Hi!

That´s a big question, and I hope that answers which point out important and interesting issues in these area will keep coming for the duration of the IATEFL conference and beyond.

A couple I would like to suggest to begin with: 

1. The relationship of culture to the teaching of English in a global context.

2. The effect of the global economy on local EFL markets. 

I will be posting new discussion topics on both these issues, and I look forward to hearing your thoughts.

Helen

Dear colleagues!

It is a pleasure to meet you via this medium. I was thinking about what themes or issues to propose for discussion and now that I am reading Helen´s proposals, I quite agree with her that these are central discussion topics in the world and mainly at the 43rd Annual IATEFL Conference that will take place in Cardiff this year.

Neverthelees I would also like to put to your consideration a topic of great importance nowdays and that influences  education as well as other aspects of everyday life, e.i. violence. Every headline in newspapers around the world have commented on the attack suffered by german students at a school in Stuttgart yesterday showing how impotant it is to deal with this issue in our classrooms. The Ministry of Education in my province has organised a course for teachers in primary and secondary schools in order to help us deal with this important issue which affects our students and their academic performance. Global economy crisis and social inequity are surely at the base of the violence issue, and they have been dealt with in EFL classes as well as in other subject areas, in schools around the world.

I will be waiting for you comments and we can all agree on which topics we can start the discussion in this forum. Kindly

Paula

The themes here should address the 'globality' of learning and come to terms with the lack of need for students and teachers to be tethered by their geography ... connectivity here could be king.

Hi all!

No wonder if global issues have become part of our daily lives/concerns at home, in the street and more significantly at school. Nik's question has triggered in me a myriad of impressions that I would stipulate as follows:

As a teacher/educator, it seems to me inevitable to relate all the issues (environment, peace, citizenship, sustainable development, child labour...) to the educational context. My paramount objective behind initiating my students to some of the following issues is to make of them global debators and negotiators. This does in no way mean that I will act as a sage on the stage; rather, my role would be that of a facilitator, and any issue they may suggest would be very welcome. Debating such issues can help them think critically and independently (make their voices heard).

Conflict resolution is one of the most thorny issues be it inside the classroom or outside (locally and globally).

There is an urgent need to "inject" the spirit of readiness to resolve school-related conflicts into the students of today which can be solely a trampoline to transfer their competencies into the outer world.

This cannot be feasible unless students have fostered their  social, inter/cultural communicative skills  and above all cognitive/linguistic abilities. In a way or another, language (EFL) would be a medium and an end in itself.

Cheerio;)

I think a world English should be more orgnised.  Such as, a standard pronounciation, written system in English.  An easier way of grammar and word choice. 

Hi everyone!

It's great to hear from you, and I am very interested to read your suggestions for issues to develop on this forum.

I agree with Paula, that violence is becoming an increasingly important issue in the world. We should all take the time to reflect on tragedies such as the recent shootings in Stuttgart, and closer to home, I have unfortunatley worked with students who have been victims of violent assault, and as a result violence has at times been a personal issue in the classroom, and I agree with Tarik, that for me as a teacher, global issues are inseparable from my working context.

Variations in English use around the world, which variety to teach, and whether greater standardisation is necessary are issues which clearly relate to the educational context, and I think are likely to provoke lively debate.

I also like Doug's point, that geographical location is less important, and I think this is reflected in an increase in the amount of teaching and learning that takes place over the internet, as well as in the proliferation of global discussion forums such as this one.

One of the things I really like about this global issues area is that it seems to me to be a very wide area which is open to different interpretations and perspectives. I think it would be good for us all to start one or two new discussion topics on areas that interest us, to see what kind of responses we get. We can always start more topics as new contributions are made, and we can delete any that turn out to be non starters.

I look forward to hearing your thoughts,

Helen

I'm interested in what English as a foriegn language teachers should know about linguistic diversity in the world. I'm concerned about endagnered languages, language loss/shift/attrition, and multilingualism. As more and more students around the world learn English as a lingua franca, what should the role of English teachers and the English teaching industry be in terms of recognizing, validating, re-inforcing the importance of minority languages. I know that some indigenous rights groups here in Mexico reject English instruction in schools because the seem to view English and Spanish as pushing out any place for their native language in their children's brains or lives. Here children must learn Spanish as the national language and the language of instruction in schools. I'm destressed about these beliefs because I do no think they are true. When I teach the students English it is on top of, not instead of any other languages they might speak. So how can we as teachers do that in a way that is sensitive to and respectful of their culture?

Hi Paula !!

I was in Wales earlier this week talking with teachers who teach in Welsh Medium Schools, that is, all of the children's lessons in all subjecta are conducted in Welsh even though for many of the children English is their first language. I feel that this is an interesting slant on what you are saying.

Very best regards from England

Hi dear paula,

I see how much you're interested/your concern for languages that are doomed to disappear. Luckily, in Morocco, we can speak about the revival of Berber (it wasn't in danger of extinction,though) that had been marginalized for many reasons. Berber has become an instructional subject in primary schools and it is widely used in the media  TV or radio news bulletins/newspapers. (three varities of Berber exist in Morocco!) .

For more information about the multilingual context of Morocco in case you are interested:

google this plz:  Language and National Identity in Africa By Andrew Simpson

just click the first "result". It's a google book.

Hope you enjoy reading chapter 3    PP:44-60

Cheerio;)

tarik Boussetta

Hi Paula and Tarik,

This is a very interesting chapter, especially the part about gender and language choice.

Thanks for sharing this.

Helen

Hi Paula,

If you go to http://books.google.com and search for the book Tarik mentions, you should find that you have the option of a preview, and although there is a limit to the number of pages you can read online, if you go directly to chapter 3 from the contents, you should be able to read it.

Good luck,

Helen