Publication Date

2011

Degree Name

Master of Arts in Teaching (MAT)

First Advisor

Radmila Popovic

Abstract

This paper examines the implications that the relationship between teacher language awareness and communicative peace may have on educational programs for teachers of English for speakers of other languages (ESOL). The evaluation begins by analyzing proposals set out by the applied peace linguist Francisco Gomes de Matos, who suggests that ESOL teachers should teach communicative peace as an element of communicative competence, and also that education programs should provide training to support this approach. By juxtaposing current literature on structural and linguistic violence with Gomes de Matos’ classroom techniques, the hypothesis is made that teachers who would teach communicative peace need a certain level of awareness of sociolinguistic and strategic competence. This discovery is then compared with Stephen Andrews’ research on teacher language awareness, which explains that teachers need a degree of language awareness in order to effectively teach grammar. Replacing the term ‘grammar’ with the concept of ‘pragmatic competence’ confirms the paper’s hypothesis. It is suggested that teacher‐training programs need to include to their curricula, courses that aim to increase awareness to how language can be peaceful and violent. The paper finally proposes a method for raising such awareness.

Disciplines

Bilingual, Multilingual, and Multicultural Education | Curriculum and Instruction | Curriculum and Social Inquiry | Education | International and Comparative Education | Teacher Education and Professional Development

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