ERIC Number: EJ1213107
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2019
Pages: 20
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-1542-7587
EISSN: N/A
The Practicality and Relevance of Peace in an EFL Teacher Training Program: Applications and Implications
Vasilopoulos, Gene; Romero, Gloria; Farzi, Reza; Shekarian, Mariana; Fleming, Douglas
Critical Inquiry in Language Studies, v16 n1 p10-29 2019
This study examines the practicality and relevance of positive peace (Galtung, 1964) in English as a foreign language (EFL) teacher training. It focuses on a collaborative three-month study abroad program, funded by the Chinese Scholarship Council, for EFL teachers from rural communities in western China to participate in an intensive professional development program hosted at a large Canadian university. Beginning with the premise that the teaching and learning of Global English is not apolitical, and that the power imbalance between Center based institutions and remote Periphery communities should not be ignored, we consider how the concept, and practice, of positive peace can counter English linguistic and cultural hegemony. In Summer 2016, thirty-five teachers from western China attended the program; thirteen agreed to participate in interviews and focus groups for research purposes. Thematic analysis was used to first code the data for prominent themes with subsequent rounds of interpretive coding to uncover the presence of latent concepts expressed through counter-discourse, such as peace. Through this analytical approach, the data revealed that the visiting teachers (1) disagreed with host instructors on the utility of specific pedagogic approaches; (2) prioritized their own local curriculum; and (3) hoped to teach their hosts about China, as well as learn about EFL pedagogy and Canadian culture. By reading the data through the framework of positive peace, the counter-discourse between visiting teachers and host instructors/researcher can be viewed as sites of peace-building where expertise can be contested, professional identities reasserted, and once silenced voices heard.
Descriptors: English (Second Language), Language Teachers, Study Abroad, Power Structure, Peace, Cultural Influences, Teacher Attitudes, Teaching Methods, Curriculum, Cultural Differences, Second Language Instruction, Foreign Countries, Faculty Development, Middle School Teachers, High School Teachers
Routledge. Available from: Taylor & Francis, Ltd. 530 Walnut Street Suite 850, Philadelphia, PA 19106. Tel: 800-354-1420; Tel: 215-625-8900; Fax: 215-207-0050; Web site: http://www.tandf.co.uk/journals
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: Junior High Schools; Middle Schools; Secondary Education; High Schools
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: China; Canada
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A

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