title: Content and language integrated learning in practice: Exploring pre-service EFL teachers’ beliefs and negotiation of meaning of subject-specific language in Thai secondary classrooms

authors: Tachaiyaphum, Nutthida

subjects: Content and language integrated learning

abstract: The demand for English in Thailand has been increasing rapidly due to socio-political developments and the continuing growth of the economy. For Thai students, being proficient in English can enhance their education and career opportunities. To develop students’ English proficiency, both state and private schools are allowed to operate different types of bilingual education, including content and language integrated learning (CLIL). However, despite CLIL being implemented in Thailand for a decade, teachers are still grappling with many challenges because of limited understandings of CLIL and a lack of support from stakeholders. One of the challenges is related to the specialist language required for CLIL, which differs from that used in daily communication or general English classes. Teachers’ knowledge of the language and pedagogical approaches that may be used for CLIL could be developed through appropriate training and support, but there is a lack of CLIL research in the Thai context illuminating how teachers manage CLIL language and help students to learn effectively.
The present study aimed to gain an insight into pre-service EFL teachers’ language-driven CLIL practices and beliefs about effective CLIL implementation. It adopted a multiple interpretive case study to investigate (1) how pre-service EFL teachers explain subject-specific terms and concepts to students; (2) negotiation of meaning (NoM) strategies that they adopt to address the difficulties in the explanation of subject-specific terms and concepts; and 3) their beliefs associated with effective CLIL implementation. Under these aims, two main research questions and one sub-research question were addressed:
1. How do Thai pre-service EFL teachers explain and negotiate the meaning of subject-specific terms and concepts in CLIL lessons?
1.1 What are the NoM strategies that the pre-service EFL teachers adopted to address difficulties concerning the explanation and students’ comprehension of the subject-specific terms and concepts?
2. What are Thai pre-service EFL teachers’ beliefs regarding effective CLIL implementation?
The participants consisted of six pre-service EFL teachers teaching at two Thai secondary schools as part of a one-year teaching practicum for their Bachelor of Education programme. Data were gathered from June 2020 to December 2020 through semi-structured interviews, CLIL classroom video observations, and stimulated recall interviews. The data were transcribed and then analysed following the grounded theory approach by Charmaz (2006) and Hadley (2017).
The study reveals five main NoM strategies that the teacher participants used in their CLIL lessons to explain subject-specific terms and concepts: students’ schema activation, students’ comprehension check, language and content modification, the use of visual supports, and the use of L1. When encountering teaching difficulties, the majority of the teacher participants used L1 to address the difficulties. However, despite their willingness to use L1 to negotiate meaning in the observed classes, the teacher participants expressed mixed beliefs regarding how and when L1 should be used.
Furthermore, the findings demonstrated three key factors that the teacher participants believed to be influential in effective CLIL instruction: adequate CLIL teacher education, support from schools and stakeholders, and teaching preparation. The teachers highlighted that subject-specific language and language for learning and instructional purposes were two essential areas of CLIL teachers’ language proficiency.
Finally, the findings showed that the teacher participants played several roles in language-driven CLIL implementation, including being language teachers, content teachers, and learners. Context specificity and the shortage of CLIL materials required the teacher participants to be analysts of students’ needs as well as materials evaluators and developers. The teachers’ educational backgrounds, their experiences as teachers and learners, and their school contexts were important factors in shaping the teacher participants’ professional identities and their roles as CLIL teachers.
This research has shed light on pre-service EFL teachers’ NoM strategies in language-driven CLIL and their beliefs about effective CLIL implementation. It has contributed to the contextual, theoretical, and practical understandings of teachers’ beliefs and language-driven CLIL practices. The findings of this research also offer practical implications for language-driven CLIL practice, professional development, and teacher training to prepare EFL teachers for language-driven CLIL both in Thailand and other similar contexts.

text: Content and language integrated learning in practice: Exploring pre-service EFL teachers’ beliefs and negotiation of meaning of subject-specific language in Thai secondary classrooms The demand for English in Thailand has been increasing rapidly due to socio-political developments and the continuing growth of the economy. For Thai students, being proficient in English can enhance their education and career opportunities. To develop students’ English proficiency, both state and private schools are allowed to operate different types of bilingual education, including content and language integrated learning (CLIL). However, despite CLIL being implemented in Thailand for a decade, teachers are still grappling with many challenges because of limited understandings of CLIL and a lack of support from stakeholders. One of the challenges is related to the specialist language required for CLIL, which differs from that used in daily communication or general English classes. Teachers’ knowledge of the language and pedagogical approaches that may be used for CLIL could be developed through appropriate training and support, but there is a lack of CLIL research in the Thai context illuminating how teachers manage CLIL language and help students to learn effectively.
The present study aimed to gain an insight into pre-service EFL teachers’ language-driven CLIL practices and beliefs about effective CLIL implementation. It adopted a multiple interpretive case study to investigate (1) how pre-service EFL teachers explain subject-specific terms and concepts to students; (2) negotiation of meaning (NoM) strategies that they adopt to address the difficulties in the explanation of subject-specific terms and concepts; and 3) their beliefs associated with effective CLIL implementation. Under these aims, two main research questions and one sub-research question were addressed:
1. How do Thai pre-service EFL teachers explain and negotiate the meaning of subject-specific terms and concepts in CLIL lessons?
1.1 What are the NoM strategies that the pre-service EFL teachers adopted to address difficulties concerning the explanation and students’ comprehension of the subject-specific terms and concepts?
2. What are Thai pre-service EFL teachers’ beliefs regarding effective CLIL implementation?
The participants consisted of six pre-service EFL teachers teaching at two Thai secondary schools as part of a one-year teaching practicum for their Bachelor of Education programme. Data were gathered from June 2020 to December 2020 through semi-structured interviews, CLIL classroom video observations, and stimulated recall interviews. The data were transcribed and then analysed following the grounded theory approach by Charmaz (2006) and Hadley (2017).
The study reveals five main NoM strategies that the teacher participants used in their CLIL lessons to explain subject-specific terms and concepts: students’ schema activation, students’ comprehension check, language and content modification, the use of visual supports, and the use of L1. When encountering teaching difficulties, the majority of the teacher participants used L1 to address the difficulties. However, despite their willingness to use L1 to negotiate meaning in the observed classes, the teacher participants expressed mixed beliefs regarding how and when L1 should be used.
Furthermore, the findings demonstrated three key factors that the teacher participants believed to be influential in effective CLIL instruction: adequate CLIL teacher education, support from schools and stakeholders, and teaching preparation. The teachers highlighted that subject-specific language and language for learning and instructional purposes were two essential areas of CLIL teachers’ language proficiency.
Finally, the findings showed that the teacher participants played several roles in language-driven CLIL implementation, including being language teachers, content teachers, and learners. Context specificity and the shortage of CLIL materials required the teacher participants to be analysts of students’ needs as well as materials evaluators and developers. The teachers’ educational backgrounds, their experiences as teachers and learners, and their school contexts were important factors in shaping the teacher participants’ professional identities and their roles as CLIL teachers.
This research has shed light on pre-service EFL teachers’ NoM strategies in language-driven CLIL and their beliefs about effective CLIL implementation. It has contributed to the contextual, theoretical, and practical understandings of teachers’ beliefs and language-driven CLIL practices. The findings of this research also offer practical implications for language-driven CLIL practice, professional development, and teacher training to prepare EFL teachers for language-driven CLIL both in Thailand and other similar contexts.

year: 2023

title: Media diplomacy in the South China Sea disputes: Vietnam, China and the Philippines 2012 – 2016

authors: Le, Thi My Danh

subjects: Media diplomacy, South China Sea, Vietnam, China, the Philippines

abstract: After shelving tensions for development until the 2000s, the South China Sea (SCS) issue re-emerged with three notable crises: the Scarborough Shoal dispute, the oil rig crisis and the SCS arbitration case. During the period of the crises (2012 – 2016), although the claimant states avoided conflicts at sea, they changed the status quo pertaining to the control and the nature of some of the maritime features in the disputed zone. More importantly, public perceptions about the SCS issues, especially the crises, have been re- shaped as tensions occurred, due to the battle in the media between the disputants. In order words, the SCS issue became more complicated, not only because of the overlapping claims of the disputants, but also due to the conflicting media narratives of the claimant states. This situation raises questions as to how, what and why these claimant states released media narratives about the crises, and a need to inquire into the impact of these conflicting narratives on the SCS issues. Correspondingly, a significant area for research inquiry emerged, which provided the rationale for the current study.
This study is timely, significant and relevant to the states directly concerned as well as regional states. It uses a complex method including critical discourse analysis, framing and theme creating to collect media reports, and deployed the theoretical framework of media diplomacy to analyse the media tactics of the three claimant states, China, the Philippines and Vietnam, at the time of these three crises. According to Gilboa (2001), media diplomacy occurs when a government sends its diplomatic messages to its target audiences through speeches, press conferences, interviews, visits, media events, or even leaks. To succeed, the government needs to have the ability to predict how its message will be consumed by different stakeholders and how its target audiences are likely to respond. It was hypothesised that the governments in China, Vietnam and the Philippines utilised media diplomacy to affect public opinion, domestically and internationally, during the SCS crises. The research had two major objectives: examining how the states deployed media diplomacy in the crises and understanding how the SCS disputes have been complicated by the media battle between the states.
At the escalation stage, all three states projected principles and preconditions via the media. To manage the crises, the states then used the media to explain their policies and actions, to criticise the rivals’ ones and to balance or counter the rivals’ propaganda. The study showed that the media can impact on the moods of both government and the public, positively influencing the states’ foreign policy decision-making processes of de- escalation (Mowlana, 1997). In particular, the media provided a channel to break
 
deadlocks between the states. Before and during bilateral meetings to resolve the tensions, the media were used to try to create a good atmosphere and support communication between the states until a consensus was gained to end the crises.
Less positively, since the SCS has a symbolic value for the peoples in the claimant states, during the crises, the governments utilised media diplomacy to recount the sovereignty claims and to turn the territorial controversy into violent protests. Consequently, the tactics led to a deterioration in bilateral relations, not only at the government-to-government level but also at the people-to-people one. This evidence clearly shows how the media narratives impacted on the SCS issue.
In the end, the research found that the states could not resolve the SCS disputes by relying only on media diplomacy. However, it is argued, the disputants needed the media to manage and resolve the SCS issue over the long-term. In this respect, deploying media diplomacy as a peace process is a collaborative effort that requires efforts from all the claimant states, third-party stakeholders and all audiences.

text: Media diplomacy in the South China Sea disputes: Vietnam, China and the Philippines 2012 – 2016 After shelving tensions for development until the 2000s, the South China Sea (SCS) issue re-emerged with three notable crises: the Scarborough Shoal dispute, the oil rig crisis and the SCS arbitration case. During the period of the crises (2012 – 2016), although the claimant states avoided conflicts at sea, they changed the status quo pertaining to the control and the nature of some of the maritime features in the disputed zone. More importantly, public perceptions about the SCS issues, especially the crises, have been re- shaped as tensions occurred, due to the battle in the media between the disputants. In order words, the SCS issue became more complicated, not only because of the overlapping claims of the disputants, but also due to the conflicting media narratives of the claimant states. This situation raises questions as to how, what and why these claimant states released media narratives about the crises, and a need to inquire into the impact of these conflicting narratives on the SCS issues. Correspondingly, a significant area for research inquiry emerged, which provided the rationale for the current study.
This study is timely, significant and relevant to the states directly concerned as well as regional states. It uses a complex method including critical discourse analysis, framing and theme creating to collect media reports, and deployed the theoretical framework of media diplomacy to analyse the media tactics of the three claimant states, China, the Philippines and Vietnam, at the time of these three crises. According to Gilboa (2001), media diplomacy occurs when a government sends its diplomatic messages to its target audiences through speeches, press conferences, interviews, visits, media events, or even leaks. To succeed, the government needs to have the ability to predict how its message will be consumed by different stakeholders and how its target audiences are likely to respond. It was hypothesised that the governments in China, Vietnam and the Philippines utilised media diplomacy to affect public opinion, domestically and internationally, during the SCS crises. The research had two major objectives: examining how the states deployed media diplomacy in the crises and understanding how the SCS disputes have been complicated by the media battle between the states.
At the escalation stage, all three states projected principles and preconditions via the media. To manage the crises, the states then used the media to explain their policies and actions, to criticise the rivals’ ones and to balance or counter the rivals’ propaganda. The study showed that the media can impact on the moods of both government and the public, positively influencing the states’ foreign policy decision-making processes of de- escalation (Mowlana, 1997). In particular, the media provided a channel to break
 
deadlocks between the states. Before and during bilateral meetings to resolve the tensions, the media were used to try to create a good atmosphere and support communication between the states until a consensus was gained to end the crises.
Less positively, since the SCS has a symbolic value for the peoples in the claimant states, during the crises, the governments utilised media diplomacy to recount the sovereignty claims and to turn the territorial controversy into violent protests. Consequently, the tactics led to a deterioration in bilateral relations, not only at the government-to-government level but also at the people-to-people one. This evidence clearly shows how the media narratives impacted on the SCS issue.
In the end, the research found that the states could not resolve the SCS disputes by relying only on media diplomacy. However, it is argued, the disputants needed the media to manage and resolve the SCS issue over the long-term. In this respect, deploying media diplomacy as a peace process is a collaborative effort that requires efforts from all the claimant states, third-party stakeholders and all audiences.

year: 2021

title: Māori students and issues of hybrid identity: The response of one inner-city state school

authors: Johnson, Diane

subjects: New Zealand

abstract: As a result of a more liberal national migration policy than was the case in the past, school communities in Aotearoa /New Zealand are increasingly multi-cultural, with both students and teachers coming from a wide range of linguistic and cultural backgrounds. In these global village environments, managers and governors strive (with varying degrees of success) to acknowledge, value and accommodate the heritage of new-migrant groups and to address the particular educational needs, interests and aspirations of the individuals within them. While it is extremely important to be inclusive of those students who are newly-arrived in the country, another imperative is, of course to protect and enhance, within an increasingly global educational perspective, the special status of indigenous Māori students, particularly those in mainstream education, as they explore and shape the hybrid identity (part indigenous / part global citizen) that will undoubtedly characterize their lives in the 21st century. The purpose of this paper is to discuss some identity-building strategies which one central-city, state, single-sex secondary school has initiated to support its indigenous students. While the strategies discussed must be considered as part of an ongoing, evolutionary process, indications are that the approach adopted is having a significant impact on the personal, social and academic development of Māori students.

text: Māori students and issues of hybrid identity: The response of one inner-city state school As a result of a more liberal national migration policy than was the case in the past, school communities in Aotearoa /New Zealand are increasingly multi-cultural, with both students and teachers coming from a wide range of linguistic and cultural backgrounds. In these global village environments, managers and governors strive (with varying degrees of success) to acknowledge, value and accommodate the heritage of new-migrant groups and to address the particular educational needs, interests and aspirations of the individuals within them. While it is extremely important to be inclusive of those students who are newly-arrived in the country, another imperative is, of course to protect and enhance, within an increasingly global educational perspective, the special status of indigenous Māori students, particularly those in mainstream education, as they explore and shape the hybrid identity (part indigenous / part global citizen) that will undoubtedly characterize their lives in the 21st century. The purpose of this paper is to discuss some identity-building strategies which one central-city, state, single-sex secondary school has initiated to support its indigenous students. While the strategies discussed must be considered as part of an ongoing, evolutionary process, indications are that the approach adopted is having a significant impact on the personal, social and academic development of Māori students.

year: 2008