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The world of sponsored professional--Directory of funded opportunities--Grant proposals. / Includes bibliographical references.

This thesis is an ethnographic enquiry into the question of culture in the content of EFL lessons. It focuses on day-to-day classroom practice in a Brazilian school for a critical examination of a truism in the language teaching profession: that culture is an integral part of the content of language lessons. Inspired by Bakhtin's (1981,1986) 'dialogism', this thesis conceptualizes syllabus content as multivoiced discourse which is shaped by teachers and learners as they "assimilate, rework, and re-accentuate" words of others (cf. Bakhtin 1986: 89) in the classroom. Its two-part structure reflects the attempt to construct my own critical voice by building both on the data and on the theoretical voices on the topic. Hence, Part One contextualizes the research within its subject area and considers the main ideas (on culture, foreign language education, and classroom research) providing the theoretical basis for the investigation. Chapter I considers the context, topic, scope and relevance of the research and provides an outline of the organization of the entire thesis. Chapter 2 examines the various definitions and uses of the word 'culture' in circulation in language teaching literature over time against the background of the development of the concept in the social sciences. Chapter 3 gives careful consideration to the principles of ethnography guiding this investigation. In Part Two the ethnographic voice takes the lead to narrate and interpret the documentary, interview, and observational material. Chapter 4 considers the research design as related to the context and purposes of the investigation. The analysis of the data developed through chapters 5-8 relates the views of culture - and cultural content - expressed by teachers and pupils, as well as those identified in the textbooks and other school documents, to the content which emerges out of classroom activities. The thesis concludes with an assessment of the contribution it may be able to make to the examination and understanding of foreign language classroom realities.

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This research report explores the ways in which English as a Foreign Language (EFL) students and an EFL teacher position themselves in relation to the themes of ‘local’ materials as well as to the ‘global’ EFL pedagogy in a local South African classroom. This research was undertaken to investigate the relevance of local constructions of culture and identity within broader global EFL discourses and classroom practices. The research was conducted at International House Johannesburg, an affiliate member school of a British-based EFL organisation, and focused on a group of ‘foreign’ adult students from non-English speaking African countries. The 16 page module of materials entitled Customs in our Time, was designed by the researcher, and attempted to create a space for the local by incorporating texts about customs and rituals practised in certain African countries. The overall design of the study is qualitative and draws on aspects of an ethnographic methodology. Spoken interaction in the classroom, as well as transcripts of interviews with the twelve participants involved, are the focus of this analysis. I draw on the work of Canagarajah (2005) and Pennycook (1994) in situating this research in broader sociohistorical context. I also utilise post-structuralist theory to conceptualise the key constructs of this research: language, culture and identity (Weedon, 1987). Of particular relevance to this study is the post-structuralist notion of positioning in understanding the subjectivities of the research participants (Davies & Harré, 1990). In analysing the data, I demonstrate that there are multiple, diverse and contradictory identity positions circulating in the local classroom space. I argue that the dominant EFL pedagogy works to negate the hybridity of this space and in doing so strips the communicative context of it authenticity. The research thus argues that an acknowledgment of the multiple voices and positions of the students and teacher in the local classroom space is essential for the creation of a more ethical and productive pedagogy: a localized pedagogy.

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