Featured Article (June 2004)

THE ENGLISH INVASION: THE ROLE OF LANGUAGE IN ARAB REFORMS
Article originally published on Al Jazeera's English Language Website, 20 June 2004

SHAHEEN CHUGHTAI, Al Jazeera, Qatar

"The war is language," wrote American beat generation poet Allen Ginsberg, in his Wichita Vortex Sutra (1966). "Language used like magic for power on the planet."

Ginsberg's Vietnam war-era concerns about the manipulation of language during times of conflict finds an echo in today's Middle East, where Arab governments have come under increasing pressure from Western centres of power to reform not only their political systems but their educational curricula. This pressure springs partly from a belief that the Middle East's schools and universities have nurtured a world view that helped motivate those responsible for the 11 September 2001 attacks on the US. Following those plane attacks, Saudi Arabia – home to 15 of the alleged hijackers - began a review of school books for evidence of extremism. About five percent of the material has been deemed objectionable and purged. >>> TO READ THE FULL ARTICLE, SELECT THE APPROPRIATE FORMAT BELOW

Article Length: 1700 words (approx.)

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Featured Article (March 2004)

ELT AND THE NEW WORLD ORDER: NATION BUILDING OR NEO-COLONIAL RECONSTRUCTION?
Paper presented at the SoLLs.INTEC.03 International Conference, Malaysia

GREGORY HADLEY, Niigata University of International and Information Studies, Japan

Momentous events of the late 20th and early 21st century have led to the rapid and sometimes disturbing growth of American influence around the world. This informal empire both explicitly rewards and implicitly threatens those living in nations of the expanding circle, depending upon their mastery of the English language and their conformity to Anglo-American cultural norms. Rewards often come in the form of greater access to political, economic and cultural power. Threats range from economic marginalization to cultural isolation. After understanding some of the cultural factors that seem to energize the American Empire, this article will consider some of the aspects related to the teaching of English as an International Language. What are some of the wider sociopolitical forces that shape our decisions as language teachers? As educators ethically reflect upon their role, how will their decisions support or subvert the aims of those who have a stake in the continued supremacy of the English language?>>> TO READ THE FULL ARTICLE, SELECT THE APPROPRIATE FORMAT BELOW

Article Length: 12,400 words (approx.)

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Featured Interview (December 2003)

ISLAM, ENGLISH, AND 9-11:
An Interview with Alastair Pennycook

By SOHAIL KARMANI

KARMANI: Since the events of September 11, 2001 there has been growing pressure on Muslim governments to reform educational curricula, the belief being that the worldview currently being promoted at schools, colleges and universities was partly responsible for motivating the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon. For many such as Susan Glasser in her Washington Post article (2 February, 2003) this means ‘more English and less Islam’. What is your analysis of such formulas? And, in your assessment, do you think English represents a significant threat to Muslim languages and values?

PENNYCOOK: I find this idea quite intriguing. I came across an article recently suggesting that more English teaching in the southern regions of the Philippines might be a good antidote to ‘terrorist’ activities. What could this mean? >>> TO READ THE FULL TRANSCRIPT, SELECT THE APPROPRIATE FORMAT BELOW

Interview Length: 4800 words (approx.)

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Featured Article (September 2003)

TEACHING ENGLISH AS A MISSIONARY LANGUAGE (TEML)
(Forthcoming in Discourse: Studies in the Cultural Politics of Education, 24/3)

ALASTAIR PENNYCOOK, University of Technology Sydney, Australia
SOPHIE COUTAND-MARIN, University of Technology Sydney, Australia

‘Free English Class’ announces a small piece of paper thrust into the hands of chosen passers-by on a city street corner. ‘Sharing your ability to speak and read English can be a ministry’, announces a pamphlet lurking at the bottom of a conference bag at a major international (TESOL) conference. ‘Offering ESL Classes is a strategic way to show the love of Christ and can open doors to sharing Christ with many who might normally not respond to more traditional methods of Evangelism’ proclaims a web site of a major missionary organization (Serving in Mission). At one end of the scale, the offer of free English classes to lure ‘non-native speakers of English’ off the street and into missionary English classes; at the other end of the scale, an invitation for teachers to share their knowledge of English as a ministry to the poor or to use English classes as a means to reach non-believers. All are connected by a willingness to use the global spread of English to further the spread of Christianity. All see ‘English Language Teaching’ (ELT) as a legitimate site for missionary work. >>> TO READ THE FULL ARTICLE, SELECT THE APPROPRIATE FORMAT BELOW

Article Length: 9008 words (approx.)

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