Articles

In the box at the bottom of the page are four of the five articles I have published. They are available here for download as pdf. files. Alternatively, for on-screen reading click the drop-down menu next to the file name, select ‘Preview’, then wait a few moments. ‘Pre-Millenium Tension’, however, is not available online as yet.

These articles were published in the Kanda University Journal:

1. Pre-Millennium Tension in Shanghai: A Case of Intercultural Miscommunication. 2001

This paper looks at what can happen when people from different cultures come together in an encounter of different behaviors, expectations, perceptions, attitudes, beliefs, and values. It examines how a mixed culture organisation was drawn into cross?cultural conflict and how this problem might have been avoided.

2. A Case for Using ‘New Englishes’ Literature in the EFL/ESL Classroom. 2002

English and American literature continues to dominate the literature syllabuses for EFL/ESL students despite the rapidly growing body of quality non-native literary works from Asia, Africa, the West Indies, the Pacific, and beyond. This paper looks at some key reasons why this is unjust and increasingly unjustifiable. In doing so, this paper builds and argument for the necessary use of non-native literature in EFL/ESL classrooms.

3. Swim or Sink: a case study in teacher survival in the 21st Century. 2003

This article is about the problem English language teachers face in surviving in educational organizations involved in continuous and on-going change driven by globalisation. In the 21st Century world of work teachers must swim to keep up with new demands, or otherwise sink. This problem is analysed through the personal experiences of the writer, who suggests that to be effective in this constantly changing world teachers will need to develop unprecedented levels of adaptability.

These articles were published in the International Christian University Language Research Bulletin:

4. Extreme Makeover: Digital Immigrant Goes Native

This is the very simple story of a learner once lost now found. It begins with an examination of the social and technological trends that have been observed and are expected to continue to act on the learning space of the individual. It describes the effects on his knowledge (state) and ability to know (process) and how his understanding of his situation is informed by the new science of networks and by connectivism, an emerging learning theory for the digital age. His story begins to resolve as he starts to appreciate the crucial importance of sensing patterns and making connections in order to learn in today’s climate. He begins to learn anew with the aid of a diverse range of educational technologies, and in his new personal learning environment he is able to explore his interests and directions on his own and at other times connect with friends and others in distributed learning networks. In the way of the popular media, this may be the story of the extreme makeover of a digital immigrant gone native.

5. The Open Learning Network: A New, Teacher-sourced Work Paradigm

Collaboration on program development needs time, which is an already scarce resource in most ELP situations, and inefficient collaboration only makes matters worse. In such places, teachers who are too busy to work together can end up disconnected from each other, and when this happens the critical work of collaborating on program development can only be compromised. However, there are ways that organizations can use new social technologies to connect everyone in open networks in order to promote access to – and effective use of – knowledge and information as tools of equitable and sustainable program development. This paper will explain how the English Language Program (ELP) at ICU in Tokyo is using free online social software services to facilitate increased sharing of curriculum materials and ideas, efficient collaboration on various documents, and automated archiving of program resources. This paper can benefit ELP teachers and educators in general who share an interest in the affordances of social software to realize the power of networks to serve as mutual learning and program development mechanisms.