TESL
T
527: Cultural
C
Issues in the E
ESL/EFL Cllassroom
Sum
mmer 2015
Dates: May
M 12, 2015
5 – June 25, 2015
Day and Time: Tuesd
day & Thurssday, 5:30pm
m-8:00pm
Location: MGC 331
Instructo
or: Emily Vaandermade
Office Ho
ours: By Ap
ppointment
Courrse Overview
w
This courrse offers thee MA TESO
OL student an
n understandding of the ccultural issuees that come into
play in th
heir professio
onal lives ass classroom ESL/EFL
E
teaachers. Firstt, students w
will explore thhe
concept of
o culture an
nd common approaches
a
from
f
the fielld of interculltural comm
munication. N
Next,
a discourrse systems approach
a
will allow stud
dents to analyyze and evalluate how too work withinn an
unfamiliaar culture. Then, the disccourse system
ms approachh will be appplied to educcational cultuure
and a crittical view off schooling will
w emerge. Finally, stu dents will annalyze and ddesign classrroom
activitiess that create a positive classroom env
vironment foor all learnerrs and teach culture. Givven
the subjeect matter, th
his course req
quires a sign
nificant amouunt of personnal reflection, interpretaation,
analysis, and negotiaation regardin
ng a range of
o cultural isssues relevannt to English language
instructio
on.
Course Goals
nd of the cou
urse, studentts will be ablle to:
By the en
 Define culture and explain the relationsships betweeen culture, laanguage, andd education.
 Ideentify culturaal issues thatt may compllicate the succcess of ELL
Ls in ESL/EF
FL classroom
ms.
 Un
nderstand and
d apply interrcultural com
mmunicationn principles tto work effecctively with
ELLs
E
and theeir families.
 Creeate, implem
ment and evaluate classro
oom activitiees that fosterr interculturaal awarenesss.
 Creeate their ow
wn positive classroom
c
cu
ulture to creaate a “third pplace” for stuudents to anaalyze
an
nd practice both
b
home an
nd target culltures.
 Utiilize models of discoursee systems an
nd politenesss systems to analyze hum
man interactiion.
Co
ourse Texts
Moran, P.
P (2001). Teeaching cultu
ure: Perspecctives in pracctice. Bostonn: Heinle EL
LT.
Wintergeerst, A., & McVeigh,
M
J. (2010).
(
Tips for teachingg culture: Prractical apprroaches to
in
ntercultural communicattion. Pearson
n. (W&M)
Addition
nal readings will
w be madee available on
o Blackboarrd.
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TESL 52
27 (Summer 2015)
Attendance and Participation Requirements



Attendance and active class participation are both key for course success. Active class
participation includes completing all readings before class; bringing insightful comments,
insights, and incisive questions about the readings and class topic to our discussions; and
engaging your classmates in our professional learning community in-person and online. You
will be responsible for supporting and responding to your classmates during activity
demonstrations and other presentations. Please be considerate of your classmates by arriving
on time and silencing cell phones. Please let me know in advance if you will be absent from
class. You are responsible for all material covered during any absence.
In an average week, you should expect to spend several hours on course readings and
assignments for this course. You are required to complete all assigned readings before class.
Assignments have varying due dates as described below. All work must be submitted on
Blackboard in the Assignments folder (unless otherwise stated) by the due dates established;
late work may receive a grade reduction. Electronic files should be saved using this format:
“Assignment (Lastname)”. In all of your assignments, make your best effort to incorporate
information from the readings, class discussions, and your TESOL classroom and tutoring
experiences.
Please let me know as soon as possible if you have a problem with an assignment
submission.
Academic Integrity
You are subject to the Academic Integrity Code of American University. Please carefully read
the guidelines at http://www.american.edu/academics/integrity/. All work you submit must be
your own or must be properly documented. In addition, collaborative work and work submitted
for another class must be approved in advance by the instructor.
Writing Center and Academic Support and Access Center
The Writing Center offers free, one-on-one coaching for all AU students at any stage of their
writing process. Writing consultants focus on supporting the writer rather than producing a
product. They do not prepare papers for students; they prepare students for papers. Students are
encouraged to call for an appointment (ext. 2991)—sessions begin on the hour and usually last
about 45 minutes at Battelle-Tompkins 228. You must have a writing assignment sheet with you
at the time of your appointment. For more information, refer to the site:
http://www.american.edu/cas/writing/index.cfm. The Academic Support and Access Center
offers study skills workshops, individual instruction, tutor referrals, and services for students
with learning disabilities. For more information concerning these services, please see
http://www.american.edu/ocl/asac/index.cfm.
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TESL 527 (Summer 2015)
Grades & Assignment Descriptions
Please see the ‘Assignments’ folder on Blackboard for complete guidelines for each assignment,
as well as examples.
Active Participation in Classroom Discussions (10%)
Active class participation includes completing all readings before class; bringing insightful
comments, insights, and incisive questions about the readings and class topic to our discussions;
and engaging your classmates in our professional learning community in-person and online.
Class Observation Report (15%)
In this assignment, you will describe and analyze the culture and cultural elements of an ESL
classroom. In doing so, you will evaluate and make suggestions for improving the classroom
environment, drawing on principles of intercultural awareness that we have addressed in our
course. Due date: June 2
Activity & Discussion Leader (10%)
Each student will lead our class in a cultural awareness/reflection activity chosen from the
Wintergerst & McVeigh book, with a follow-up discussion (approximately 30 minutes
total). Due date: Varies
Critical Incident (15%)
The critical incident paper begins with a multiple choice “quiz” item that describes a crosscultural encounter that you have experienced, then examines the incident in more detail.
Due date: June 9
Discourse Analysis and Design Project (50%)
For the final class project, you will begin by describing a target discourse system and some key
cultural issues to respond to when teaching a particular ESL/EFL student audience. The target
discourse is where your learners will use English, who they will interact with when using
English, how they will interact towards others when using English, and what values and beliefs
are held by those they are interacting with. You will identify already existing instructional
materials that address a particular cultural issue, and then analyze and improve upon the
materials to meet the needs of your student audience. Due date: June 23
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TESL 527 (Summer 2015)
Course Schedule
Date
Topics/
Activities
5/12
Introduction
(none)
5/14
Conceptualizing and defining
‘culture’
(none)
5/19
Theories of culture in L2
instruction
Moran, Chs. 1, 2, 3, & 4
Kubota (2003)
Hall & Hall (1987)
5/21
Cultural identity and cultural
values
Moran, Chs. 7, 8 & 9
(Optional: W&M, Ch. 4)
5/26
TESOL teacher identities and
beliefs
Ma (2012)
Miyazato (2009)
Kanno & Stuart (2011)
5/28
6/2
Readings (done before that day’s
Assignments due (for
class)
that day’s class)
PART 1: Building Our Understanding of “Culture” in TESOL
Blackboard
Discussion
PART 2: “Intercultural Competence and Awareness” in TESOL Classrooms
Raising intercultural
Moran, Ch. 12
Discussion Leader:
awareness in the classroom
Chlopek (2008)
Frank (2013)
Cultural explorations
Illieva (2001)
Byram (1997, Ch. 2)
Class Observation
Report
Discussion Leader:
Discussion Leader:
6/4
Cultural representations in
instructional materials
Moran, Ch. 5
Gulliver (2010)
McConachy & Hata (2013)
Kramsch (1993)
(Optional: Nguyen & Ishitobi (2012))
(Optional: W&M Ch. 6 & 8)
6/9
Pragmatic competence
Edwards (2004)
Ishihara (2009)
(Optional: Palmer et al (2006))
(Optional: W&M, Ch. 2)
Critical Incident
Report
Neff & Rucynski (2013)
Roell (2010)
Discussion Leader:
6/11
Tasks for intercultural
awareness
Discussion Leader:
4
TESL 527 (Summer 2015)
Date
Topics/
Activities
Readings (done before that day’s
class)
(Optional: W&M, Ch. 7)
Assignments due (for
that day’s class)
6/16
Assessing culture learning
outcomes
Moran, Chs. 10 & 11
Fantini (2006) YOGA Appendix
Discussion Leader:
6/18
Nonverbal communication
Moran, Ch. 6
Gullberg (2006)
(Optional: W&M, Ch. 3)
Discussion Leader:
6/23
Acculturation and culture
shock
Final project presentations
(3 students)
Brown & Holloway (2008)
DeCapua & Wintergerst (2004)
(Optional: W&M, Ch. 5)
Discourse Analysis
and Design Project
6/25
Final project presentations
(4 students)
(none)
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TESL 527 (Summer 2015)