David Crystals advice to teachers concerned about injustice: Get in touch with one of the big teaching organisations, such as IATEFL, where these issues have been widely debated and where you’ll find lots of like-minded professionals concerned to make change happen. ...like-minded... ...concerned to make change happen... Teachers concerned about injustice could have a look at the IATEFL Global Issues SIG. And they might wonder if: 1) The group sees teaching as part of a broader political process pushing for change in the world, or 2) It sees merely pedagogical reasons for including a few global issues activities in the curriculum (e.g. Ken Wilsons argument for keeping things looking authentic)? An opportunity, perhaps, to use that nice English expression lip service. And perhaps an opportunity to reflect upon a world where the apparent has replaced the real: What matters is being seen to be an advocate for change; no need to worry what sort of change is actually taking place. Somewhat relevant is the following reflection upon how concerned IATEFL is to make change happen, with ref to the IATEFL Global Issues SIG: Normally a special interest group is taken to be a political advocacy group (normally on the part of the under-represented). Yet these organisations do not exist in IATEFL. Instead, you have a narrower definition of technical interest like the Technology Special Interest Group and Young Learners- Special Interest Group. Exactly the emphasis on teachers as technicians rather than teachers as intellectuals which critical pedagogy despises. [So when raising the issue of global equity, we see the member of IATEFL recommending teachers] use the simplistic and ineffective materials of Oxfam Global citizenship in their classrooms. A challenge to global inequality in ELT, however, would surely start with the creation of aNon-native English Speaking Teachers Group, and would start with the question of why they remain so relatively powerless and discriminated against in ELT https://marxistelf.wordpress/2009/10/24/
Posted on: Mon, 07 Jul 2014 06:34:29 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015