EFL Context: One World or Different Worlds?

Deygan Darweesh Al-Duleimi, Abbas

EFL Context: One World or Different Worlds?

by Prof. Dr. Abbas Deygan Darweesh Al-Duleimi (Editor)

Didactics - English - Pedagogy, Literature Studies

Summary

This book attempts to define English as a Foreign Language (EFL) and globalization based on the literature and highlighting its major facets. Discussing the spread of English and motives for this kind of spread, the book outlines some of the impacts the language has had on different societies, cultures and the kind of reactions this language has generated among different cultures. The spread of the English language can’t be fully understood without the hegemonic nature of English. Yet, this book claims that, despite the hegemonic nature of English, it is still badly needed in the Arab world for the purpose of communicating with the world, education, acquiring technology and development at large. To teach English as such, it is necessary to change the traditional methods of instruction. It is important to solidify teaching of the native language, empower the learners to have more self-confidence through learning English, teach the language as a foreign, rather than second language, and make changes in the curriculum in response to the needs of the learners and society.

Excerpt

Introduction

A number of educators in recent years have argued that the dominance

of English has created structural and cultural inequalities between

developed and developing countries, and as a result the teaching of

English creates cultural and linguistic stereotypes not only of English as a

language but also of the native speakers of this language (Kubota:1998).

Yet, learning English continues to be an important goal of people, just as

learning to be expert in technology in the modern world (LoCastro, 2012:

108). With the rush of globalization, people have begun to realize that it

is not sensible to reject learning and using English the de facto

international language today- as it will deprive them of enriching

interactions with multicultural communities and traditions through

English language (Canagarjah:2012). People understand that the use of

English will help them to get closer and embrace the world against the

backdrop of globalization. English as a global language enables people to

more opportunities and therefore maintain a competitive edge in their

study and career. Foreign language learners, on the other hand, need also

to be given a chance to explore the concept of English as a world

language and to develop a critical perspective towards native-oriented

language ideology, as the world is multilingual and has much linguistic

diversity (ibid.). Nevertheless, Kaikkonen (2004) mentions that some

people are xenophobic as far as English is concerned. It is quite normal

that fear of the unknown, which is the literal meaning of xenophobia

(from Greek kenos and phobia), appears to lie deep in most humans.

What is unknown is considered dangerous and threatening, perhaps due

to its perceived unpredictability. In this vein, Alptekin (2000) argues that

it has been seen that Arab EFL learners conceive of English learning

materials which have not been cultured and modified to suit their

country's needs and culture as a threat to national identity. Therefore, the

current study aims at shedding light on Iraqi EFL learners' conceptions,

attitudes, or views concerning this concept and to what extent it may have

a negative effect on their learning English as a foreign language. In

association with these aims, it is hypothesized that: (1) xenophobia

hinders deep-level learning, (2) learners' attitudes towards English as a

foreign language differs depending on whether they are rural or urban,

and (3) the disposition of female learners towards xenophobia differs in

comparison to that of male learners. To achieve the aims of the study and

test the validity of its hypotheses, a questionnaire is conducted on 50

undergraduate Iraqi EFL learners from the University of Babylon/

College of Education for Human Sciences/ Department of English during

the academic year 2016-2017 so as to educe information concerning their

views about xenophobia in relation to their learning English as a foreign

language.

Xenophobia and cultural diversity

The Collins English dictionary defines xenophobia as the

"unreasonable fear or hatred of foreigners or strangers or of that which is

foreign or strange." This fear of foreigners and strangers may extend to

fear of their language, politics and culture.

Broadly speaking, Castro and Bohorquez (2006) state that interacting

successfully with people from different cultures depends on our capacity

to understand not only our own culture but the culture of others.

Moreover, in teaching a foreign language, one should keep in mind that

each culture behaves, thinks, communicates, perceives reality and reacts

to it in a particular way, thus language teachers need to create a sense of

cross-cultural awareness, cultural diversity and communication across

cultures among learners. In foreign language learning, knowledge of

linguistic structures alone is not enough; learners have to understand the

way of life of a foreign culture and the individuals living in it (Hinojosa:

2000). Thus, teachers must promote socio-cultural awareness to confront

all the negative manifestations of xenophobia including a fear of losing

identity (Web resource 1).

Smelser and Baltes (2001) assert that xenophobia symbolizes "fear of

strangers" and is taken to mean "hatred of strangers" instead of having

global peace and dialogue. It can be understood as an attitudinal

orientation of hostility against non-natives in a given population.

Nakmura (2002) mentions that xenophobia is embodied in discriminatory

attitudes and behavior, and often culminates in violence, abuses of all

types, and the exhibiting of hatred and jumping into the abyss of the

cultural and religious fault lines or battle lines in the name of the clash of

civilizations.

Xenophobia overlaps with racism although they are distinct

phenomena. This distinction reveals itself in the fact that while racism

entails distinctions based on physical differences such as skin colour,

facial features and the like, xenophobia implies behaviour based on the

idea that the other is a foreigner or originates from outside the community

or nation. It is a feeling of hostility to anything foreign because there is a

concentration on national cultures and only meager attention is paid to

aspects of culture beyond those already found in textbooks (Web resource

2). Accordingly, the terms xenophobia and racism are sometimes

confused and used interchangeably because people who share a national

origin may also belong to the same race. Due to this, xenophobia is

usually distinguished by opposition to foreign culture.It is a political term

and not a recognized medical phobia (ibid.).

Xenophobia violates human rights and social justice. Waghid (2004:

26) considers racialism, anti-cosmopolitanism, narrow identity politics,

and the denial of cultural freedoms as core components of xenophobia It

runs in opposition to the very heart of inclusion rather than fostering

respect for "otherness" and encouraging tolerance and empathy towards

other cultures by reducing ethnocentricity and stereotypical thinking.

Thus, Waghid (ibid.) suggests that citizenship education is one way of

overcoming xenophobia because it cultivates compassion, i.e., that is

"cultivating in learners the ability to imagine the experiences of others

and to participate in their sufferings". Similarly, Burtonwood (2002: 73)

demonstrates that citizenship education requires learners to use their

imagination to consider other people's experiences and be able to think

about, express and explain views that are not their own.

Language and culture are symbiotic; cultivating global literacy for a

peaceful world is one of the most urgent tasks for educators and

researchers. Global literacy includes cross-cultural competence,

sensitivity with transcultural and transnational perspectives to get along

with the rest of the world. It also requires a communicative competence in

English as an international language to have global and peaceful dialogue

with people of the world where they respect each other's cultural identity

and avoid negative stereotypes and prejudice that come from the lack of

information and direct contact. In fact, effective verbal and nonverbal

communication has a dramatic power because communication overcomes

ignorance, indifference and intolerance (Mckay: 2001).

In classrooms, students shape their conceptions or misconceptions of

the world. Misunderstanding can lead to prejudice against color,

language, social status, physical appearance, and power. If there is no

stop to this, the problem may develop into frustration and anger to be

transformed at a later stage into xenophobia, causing in some cases

catastrophic consequences. So, it is believed that the key effective

solution to these problems is the cross-cultural understanding, knowledge,

and willingness to change. In other words, teachers of a foreign language

can promote awareness in the classroom by being tolerant and respectful

of different cultural identities and endeavor to familiarize their students

with different cultural ideologies and broaden their horizons by placing

greater weight on the cultural background of the target language and

trying to raise some kind of a critical understanding (Nieto: 2002).

Moreover; educators and syllabus designers have to implement the

cultural aspects of both foreign countries as a paramount issue in the

teaching of a target language (Castro and Bohorquez: 2006).

Research Methodology

The tool of the study was a paper and pencil questionnaire designed to

elicit the views of the students on how they perceived the xenophobia

phenomenon. Students were invited to participate in this exploratory

study as part of their regular classes. The researchers decided to

implement the questionnaire to elicit information about students'

interpretation of xenophobia as a phenomenon and a concept embedded

in intracultural and intercultural matters. Kanjee (2004: 293) states that

questionnaires are utilized mostly to collect data on phenomena which are

not easily observed such as attitudes, motivations, and self-concepts. The

proposed questionnaire consisted of twelve questions to which

participants were asked to respond in order to take cognizance of their

own real attitudes and stance towards xenophobia. The researchers are

available for explanation to eschew any possible misunderstanding and

misinterpretation.

Sample of the Study

The participants were fifty Iraqi EFL learners in the University of

Babylon majoring in English language and literature at the College of

Education/ Department of English during the academic year 2016-2017

.The age of the participants ranged between 20-22 years. They were in

their fourth and last academic year of study and have almost completed

all the requirements for the major. These participants have never visited

any English speaking country including US and UK to develop attitudes

towards them but have been exposed to these foreign cultures most likely

through the media.

The students all lived in Iraq/Babylon District. Arabic is their native

language. They were males and females; some of them came from the

countryside, while others resided in urban areas. The reason behind this

variation was to show whether /or not participants' views regarding

xenophobia, as the fear of English as a foreign language, may differ with

respect to their gender and place of residence. Therefore, it was

hypothesized that rural learners were more fanatic and bigoted towards

the foreign language and culture than their urban class mates. As another

hypothesis set out by the researchers, female learners, generally, were

more liberal and less bigot than their male class mates with respect to

learning English as a foreign language and with respect to the western

culture.

Notes:

(1) The number of students that have been examined varies as follows: 25 urban

learners divided into 13 males and 12 females; 25 rural learners divided into 13 males

and 12 females.

(2) It should be taken into consideration that the percentage in most questions is not

100% because some participants do not answer the questions and others write

irrelevant answers.

Results and Discussions

After having a look at the participants' responses to the questions they are

given, the researchers are now concerned with analyzing these responses to

accentuate the participants' impressions about xenophobia.

Question (1): What is your conception about xenophobia?

In responding to this question, most participants, notably twelve rural

male learners (24%) and nine female learners (18%) agreed that xenophobia

has been the fear of or antipathy toward English as a foreign language. They

argued that although they have been studying English as a foreign language

and although it is a universal language, more specifically a lingua franca,

they have developed strong feelings of dislike and hatred toward it. In fact,

this might reflected their strong enthusiasm towards their native language

and their inclination to preserve it with no competitor. They showed that

their dislike toward English as a foreign language was associated with their

hatred of foreigners, particularly Americans and British arguing that the

western civilization was corrupt and materialistic.

Other learners, particularly ten urban male students (20%) and twelve

urban female students (24%), mentioned that they possessed no conception

about what xenophobia was because they have developed a liking for

English as a foreign language and because they stated that they were not at

enmity with foreigners. On the contrary, they reflected their desire and

aspiration to learn English arguing that learning English could open the door

to a new social civilization. They showed their appreciation to the exposure

to different cultures which could make them more knowledgeable, tolerant

and respectful of ideological differences. This shows that females are

significantly less likely to express xenophobic attitudes towards individuals

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xenophobia?

At the very onset, rural students' answers to this question were the

warm bed for feud, animosity, colonialization, and outrage. Thirteen male

rural students (26%) and ten female rural students (20%) responded to the

question by saying that the images which came to their minds when they

heard the word xenophobia were those of animosity and colonization.

They associated English language with occupation and colonialism. This

might be so because they were conservatives: they favoured maintenance

of the status quo; they did not prefer openness to the outside world. This

does not suggest that everybody who lives in rural areas is a bigot but the

reality of the situation is that there are far few people and they tend to be

much more homogenized. Rural people speak with one voice for the most

part and they become extraordinarily hostile very quickly. They are

insular and they do not welcome outside ideas and thus they are more

patriotic openly.

Nine urban males (18%) and twelve urban females (24%), on the other

hand, said that internationalism, freedom, liberation, and development

came to their minds when they heard the word xenophobia. This suggests

that the people who live in urban areas are more open- minded. They are

used to accounting for the view point of the "other" and tend to be less

intense about what they perceive as the western values. To them, there are

many different values; such a thing does not make them less fanatic but

it makes them less chauvinistic.

Principally, urban female participants mentioned that they developed

no passive feelings toward English as a foreign language therefore they

were not xenophobic. Moreover, their responses showed that the images

which revolved in their minds were those of freedom, liberation,

civilization, and cultural transfer. This might reflect women's desire to

prestige. They viewed English as a prestigious language; therefore they

crept towards mastering it. As such, women, whether consciously or not,

use the prestigious forms to declare that they are women. Various studies

inadvertently uncover that women are more conscious of prestige than

men. Women across many cultures seem more likely than men to modify

their speech towards the prestigious language. Since English has acquired

the status of being an international language, it is likely to be viewed as

being of high prestige. Different languages are accorded prestige based

upon factors including international standing or the prestige of its

speakers.

This suggests that urban Iraqi learners have a positive attitude towards

the West in general. Such a finding agrees with Zogby (2004), Furia and

Lucas (2008), and Esposito (2011) who assert that the Arab world does

not have a monolithic attitude towards the West by any means. The

admiration of the West for its technological advancements, values of

democracy and freedom are highly appreciated. Arab students' attitudes

are not based on a clash of Eastern and Western civilizations and that the

conflict is not caused by religious or cultural differences but

disagreements are rather based on the Western pragmatic foreign policies.

The coming to yet chart demonstrates the percentages of the overall

responses to question 2:

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ge?

nd female

of anxiety

nd of fore

on the o

en they

disquiet w

uage and

%) stated th

h and forei

ural and u

re not as d

urb

ales

d partners

ople's emo

a tenden

st itself

erall resp

when you

(11, 22%

y and fear

eigners wh

other hand

thought

was derive

those for

hat they w

gners.

urban are

different a

an females

hip. As

otions, wh

ncy for hi

as xeno

ponses to q

u think abo

) learners

r when the

ho speak t

d, mention

about En

ed from th

eigners w

were some

as may h

as many w

urban male

such, cer

hich in tu

igh patho

ophobia

question 6

out foreign

declared

ey conside

this langua

ned that t

nglish. T

their nega

who speak

ehow anxi

have diffe

would belie

rtain

urn,

ogen

and

ners

that

ered

age.

they

heir

ative

k it.

ious

rent

eve.

Thi

rura

atti

.Th

unl

feel

fab

lang

and

(24

mis

ans

com

is come in

al people r

tudes tow

his has fo

like the ur

the face

lings of b

such, rura

ric.

Chart (7)

uestion (8)

guage one

With resp

d no. Thos

4%) and n

the fear

stakes in

swered w

mmitting m

n accord w

remain far

wards the

ostered xe

rban peopl

of it, the

elonging t

al autochth

: The per

): Is the f

e cause of

pect to th

se who an

nine rural f

of the fo

their per

ith no, a

mistakes b

rural females

with what C

r more tra

western

enophobic

le who typ

e presenc

to a closed

hones take

rcentages

fear of com

f xenophob

is questio

nswered w

female stu

oreign lan

rformance

argued tha

because c

rural m

Campbell

aditional th

culture h

sentimen

pically arg

ce of nega

d commun

e western

of the ove

mmitting

bia?

on, studen

with yes, th

udents (18

nguage re

e at univ

at xenoph

committing

males

(2003) as

han the ur

have rema

nts toward

gue in favo

ative imag

nity linked

values as

erall resp

a lot of m

nts' answe

hat is twel

8%), ment

esulted in

versity. Ot

hobia was

g mistake

rban females

serts. He m

rbans wher

ained larg

ds the fo

our of inte

ges is ass

d to agrar

s a threat t

ponses to q

mistakes i

rs varied

lve rural m

tioned tha

n committ

thers, i.e.

s not a c

s in learn

urban m

mentions

reby the r

gely nega

oreign cul

erculturali

sociated w

rian activit

to their so

question 7

in the fore

between

male stude

at xenopho

ting a lot

., those w

cause beh

ning a fore

males

that

rural

ative

ture

ism.

with

ties.

ocial

eign

yes

ents

obia

t of

who

hind

eign

lang

valu

per

incl

stud

atti

wil

Roy

and

kill

.Th

mis

gui

inte

assu

The

resp

guage wa

ues, and

rformance

lude elev

dents (22%

In this res

tudes tow

l be acco

y (2016)

d consequ

ler langua

his nativis

smatch in

ilty of xen

erested in

uming tha

eir concer

ther tong

ponses to

Chart (8)

as somethi

beliefs a

in the L

ven urban

%).

spect, Gar

wards the f

mplished

asserts th

uently mad

age" that

tic reactio

n the basi

nophobic

reading E

at these th

rn was fra

gue and

question 8

: The per

rural females

ing natura

as well a

L2. Those

n female

rdner and

foreign lan

in acquir

hat those l

de grave

endangers

on is due

c thinking

attitudes a

English pu

hings were

aught with

cultural

8 can be s

rcentages

rural m

al due to t

as gramm

e who an

students

Lambert (

nguage is

ring any a

learners w

errors an

s their ow

to the fe

g process

and behav

ublication

e a degen

h the possi

identity.

chematize

of the ove

males

the effect

atical com

swered th

(22%) an

(1972) not

highly eth

aspects of

who feared

nd mistake

wn native

ear of fore

s and cult

viours add

ns and wa

nerative th

ible weak

The per

ed in the fo

erall resp

rban females

of L1 cu

mpetency

he questio

nd eleven

tice that if

hnocentric

f the forei

d the fore

es, took E

language

eigners be

ture. Thos

ded that th

tching En

hreat to Isl

ening and

rcentages

following c

ponses to q

urban ma

ultural nor

on learn

on negativ

n urban m

f the learn

c, no prog

ign langua

eign langu

English a

e and cul

ecause of

se who w

hey were

nglish mov

lamic valu

d loss of t

of learn

chart:

question 8

ales

rms,

ners'

vely

male

ners'

ress

age.

uage

s a"

ture

f the

were

not

vies

ues.

their

ners'

Question (9): Does the political system that embodies the foreign

language you study affect your feelings, views, or impressions about that

language?

Being asked this question, most rural learners, particularly (12, 24%)

males and (7, 14%) females, responded by saying that the major reason

behind their negative feelings and impressions about English were

associated with their hatred of the political systems of the countries where

English is spoken. This antipathy was related to the image of enemy,

which involved portraying foreigners as enemies, abreast the differences

in the cultural values, beliefs, and religion.

Iraqi rural learners articulated their negative attitudes via extremely

nationalistic views because they thought that Islam and the West are

antithetical in their values and because of the West brutal political

actions. For them learning English ignited images of imperialism,

exploitation and alienation which consequently augured ill-will against

learning such a language. They believed, as has been suggested by Dorian

(1998), that foreigners have been continuously trying to control their

thoughts and impose the superiority of the West. Foreigners have the

intent not only to colonialize a place and its people but also to superpose

their linguistic and cultural norms. Some of the pernicious and persistent

aspects of colonialization involve not just military occupation, political

domination but also systematic assaults on cultural integrity, language,

life ways, and ethnic identity.

As opposed to the first group, some learners, notably ten urban female

learners (20%) and (7, 14%) urban male learners, showed a different

view. They argued that the political system of the countries where

English is used as a primary language did not affect their feelings and

atti

lang

reli

com

intr

Acc

rath

that

lang

Stu

the

inte

inst

sign

Sch

insi

per

tudes tow

guage wa

igion, and

language

mmunity w

roduction

cording to

her as enri

t learning

guage by

udying a fo

contrary,

entionality

tructional

nificant c

hwarzer (

ight into

rcentages o

Chart (9)

ward Eng

s somethin

d other fac

communi

would tur

to new

o them, d

ichment. I

a foreign

y amplifyi

foreign lan

, it allows

y. It wi

program

cultural k

2006) thi

other cult

of the ove

: The per

rural females

glish. Th

ng neutral

ctors such

ities. They

rn it into

ideologie

ifferences

In support

n language

ing metac

nguage do

s students

ill requir

m of adv

nowledge

inks that

tures and

rall respon

rcentages

rural m

ey menti

l; it should

as the rel

y added t

a closed

es, innov

s should n

t of such a

e simultan

cognitive

oes not un

to use th

re a co

vanced lan

e and uni

foreign l

promotes

nses can b

of the ove

males

ioned tha

d not be a

lation betw

that the n

one whe

vations an

not be per

a stance, B

neously co

awarenes

dermine t

heir first la

omprehen

nguage a

iversal bi

anguage

s intercult

be shown i

erall resp

ban females

at learnin

associated

ween the t

negative a

ere there w

nd though

rceived as

Berman (2

ontributes

s of ling

he native

anguage w

sive and

abilities c

lingualism

study off

tural com

in the follo

ponses to q

urban ma

ng a fore

with polit

two count

attitudes o

would be

ht proces

s a threat

011) belie

to one's o

guistic issu

language

with a gre

d articula

coupled w

m. Moreo

fers a uni

mpetence.

owing cha

question 9

ales

eign

tics,

tries

on a

e no

sses.

but

eves

own

ues.

: on

eater

ated

with

ver,

ique

The

art:

Question (10): Is the fear of the unknown or the future a cause of

xenophobia?

All the respondents (100%) agreed that the fear of the unknown was

one of the causes of xenophobia. Urban learners, in particular, argued that

fear of the future might be one of the causes of xenophobia since

xenophobia, for them, was any kind of fear hidden in the future which

could be something unpredictable.

Rural students think that the western value legacy is craving for

further colonial and imperial interest in the region. This would create a

feeling of alienation and strangers could be seen as people who have

come to reign chaos in the homeland of the local populace.

Moosavi (2012) argues that the fears of Arabs are justified despite

growing intercultural collaboration at different levels since phenomena

such as racism, ethnocentrism, stereotypes prejudices and different forms

of extremism appeared to have become increasingly common. He argues

that xenophobia is now pervasive in British society. This leads Muslims

in Britain to be seen as outsiders and potential enemies even if they have

been integrated into the British society. Moreover, Kramsch (2011)

argues that their fears per se alluded to the view that future modernity

may rob their simple life and simple dreams because modernity may

entail going from the most simple to the most complicated.

affe

cou

disa

tow

effe

any

per

diff

find

them

acc

prej

anim

disr

Chart (10)

uestion (11

ect people

All respon

uld affect

advantage

wards the f

ects of x

ything for

rcentage o

It is wide

linguistic

ferences b

d it stressf

m or they

cept other

judice no

mosity am

respect, et

: The per

1): What

e? In other

ndents, wh

t people

es of xeno

foreign lan

xenophobia

reign, esp

f the respo

ely ackno

c and soci

between c

ful when t

y perceive

rs, xenop

otions tha

mong nat

thnocentri

rural females

rcentages

are the di

r words, w

hether xen

psycholo

ophobia w

nguage an

a was be

pecially fo

ondents sc

wledged t

iocultural

cultures w

they are ex

e as strang

phobia us

t are pre

tions and

ism, and m

rural m

of the ove

isadvantag

what are th

nophobic o

ogically. T

was that it

nd foreign

eing undu

oreigners

cores 100%

that xenop

ambiguit

which pos

xposed to

ge. As bei

sually bui

valent in

take the

misunders

males

erall resp

ges of xen

he effects o

or not, adm

They arg

has excit

ners. They

uly fearfu

and their

phobia an

ties and o

e chauvin

the cultur

ing the att

ilds on t

a society

e forms o

tanding. T

rban females

ponses to q

nophobia?

of xenoph

mitted tha

ued that

ed the fee

y added th

l or cont

r languag

d other so

oddities re

nistic attit

res that are

titude that

the existin

y. Such a

of intolera

This reside

urban m

question

? How doe

hobia?

at xenopho

one of

elings of h

hat one of

temptuous

ge. Thus,

ocial ills f

esulting fr

tudes. Peo

e unknow

t tends no

ng bias

attitudes

rance, hat

es princip

males

es it

obia

the

hate

f the

s of

the

feed

from

ople

wn to

ot to

and

fuel

tred,

pally

in t

inev

app

200

fore

one

thei

cus

clo

Thi

The

cha

mal

the

wer

the belief

vitably le

prehension

03). Thes

eigners an

e's culture

ir languag

stoms of th

sed one d

is will also

e percenta

art:

Chart (11)

uestion (12

What do you

Rural lear

les (26%)

context o

re nationa

of the sup

ead to the

n experien

se things

nd their lan

and coher

ge is dee

he locals,

deprived o

o have lon

ages of lea

: The per

2): How c

u suggest?

rners unan

) suggeste

of learnin

alistic in

rural females

periority o

e feeling

nced when

are not

nguage bu

rence (ibid

emed as d

and thus

of technolo

ng-term ec

arners' resp

rcentages

can we sol

nimously,

ed that xen

ng or any

essence.

rural m

of one's na

of uneas

n learning

the dire

ut are rath

d.). That i

dangerous

the comm

ogical adv

conomic,

ponses can

of the ove

lve xenoph

that is tw

nophobia

other con

They as

males

ation- state

se, worry,

a foreign

ct outcom

her the resu

s , the inc

s to the c

munity wil

vancemen

social and

n be repre

erall resp

hobia in th

welve fema

could not

ntext beca

sserted th

rban females

e over oth

non-accl

n language

me of co

ult of the

oming of

culture, tr

ll be turne

ts and new

d political

sented in

ponses to q

he context

ales (24%)

t be solve

ause xeno

at it was

urban ma

hers. This

lamation

e (Gregers

oming acr

fear of los

strangers

raditions,

ed into tig

w ideolog

l effects on

the follow

question

t of learni

) and thirt

ed whethe

ophobic tr

s a unive

ales

will

and

son:

ross

sing

and

htly

gies.

n it.

wing

ing?

teen

er in

raits

ersal

phenomenon and there was no way to get rid of it. Urban learners,

particularly eleven females (22%) and ten males (20%), suggested that

xenophobia could be terminated or extenuated by removing the enemy

image of foreigners, by raising people's awareness toward the importance

of English as a foreign language, and by presenting cultural an

educational lessons and programs showing that no language would be

better than another and that each language could have its own values

which may render it different from other languages.

We can argue, following Sussex and Kirpattrick (2012), that both these

voices derive from different standpoints. The first standpoint leans upon

the conviction that the dominance of teaching a foreign language has

created linguistic and cultural stereotyped inequalities between the

foreign language and the native one. That is, learning a foreign language

may lead to a western mode of communication, i.e. sacrificing traditions,

culture and linguistic structures especially if learning a foreign language

is conducted at the expense of the learners' cultural identity.

The second stand point implies that the successful interaction with

people from different cultures greatly depends on one's capacity to

understand not only their culture but also the culture of others. This

entails that with the growth and integration with the world political

economy comes the increasing need for English language (ibid.). As

such, foreign language instruction must give the learners capabilities for

functioning in foreign language communication situations. This also

means that learners need to be educated in understanding and valuing

how people live and speak in other cultures in a fresh stimulating way so

as to foster tolerance and empathy towards other cultures by reducing

ethnocentricity and stereotypical thinking (Forsman:2004). The following

chart indicates the percentages of the learners' responses to question 12:

Ped

way

cult

that

"co

stra

lear

(20

gra

cult

exp

sen

teac

to t

see

per

abo

Chart (12)

dagogical

Broadly s

y we feel,

culture b

tural iden

t culture

ommunica

ategies a

rning proc

000) states

ammatical

tures. How

pense of t

nsitize the

ching and

train the d

n as med

rceptions o

out learnin

: The per

l Implicat

speaking,

, think and

becomes a

tity. Peng

es vary

cy" and t

and comm

cess to dev

s that teach

rules in

wever, lea

the learne

e learners

d learning

desired qu

diators bet

of the wor

ng languag

rural females

rcentages

tions

culture is

d behave.

a relevant

g (2014) an

from pla

the willin

munication

velop lang

hing a fore

order to c

arning ab

rs own cu

to divers

goals wil

ualities wil

tween vari

rld. Tradit

ges, not a

rural m

of the ove

s all aroun

Therefor

nt feature

and Sussex

ace to p

ngness to

n skills sh

guage lear

reign langu

communic

bout a fore

ultural ide

sity in la

ll have to

ious ident

tionally, th

about chan

urb

males

erall resp

nd us and

e, languag

of the in

x and Kirp

place; thu

communi

hould be f

ners' glob

uage impl

cate with

eign cultu

entity. If

anguages

be set up

be devise

tities, cult

he langua

nging the

ban females

ponses to q

it is wha

ge as a ke

ndividual'

patrick (20

us, the

icate acc

focused o

al awaren

ies more t

other peo

ure must n

instructor

and cultu

and suita

ed. Teache

tures, pers

age classro

world or

urban ma

question

at we are,

ey compon

's social

012) men

concepts

commoda

on during

ness. Hinoj

than know

ople of o

not be at

rs are able

ures, accu

able activi

ers should

spectives

oom has b

even ones

les

the

nent

and

tion

the

josa

wing

ther

the

e to

urate

ities

d be

and

been

self.

Peterson and Coltrane (2003) argue that pure linguistic knowledge is not

sufficient for cultural interaction. Hence, English has to be taught through

the socio-cultural norms and values of the country where it is used which

would inevitably result in the creation of individuals who are both

bilingual and bicultural. Tellingly, foreign language instruction should be

furnished with intercultural learning activities which encourage learners

to become aware of others and their cultures which should not be seen as

a source of threat but as a source of enrichment. They need to learn that

the spectrum of possible ideas, opinions, and lifestyles is wider than what

they have thought so as to save themselves both from self-centeredness

and ethnocentrism. Finally, the persistence of such educational problems

must spur educators to work harder because our era needs that they can

build bridges across national, continental and global frontiers. Kubota

(2012) states that the differing cultural perspectives create an imperative

not to make assumptions about religion, culture and values that make up

room for many other firms of difference. This can be executed by

designing lesson materials which reflect multiculturalism based on

dialogue, mutual trust, understanding, and appreciation of similarities and

difference.

Conclusions

The current study has come up with the following conclusions as

regarding Iraqi EFL learners' conception of the term xenophobia:

1. The geographical location where learners live, that is living in cities or

in rural areas, exerts a considerable influence on their views and

preferences. Students in rural areas have a lower level sense of

international orientation than students who live in metropolitan areas.

This had a negative effect on their evaluation of English as a foreign

language since their attitude ignited animosity toward western countries.

2. Most Iraqi undergraduate fourth year students, especially those of rural

origins, have agreed that xenophobia, which is defined as the fear or

hatred of the foreign, could have a negative effect on the learning process.

For them, it could hinder deep-level learning. They associated English

with colonialism, westernization antipathy. They are actually insular and

more patriotic, and the don not welcome outside ideas

3. Rural male learners have been more fanatic towards the foreign

language than their urban counterparts. They tended to show aggression

and zeal towards English. They took foreigners as criminal occupiers of

land and cultural values and they took them hence as a threat to their

social fabric. This might stem from the fact that they are more

conservative and are mostly associated with feelings of belonging to

closed community linked to agricultural activities.

4. Female learners, particularly urban ones, have not been xenophobic

since they did not have fear of or any negative feelings toward English as

a foreign language. They were more open-minded in comparison to their

rural equivalents. They associated English with civilization, development,

freedom, and cosmopolitanism. This has shown that female learners are

disposed to prestige. They value English as a prestigious language. They

have a higher level of international orientation than male learners. They

along with urban students have shown that there would be a strong

likelihood that foreign language learners could not escape the attraction

of worldwide cultural products of English societies, visiting foreign

places and meeting foreign people since they have developed a sense of

curiosity about different cultures and different people.

5. The teaching of the foreign language curriculum seems to have a short

coming in providing learners with an in-depth viewpoint embracing the

foreign language culture not as a source of threat but as a source of

enrichment and in preparing them to welcome linguistic and cultural

differences in the world. As such, the curriculum must include authentic

foreign materials which can be obtained from sources like newspapers,

magazines, news programs, lectures, etc. Teachers need to go hand-in-

hand with broader, and ultimately more significant educational aims, to

do with promoting responsible citizenship, democracy, tolerance and

peace and can help to develop the vital skills of empathy and

understanding.

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integrated-britain/print

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Nieto, S. (2002). Language, Culture and teaching: Critical Perspectives

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http://www.cal.org/resources/Digest/digest_pdfs/0309peterson.pdf/

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Yakushko, O. (2009). "Xenophobia: Understanding the Roots and

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Web Resources

Web resource (1): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Xenophobia.

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strangers-2671881).

Web resource (3): https://www.answers.yahoo.com//

Appendix

Reflect your own real feelings and impressions and respond to the

following questions on xenophobia.

1. What is your conception about xenophobia?

2. What images spring to your minds when you hear the word

xenophobia?

3. Where does xenophobia come from?

4. Is xenophobia a mental imbalance? Is someone with xenophobia

ill?

5. Does xenophobia have a negative effect on your learning English

as a foreign language?

6. Do you think there is a xenophobia gene in all of us?

7. How anxious do you feel when you think about foreigners and

English as a foreign language?

8. Is the fear of committing a lot of mistakes in the foreign language

one case of xenophobia?

9. Does the political system that embodies the foreign language you

study affect your feelings, views, or impressions about that

language?

10. Is the fear of the unknown a cause of xenophobia?

11. What are the disadvantages of xenophobia? How does it affect

people? In other words, what are the effects of xenophobia?

12. How can we solve xenophobia in the context of learning? (What do

you suggest?)

Chapter Two

Investigating The Speech Act of Correction in Iraqi EFL

Context

Prof. Dr. Abbas Deygan Darweesh

Wafaa Sahib Mehdi

Abstract

If one wishes to master a language, he needs to become communicatively

competent in that language. It is a fact that linguistic accuracy is important,

but it is not sufficient alone. Learners are required to acquire the language

they are to learn with its sociocultural rules along with structural rules (i.e.

form and function levels). Both rules may help and guide in the choices of

appropriate forms in communication and maintain smooth interactional

relations.

This paper studies the Iraqi EFL college students' performance of the speech

act of correction and how is it realized with status unequal. It sets for itself the

following questions: how is the speech act of correction realized in the Iraqi

EFL context? Are Iraqi EFL learners aware of the issue of status in their

communicative moves? It attempts to elicit this speech act from those EFL

students to analyze it in terms of its semantic formulas. Six situations are

introduced to students from the College of Languages, University of Baghdad

for the academic year 2015-2016 to respond to. These situations are of three

different levels of status: the case of equal status, from higher status to a lower

one and vice versa. Piles of studies are found on the various speech acts used

in daily life communication like requests, apologies, complains, compliments,

etc. Rare studies, however, are found concerning the speech act of correction

in verbal interactions. Here lies the importance of this study. This research has

a didactically oriented goal which is how to teach speech acts to foreign

leaners. It is hoped to have applications not only in ESL/EFL pedagogy but

also in the study of intercultural communication.

Key Words: Speech Act Theory, Speech Act of Correction, EFL, Politeness

Speech Act Theory (SAT)

The basic concept of SAT is "saying is part of doing" (Austin, 1962: 12).

The theory, developed by Austin in the 1930s, distinguishes between

performatives and constatives. The first perform an act while the latter is

to be verified as true or false. Then constatives were rendered as one form

of performatives (Lyons, 1995: 283). Producing an utterance means

engaging in three related simultaneous acts. The locutionary act is the

basic act of utterance, illocutionary act is a kind of function in mind. The

third is the perlocutionary act which is the effect of the illocutionary force

of the utterance (Yule, 1996: 48).

Searle (1969, 1971, and 1979) systemized Austin's work with

modifications. His speech acts are in fact Austin's illocutionary acts

(Searle, 1969: 37). He presents four conditions for an act to be felicitous

or happy: propositional, preparatory, sincerity and essential conditions

(Verschueren, 1999: 23). Searle (1979: 21ff) explains that SAT suggests

that all speech acts in any language fall into five categories:

a. Assertives: expressing a belief and committing the speaker to the

truth of what is asserted (e.g. statements).

b. Directives: expressing a wish and counting as an attempt to get

hearer to do something (e.g. requests).

c. Commissives: expressing an intention and counting as a

commitment for the speaker to engage in a future course of action

(e.g. promises).

d. Expressives: expressing a psychological state (e.g. apologies).

e. Declaratives: not expressing a psychological state and bringing

about a change in institutional reality (e.g. declaring a war).

The criteria which have to be satisfied for a speech act to be happy or

successful are known as felicity conditions (Crystal, 2003: 427).

Illocutionary acts might be expressed via a particular sentence-type which

is usually associated with it (Searle, 1979: 30). There is an easily realized

relationship between the structural forms of declaratives, interrogatives

and imperatives and the three communicative functions of statements,

questions and commands or requests respectively (Yule, 1996: 55). Thus,

the direct relationship between structure and function will result in a

direct speech act. There is a match between the interrogative sentence

type in English and the act of questioning (Saeed, 1997: 214). "Pass me

the salt" is an imperative that is used to express a request. When the

relation is indirect, we have indirect speech acts. "Could you call me a

taxi?" is a question that functions as a request not to ask about one's

ability to call a taxi (Verschueren, 1999: 25; Geis, 1995: 123).

Searle (1979: 32) expounds that in indirect speech acts, speakers

communicate more than they actually say. They rely on mutual shared

knowledge, background information and the general powers of rationality

and inference of their interlocutors (Mey, 1993: 142). It is assumed that

most usages are indirect. The speech act of requesting is rarely performed

by an imperative in English. It is carried out indirectly (Hung, 2007: 111).

According to Blum-Kulka (1987: 131), direct strategies can be perceived

as impolite because they indicate a lack of concern with face, and

nonconventional indirect strategies (hints) can be perceived as impolite

because they indicate a lack of concern for pragmatic clarity.

Politeness

One reason why people resort to use indirect speech acts is associated

with the issue of politeness (Leech, 1983: 79). They are commonly

regarded to be more polite than their direct counterparts. Moreover, the

more indirect a speech act, the more polite (Hung, 2007: 115). There is an

extensive literature on politeness and its different theoretical models as

Lakoff's rules (1973), Leech's conversational maxims (1983), Fraser's

conversational contract (1990), among others, as Eelen (2001: 2) clarifies.

The model that is most influential and of direct concern to this study is

that of Brown and Levinson (1978, 1987). As such, it is discussed below.

Brown and Levinson's (1987) Model

Brown and Levinson see politeness in terms of conflict avoidance. Their

main conception, however, is the concept of face which is the public

image every member wants to claim. It has two opposing "wants":

negative face (the desire to be unimpeded by others) and positive face

(the want to be desirable to others) (Brown and Levinson, 1987: 66). The

model claims that positive and negative face exist universally in human

culture.

Politeness can be defined as "the means employed to show awareness of

another person's face" (Yule, 1996: 60). If a speaker utters something that

is considered as a threat to another person's expectations regarding self-

image, it is counted as Face Threatening Acts (FTA) (ibid.: 61). FTAs are

usually acts that inherently damage the face of the addressee or the

speaker. Given the fact that some actions might be interpreted as a threat

of another's face, the speaker can minimize or lessen this possible threat.

These are called Face Saving Acts (FSA)(ibid.).

Eelen (2001: 4) contemplates "The amount and kind of politeness that is

applied to a certain speech act is determined by the `weightiness' of the

latter". This is calculated by speakers from three social variables: power

(the perceived power difference between hearer and speaker), distance

(the social distance between them) and rank (the cultural ranking of the

speech act or how threatening it is perceived to be within a specific

culture).

Brown and Levinson (1987: 60) suggest a set of five possibilities which

are available to the speaker. These strategies range from doing the FTA to

avoiding doing it. They are numbered according to the increasing

weightiness of the FTA resulting in the selection of strategies with

decreasing perceived threat to face. In cases where the speech act has

little weightiness, it can be produced baldly on record, with no redressive

action. Figure (1) below shows these strategies. The scale on the left

represents the degree to which these strategies are face-threatening to the

addressee.

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successfully. To set the felicity conditions of the speech act of correction,

Searle's (1979) conditions are applied as follows:

1. Preparatory conditions: hearer realizes that speaker's utterance is

erroneous. Hearer is sure of that and he knows the correct piece of

information.

2. Sincerity conditions: hearer feels he has the ability to correct the

error of speaker and it is part of his desire, responsibility, duty or

obligation to do so.

3. Essential conditions: hearer wants and desires to change speaker's

erroneous utterance.

To know how to deal with a speaker's error is of paramount importance.

The kind of the relationship holding between speaker and hearer has a

crucial role: whether the two interlocutors share the same status or they

have a higher to lower one and vice versa.

Lots of studies are available on the kind of correction or corrective

feedback that is found in classroom interaction (Al-Saate and Al-

Jumaily, 2016). One important role of teacher inside the classroom is

giving corrections to students' erroneous responses. Different kinds of

corrective feedback are distinguished as Panova and Lyster (2002), Lyster

and Ranta (1997) among many others. Although they seem as a must and

completely rightly justified, these corrective feedbacks should be

delivered cautiously. Teachers need to think deeply when they correct

learners in order not to make them feel "absolutely stupid" and to

maintain rapport (Pishghadam and Kermanshahi, 2011: 343). Some

studies find that teachers prefer indirect correction (Ellis et al., 2001). In

fact, this is only one legitimate case of giving corrections to others. It is

within the institutionalized context of teacher- student interaction.

However, different other situations might entail some corrections, as this

study assumes.

In other daily communication, corrections need to be given carefully to

pursue the rules of politeness and maintain rapport. One does not want to

find himself mistaken or saying something erroneous. This threatens his

face's needs. The speech act of correction is a FTA for hearer and speaker

alike. The first needs enough courage to talk or correct and the latter

needs to accept and admit his incorrectness. As such, what are the

strategies employed by interlocutors to perform such an act?

In their unique study on correction, Takahashi and Beebe (1993) examine

American and Japanese performance of the speech act of correction with

unequal power status. Their research gives a model for the study of this

act. They distinguish the use of positive remarks, softeners, and other

similar formulas as means to lessen the FTA and to make communication

smoother, reduce friction and keep rapport (Takahashi and Beebe,

1993:139). They analyse each "speech act as consisting of a sequence of

semantic formulas" (ibid.: 138). They state that positive remarks include

praise, compliments and positive evolution. A positive remark is "a

preceding adjunct which is phrasal and separate from the main body"

(e.g. it was a good presentation, but...). Softeners, on the other hand, are

"down toning devices integrated in the main body of speech acts". They

are subcategorized into three groups:

1. Softeners (e.g. I think, I believe, you may have...)

2. Questions (e.g. Did you say...? , Do you mean ...?)

3. Expressions to lighten the gravity of the mistake or to defend the

interlocutor (e.g. you made one small error...)

By specifying these semantic formulas, one can find the different

realizations of the speech act under scrutiny. Accordingly, positive

remarks and softeners are important politeness strategies manipulated by

error correctors. They are necessary prefixes to FTA in English ( ibid.:

141). It is worthy to mention that Takahashi and Beebe's study selected

only two different power of relations, higher to lower and lower to higher

and it compared American and Japanese in these situations. They came

up with conclusions that the two societies are different in the performance

of this speech act. This study incorporates the equal power rank into the

analysis. It, furthermore, applies this speech act on Iraqi foreign language

learners of English not on two different cultures.

Teaching Pragmatic Competence

One more section seems crucial for this research paper. To communicate

appropriately in a target language, pragmatic competence in this second

language must be reasonably well developed. However, learners often

show an imbalance in grammatical and pragmatic competence as the

latter often lags behind the first. Pragmatic consciousness in L2 should be

given importance to help learners distinguish between what is and is not

appropriate in given contexts (Eslami and Rasekh, 2008: 178).

Accordingly, there is a need for L2 instruction to focus on the pragmatics

of the language being learned. Researchers point out the positive impact

of instruction aimed at raising learners' pragmatic awareness in order to

avoid cases of pragmatic failure and in order not to hinder communication

(Olshtain and Cohen, 1991: 154). Textbooks, teachers and training

programs are required to pay more attention to pragmatic aspects in L2.

While most studies have focused on the production of the target

pragmatic features or their use in interaction, instruction aimed at

improving learners' pragmatic comprehension has received far less

attention, as Eslami and Rasekh (2008: 179) argue.

One important issue that should be dealt with in L2 classroom is how to

use speech acts, especially those that represent a threat to the

interlocutors. FTAs have received much attention because when used

improperly cross- culturally, they might cause and lead to a pragmatic

failure and to a sort of misunderstanding and miscommunication.

Methodology and Data

Six different situations adapted and modified from previous studies

(Takahashi and Beebe, 1993 and Hanh, 2011) are to be incorporated with

real life instances from daily communication. These represent the data of

this research. To know how Iraqi EFL students perform this speech act,

forty students from the College of Languages/ University of Baghdad (for

the academic year 2015-2016) are chosen to fill a discourse completion

test for the purpose of eliciting the possible set that realizes the act of

correction. The number of the students who participated in the test are

forty due to the fact that this is the traditional usual number of students in

the Iraqi classrooms at university levels.

Two situations are cases of equal-power status, two are from lower to

higher and the last two are from higher to lower. The rationale behind

choosing two situations for each status is to have a full picture and a

complete comprehensive view of the whole possible usages.

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Details

Pages
Type of Edition: Erstausgabe
Year: 2017
ISBN (PDF): 9783960676782
ISBN (Softcover): 9783960671787
File size: 4 MB
Language: English
Institution / College: University of Babylon
Publication date: 2017 (July)
Keywords: English as a Foreign Language English Language Learners English Learners Xenophobia Gender Speech Act Theory Bilingual Humour

Author

Prof. Dr. Abbas Deygan Darweesh Al-Duleimi (Editor)

EFL Context: One World or Different Worlds?

Summary

Excerpt

Table Of Contents

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Author

Prof. Dr. Abbas Deygan Darweesh Al-Duleimi (Editor)