Language Matters
I’m Not Into That! : Teaching Pragmatics in a Globalized World
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session Sofia De Almeida
Intercultural communication, understood here as global communication between members of communities with different linguistic and cultural backgrounds, has gained considerable prominence in the area of Global Studies and has particularly impacted the field of education as it relates to teaching English as a second or foreign language. Its designation as a Lingua Franca has led to the development of pedagogical practices aimed at facilitating language users’ communicative abilities at a linguistic and cultural level. As a result, developing L2 learners’ pragmatic skills has become an important goal in ESL (English as a Second Language) and EFL (English as a Foreign Language) pedagogy. The challenge lies in finding level-appropriate instructional materials that reflect authentic language use while providing opportunities for learners to critically analyze the contextual features of the language. The author demonstrates how to incorporate pragmatics in a variety of pedagogical contexts through a web-based collection of audio-visual materials and instructional guides for teachers and teacher trainers. In this paper participants learn how to adapt the materials available on the website, as the presenter models classroom activities and leads the audience through useful techniques for incorporating pragmatics into an ESL/EFL class that meets the needs of a globalized world.
Considering English and Literature through Global Lenses: Striking a Balance between Unity and Diversity in Linguistics and Literary Studies
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session Laura Gerday
According to the BBC, the 2000 New Year’s Eve celebrations represented a “unique global experience […] marked by all denominations and all classes and creeds of people across the planet” (BBC News online, 01/01/2000). A similar all-encompassing spirit seems to have inspired two areas of research that developed in English linguistics and literary criticism at the turn of the millennium: English as a Lingua Franca in linguistics and world literature in literary studies. Broadly speaking, “English as a Lingua Franca” (ELF) refers to the English predominantly used by non-native interactants in international settings; it thus “suggests the idea of community as opposed to alienness” and “emphasizes that people have something in common rather than their differences” (Jenkins, 2000: 11). “World literature”, for its part, amounts to considering literature as “a planetary system” (Moretti, 2000: 54) rather than a series of discrete traditions. Interestingly, the budding fields of ELF and world literature elicited strong responses at the dawn of the 21st century, chiefly from commentators belonging to the more firmly established postcolonial schools of thought in each discipline. Scholars working in the domains of “world Englishes” (WE) and postcolonial literary criticism had indeed so far focused on conceptualising distinct varieties of English and traditions of Anglophone literatures that mostly emanated from territories once owned by the British Empire. This undertaking had aimed to declare the independence of Anglophone speakers and writers living outside of Britain (or of non-British descent) from the hold of native English and English literature. Many postcolonialists therefore feared that new monolithic labels, broadened scopes of investigation, and searches for common denominators would undercut the legacy of pluralism that had characterised the linguistic and literary productions emerging mainly from former British colonies. Eighteen years later, this paper critically and chronologically examines selected major publications in ELF and WE research, besides world and postcolonial literary criticism, to understand the evolving tension between scholars’ calls for “postcolonial distinctiveness” or, conversely, “global unity”. This analysis sheds light on the contentious issues at stake in reconciling “diversity” and “common ground” in contemporary linguistics and literary studies.
The Implementation of a Content and Language Integrated Learning Aula: The Participation of the Pupil According to the Option of the Andalusian Teacher
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session Regina Asunción Quero Hermosilla
In Andalusia, bilingual classrooms opt for Content and Language Integrated Learning (CLIL), which refers to teaching subjects such as science, history and geography to students in a foreign language. In this study, we capture the interaction that exists in these classes and the renewal of the level of both teacher and student based on the opinion of a bilingual teacher. We also analyze whether this interaction is enough to improve English as a foreign language or not.
