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ENGLISH AROUND THE
GLOBE AND TRANSLOCAL
FLOWS
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Jos Aldemar lvarez V.
Universidad del Valle, Colombia
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Critical Views on Teaching and Learning English Around the Globe, pages 114
Copyright 2016 by Information Age Publishing
All rights of reproduction in any form reserved. 1
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The chapters composing this book in many ways address the need to
reconceptualize language by depicting English as a language dislocated
from its traditional symbolic and geographic spaces and functions. Draw-
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ing on Blommaert (2010), language is regarded as a repertoire of semiotic
resources that have mobility in space and time. Unlike traditional static
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views of language that conceive of languages as linguistically defined ob-
jects belonging to certain spaces, peoples, and cultural practices, Blom-
maert (2010) poses that in current globalization processes:
We now see that the mobility of people also involves the mobility of linguistic
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and sociolinguistic resources, that sedentary or territorialized patterns of
language use are complemented by translocal or deterritorialized forms
of language use, and that the combination of both often accounts for unex-
pected sociolinguistic effects. (pp.45)
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Semiotic resources (languages) move across time and space and follow
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different trajectories that take them to places where they engage in the dy-
namics of appropriation, rejection, or oppression, as is the case with English
around the globe. It is this mobilizing of English language discourses and
ideologies in multiple spaces or localities of the globe that has created the
tension between the local and the global (Block & Cameron, 2002; Kuma-
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ravadivelu, 2008; Warriner, 2007). As Higgins (2009) points out, this ten-
sion has developed a well-known dichotomy in language studies. One side of
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1994, 1998, 2007) who, to a great extent in line with Blommaert (2010),
consider that English language users reinterpret, adapt, and recontextu-
alize underlying cultural practices and identities of English language to
meet local needs, norms, conventions, and interests. Pennycook (2007),
for instance, analyzes hip-hop artists and the ways they produce transgres-
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sive texts with semiotic practices of global English and localized forms and
cultural meanings. The author introduces the term transcultural flows to
address the ways in which cultural forms move, change and are reused to
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fashion new identities in diverse contexts (p.6).
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By looking at language as a delocalized, dynamic, unstable, and fluid
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semiotic resource that interplays with other semiotic and cultural systems
in complementary ways, Pennycook suggests that semiotic production and
identity performance through English are neither strictly global nor strictly
local (as cited in Higgins, 2009, p.12). Blommaert (2010) pursues this idea
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further and discusses translocalization that consists of a process of mobility
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in which one form of locality, for example a local English practice, is trans-
ported into another local system of meanings (e.g.,an English language
classroom in Brazil). Translocalization intends to stray way from the more
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common term glocalization, which is slightly misleading because it suggests
the global-in-the-local (p.79). The use of the term translocal implies mobi-
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lization of meanings between localities, contesting the concept of global that
suggests a hierarchical relationship between the languages involved.
The three perspectives on the dichotomy of the global-local are useful in
informing about different facets of English language teaching and learning
around the globe and its role at the educational, political, historical, social,
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cultural, and economic level. We argue that, given the particular ecologies
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anced ways. The chapters in this volume illustrate how stakeholders in dif-
ferent language learning contexts privilege any or various of these purviews
either challenging the role of English in their communities or appropriat-
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previous schooling, and oral fluency and literacy in the native language.
In line with Canagarajahs (2013) research with African immigrants in the
United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia, these students semiotic
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of native speakerism centered on linguistic prestige, learners draw on the
connections between race and language to create notions of a foreigner
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phenotype that is correlated with the status of countries traditionally asso-
ciated with English,...and White privilege in understanding who counts
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as English teacher and language model. Browns examination of how the
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semiotic landscape of Taiwan enhances ideologies associated with native
speakerism clearly aligns with the dynamic and mobile nature of semiotic
resources assumed in the volume and highlights the need for diverse re-
search methods that provide access to other forms of semiotic representa-
tion of English in the world.
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The social, cultural, and semiotic bricolage that characterizes English in
the world requires that language studies examine it from diverse method-
ological frameworks (Kumaravadivelu, 2012; McKay, 2006). At the heart of
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this book is our view that one way to offer a richer account of the stories be-
hind global ecological spaces of language teaching and learning is by draw-
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ing on the multifacetedness and interdisciplinarity of qualitative research
approaches. The volume explores English language teaching and learning
around the globe from interdisciplinary frameworks, involving multimodal
social semiotics, educational anthropology, general education, feminism,
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the book, our contributors emphasize the voices of the actors involved in
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language learning and teaching practices across the globe. In this regard
Kumaravadivelu (2012) explains:
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For a long time, language teaching research, like education research, was
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ing epistemological shift that calls for the social in language education
research (Block, 2003; Firth & Wagner, 2007; Richards, 2009). Richards
(2009) posits that the paradigm shift toward qualitative research has opened
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that they represent a set of interpretive, material practices that make the
world visible (p.3) and also transform it. These practices
turn the world into a series of representations, including field notes, interviews,
conversations, photographs, recordings, and memos to the self...[through
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which] researchers study things in their natural settings, attempting to make
sense of or to interpret, phenomena in terms of the meanings people bring
to them. (p.3)
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The research conducted by the contributors of the volume highlights
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the socio-semiotic practices that make the workings of English around the
globe visible. It gives prominence to the meanings participants bring along.
The research reported is consistent with the description provided by Rich-
ards (2009) of the type of research that is being practiced in the field of
English language teaching, comprising ethnographic research (critical
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ethnography, autoethnography), discourse and semiotic analysis, life his-
tories, and action research. In her review of 15 journals published since
2000, Richards (2009) concludes that qualitative research as practiced by
language teaching researchers is:
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locally situated (it studies human participants in natural settings and
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conditions, eschewing artificially constructed situations);
participant-oriented (it is sensitive to, and seeks to understand, partici-
pants perspectives on their world);
holistic (it is context sensitive and does not study isolated aspects inde-
pendently of the situation in which they occur); and
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gation for an extended period of time. This better allows the researcher
to perceive repeated patterns of behavior. Other data collection methods
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which Western and non-Western cultures are explored not only in terms of
their own dynamics but also their transcultural and transemiotic dynamics
of meaning-making.
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little red schoolhouse, the city school, and the academycalled for par-
ticular kinds of teachers and how these teachers interacted with students
(p.9). In language studies, the attempt to bring together linguistics and
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ethnography materialized through the development of linguistic ethnog-
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raphy (Blommaert, 2007; Rampton et al., 2004; Richards, 2009). Linguistic
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ethnography acknowledges the reciprocal effect that language and social
life have in shaping each other and emphasizes the study of situated lan-
guage use as the main window to the study of the mechanism and dynam-
ics of meaning-making in culture and society (Rampton et al., 2004). As a
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theoretical and methodological development, linguistic ethnography has
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already produced illuminating studies of the relationship between class-
room and community and offers an energizing reconfiguration of practical
and conceptual orientations (Richards, 2009, p.167). Examples of the ap-
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plication of linguistic ethnography to the study of classrooms and schools
can be found in the chapters written by Krulatz and Torgersen, Mackinney,
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Amanti, Keyl, and Silvester. An example of the application of a particular
type of ethnography to virtual classrooms, autoethnography, can be found
in the chapter written by lvarez.
It is not an accident that so many of the authors in this book have drawn
on ethnographic research methods in their studies. Given that the goal
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learners and teachers on learning English and the meanings they attach to
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cial and cultural scene from the emic or insiders perspective (p.288).
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AU: Not in reference of diverse and complex forms of culture and knowledge (Block & Camer-
list, unless year is
1992. Please check,
on, 2002; Canagarajah, 2005, 2006; Higgins, 2009; Kumaravadivelu, 2008;
and correct if needed.. Pennycook, 1994, 1998; Phillipson, 1997; Rassool, 2007; Widdowson, 2003).
English Around the Globe and Translocal Flows 7
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cies of Language Ideology in Alaska), development aid (see Chapter12, A
Pedagogy of Enthusiasm), commodity for the global market (see Chapter6,
What! You Dont Speak English?), and English as a semiotic resource that
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can be territorialized in more fluid and egalitarian terms to users advantage
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(see Chapter10, Learning English in the Margins).
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BOOK OVERVIEW
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The 11 chapters that follow are organized thematically in three sections.
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The first section, English Language Users and Identity Positionings, consists
of four chapters that report research conducted in four translocal spaces:
a social networking site for language learning; a Spanish-English dual lan-
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guage middle school in Miami, Florida; two multilingual schools in Norway;
and a bilingual elementary school in Honduras. A common thread in these
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four chapters is the role of language in hindering or facilitating translocal
connections wherein cultural identities are performed, negotiated, and con-
structed. Chapter2, by Jos A. lvarez, differs from the other chapters in the
volume in that it hones in on the material and symbolic affordances of the
translocal space under scrutiny. The choice of cyberspace instead of a geo-
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tive identity roles enacted by the website. Users negotiate alternative identi-
ties that involve positioning themselves as members of an imagined com-
munity where members, on the basis of their own semiotic repertoires, can
contribute regardless of their cultural and linguistic backgrounds.
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cause language practices are always cultural practices. Therefore, bringing
in the home language (Spanish) to an English for Speakers of Other Lan-
guages (ESOL) context mobilizes the cultural space of the home in the
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school locality and vice versa.
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In Chapter4, Anna Krulatz and Eivind Nessa Torgersen take us to Nor-
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way where they develop an action research project with teachers of Eng-
lish in two multilingual schools. The study emerged from the researchers
interest in raising awareness about multilingualism and helping teachers
develop adequate EFL [English as a foreign language] pedagogies that
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support the multilingual identities of their students and capitalize on the
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students funds of knowledge The authors findings are positive in that
teachers practices are respectful of multilingual students identities and
the knowledge they bring to the classroom. However, they express lack of
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preparation to face challenges inherent in new classroom demographics
such as how to establish the bridge between the students world, theirs and
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their familys funds of knowledge, and the classroom experience. Krulatz
and Torgersen suggest that one way to help multilingual students is by sup-
porting teachers professional development that, in turn, helps them un-
derstand and be aware of multilingual dynamics. The authors concerns are
reminiscent of Pennycooks (1994) view of teachers as critical pedagogues.
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In a time where complex global and cultural flows converge in the language
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slaves, the Black English speakers have sought to maintain English as a local
language in a country where Spanish predominates. McNelly uses ethno-
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The second part of the bookLanguage Ideologies, Hierarchies, and
Social Practiceis composed of four chapters that report on research con-
ducted primarily in educational settings: a public high school in Mexico, a
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university in Taiwan, and a high school in the United Arab Emirates. The
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fourth chapter (Chapter8) examines the perspectives and experiences of
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Alaskans from different cultural and linguistic backgrounds regarding the
impact English language policies have had, and continue to have, on heri-
tage and world languages in Alaska. Many of the English-language policies
discussed are school-based, as well. A common thread in these chapters is
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their focus on how language ideologies materialize in social practice. They
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also share the perspective that, rather than something neutral emanating
from a shared cultural background, language ideologies are always in-
terestedthat is, they reflect asymmetries of power and often map onto
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other forms of social inequality. Together these chapters demonstrate that
there is wide variety in language ideologies and that they represent con-
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tested terrain.
In the first chapter in this section (Chapter6), Cathy Amanti investigates
why it is that English is the only language besides Spanish that is offered at
a public high school in the northern Mexican state of Sonora. Not only is it
the only additional language offered, but all students are also required to
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take English for their first two years of high school. Drawing on the inter-
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vation carried out over 9 months, Amanti found that a variety of local and
extralocal factors contribute to the privileged status of English in the high
school where she conducted her research. She also found that local actors
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speakers preferred as language models and teachers, but that specific ra-
cial categories of native English speakers are preferred over others, as well.
This was evident in study participants frequent reference to foreigners as
10 J. A. LVAREZ V.
being the ideal English model and teacher. When pressed to elaborate on
what they mean by foreigner, participants described someone who is light
skinned and has colored rather than black eyes. Although some study
participants expressed the view that being a native English speaker alone
does not guarantee the ability to teach English, Brown concludes that ide-
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ologies of race are interwoven with language ideologies in regards to the
ideal English model and teacher.
Next, Jennifer Stone takes us to Alaska (Chapter8), a state in the United
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States marked by a highly complex and contested linguistic terrain. Home
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to many indigenous languages, colonial languages (Russian and English),
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and now migrant languages from diverse parts of the world, Stone and her
team collected life histories of (a) people who identified as Alaska Native,
(b) people whose families came to Alaska as immigrants or refugees from
places where English was not the primary language, and (c) people whose
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families came to Alaska from other parts of the United States for economic
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opportunities. The purpose of the life history interviews was to capture
the historical legacies of language ideology that the participants had ex-
perienced, identify the agents who supported these ideologies and their
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motives, and understand the effects of language ideologies on individu-
als access to and participation in heritage languages. Drawing on theo-
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ries of history in person, sponsorship, and stewardship, Stone found that
the sponsorship of ideologies of English language dominance and heritage
language loss continues to define English education in the state. However,
participants also identified key stewards who enabled them to gain access
to their heritage languages, illustrating the ongoing, historically rooted
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Deus, takes us to a high school in the United Arab Emirates, where English
is a required part of the curriculum. In this study, Deus investigates how
his study participants, all English language teachers at the school, define
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their roles in the classroom. Grounded in the premise that teachers beliefs
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about their roles in the classroom reciprocally shape their language ideolo-
gies, in this study Deus combined interviewing with classroom observations
and document collection and found that teachers beliefs fell into one of
two categories. One category he describes as viewing the teachers role as
further entwined with the teachers beliefs about the role of English and
Arabic in the world. Those who view the teachers role as being enthusiastic
motivational speaker construct Arabic as private and the bearer of culture
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and tradition. Those teachers that view the role of the teacher as being a fa-
milial role model prioritize the role of Arabic in their students lives. Deus
contrast of the narratives of the local and native English teachers once
English Around the Globe and Translocal Flows 11
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we turn to English language teaching and learning contexts involving mo-
bile social actors migrant domestic workers, adult refugees, and native
English-speaking volunteers in non-English-speaking countries. The three
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chapters in this section problematize the link between teaching English,
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and aid and development work. In Chapter10, Shireen Keyl reports on her
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research in a community center for migrant African domestic workers in
Beirut, Lebanon. More a GRO (grassroots organization) than a NGO (non-
governmental organization), the community center was established to pro-
vide migrant workers, who often face extremely hostile working conditions,
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with their own space to meet for cultural, educational, and community-
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related activities. One of the educational activities conducted at the com-
munity center is teaching English. Keyl combined interviews and analysis
of social media in her critical analysis of participants perceptions of the
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role and value of English in their lives. Her findings show that the migrant
workers perceive English as much a tool for advocacy and activism across
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linguistic difference as a tool for economic advancement. This recalls the
role English and French played in the struggle against imperialism by colo-
nized peoples in Africa (Brutt-Griffler, 2002).
Next, Katherine Silvester takes us to a Bhutanese refugee camp in Ne-
pal, for a look at pre-resettlement opportunities to learn English there
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learners, many of whom had no prior formal education, as well as the local
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English teachers who worked at the Spoken English Center. Her findings
show that teaching practices in the center revolved around local knowledge
and everyday experiences, and that teachers served as language brokers,
helping their students negotiate language and cultural differences through
their practice. Teachers there are anything but passive technicians and,
in fact, are strategic thinkers who are capable of theorizing from their
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lish speaking countries under the auspices of a U.S. NGO. The volunteer
English teaching industry rests on the assumption that to speak English as a
native language is to be naturally equipped to be a teacher of English. This
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lish language instruction and the substitution of love, games, smiles, and
cheerleading, what she calls a pedagogy of enthusiasm, in place of high qual-
ity English language instruction. Jakubiak reminds us that although NGOs
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actions may stem from good intentions, actors involved in such programs
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uncritically reproduce contested discourses of English as an opportunity
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for cultural, social, and economic development.
Following section three, in a concluding commentary, we offer a final
reflection on the studies presented in this volume. While each stands on
its own merits, taken together they remind us that English language teach-
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ers and students face many of the same challenges across the globe, but
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they also face unique challenges and possibilities conditioned by their in-
dividual histories and sociohistorical contexts. We honor their efforts and
dedicate ourselves to continuing to bring their stories to light as we have
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done in this volume.
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