Monday, 16 January 2017 01:37
A Closer Look at Ideologies Embedded in Imported English Language Teaching Textbooks in Iran
Seidi, A., Kabiri Samani, S., Fallahi, H., & Parseh, F. (2016).
Abstract:
Textbooks are a significant element of teaching English as a foreign language and are the main input for language learners in the process of language learning. Since many various textbooks have been published for teaching English as a foreign language and have been imported to the Iranian EFL contexts, selecting the proper specific textbook is getting more difficult for Iranian teachers and program developers in private language institutes. The important point is that textbooks are not used only to make language learners familiar with the linguistic aspects; rather, they include the cultural and social aspects of the English language. These cultural and social aspects can be categorized as linguistic ideologies. The purpose of the present study was to review the theories on ideology in language learning and then discuss the ideological aspects of the imported EFL textbooks in Iran. The paper also discussed that there were certainly elements of bias in the language uses and social practices, but they were often unseen or unnoticed. Our study showed that there were three major linguistic ideologies in the EFL textbooks which included hegemony, linguistic imperialism, hegemony of English, and globalization. The imported EFL textbooks in Iran represent specific types of discourse including the western cultural, social, and economical norms. These ideological assumptions have mostly been ignored by curriculum developers in Iran in selecting the appropriate textbooks for their educational programs. The discussion in the present study can be useful to material designers, teachers, and learners.
Published in
Volume 2 2016
Monday, 16 January 2017 01:34
‘Language Education Studies’ Volume 2, issue 4 December, 2016 Contents
A Closer Look at Ideologies Embedded in Imported English Language Teaching Textbooks in Iran
Seidi, A., Kabiri Samani, S., Fallahi, H., & Parseh, F. (2016).
Published in
Issue 4- Volume 2 2016
Friday, 30 September 2016 19:44
Needs Assessment in Curriculum Development: An ESP Look through the Munbyan Model
Montazeri, M., Fekri., N., & Hamidi, H. (2016).
Abstract:
One of the attempts made at making language instruction and learning more effective is language needs analysis, or assessment, arising from, or in line with, the attention diverted towards ESP in second language instruction. It is the process through which the needs for which learners learn a language are arranged and prioritized. It further surveys students on their backgrounds and goals, consults faculty regarding course requirement, classifies assignments, observes students in authentic settings, and identifies linguistic and behavioral demands. This paper aimed to substantiate needs analysis in second language learning taking it into a more specific consideration from communicative perspective by assuming communicative syllabus as the requisite to language instruction in today’s world where utmost need for communication is seriously tangible. In so doing, it investigated Munby’s (1978) model of needs analysis, as one of the most comprehensive frameworks developed in needs analysis in second language instruction, proposed in the attempt for designing a communicative syllabus as a the requirement of today’s language instruction, and elaborated on its components in detail. This paper finally made accounts of such criticisms thrown on this model as being complex, learners-centered, constrained, not yielding a sequential framework of things to be included in second language syllabus design.
Published in
Volume 2 2016