Language ideology and pedagogy: Cry for help

[Mark A Peterson]

John Knox writes:

>I'm not certain exactly what you mean by "language ideology".

Schiffman (1996) defines language cultures as "the set of behaviors,
assumptions, cultural forms, prejudices, folk belief systems, attitudes,
stereotypes, ways of thinking about language, and religio-historical
circumstances associated with a particular language."  Language cultures
become "language ideologies" insofar as they shape or define relations of
power and authority, which they do in many, if not all, contexts.

My own uses of the concept of language ideology have been at a fairly
abstract level: trying to articulate South Asian and American language
ideologies by examining the assumptions underlying people's discourse and
other social practices about language.  What my tutor wants to do in her MA
thesis is somehow assess people's attitudes through a measurement tool
(survey or assessment) and relate this to their learning success.

Thanks for the references on pedagogy!

Best,

Mark Allen Peterson
Asst. Professor of Anthropology
The American University in Cairo
PO Box 2511, Cairo 11511 EGYPT
peterson at aucegypt.edu

"Laughter overcomes fear, for it knows no inhibitions, no limitations. Its
idiom is never used by violence and authority."
          -- Mikhail Bakhtin
-----Original Message-----
From: John Knox <johnk at rangsit.rsu.ac.th>
To: Mark A Peterson <peterson at aucegypt.edu>
Date: Monday, March 27, 2000 8:49 AM
Subject: Re: Language ideology and pedagogy: Cry for help


>Dear Mark,
>
>I'm not certain exactly what you mean by "language ideology". I have no
>references related to the teaching of Arabic, but you could take a look at
>Adrian Holliday's book, titled something like _Appropriate Teaching
>Methodology and Social Context_ for a start. Holliday spent a period of
>time teaching English in the Middle East and draws on his experience there
>throughout the book. It's published by Oxford.
>
>Claire Kramsch also has a very good book which may interest you.
>
>For my coursework masters, I wrote a dissertation which argued that
>pedagogy is, in part at least, a product of the cultural baggage of the
>teacher. I'mnot certain how relevant and/or helpful this is because, as I
>mentioned, I'm not sure of your meaning with regard to language ideology.
>
>Anyway, I'll forward this mail to my home email address and give you
>a longer list of complete references from my dissertation.
>
>Sincerely,
>John
>
>
>
>
>On Sat, 25 Mar 2000, Mark A Peterson wrote:
>
>> Here is a query for all you teachers of foreign language:
>>
>> My Arabic tutor is a graduate student in the American University in Cairo
Teaching Arabic as a Foreign Language program.
>>
>> She wants to do her MA thesis on the relationship of language ideology to
pedagogical style. That is, she is assuming that people’s understandings
about Arabic affect (or at least may predict) the speed and quality of their
learning of Arabic.
>>
>> Her thesis advisor is apparently not sure that this is a legitimate
project, nor that it will reveal anything worthwhile. Nonetheless, her own
experiences teaching Arabic to foreigners in England, the US and Egypt, and
to members of the Arab diaspora in England and the US for whom Arabic is a
second language, have convinced her that language ideology frames practices
of pedagogy.
>>
>> I may end up as outside reader on her thesis committee, even though this
is a bit outside my expertise, if only to try to convince other members that
the concept is plausible. At any rate, I am looking for two things:
>>
>>     1.. literature on this subject, that is, the relation of language
ideology to pedagogy; and
>>     2.. teachers of Arabic anywhere in the world who would be willing to
administer a short survey of attitudes to their students as part of such a
project.
>> Any suggestions or recommendations as to how to measure language ideology
in an appropriate way toward this end or other advice appreciated. My
expertise (such as it is) is in semiotics and the ethnography of
communication and although I’ve done a bit of work with language ideology
(in India) I’m feeling a bit out of my depth here.
>>
>>
>>
>> Mark Allen Peterson
>> Asst. Professor of Anthropology
>> The American University in Cairo
>> PO Box 2511, Cairo 11511 EGYPT
>> peterson at aucegypt.edu
>>
>> "Laughter overcomes fear, for it knows no inhibitions, no limitations.
Its idiom is never used by violence and authority."
>>           -- Mikhail Bakhtin
>>
>
>---------------------------------------------------------------------------
--
>John Knox
>English Department, Faculty of Liberal Arts
>Rangsit University, Muang Ake, Patum Thani, Thailand 12000
>tel: (662)997-2200(-30) ext.1338 fax: (662)533-9470
>---------------------------------------------------------------------------
--
>
>