humans have [always]
been shaped by their technology. She extends this by enlarging on the fact that People
and machines are both embodied, and the specificities of their embodiments can best be
understood in the recursive dynamics where they coevolve with one another ([Link].
p.129).
Undoubtedly, the body and the machine or the device can no longer be regarded as
separate entities: quite on the contrary, the two concepts have been (re)defining themselves
with the increase in electronic multimedia literature and the development of portable
technology.

4. To read or to interact? That is the question

Reading practices are particularly challenged by the proliferation of new types of texts;
traditional linearity has lost its hegemonic position together with the written text, since
reading practices have been (re)defined by technological innovations, transforming reading
into a non-linear hypertextual process (Piscitelli, 2011).
Marie-Laure Ryan (in Page, 2011, pp. 35, 37 & 59) explains that it is interactivity itself
the most significant distinction between old and new media, but it is also the most
complicated feature to define. She proposes a classification following the conceptual
metaphor [Interaction is an onion] (op. cit., p.35), with 5 levels according to outer, middle
and inner layers and interactivity becoming more complex in the inner layers reaching the
core. It must be borne in mind that other authors have also proposed to reconsider the
relationship between readers and these new texts. Aarseth (1997) has coined the term
ergodism to explain the processes undergone by readers when they have to make decisions
188

upon the electronic texts. For the purpose of this paper, I will adopt Ryans classification,
by which,
in the outer layers, interactivity concerns the presentation of the story, and the story
exists prior to the running of the software; in the middle layers, interactivity
concerns the users personal involvement in the story, but the plot is still
predetermined; in the inner layers, the story is created dynamically through the
interaction between the user and the system (Ryan in Page, 2011, p. 37)
Following this classification, the present paper will explore an electronic multimedia text
that could be classified among those belonging to the outer layers of interactivity, as it will
be shown in the forthcoming section of analysis.

5. Electronic multimedia literature in focus. Micro-example: The Tell-tale Heart, or

iPod/iPads intermediation

Figure 1

Figure 2

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Figure 3

Figure 4

Ipoe collection is an application specially designed for iPpad and iPod that consists
in two volumes with electronic adaptations of some of Edgar Allan Poes most famous
short-stories and poems, such as The Oval Portrait, Annabel Lee, The Masque of the
Red Death, among others. It has been created by the company Play Creatividad and
developed with the framework of COCOS 20, a framework for building games, demos, and
other graphical/interactive applications.
It can be argued that intermediation is present in this text by the possibility this
collection offers to access and interact with the texts with different devices, either Ipod or
Ipad, and allowing for portable ubiquitous interaction to take place. The electronic text The
Tell-tale Heart is included within Vol. I and the read/spectator can start interacting by
choosing the language, reviewing the text and connecting to different social networks,
assessing the application, as it can be seen in the previous screenshots (c.f. Fig. 1, 2, 3 & 4).
Within the text itself, several elements essential for the narrative development and
interpretation have been made interactive by tempting read/spectators to enter the text and
interact by touching them.
The screen/pages of the text offer an interesting hybridization between the print
tradition and the multimodal/multimedia elements: the layout is clearly the one of an old
190

book, this can be seen through the choice of colour for the pages, and they also contain
interesting elements to interact with the story, as the following shots clearly show where the
pictures and the text form an interesting communion (c.f. Fig. 5, 6, 7 & 8). To pass on the
screen/pages, there is the possibility of touching the arrow on the right hand side towards
the bottom of the page in the iPad, or there is the need of literally passing the page by
simulating the same movement with print pages.

Figure 5

Figure

Figure 7

191

Figure 8

Figure 9

Multimodality is present here as an interesting layer of meaning potential, clearly

manifested in the choice of soundtrack, crescendos and the sounds of the beating heart
rising in their intensity and force as the story develops. Typography is another element
withing multimodality that cannot be overlooked, incorporating in this case, different lines
and words especially made bold for the creation of mood, salience and narrative
development. The hues of red, black and sepia colours chosen throughout the text can be
associated with the melancholic and troubled mind of the narrator of the story, and this can
bear a parallel relationship with the use of sounds along the narrative (c.f. Fig.5, 10, 14, 16,
&17).
Multimediality features are present in this text by the intersections of mediums such as
film (present in the cut-scenes that are incorporated in the narrative and the use of sound
and music), videogame techniques and animation (c.f. Fig. 10 & 11).

192

Figure 10

Figure 11

In any choice the read/spectators make, they have to transcend their bodies and touch
the text and the visual multimodal components that accompany it. In their experiencing the
text, they (re)define who they are and what they have to do. Sometimes there are
illustrations that change the moment the subjects touch them (c.f. Fig. 6 &9) or at other
times, it is the light of a lantern darkening the text or lighting it up(c.f. Fig. 12 & 13), or
participating in the dismembering of the body of the old man (c.f. Fig. 14 &15), or rather
moving the screen/page upwards to discover the tell-tale heart (c.f. Fig. 16). Perhaps the
most striking feature is seen in the last screen/page where the read/spectators by touching
the screen leave their fingerprint there (c.f. Fig.18), together with the troubled protagonist
of the story and thus becoming more involved in the deed, a sort of accomplice,
challenging their traditional roles and becoming new selves. By trascending their bodies,
touching and interacting with this text the very identity of the subjects is challenged, and
the involvement radically modified.

193

Figure 12

Figure 14

Figure 16

Figure 13

Figure 15

Figure 17

194

Figure 18
Indeed, interactivity in this electronic multimedia text , following Hayles (2008)
categorization, will correspond to those within the outer and middle layers of the narrative,
where interaction takes place but it is not related to the programming itself or altering the
development of the narrative story-line. It must be noted that interactivity in this text is not
compulsory: the read/spectator can indeed choose if he/she want to trascend their bodies
and touch the text or not. However, if he/she does so, there are a number of elements that
will be missed.

6. New horizons? Drawing some conclusions

In this paper I have set out to explore how reading and interacting take place in electronic
multimodal/multimedial contemporary literature. In order to achieve this, I have adopted
different concepts within media studies, electronic literature and digital narratology, such as
multimodality, multimediality, hybridity, reading and interactivity, and I have set out to
challenge the longwithstanding hegemony of the book and written text in the analysis of
these concepts.

195

I have also explored how limited some terms were and I have suggested two new
coinages, such as screen/page and read/spectator together with the expansion of the
concept of the body and identity, as a result, and representing the further process of
hybridity that even terminology is experiencing and evidencing.
In particular, I have selected one text from Ipoe Collection, The Tell-Tale Heart to
illustrate the ideas under scrutiny. I have shown how the adaptation of the text presented the
hybridity in its design of its screen/pages, interpolated the read/spectators to interact with
it, integrated multimodal and multimedial elements and expanded the limits of devices by
being accessible and portable. Also I have shown how boundaries became blurred between
the read/spectatorsand the text, by incorporating them within the narrative (c.f. p. 10).
To sum up, new practices of (re)creating and (re)reading contemporary electronic
literature are opening up new horizons, forcing us to reconsider our own roles, our
identities, and tempting us to cross the frontier that separates our bodies from machines
Maybe, it is an invitation to start playing the game of literature, a combinatorial game
(Aarseth, 1997).

References
Aarseth, E. (1997). Cybertext. Perspectives on ergodic literature. Baltimore/ London: The
John Hopkins Universtity Press.
Garca Canclini, N. (2007). Lectores, espectadores e internautas. Barcelona: Gedisa.
Hayles, K. (2008) Electronic literature. New horizons for the literary. Indiana: University
of Notre Dame Press.
Ipoe Collection. Volume I (2013) [Application for Ipad/Ipod] Play Creatividad.
Machin, D. (2007). Introduction to multimodal analysis. New York: Oxford University
Press.
Mora, V. (2012). El lectoespectador. Deslizamientos entre literatura e imagen. Ciudad
Autnoma de Buenos Aires: Seix Barral

196

Page, R. & Thomas, B. (Eds.).(2011). New narratives. Stories and storytelling in the
Digital Age. Lincoln & London: University of Nebraska Press.
Punday, D. (2011).From synesthesia to multimedia: How to talk about new media
narrative. In R. Page &B. Thomas (Eds.), New narratives. Stories and storytelling in
the digital age(pp. 19 34).Lincoln & London: University of Nebraska Press.
Piscitelli, A. (2011) El parenthesis de Gutenberg. La religin digital en la era de las
pantallas ubicuas. (Litwin Lectures 2010). Ciudad Autnoma de Buenos Aires:
Santillana.
Ryan, M. (2011).The interactive onion: Layers of user participation in digital narrative
texts. In R. Page & . Thomas (Eds.), New narratives. Stories and storytelling in the
digital age (pp. 35-62). Lincoln & London: University of Nebraska Press.

197

16 The future teacher of English in

Argentina: The roles of the humanities,
of research and of collaboration in the
new curricula
Mara Susana Ibez
Raquel Lothringer
Universidad Nacional del Litoral

1. Introduction
We are scholars. For our field to grow we need to encourage
a true proliferation of ideologies and methodologies,
rather than to seek uniformity or conformity
Henry Gates

According to the proposal made by the Consejo Federal de Educacin (Res. 167/12) and to
the schedule designed by the Ministry of Education (Res. 2373/12), during 2013 and 2014
the curriculum designs for teacher education are to be revised for new curricula to be
implemented in 2015 at the latest. This is a turning point in teacher education, since it is
inscribed in a major process which includes deep changes in secondary school and in
special education and which aims at nationally unifying teacher education respecting local
198

contexts. At this point, therefore, it becomes most necessary to critically study the texts
which guide the way teachers are educated, for the sake of producing new ones which will
be attuned to this new inclusive secondary school and which will be oriented to current
conceptions of language teaching and of youths.
We propose a critical reading of the document by which this reform is to be guided in
the field of ELT (Proyecto de Mejora para la formacin inicial de profesores para el nivel
secundario, 2011), and of seven circulating curriculum designs. Some of these designs are
being implemented at universities and some at Institutos de Formacin Docente (Cfr. Res.
30/07) from different regions of the country, some are more than ten years old and various
others are the result of recent reform. We review the relevance that different designs give to
three key issues -the humanities, research and collaboration- to start to approach the way in
which teacher education, the teaching profession and the role of teachers of English within
the Argentinean educational system are being envisaged in the present, establishing a
comparison between the attendance load devoted to some humanities to Literary and
Social Studies, to research and to collaboration especially under the form of ICT-- in
designs which are yet to be reformed, and one which has recently been modified. This latter
one states that authors have taken into account Res. 24/07, and does not mention the
recommendations made in PM.
We inquire into the role given to the humanities because teachers should become active
citizens if they are to educate future generation in democratic values (Nussbaum, 2010, p.
2; cfr. Johnson, 2006; Gates, 1993). Hopefully, curriculum change will allow us to veer or
stay-- away from an education centered on technical skills and primarily aimed at
contributing to economic growth. We take an interest in the place given to research because
199

knowledge about education is not only constructed out of experience, but also out of formal
projects and subsequent communication of findings. If future teachers are not encouraged
to inquire into the way their students learn, into what they need to learn and into how
education could be changed for the better, education in our country will heavily rely on
theories and didactic proposals made in other contexts (cfr. Tello, 2006). Finally, the
relevance of collaboration is addressed since we understand teaching as the making of a
number of decisions which are never made in isolation but as part of school communities
(Reagan & Osborn, 2002). As foreign language teachers we need to be taught how to
become active members of these communities if we want to make a significant contribution
to Argentinean education. All these issues have been explored in a key document which we
address in the following section.

2. Federal proposal about the humanities, research and ICT in FL teacher education
Proyecto de mejora para la formacin inicial de profesores para el nivel secundario
(henceforth PM) is a user-friendly non-binding document produced by a team of highly
qualified specialists who advocate for a plurilingual approach to FLT, which provides
direction and focus for the task of curriculum design. According to this proposal, the
education imparted at teacher education colleges is highly valuable, since what teachers
know about teaching is usually constructed out of their classroom experience as students.
Besides, teacher education is envisaged as an opening stage paving the way for lifelong
professional development.
The text is highly critical of the knowledge transmission model and hinges on four
learning foci which place the humanities in a conspicuous position: learning, citizenship,
200

interculturality, discursive practices. It does not prescribe course names or course load.
Instead, it enumerates the experiences students should undergo and the key types of
knowledge and conceptual frameworks they should construct to perform successfully as FL
teachers. The text proposes a set of objectives to be achieved and of activities to be
experienced by the learners to attain those aims, highlighting the role to be played by ICT
and collaborative work. No doubt the PM opens a vast territory that challenges teacher
educators to make informed didactic decisions at the moment of producing new designs. It
also imposes a series of responsibilities on administrators concerning educational policies
during the course and also after graduation to accompany newly graduates as they start to
interact with their different work environments.
The text elaborates on what future teachers need to understand and what experiences
they need to undergo (cfr. Perkins, 1993, 1995) during their education and also during the
first years of their teaching profession. One of the issues of central concern in this text is the
importance to be given to the construction of citizenship, considering that English is both an
imperial language and the language of global communication, and that it has become part of
many different social processes colonization, migrations, multilingualism. Future teachers
need to understand the ideological component to their teaching and the cultural processes
they enter when using one or another language. To promote the understanding of these
issues, the humanities within the curriculum become central, since they could provide the
tools to reflect and analyze situations and visions regarding these social processes. The
humanities consist of all studies which centreon human experience, ways of thinking and of
feeling, and they include languages, art, literature and philosophy, as well as studies which
are also known as social sciences, such as history and psychology.
201

The humanities are concerned with possible ways of feeling and thinking, with
provisional, speculative and imaginative ways of understanding which differ greatly from
the methods of empirical sciences, which positivist thinkers propose as the only valid form
of knowledge (Wierzbicka, 2011). Though practically all fields within the EFL teacher
education curriculum are based on the study of the human being Modern Languages and
Education being part of the humanities we study the role given to Literary and Social
Studies in the current curricula, considering that the study of literary texts and of history
and culture have a direct impact on the understanding of the social processes which result
in the construction of citizenship and of human intercultural experience.
Another element to be formally included in new EFL teacher education curricula is that
of interculturality, the understanding of which is also dependent on the way the humanities
need to be taught. As shown by J. A. Belz (2003), intercultural contact does not necessarily
result in cultural understanding. This implies that future teachers will not only need to
interact with texts in English, but also to adopt a dialogic attitude that will enable them to
understand and communicate with people whose culture differs from theirs, be they
foreigners or nationals. Awareness of alterity, mediation, cultural diversity, dialogue and
difference could be attained by means of the study of various disciplines EFL, Phonetics,
Linguistics, Pedagogy but again here Literary and Social Studies are most fertile, since
they aim precisely at studying the historical, cultural and artistic processes which take place
in foreign communities, which in new designs can be made to compare to related ones
which take place in our country.

202

Regarding Learning, PM proposes the following:

la interlengua () emite seales sobre el estadio del aprendizaje en
que se encuentran los aprendientes y es por este motivo que la interaccin
debera ser tema de constante reflexin e investigacin para todo alumnofuturo profesor y para todo docente en ejercicio. (p. 154)

This assertion suggests that research into the way languages are learned and taught, and
into education in general, should be given a relevant role in the new curricula. What is
more, when considerations are made as to what genres could be taught, the research article
is mentioned. That is the reason why we inquire into the role given to research in the
current curricula: if the design, management, execution and communication of collaborative
research projects, both disciplinary and educational, are part of teacher development, they
are also included among the responsibilities of teacher education institutions. In the inquiry
into curricular designs that we present in this paper, we assume that the teaching of research
methodologies is informed by the teaching of academic writing, and as a consequence we
consider that both contribute to an education in research. We have estimated the course
load devoted to the teaching of both, though there is a chance that research and academic
writing should be addressed in courses other than those especially designed to that purpose.
Related to the issue of research is that of collaboration, since no researcher will attain
significant achievements if working in isolation. An interesting innovation of PM is the
inclusion of considerations regarding what teachers learn in the first years of their
professional careers. At this stage of learning and also throughout the initial, undergraduate
stages, collaboration becomes central. If learning is envisaged as a social activity that takes
place in communities of practice, understanding will only happen if students are made to
experience genuine collaboration, both within and outside the classroom and in real and
203

virtual environments. ICT becomes relevant as a means of communication but also as a

way of encouraging collaboration, since educational technologies are specifically designed
to allow people to communicate and to work together beyond geographical constraints. ICT
is likely to make it possible for graduates to continue working with their educators and
former classmates once they start to work as teachers, to access the foreign cultures they
teach about, and to include collaborative work in their secondary school teaching.

3. Current designs, old and new

In order to evaluate the nature and scope of the changes that are to be introduced in
curriculum designs if they are to comply with the general guidelines provided by PM, we
have read a small sample of seven documents produced between 2001 and 2012 in a
heterogeneous set of academic institutions operating under various educational jurisdictions
(national and provincial universities, teacher training colleges) and located in different parts
of our country. Six designs were written before or coincidentally with the publication of the
PM, and one was completed shortly after. Though there is no mention of PM in the latter,
we expected to find a greater course load devoted to the humanities, research and ICT
considering the key role those fields have acquired in recent years, but as can be seen in
Table 1 below, that was not the case.

204

Institution

Type

Date

Total
attendance
load

Literary and
Social
Studies

Research
and
Academic
Writing

Collaboration
and ICT

N 1

IFD
*

2001

4320

544
(12,6%)

64
(1,48%)

N 2

IFD

2004

4698

1024
(21,79 %)

96
(2,04 %)

64
(1,36%)

N 3

National
University
*

2005

3150

330
(10,47)

110
(3,49%)

N 4

IFD
*

2009

2384

480
(20,13%)

224
(9,39)

80
(3,35 %)

N 5

IFD
*

2011

4064

544
(13,38%

N 6

Provincial
University

2011

3408

384
(11,26%)

96
(2,81 %)

96
(2,81)

N 7

IFD
*

2013

5040

736
(14,60%)

96
(1,90 %)

112
(2,22%)

* In these designs the content of some courses is selected by each college

Table 1. Course load in seven teacher education institutions

It should be noted that our scrutiny was of a quantitative nature and aimed at inquiring
into the importance ascribed to ITC, to academic writing/research and to the subjects
included in the cultural field in terms of the number of 40-minute attendance periods
devoted to them by the jurisdiction. It should also be noted that some jurisdictions included
courses where institutions could make a curricular proposal that responded to their contexts
and educational policies (marked with an asterisk in Table 1). There is a possibility that
ICT, research and cultural related matters should be included in these courses, but still that
was not a jurisdictional decision.
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From the data collected (see Table 1 above) it is clear that, regardless of significant
variations in the total load proposed in the designs, the number of hours devoted to Literary
and Social Studies ranges from a relatively low percentage (10,47%) to a non-negligible
one (20,13%). But if we turn our attention to ICT and to Research and Academic Writing
we can observe either a dramatic absence or a very low incidence of these subjects.
Besides, we cannot overlook the fact that a reading of the contents of three occurrences of
workshops or seminars hinging on ICT aim exclusively at the development of technical
competences, while only one centres on ICT and education. As regards Academic Writing
and Research, there is a tendency to include them in the Formacin para la prctica
profesional field and/or in that of Formacin General, which means that the language used
is not always English but also Spanish. In our opinion this is a serious shortcoming. To
begin with, teachers need to communicate in both languages as part of their professional
development; also, as John Flowerdew (2007) points out,
With the pressures of globalization and the marketinization of the academy
(Aronowitz 2000; Giroux and Myrsiades 2001), more and more scholars
need to write for international journals, which are invariably in English
[]. The challenge for most EAL writers to write at an appropriate level
for publication in international journals is considerable. (p. 14)

Besides, teachers are also likely to teach academic writing in their professional practice,
which calls for the learning of academic writing in the FL during their education.
The results provide evidence that the goals proposed by PM will not be reached unless
significant changes are made to the older designs and sustained action is carried out in the
areas of comparative neglect detected. A comparison between pre-PM designs and the postPM design yields that though the three contents we have explored are sometimes included

206

by the jurisdictions, the attendance load proposed by the newer design does not differ
greatly from that of some older ones. This signals a need to draw the attention of
jurisdictional teams and of the teacher educators who will be invited to participate in the
process of reform to the recommendations made by PM, because those recommendations,
while responding to current perspectives in teacher education, seek to attain some national
coherence at the level of curricular planning.

4. Concluding remarks
In keeping with the epigraph we chose for the Introduction to this paper, we are far from
advocating that uniformity and conformity are desirable in teacher education or in any other
field. However, if teaching degrees are to be valid all over the country, educational reform
has to be carried out on the basis of federal agreement, and though PM does not force
change but recommends courses of action, it expresses views which are shared by
representatives of prestigious institutions from all over the country. Each jurisdiction may
adapt the proposal made in PM to the region, and each institution, in turn, to their students,
but PM recommendations cannot be disregarded.
Once the curricular reform is completed, teacher educators will have to adapt to the
demands of the new designs for curricular reform to grow into real change. Even today,
before the reform is completed, some changes can start to be introduced to attune our
teaching to PM recommendations. For instance, probably it will soon be no longer enough
to teach about the cultural and historical processes of English speaking countries --a
relationship will have to be established with ours in order to promote intercultural
competence. Also, it may not be necessary to wait for the creation of a course exclusively
207

devoted to research, since scientific enquiry can be tackled from the very first years of
teacher education by initiating students in academic writing, in the epistemological
foundation of the disciplines taught and in the research methodologies those disciplines
favour. The same holds true of/for the teaching of ICT: if a course were introduced in the
curriculum but it were aimed exclusively at the development of technical abilities, it is
likely to do very little for the teaching of collaboration. If, on the contrary, ICT is
incorporated to teacher education to promote learning processes --for example, as a means
to favour group processes, a better disciplinary understanding and linguistic and
intersubjective abilities--, it is likely to bear an impact not only on course outcomes, but
also and especially on the quality of future secondary school teaching, as our students will
most probably incorporate their learning experience to their professional practice.
We do not believe that we need to wait for big reforms to reflect about what our
students need if they are to become good secondary school teachers. Once reforms are made
teacher educators will have to be ready to abandon their comfort zones and implement them,
which calls for changes that could very well start much earlier than the reforms themselves.
After all, as Henry Thoreau said in Walden, Things do not change; we change. If we do
not, teacher education will not either.

References
Belz, J. A. (2003). Linguistic perspectives on the development of intercultural competence
in telecollaboration. Language Learning & Technology, 7(2), 6899.
Consejo Federal de Educacin (2007). Resolucin 30/07. Retrieved from
[Link]

Consejo

Federal

de

Educacin

(2012).

Resolucin

167/12.

Retrieved

from

[Link]

Flowerdew, J. (2007). The non-Anglophone scholar on the periphery of scholarly

208

[Link] Linguistic inequality in scientific communication today, Carli, Augusto

& Ammon, Ulrich (Eds.), Aila Review Vol. 20. Amsterdam/Philadelphia, John
Benjamins Publishing Company, pp. 14-27.
Gates, H. (1993). Loose Cannons: Notes on the Culture Wars. New York, OUP.
Instituto Nacional de Formacin Docente (2011). Proyecto de mejora para la formacin
inicial de profesores para el nivel secundario. Retrieved from
[Link]
Johnson, K. (2006). The sociocultural turn and its challenges for second language teacher
education, TESOL Quarterly, 40(1), 235-257. Retrieved from:
Ministry of Education, Argentina (2012). Resolucin 2373/12. Retrieved from
[Link]
[Link]?sequence=1
Nussbaum, M. (2010). Not for Profit: Why Democracy Needs the Humanities. Princeton,
NJ: Princeton University Press.
Perkins, D. (1993). Teaching for [Link] Educator, 17, 28-35. Retrieved
from: [Link]
Perkins, D. (1995). La escuela inteligente. Del adiestramiento de la memoria a la
educacin de la mente. Barcelona: Gedisa.
Tello, C. (2006). Formacin docente y conocimiento. Un binomio en crisis: el caso
argentino. Educere, 10(33), 283-301.
Reagan, T. & Osborn, T. (2002). The foreign language educator in society: Toward a
critical pedagogy. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.
Wierzbicka, A. (2011). Defining the humanities. Humanities Australia, 2, 53-61.

209

17 Using Spanish in academic English

language learning
Nancy C. Gonzlez
Instituto Balseiro, Bariloche

1. Introduction

In this paper I explore teachers' and learners' beliefs and attitudes towards the use of
Spanish within the context of my adult academic EFL classes. To do this, first I review
some literature on this issue and on learning at large; then I reflect upon my work
environment and the instances when it would be convenient to resort to L1 analyzing the
particular reasons for tipping the scales in favor of translation to foster language learning.

2. Background
Most teachers my generation in Argentina have been led to believe that a successful
English lesson should rule Spanish out. In methodology classes we were given tools to
discourage students from using L1 and encourage them to always speak English. This
might be why, although we know in the light of current research that there is no reason why
210

we should not use translation when we deem it more effective than the English explanation,
we cannot help but feel that we are committing some kind of methodology crime if we
translate.
On the other hand, students more often than not resort to Spanish to make sense of the
teaching contents we present, and it is only natural that they do so, Spanish being the
linguistic background they possess. If we asked our adult students about this question, we
would see that they do not share our beliefs and attitudes to translation.

3. Literature review

From the beginnings of the 1970s, with the advent of communicative teaching and the
Direct Method practitioners to the English teaching world, translation has been generally
out of fashion. This has been so, probably, due to the negative attitude towards the
Grammar Translation Method against which these practices were reacting. Although GTM
is unsatisfactory in many aspects, the use of translation does not make us advocates of this
method and, what is more, there is no reason why the use of students first language (L1)
should not be considered in the context of a communicative approach. As a matter of fact,
from the 1980s there has been a number of authors in the field of second language
acquisition who claimed that the use of L1 in the L2 classroom is necessary and, at times,
essential to facilitate second and foreign language learning.

Among the large amount of literature, I selected some to analyze this issue from
different perspectives.
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3.1.

A sociolinguistic perspective

I found the sociolinguists views particularly interesting because they refer to the social and
individual conflicts entailed by the L2 language learning process. In chapter 7, Second
language learning as participation and re-construction of selves (Lantolf, 2002), Aneta
Pavlenko and James Lantolf (2002) view language learning not as the acquisition of a
new set of grammatical, lexical and phonological forms but as a struggle of concrete
socially constituted and always situated beings to participate in the symbolically mediated
lifeworld of another culture. They see second language learning as the struggle for
participation in the second language community. In fact, they note that the metaphor
participation has emerged to complement the metaphor of acquisition in language
learning. The individuals undergoing this process are marginalized and feel threatened in
their individuality because all their cultural/cognitive background which constitutes their
selves is challenged when confronted to this new cultural/cognitive knowledge expressed in
and through the new language. It is interesting to read the immigrant stories quoted in this
book, to get an overall idea of the deep personal impact suffered by these people struggling
to acquire a language to participate in the new communitys social life.
Earlier but still frequently quoted literature addresses the same issue from the same
perspective. In a provocative article, Elsa Auerbach (1993) gives a sociopolitical rationale
for the use of the L1 in ESL classrooms. She primarily addresses the situation of immigrant
ESL learners studying in the United States. Her conclusions, however, are applicable to any
second language learners in any context. In this article, she states that everyday classroom
practices, far from being neutral and natural, have ideological origins and consequences for

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relations of power both inside and outside the classroom. Auerbach (1993) summarized
her conclusion as to using L1 in the classroom in the following way: Starting with the L1
provides a sense of security and validates the learners lived experiences, allowing them to
express themselves. The learner is then willing to experiment and take risks with English.
Liliana Piasecka seconds Auerbachs position when she states, Ones sense of identity
as an individual is inextricably bound up within ones native language.... If the learner of a
second language is encouraged to ignore his/her native language, he/she might well feel
his/her identity threatened (Piasecka, 2012).
Although our EFL students backgrounds are not the same as the immigrants
backgrounds described in Pavlenkos and Lantolfs chapter, I think that they also
experience the same emotional turmoil while acquiring the L2. After all, our students are
also trying to be part of a new language community and until they have acquired the
necessary linguistic competences to work effectively in this new environment, they are
bound to feel somehow marginal and threatened.

3.2.

Applied linguistics

The Applied Linguists perspective is no less interesting. In chapter 6 of their book:

Between Worlds: Access to Second Language Acquisition, David E. Freeman & Yvonne S.
Freeman (2006) analyze why and how teachers should try to make the best of their students
by respecting their learning styles and by celebrating their first language and culture. Since
cooperative learning is proposed by these authors as one of the most appropriate situations
for L2 acquisition, an amount of L1 interaction should both be expected and welcome. Peer

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teaching is prompted as a resourceful mechanism for making students interact and acquire
the language, no matter if this peer coaching is conducted in the L1 or the L2.

Seeking to prove how being aware of the importance of the first language helps both
teachers and learners, they provide concrete examples on how to make the best use of the
L1, such as their preview, view and review technique. Basically, they suggest using the L1
for preview so that everyone knows what is going to happen in class, using the L2 for the
activities and closing again with the L1 to summarize the key ideas and raise questions on
the lesson.

One of the first and main advocates of mother tongue use in the communicative
classroom has been David Atkinson (1993). Atkinson points out the methodological gap
present at that time in the literature, concerning the use of the mother tongue, and argues a
case in favor of its restricted and principled use mainly in accuracy-oriented tasks. He lists
the following appropriate uses for the L1 in the L2 classroom.

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Figure 1. Atkinsons (1993) list of appropriate uses for the L1 in the L2 classroom.
Tomlinsons concept of inner voice is, in my view, crucial to understand the process of
L2 acquisition and to reassess the impact of L1 in this context. A rough definition of inner
voice is speech in the mind; it is the internal voice we use when talking to ourselves or
when repeating what we have heard or read. Although the inner voice is different from the
public voice, it does use a variety of the same language. Examples of inner speech
215

utterances are: "Not again!", "Poor guy", "Allright, nothing very unusual.", "Why so much
work?", "Why did I do that?", "What to do now?", "Weird. Doesn't make sense."
(Tomlinson, 2001).
Tomlinson argues that: It is very difficult to use an inner voice when learning an L2
from formal instruction. When we learned our L1 we did so in what was primarily a private
and personal way. We talked to ourselves before we talked to others and even when we
talked out loud we were often using a private voice which was self-directed. However,
when we learn an L2 in the classroom we are usually required to use a public voice from
the very beginning. We are not normally given time to talk to ourselves but are required to
participate in public interaction. Our L1 inner voice is inhibited by the need to produce L2
utterances which will be subject to public scrutiny. So, instead of developing thoughts and
ideas in our heads before speaking them aloud, we put all our mental energy into finding
the right L2 words in the right form and the right order. We use the L1 inner voice for
translating from L1 to L2 and for monitoring the correctness of our utterances in the L2.
And in most cases we do not develop an L2 inner voice for a very long time, mainly
because most of the activities we participate in as beginners demand instant responses and
ask us to report our experience rather than to process it. Other reasons are that we are afraid
to be "ungrammatical" in our heads in case this interferes with what we say aloud and
because the de-contextualized triviality and blandness of much of the language we are
required to process and produce does not encourage thought. (Tomlinson, 2001).

Considering these professional opinions can shed some light on our discussion
because, if our thoughts and ideas are shaped in our L1 and this becomes evident when
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trying to acquire an L2 or L3, shouldnt we as language teachers prioritize clear

understanding of ideas before we demand correct encoding of these ideas in the foreign
language?

3.3.

The neurosciences

These relatively new sciences have offered fascinating insights into the human brain which
have helped understand human cognition and emotion. For the purpose of this analysis, I
will just consider some aspects of Cognitive Learning which also apply to language
learning.

Cognitive Neuroscience distinguishes two types of learning: Emotional and Cognitive.

Emotional Learning is characterized by being quick, unconscious and effortless. On the
other hand, Cognitive Learning is described as being slow and difficult, requiring a
conscious effort and consuming a lot of energy. It may also even be deemed dangerous if
new knowledge contradicts existing knowledge which the brain considers essential for
surviving.
Our bulk of existing knowledge consolidated in hebbian networks or neural networks is
called Security Zone or Comfort Zone. Learning implies widening this Comfort Zone, a
process which entails defeating initial fear, confusion, and rejection. Additionally,
Cognitive Learning has two mortal enemies: boredom, caused by low dopamine levels, and
anxiety, caused by high dopamine levels. To overcome all these strong emotions and
succeed through all the stages of learning, we need to come to terms with the new
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knowledge, that is to say we need to understand, because when we understand we make the
necessary neural connections which can, in their turn, allow us to go beyond our Comfort
Zone.
Thus, being learning such a complex process and understanding such a key factor for it
to take place, we might consider using L1 to facilitate the necessary understanding prior to
language learning.

4. My personal teaching experience

It has always been my feeling that adult learners in particular, being cognitively oriented,
value translation and benefit from it. To estimate the extent of this assumption, I designed a
short questionnaire which addressed students feelings and attitudes towards the use of
Spanish. Surveyed student population consisted of young adults distributed in six courses
ranging from beginner to high-intermediate level. I should point out that, besides collecting
data, giving out the quiz resulted in a lively class discussion about learning strategies in
general and about the use of Spanish to make sense of English, in particular.
This was the questionnaire given:
USE OF TRANSLATION IN THE EFL CLASS
Students Questionnaire
1- How do you feel when you translate a new word / new words into Spanish?
a- Relieved, because you get the meaning clear.
b- Guilty, because you should understand without having to translate.
c- Dont have any special feeling, because its all part of learning.

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2- How necessary is it for you to find the Spanish equivalent for a new word / words?
a- Very necessary, I cannot do without it.
b- Not so necessary, I feel I can manage without it.
c- It depends, at times I need it badly but some other times I just dont
.
3- Do you want to add any ideas on this issue?

And these were the overall results:

Question 1: a = 22%

b = 0%

c = 78%

Question 2: a = 39.3%

b = 28.2%

c = 62.5%

It is interesting to note that beginners felt more inclined to choose a answers whereas
intermediate and high-intermediate students preferred c answers.
For the last question, some interesting issues concerning learners strategies popped up,
among which I transcribe the following:
In Physics, it is good to realize that a new word like chiral doesnt have a clear meaning
neither in Spanish nor in English, so sometimes there is only one barrier to overcome:
Physics.
Para entender, necesito establecer una relacin entre el significado de la frase en ingls
con el sentido de la frase en espaol.
I think its better to try to understand the complete sentence and, only when its necessary,
to translate a specific word

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5. My reasons for translating

1- Its clear and it saves time: Consider, for example, teaching the word coil in an
engineering students class. Would you have them check it up in an English-English
dictionary or would you simply say it means: bobina?
2- It lowers anxiety. In a particular class, I explained the meaning of wrap by saying:
When you buy a birthday present, the shop assistant wraps it up in a nice color
paper, maybe ties a ribbon around it and they might also stick a card for you to
write. While I was miming the actions, I noticed a students lost blank look and I
asked him: How would you say wrap in Spanish? He said envolver, still blankfaced. Then he said: But I thought it meant atrapar because I saw the word in a
NatGeo documentary program being used in connection to how an octopus catches
its preys ahok, I get it, its the way it catches the prey In this way, the initial
anxiety caused by the apparent ambiguity was solved.
Lowering anxiety becomes relevant to favor intellectual cognitive learning which,
according to the neurosciences, is difficult, slow and consumes a lot of energy.
3- It tackles prior knowledge: We know that activation of prior knowledge is always
useful to integrate new input in existing cognitive schemata. Besides, from a
sociolinguistics perspective, addressing students previous knowledge empowers
their identity, that is, who they are and what they know become relevant.

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6. Conclusion
Foreign language teaching-learning is such a varied and dynamic field that I believe that the
mother tongue should be incorporated naturally as another useful instrument in the
communicative foreign language classroom. This does not mean denying the fact that our
students need as much exposure as possible to L2 during class time which, in many cases,
will be the only time when they encounter the language. Besides, it is also true that when
students try to communicate in English, they activate necessary cognitive strategies to
acquire the linguistic ability which they would not activate otherwise, like negotiating
meaning, for example.
However, whenever we are confronted with something new, it is a natural instinct to
look for similarities with things that are familiar, to try and draw some comparison with
what we already know. Consciously or unconsciously, we bring what we know to what we
do not, making it impossible to learn anything entirely from scratch. Thus, it is not possible
to learn a foreign language without relying to some extent on your mother tongue, and the
impulse to look for similarities and to draw conclusions based on them is as strong here as
in any other learning context.
Even in the classroom using the most direct language-teaching methods, the learner
will still, out of necessity, conduct an internal dialogue or rationalization in his native
tongue. This impulse will be stronger with the greater the incidence of apparent similarities.
We, as teachers, might do well in warning our students against these dangers of
overgeneralization. In this respect, the overuse of the L1 in the L2 classroom may be

221

prejudicial. All in all, it is always for us teachers to decide when and how we are going to
resort to L1 to enhance learning of L2.
Decision making is a fascinating component of our classes because it is based on our
theoretical and experiential knowledge but it is also exciting free play. When it comes to
deciding whether to translate or not, I believe teachers should trust the criteria that mind
dictates but also the intuition and creative spark present in our hearts and guts.

References
Auerbach, E. (1993). Reexamining English only in the ESL [Link] Quarterly,
27(1), 9-32.
Atkinson, D. (1987). The mother tongue in the classroom: A neglected resource? ELT
Journal, 41(4), 241-247.
Freeman, D. E., & Freeman, Y. S. (2001). What are key concepts, models and theories in
bilingual education? In D. E Freeman & Y. S Freeman (Eds.), Between worlds: Access
to second language acquisition (pp. 176-223). Cambridge: Heinemann.
Lantolf, J. P. (2002). Second language learning as participation and re-construction of
selves. In Lantolf, J. P (Ed.), Sociocultural theory and second language learning.
(pp.155-178). Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Logatt Grabner, C. (2011, January 9). Las Etapas del Aprendizaje. [Web log
post].Retrieved from
[Link]
Logatt Grabner, C., & Castro,M. (2011). El gran secreto: "Por qu somos como
somos" .Editorial LPF
Logatt Grabner, C,.& Castro, M. (2011). El Libro de las Reglas Mentales"Neurociencias
aplicadas al cambio y desarrollo humano". Editorial LPF
Piasecka, L. (2012). Variable effects of foreign language learning on learners identity. In
E. Piechurska-Kuciel& L. Piasecka (Ed.), Variability and stability in foreign and
second language learning contexts: Volume 2. (pp.116-133). Cambridge: Cambridge
Scholars.
Tomlinson, B. (2001). The inner voice: A critical factor in L2 Learning. Journal of the
Imagination in Language Learning and Teaching, Volume VI. Retrieved from
[Link]

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18 The use of multimodal resources to

explore a texts voices
Rosa Ins Cneo
Natacha Carolina Snchez Romera
Universidad Nacional de San Juan

1. Introduction
our speech is filled with others words,
varying degrees of otherness and varying degrees of our-own-ness
Bakhtin, 1968
The idea that a text is filled with the voices of others,apart from the writers, has been
present in the field of discourse studies for several decades now. Experienced writers bring
voices to the text to achieve various effects and experienced readers can spot those voices
and explore their significance in the overall meaning of a text. In the world of EFL, in
which most readers are still in the process of developing the strategies that will make them
more proficient language users, identifying such voices can bea challenge.
This paper is part of the pedagogical component of a research project carried out at the
Facultad de Filosofa, Humanidades y Artes, Universidad Nacional de San Juan. It presents
some visual and digital tools for the identification and exploration of the multiple voices
223

which are present in a written text. We believe that going beyond the verbal or linguistic
component of a text and using multimodal resources as an aid in reading comprehension
can help students discover a texts voices: a task which is often back-grounded in the EFL
reading class. Our general research perspective is informed by Systemic Functional
Linguistics (SFL) (Halliday & Matthiessen, 2004), and our approach to the identification of
voices or sources is based on research by Murcia Bielsa and ODonnell (2011). We
further support our proposal by drawing on Multimodal studies (Jewitt, 2008; Kress& Van
Leeuwen,2001) as we believe that the EFL classroom can be enriched by teachers and
students working with a multiplicity of modes, rather than focusing on the linguistic mode
exclusively.
We firmly believe that if students are guided in an adequate learning environment, they
can become aware of the presence of various voices in a text and of the impact those
choices have in the construction of meaning.

2. Attribution to sources: the voices brought to a text

A texts words or ideas can be presented as the writers, or attributed explicitly or implicitly
to external sources. In the field of EFL, the study or analysis of sources in a text has been
traditionally associated with reported speech structures; however, language offers other
ways of attributing information. Moving away from form-dominated perspectives, we
endorse a meaning-centered approach to the exploration of sources, which includes other
linguistic resources apart from the conventional subordination or coordination patterns
covered in reported speech lessons. Within the SFL framework, Martin and Rose (2007, p.
52) claim that the words and thoughts of others can be introduced into a text by means of
224

several linguistic resources. These resources are presented below, with examples drawn
from our research corpus:
projecting clauses, i.e. subordinated or coordinated clauses traditionally
associated with reported speech. (This young generation has known so
much sadness and anguish, he said in an interview that year.)
projecting within clauses, i.e. with no subordination structure. This is
realized by verbs embodying verbal and mental processes known as
projecting verbs in the SFL framework. (But Mr. Sbato was criticized for
initially appearing to support the military dictatorship. The New York
Times, May 2, 2011)
naming speech acts; i.e. using words -often nominalizations- which imply
one or more voices, such as discussion, debate, protest, etc. (...he
helped draft a statement of protest concerning writers who had disappeared.
The New York Times, May 2, 2011)
using scare quotes, i.e. the writers use of punctuation to separate
him/herself from the words used. (After nine and a half months of
investigation, the commission produced NuncaMs, which compiled
evidence of about 9,000 disappeared persons. The New York Times, May
2, 2011).
To this list, in line with Murcia Bielsa and ODonnells proposal, we add the introduction
of voices by means of circumstantial elements:

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adverbial elements used to attribute ideas or information, such as according

to, in the words of.(In a rare 2008 interview with the newspaper
Pagina12, Ms. Walsh...The Washington Post, January 12, 2011)

Focusing on the effect that attributing information may have, Murcia Bielsa and ODonnell
(2011) have explored sourcing as part of a study of the presence of power and ideology in
discourse. Drawing on research by White on the Appraisal Framework (Available at
[Link] these authors explain the various purposes of bringing -or choosing not
to bring- voices to a text, and present a classification of sources along the following lines:
a) who is presented as holding responsibility for the information; b) the writers
endorsement or disendorsement of the information; c) the placement of the information in
the text; and d) descriptive features of the source (including its independence and status)
which help construe the sources credibility. The authors explain that a fact or piece of
information can be:
unsourced
sourced
If sourced, the information can be:
1. endorsed or unendorsed, depending on whether the responsibility for what
is said is shared by the writer or not;
2. introduced by direct or indirect quotation;
3. introduced by a personal/ impersonal; singular / plural; ornamed/unnamed /
anonymous source;

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6.

introduced

by

source

enjoying

high,

middle

or

low

independence(depending on the interests at stake in relation towhat is being

said);
7. introduced by a source enjoying high or low status in society.
In general terms, when no sources are cited, the information is presented as true facts. On
the other hand, when writers attribute information to a source, they often do it as a way of
shaping opinions, favoring information which fits their position, and disfavoring
information which goes against their position (Murcia Bielsa& ODonnell, 2011).
Needless to say, these effects are extremely relevant in any critical approach to the study of
texts, and are often discussed as instances of intertextuality, which Fairclough defines as:
... basically the property texts have of being full of snatches of other texts,
which may be explicitly demarcated or merged in, and which the text may
assimilate, contradict, ironically echo, and so forth. (Fairclough, 1992, p.
84).
External voices which are - in Faircloughs words - explicitly demarcated would
represent, for a traditional form-based linguistic framework, a case of direct speech, and
those voices that are merged in the discourse would fall into the category of indirect or
reported speech.
These considerations, which may be familiar to discourse analysts, can be kept away
from the EFL classroom on the assumption that this type of analysis should be reserved for
native speakers or very advanced classes. We claim that through the use of some
pedagogical tools, in particular through the use of multimodal resources, teachers can help
students from various levels to reflect critically on the presence and effect of the sources
brought to a text.
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3. Multimodality as a resource
As educators have become well aware of, todays children and adolescents are a new kind
of students. They are digital natives (Prensky, 2001) who were born and are being raised
surrounded by visual, electronic and digital texts which Kress and Van Leeuwen (2001),
among other researchers, call multimodal texts. According to Anstey and Bull (2010), a
multimodal text is one that combines two or more of the five recognized semiotic systems:
linguistic, visual, audio, gestural and spatial.
In a 2007 study involving a group of British students from three to sixteen, Eve
Bearneand her research team (in Walsh, 2004) explored the skills and strategies used by the
students for reading screen-based texts. The researchers could not assert if the learners
manipulation of multimodal texts was actually affecting their learning process or if they
were developing cognitive abilities different from those necessary for reading traditional
print-based texts, a dilemma that is likely to remain unanswered for some time. However,
what became evident in Bearnes study was that for the younger generations reading is not
just reading in the traditional sense of the term; rather, it is reading and viewing. The way
these learners make meaning has definitely changed.
Multimodality in the world of education implies, as Kress (2005, p. 5) explains,
moving away from representation primarily through writing to representation primarily
through image.

How can we bring a multimodal approach to the reading of a

mostlymonomodal text in an EFL class? We argue for the integration of print and visual
modes, and agree with Walsh (2008, p. 1) when she claims that multimodal texts and printbased texts are different but not mutually exclusive. We believe we can bring in the
228

multimodal resources of image and screen to highlight various aspects of a text and guide
students to identify text elements -in this case, a texts voices- which may be otherwise
passed up.
Researchers and practitioners in the field of EFL need to respond to the demands
brought about by the new generations of learners and devise pedagogical tools to cater for
the particular characteristics of these young learners.

4. Tools proposed
We present a few ideas for the use of multimodal resources to identify and explore voices
in a text. The list is by no means exhaustive. Resourceful teachers will certainly find ways
of expanding it based on their students needs and interests.
a. Speech bubbles
The first and most basic suggestion is the drawing of simple speech bubbles next to what
a writer presents as somebody elses words or ideas. This does not require any sophisticated
technology and can be done quite easily in any classroom context. For example, the voices
in the following made-up text can be highlighted graphically as follows:
avoice

When he entered the room, he thought he was alone, but when he heard
a voicecalling his name he realized there was someone else. The
mysterious voice asked: Are you looking for me?This
mysterious
voice

Whosev
oice?

questionscared him at first, but he did not panic. He knew he had to

remain calm, and be the tough guy...

family and
friends?

Figure [Link] of the use of speech bubbles

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This tool can be used in different ways, from a simple exercise in which students are asked
to draw a bubble next to a sourced reference, to a more complex task in which, apart from
drawing, students are asked to colour code the graphic forms following specific criteria, for
example using Murcia Bielsa and ODonnells classification presented above. Moving
away from the traditional approach to Reported Speech, we could also ask students to
identify names of speech acts (such as the question in the previous example) and make
them reflect on how these are used to represent external voices.

b. Digital conceptual mapping

A slightly more sophisticated resource is the digital tool called IHMC Cmap
([Link] which can be used for a multiplicity of purposes and can
easily be adapted to visually represent voices in a text. For example, a Cmap can be used to
help students discover and illustrate the argumentative pattern in a text. This may be
regarded as a complex reading comprehension activity. Yet, we believe that this digital tool
can help to make the challenge more accessible to modern day visual learners.
The example below illustrates the use of a C-map to identify the positions construed
through the various voices present in the selected text, which is part of the corpus of our
research project. For this task, we rely on the three argumentation categories proposed by
Martin and Rose (2008) within the SFL framework. These authors claim that, depending on
the positions deployed in a text, argumentation can take one of the following forms:
exposition, with a single-position defended, mostly through the writers own voice;
challenge, with two competing positions put forward and only one presented as valid; and
discussion, with various positions presented and one generally favoured above the others.
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In general terms, expositions are more likely to be single-voiced, and challenges and
discussions tend to contain a multiplicity of voices.
Through the use of visual representations afforded by C map, students can be guided to first
identify the voices and corresponding positions in a given text(Figure 2) and then to
discover the argumentative pattern (Figure 3).This can become an effective way of dealing
with the seeming complexity of such tasks.

Figure 2. Identifying voices and positions in Argentina Senate to Vote on Gay Marriage,
The New York Times, July 14, 2010

231

Figure [Link] a texts argumentation pattern in Argentina Senate to Vote on Gay

Marriage, The New York Times, July 14, 2010
Figure 2 above clearly shows that the text under analysis presents a multiplicity of
perspectives but favours only one of the positions. Figure 3, in turn, guides students to help
them define the argumentative pattern, in this case, a discussion.
It is through the visual representation that the task can become accessible to students
and the reading comprehension process can be enhanced. Such combination of linguistic,
visual and digital modes can be used to improve reading comprehension skills in a way
which is more appealing tocurrent day learnersand morecompatible with their surrounding
environment.

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c. On-line cartoon strip maker

Taking the visual component one step further, the use of a tool such as ToonDoo
([Link] to create on-line cartoon strips may allow students to represent
the voices in a text, bringing in images and photographs to accompany the words. This
resource can be used for a variety of tasks, ranging in complexity depending on the
students level.
Figure 4 shows a traditional reported speech exercise, in which students have to
provide the actual words of a reported version contained in a given text. This
transformation exercise, which is likely to appear in most language courses, becomes a
more appealing activity when it is channelled through visual and digital modes as in the
example provided.

Figure [Link] representing voices in Maradona: All you could hear was Messi
crying". [Link], February 13, 2013

Using ToonDoo, students can create their own characters, either based on photographs or
on image banks, i.e. life-like or picture-based representations. In the illustration above,
which relates to a text about well-known figures, web-images can be used in the
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representation. In the case of texts such as short stories or other texts which contain
fictional characters, students may be asked to imagine what such voices might look like,
using descriptive features in the text or other contextual or cultural information, such as the
social roles played by the participants. They can then decide what resources to use in their
graphic creation.
The type of speculation involved in guessing what a source might look like can become
an interesting topic for discussion, as many times decisions made by students will be based
on stereotypes or preconceptions. Teachers might use such opportunities to challenge any
negative or prejudiced view.
The three tools illustrated above show that visual and digital resources can be adapted
to suit the needs and interests of students with varying degrees of linguistic sophistication,
with tasks adjusted accordingly. Once a teacher becomes familiar with these tools, a world
of unlimited possibilities opens up, which is likely to enrich the students learning
experience.

5. Closing remarks
We believe that the tools presented constitute simple resources to help students discover
aspects of a text which may go unnoticed in an EFL class. Through initial guidance and
explicit instruction, students may start to recognize the identities construed in a text instead
of viewing it as a single-voiced, indisputable cultural product. This is clearly a worthwhile
educational objective.

234

References
Anstey, M., & Bull, G. (2010).Helping teachers to explore multimodal texts. Curriculum
Leadership. An electronic Journal for leaders in education, 8 (16), front page. At
[Link]
[Link]?issueID=12141
Bakhtin, M.M. (1981). The dialogic imagination: Four essays. Austin: University of Texas
Press.
Barrionuevo, A. (July 14, 2010). Argentina Senate to Vote on Gay Marriage. The New York
Times, pp. A11.
Barrionuevo, A.(May 2, 2011). Ernesto Sbato, Argentinas Conscience, Is Dead at [Link]
New York Times, pp. A 25.
Brunati, V. (February 13, 2013). Maradona: "All you could hear was Messi crying".
[Link], n.p. Retrieved from
[Link]
ml
Fairclough, N. (1992). Discourse and social change. Cambridge: Polity Press.
Halliday, M.A.K., &Matthiessen, C. (2004).Introduction to functional grammar (3rd
edition). London: Edward Arnold.
Kress, G. (2005).Gains and losses: New forms of texts, knowledge and [Link]
and Composition: An International Journal, 22(1),5-22.
Kress, G., &Van Leeuwen, T. (2001).Multimodal discourse(1st edition).Bloomsbury, USA:
Hodder Arnold Publication.
Jewitt, C.(2008).Multimodality and literacy in school [Link] of Research in
Education, 32, 241-267.
Martin, J., & Rose, D. (2007).Genre relations: Mapping culture. London: Equinox
Publishing Ltd.
Murcia, S., &ODonnell M. (2011).Language and power in English texts. Course material
developed for a PhD Program at the Universidad Autnoma de Madrid. Retrieved
from [Link]
Prensky, M. (2001). Digital natives, Digital immigrants. On the [Link] University
Press, Vol. 9 No. 5, October 2001, 1-6.
The Washington Post (January 12, 2011).Argentine's books entertained children but carried
messages. Retrieved from [Link]
Walsh, M. (2005). Reading visual and multimodal texts: how is 'reading'
different?Multiliteracies& English Teaching K-12 in the Age of Information &
Communication Technologies 2004.

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19 Reflecting on identity and

intercultural issues through literature
Mara Ximena Maceri
Pontificia Universidad Catlica Argentina,
ISFDyT N24 (Quilmes), EES N11 (San Miguel), EES N10 (Jos C. Paz)

1. Literature, culture and empty mirrors

Analysing the different reasons why literature can be used in the language classroom, Lazar
(1993) refers to some features generally associated to the literary text: its potential to
engage the reader and arise motivation, its authenticity and educational value, the fact that
it exposes language creatively and so students may gain language awareness and develop
interpretative abilities and, last but not least, the possibility that literature gives to students
to discuss cultural elements and establish connections between the culture presented in the
literary text and the readers own culture. In this regard, the author states that literature can
provide students with access to the culture of the people whose language they are studying
(Lazar, 1993, p.16). Nonetheless, the relationships between literature and culture can be of
a complicated nature. The author claims that this is so due to different factors: a) the
complex relationship between culture and literature; b) the fact that literature reflects only
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some aspects of the culture it derives from, which implies that it cannot be thought of as a
full and factual reliable cultural description; c) how culture is defined will inevitably alter
the way in which literature is understood; and finally, d) the fact that literature written in
English nowadays is representative of so many divergent cultures, it may be interesting to
identify the imposition of particular imperialistic values (Lazar, 1993, p.16). In view of
this and in reference to how literature can be read cross-culturally, it may be argued that
one factor that can counteract the complexity existing between culture and literature is the
fact that many themes are recurrent in different cultures. Thus, it might be very useful to
establish relationships between the literary text and the culture studied in the classroom in
order to bridge the gap that may exist between the student and the culture represented in the
text.
Delving into the meanings of culture, it might be appropriate at this stage to identify
some of its features in order to be able, eventually, to search for agreement on what is it to
be taught in a language classroom where the use of literature is associated to the analysis of
cultures. The Collins English dictionary refers to culture as the total of the inherited ideas,
beliefs, values and knowledge, which constitute the shared bases of social action [...]
activities and ideas of a group of people with shared traditions, which are transmitted and
reinforced by members of the group. If literature can help students discover new forms of
life and different ways of seeing the world, this inevitably constitutes a further step in the
development of their own identity. Being able to experience a different culture through the
use of literature implies that the individual has the possibility to examine his or her own
culture, too. This introspection allows for new thoughts and new comprehensions. Identity,
then, is to be regarded as the state of having unique identifying characteristics held by no
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other person or thing [...] the individual characteristics by which a person or thing is
recognized [...] that relation that holds only between any entity and itself. (Collins
dictionary). In an attempt to establish a clear relationship between culture and identity, it
becomes evident that there is a close link between the two of them. The individual
characteristics that make one person have a specific identity by extension, a social group
sharing identity features- contribute to the configuration of the cultural patterns to which
that person or social group adheres and, at the same time, they are the basis for their
individual and collective action. In this way, it may be argued that identity and culture can
be regarded as complementary: one allowing for the existence of the other.
In this context, after acknowledging the value of literature in the language classroom
and its potential for the analysis of culture and the development of identity, there only
remains one term to bring to the equation, that is the concept of interculturalism. Meer and
Modood (2012) write extensively on the differences between interculturalism and
multiculturalism and state that the first one is connected with
something greater than co-existence [] interculturalism is allegedly more geared
toward interaction and dialogue than multiculturalism [] interculturalism is
conceived as something less groupist or more yielding of synthesis than
multiculturalism [] interculturalism is something more committed to a stronger
sense of the whole (Meer & Modood, 2012, p. 177).

Though the differences between interculturalism and multiculturalism can shed some light
on how to work better inside the classroom, some questions still linger on: Are we as
teachers prepared to work with these concepts in mind? Do we simply observe
multiculturalism in our classrooms or we go further to think in terms of interculturalism
and integration? What is interculturalism in our contexts, how is it to be understood in the
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field of teaching foreign languages? And, what consequences does it bring to the daily
work in the classroom? What fictional settings do we encounter in the literature we teach
that might explore the concepts of culture, identity and interculturalism? More importantly,
what is our standpoint as educators in regard to these terms and what are the implications?
In an article summarizing the basis for a doctoral study conducted by Tammy
Schwartz, the author recalls the words by poet Adrienne Rich and uses them to introduce
the subject of the latent relationship between schooling and identity development. Rich
illustrates what often becomes a sad reality: When someone with the authority of a
teacher, say, describes the world and you are not in it, there is a moment of psychic
disequilibrium, as if you looked into a mirror and saw nothing. (Schwartz, 2004, p.16).
The article by Schwartz is concerned with the problems that exist in a community of
Appalachian descent in the United States, where a group of young female students are sent
in a mission to recover part of their collective identity through the analysis of written texts.
Their discovery helps both the students and the author to come to terms with some images
generally associated to the neighbourhood they live in and the concluded work reflects how
their own culture is clearly different from the hegemonic one. In the final lines of her work
Schwartz raises another question that could be added to the ones above: Can teachers,
principals, and the districts in which they work create learning spaces so that diversity is
privileged over uniformity? (Schwartz, 2004, p. 21). Hopefully, professionals who are
aware of the intercultural nature of their classrooms and who have an interest in working
for the plural and the diverse will not surrender to the image of the empty mirrors reflecting
no one in particular and will work towards filling those mirrors with images of multiple
voices.
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2. Discussing two examples

One way to work with literature in the name of diversity can be through the selection of
texts whose characters and themes embody the difficulties of being different in hostile
environments. This paper explores the construction of identity and issues regarding
interculturalism in two literary texts written by female authors. The first one is the famous
and Pulitzer winner novel by Toni Morrison Beloved, which explores the lives of a former
slave woman and her family around the times of the Reconstruction in the United States.
The novel exposes the reader to one of the crudest possible realities of a woman who
commits infanticide in order to prevent her children from becoming slaves. Morrison
artfully constructs a narrative loaded with memorable scenes, most of them with a high
degree of explicit brutality that illustrate the hardships of black female identity construction
in the context of abolition. The second text is a short story published in 1994 in a volume
called

Did my mama like to dance?: and other stories about mothers and daughters

written by the Cuban-American author Cecilia Rodrguez Milans. The short story is titled
Abuela Marielita, and tells us about a woman who has come to live in the United States
with her daughters family after migrating from Cuba in the 1980s. The story is full of
domestic details that describe a compassionate character who has begun to feel forgotten
even in the house she inhabits and surrounded by her own daughters family. In spite of the
obvious differences these two texts have in connection to length, setting, plot and authors
background , it is possible to think of them as interesting examples to bring about class
discussion of issues related to discrimination, gender violence, cultural respect and
treatment of the other in upper-intermediate and advanced groups. By focusing on different
moments of the texts it will be shown that they both share a profound concern with identity,
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especially as it is built by female characters in unfavourable contexts where marginalization

is a threatening factor and the protagonists are considered either outsiders or members of
unprivileged groups.

2.1.

Beloved

Beloved tells the story of a woman, Sethe, who escaped slavery in the last days of her
fourth pregnancy. She carries the burden of thousands of memories that take her from the
present back to the painful days when she was enslaved. From the opening of the novel, the
author creates a rhetoric web that continually balances between the present and the past,
insisting on the latter with the intention of setting the mood and establishing one of the
main themes in the narrative, which is the recovery of memory. One of the first examples in
the text that leads to the question of identity construction is connected with the events
around the engraving of Beloveds tomb. The narrator explains how Sethe and her fourth
child, Denver, decided to come to terms with the ghost of Sethes third baby, also a girl,
who carries the name that gives title to the novel. In a domestic spiritual ceremony, they
called the ghost to come and stop what made the house so ...spiteful. Full of babys
venom. (Morrison, 2005, p. 3). When the ghost did not give any sign of understanding the
message, mother and daughter began the following conversation that eventually led to a
crude recollection:
For a baby she throws a powerful spell, said Denver.

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No more powerful than the way I loved her, Sethe answered and there it was again. The
welcoming cool of unchiseled headstones, the one she selected to lean against on tiptoe, her
knees wide open as any grave. [...] Ten minutes, he said. You got ten minutes Ill do it for
free. [...] Not only did she have to live out her years in a house palsied at the babys fury at
having its throat cut, but those ten minutes she spent [...] were longer than life, more alive,
more pulsating than the babys blood that soaked her fingers like oil. (Morrison, 2005,
p.3).
Identity in the case of Sethe is mostly associated with brutality and sexual violence. As
a former slave, she grew up being treated as chattel, she formed her personality and learned
social roles in a dehumanising context that could only repeat itself. She was an orphan
daughter who hardly heard of her own mother and how she threw away her other babies
keeping Sethe, the only one not born out of rape. She was a wife who consummated her
marriage outside in the cornfield not far from the sight of other people and was never
allowed to fully legitimise the sacrament. Finally, she was a mother who traded the
engraving of her daughters tomb for ten minutes of sex, making this a traumatic moment
that would linger in her mind and heart forever. She lost her two elder boys and cut her
babys throat in an act of horror and desperation.
Regarding Beloved, the mysterious character who first seems to come to occupy the
place of the dead baby, the readership does never get to know who she really is. In a brief
analysis of Beloveds identity, Anatol (2010) provides different interpretations that range
between the worlds of the possible and that of the supernatural. She argues that Beloved
may have been an enslaved girl who escaped sexual exploitation and found Sethes home

242

when running away. In line with the supernatural interpretations that coincide with the
ghost story genre a classification most critics adhere to-, Beloved may be read as either the
personification of Sethes baby girl or as a compilation of all the enslaved peoples who
died (Anatol, 2010) in the Middle Passage and to whom Morrison dedicates the novel.
Despite the interpretation that each reader wants to adopt, it is evident the author intended
not to provide a definite answer in this regard. The character's identity remains elusive,
which implies the author is concerned with problematising the issue of identity
construction. The social group originated with the arrival to the United States of the black
community for indentured labor creates a culture delineated by slavery, a feature that is
evident not only from the thematic aspects of the novel but also from the structural one.
The text is built in a circular, almost elliptical way, taking the reader from one point to the
centre and then to the outside again, resembling memory and its tricks. This resource is
used by Morrison with the clear intention of showing another identity pattern which is the
rich oral tradition of African American culture.

2.2.

Abuela Marielita

This short story presents a different setting, Miami in the 1980s, a city that was rapidly
transforming due to complex social and demographic changes. One of the innovations was
connected with the mass emigration of Cubans who departed from the Mariel harbour in
their native country and became political refugees in the United States. But this new wave
of Cuban migrants was different from that of previous decades. In the 1950s most of the
Cubans who arrived in the United States belonged to the upper classes that had the means
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to escape of Fidel Castros administration. In the 1960s the Cuban migrants that finally
made their way into the United States belonged mainly to the middle classes. Whereas the
marielitos, name given to the Cubans who came via the Mariel boatlifts between April and
October 1980, were said to belong to a lower social stratum : some of them were exconvicts and mental patients that Castro had released on purpose to ship them out of the
island. In addition to the social differences, the marielitos had already experienced the
communist system imposed on Cuba, so their needs and ways of thinking were somewhat
different from those of their countrymen who were already settled in the country from
previous years. The arrival of the marielitos generated resentment in various sectors:
among non-Hispanic whites who felt that another group of foreigners was again taking
advantage of their lands and jobs; among the black community who saw with envy how
these new Cuban exiles were receiving preferential treatment while they were still
discriminated against and relegated within the labour force; and among other Cubans who
already held positions in various spaces of society but understood their reputation was
threatened by the arrival of these individuals who were considered the scoria of society, to
use a term that was employed both by Fidel Castro and the North American media.
Abuela Marielita is an excellent portrait of the tensions existing regarding the arrival of
these people. The first lines of the text read as follows: My daughter doesnt want people
to know that I came through the port of Mariel, so she tells them that I came by way of
Spain in January 1980, four months before I actually arrived en los cayos. (Kothari, 1994,
p. 93). The technique of stream of consciousness is used by the author to take the reader
through different moments of the main characters life: her last days in Cuba, the people
she met during the crossing, what happened to the rest of the members of her family and the
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difficulties encountered during her early days in the United States. Throughout the
narrative, the author proposes an intense dynamics of descriptions made from the point of
view of Soledad, the grandmother of the family who is a former marielita. Through
exquisitely detailed accounts the family is introduced: Michael, Soledads son-in-law,
whose business allows the whole family to have a good economic position and buy as many
air-conditioning systems as are needed to fight the heat instead of Soledads insistence in
using a fan and enjoying the weather outside; Gertrude, Soledads daughter, with whom the
protagonist seems to have a more distant relationship than she would prefer; and the two
children, Marcos and Gracielita, who are spoilt and naughty. Once the relationship between
Soledad and the family members has been well described, there comes the introduction of
two important characters, Yamile, the humble single mother who moves to the little room
the family rents at the back of their house, and her baby Luz. At the time these two
characters are presented, the narrator makes it clear that it was about them she was meant to
talk about, so all the successive lines lead the reader to the climax of the story while the
domestic portrayal continues to marvellously describe a fascinating household as it is
observed by its eldest member. Soledad becomes an example of how the marielitos were
treated both in the community at large and within the Cuban immigrants, but she also
epitomises old age and how senior citizens are disrespected or looked down on because
they may not be interesting regardless the life experiences they have to tell.

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3. Conclusion and further suggestions

The two stories presented above are only examples in which literature relies heavily upon
cultural elements to attract the readers attention and generate genuine bonds. An
interesting activity to carry out inside the language classroom, both to enhance speaking
skills and critical thinking, would be to study how these stories are read, understood and
ascribed with meaning, both in the culture that has produced them and in the students own
culture. In order to raise intercultural awareness, these two texts could be used to reflect
upon the tensions that exist between groups with different identity patterns, different needs
and cultural heritage who come to live within societies that do not seem ready to accept
variety. Is it possible to fill in the empty mirrors and create learning spaces for the rich and
the diverse? This question will ultimately be answered in as many ways as literature
classrooms may there be. What is important to remember is that the link between culture
and literature is very close indeed. Consequently, teachers and researchers may want to
explore this richness in order to allow learners and readers in general to become aware of
the deep meanings hidden in narratives so strongly based on cultural elements. In this 21stcentury world, so globalised, with communication and technology in the palm of our hands,
one of the ways in which real understanding can be fostered is through the teaching of new
values oriented to plurality and difference. Professionals working in the field of English and
education cannot turn their backs on the fact that reality nowadays demands a more
complex analysis of texts including more comprehensive approaches to the reading of
materials so as to facilitate reflection both on the foreign culture and the culture each
person identifies with.

246

References
Anatol, G. L. (2010). Language matters II: Reading and teaching Toni Morrison [online].
Retrieved March, 10, 2013, from
[Link]
Collins English dictionary. (1998). Glasgow: HarperCollins.
Kothari, G. (1994). Did my mama like to dance? and other stories about mothers and
daughters. New York: Avon Books.
Meer, N., & Modood, T (2012). How does interculturalism contrast with multiculturalism?
Journal of Intercultural Studies, 33(2), 175-196. Retrieved April 24, 2013 from
[Link]
Morrison, T. (2005). Beloved. London: Vintage.
Rodrguez Milans, C. (1992). No accents allowed. The Women's Review of Books, 9, 1112. Retrieved April, 24, 2013 from [Link]
Schwartz, T. (2004). Writing and neighborhood voices: it depends on where you grow up
at. Voices from the Middle, 12(1), 16-22.

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20 Computer and Internet mediated

narrative construction in EFL
Mara Cecilia Chiappero
Agustn Massa
Claudia Elizabeth Schander
Facultad de Lenguas, Universidad Nacional de Crdoba, Argentina

1. Introduction
The purpose of this contribution is to share our experience in the educational use of
Information Technology and Communication (ICT) in higher education from a practical
standpoint, and to show some of the applications we developed in 2011: the materials
design project "Mltiples Narrativas y Enseanzas de la Lengua. Las TIC's como Medio
para la Creatividad" was organized by the department of Distance Education at Facultad de
Lenguas, within the framework of Proyecto Aulas en Red, 2011, Universidad Nacional de
Crdoba. This was an interdisciplinary work in which language teachers, pedagogues,
computer technicians and graphic designers contributed to the development of specific
materials. This paper aims at showing how we used Moodle 2.3 to create and design an
interactive narrative specially written for our students taking the course English Language I
248

at School of Languages, UNC, so as to help them integrate the different contents of the
units of the course in an interactive and engaging way. This descriptive presentation shows
how to use technology mediated resources and implement Computer Assisted Language
Learning (CALL) and blended learning, following a narrative thread (Litwin, 2010) in
order to create an innovative resource and to lower the number of drop outs in the first year
of the course of studies.

2. Theoretical framework
2.1.

CALL materials

In the 1980s, while CLT was becoming part of mainstream language teaching, different
educational technologies started to be applied in the field of language teaching. This led to
the development of Computer Assisted Language Learning (CALL), a term coined by the
interested participants in the 1983 TESOL convention in Toronto. Beatty (2003), one of the
authorities in the field, defines CALL as any process in which a learner uses a computer
and, as a result, improves his or her languages (p.7) whereas Chapelle (2005), another
leading authority on computer-assisted language instruction, defines CALL as the broad
range of activities associated with technology and language learning (in Brown, 2007,
p.200).
CALL is employed in and out of the classroom. Beatty (2003) states that materials for
CALL can include those which are purpose-made for language learning and those which
adapt existing computer-based materials, video and other materials. In either case, the
introduction of CALL materials in the language class has aided learning in multiple ways.

249

Research has showed that computers are needed in the language classroom and that CALL
can substantially improve achievement as compared with traditional instruction (Meich,
Nave & Mosteller, 1996 in Beatty 2003).
At the moment, much research is studying the advantages and disadvantages of
computers in providing communicative tasks which foster learning (Burbules & Callister,
2001; Chapelle, 2001; De Alba, 2000; Ded, 2000; Litwin, 2000; Singh, 2003), yet little is
known about the use of narrative as the unifying or integrative resource to develop and
practice the foreign language. In fact, different technological devices such as video,
television, audio CDs, the Internet and computer software can aid language teachers pursue
communicative goals in the classroom, as the medium. Now, as to the content, little is
found in the bibliography. Brown (2007) points out that CALL materials are particularly
useful for non-native-speaking teachers since a wide array of authentic written and oral
texts are available at the touch of a key. Moreover, CALL materials have moved from a
behaviourist instructional design to a constructivist design since they have gone from an
emphasis on basic textual gap-filling tasks and simple programming exercises to interactive
multimedia presentations with sound, animation and motion video (Beatty, 2003, p.11).
These advances in Information Technology have led to the introduction of typical
communicative activities such as online quizzes, puzzles and games. Another breakthrough
related to CLT and CALL has been the introduction of Computer Mediated Communication
(CMC). CMC refers to communication by email, bulletin boards, chatlines within MOO
(Multi-user domains, Object Oriented) environments (Beatty, 2003, p.62). CMC offers
learners different opportunities to interact with others and engage in negotiations of
meaning using the second language. CMC together with different CALL resources
250

available in our teaching environments can be used as the means to engage our students in
tasks which are meaningful and highly motivating.

2.2.

A case for Case Development

Teaching through case study and analysis offers a novel and interesting strategy for the
treatment of issues and problems of the curriculum. If the cases are well selected, they
favour understanding of the topic under study. Selected cases allow us to address issues
whose complexity we may not dare to tackle. In addition, personal interests may arouse
teachers and students motivation, and they can be invitations to keep thinking, to promote
meaningful experience. Two are the job prospects for planning cases: the first is to select
real cases, and the second, to build cases for teaching. In both situations the strategy
through case work can be a way to address an issue or overcoming the particular strategy
chosen from the proposed methodology for the treatment of a subject. Cases are an
invitation to think, understanding that thought and reflection are processes inherent to the
human condition. To think is to believe, assume, guess, look for reasons, devise, invent.
The qualities of good cases are to stimulate thought, finding reasons and enjoyment or
pleasure in that activity (Litwin, 2004).
The case is a tool or instrument for teaching a subject. The form of the case is a
narrative, that is, a story which tells a story, describes how an event happened. Good cases
contain dilemmas, situations of difficult or complex problem resolution, which is bound to
stimulate thought and reflection.

251

Cases must bridge the relevant topics in the curriculum. They must relate to the topic to
be taught. It is likely that given the complexity of the facts, the case can be related to
several topics, but the biggest concern is that the topic should be related or relevant to
substantive matter of the syllabus. A good case provokes discussion, encourages
participants to take sides, to recognize disputes and find good reasons to continue
analysing. It should also awaken the interest of students and challenge them to think.

2.3.

A case for blended learning

The term blended learning is applied to a variety of teaching and learning situations.
Generally it is applied to a course where learners and teachers meet in a face to face class
and in which the course contains a parallel self-study component such as web based
materials. A blended learning course can be much more profitable than each of its parts and
positive outcomes can be easily appreciated when both, teachers and technology are
assigned clear roles. In such a course teachers add value to the teaching itself and
technology comes in support of a course where learners have access to technology outside
the class.
According to Barrett and Sharma (2007),
blended learning, done well, can exploit the best of both worlds
(the online and the in class components). Carefully chosen online
materials can enhance the classroom component of the course. The
outside world can be brought into the classroom, improving
motivation and generating interest.

Singh (2003) sees blended learning rather as a combination of multiple delivery media
designed to complement each other and promote meaningful learning. This is often a mix

252

of traditional instructor-led training; synchronous online conferencing or training,

asynchronous self-paced study, and structured on-the-job training from an experienced
worker or mentor (Singh, 2003, p.3).

3. The Experience
In the first stage of the materials design project, the ICT department accompanied and
guided all the Language I teachers in the teaching approach to be used: building up
narrative using different technological resources. It is worth mentioning that several
languages are taught at the School of Languages (English, French, Italian, German and
Portuguese) and in this particular case all the languages were involved.
This was an interdisciplinary enterprise since a pedagogical assistant guided the
members of the chair who participated and also instructed them as follows:
a) Keep in mind that the cases are narratives, stories, and as such we should have some
interest in narrative and its qualities which are attractive to our readers / students,
beyond the didactic intentions such cases could offer.
b) Cases must be complex enough so that we can profit from them. A complex case
will be rich in learning opportunities and will also be of interest to our students.
c) Cases are a starting point, a roadmap. From them will emerge what will allow us to
submit or implement the selected content. Think of the cases, then, in terms of a
hypertext.
d) When it comes to resources, think for example of:
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e) Written texts: newspaper articles, fragments of stories, novels, poems, letters,

emails, flyers, advertisements, chat dialogues, tweets, postings.
f) Visual texts: movies, series, drama, animation, music videos, interviews,
documentaries.
g) Audio texts: songs, radio programmes, telephone conversations, interviews.
h) Texts, iconic paintings, images of sculptures, photographs, symbols, among others,
in order to give life to your case.
i) The task of drafting the case will not be detached from the task of selecting the
resources. If you think of a great event, a wonderful story, but you cannot create or
find resources that can recreate the case, efforts will have been wasted. This is
particularly crucial in case design for foreign language teaching.
j) It is important to keep track of resource availability at the time of writing your
cases.
k) The decision to work with a film, series, play, short story or novel, for example,
may seem, at first glance, unoriginal. However, you can always work with new
voices. You can tell a part of the story in the voice of a minor character or a new
character, a character witness who may give a new twist to the story. You can focus
less on what the resource says and more on what it does not say, on what is not, on
what we do not know for sure.

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4. Case design
Following the instructions compiled, translated and listed above, we worked on the design
of a case which had several links to be visited, such as maps, images and background
information. We produced a map content of notions and visual hypertexts; each notion that
we named and articulated on the map had brief explanations, examples and
recommendations for exploration or testing.
4.1.

The case

Case
-1And finally the day came! After so
many chat conversations on
Facebook, emails and text
messages I was going to meet
Jake, my keypal. My grandma
would panic even though she had
met my grandpa on a blind date in
El Durazno, back in the sixties.
And to think that in those days in
the USA, pioneers such as
Licklider o Kleinrock were
already creating a worldwide web!
-2And there I was, on the verge of
doing what in the 21 st century is a
common thing to do: going on a
date with a person whom I
accidentally met online. In fact,
I am not quite sure if I can say that
we met by chance, unless a
purposeless click can be regarded
as an accident. Respond to

Images, resources

Facebook,
messages

emails,

Activities designed using

Moodle (Platform)
Exercise on phrasal verbs
based on the letter and set
expressions
text
(Moodle: cloze)

Visual: an old envelope

Visual: computer
webcam

Reading comprehension:
True or False

and Chat

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Jakes friend request, I read,

Confirm?..and, accidentally or not,
I clicked. And, to tell you the
truth, I had no idea how this story
would end up. Late at night, while
I was picking up my emails or
doing some homework, a small
chat window popped up Hi! and
I would go How r u? and
endless
online
(or
real?)
conversations would follow. Once
or twice we used the webcam on
Skype but then I got tired of
having to dress up to meet him
face to face, and after making
up some excuses, we resumed our
traditional and safe letter typing
chat.
-3Adding a friend of a friend of Headlines on abuse
mine on Facebook just because I
liked his profile pic and because,
according to his wall, we had the
same book and music interests,
turned out quite interesting. To be
honest, more than once the
frightening question How do I
know if? crossed my mind. My
fears were quite real. Cases of
inappropriate or even dangerous
online dates were on the news
every day. Even while I was
chatting, I came across terrifying
cases
on
YouTube
which
sometimes put me off this
relationship.

Forum to express opinion

256

-4To cut a long story short, by a Oyster card

twist of fate, I ended up taking a
course in London. I let him know
about it, of course. When he
suggested meeting up at the Mc
Donalds on Leicester Square, I
didnt have the slightest idea of
how to get there. Fortunately, I
remembered the day I got lost in
the middle of Rome and I used
Google Earth to find the hotel.
So, I turned to Google Earth and
with the touch of a key I found the
Mc Donalds I was looking for,
right in the heart of London! I was
so worried about my date that I
lost all track of time. I was
running late and I didnt have
enough time to get ready.
Anyway, I was determined to face
the challenge. In any case, I
thought, its a public place
what can go wrong? I grabbed
my Harrods bag with the new top
I had bought and rushed to the
tube station. It was the peak hour
and cars were crawling nose to
tail, as it is always the case in
hectic cities. I wasnt used to the
hustle and bustle of the city after
having lived so many years in the
tranquillity of my hometown, El
Durazno.
-5When I arrived at McDonalds, it Screen
dawned on me that I might be
looking quite shabby and my hair
untidy. I decided to go to the

Listening + fill in the

gaps

Synonyms & antonyms.

Word formation

257

ladies to tidy myself up and look

a bit more respectable. Toilets in
this chain of restaurants are
supposed to be spotless. The
whole place smelt of a blend of
disinfectant and recently baked
apple pie with cinnamon aromas. I
washed my hands and face,
brushed my teeth, used some
deodorant, changed my top, did
my hair, touched up my make-up
and put some gloss on my lips
again. I wanted to impress him! I
looked at myself once again. Yes,
now I could go and meet my
friend! I walked out of the ladies
and tried to spot him.
-6I did remember his well-defined Useful sights
features from the picture he had
sent me. Could he be that one
standing below Ray Krocs
portrait? No, too old. What about
that tall one in a striped sweater?
Not him. He was next to a girl and
they seemed to be madly in love
with each other. Mmm Yes!
Definitely! My heart was telling
me my friend was that blond guy
fidgeting with his keys, standing
right by the entrance and looking
at a screen right in front of him.
But what was he staring at? The
news? An important match?
Wimbledon? Derby? A few meters
further back, a security guard was
also watching what was being
shown on that screen. I tried to ask
the guard if something serious had

Project work
Who was Ray Kroc?
What is Wimbledon?
What is Derby?
(Moodle: multiple choice
exercise)

258

happened, but he actually ignored

me. Perhaps Jake was looking so
restless because he had lied to me.
What if he was going out with
another girl and she happened to
be in there? And if he didnt
dare? What if.? Enough! I
decided to stop making things up
and comparing my reality with
those incredible stories in the
news, warning people against the
dangers of Internet dating. With
my head up high and a dazzling
smile, I walked towards Jake,
determined to win his heart. When
I was just a few feet from him, I
couldnt help catching a quick
glimpse of the screen. Oh, no, I
couldnt believe my eyes!
Flabbergasted, I found out that the
42 inches of the LCD screen
displayed every single scene of
what was going on in the ladies
lounge I had just left. No doubt,
Jake had seen it all. And now
what? What should I do? I
wondered. I had to face up to the
situation.
Surely
he
had
recognized me on the screen. I
also knew that he would notice my
accent the moment I uttered a
word. And I was not wrong at all.
I took a deep breath and talked to
him with a clear, sonorous
Jake?
-7Today we are living happily
together in a typical English
cottage in Burford in the

Visual: a picture of Mc Vocabulary work

Donalds
(Leicester
Square)showing CCTV
cameras

A cottage house

Write
a
paragraph
comparing El Durazno
with Burford
259

Cotswolds. I enjoy the peace and

quiet of this off the beaten track
place. And to think that it all
happened thanks to the laptop I
bought to carry out a teaching
project at university!

5. Final comments
The old and the new were brought together in our educational setting, to carry out a
collaborative blended learning project which would integrate narrative (case development,
Litwin et al., 2004) and technology. It is widely known that narrative is one of the oldest
genres, and it is present in every aspect of human activity. According to Coles (1989)
stories can transform thought and action. Litwin et al. (2004) explained the importance of
the use of narrative in education:
La didctica recupera hoy el valor de las narraciones
como forma de conocer y tambin de comunicar la
experiencia, ofreciendo nuevos marcos interpretativos
para la inclusin de diferentes estrategias en las
propuestas educativas.

Blended learning combines multiple delivery media that are designed to complement each
other and promote learning and application-learned behaviour (Singh, 2003). The
pedagogical experience, we believe, fulfils the requirements enumerated by Singh, (2003,
p.9):

260

The Pedagogical dimension is concerned with the

combination of content that has to be delivered
(content analysis), the learner needs (audience
analysis), and learning objectives (goal analysis).
The pedagogical dimension also encompasses the
design and strategy aspect of e-learning.

References
Barret, B., & Sharma, P. (2007).Blended [Link] technology in and beyond the
language classroom. Oxford: Macmillan Education.
Beatty, K. (2003). Teaching and researching computer-assisted language learning. Essex:
Pearson Education Limited.
Brown, D. (2007). Teaching by principles: An interactive approach to language pedagogy
(3rd edition). New York: Pearson Longman.
Bruner J. C. (1972). El proceso de la educacin. Mjico: Uthea.
Bruner J. C. (1977). La educacin, puerta de la cultura. Madrid: Visor.
Burbules N., & Callister T. (2001).Educacin: Riesgos y promesas de las nuevas
tecnologas de la informacin. Barcelona: Granica.
Chapelle, C. (2001). Computer applications in second language [Link]
for teaching, testing and research. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Coles, R. (1989).The call of stories: Teaching and the moral [Link]:
Houghton Mifflin.
De Alba, A. (2000). El curriculum universitario frente a los retos del siglo XXI:
perspectivas. Entrevista de Mariana Maggio y Vernica Perosi. En Revista del IICE.
Ao VIII N 16. Julio de 2000. Universidad de Buenos Aires.
Ded Chris (comp.). (2000). Aprendiendo con tecnologa. Buenos Aires: Aique.
Litwin E. (Coord.). (1997).Enseanza y tecnologa en las aulas para el nuevo siglo.
Buenos Aires: El Ateneo.
Litwin, E. (comp.). (2000).La educacin a distancia. Buenos Aires: Amorrortu.
Litwin, E., Maggio, M.; Lipsman, M. (Comp).(2005).Tecnologa en las [Link] nuevas
tecnologas en las prcticas de la [Link] Aires: Amorrortu.
Singh, H. (2003). Building effective blendedearning [Link] Technology, 43,
1 12.[Link] June 13, 2013.

261

Notes on contributors (in alphabetical order)

Banfi, Cristina holds a Teachers degree from INES en LV JRF, an [Link]. in
Linguistics from the University of Cambridge and a Ph.D. in Linguistics from University
College London. She has worked in educational institutions at all levels, from pre-school to
higher education. She has organised and participated in international conferences, published
papers and books and edited journals. She was president of APIBA (two terms), Head of
the Department of Languages at Universidad Catlica Argentina and International Affairs
Officer at the CONEAU (Comisin Nacional de Evaluacin y Acreditacin Universitaria).
She is currently Director of Foreign Languages at the Ministry of Education of the City of
Buenos Aires and teaches at IES en LV J. R. Fernndez, ISP J.V. Gonzlez, ENS S.B.
de Spangenberg, Universidad de Belgrano and Universidad de Buenos Aires. Her main
areas of interest are: educational management and research, professional development,
theoretical and applied linguistics and bilingual education. cbanfi@[Link]
Barboni, Silvana is Head Teacher of ELT Methodology at La Plata State University. She
holds an MA in TEFL from the University of Reading and is now completing her Doctoral
Studies at the University of London. She coordinates the Programme of Plurilingual and
Intercultural Education of the Province of Buenos Aires. silbarboni@[Link]
Barboza, Paola Lorena holds a degree in TEFL from the Faculty of Languages, National
University of Crdoba (UNC). She currently teaches secondary level at Colegio G.
Taborn, and tertiary level at IFDNSSC (Didactics area). She is also working on two
research projects on the fields of vocabulary acquisition and materials development
(CIFAL, UNC). paolbarboza@[Link]
Bonadeo, Flavia is a teacher of English (ISP N 8) and holds a degree in English from
Universidad Nacional del Litoral, where she is an MA candidate in Specialized Didactics.
She teaches Didactics and Assessment and coordinates the Practicum in the Teacher
Education Programme at ISP N 8 Almte. Brown. flaviasb2@[Link]
Cad, Ana Cecilia is an EFL teacher graduated from Facultad de Lenguas, Universidad de
Nacional de Crdoba and former Fulbright scholar. At present she teaches adolescents at
Colegio Hno. Gabriel Taborin. She participates in a materials design group at ADILE, Area
Didctica del Centro de Investigaciones (FL- UNC) anaceciliacad@[Link]
Carreo, Leandro Graduate from INSP Dr. Joaquin V. Gonzalez - holds a diploma in
School Management - Coordinates international exchanges for Colegio Champagnat Teacher of Geography and Culture of The United States and The British Isles at INSP. Dr
Joaqun V. Gonzlez
262

Chiappero, Mara Cecilia es actualmente Docente Investigadora y Profesora Titular Full

Time de la Ctedra de Lengua Inglesa I. Se ha desempeado en diversos cargos en distintas
universidades y terciarios de la Provincia de Crdoba.
Cneo, Rosa holds a Masters Degree in Applied Linguistics. She has taught language
courses at the School of Philosophy, Humanities and the Arts of the National University of
San Juan for over twenty years and has conducted extensive research in culture and
linguistics.
Ferradas, Claudia is an experienced presenter and ELT author who travels the world as a
teacher educator. A graduate from the I.E.S. en Lenguas Vivas Juan Ramn Fernndez,
Buenos Aires, she holds an MA in Education and Professional Development from the
University of East Anglia, and a PhD in English Studies from the University of
Nottingham, UK. In Argentina, she is a lecturer at the I.E.S. en Lenguas Vivas Juan
Ramn Fernndez and on the MA programme in Literatures in English at the Universidad
Nacional de Cuyo, Mendoza. She also works as an ELT and Education Consultant for the
British Council Argentina. In the UK, Claudia is a teacher trainer for NILE (Norwich
Institute for Language Education). claudiaferradas@[Link]
Genesee, Fred is Professor in the Psychology Department at McGill University, Montreal.
He has conducted extensive research on alternative forms of bilingual and immersion
education; his current research interests include language acquisition in pre-school bilingual
children, cross-language adopted children, and the language and academic development of
students at-risk in bilingual programs. He has served as a consultant on second/foreign
language and bilingual education in countries around the world, including Japan, Spain,
Germany, Estonia, Hong Kong, Latvia, Russia, and Italy. He is the author numerous
professional and scientific research reports and books, including Learning Through Two
Languages: Studies of Immersion and Bilingual Education (Newbury House, 1987),
Educating Second Language Children (Cambridge, 1994 ), Classroom Based Evaluation in
Second Language Education (Cambridge, 1996), Beyond Bilingualism: Multilingualism
and Multilingual Education (Multilingual Matters, 1998), Dual Language Instruction: A
Handbook for Enriched Education (Heinle & Heinle, 2000, with Nancy Cloud and Else
Hamayan), Trends in Bilingual Acquisition (John Benjamins, with J. Cenoz), and Dual
Language Development and Disorders (with J. Paradis & M. & M. Crago, Brookes, 2004).
[Link]@[Link]
Gonzlez, Nancy Cristina is a graduate of Universidad Nacional de La Plata. She has
experience teaching English in companies, schools and universities in La Plata, Buenos
Aires and Bariloche, and has specialized in ESP. She is currently working at Instituto
Balseiro and Universidad Nacional de Rio Negro in Bariloche. nangonzalez@[Link]

263

Hasbani, Yael, English Teacher from IES Juan Ramn Fernndez (Buenos Aires) is a
student at Posttulo de Especializacin en Educacin y TIC (Ministerio de Educacin).
Former assistant and teacher of Contemporary Literature (Lenguas Vivas, Buenos Aires),
she works at secondary school and as course facilitator at ESSARP centre.
yaelalejandrahasbani@[Link]
Ibez, Maria Susana received her degree in English from Universidad Nacional del
Litoral, and an M. A. degree from Universidad de Crdoba, where she is a doctoral
candidate. She teaches Literature at I.S.P. Alte. Brown (Teacher training and Translation
Programmes) and Literary Theory at UNL. [Link]@[Link]
Lizrraga, Mara E. es profesora de Lengua y Literatura Inglesa egresada de la UNJU.
Dicta Didctica de la Lengua Inglesa en el IES N5, [Link] Jujuy. Aqu presenta una
seccin de Tesis de Maestra en Didctica de las Lenguas de UNT.
maria_lvenencia@[Link].
Lizenberg, Nora holds a Master in Open and Distance Learning from Universidad
Nacional de Educacin a Distancia (UNED) in Spain. Nora is a lecturer for Multimedia
Applied to the Teaching of English as a Foreign Language at Joaquin V. Gonzalez
Teaching Training College in Argentina and co-lecturer for Management, Planning and
Organization of Virtual Learning at University of Alcala in Spain. She is also Technical
Secretary for the Researchers Education Virtual Program at Universidad Tecnolgica
Nacional, in Argentina. She has published several articles, and a book on topics related to
virtual learning and faculty training in educational technology both in Spanish and English.
She researches on topics related to transactional presence in distance learning, digital
identity in virtual learning environments and teacher training for Educational Technology.
nlizenberg@[Link]
Lothringer, Raquel is an English Language and Literature teacher from Instituto del
Profesorado (Paran) where she taught English Literature, and former Head of the Modern
Languages Department (Facultad Ciencias de la Educacin- UNER). Raquel is currently
an on-line tutor and materials designer at Licenciatura en Ingls (UNL) and at rea
Educacin a Distancia (UNER). rlothringer@[Link]
Maceri, Mara Ximena graduated from UCA and is a licenciada from UTN. She currently
teaches Language and Culture at ISFD y T N24 in Bernal and English Language at high
schools in Greater Buenos Aires. She does research on Northamerican Literature at UCA
and works as a consultant for GS Consultora Educativa. [Link]@[Link]
Massa, Agustn Abel holds the degrees of Teacher of French and English granted by the
School of Languages, UNC. He holds a degree in Pedagogy granted by Facultad de
Educacin, UCC. He was an Assistant Teacher to the chair of Special Didactics I. Currently
264

he is an Assistant Teacher to the Chair of English Language I and teaches English I and II
at Escuela de Turismo Marcelo Montes Pacheco. He also teaches at Colegio Monserrat.
agumassa@[Link]
Naom, Claudia was a Teacher Trainer at ISPJVG and IES en Lenguas Vivas JRFernndez
for more than 20 years. She is currently leading a research team started two years ago and is
member of FAAPI Executive Committee. cnaom@[Link]
Perduca, Florencia, English teacher and literary translator, holds and MA in Literary
Linguistics. Florencia teaches literature in Englishes, cultural studies, and literary and
postcolonial theory. She carries forward research projects on intercultural education and
border pedagogy and is the author of intercultural magazines and resource materials.
[Link]@[Link]
Porto, Melina, profesora titular por concurso pblico en la ctedra Lengua Inglesa II
(UNLP). Investigadora del CONICET. MA ELT, Universidad de Essex, UK. Doctora en
Ciencias de la Educacin, UNLP, con tesis dirigida por Michael Byram y evaluada por
Henry Widdowson. melinaporto2007@[Link]
Sanchez Carolina N. is an English teacher who has always loved using technology in her
daily lessons. She was a Fulbright scholar in 2011-2012 and is now enrolled in the
Especializacin en Docencia y TICs. She is also part of a research project carried out at
the [Link]@[Link]
Sarasa, Mara Cristina holds a major in EFL and an MA in Higher Education from
Universidad Nacional de Mar del Plata, Argentina. She is a full-time tenured teacher
educator at the Department of Modern Languages, School of Humanities, and a researcher
with the Education and Cultural Studies Research Group. She is a full-time tenured teacher
educator at the Department of Modern Languages, School of Humanities, and a researcher
with the Education and Cultural Studies Research [Link]@[Link]
Schander, Claudia is a graduate EnglishTeacher and Translator from Facultad de Lenguas,
Universidad Nacional de Crdoba. She is currently a teacher of English Language I and III
at Facultad de Lenguas, UNC. She is also teaching Linguistics at the teacher-training
college J. Zorrilla de San Martn. Researcher in the field of Applied Linguistics at
Facultad de Lenguas, UNC. claudiasamban@[Link]
Simn, Liliana is a teacher of English, administrator of UNLP VLEs, and a British Council
E-moderator. She worked as a co-coordinator for Conectar Igualdad, BA. She develops ematerial, delivers presentations and courses on Learning Technologies, Plurilingual and
Intercultural Programme and ADULP/UNLP. She obtained a fellowship at Open
University, UK. lilianaesimon@[Link]
265

Tavella, Gabriela N. / S. Carina Fernndez are ESP lecturers at FADEL, UNCo. They
coordinate courses for young learners and adolescents at a language school. They are
interested in language methodology and learning issues. Gabriela holds an MA and a
Postgraduate Diploma in Education. She is vice-president of APIZALS and member of the
AJAL editorial [Link]@[Link]
Viale, Florencia works at Saint Patricks Bilingual School teaching 3, 4 and 5 year-olds.
She is lecturer and Head of the Research and Publications Department at IES N 28. She is
a Cambridge trainer at Asociacin Rosarina de Cultura Inglesa. She has lectured throughout
the country and abroad. florenciaviale01@[Link]

266

About the editors

Laura Renart is a graduate of Instituto Superior del Profesorado Presbtero Dr. Senz,
Buenos Aires, and holds an MA in Education and Professional Development from the
University of East Anglia, UK. She is a tutor at ISP "Dr Saenz", Universidad Virtual de
Quilmes and Universidad Nacional del Litoral. Since 2008 she is the coordinator of the
English Secondary section at St Michaels College. Laura regularly contributes to teacher
training programmes in the UK with Norwich Institute for Language Education, is also a
Main Suite Speaking Examiner for Cambridge ESOL Examinations and a trained emoderator for British Council Chile. Laura has also done teacher training both at home and
abroad (Colombia, China, UK and Ireland with the British Council and Norwich Institute
for Language Education). She has presented extensively at conventions in Brazil, Uruguay,
Paraguay, Mexico, Spain, USA and UK as well as in local educational events. Laura has
published her work in educational journals. An active member of Asociacin de Profesores
de Ingls de Buenos Aires (APIBA), her main research interest has to do with bilingualism
in the local context. E-mail: renartlaura@[Link]
Daro Luis Banegas is a teacher of English, and holds an MA in ELT and a PhD in
Applied Linguistics from the University of Warwick where he is an associate fellow. He
works as a secondary school teacher and curriculum adviser at Ministerio de Educacin del
Chubut. He is also involved in distance and face-to-face teacher education programmes and
research projects. He has published in international journals and has participated in national
and international conferences. In 2012 he was a project manager with the British Council.
Daro is the president of APIZALS and the editor of the Argentinian Journal of Applied
Linguistics (AJAL). His main interests are CLIL, materials development, teacher
motivation,
and
action
research
for
teacher
development.
E-mail:
[Link]@[Link]

267

268