Multicultural/Antiracist/Diverse/Mainstream Class - CiteSeerX

InsideMeeting the needsof Muslim students

Raising Consciousness

Vo lume 28 , No . 1Spr ing 2002

Preparing Students to Teach in the Ethnocultural/Multicultural/Antiracist/Diverse/Mainstream Class-room!

Robert Courchêne

Introduction

Over the past 10 years I have experimented with anumber of different techniques and strategies in prepar-ing students to teach in multicultural classrooms.1 Whilesome, as will become apparent in the text, have beenmore successful than others in exposing students to thenew pedagogical challenges and in raising their level ofconsciousness of self and others, almost all have provento be useful to at least specific groups of students in theclasses. Prior to discussing these techniques and strate-gies and their implementation in the classroom, I wouldlike to identify what I consider to be the major problemsin mounting such a course.

(1) Many students do not see themselves as racist; theyfeel that the younger generation as opposed to the

generation of their parents is more open-minded;many of them also equate having had contact withpeople of other cultures in their classroom and atwork as being tolerant of them.

(2) Students are unaware of their own culture- values,beliefs, norms, etc; some see being Canadian as havingno distinct culture; Mexicans, Chinese, Japanese allhave readily identifiable cultures but Canadians donot.

(3) Many students, especially those raised in �small-town�Canada, have had little or no direct contactwith people from other cultures other than what isfound in different forms of the media;

(4) Students challenge the usefulness of multicultural edu-cation, seeing it as a selling out of Canada�s culture (in

Community Profile� Muslim Commu-nity Services

A Primer forTeachingOveraseas

LanguageProfiles Arabic

Pub l i ca t i on number 40038620

2 Contact, Vol. 28, No. 1, Spring 2002○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○

EditorBrigid Kelso

Editorial SupportCommitteeBob CourchêneUniversity of Ottawa

Jill Doherty

Jacqueline Jeffers

Contact, the officialnewsletter of theTeachers of English as aSecond Language ofOntario, is publishedthree times a year. It isavailable through mem-bership only. To join seethe membership form atthe back of this issue.

Contact welcomes copyof general interest toassociation members,including announcements,reports, articles, calls forpapers and news items.Contributors shouldinclude their full name,title and affiliation. Copyshould be preferably e-mailed to the editor [email protected] Windows '97 RichText format, or mailedon diskette to the Editorc/o The TESL Associa-tion of Ontario, 27Carlton Street, Ste. 405,Toronto, Ontario, M5B1L2, (416) 593-4243,Fax (416) 593-0164.Deadlines are January30, April 30 and June 30.

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Table of Contents

Page

Preparing Students to Teach in the Ethnocultural/Multicultural/Antiracist/Diverse/Mainstream Classroom! 1

Helping our Chinese Students 1 5

TESL Durham 1 6

Community Agency Profile � Muslim Community Services 1 7

Materials for Review 1 8

Meeting the needs of Muslim students 1 9

Language Profile � Arabic 2 0

Teaching in Oman 2 9

A Primer for Teaching Overseas 3 2

Designing CALL Materials 3 8

Wow, I Could have had a Hot Potato! 40

Check out our websitewww.teslontario.org

Contact, Vol. 28, No. 1, Spring 2002 3 ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○

From the EditorBack in October, when we were planning this

issue, like the editorial committees of every otherpublication in North America, we thought we wouldtie the content somehow to the events of September11, starting with educating our readers on Islam. Wecan understand, however, if you are now sufferingfrom media fatigue/saturation on this topic as everymajor news organization has already made an effortto do this.

We will talk about Islam in this issue, but only asit is relevant to our overall theme of raising conscious-ness in the classroom. TESL past-president, BobCourchene, kicks off the topic by sharing some of hisinnovative theories and activities for teachingmulticulturalism and building tolerance.

As you know, last fall, many Muslim students in ourclassrooms suffered racial slurs and stereotypes link-ing them to terrorism � to the point where manyparents decided to keep them at home. As teachers,it is our job to protect and serve all of our students,and to help us do this, I interviewed former Carltonschool board teacher Khadija Haffajee, the firstfemale member of North America�s 27-memberCouncil of Muslims. I also interviewed the TorontoDistrict School Board�s Maria Yau, who advises us asto how elementary and secondary ESL teachers canhelp their Chinese students.

Our overseas correspondents have contributeda series of interesting articles. From the Middle East,Cathryn Colp Roos tells us what it has been liketeaching in the Sultanate of Oman; John Allan, hasprovided us with two ESL/Internet articles. Finally,Gregory Strong, now teaching in Japan, has written anextensive primer on teaching abroad, particularly inAsia.

Regular contributor, Cathy Haghighat has revis-ited and expanded upon Arabic, which she firstprofiled in 1993. I would like to take this opportunityto recognize Cathy�s enormous contribution to Con-tact over the years and also to apologize for editingout part of the Armenian profile that ran last summer,which created confusion. In that profile, Cathy notedthat working on the Armenian profile had stirredemotions not unlike those she felt while researchingthe Albanian and Hebrew profiles. She also hadexpressed her sadness, frustration and outrage due tothe fact that Armenians and the Rom have sufferedgreatly and have been the victims of genocide, yet the

oppressors of neither group have been held account-able. We would also like to make it clear that �bothgroups� referred to Armenian and Rom, not Hebrewand Albanian as could have been misunderstood, dueto substantive editing.

Also profiled in this issue are Brampton�s MuslimCommunity Services and Durham Affiliate.

Finally, a reminder to let us know of anything thatyou would like to see in upcoming issues of Contact.We are pleased to have received funding again thisyear to offer you another special issue featuring write-ups from symposia presenters at our Novemberconference, due May 2002.

Brigid KelsoContact Editor

ContactAdvertising Rates 2002

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this case, Canadian culture does exist!); this beliefoften takes the form of �If we went to theircountry they would not let us keep our culture andreligion; why should we allow them to do sohere?�

(5) Designing materials and providing experiencethat takes the students beyond the classroominto direct contact with people of other cultures.

(6) Realizing that multicultural education is not onlyfor �minority cultures�;2 in some cases, �main-stream� students are in greater need of it.

(7) Defining the mainstream-what is the mainstream?How does one become part of the mainstream?Worded differently, How does one become aCanadian?

(8) Getting to stand back- to reflect on who they areand how they came to be.

(9) Getting students to become risk-takers � to crossthe divide, to explore other cultures, to get toknow people from other cultures.

10) Students come from very different academicbackgrounds; i.e., students who have a degree inL2 teaching, students who have selected thiscourse as an option but are specialists in othersubject matter areas, administrators.

11) Valuing students for who they are; celebratingdifference as difference.

While I do not always face all of the abovechallenges in every class, they have certainly been themost common.

Techniques and Strategies

In choosing the different pedagogical tools usedin this course, my aim has been twofold: to raise thestudents� consciousness and to provide them withhands-on experience. The list below contains thosethat I have found to be most useful teaching studentsin our B.A. Program L2 Teaching and for students inthe B.Ed.3 Program who choose to take theAntiracism Module. (see also Orr and Finney, 1995for other useful suggestions).

1) Journals: learning, reflective, open/free, exchange

2) Interview with a student from another culture

3) Guest speakers

4) Personal response papers

5) Personal vision statements

6) Inclusive lessons

7) Video/radio/television programmes

8) Book dealing with themes related to multiculturaleducation

9) Culturgrams

10)Consciousness-raising activities

Journals

Over the last 10 years, I have used a number ofdifferent types of journals � asking students to reactto an assigned reading, a newspaper article, a guestspeaker, a class. In addition to allowing students toexplore their own feelings and attitudes, journalsprovide me with constructive feedback on the class.In this type of journal, students are more open aboutwhat they think because they know that what theysay will be kept confidential (unless they give mepermission to share it with the class, or I ask them ifI can do so) and they know that they will not bemarked for their opinions. They do not get any�brownie points� for reflecting my opinion as I wantto encourage independent thinking.

Two types of journal entries students have foundmost useful are Listening for Discriminatory/RacialRemarks and Student Exchange. In the first case, at thebeginning of the course, I ask students to listen for alltypes of remarks of a discriminatory/racist natureover a two-week period. In each case, they have tonote the remark, indicate the context in which it wasmade and describe their reaction to it. For manystudents, this proves to be a real eye-and-ear-openeras they become aware for the first time how muchblatant, subtle and latent racism exists (the events ofSeptember 11th this year provided students withnumerous examples). One of the interesting findingsfrom this exercise is that students are willing tochallenge their friends who make racist remarks butnot strangers, especially not in public spaces, such asshopping malls and buses.

Examples of discriminatory remarksand student reactions

�Diaper head� � On hearing this disrespectful com-ment I felt very frustrated and eventually angry. Diaperhead was a comment being used against a person of theSikh religion who (for religious purposes) must containtheir hair hygienically.

The frustration I felt was firstly since this communityhas been in Canada for over 100 years on the west coast

Two types of journalentries studentshave found mostuseful are Listeningfor Discriminatory/Racial Remarks andStudent Exchange.

One of the interest-ing findings fromthis exercise is thatstudents are willingto challenge theirfriends who makeracist remarks butnot strangers,especially not inpublic spaces, suchas shopping mallsand buses.


and by no means is new nor their dress. Not being of Sikhorigin I felt, that since these cultural facts are commonknowledge and taught in almost all of our urban schoolsat one level or another, the comment was not of pureignorance but with the intention to humiliate and defi-nitely representative of a malicious nature. Secondly,despite the efforts of all communities and the govern-ment, this comment asserted that there is a segment ofthe population that believes that they may prop them-selves up by belittling anything and everyone that differsfrom the majority (that they happen to be members of).

�Rock-throwing sand-nigger� � This comment wasmade towards an Arabic person; in this case, a Lebaneseperson. I find this a particularly insidious remark becauseit shows disdain for two peoples in one comment: blacksand Palestinians. My instant reaction was a stare ofdisbelief and a quick walk-away from the offendingperson. I could not fathom that they had actually saidsuch a hateful thing, offensive to two entirely separateraces/cultures. The reason the person made the com-ment was that the victim had ordered a beer by saying,�Heineken, now.� I later returned to the bartender andexplained to them that in Arabic the word �please�basically does not exist (it is seldom used). This smallrevelation helped a little bit, but I know the person stillharbours some negative sentiments.

Many of these racial slurs that I overheard didn�treally anger me too much. They did however make mea little afraid. How could the populous of a first worldcountry like Canada, which is supposedly highly edu-cated, be so ignorant? I believe the reasons are threefold:firstly, a lack of understanding of alien cultures, lan-guages, and/or religions. This lack of understanding leadsto fear. This fear in turn leads to hatred, which manifestsitself as racism. So perhaps the best way to combatracism is an education program, consisting of detaileddescriptions of socio-linguistic communities, religiouscommunities, and cultural communities as well. A de-lineation and explanation of their beliefs and customswould definitely help as well. Understanding breedstolerance and tolerance means no racism.

Another finding was that people of colour in theclasses who had often been the subject of racistremarks while they were growing up found that doingthis exercise opened old wounds. Many had built upa protective wall around their persona deciding tosimply ignore such remarks. This was especially thecase when they were again targeted while doing theassignment.

Overall I feel like these past two weeks have mademe very sensitive, and I hope not to lose that sensitivity

but rather to temper it so that I can be aware but notparanoid. Especially because I have always been somewhat aware when comments are directed toward myselfor to people of Chinese background, but not as aware ofracial comments in general. I think this is very importantin teaching as students will need teachers that will standup for them.

A second type of journal involves exchanging withESL students in the K-12 system or in adult ESLprogrammes about their experiences in becomingCanadians. During the course of a semester theyexchange with their partner about 6-8 times. Thejournals are of a personal and confidential nature.Anything that is shared is at the partner�s initiative. Inever read the journals unless given permission to doso and return them to the students at the end of theyear. The participating ESL students are given acertificate with the crest of the University of Ottawaand signed by the participating teachers. In additionto learning about the student�s family and schoolexperience, their problems of settlement in their newcountry, they also gain insights into the student�sprogress in English over the semester; they see howstudents have to struggle to master the language.

Hi Sarah,

Are you watching the Olympic games? I watchedteam Canada kick kazakhstan buts. Are you going towath Rusha vs Finland I hope Rusha wins team Finland.

IgorP.S. I come from Yugoslavia

In some of the journals the students spoke quiteopenly about the effects of war and famine on theirfamilies. Not all exchanges, however, are of a seriousnature as is obvious from the above example; as well,around Valentine�s Day and Easter the journals areliterally filled with candies, eggs and special cards.One of the students� regrets with the journal ex-change is that it did not last for the whole academicyear; they felt that over this longer period of time theywould have been able to establish a more lastingrelationship with their student partner and learnmore about their acculturation to the school systemand Canadian society.

Interview with a student from anotherculture

In order to encourage students to get to knowsomeone from a cultural group other than their own,I asked them to interview a student from anotherculture with a different skin colour than their own. Iprovided them with a series of questions (see Appen-

A second type ofjournal involves

exchanging with ESLstudents in the K-12

system or in adultESL programmes

about their experi-ences in becoming

Canadians.

In order to encour-age students to get

to know someonefrom a cultural groupother than their own,

I asked them tointerview a student

from another culturewith a different skin

colour than theirown.


dix A) but encouraged them to go beyond the list andinvestigate other topics. I also asked them to add areflective section at the end on their experiences.When I first began using this pedagogical tool, Iinsisted that the student had to have been bornoutside the country but I have since begun to allowthem to use students born in Canada as I wanted toshow them that being born here is no defence againstdiscrimination. This has proved to be a very valuableexercise as the students come face to face with peoplewho have been victims of both racist remarks andphysical acts. They realize, as is evident from theexample below, that their fellow students have suf-fered at the hands of other Canadians.

Sample interview questions and re-sponses

Does racism exist in Canada?

Yes, right now [racism exists in Canada]. Well, notflat out racism, but you can feel that it is there. It�s hardto explain. People are afraid of foreign people here. Youcan�t see it, but if you are a foreigner, you can feel it.

I know some women who wear a hijab, and they saythey get stared at in the market. Even more in these days,more than usual. One friend told me that he was spit ononce, actually. It�s disappointing to hear. But I have neverreally seen this. I just have the feeling.

I am always asked, �Where are you from?� �Why?��Cause you are coloured.� Most people think I amSpanish so everything is fine. At the bar they ask, �Are youSpanish? Italian?� �No, I�m an Arab.� �Oh� they will say.People find it strange, you can tell, but I am okay withthem and I keep talking with them, and its okay. Mostpeople are afraid of me. It is the same in my country, weare afraid of the cultures you don�t know. (Student fromMiddle East)

Does racism exist in Canada?

When asked whether he felt racism exists inCanada, his response was �ABSOLUTELY�. He toldme that there are few days that he does not see theexistence of racism. He feels that he has been veryaware of racism most of his life, and is very sensitive,�perhaps a bit too sensitive� to any hint of racism. Hehas been on the receiving end of several racial com-ments including comments and actions within hisoccupation. He is also involved in an inter-racialmarriage and has received countless comments re-garding this relationship.

Have you ever been subject to racistremarks?

He explained to me that he has often been subjectto racial remarks and discrimination as a result of hisrace. He explained several incidents where he wasrefused service in several different places. He and hisfamily travel often and stay in hotel rooms. He de-scribed an incident when he went in to a hotel to geta room for his family but was told there were norooms available. As he stood there, other peoplewere arriving with the same request and were givena room. When he confronted the hotel worker thatthe vacancy sign was still displayed and asked whyothers were given rooms, he was told that all therooms were booked and that nothing could be doneabout it. When he left to explain the situation to hiswife (who is white) she decided to go in and requesta room. Coincidentally there was an available room.Since this situation has occurred several times in thepast, he did not pursue this. However, his wife did.He has also explained several situations in which hehas been approached by security asking what hispurpose was in several situations including stores andhotels.

He has also experienced discrimination in his job.He is a teacher and has had students taken out of hisclass unexpectedly because parents had requestedthat their child be moved to another class. He didn�treceive any additional reason other than that, but heassumed the reason to be because of the colour of hisskin.

With situations such as those just described, hisreaction has been mixed. He explained that he wasvery naïve at first and did not see things as his wife did.In many ways, his wife is more aware and moreangered by such behaviour. He feels that he has dealtwith racism and discrimination his whole life. He hasbeen upset by it and disappointed, but also hasdecided to pick his battles. Although his wife feelsmuch differently, he explains that he does not havethe energy to challenge each and every situation thathe feels discriminated against, especially those hefeels nothing positive will come from.

While all students indicated that this was a mostvaluable experience, they also raised some importantquestions concerning finding a student to interview.They pointed out, and rightly so, that to ask a studentfrom another culture to be interviewed so that theycould fulfill the requirements of an assignment wasvery demeaning for the student being interviewed;they felt they were �using� the student and were not

When asked whetherhe felt racism existsin Canada, hisresponse was�ABSOLUTELY�.He told me that thereare few days that hedoes not see theexistence of racism.

Although his wifefeels much differ-ently, he explainsthat he does nothave the energy tochallenge each andevery situation thathe feels discrimi-nated against,especially those hefeels nothingpositive will comefrom.


really interested in who (s)he was and what actuallyhappened to him or her. They suggested that it wouldbe better to contact the students in our EnglishIntensive Program or in the International Club oncampus to ask for volunteers indicating ahead of timethe purpose of the interview. While the studentsbeing interviewed did not object and in many casesthe initial interview led to more lasting friendships,their suggestions are very sound. Students who inter-viewed friends from another culture frequently com-mented that, as a result of the interview, they discov-ered things about their friend they had not previouslyknown.

Guest Speakers

Given the knowledge explosion of the last fewdecades, it is no longer possible to be an expert in anumber of areas. As teacher educators we mustaccept this and call on experts in different fieldswhenever possible. Over the years, I have invitedexperts on Family Reception and Orientation, Immi-gration and Settlement, Multicultural Liaison, Con-flict Resolution, religion, and racism. I have alsoinvited students and adults to come in to discuss theirexperiences. These people bring to the classroomlived experiences that go beyond the written page;they breathe life into what is found in the writtentexts. This year as a result of the backlash againstMuslims and Islam, I invited a former teacher who isnow deeply involved in the Muslim community tospeak to my class. Besides addressing some of themost important questions the students had aboutMuslims and Islam, she created a classroom ambi-ance that encouraged students to discuss with her anumber of very sensitive issues. In addition to beingmuch more knowledgeable and more open, one ofthe things that most impressed my students waswhen I told them that she had refused an honorarium,as for her this was service to humanity. Recognizingthat there are people in the community that are betterprepared than we are to address specific issuesshould not be seen as a shortcoming.4

Personal Response Papers

For the first time this year, I experimented withan idea I borrowed from Awad Ibrahim, namely, apersonal response paper. This is a short review(usually one-two pages) of two controversial andthought-provoking articles on a specific topic. Stu-dents are expected to �read�, dialogue with, respondto, and talk back to the two articles. Since it is a�reading� note, there is no right or wrong reading.

There are, however, clear, concise, comprehensible,creative and original readings/ arguments. Studentsmust indicate how the two articles engage them?What particular aspect, or aspects, stood out andwhy? Students are told that they my choose to focuson one theme or discuss themes that cut across thetwo articles. For this year�s assignment, I used twoarticles written by Peggy MacIntosh (1997) andMartha Mahoney (2000). These two articles exam-ine white privilege and the construction of whitenessin society (see Appendix B for an excerpt of MacIntosh�sQuestionnaire). Other articles could also have beenused (see Sleeter,1993, 2000; Jensen, 1998, 1999;personal communication from Carl James, York Uni-versity).

These two articles left no one indifferent in theclass; many white students reacted very strongly tothe notion that their skin colour conferred any typeof privilege on them. On the other hand, students ofcolour agreed with much of what was said. One ofthem said that 21/27 entries in MacIntosh�s Ques-tionnaire applied to him. Another group of studentswhile agreeing that their skin colour might indeedhave given them certain advantages stated they werenot willing to give up their privileges so that the lessfortunate in the society might also benefit from them.In one of the classes based on articles, the followingexchange ensued:

Student: My parents and ancestors have workedhard for us to have what we have to day; if our land andpossessions were given back to the First Nations� Peo-ples that would really suck.

Teacher: Don�t you think it sucked when the gov-ernment took or gave away the First Nations� lands topeople who came to settle their country?

Student: (Silence followed by a grudging), I guessit did.

What comes through in their reactions (see reac-tions below) and the above exchange is that theywant to build a just society without the privileged, thedominant group, having to make any compromises.If such attitudes are carried into the classroom,establishing a cultural comfort zone where everyonehas a voice and everyone�s voice counts will be verydifficult. They need to realize that if we are going tohave classrooms based on justice and equity, therewill have to be compromise on both sides.Multicultural and antiracist education is for everyone.As well, the fact that they see themselves as not beingracist does not mean that they do not have a respon-sibility to resist it, to stamp it out.

Student: Myparents and ances-

tors have workedhard for us to have

what we have today; if our land and

possessions weregiven back to the

First Nations�Peoples that would

really suck.

As well, the fact thatthey see themselves

as not being racistdoes not mean thatthey do not have a

responsibility toresist it, to stamp it

out.


Most of the students recognized that skin colourdid confer unearned privileges, privileges that in mostcases they were not aware of, or that they had neverthought about. It had never crossed their mind thatsomeone might not be rented an apartment because(s)he was Black or Asian. However, not all were ofthis opinion.

Why are these assets �unearned� anyway? Andif they are, then what in life is earned? Have I earnedthe right to scratch my nose if it is itchy? No, but I havethat freedom. The difference is that everyone has thisprivilege, regardless of skin colour. McIntosh haslisted some of the disadvantages of coloured people,not the over-advantages of whites. Everyone shouldbe able to swear without others attributing it to thebad morals of their race. Everyone should be able toget legal help without their race working againstthem. Obviously, this is not the case. Black people,along with other visible minority groups in this coun-try and in the United States are disadvantaged consid-erably in relation to white people. However, the issueis gaining the advantages for those who don�t havethem, not lessening those of people who do.

Both articles discuss the topic of whites notrecognizing white privilege. Peggy McIntosh saysthat she was taught about racism and how it putsothers at a disadvantage but not how white privilegeputs whites at an advantage. To me it seems obviousthat whites have certain advantages. Maybe this isnot explicitly taught in school, but its something thatyou come to realize through life experiences. She alsostates that whites are taught to think of their lives asnormal and ideal so that when we work to benefitothers we try to make them be more like us. Again,I think that people are more informed about thesekinds of issues. Granted, this article was written withthe U.S. society in mind and maybe things are differentover there; I don�t know. But from talking to people,mostly in my generation, they realize that imposingour beliefs and our culture on others is not necessarilywhat is best for them, and so in trying to help themwe would try to keep their beliefs and culture in mind.

In addition to using articles as the basis for aPersonal Response Paper, one can also use films suchas Jane Elliots� film The Eye of the Storm (1969) in itsvarious versions (It is more commonly known as�Brown Eyes, Blue Eyes�).

While students may not enjoy having to writeresponse papers, they all agree that such assignmentsforce them to question and re-evaluate their views ona number of topics. They play an important role in

consciousness-raising, one of the principal goals ofthe course.

Personal Vision Statements

At the end of the course, I ask students to submita personal vision statement outlining their position onmulticultural and antiracist education. It is to be basedon class lectures, assignments, personal experienceand readings. As with the Personal Response Paper,there are no right answers; rather they are asked topresent coherent and substantive arguments for theirposition. This task requires them to synthesize theirideas, to develop a framework, the beginnings of aphilosophy of multicultural and antiracist education.Many students struggle with this as they are stillworking through a number of issues and, in manycases, have not had enough concrete experience totest their hypotheses. Despite these problems, stu-dents agree that it is a worthwhile exercise as it forcesthem to question and re-evaluate much of what theyhave taken for granted.

Sample Reponse

A warm school environment should be providedthat is free from discrimination in order to best servethe student�s interests. First of all, to make the schoolan inclusive environment, all school stuff should workon making a welcoming school setting so that chil-dren can build a trust to the racial and ethnoculturaldiscrimination-free interaction ( Reflection 29 ). Anyracial remarks, bias, prejudices should be crackeddown on so that children learn everyone is equallyimportant regardless of his/her skin colour or cul-tural background. The central figure in children�sschool life is the teacher. The teacher contributes toevery aspect of the student�s learning and unlearningof new knowledge. The teacher should see eachstudent�s ethnocultural differences as uniqueness andpotentials, not as possible problems. Creating aneffective communication network with parents ofdifferent ethnocultural communities is required forthe teacher to have sufficient knowledge about eachstudent. Initiating parents� active involvement in theirchildren�s school work is also necessary.(L2 Speaker)

Inclusive Lessons

In class, I present Bank�s (1994) four models ofmulticultural education along with Dei�s model ofantiracism (1996) education. In asking students toprepare an inclusive lesson (see outline in Appendix

Most of the studentsrecognized that skincolour did conferunearned privileges,privileges that inmost cases theywere not aware of, orthat they had neverthought about.

At the end of thecourse, I ask stu-dents to submit apersonal visionstatement outliningtheir position onmulticultural andantiracist education.


C), I ask them to work at one of different levels. Notall students are able to begin working at the SocialAction level; some prefer to start at the beginning. Ikeep telling my students that a becoming anmulticultural/antiracism teacher is a never endingjourney; you are always on the way to somewhereand the best place to start is at the beginning, withinyourself. The aim of this exercise is to see if studentsare able to apply what they have learned in designingmaterials for the classroom; in such lessons, method-ology is as important as content. I allow students notonly to choose their clientele but also the teachingcontext; as most of them volunteer in classroom orare heading out for their practicum, I want them toproduce materials they can actually use. I encouragestudents to both conference with me and to submitdrafts that I can react to.

Videos/Radio and Television Programs

I use such programs for focused discussions andto explore specific topics. For example, For Angela(1993) and the National Film Board�s Playing FairSeries (four films:1992) deal with racism and otherforms of discrimination based on gender, religion,cultural practices, etc. While often somewhat over-dramatized, they present issues that future teacherswill have to deal with in the classroom. They providean opportunity for all students to explore a giventopic; white students are often surprised to learn thattheir friends of a different skin colour have been thetargets of racism. On different occasions, I have askedstudents to view one of these films or a commercialfilm and to write a journal reflection on it; i.e., TheHistory of X, Where the Sprit Lives.

Books dealing with themes related toMulticultural education.

One of the best ways to delve into a new cultureis to read the literature of its best authors. To this end,I compiled a short list of books that deal with issuessuch as race, the role of women, class, and caste in anumber of different cultures; wherever possible, Ihave also tried to include children�s literature.5 Imade a special effort to select books about minoritiesin the Canadian context or books written by Cana-dian authors about such topics. Students were askedto choose a book from the list or to select a book ontheir own subject to my approval. Books such asRohinton Mistry�s (A Fine Balance or Rudy Weibe andYvonne Johnson�s (1998) Stolen Life: The Journey of aCree Women opened never-imagined worlds to mystudents.

Culturgrams

�Culturgrams are 4-sided handouts designed asbriefings to aid understanding for, and communica-tion with, people of other cultures� Culturgrams arecondensations of the best information available�.(www.uia.org/uiadocs/religram.htm; see alsowww.culturgram.com).

Each culturgram follows a standard format:

Map: Indicating the continental location andprincipal cities

Customs and courtesies: Greetings; Visiting; Eat-ing; Public Meetings; Gestures.

The People: General Attitudes; Population; Lan-guage; Religion

Lifestyle: The Family; Dating and Marriage;Social and Economic levels; Diet; WorkSchedules; Recreation; Holidays.

The Nation: Land and Climate; History andGovernment; Economy; Education; Trans-portation; Health

Ottawa-Catholic Immigration Services (OCIS)with funding from Citizenship and Immigration Canadahas also produced a large number of Cultural Profilesin both English and French that are similar in format(can be obtained free charge at the following addresshttp://cwr.utoronto.ca/cultural/english/index.html).

For this assignment, students were asked tochoose a culture from an agreed-upon list and toprovide information on five core topics and threeadditional topics. They were instructed to interviewas many people as possible from the cultural group toobtain as inclusive view as possible of the culturalgroup. Students were also encouraged to interviewpeople from different generations within the culturalgroup. As with the Interview with a Student, thegreatest obstacle was finding a group of people whowould agree to talk about their culture; once theseinitial contacts were made, the project proved to bevery rewarding for the students. In some cases, theculturgrams submitted by the students were given toOCIS as source material for future cultural profiles.An objection often raised in regards to culturgrams isthat if one consults three different groups from thesame ethnocultural group about their culture, onewill get three completely different culturgrams.

Consciousness-raising activities

While the underlying goal of almost all of what isdone in these classes is to raise the students� con-

One of the best waysto delve into a new

culture is to read theliterature of its best

authors.

I made a specialeffort to select

books about minori-ties in the Canadian

context or bookswritten by Canadianauthors about such

topics.


sciousness of issues related to multicultural andantiracist education, I use a variety of techniques tomake students aware of the underlying assumptions,schema, values they have interiorised. One of thecommon assertions made by students is that there isno distinct Canadian culture. This was reinforced bythe fact that many of the students they interviewedwere also of this opinion. To try to make them realizethat this was not the case, I presented Roch Carrier�s(1979) wonderful short story The Hockey Sweater inbook and video format. After they had seen the video,I asked them to break into groups and to list the ides,concepts, customs, etc., they would have to teach agroup of newly arrived students so that they couldunderstand the film. Some of what they consideredessential to teach is found below:

The role of religion in Quebec society: The Status/role of the priest in Quebec communities

Catholicism: sin, penance, hell, etc.

Eaton and the Eaton�s Catalogue

English-French Relations

Montréal Canadiens and Toronto Maples Leafs:Symbols of English and French Canada; rivalrybetween these two teams;

Hockey: the game, Hockey Night in Canada(Saturday), national sport, rules of the game

Maurice Richard: player, role model, legend,sweater number 9

After completing the exercise, they realized thatindeed there was a real Canadian culture but that itwas so much part of them that they were not con-scious of it. To make these same students aware of theunderlying culture of the school and the classroom,I asked them how they would respond to the follow-ing request from their principal:

As part of the information session for parents tothe school, you have been asked to meet with theparents of newly-arrived students and to explain tothem the culture of the school and the expectationsthat the school and teachers will have for their sonsand daughters. These parents come from a numberof different ethnocultural and religious backgrounds.List below the information that you discuss withthem.

The students listed more than 25 componentssome of which appear below:

The school day begins at 8:50 and ends at 3:10.

Homework is given on a regular basis; student areexpected to do it;

Exams are given on a regular basis in every course;

Parents can help students with assignments;

Teachers are not allowed to touch or strikestudents;

Classes are co-ed;

Students are required to take some form ofphysical education;

Field trips are part of the school curriculum;students may be asked to pay extra;

Group work is common; male and female studentswork together;

Health education is a subject in the schools.

Conclusion

I would like to conclude this article with threeobservations based on my experience over the pastten years.

Setting the limits of tolerance

What many students find the most difficult in thistype of course is setting the limits of tolerance. Doesteaching multicultural education mean that I have togive up everything that I believe in? Do I have to allowpeople from other cultures to lead their lives inCanada exactly how they lived them in their countryof origin? Is everything acceptable or can I set limitswithin my classroom? Can Canada set limits within itsborders for what should be allowed? For example inthe public school, should students from all culture beable to demand a �private space� within the �publicspace� to practise their religion? Are public schoolsnot to be neutral in terms of religion? (see How far dowe go? from Tapestry (2001) for a exploration ofthese issues). Students need time to think throughthese issues, to learn how to distinguish betweenaspects of our life that are governed by the Charterof our laws and, therefore, must be accepted by all,and those areas in which tolerance is permitted andeven encouraged. As people are constantly trying totest and push back such boundaries, this setting oflimits must be seen as a lifelong struggle.

Centring on minorities in the classroom

As a teacher, I have often made the mistake ofasking a person from a specific ethnocultural back-ground to be the spokesperson for the group (evenglancing at the person when asking a question canhave the same effect). As is evident from the twoexcerpts from student journals below, this can havea very damaging effect on such students.

After completing theexercise, theyrealized that indeedthere was a realCanadian culture butthat it was so muchpart of them thatthey were notconscious of it.

As a teacher, I haveoften made themistake of asking aperson from aspecificethnoculturalbackground to bethe spokesperson forthe group (evenglancing at theperson when askinga question can havethe same effect).


(First Entry)

I�m tired of feeling like it�s my responsibility toeducate others. I defy many stereotypes and try my bestto succeed in life. Part of my drive in life has been toprove people wrong. I don�t speak in slang, nor do I havegold teeth. I don�t have braids, nor am I a gangster. Istopped excelling in sports-although I did at one time-because I got tired of people telling me that it comesnaturally to Blacks. I�m tired of the assumptions that Ican only be good at certain things in life like sports andsimple work. I�m tired of the empty feeling. I�m tired offighting for true equality, and I�m tired of pretending thatlittle jabs at other cultures don�t hurt me. I�m tired ofbeing the only one to say anything in defence of �minori-ties.�

I�m tired of being told I�m lucky not to have �darkblack� skin and afro hair. I�m tired of not being consid-ered �Black enough� to be �really Black�. I hate lookingin the mirror each morning and facing the fact that todaysomeone will see me for nothing but the colour of myskin. They will judge me on this and they will treat medifferently. I am glad that I am also finally able to lovemyself and my colour. Whenever I regress I think: �Well,people pay ridiculous amounts of money for curls likethese and they fry themselves on beaches and in tanningbeds for skin like mine.�

(Second Entry)

The last thing I wanted to mention is a little awkward.As I�ve been keeping my eyes and ears open for anyracially-oriented comments, I must say that the onlytime I feel a little uncomfortable is in this class. I knowthat multiculturalism is a difficult and touchy subject.The reason I wanted to be in this class was preciselybecause I wish that it would stop being so taboo. I find thatpeople have a tendency to tiptoe around it. However, itis strange that in a class of approximately thirty people,only three students are of a �visible racial minority� (I useall these terms with a grain of salt). I feel a little like I�mon display, like I�m an example. Part of me wants toinvalidate these feelings and tell myself that I�m beingtoo sensitive. Part of me says that I should shut that firstpart of me up, and not deny what I�m feeling � Even if onlyto acknowledge my own biases and soft spots. And partof me is extremely happy to be an �example� and wantsto tell everyone about my life, my experiences and myculture. Perhaps I should be glad that so many people thatare not seen as a �minority� in this country are interestedin taking a course in multicultural education. I try to comewith an open mind and not to jump at shadows. I thinkthat in class, everyone should have the chance to speakfreely and not worry about the semantics of the language

they are using. The �politically correct� movement makesme very uncomfortable. I think that it�s more importantto understand the meaning and not to trip ourselves upwith the words. It would be terrible if someone felttongue-tied for fear of offending someone in the class.

As teachers, we need to be careful that we do notcontribute to this �singling out� that they feel (only afool would ask any Canadian to speak for the wholecountry); there is as much diversity of opinion amongwhite Canadians as there is among Black Canadians,Chinese Canadians, etc. In most cases, students ofcolour have the added challenge (burden) of havingto negotiate two or three identities. As well, as withmany white Canadians of different cultural back-grounds, they may have long since lost contact withtheir culture of origin; because I look Chinese doesnot mean I am, that I speak the language, that I steepedin that culture. Does this mean that we should neverask students of colour questions in our class? No, butwe must not make any assumptions about who theyare; we need to be sensitive, non-judgemental, as weshould be with all our students.

The mainstream

What is the mainstream? Who constitutes themainstream? Worded otherwise, How does onebecome a Canadian? For me these are not rhetoricalquestions as we frequently hear people talking aboutthe mainstream classroom or integrating studentsinto the mainstream classroom. A typical urban class-room today consists of 20-25 students: 50% whiteand 50% of other skin colours; many in the lattergroup were born and raised in Canada; the rest arenew Canadians. I believe one can legitimately ask whoin this group belongs to the mainstream? Is skin colourthe only criterion to be used? Can we assume that allwhite students will automatically belong to themainstream? Are we using mainstream to excludestudents who should legitimately be included? Is themainstream classroom, or for that matter any class-room, not diverse? It is time to rethink this concept,for in my opinion, it is closely linked to how onebecomes a Canadian or, more precisely, whom thosein power allow to become Canadians. How onedefines it has important pedagogical consequences.

To conclude, I would caution anyone againstwanting to turn the suggestions presented in thisarticle as a �Best Practices� manual for teaching in themulticultural classroom. For me teaching has alwaysbeen a work in progress, a lifelong journey; there areno carved-in-stone solutions, only context-sensitiveapproaches tied to the needs of my students.

I�m tired of not beingconsidered �Black

enough� to be�really Black�. I hatelooking in the mirror

each morning andfacing the fact thattoday someone willsee me for nothing

but the colour of myskin.

There is as muchdiversity of opinion

among whiteCanadians as there

is among BlackCanadians, Chinese

Canadians, etc. Inmost cases, students

of colour have theadded challenge

(burden) of havingto negotiate two or

three identities.


Appendix A

Interview with Student From Another Culture

1. Country of origin

2. Length of time in Canada (if appropriate)

3. Family background: number of people in theirfamily, reasons for coming to Canada (economic,refugee, political)

4. Educational background

5. Ask them if they believe that racism exists inCanada; if so, could they give some examples.

6. Ask them if they have been the subject of anyracist remarks or have been discriminated againstas a result of their race or ethnic background. Askthem how they felt about such incidents and howthey dealt with them.

7. Ask them what it means to them to be a Canadian(if they are Canadian) or how they would de-scribe Canada and/or Canadians if they are inter-national students.

8. Ask them if they think becoming a Canadianmeans that they must give up their culture or canthey keep it and still be Canadian.

9. Ask them what they see as the most importantdifferences, if any, between their culture andwhat they see as mainstream Canadian culture.

10. If they see Canadians as being racist or discrimi-nating against people of other cultures, ask themwhat can be done to change this?

11. Ask them how they see the future of Canada withits rich mixture of races, cultures and religions.

12. Other: topics that arise in the course of yourdiscussion that you would like to pursue.

Appendix B

Sample questions from MacIntosh�sQuestionnnaire

1. I can if I wish arrange to be in company of peopleof my race most of the time.

2. If I should need to move, I can be pretty sure ofrenting or purchasing housing in an area which Ican afford and in which I would want to live.

3. I can be pretty sure that my neighbours in suchlocations will be neutral or pleasant to me.

4. I can go shopping alone most of the time, prettywell assured that I will not be followed or har-assed.

5. I can turn on the television or open to the frontpage of the paper and see people of my racewidely represented.

6. When I am told about our national heritage orabout �civilization,� I am shown that people of mycolour made it what it is.

7. I can be sure that my children will be givencurricular materials that testify to the existenceof their race.

8. If I want to, I can be pretty sure of finding apublisher for this piece on white privilege.

9. I can go into a music shop and count on finding themusic of my race represented, into a supermarketand find staple foods which fit with my culturaltraditions, into a hairdresser�s shop and findsomeone who can cut my hair.

10. Whether I use checks, credit cards, or cash, I cancount on my skin colour not to work against theappearance of financial reliability.

11. I can arrange to protect my children most of thetime from people who might not like them.

12. I can swear, or dress in second-hand clothes, ornot answer letters, without having people at-tribute these choices to the bad morals, thepoverty, or the illiteracy of my race.

13. I can speak in public to a powerful male groupwithout putting my race on trial.

14. I can do well in a challenging situation withoutbeing called a credit to my race.

15. I am never asked to speak for all the people of myracial group.

(2000, pp.116-117)

Appendix C

Preparation of an Inclusive Lesson6

A. Assumptions:

- the class is multi-ethnic/racial,

- students (in a mainstream classroom) have vary-ing levels of competence in their L2 includingnative speakers

- students have been educated in a variety of edu-cational systems and/or raised in different homeenvironments,

- the students have been in Canada for varyinglengths of time including students who have beenin Canada for generations,

If I should need tomove, I can be prettysure of renting orpurchasing housingin an area which Ican afford and inwhich I would wantto live.

I can swear, or dressin second-handclothes, or notanswer letters,without havingpeople attributethese choices to thebad morals, thepoverty, or theilliteracy of my race.


B. Age:

- choose an age-level group that you would like towork with: students you have observed in yourvisits to the schools, would like to teach, or havetaught in various camps, programmes, etc.

C. Topic:

- choose a topic from the regular school curricu-lum

- choose a topic related to your adult learners

D. Approach

- multicultural (See Bank�s four models)

- antiracism

E. Outline a unit with 3 60-minute lessons

- Develop one lesson of your unit detailing:

i)objectives ii)content iii)materials

iv)methodology v)activities v)evaluation

- explain how you will achieve your multiculturalor antiracist focus

- explain how you will accommodate diversity inlanguage, culture, educational background/homeenvironments and learning-style

F. Evaluation of the students

- types of evaluation used: formative, summative,performance-based

- portfolios, kid-watching, checklists, etc.

- the progress-mastery dilemma (if an issue)

References

ABC News, (1969/1991). The Eye of the Storm.Mississauga, ON: McIntyre Media Ltd.

Banks, J. (1994). An Introduction to Multicultural Edu-cation. Needham Heights: Allyn and Bacon.

Carrier, Roch, (1979). The Hockey Sweater. (Trans-lated by Sheila Fischman). Montreal: TundraBooks.

Dei, G. (1996). Anti-racism Education. Halifax:Fernwood Publishing.

Ibrahim, A. (2001). Rac-ing the Gap: Identity, Identifi-cation, Emigrés, and the Politics of ESL Learning, InR. Courchêne, (Ed.), Contact: Special ResearchSymposium Issue. Toronto: TESL Ontario, 27(2),67-80.

Jensen, Robert, (1998/1999) College Admissions. TheBaltimore Sun: Perspective Section. July 4th (theoriginal article and the follow-up both appeared inThe Baltimore Sun a year apart).

Mahoney, M. (1997). The Social Construction of White-ness. In R. Delgado and J. Stefancic, (Eds.), CriticalWhite Studies: Looking Behind the Mirror. Phila-delphia: Temple University Press, 331-333.

MacIntosh, P. (2000). White Privilege: Unpacking theKnapsack. In. J. Noel, (Ed.), Notable Selections inMulticultural Education. Guilford: Dushkin-McGraw-Hill, 115-120.

Mistry, Rohinton, (1995). A Fine Balance. Toronto:McClelland and Stewart.

National Film Board of Canada, (1995). For Angela.Montreal: NFB.

National Film Board of Canada, (1992). Playing FairSeries: Carol�s Mirror, Hey, Kelly!, Mela�s Lunch,Walker. Montreal: NFB.

Orr, J. and Finney, S. (1995). Making cross-culturaleducation meaningful through face-to-face experi-ences. Journal of Professional Studies, 3 (1), 29-38.

Sleeter, C. (1993). How White Teachers ConstructRace. In, Cameron McCarthy and W. Critchow,(Eds.), Race, Identity and Representation in Educa-tion. New York: Routledge, 157-171.

Sletter, C. (2000). White Racism. . In. J. Noel, (Ed.),Notable Selections in Multicultural Education.Guilford: Dushkin-McGraw-Hill, 121-126.

Wiebe, R. and Johnson, Y. (1998). Stolen Life, TheJourney of a Cree Women. Toronto: Alfred A.Knopf.

www.uia.org/uiadocs/religram.htm

www.culturgram.com

1 For the purposes of this article, I have chosen touse multicultural fully realizing that it is not aninclusive term.

2 I find many of the terms used for people who donot belong to the dominant culture �loaded�;they are infused with stereotypical images of, andattitudes towards people who are members ofthese groups. Changing terms does not seem tobe a solution as, in most cases, the stereotypesand attitudes are transferred to the newest termi-nology.

Students have beeneducated in a variety

of educationalsystems and/or

raised in differenthome environments.

Explain how you willaccommodate

diversity in lan-guage, culture,

educational back-ground/home

environments andlearning-style.


3 I would like to acknowledge my debt to BarbaraBrockmann and Janet Thomas who designed thecourse with me the first time it was offered. Manyof the techniques evolved as a result of ourcooperative efforts.

4 The first time this course was given, we assem-bled a group of 13 experts; unfortunately, manyadministrative structures do not lend themselvesto such flexibility in terms of team teaching.

5 As space does not permit, I have made this listavailable on the following website: On the Web,one can also find a large number of outlines forBook Reports or Critical Book Reviews that canbe adapted to one�s specific needs.

6 Students are given a list of references where theycan find sample lessons; as well, I have a bank ofstudent assignments from past years that stu-dents can consult.

Membership to Certified TeachersIs Not Automatic

TESL membership must be renewed annually

Although your certification with TESL Ontario is valid for 5 years, you mustmaintain your annual TESL Ontario membership. Don�t forget to update yourmembership when your renewal notice arrives in the mail. This will ensurethat you will have continued delivery of your affiliate newsletter, Contact andthe TESL Canada Journal. As of last year, your membership entitles you to abonus issue featuring the papers presented by symposia presenters fromTESL Ontario�s 2001 conference.

TESL Ontario is applying for LINCconference assistance for the 2002TESL Ontario Conference, Bridgesto the Future, Novemeber 23,233, at the Toronto Colony Hotel.

If funding is granted, funding prioritywill be given to LINC instructorswho conduct presentations, semi-nars or workshops at the confer-ence.


Helping our Chinese Students

Look on the honour roll or Dean�s list of highschools and universities across the province orpublished marks from the Royal Conservatory ofOntario, and you�ll see a pre-dominance of Chi-nese surnames. But a Toronto educational re-searcher says that these academically-and achieve-ment-oriented children and young adults are oftenat a disadvantage when it comes to what she callsoral and socio-emotional skills.

Maria Yau, a Project Coordinator in the Aca-demic Accountability department of the TorontoDistrict School Board, has found that Chineseparents encourage their kids to achieve, some-times to the point at which the children are stressedout and unhappy at.

�Chinese parents tend not to praise their chil-dren, put rather criticize them. Even if the childgets 85%, they�ll ask why the mark isn�t higher.�They also are more likely to enroll their children inskills-building after-school activities such as tutor-ing, drilling and piano lessons than allow them tojust hang out with neighbourhood kids.

These students tend to select maths and sci-ences over liberal studies subjects because theyhave never felt comfortable expressing their opin-ions. �Chinese students will tend not to put uptheir hand unless they know they will be right,�says Yau, who used to teach in Hong Kong. �Theyare afraid of looking stupid.�

Teachers can tell if their Chinese students arebeing driven too hard at home if they keep tothemselves, do not make eye contact, or do notsmile. Teachers can help by encouraging thesestudents to speak up in a low-risk situation such astheir classroom. Once the student gains confi-dence, he or she might feel confident enough to jointhe school debating club or drama production.

Yau, along with parent volunteers in the GreaterToronto Area Chinese community, recently con-ducted an eight-week educational drama pilotproject called LEAP (Learning Expression throughArts and Performance). Thirty students from gradesthree to nine, were selected by word-of-mouththrough our community; local drama teachers werehired to guide the children in role-plays, improvi-sation, story-making and perspective-taking to help

them express themselves, develop creativity, usetheir imagination and gain social and empathy skills.

At first, Yau says, the children and their parentswere skeptical. �The kids thought it would beanother study group.� But by the time the pilot,consisting of eight Sunday afternoons, finished inDecember, Chinese parents were clamouring toknow how their children could get involved insimilar groups.

Although the parents did not observe the ses-sions, they were invited on the last day to viewtheir kids� video-taped performances.

Yau said that the pilot was hugely successful,but that some parents saw it as another opportu-nity for skills development and now want to pushtheir children into public speaking. She is planninganother drama group to run in the Toronto areafor a nominal user fee this April.

How teachers can help

� Encourage Chinese parents to read to theirsmall children in Chinese or English, talk tothem and tell them about their family history

� Encourage Chinese parents of older childrento let them participate in team sports(instead of individual activities) to buildimportant social skills

� Encourage Chinese parents to praise theirchildren so that they feel valued

� Address errors of Chinese children as a classso that they do not feel singled out whenthey make a mistake

The need for social skills is now being ad-dressed in Hong Kong, where $14K HK will bespent over the next while to recruit native speak-ers from English-speaking countries to assist teach-ers in their schools to help children gain oral andsocial skills. High school graduates will receive freehousing and receive $800/month to �volunteer� inthe classroom in what Yau calls a cultural exchange.

For more information about this program andthe drama program, teachers or parents can con-tact Maria Yau at [email protected]

�Chinese parents tendnot to praise their

children, put rathercriticize them. Even if

the child gets 85%,they�ll ask why themark isn�t higher.�They also are more

likely to enroll theirchildren in skills-

building after-schoolactivities such as

tutoring, drilling andpiano lessons than

just hanging out withneighbourhood kids.

�Chinese studentswill tend to not put

up their hand unlessthey know they willbe right,� says Yau,

who used to teach inHong Kong. �They

are afraid of lookingstupid.�


TESL Durham

TESL Durham was established in 1994 by asmall group of dedicated ESL professionals in Dur-ham Region � an area located just east of Toronto,and including Pickering, Ajax, Whitby and Oshawa.

TESL Durham offers Saturday morning work-shops to our membership. For the past severalyears, professional development workshops havebeen held at historic Trafalgar Castle School eachOctober and April. Presenters have included ourown members and some of the better known"names" in ESL in Ontario such as Fran Marshall andKatherine Brillinger. We have hosted the DairyFarmers Association and just last year, we werepleased to have Robert Cutting present his ESL/Literacy textbooks for high school students.

Recently, TESL Durham sponsored a logo de-sign contest to raise our profile among ESL teach-ers and students. We were more than pleased bythe number of entries received, and the eagernesswith which students responded to our request.The design we eventually decided upon had ini-tially taken many of us by surprise with its some-what �retro� look. However, upon further inspec-tion and consideration of the artist's explanation ofthe design, we needed to look no further.

We are pleased to display this logo, designed byLiang Ji of Oshawa, proudly alongside the TESLOntario logo. When we heard Mr. Ji describe hisrationale for the design at our Spring AGM, wewere clearly reminded of all the wonderful thingsthat we represent to our students. His messageconfirms all that is good about a multiculturalsociety, in the words of Liang, we are �developingtogether.�

We invite all TESL members in areas surround-ing Durham Region to contact us for informationabout upcoming workshops, and to inquire as tohow we can meet your needs.

Recently, TESLDurham sponsored alogo design contest toraise our profileamong ESL teachersand students.

We are pleased todisplay this logo,designed by Liang Jiof Oshawa, proudlyalongside the TESLOntario logo.

Jacqueline Jeffers is seen with Logo Designer,Liang Ji.


Community Agency Profile � MuslimCommunity Services

MUSLIM COMMUNITY SERVICES, (MCS),was established in 1987 as a non-profit commu-nity-based social service agency serving the needsof the community within the Greater TorontoArea. MCS is a multi-service agency, managed by avolunteer Board of Directors, focussing on theneeds of immigrants, newcomers, refugees andother community members through direct serviceprovision in a manner that facilitates access tocommunity and social support functions. The agencyhelps to reduce individual isolation, minimise iden-tified barriers, strengthen community and thuswork towards community integration.

MCS is a grass-roots, community-based socialservice agency that has served the immigrant andnewcomer community at large for more than 14years in the Peel Region. The clients are individu-als, families, immigrants, youth, seniors, low-in-come earners, and the unemployed, who may havesocial, educational, language and other barriersthat limit their full participation in Canadian soci-ety. To date, MCS has provided services to morethan 58,000 clients.

Over the years, MCS has recognized that immi-grants, newcomers and the unemployed have ex-perienced difficulty in securing employment oradvancement due to linguistic and cultural barri-ers, lack of awareness and understanding of theCanadian job market, the need for new technologyin the labour market, Canadian norms and workethic. In order to address these needs, MCS hasdesigned, developed and delivered various skillsdevelopment services including a mentoring pro-gram for immigrants, newcomers, under-employedand the unemployed.

Objectives are achieved through a variety ofprograms and services designed for the benefit ofthe broad ethno-racial community and the com-munity at large using such delivery methods asWorkshops, Information Sessions, Skills Training,Community � Based Counselling for AbusedWomen, Women and Youth Support Groups, Set-tlement And Integration services, Language Train-ing (LINC), Employment Counselling and Referral,Support Through Employment Mentoring Pro-

gram, (STEMP), as well as access to other servicesin Peel Region.

Settlement and Integration Services are avail-able by phone, individual or groups. They include:

form completion, document translation, directservice delivery and follow-up information &Orientation of Newcomers, immigrants andrefugees referrals and follow-up, and interpre-tation and translation services

Women Behind the Veil � This program isuniquely sensitive to the cultural needs of theMuslim Community. While dealing with women�sabuse, it considers related issues such as loweducation, lack of information, low self-esteem,financial dependency, as well as emotional, psy-chological and social problems of the entire family,especially children. Support and services providedto survivors of violence who are in a state of crisisinclude crisis counselling, creating a safety plan,emotional support, and information and referral intheir own languages. Women are served on a one-on-one basis or in group sessions.

Children Exposed to Family Violence Program-This initiative is directed at children who havewitnessed women being abused in their homes. Itprovides early intervention, a safe place for womenand children to discuss the violence they haveexperienced, and offers a healing process andsupport. This program is a joint-venture with manyorganizations in Peel Region.

Support Through Employment Mentoring Pro-gram (STEMP) is an innovative program designedto link individuals with professionals from busi-ness, industry and academic communities. Partici-pants gain valuable information and career-relatedadvice from industry experts (Mentors). The pro-gram is flexible and can accommodate even thebusiest schedule. Mentoring can be done on-line,over the phone and/or in person. This program isa joint initiative of the Centre for Education andTraining and Muslim Community Services and issupported by Human Resources DevelopmentCanada.

Language Instruction to Newcomers to Canada(LINC) program provides basic language training in

Women Behind theVeil � This programis uniquely sensitiveto the cultural needs

of the MuslimCommunity.

Children Exposed toFamily Violence

Program- Thisinitiative is directed

at children who havewitnessed women

being abused in theirhomes.


one of Canada�s official languages to adult immi-grants as soon as possible after their arrival inCanada so that they may acquire the necessarylanguage skills to integrate into Canadian society.Supported by Citizenship and Immigration Canada,LINC levels 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5 (the largest LINCprogram in Peel) are offered to newcomers.

ACCESS CENTRE � This centre provides anopportunity to the residents of Peel to use officeequipment and upgrade their computer skills. It isgeared to retired individuals as well as newcomerslooking to gain access to technology and increasetheir knowledge of current software applications.This partnership program is supported throughthe agency�s own generated resources and is com-plemented by volunteers who share their exper-tise in the Information Technology field.

Income Tax Clinic: Annual clinic conducted byvolunteer professional accountants and a teamfrom Revenue Canada to assist low-income indi-viduals, seniors, social assistance recipients andnewcomers prepare income tax returns. There isno cost to the most needy of the community weserve.

Women�s Support Group � This program helpswomen solve their problems through peer sup-port, networking and information-sharing. Groupmeetings increase awareness of services and re-sources available to women and empower them todeal with day-to-day realities. Participants develophigher self-esteem, confidence and language skillsfor the labour market.

Ahmed Iqbal, Executive Director, Muslim Commu-nity Services

Materials for Review

Grouev, Ivaylo ed. Bullets on the Wa-ter: Refugee Stories. McGill-Queen�sUniversity Press.

These stories describe what it means to be astranger in your homeland and accepting differ-ences in language, religion, culture and traditionsin a new one. Refugees reinforce that their moveto Canada was a choice dictated by politicalevents, but more importantly because animosity,violence and hatred was completely foreign tothem.

Cole, Tom. The Article Book: PracticeToward Mastering a, an, and the. TheUniversity of Michigan Press, 2000.

This workbook for intermediate learners breaksdown explanations of articles into categoriesthen provides exercises as well as quizzes.

Cole, Tom. Fish Trek: An Adventure inArticles. The University of MichiganPress. 2000.

This interactive computer game offers six gamelevels with ten levels of difficulty, print options,tracking of wrong answers and a comprehensivetracking session. Feedback is tailored to thequestion: not �right� or �wrong.� Teachers willenjoy the test generator feature. This softwaresupports the aforementioned Article Book.


Meeting the needs of Muslim students

Ms. Khadija Haffajee is a retired middle-schoolteacher for the former Carlton Board of Education.She was also the first woman elected to the 27-member Islamic Society of North America, a councilthat decides the future direction for Muslims in NorthAmerica. Ms. Haffajee spoke to me in a telephoneinterview from her home in Ottawa.

Q. What should schools provide for their Muslimstudents?

A. There should be a private place for prayers,where they can�t be disturbed. Part of a librarywould be fine, preferably carpeted to make iteasier on the students for various prayer posi-tions. Students from the age of 10 (voluntary)and from puberty (mandatory) should be al-lowed 10-15 minutes per day between 12:30and 1:30 to say their noontime prayers. Theprayers are self-directed, with the exceptionof Friday, when a university student, is invitedto give a talk. On this day, the students mustpray altogether (so the space has to be bigenough to accommodate all of them) and theprayer time is longer.

Afternoon prayers are said after 3:00 usually athome. However, if students participate in after-school activities, a private place should be madeavailable for them so that they can complete theirprayers before the extra-curricular event.

There should also be alternative activities forMuslim students who are not allowed to par-ticipate in afternoon school dances. Games orother activities should be provided so that theycan have fun too.

Q. Should teachers make special allowances forMuslim students?

A. Muslim girls will not participate in swimminglessons unless they are segregated classes.Then, they will wear shorts and T-shirts overbathing suits in public pools. Girls will never beseen in shorts for phys ed but will wear hoodedsweat tops and sweat pants. Both boys andgirls will be excused from sex education duringhealth class as birth control is not taught inIslam. Dating is not allowed either.

Students will be more active in phys ed classesscheduled in the morning during Ramadan as

they will have had breakfast before dawn. Ifphysical activity is scheduled later in the day,they will have less energy. Activities should bemoderate as they cannot drink water through-out daylight hours during Ramadan. Rememberthat the first two days of Ramadan are difficultuntil the body becomes accustomed to fasting.

It would also help if every lunch period duringRamadan, Muslim students can meet in a su-pervised non-food environment. Teachersshould also make vegetarian pizza and veggiedogs available for parties. Teachers can alsoinvite Muslim students to talk to their class-mates about the Ramadan.

Teachers shouldn�t allow Muslim students toabuse their privileges. They should always obtainpermission to leave the class to pray, and shouldnever use their religious practices as excusesnot to do homework or participate in class.

Q. What holy days can teachers expect their Mus-lim students to be absent?

A. Eid-ul-Fitr � at the end of Ramadan and Eid-ul-Adha � the feast of sacrilege, which coincideswith haj � the annual pilgrimage to Mecca. In2002, Eid-ul-Fitr will occur around the firstweek of December. Eid-ul-Adha will occuraround Feb. 12 in 2003. This latter feast is 3days, but many parents choose to keep theirchildren home for only the first day.

Ms. Haffajee has been extremely busy speakingto church groups giving talks on what she calls�Islam 101,� and answering questions abouther faith since September 11, 2001. She toldme what she thinks schools should have donein the wake of this disaster.

I don�t think schools responded well afterSeptember 11. High schools had assembliesbut they were too large. There should havebeen smaller discussion groups. They couldhave had Muslim parents come in. Instead,some parents were afraid, and many kept theirchildren at home for that week. It�s difficult forMuslim students, especially children, whennon-Muslim students pick on them, or lessovertly, make comments behind their backs.

Brigid Kelso is editor of Contact.

There shouldalso be alternative

activities for Muslimstudents who are not

allowed to participatein afternoon school

dances. Games orother activities should

be provided so thatthey can have fun too.

The prayers are self-directed, with the

exception of Friday,when a university

student, is invited togive a talk. On this

day, the studentsmust pray altogether(so the space has to

be big enough toaccommodate all of

them) and the prayertime is longer.


Language Profile

Dear Colleagues,

I would like to begin this cultural and linguistic profile with a correction from ALPHA PLUS. They have backissues of Contact beginning with the first profile, Persian, in the Fall, 1992 Vol. 18, #1 issue(1-800-788-1120or [email protected]). However, you will need to go into their centre to look up the issues you are interestedin.

In keeping with the theme of this Contact, Arabic, which was the third profile in the series(1993), is beingre-released in a revised form. Enjoy!

The intent of the �Language and Cultural Profile� is to raise the awareness and to pique the interest of thereaders. So far in this series the following languages have been profiled: Persian, Tamil, Arabic, Somali, Spanish,Tgringa, Amharic, Turkish, Vietnamese, Chinese, Korean, Japanese, Polish, Russian/Ukrainian, Hebrew,Panjabi/Hindi, Tagalog, Albanian, Croatian/Serbian/Bosnian, Armenian and Hungarian.

In this issue a language from the Middle East is being re-profiled, Arabic. I would once again like to thankMrs. Seza Sarimazian, a teacher with Toronto District School Board who is both a wonderful friend and colleague.She inspires and encourages all in her gentle, unassuming way. As well I would like to thank my niece, ShahnazRoohani, for her assistance. Thank you both for providing the following information on this language.

I would just like to note here that most Arabic-speaking countries are predominately Muslim, and mostMuslim countries are predominately populated by Arabic speakers � Indonesia and Malaysia are notableexceptions. Thus, it is very difficult to speak about Arabic on its own as you will see in the following profile justhow much the language and religion are intertwined. This comes about from the revelation of the Qur�antoMuhammed by the archangel Gabriel. Muslims believe that the word of God was passed on to Muhammedover a 23-year span of time, and the language that God conveyed the contents of the Qur�an in was Arabic, and,therefore, Arabic is a divine language.

Cathy Haghighat

Arabic

HISTORY

Eastern Saudi Arabia was settled in the 4 - 5thmillennium BCE by immigrants from southernIraq. The people were called the Nabateans, andhad an empire stretching all the way to Damascus.The early Arabs were nomadic people with a greatlove for poetry and writing. The Jazm script is theearliest reference to the Arabic script and was builton the Nabataen one.

The earliest known alphabet-scripted languageis North Semitic, developed in 1,700 BCE in thearea around Palestine and Syria. It consisted of 22written consonants. Arabic, Hebrew and Phoenicianalphabets are based on this model. Arabic itselforiginated in the Arabian peninsula around the 4thcentury CE. It descended from the Nabataenalphabet which in turn came from the Phoenician.All Asiatic alphabets originated, like Arabic, from

the Aramaic version(the language of Jesus) fromthe Phoenician while European ones originateddirectly from the Phoenician. In the 8th centuryCE, the diacritics (accent marks) were added tothe script to indicate short vowels, unmarkedgrammatical endings and changes in consonants.

The North Arabic script became the script ofthe Qur�an. This was due to its spread to Hijaz inArabia where it was used by the aristocracy ofQuraysh, the prophet Muhammed�s tribe. Afterthe rise of Islam, Arabic developed into a form ofcalligraphic art.

Other countries also use or used a modifiedArabic script � Iran, Pakistan, Ottoman Turkey,Kazakhistan,Uzbekistan as well as other languagesusing the script at one point or another � Malay,Swahili, Hausa, Algerian Tribal etc.

Arabic-speakingcountries are pre-dominately Muslim,and most Muslimcountries are pre-dominately populatedby Arabic speakers �Indonesia andMalaysia are notableexceptions.

Muslims believe thatthe word of God waspassed on toMuhammed over a23-year span of time,and the language thatGod conveyed thecontents of theQur�an in wasArabic, and, there-fore, Arabic is adivine language.


ARABIC SCRIPT

This beautiful and graceful script is the secondmost widespread writing system after the Latinscripted one. It is also the fastest writing system bynature of its cursive/connected feature � con-nected writing that moves forward so that a writerneed not raise the pen from the page.

The first revelation to Muhammed commanded� recite in the name of thy Lord... who has taught(the writing) by the pen.�(Surah 96, al-A�laq, 104).Thus, it is clear how the word is eternal and divinefor the Arab. Though Muhammed himself couldnot read and write, a book was delivered to himwhich is the miracle visited on Muhammed. In 632,upon the death of Muhammed, the divine revela-tion ceased. The contents of the Qur�an werepassed on to huffaz, people who memorize andrecite the complete Qur�an by heart. However, asmany huffaz were lost in battle, the Muslim com-munity was disturbed that they would lose thisdivine revelation. Omar Ibn al-Khattab urged thefirst caliph, Abu Baker, Muhammed�s father-in-law, to set the Qur�an down in written script. Zaidibn Thabit, secretary to Muhammed, began tocollect and compile the revelations into a book.The first versions were written in the Makki andMadani scripts from Mecca and Medina. They werebased on the Jazm script. Subsequently, the Kuficand Nashki scripts were used.

Abdul Aswad al Du�ali, famed as the founder ofArabic grammar in the 7th century, inventedTashkeel(vocalization), the system of placing largecoloured dots to indicate vowel sounds � black fordiacriticals and red or yellow for vocalization. Itwas very effective in the large and bold Kufic scriptbut cumbersome in the smaller everyday printedscript. Governor al Hajjaj ibn Yusuf al Thaqafienforced a more uniform system to distinguishletters developed by two of al Du�ali�s students. AlKhalil ibn Ahmad al Farahidi revised al Du�ali�ssystem further by replacing it with a system thatused 6 diacritics to show short vowel sounds,double consonants and to lengthen the Alef (A).

The Kufic cursive script existed pre-Islam butwas neither regulated nor elegant. It was a secularscript. However, under the Ummayads andAbbasids the court required a refinement andcodification of a script for record-keeping andofficial documents. Abu Ali Muhammed Ibn Muqlah,along with his brother, was given the task ofdevising a system that could be followed. Ibn

Muqlah, as vizier under three caliphs, developed ascript that followed strict proportional rules. Heused the dot as a measuring unit for line propor-tions and a circle with a diameter that equaled theheight of the Alef for letter proportions. It was thissystem that elevated the script into an art form.

The calligraphic script has since been dividedinto two main families: Kufic, the dry style andNaskhi, Thuluth, Nastaliq, examples of the soft/moist, cursive ones.

Kufic originated from Kufah in Mesopotamia(Iraq) near the end of the 7th century CE . It is theheavy, bold but elegant script used in metal andstone inscriptions. It is also the script of the Qur�an,literature and calligraphy as well as architecture �ie, writing on mosques. It is composed of squareand angular lines with compact, bold, circularforms. Vertical stokes are short and horizontalones long and extended. It is highly decorative anduses the diacritics. In the 10th century, EasternKufic used slender vertical strokes and became thestyle for ceramics and book calligraphy. Later, onarchitectural monuments, serifs were added to theearly Kufic style and leaf-like ornaments appearedat the end of strokes. These strokes were thenadded to round ones and the Foliate Kufic stylebecame popular on buildings.

By the 11th century, the letters themselveschanged and were used to produce ornaments andnew geometric patterns were added to the script� plaiting, knotting and braiding. For example, aline of poetry or lines from the Qur�an could bewritten into imperial seals or take shapes of objectssuch as ships, but all were drawn in script.

In the 14th century, Square Kufic developed, ascript used to cover entire buildings.

Naskhi, �copying� was the script used forwriting on paper or papyrus, and is the script ofModern Arabic. It began in Mecca and Medina inthe 10th century. It was refined in Turkey by the16th century. It is also used for the writing of theQur�an. It is legible and clear and is the style oftypesetting and printing. Nowadays, it is the everyday script used for writing as well as in newspa-pers, books and school. It is a small script with thinlines and rounded letter shapes. It can be plain andunadorned with no diacritics.

Thuluth is a very impressive, stately script thatdeveloped with Mamluk Thuluth. It can be foundon monuments, glass, metalwork, textiles, woodand in books for titles.

It is also the fastestwriting system by

nature of its cursive/connected feature �

connected writingthat moves forward sothat a writer need notraise the pen from the

page.

Though Muhammedhimself could notread and write, a

book was delivered tohim which is the

miracle visited onMuhammed.


Nastaliq was developed by Mir Ali Sultan alTabriz and refined in Iran in the 14 -15th centuries.It is a fluid and expressive script used in the writingof poetry, miniatures, romantic and mystical epicssuch as the Shahnameh (Book of Kings), but notfor the Qur�an. Nastaliq has short verticals, with-out serifs, coupled with deep, curved horizontals.By and large the script slants to the right in contrastto the above scripts that slant to the left.

COLLOQUIAL ARABIC

Arabic is spoken by approximately 200 millionpeople in more than 22 countries. As Arabic is theofficial language of many countries and the religiouslanguage of Muslims, there are numerous oral andwritten variations. An example of this is of a youngSyrian who was in my pronunciation class. Hisgreatest difficulties were with the two �TH��swhich he pronounced as �Z� or �S�. Eventually, hewas able to correct his problem. He left the course�TH�anking me for helping him pronounce hismother tongue �correctly�. In the Arabic of the

Qur�an, the TH�s exist as they do in English, butSyrian speakers have difficulties articulating thesesounds.

Although classical Arabic has changed littleover time, colloquial Arabic has. Spoken Arabic hastwo main groups: Khaliji and Shami.

Khaliji is used by those who live in the Gulfstates and their Arabic closely resembles the writ-ten text. It is often referred to as Classical orLiterary Arabic.

Shami, Colloquial Arabic, refers to all otherArabic-speaking groups and the speech patternscan vary widely from the written text. Cairo Arabicis such an example.

Basically, Modern Standard Arabic is used forreading, writing and formal speech and is based onthe Qur�an. It is seen as proper and �correct�Arabic as opposed to the colloquial, seen as slangand a dialect. Even though Arabs see ModernStandard Arabic as the preferred form, it is also thelearned form that is no one�s mother tongue.

ENGLISH ARABIC

LANGUAGE FAMILY Indo-European Hamito-Semitic(Germanic branch) (Arabo-Canaanite sub branch)

WRITING SYSTEM - alphabet, Latin script - alphabet,Naskhi-cursive/Kufic-Qur�an

- non-phonetic - phonetic- written from left to right - written from right to left- letters disconnected - letters mostly connected- printed/written script - ornamental and non-

ornamental scripts

# OF LETTERS - 26 consonants - 25 consonants- 6 vowels (3 written) - 3 long vowels- 6 diacritics - mostly for short vowels- 8 diacritics - used to change letter shapes

N.B. In total Arabic has 28 letters, but their shapes change depending on the letter�s position in theword � initial, medial or final. Of the basic 18 letter shapes, 2 are used for 3 letters, 6 are used for 2letters and the remainder have one shape each. Dots are added and their position and number on theshape change the letter.

VOWELS - 15-16 (spoken) - 6 (spoken)- 6 written - 3 written

DIFFERENT CONSONANTS - TH(this/the) - GH(Haghighat) - 2 types- V/NG(sing)/P - non-Gulf states only

- KH (Khomeini)- guttural sounds, velarized

consonants

Arabic is spoken byapproximately 200million people inmore than 22 coun-tries.

In the Arabic of theQur�an, the TH�sexist as they do inEnglish, but Syrianspeakers havedifficulties articulat-ing these sounds.


ENGLISH ARABIC

CAPITALIZATION - begin new sentences - words end in �capital� letters with capitals

COMBINATION OF - each syllable has a - consonant + vowel(initial)LETTERS a vowel/consonant sound - long vowel + consonant(final)

many consonant clusters - final may have 2 consonants

N.B. Arabic vocabulary is made up of a word scheme that consists of a triconsonantal root thatprovides the meaning and the pattern provided by the vowels that give its grammatical meaning.These roots provide the lexical group of related vocabulary.EX: the triconsonantal root S-L-M refers to words that are related to submission, religion, peace �aSLaMa, iSLaM, muSLiM, SaLaM.

Shift in vowels changes the meaning through the grammar.EX:-K-T-B is related to writing � KiTaB �book�, KaTiB �clerk� or one who writes.

NUMBERS - written from left to right - written from right to left, butadded from left to right

EXAMPLE: 73 37 + 62 + 26

135 531 (read from right to left)

N.B. This can cause confusion for learners when they first do math equations as they attempt tosolve the problem from the �wrong side� or record the answer �backwards�.

ORDERsentence - subject + verb + object - verb + subject + object

- time words appear at theend or beginningof the sentence

adjective - adjective + noun - noun + adjective

ARTICLES/NOUNSindefinite - a, an + noun - noun(masc./fem.)

definite - the + noun - al + noun(masc./fem.)

Arabic has 2 noun categories � masculine (no ending), feminine (h ending).

VERBS - subject is separate - subject added to the verb- verb only inflected for some - uses suffixes on root

(to be) and in some tenses - diacritics can also be used to(continuous/present) change the verb modifier

PRONOUNS

subject - always written - suffix to the verb, can also bewritten on its own + verb Suffix

- diacritics can also be used tochange the subject

N.B. In Arabic the pronoun, you, has 5 forms:

SINGULAR: masc. and fem.PLURAL: masc., fem. and mixed.

object - differs from subject - suffix- appears after the verb - after the noun

The triconsonantalroot S-L-M refers to

words that are relatedto submission,

religion, peace �aSLaMa, iSLaM,

muSLiM, SaLaM.

K-T-B is related towriting � KiTaB�book�, KaTiB

�clerk� or one whowrites.


ENGLISH ARABIC

possessive (adj.) - differs from the above - noun suffix, agrees on gender- appears before the noun and number

PLURALS - adds suffix s/es/ies - �broken plural�- plural shown- has a few irregular forms by internal vowel change in word

- learnt by rote- plurals of non-human nouns are

feminine

N.B. In Arabic, numbers under 10 have a plural form. EX: 2 cats; those above 10 have a singularform. EX: 10 cat

TENSES - 3 forms of the verb, - 2 forms perfect + suffixes = past,present,past,past part. imperfect + suffixes = presenttenses changed by + ed, and futureor whole word, or use of - can be reduced to one word�to be�/�to have� and will show tense, subject

and object

COMMANDS - infinitive form of the - infinitive + prefix �A�verb - subject indicated by suffix

(masc/fem.)

? FORM - question word/auxiliary verb - �HEL� + verb + subject(yes/no)- question word + verb + - verb + subject/question word

subject

NEGATIVE FORM - use auxiliary verbs - �LA� + word/verb negated- to be + not EX: �la ilaha illa al-Lah�

There is no God but one God.(opening to the Shaddah)

VERB/2ND VERB - verb + to + infinitive - verb + infinitive

MODALS - modal + infinitive - no true modal structure -(no �to�) impersonal pronoun use (one.. .)

and preposition or nounsynonym used (must = neces-sity)

FORMALITY LEVELS - 3 levels - 3 levelslevels changed by use - formal style of Qur�anof modals and longersentence structures

SWEARING/OATHS - involves the subjects - family lineageof sex/bodily functions - compared to dogs/pigs

- directed at family, not the person

ARABIC BLESSINGSBlessing given upon family, business and life by invoking the names of the prophets/God

A phrase often used hoping that an event will come to pass is Inshallah � God willing.

VOCABULARY/ - higher level of writing - can take any foreign word andFOREIGN INFLUENCE - Greek/Latin through the from its meaning create a new

use of stems and affixes Arabic word- foreign words like philosophy can become al-filosfy

In Arabic, numbersunder 10 have aplural form. EX: 2cats; those above 10have a singular form.EX: 10 cat.

A phrase often usedhoping that an eventwill come to pass isInshallah � Godwilling.


N.B. It is usually very difficult for Arabic to incorporate foreign loan words, especially verbs, asforeign words cannot be fitted into the triconsonantal word scheme seen earlier. French has beenvery influential in Lebanon, Syria and Northern Africa while English has been influential in the Gulfand the Horn of Africa.

Arabic words are also found in Turkish, Persian, Portuguese and Spanish.

ENGLISH ARABIC

LEARNING OF WRITING/ - word recognition, - whole alphabet, then smallREADING phonics, syllables words/sentences

- phonics

SKILLS OF READING/ - heavily dependent on - phonicsWRITING sight recognition - grammar rules by rote

N.B. Most items, letters, correspondence, and notes written by devote Muslims are headed by theinscription �BISMALLAH -EL RAH-MAN EL RAHIM� (In the name of God, the Merciful and Compas-sionate � from the Fatihah -the opening Surah of the Qur�an).

SPECIAL NOTES

Higher mathematicswas only madepossible by the

Arabic contribution ofthe addition of the

zero or null. Ournumerical system isbased on the Arabic

one and not theRoman.

It is usually verydifficult for Arabic to

incorporate foreignloan words, especially

verbs, as foreignwords cannot be fitted

into thetriconsonantal wordscheme seen earlier.

EDUCATION

Compulsory education is dependent on theArabic-speaking country. Segregated schools at alllevels occur in the Gulf states. Other countrieshave the sexes integrated at various levels.

As a further note here about culture and edu-cation, it has been said that God delivered a bookto the Arabs to acknowledge their reverence forthe printed word. Muhammed was quoted assaying that �the ink of the scholars is worth more thanthe blood of martyrs� (Hadith). It was due to thisthirst and reverence for knowledge that much ofthe science, technology, and philosophy was pre-served and passed on to the West. This was due tothe Islamic Empire that enjoyed its golden age fromthe 8th to the 13th century. Al-Mamun, a Caliphfrom 813-833, established the �House of Wisdom/Translation� (BAYT-AT HIKMA). He asked forGreek texts from the Byzantine emperor of thetime and had the works of Plato, Aristotle and theircontemporaries translated from Greek and Ara-maic into Arabic. Arabic became the commonlanguage of science, art, literature, philosophy,medicine, mathematics... Higher mathematics wasonly made possible by the Arabic contribution ofthe addition of the zero or null. Our numericalsystem is based on the Arabic one and not theRoman. This empire also replaced papyrus withpaper which they had learnt how to make from theEast. By the 9th century when Europe could boastonly of its 36 volumes in a monastery in St. Gall,500,000 volumes existed in Arabic in a library in Cordova.Many Christian, Jewish and Muslim academics came to

study there and in Baghdad. At one point thesescholars studied more in Arabic than in Latin.

LITERATURE/ART

In many of the Arabic-speaking countries, theoral tradition of poetry is held in high esteem. Theultimate form lies in the reading of the Qur�an.

Art is expressed through geometric shapes andmosaics. No images of humans nor animals areused in religious art to avoid idol worship. Whenhuman forms are depicted in miniatures or illumi-nated texts, the faces of religious figures and proph-ets are shown veiled. In more orthodox Islam, theuse of a physical form is avoided as the creation ofit by an artist would imply creation of an image ofwhich God alone is solely capable of.

Muslim students in our art classes may show areluctance to draw images and some may evenrefuse to be photographed for the above reason.

Therefore, in place of drawn images, calligra-phy has been raised to a fine religious art formglorifying the texts from the Qur�an. Calligraphywas brought to new heights by the Sufis (religiousmystics). The best Arabic calligraphers are fromPakistan.

A well-known Arabic poet in the West is theLebanese poet and philosopher, Kahlil Gibran.

CALLIGRAPHY

For Arabic calligraphy, reed and brush pens(with 24 hairs from a donkey) scissors, a knife tocut the pens, an ink pot and a sharpening tool as


well as paper are needed. The reed pen is called a�qalam�. The best reed pens are from the coastalregions of the Persian Gulf. They are a treasuredand valued commody traded across the Muslimworld. Some have been buried with famous callig-raphers. Ink can be many colours, but black andbrown are the most common due to their contras-tive value. The inks made by Persians, Turks andIndians were the most treasured as they stayedfresher longer. Some inks were even perfumed.The importance of writing can be seen in thesimiles used � the pen to human life in God�s handand ink as the water of life. Paper came to theMiddle East from China via Samarkand. Paper wasmade from cotton and occasionally silk or otherfibers but not wood. The paper is polished andsmoothed with agate or jade before it is written on.

Geometry is essential to calligraphy in Arabic.Calligraphy is based on proportions which arebased on the Alef, the first letter of the alphabet,which consists of a vertical line. The dot is the unitof measurement. The dot equals the square im-pression left by the tip of the reed pen whenpressed onto the paper. The calligrapher has todecide on the script s/he is using and then proceed.The height of the alef, depending on script style,could be 3 to 12 dots high. The width of the Alef isone dot across. From there the other letter shapeswill be formed using this Alef odule(standard). TheAlef is also used as the diameter of an imaginary

circle. Thus, the calligrapher has to consider these3 factors: height and width of the Alef and theimaginary circle. For the Naksh script the Alef is5 dots high; Thuluth, 9 dots with a maddah(hook) of 3 dots on top. Each character then has ahead, body and tail, and they are interrelated inposition, direction and spacing.

TAJ MAHAL/BUILDINGS

During the Mughal reign of Shah Jahan, the TajMahal was erected in Agra, India. The calligraphicinscriptions and geometric designs were made by


the famous Iranian calligrapher, Amanat Khan fromShiraz. He is also credited with the Akbar mauso-leum at Sikandra and Madrasah Shahi Mosque at Agra.

CALENDAR

Many Arabic countries, due to trade with theWest, will make use of our traditional solar calen-dar. However, the Islamic calendar is a 12 monthlunar one. Each month begins at the start of a newmoon. Each month has 29.5 days (364 days peryear). Muharram is the month that begins the yearand is sacred. Ramadan is the 9th month, whichbegins and ends with a crescent moon, and is themonth for fasting from sunrise to sunset. No foodnor water is to be consumed during those hours.Travelers, the infirm and pregnant women areexempted. During a woman�s menstrual cycle shecannot fast as she is considered to be �unclean� andwill fast the days she has missed at another time inthe year. Dhu-al-Hijja is the last month of theIslamic year.

The Islamic calendar is dated from �HIJRA� �the migration of Muhammed from Mecca to Me-dina in 622 CE. 2002 begins the year 1423 AH(Anno Hegira the year of the Migration). Thus, thisyear would be written 1423 AH.

HOLIDAYS

Friday is a day of rest, and schools, governmentoffices and businesses close for the afternoon. Thebusiness week usually runs from Saturday toWednesday with Thursday and Friday being the�weekend�. During Ramadan work stops in theafternoons.

� EID-UL-ADHA (Festival of Sacrifice) is themost important holy day. It concludes the actof pilgrimage and commemorates Abraham�soffering of his son to God. It is this act ofsubmission that makes Abraham the first�Muslim�(one who submits) for Muslims.

The meat of sacrificed animals is distributedamong the poor and needy.

� EID-UL-FITR (Festival of the Breaking of theFast) is the next most important holy day andmarks the end of Ramadan.

� Other holidays are NISFU-SHABAAN (Mid-dle of the month of SHABAAN � Night ofRepentance) celebrated in preparation of thebeginning of Ramadan. Two weeks later, onthe sighting of the new moon, Ramadan begins.

� RAMADAN is the fasting month.

� MUHARRAM starts the Islamic new year andcelebrates the HIJRA.

� LAILAT-UL-QADR (Night of Power) com-memorates the first revelation of the Qur�an toMuhammed in 610 CE .

NAMES

Muslim children are named after the prophetsand Muhammed�s relatives, and in some countriesmost of the Muslim male children are given the firstname of Muhammed and then their given name(Syria and Afghanistan follow this tradition). Mus-lim girls are quite often named after the femalerelations of Muhammed. The first male child�sparents take the child�s name. If Reza and Fatimahave a boy, and call him Ibrahim, Reza now is calledAbu-Ibrahim (Father of Ibrahim), and Fatima is nowreferred to as Umm-Ibrahim (Mother of Ibrahim).

Another ritual of Arab Muslims is the Tasmiyah,Name-Giving Ceremony. On the 7th day of the birthof the child, the Adhan is whispered into his/herright ear, the call to prayer. In the left ear theIqamah is whispered, the last warning for prayer.This is to remind the child of his/her obligation topray. Then one of the many names for the ProphetMuhammed is chosen or the suffix �Abd (servant of)+ one of the 99 names of God which appear in theQur�an. Example: �Abdrahman = the servant of God.

Among the various Muslim groups certain namesare either used or not and for historical reasons.For example, Ali is a very common name amongShi�a Muslims and not Sunni. Shi�a means theparty of Ali and followers believe in religious affilia-tion attributed to direct descendants of Muhammedfor their spiritual leadership (an Imam) of which Aliwas. Sunnis do not. Omar is a Sunni name that Shi�aswould not use due to a dispute involving Omar.

There is also the spelling of the nameMuhammed or Mohamed, or Muhamed orMohammad.... As written before, Arabic is a con-sonantal language, and so the name Muhammed isactually written as mhmd with a diacritic writtenover the 2nd m to indicate a double consonant.The problem lies in the Shami or Colloquial Arabicthat the transcriber speaks which could also beinfluenced by the country�s ties to English orFrench. Thus, the added vowels will differ depend-ing on the pattern chosen by the transcriber � thisis also seen when Chinese is transcribed into Latinscript.

The business weekusually runs from

Saturday to Wednes-day with Thursday

and Friday being the�weekend�.

EID-UL-ADHA(Festival of Sacrifice)is the most importantholy day. It concludesthe act of pilgrimage

and commemoratesAbraham�s offeringof his son to God. It

is this act of submis-sion that makes

Abraham the first�Muslim�(one who

submits) for Mus-lims.


CIRCUMCISION

A Muslim child is circumcised at the age of 7when he no longer needs the immediate care of hismother and can now associate with other men andis of the age to receive a formal education.

WEDDINGS

In traditional Arabic Islamic weddings, the guestsreceive presents at the ceremony. The groomprovides the bride price that will become theproperty of the bride should they divorce. He alsopays for the wedding. At a very religious cer-emony, the women and men are separated andhave separate festivities � this includes the brideand groom. To make a suitable match a marriagebroker is used. In the traditional Gulf States it is notuncommon for betrothals to occur at birth, and itis seen as a blessing and ordained by God that firstcousins should marry. However, as these coun-tries have more interaction with the West, thesegivens are being questioned and challenged by thenew generations.

** OTHER RESOURCES **

Canadian Arab Federation5298 Dundas St. W.Etobicoke M9B 1B2(416) 231-7746

Arab Canadian Club of Toronto54 Fieldcroft Crt.Maple L6A-1J3832-3158

SOURCES/SUGGESTED REFERENCES

East is East � film.

Islam. Caesar E. Farah.

Islam from Within. Kenneth Cragg/Marston Speight.

Muhammed � Prophet and Statesman. W.Montgomery Watt.

The Guide to English Grammar. Dar Wa MaktabatAl Hilal 1986

The New Encyclopaedia Britannica, Vol.22 15th Ed.

WEBSITES

http://www.islamicart.com/main/calligraphy/

http://cecilmarie.web.prw.net/arabworld/arabic/

http://www.sakkal.com/ArtArabicCalligraphy.html

http://www.lonelyplanet.com/destinations/middle_east/saudi_arabia/

Ask Jeeves � A History of the Arabic Language

Brian Bishop

Linguistics 450

April 24, 1998

In traditional ArabicIslamic weddings, thegroom provides thebride price that willbecome the propertyof the bride shouldthey divorce. He alsopays for the wedding.

A Muslim child iscircumcised at theage of 7 when he nolonger needs theimmediate care of hismother and can nowassociate with othermen and is of the ageto receive a formaleducation.


Teaching in Oman

Cathryn Colp

I had never met an Omani until I dashed intoKinko�s on Bloor to pick up a fax.

�Ah, Sultan Qaboos University!� said the clerkexcitedly as he handed me the job offer. �That�s inmy country. I�m thinking of going back there.� Itwas kismet. I was destined to be in Oman.

Yet, I knew nothing about this country. No oneI knew had been there, most had never even heardof it, and very little recent information was avail-able on this low-profile neighbour of Saudi Arabiaand the United Arab Emirates. Even the telephoneoperator had to ask me where it was.

Shortly after midnight on September 1, 1997, Iarrived in Oman to teach English. It was not longbefore I realized that this place was in fact one ofthe world�s best-kept secrets. Its varied landscapeand tolerant society make for a very pleasant placeto live and work. Unlike the vast desert kingdomsand small city-states of this region, the Sultanate ofOman offers more than just a sea of sand dunes.With its majestic mountains and fjords in the north,its lush southern coast blessed by annual mon-soons, and its long, white, unpolluted beaches allalong the Arabian Sea coastline, it provides plentyto explore on weekends and holidays. Oman is alsoa paradise for bird-watchers and scuba divers.Despite rapid modernization over the past 30years, the country has incorporated traditionalArabian architecture into its development, thusavoiding that nouveau-riche feel found in otherparts of the region.

Successful blending of the modern and thetraditional is also reflected in Omani society. Whilemaintaining conservative Muslim values, the lawsand customs allow for some diversity. Expatriatewomen, for example, are not required to covertheir hair, though moderate dress (cover the knees,cover the shoulders) is appreciated. Given theclimate � virtually 360 days of cloudless skies andtemperatures ranging from 20 to 49 degrees Cel-sius � I would love to wear what the men wear: along white cotton robe called a dishdasha, but thatwould be contravening two unwritten social codes:impersonating an Omani and cross-dressing!

Local laws also allow non-Muslims to obtain alicense to purchase liquor in small windowlessshops with vague company names such as �Africanand Eastern.� The international hotels, a large partof the expatriate social scene, also serve alcohol,except during Ramadhan and other religious holi-days. A few Christian churches have been builthere, and pork is available in a small room labeled�non-Muslims only� at the back of the supermar-kets. Somehow it has the illicit feel of an adult bookroom. Nonetheless, it prevents expatriates fromfeeling deprived, and at the same time avoids�contamination� of the local culture.

The university campus lies just outside theCapital Area, which is a string of built-up areasalong a busy dual highway on the coast leading toMuscat about 50 kilometres away. Some staff liveoff campus, but my husband and I enjoy not com-muting. Free furnished accommodation is pro-vided on or off campus depending upon availability.The center of the campus is set up like one of thosephony towns on maps that we use in beginner ESLclasses to teach the prepositional phrases for di-rections: a bank, a grocery store, a post office, astationery shop � and of course a mosque � allneatly arranged at one end of the academic build-ings which are all linked by endlessly symmetricalarchways flanked by park benches, palm trees andfountains. In fact, the layout is so symmetrical thatif you take a wrong turn from the centre, you mayunwittingly end up at a building diametrically oppo-site your destination. Only if you can read theornate gold lettering in Arabic will you realize thatyou are standing in front of the wrong building!

The academic areas of the university are con-nected by two-storey walkways where femalestudents generally ply the second floor and every-one else the ground floor. However, all classes arecoeducational, with the women, all clad in blackabayas, seated at the back and the men, all in theirwhite dishdashas, at the front. Generally, we teach20 hours a week in two-hour blocks, with classesof 20 to 25. Most students who enter the universityneed at least one semester of intensive Englishbefore starting their academic courses in the me-

Expatriate women,for example, are not

required to cover theirhair, though moderate

dress (cover theknees, cover the

shoulders) is appreci-ated.

All classes arecoeducational, with

the women, all clad inblack abayas, seated

at the back and themen, all in their white

dishdashas, at thefront.


dium of English. Students lead a relatively stress-free life on campus. All tuition, books, accommo-dation and meals are provided free.

Established by the British, the Language Centrelargely equates curriculum with textbooks. Luck-ily, we happen to be using some very good text-books at the moment and the students here are ajoy to work with. As long as the sexes are notrequired to mix, they are open to most types oflanguage learning activities such as pair work,group work, presentations, interviews, surveysand debates. Hot debate topics here are: �Omanimen are more influenced by Western culture thanwomen,� and �Women should not work after theyare married.� Films also work well if they don�tcontain too much bare flesh or kissing. AnimatedDisney flicks are usually a hit.

The three key ingredients to successful teach-ing here in Oman are relationship, relationship,relationship. Omanis place a high value on socialand family ties, so it is essential for students to havesome sort of personal context within which tointeract with their teachers. Although they havethe wondrous innocence of 12-year-olds � indeedit is sometimes difficult to think of them as 18 or 19-year old men and women � they are very maturein terms of their respect and consideration ofothers. Despite � or maybe because of � theiruniformity of dress, they have a keen appreciationof other people�s personalities and strive to avoidinterpersonal conflict. Anger and arrogance aretaboo, whereas incompetence, inefficiency andlaziness are entirely forgivable and sometimes evenirrelevant. As long as my students maintain thesetraditional cultural traits, I find them a breeze todeal with. One day, for example, some studentswere marching around campus protesting a ru-mour they�d heard about abolishing graduationceremonies. When my class heard the chantingoutside the classroom door, they all looked at mepleadingly.

�Would you like to join them?� I asked. Theireyes lit up. They had not dared to walk out at therisk of offending me.

�Okay,� I said, �you can have 10 minutes.� Outthey ran and back they were in 10 minutes!

With their childlike innocence, these studentsare also fairly easy to amuse. Once, after beingasked for the third time to explain the meaning ofthe second conditional, I finally said,

�Okay, look: If Abdul were a lady . . � Already,there was a wave of snickering throughout theclass, even from Abdul himself.

�If Abdul WERE a lady . . .� I repeated. Chokingback giggles, students awaited the punch-line withbated breath.

�. . . he would marry Ahmed.� Gales of laugh-ter, Abdul and Ahmed doubled over with tears intheir eyes. The women tittered uncontrollably intotheir abayas, trying to hide their unladylike snorts.I never had to explain second conditional again.

At present, I am teaching in the English forEnglish Specialists program. My students are des-tined to be translators, hospitality personnel andEnglish teachers � possibly even my colleagues!Unlike some of the other programs which tend tobe dry and functional, this program allows fordiscussion of culture and ideas, giving me insightinto the hearts and minds of my students. At times,I am even able to see beyond the black and whitecultural norms which are visually represented bythe sea of white at the front of the class and theblack at the back of the class. Through classroomdiscussions and essays, I discover some intriguingnon-conformist (for this society) ideas � the menwho argue that husbands should help with thehousework, the women who insist that husbandsand wives must have similar education in order tohave a happy marriage, and the woman who wasupset when her father slaughtered a goat for theFeast. �I liked that goat,� she wrote. Highly unusualfor a society with virtually no vegetarians in it.

I have also learned more about my studentsperceptions of reality. Last year, for example, Iwatched one of my female students wither away inmy class, becoming so ill she would cry, but doc-tors could find nothing wrong with her. When shestopped coming to class, I asked after her.

�Miss,� one of her friends finally told me, �it�sEnvy. Samia looked very beautiful at her brother�swedding � more beautiful than the bride � andsome of the old ladies didn�t like it.� In anotherclass, my students advised me to be careful withcats as they could be your relative or neighbour �and they all had stories to prove it:

�My neighbour shot a cat and the bullet wentinto its shoulder. The next day his grandfather hada bullet in his shoulder.� To this anecdote, anAmerican colleague responded in her classy, dead-pan drawl: �Y�all have to be careful if those cats

The three keyingredients tosuccessful teachinghere in Oman arerelationship, relation-ship, relationship.

Anger and arroganceare taboo, whereasincompetence,inefficiency andlaziness are entirelyforgivable andsometimes evenirrelevant.


come swishin� around yer legs, lookin� up yerskirt.�

Outside of teaching, I find myself more in-volved in the expatriate circuit. It is possible to mixwith the local culture, and it is certainly appreci-ated if an attempt is made to learn Arabic. How-ever, there is little real need for it on a daily basisbecause most signs and businesses are in bothArabic and English.

Much of expatriate social life is centred aroundthe seaside international hotels here which pro-vide some excellent restaurants, bars, and healthclubs. They also host special events such as dinnertheatre, concerts and club balls. Concerts on thebeachside lawn of the InterContinental Hotel aremarvelous entertainment. Under the stars andpalm trees, hundreds of expatriates gather toenjoy their old favourites pumped out by ersatzbands doing such acts as Buddy Holly, ABBA andthe Beatles. Real but recycled bands, such as Garyand (his much younger) Pacemakers have alsomade an appearance at the Palm Gardens, andeven the real and up-to-date Bryan Adams paid usa visit last spring. Where else in the world can yousee this guy in anything more intimate than afootball stadium?

Some of these international hotels also providefacilities for water sports such as diving, snorkelingand windsurfing. For the less sporty, the Muscatchapter of the Hash House Harriers offers weeklyrun/walk excursions which culminate in sunsetpicnics and serious drinking. Camping and off-roadfour-wheel drive expeditions are also popular pas-times.

By now, you may have gotten the impressionthat most of us have a lot of free time on our hands.In fact, that�s mostly true for most people here.Maid service is relatively inexpensive and holidayshere are done up right! Not one day for NationalDay, but two. Sometimes students just take thewhole week off. After Ramadhan, Eid is at leastthree or four days and in fact this year we had thewhole week off just before Christmas. The secondEid, which falls about two months later, is ex-pected to be longer, though we never know thedates until they are announced at the last moment.At the university, we also have 60 days annual leave� with tickets provided to make sure we take it �so we can�t really complain if we have to work onChristmas Day.

Despite the tragic world events of this pastautumn, life pretty much goes on here as before. Atthe beginning, there was some tension. Omanicolleagues who had been on study leave overseasreturned early to the Language Centre. Otherteachers, who come from all nations (except one)that have been in the media spotlight, becamehighly sensitized to the various perspectives on theevents. Being right on the flight path, our classeswere frequently interrupted by noisy grey-greenaircraft. Each time it was like hitting the pausebutton: 20 pairs of eyes fixed on me as I could donothing but stare back at them, while we all heldour breath. Students were itching to discuss theissues in class, but politics, along with sex andreligion, is understood to be a taboo topic and wehad to discourage it. I wasn�t sure who thoughtwhat, but skeptical of all media, I was positive thatnone of us knew the whole truth about anything.Thus, after the first few weeks, discussions at theFaculty Club lunch table reverted to the usualexpatriate topics such as speculating when theholiday dates would be announced and arrangingfour-wheel drive trips into the desert. I carried onteaching and students carried on obsessing overtheir grades. Only in the writing class did I catchglimpses of what they might be feeling. Practisingher complex sentences, one student wrote: �Idon�t sleeping because I very worry that maybe thewar is coming.� From another student, a moregrammatically accurate effort: �Westerners don�tlike Muslims as it is believed they are all terrorists.�Looking up at me sadly as I read over his shoulder,his eyes searched mine for empathy and under-standing.

Whatever the media may or may not convey,truthfully or wildly out of context, I am very certain� and many of my colleagues agree � that I am muchsafer as a Westerner here than I would be as anArab in the West.

It is possible to mixwith the local culture,

and it is certainlyappreciated if an

attempt is made tolearn Arabic.

�Westerners don�tlike Muslims as it isbelieved they are allterrorists.� Lookingup at me sadly as I

read over his shoul-der, his eyes searchedmine for empathy and

understanding.


A Primer for Teaching Overseas

By Gregory Strong

The experience of living and working abroad isa life-enhancing one. The chance to teach in a newpart of the world and to participate in anotherculture can only enlarge a teacher�s perspectiveson the world, let alone on his or her career. Forcouples with children, their time overseas maywell be the great adventure of their lifetime. Thepeople one meets and the experiences one has canbe extraordinary.

Teaching in a new culture is like beginning anew life: even the smallest things can be of greatinterest because they are done differently. Oneuniversity professor commented to me, �Every-thing else in my life is B.C. � before China.� Amongmy own special experiences, I number a cameoperformance in a Chinese opera, jogging along theGreat Wall, meditation in a Zen temple, and anappearance on Japan�s NHK television. Finally, anoverseas experience can help one to better appre-ciate the social and economic privileges of living inCanada.

New professional and even financial opportu-nities may arise while working an another country.Because English has become the lingua franca ofbusiness and science, there is a shortage of nativespeakers who can teach English. As a result, arelatively inexperienced teacher may end up as aschool supervisor, a textbook writer, even a tenuredprofessor at a national university. New informationappears at websites like the wellknown Dave�sESL Café (www.eslcafe.com/jobs) or at sites likewww.eslworldwide.com and www.geocities.com/Tokyo/Flats/7947/eflasia.htm all the time.

Furthermore, there are tax advantages forthose who spend at least two calendar years over-seas. Instead of paying taxes in two different coun-tries, they may become non-resident Canadians,provided they meet certain requirements such asrenting or selling their real estate property inCanada. Their new country may have lower ratesof taxation, so they may realize substantially greaterfinancial gains than they would in Canada.

Negative aspects exist, too, of course. Al-though teachers can make bigger salaries and ob-tain higher positions earlier in their career than

they might if they remained in Canada, their expe-rience overseas is rarely acknowledged on theirreturn home. Unfortunately, the pay steps in thepublic school or college system are based on yearsof service within a particular school district orcollege. One�s years working abroad do not count.In addition, teachers living overseas have to plantheir own retirement funds. For reasons such asthese, some people working internationally eithertake a leave from their school districts, or stayabroad indefinitely.

More importantly, to live abroad, far fromone�s family and friends to work in a foreignlanguage can be stressful psychologically. The situ-ation calls for a special personality. In a study of 277Canadian technical assistance advisors working in20 developing countries, Kealey (1990) found thatthe most effective were those interacting withtheir new cultural environment, learning the lan-guage, and building relationships. Hachey (2000)emphasizes similar interpersonal skills of �flexibil-ity, respect for different cultures, sensitivity andattentiveness to other people, and positive atti-tudes toward cooperation� in The Canadian Guideto Working and Living Abroad which also lists manycontacts for working abroad.

Overseas teaching opportunities exist for everylevel of experience, from the recent universitygraduate to the experienced teacher, and collegelecturer. At the entry level, there are aid programsin the developing world and conversational schoolsin the major cities of many countries. For thosewith professional certification and experience, theinternational school system discussed in this arti-cle, offers an attractive environment. As the econo-mies of eastern Europe and of Asia continue theirdevelopment, new language teaching opportuni-ties arise. In countries such as Japan, demandremains very high for English language teachersalthough qualifications have become increasinglyimportant.

Government Aid and NGOs

It is beyond the scope of this short article todescribe even a small number of the many posi-

Teaching in a newculture is likebeginning a new life:even the smallestthings can be of greatinterest because theyare done differently.

More importantly, tolive abroad, far fromone�s family andfriends to work in aforeign language canbe stressful psycho-logically.


tions available with NGOs, let alone at privateschools. The Canadian Guide to Working and LivingOverseas (2000) is an excellent place to start asearch. It lists the mailing addresses for manyNGOs as well as the best known government aidagencies. The Canadian International Develop-ment Agency (CIDA), the Canadian UniversitiesOverseas Organization (CUSO), and the Associa-tion of Canadian Community Colleges (ACCC) areamong these. The first organization seeks teachersas well as technicians for technological transfer inoverseas placements for countries such as Indone-sia, Pakistan, Kenya, Francophone Africa, and theCaribbean and pays teachers� salaries roughlyequivalent to those in Canada. CUSO, on the otherhand, arranges partnerships with organizations inother countries. Their projects, many of whichinvolve education, offer local wages. ACCC placessubject area specialists, primarily college teachers.

For one developing country in particular, theopportunities continue to increase. With China�sexpanding economy and its entry into the WorldTrade Organization, more English teachers areneeded than ever. The Chinese government re-cruits teachers between the ages of 25 and 55,offering roundtrip airfare, salaries of about $1,000per month, depending on one�s university degreesand teaching experience. In addition to the longtradition of English education in Hong Kong, pri-vate English language schools and elementary andsecondary schools have opened in major cities suchas Beijing, Shanghai, Dahlian, and Guandong. Jointprojects have begun with Canadian universitiesand colleges. Capilano College, North Vancouver,B.C. is one of several B.C. community colleges thatoffer term teaching positions in jointly-managedsatellite centres in China.

One of the best professional opportunities inChina for EFL teachers is the Canada-China Lan-guage Centre in Beijing, or the language trainingcentre in Nanchong, Sichuan. Both centres weredeveloped under CIDA and utilize Canadian mate-rials, an innovative curriculum and a testing pro-gram developed at great expense and effort bysome of Canada�s top educators. CIDA still fundsthe centres but no longer pays salaries at Canadianrates. As a result, the positions are not as attractiveas they were in former years. Teachers are paid ahigh salary by Chinese standards, provided freehousing, and sometimes a roundtrip flight to China.

Despite these drawbacks, the working condi-tions and professional development are excellent

for China. Many of the Chinese teachers at theCCLC and in Nanchong are familiar with commu-nicative language teaching, and several have takengraduate degrees in Canada. Few universities inChina could offer such a well-organized programor one where a Canadian teacher would be morewelcome.

II. International Schools and the Certi-fied Teacher

Certified teachers with experience in elemen-tary and secondary schools in Canada can teachanywhere in the international school system. Inter-national schools taught in English operate undertwo umbrella organizations: the European Councilof International Schools and the InternationalSchools Services. Between them is a privately-funded network of schools in more than 90 differ-ent countries.

Most of these schools combine K-12 in thesame facility, provide services to 400-800 studentsand are reasonably well-equipped with audio-visualand computer equipment. Generally, classes aresmall � about 20 students or less. For the mostpart, the students� parents are professionals andkeenly interested in their children�s education. Inthese respects, the teaching conditions compareto those of private schools in Canada. Further-more, unlike public schools, international schoolshave no obligation to provide every child with aneducation. Disruptive or poorly-motivated pupilscan be expelled. There are usually waiting lists ofstudents hoping to be admitted into the program.

However, local conditions vary greatly, de-pending on whether or not the school is in a capitalcity, and supported by foreign embassies, andmulti-nationals. Such schools offer the best work-ing conditions, and the best salaries, perhaps ashigh as $70,000. Employment at all internationalschools is by two-year contract. In most cases, thiswill be renewed as a matter of course, with a freeflight and initial moving expenses. Employee ben-efits also depend entirely on the country and theschool. Benefits usually include teacher assistancewith photocopying, extra pay for after-school ac-tivities, a housing allowance, reduced tuition feesshould one send one�s children to the school (ie.90% of costs), access to a group insurance plan,limited medical and retirement benefits, and freeair fare and shipping home upon signing a two-yearcontract.

Certified teacherswith experience in

elementary andsecondary schools in

Canada can teachanywhere in the

international schoolsystem.

With China�sexpanding economyand its entry into the

World Trade Organi-zation, more English

teachers are neededthan ever.


III. Placement Services

International school administrators attend severalfairs in the U.S. and Canada over several weeks in theearly spring. A trade newspaper, The InternationalEducator, www.tieonline.com, lists upcoming jobsand fairs. The ideal candidate profiles are a husbandand wife who are both teachers, have worked overseasand possess a minimum of two years teaching expe-rience.

Attending the hiring fairs often requires a sub-stantial investment. Because many of the fairs areprivately-run, they operate to make a profit andcharge high user fees. Contacts and rates change,but each organization maintains a website andupdates. As of writing, the information is as fol-lows. The �granddaddy� of international schoolhiring fairs is the one organized through the Uni-versity of Northern Iowa. Established in 1976 as anextension of its teacher education program, itcharges a nominal $50-75 (U.S.) participation feeto meet all the headmasters and headmistresses.It�s the largest of the fairs with 110 internationalschools from more than 65 countries. Anothernon-profit hiring fair with a nominal fee is AASA,the Association of American Schools in SouthAmerica. Some 40 schools in that region use thisservice. Closer to home is the fair at QueensUniversity, administered through the PlacementOffice of the Faculty of Education. Held in Febru-ary, it hosts 40 to 50 schools and charges a $100(CND) to participate.

ISS, the International Schools Services, holdshiring fairs as well, one in London, Ontario. Thecompany charges for registration and placementfor a total of $450 (U.S.). Another fair in Canada isthe hiring fair held in Vancouver by ECIS, theEuropean Council of International Schools. Partici-pants are charged about $500 (U.S.) to have theirdocuments filed and posted over the two-dayconference.

After some years working at internationalschools, a teacher may not need to use hiring fairsand professional search services at all. One mightdecide upon a country, network among acquaint-ances teaching there, then visit the schools andheadmasters and interview informally.

IV. Opportunities in Japan

Japan remains the largest market for Englishteachers. With the economic slump and the decline

in student enrollments due to an ageing popula-tion, the labor market for teaching English in Japanhas cooled. However, Japan has a large populationand the second-largest economy in the world, sothere are still more opportunities there at everylevel of experience and training than anywhereelse. Of the numerous sites (www.jobsinjapan.com,and www.englishresource.com/classifieds/jobs.shtml/) offering information specifically aboutJapan, www.eltnews.com or the online journalOhayo Sensei (www.ohayosensei.com) are themost comprehensive. Well-qualified teachers canwork in international schools, or in Japanese highschools. Those with graduate degrees can findpart-time work in the universities.

The biggest obstacle in coming to Japan isobtaining a working visa. The situation is virtuallya �Catch-22.� A teacher can�t get a job without avisa yet can�t get a visa without a job. In effect, toobtain a working visa, one must be recruited fromoverseas. Alternately, one could come to Japan ona tourist visa, find a position, sign a contract, thenleave Japan briefly for nearby Seoul, Korea orBangkok, Thailand and obtain a working visa fromone of the two Japanese embassies.

As a result, many teachers come to Japan withone-year contracts to work for companies such asAeon, Geos, and Nova that operate English con-versation schools all over Japan. All three compa-nies recruit overseas, selecting university gradu-ates with teaching experience. The one-year con-tracts they offer of about $37,000 per year for a 25to 30-hour work week and others like these arenot binding. A teacher may leave a school withoutlosing that year�s working visa. The following year,the teacher can self-sponsor himself or herself byputting together enough contracts from part-timework to earn at least $2,000 per month. Much ofthis information can be accessed through websitessuch as www.eltnews.com, a truly comprehensiveresource, or online journal, Ohayo Sensai

If one is under 35 years of age, another way ofgetting to Japan is through the Japan Exchange andTeaching (JET) Program funded by the Japanesegovernment. In order to achieve the broadly de-fined goal of internationalization, MOFA, the JapanMinistry of Foreign Affairs hires about 6,000 col-lege graduates from America, Canada, and Britainas either Assistant Language Teachers (ALTs) whohelp English teachers in classrooms across Japan,or as Coordinators of International Relations (CIRs),

The �granddaddy� ofinternational schoolhiring fairs is the oneorganized through theUniversity of North-ern Iowa.

Closer to home is thefair at QueensUniversity, adminis-tered through thePlacement Office ofthe Faculty ofEducation. Held inFebruary, it hosts 40to 50 schools andcharges a $100(CND) to participate.


assigned to city halls, and other administrativeunits, acting as translators and cultural resourcepersonnel. Although all the salaries are the same,all about 300,000 yen or $3,800 per month aftertaxes and medical insurance, working conditionsand benefits vary greatly, with better situations,even subsidized housing found in rural, more re-mote areas. Application forms and information isavailable from the Japanese embassy or online(www.jetorg.manitoba). Applicants are restrictedto university graduates under the age of 35. Ifaccepted, their contracts may be renewed twice,for a total of three years.

Numerous private Japanese high schools alsorecruit those with teaching credentials to teachEnglish. Conditions such as class size, teachinghours, and holiday time vary from one school toanother as does the pay though a full-time salary ofabout $55,000 seems fairly standard.

Japanese Universities

Overseas hire for tenured full-time universitypositions in Japan is rare. Universities prefer toemploy professors who have had some experienceteaching in Japan and possess at least a modestability to communicate in Japanese. According tothe Japan Association of Language Teachers (JALT)at www.jalt.org, salaries range from 5 to 9 millionyen, about $63,000 to $114,000, depending onone�s qualifications, the reputation of the school,and one�s age and rank, with higher salaries toolder teachers. Additional money is paid for writ-ing and marking entrance exams. Where vacanciesdo exist, they tend to be in areas of specializationsuch as linguistics or inter-cultural communica-tions and require a PhD.

There are further difficulties associated withobtaining a full-time, tenured university position.For one thing, there are very few of them, number-ing less than 300 jobs according to sources here.For reasons of economy, most university classesare contracted out to part-time lecturers or pro-fessors on term contracts of several years. Asecond, more disturbing aspect, is that Japaneseuniversities actively discriminate against older teach-ers, in part, because of their higher rates of pay.Professors� salaries are calculated in incrementsbased on when they completed their undergradu-ate degrees as well as their respective rank as full-time lecturers, assistant professors, associate orfull professors.

Many institutions limit applicants to those un-der 45, even under 40 years of age. A very thor-ough discussion of this issue may be found on awebsite operated by David Aldwinkle(www.debito.org/essays.html), a professor inHokkaido who has catalogued complaints againstvarious institutions in Japan.

Part-time work in Japan for teachers with gradu-ate degrees is found everywhere in Japan. Faculty-of-Arts departments at most universities offercourses in English conversation and composition.Working conditions and class sizes at institutionsfluctuate from as few as 8 students to as high as 75and so do the rates of pay. Generally, a 90-minuteclass will pay about $90 and include transportationexpenses. While the fee may sound relatively mod-est, it�s often paid on a 52-week basis though thereis a maximum of 28 weeks in an academic year.Part-time teachers willing to travel to differentschools, instruct private students or do some freelance editing and writing can make a very goodliving and enjoy a substantial amount of holidaytime.

Two of the best books on teaching in Japan arePaul Wadden (1993), A Handbook for TeachingEnglish at Japanese Colleges and Universities, andDale Bay (1997) Teaching English in Japan: A Profes-sional Journey. The first book consists of chaptersdescribing issues in language education in Japaneseuniversities, the working and classroom condi-tions, and practical advice on obtaining a visa, andemployment. The latter book was written by aCanadian teacher who spent more than 10 years inJapan teaching in Japanese high schools and univer-sities.

Within Japan, there are job fairs at the nationalconference of the Japan Association of LanguageTeachers (www.jalt.org/jalt-e/main/careers.html),usually held in October or November of each year.JALT also publishes a monthly journal that includesjob listings, The Language Teacher. One might alsoregister for the JALT job postings e-list by sendinga blank message to [email protected]. In addition,there is the Association of Canadian Teachers inJapan which maintains an email list, produces aquarterly newsletter, and presents an annual con-ference (contact [email protected]).

VI. Preparing to Go

This short piece has outlined a few aspects ofteaching abroad and described some of the avail-

Part-time work inJapan for teachers

with graduate degreesis found everywhere

in Japan.

Part-time teacherswilling to travel to

different schools,instruct private

students or do somefree lance editing and

writing can make avery good living and

enjoy a substantialamount of holiday

time.


able resources. Professional teaching organiza-tions, particularly the annual conferences of TESLCanada and TESOL, offer additional information aswell. The TESOL Bulletin, for example, advertisesteaching vacancies around the world. Advertise-ments for teaching assignments overseas can befound in back issues of Contact as well.

As with most career moves, research pays offin ever way. Contracts for international schoolsand most assignments to universities in the MiddleEast are for a minimum of two years. For places likeJapan, and Korea, teachers need to take a longerview of assignments as well. The popular miscon-ception is that teachers can work in these countriesfor periods of as little as six months and make asubstantial amount of money. Set-up costs foraccommodation, furnishings, and even finding workmake this an impossibility, not to mention theproblem of paying taxes in two jurisdictions, inJapan, then again for the same period in Canada.Adequate, careful planning can make the differ-ence between a mediocre assignment in a placeone might not choose, and the experience, per-haps the opportunity of lifetime.

Appendix

Bay, D. (1997). Teaching English in Japan: A profes-sional journey. Tokyo: Sanyusha. (available fromthe author at [email protected]).

Hachey, J. (2000). (3rd ed.). The Canadian Guide toWorking and Living Overseas. Ottawa:Intercultural Systems, P.O. Box 5888, StationB, Ottawa, Ontario K1P 5P7, (613) 238-6169;Fax (613) 238-5274.

Kealey, D. (1990). (2nd ed.). Cross-cultural Effective-ness: A study of Canadian Technical AdvisorsOverseas. Ottawa: Canadian International De-velopment Agency.

Paul Wadden (ed.) (1993). A Handbook for TeachingEnglish at Japanese Colleges and Universities.New York: Oxford University Press.

Important Addresses

International Schools:

AASSA, Association of American Schools inSouth America14750 N.W. 77th Court, Ste. 210Miami Lakes, FL 33016Tel: (305) 821-0345

Fax: (305) 821-4244E-mail: [email protected]://www.aassa.com/htm/fairrecruit.htm

ECIS, European Council of International Schools21 Lavant St.Petersfield HamshireGU32 3EL EnglandTel: (44) 1730-268244Fax: (44) 1730-267914www.ecis.orgE-mail: [email protected] McKay, Executive Officer, staffing services

ISS, International Schools ServicesP.O. Box 5910Princeton, NJ 08543Tel: (609) 452-0900Fax: (609) 542-2690www.search-associates.com

Search Associates CanadaR.R. 5#Bellevile, Ontario K8N 4Z5Tel: (613) 967-4902Fax: (613) 967-8981

Queens UniversityPlacement Office, Faculty of EducationKingston, Ontario K7L 3N6Tel: (613) 5454-6222Fax: (613) 967-8981Email: [email protected]://educ.queensu.ca/~placment/recruiting.html

University of Northern IowaCedar Falls, IA 50614-0390Tel: (319) 273-2083Fax: (319) 273-6998iuEmail: [email protected]://www.uni.edu/placement/overseas/

For China

Education Department, The People�s Republic ofChina (which also maintains consulates inToronto, Montreal, Edmonton, and Vancouver)515 St. Patrick Street, Ottawa, Ontario K1N5H3, (613) 789-9608, Fax (613) 789-1414(www.chinaembassy.org/en/index.html) or by e-mail [email protected].

Alternately, write directly to:

Mao Dawei, Head Teacher, Canada-ChinaLanguage Centre

Contracts for interna-tional schools andmost assignments touniversities in theMiddle East are for aminimum of twoyears.

The popular miscon-ception is thatteachers can work inthese countries forperiods of as little assix months and makea substantial amountof money.


P.O. Box 44, Beijing Normal UniversityBeijing 100088People�s Republic of China

Professor OuForeign Affairs DepartmentSouthwest Petroleum Institute

Shi You Dong LuNanchong, Sichuan Province 637001People�s Republic of China

For Japan

Japan (which also maintains consulates in To-ronto, Montreal, Edmonton, and Vancouver)255 Sussex Drive, Ottawa, Ontario K1N 9E6,(613) 241-8541 (www.japanembassy.org) or e-mail contact [email protected].

Websites for Japan

www.debito.org/essays.html

www.eltnews.com

www.englishresource.com/classifieds/jobs.shtml/

www.eslcafe.com/jobs

www.eslworldwide.com

www.geocities.com/Tokyo/Flats/7947/eflasia.htm

www.jalt.org/jalt-e/main/careers.html

www.jobsinjapan.com

www.ohayosensei.com

Gregory Strong, president of the Association ofCanadian Teachers in Japan, fields many questionsrelated to teaching in Japan. He is an associateprofessor in the English Department at AoyamaUniversity where he teaches Composition, Cana-dian Studies, and co-ordinates the intensive Englishlanguage program for freshmen and sophmorestudents. Previously, he spent two years in Chinaas a teacher trainer, and tester for CIDA and St.Mary�s University, Nova Scotia, and before that, hetaught ESL in several colleges and school districts inVancouver.

TESL Hamilton Wentworth ESL Student Award

Lisa Ramacieri

The TESL Hamilton-Wentworth Affiliate awardsa dictionary or gift certificate to an exceptional ESLHigh School Student in the Hamilton area. Ouraward is called the Betty Penton Award. BettyPenton was a former ESL teacher, who was veryactive on the TESL Hamilton-Wentworth Execu-tive, and who was a special ESL teacher who wentbeyond the call of duty with regards to her stu-dents. She was an exceptional teacher who died ofbreast cancer. The award was established in hername about 12 years ago. Eligible ESL studentsmust:

- have high academic achievement

- be involved in extra-curricular activities.

- be trying hard at academics

- have a positive attitude

- be in grade 11

The ESL teacher and department head of theschool chooses a student, and submits a bio to ourexecutive. Then, the executive chooses from aboutsix candidates. The award is presented annually atthe students� Fall Convocation ceremony by theTESL Hamilton-Wentworth executive-President.


Designing CALL Materials

John Allan Abu Dhabi Men�s Higher College, U.A.E.Jim Edgar, Dubai Men�s College, U.A.E.

In November of 2001, we met at a TESOLconference in the Middle East. Jim Edgar waspresenting a session titled, �Teacher-developedMultimedia: How and Why?� One point that Jimstressed in this assembly was that he found teach-ers preferred web based materials for publishingtheir CALL activities. This had not occurred to meuntil this session. I had been spending the last sevenyears experimenting with complex authoring soft-ware such as Director, Authorware, Visual Basic,JavaScript, ToolBook and Flash.

For most ESL teachers these programs are toocomplicated to learn. They require a steep learningcurve and to exact total control, they demand atleast one year of dedication to learn the scriptinglanguage that accompanies them. They all allowone to publish the results on the Internet but theyusually require expert programming to tabulateresults. They also require an extra program knowncommonly as a plug-in.

Watching the �e�-revolution transpiring at ourcollege, I have learned that more expensive andmore complex is not always the best solution.What is the best for ESL teachers is to havematerials created, that they can use on any compu-ter regardless of platform or computer perform-ance. Thus, Jim�s words ring clearly in my head,�develop CALL materials for the Web.�

Below is a compilation of reasons for develop-ing CALL software for Web resources. These area result of brainstorming with Mr. Edgar.

Technical Terms

All browsers support HTML (Hyper Text Markup Language) and DHTML (Dynamic Hyper TextMark up Language). Although they are propri-etary, differences in the treatment of HTML andDHTML by browsers are minimal in affecting thefunction of CALL materials. They all support theessential media of CALL materials: formatted text,tables, images, digital video, digital audio andJavaScript or Visual Basic script.

The text, tables, images, digital video and audioallow the CALL materials to present informationthat will enable the students to react in the form ofanswering questions. The JavaScript or Visual Basicscript will allow the computer to assess if thestudent�s response is correct or incorrect and toprompt with some sort of feedback or simplycalculate the student�s score.

Why develop Web-based CALL mate-rials?

Compatibility

CALL materials that are produced for Web brows-ers can be shared across the hallway, schoolboard, city, district, province, or world. Allbrowsers can read and understand HTML tags.Thus any materials authored for a browser canbe used in most of today�s computers. It isimportant to remember that Web CALL materi-als compatibility means that teachers can be surethat the work they put in today will be useful andadjustable for years, unlike proprietary pack-ages like Director, BBC or Commodore64 Basic.

Distribution

Sharing can take place by four methods; first,emailing the HTML documents with their media(images, movies, sound, and animation files) toanother educator. Next, it is common to save thefiles to a diskette or CD and physically take themto another computer. Further to this, the docu-ments can be printed on paper and passed toanother educator by traditional means. Finally, theHTML and media files can be stored on a local orsecure server for future retrieval by another indi-vidual.

Individual Portfolio of Materials

An individual teacher can also develop CALLactivities that they know will be useful for futureclasses and compatible with any school they maymigrate to in the future. They can consider these

What is the best forESL teachers is tohave materialscreated, that they canuse on any computerregardless of platformor computer perform-ance.

CALL materials thatare produced for Webbrowsers can beshared across thehallway, schoolboard, city, district,province, or world.


materials part of their professional developmentand in some cases private property.

Cost

Managers require that CALL materials devel-opment be cost-recoverable. All modern comput-ers have browsers ready-to-run. Browser soft-ware is free, period! Included with the computer�soperating system (Windows or Mac) or downloadedfrom the Internet or installed from a complimen-tary magazine CD the browser is complimentary.Copyright for the browser is not an issue; nor isavailability or cost.

When developing CALL materials in some pro-prietary packages, the developer incurs variousrestrictions and hidden costs. An example of thisis Macromedia Director. The author must placethe Macromedia logo on the executable file storagedevice, CD or diskette and on the packaging of thematerials. Also, he/she must submit two copies ofthe materials to Macromedia Corporation.Macromedia Director runs about $2,000 USD, fora user�s license. Authoring materials in HTMLavoids these costs since the Web is crowded withHTML authoring tools. One of these HTML pub-lishers will be analyzed in the following article.

The LINC labs in Ontario have Web browsersloaded that can process HTML and DHTML. Ac-cordingly, they can support any HTML code-drivenCALL materials produced.

Digital Media Support

HTML and DHTML support the followingmedia: text, images, digital video, digital audio,animations and 3D models. As a CALL developeryou have the ability to present material in any of theavailable digital formats.

Setup

There is no set-up involved with a Web browser.They are included in the operating system of allmodern computers. Upgrades are quick and pain-less. It is recommended that you upgrade using aCD from a current computer magazine to upgradeyour browser. Installing a browser upgrade from aCD will save downloading and installation time. Anote of caution: don�t always upgrade to the mostrecent version of a browser. Let the browser betested by others. If there are no major problemsthen upgrade.

Familiar Interface

Students and faculty are now familiar with theinterface and workings of a browser. As a result theCALL HTML materials will be recognizable tomost students. Initially, this will help emancipatelearners from the software and allow them toconcentrate on the language task.

Learning �Creation� Curve

Authoring or creating CALL materials for HTMLhas a uniform learning curve since there are greatwidgets out there such as �Hot Potatoes.� HotPotatoes (see next article) is extremely simple touse. It automatically produces efficient HTML andJavaScript code that enables multimedia inclusionand user interaction with your CALL exercises.

Technology is Quickly Dated

Authoring systems such as Director or Toolbookcontinually need upgrading to keep pace withincreases in processor speed. This is an expensiveproposition since an upgrading in authoring soft-ware usually can cost up to $1,000 USD. Webbrowser upgrades are free and easily downloadedfrom the web or installed quickly from a magazineCD.

CALL materials authored in older versions ofsoftware may not be compatible with newer ver-sions of the authoring software. In some cases theCALL materials must be completely rewritten. Allcontent written in HTML for older browsers worksquite well with the latest versions of Web brows-ers. Web browsers seem to be here to stay.

Printable

All materials developed for the Web can beprinted. In some cases the developer can placerestrictions on printing but this is rare. Your CALLmaterials can be used at the computer or on paperin the traditional classroom environment.

Hosting is Free

Where do you put your CALL materials oncethey have been created for the Web? Web hostingis free. There are hundreds of servers out therevying for you to place your content on them. Yoursis not to ask why but to take advantage of acompetitive marketplace. Examples are AngelFire,FreeWebHosting, FreeHomePage and Homestead.You can also place them on a diskette, CD, DVD or

The LINC labs inOntario have Web

browsers loaded thatcan process HTML

and DHTML.Accordingly, they can

support any HTMLcode-driven CALL

materials produced.

Authoring materialsin HTML avoids

these costs since theWeb is crowded with

HTML authoringtools.


digital tape. LINC Ontario schools can use theirintranet to share these materials betweenworkstations. This is accomplished by placing theexercise on one of the computer�s hard drives andsharing it through Network Neighborhood orwhatever networking scheme the centre has es-tablished.

Conclusion

Authoring CALL materials for Web browsers isquick and easy when widgets are employed. The

materials can be easily created, shared, distrib-uted, printed and hosted. As an integral part ofmany schools, browsers are familiar, free, easilyupgraded and support old HTML documents. It ishighly recommended that CALL materials devel-oped by ESL professionals be created in DHTMLor HTML format since they can be eventuallyshared with the greater TESOL community.

LINC Ontario schoolscan use their intranetto share thesematerials betweenworkstations.

Wow, I Could have had a Hot Potato!

John Allan Abu Dhabi Men�s Higher College, U.A.E.

In past issues of TESL Contact, the concept ofteacher authored CALL (computer assisted lan-guage learning) exercises has been discussed. InESL and the Electronic Age Part XI, the debate onwhether teachers should create their own compu-ter-based language teaching materials was explored.Later, in Contact Spring 2000 it was concluded thatit might be too much of an undertaking for teachersto create their own CALL materials. In addition,the previous article �Publish to the Web� con-cludes, it is best that ESL teachers publish theirmaterials for the Web browser format since thematerials can be easily created, shared, distrib-uted, printed, and hosted.

CALL Authoring Software

Over the past few years, I have been strugglingwith different means of creating CALL materials,initially, starting with Visual Basic, migrating toMacromedia Director, dabbling in MacromediaFlash and producing some materials with HTMLand finally returning to Director as a training tool.The amount of time and energy spent learningthese packages has been enormous. Countless latenights, weekends and a string of vacations werenecessary to become more or less competent withthese authoring packages.

Fortunately, skilled computer programmershave created widgets that allow teachers to includetext, digital movies, animations, and audio files in

their CALL materials. These widgets such as HotPotatoes are known as closed authoring packages� closed because they allow one to create CALLmaterials with layout and functionality restrictions.Open-ended authoring occurs when the creatormakes a CALL activity for computer delivery with-out any restriction from raw programming code ora powerful authoring tool with script such asMacromedia Director.

Delivery of CALL materials created with high-end authoring packages is problematic. Compat-ibility issues such as platform (MAC or PC), oper-ating systems, plug-ins or specialized driver fileavailability make running some applications impos-sible. The answer to the delivery of CALL materialsis simply to write them for Web-based browsers.All machines can read them, all platforms can runthem and in most cases there are no plug-ins orDLL files needed.

Wow!

As a part of continuing professional develop-ment our college offered us a week of workshops.I had heard of Hot Potatoes before but because itwas a freeware package I thought that it wouldhave too many limitations on a teacher�s creativity.I was wrong! This free authoring system providesteachers with a straightforward means of creatingcomputer-based teaching materials that can be

Fortunately, skilledcomputer program-mers have createdwidgets that allowteachers to includetext, digital movies,animations, and audiofiles in their CALLmaterials.


posted on the Web, local server, on local harddrives or on any removable memory media.

What is Hot Potato?

It is a compilation of six authoring tools thatallows educators to generate interactive exercises.A common interface and common sense alloweducators to create multiple-choice, short-answerquestion, cloze, sorting, matching and crosswordactivities that function on any Web browser ver-sion later than version 2.0. The authoring suite isavailable in Macintosh or Windows formats. Thegenerated exercises function on all platforms sincethey are browser based.

Who Makes It?

The program itself is designed by Half-BakedSoftware, a company created with the help of theInnovation and Development Corporation at theUniversity of Victoria. Martin Holmes and StewartArneil are the men who have created this program.

What Makes It Easy?

The interface is familiar and user friendly forMac or Windows users. All of the necessary com-mands can be completed by simply clicking onicons. Even though Hot Potatoes creates interac-tive exercises in JavaScript , HTML and DHTMLthe teacher only needs to enter the information inthe form of texts, answers, questions, and pic-tures. One of Hot Potato�s programs will createthe exercises in the form of web pages for you.

What are Its Strengths?

Hot Potatoes provide a comprehensive, prac-tical tutorial with the program. After a one-hoursession many ESL teachers should have the abilityto confidently put together CALL exercises. Also,you can recycle content to provide your studentswith repetition of the theme or grammatical struc-ture being emphasized in the lesson. As mentionedearlier, these can be in the form of a short answerexercises, a sorting task, a multiple-choice quiz, acloze exercise and a crossword.

Website Support

Half-Baked software have an excellent on-lineresource for users of Hot Potatoes http://web.uvic.ca/hrd/hotpot. It has a download sec-tion, an on-line technical support page, an add-ons

page (additional downloads that can enhance thesoftware), a link page to many Web activitiesdeveloped with Hot Potatoes and an FAQ (fre-quently asked questions) page.

Web-CT

Hot Potatoes also has an automatic publish toWeb-CT format. This makes it easier for facultywho are involved in institutions that enforce orencourage computer based training materials to beplaced in a Web-CT shell. If you are not involved inthis, don�t ask! Just walk away slowly.

The Publishing Process

There are five steps to publishing a CALLexercise using Hot Potatoes. The first is choosingthe type of exercise you wish to create. For exam-ple you may chose a cloze exercise. The secondstep is entering the data. This includes insertingpictures, sounds or video; copying and pasting ortyping a reading, or questions. The third step isconfiguring the output of the exercise. This con-sists of inputting hints, feedback (both positive andconstructive), exercise instructions, naming but-tons, deciding on the text�s font and size and thecolour scheme of the exercise. Also configuring theoutput allows you to determine if a timer is presentfor each question or reading and if the questionsare shuffled each time the materials are utilized bya student. Additionally, this shuffling includes reor-dering the correct response and distracters withineach question. Therefore the students view adifferent test each time they reload the exercise.

The fourth stage is generating the exercise to aWeb format. At this point you must determine theWeb browser version of your audience (yourschool�s computers). If the browsers are newerthan version 4.0 then you should create with theoption to place exercises in DHTML. Otherwisechoose the Export to Web selection.

At this point the file will be placed with anaccompanying folder on your hard drive. You canplace it locally on you Local Area Network (don�tforget to pay for a license) or you can publish it tothe Internet.

Inserting Audio and Video

Hot Potatoes does not have an internal audioor video player. You must rely on the end user(your students) to have an audio and a video player

It is a compilation ofsix authoring tools

that allows educatorsto generate interactive

exercises.

Hot Potatoes providea comprehensive,

practical tutorial withthe program. After a

one-hour sessionmany ESL teachers

should have theability to confidently

put together CALLexercises.


on their workstation. Windows and Macintoshesarrive with players. If these have been removed ordamaged there are plenty of free players from theInternet or computer magazine CDs. If the videoor audio is to be incorporated on a CALL exerciseover the Internet, you may reconsider since longdownloads may hinder with the progress of thecomputer-based activity. However, video or soundmay be essential for the activity. It is simple toinsert these files in Hot Potatoes. It is not so simpleto create them. It is advisable to get an audiovisualstaff member to help with the making of these files.

What is the Catch?

Hot Potatoes can be downloaded for free ontoyour computer through the Internet at http://web.uvic.ca/hrd/hotpot/#downloads. It can beused at no cost by individuals or non-profit educa-tional institutions on the understanding that mate-rials produced through Hot Potatoes software aregenerously accessible on the Internet without anyfee. Licenses must be purchased if the users havecommercial aspirations or wish to publish theirexercises.

On-line Samples

Look at http://www.angelfire.com/ct3/esl/index.htm to see a few exercises made with HotPotatoes. Also, at the Hot Potatoes Web site there

are links to other exercises created around theworld at http://web.uvic.ca/hcmc/rnd/comprog.html#hotpotsites.

Variation

A variation for advanced students is to allowstudents to create their own activities related to atheme or project they have created in class. Theuse of the Web page format, and the ability forlearners to see their work on a browser makes theprogram especially motivating.

Conclusion

Hot Potatoes offers educators a realistic meansto create CALL materials for their students. As HotPotatoes is a closed authoring system, the layoutand functionality may be somewhat constrainedbut teachers can produce materials that can beused on any computer that has a Web browser aslong as they save the materials they create on a CDRom.

It can be used at nocost by individuals ornon-profit educationalinstitutions on theunderstanding thatmaterials producedthrough Hot Potatoessoftware are gener-ously accessible onthe Internet withoutany fee. Licensesmust be purchased ifthe users havecommercial aspira-tions or wish topublish their exer-cises.

A variation foradvanced students isto allow students tocreate their ownactivities related to atheme or project theyhave created in class.The use of the Webpage format, and theability for learners tosee their work on abrowser makes theprogram especiallymotivating.

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