Description
The purpose of this assignment is to encourage you to reflect upon your own intercultural encounters and devise ways in which such reflections can contribute to your own development as a language teachers. As you have realised by now, one of the biggest issues in learning is the social and cultural contexts in which we learn. This includes our prior experiences across all areas of life (behaviours, practices, languages and their domains, education, work life, domestic life etc.). All these elements influence and are influenced by our personal values and beliefs about the world.
Using an autoethnographic approach
Most ethnographic writing derives from the field of social anthropology and usually refers to the writing about what has been observed by an ‘outsider’ of an ‘insider culture’ – or to put it another way – by the ‘observer’ of the ‘other’. This has led to heated debates on ethnicity and the construction of ‘the other’. More recently, other forms of ethnographic study have been developed – notably ‘insiders’ writing about the ‘inside’ or outsiders reflecting on what their responses to the ‘other’ tell them about themselves. You are expected to adopt the latter approach.
This Assignment
The kind of ‘ethnography’ that we are concerned with is the ‘self’ (you) observing the ‘self’ (you) in interaction with others. We are particularly interested in how you identify yourself in relation to the cultures you interact with and how you perceive that others see you.
It is useful to choose a particular setting in order to contextualise your discussion. This can be a new area/country you have moved to, a group you have recently joined (such as this programme), the university, the place where you live, and more.
Some Important points to consider in your autoethnography
• How does the literature on culture and identity help you make sense of the differences that you encounter?
• Do you see yourself as part of a dominant or a minority group? How do others see you?
• What influences the way you see others? What do you think may influence the way others see you?
• Why do you react the way you do when encountering difference? How do you negotiate your identity with others?
• How do your values and beliefs influence how you respond to all these things?
• What does this reflection help you understand about your own cultures, values, beliefs and about your identity as an English teacher. Whatever you choose you must make sure that the following aspects are included and your assignment is coherent:
• Discuss how your own cultural and personal perspectives affect your interpretations of others
• Draw on relevant literature to contextualise your observations and help you interpret your own experiences
• Give examples to illustrate specific points you are making
What we don’t want is a simple comparison of things (in my country we do …. but in England they do…..) and nor do we want judgements (…this is better than…). That kind of discussion leads to stereotyping and over generalising.
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