From authenticity The current re-examination of the concept of authenticity in ELT has to
to be viewed in the larger context of two conflicting trends in international
appropriateness affairs: on the one hand, the globalization of world economies and the
blurring of national and linguistic boundaries due to the explosion of
information technologies and large-scale migrations; and on the other
hand, the emergence of regional thinking and the revival of ethnic and
Case study: ELT in English language learners in Vietnam often refer to their language
Vietnam1 abilities based on books in the much-used Oxford University Press
Streamline English and Headway series. The statement, 'I've finished the
intermediate level of Headway' puts one in a category that people
recognize; it gives a reference point for judging the English language
level of the speaker. What students learn, however, relates more to the
local situation than to the text itself.
To analyse the learning that goes on in the classroom it is helpful to
think of the classroom as a culture (Breen 1985b). Holliday (1994) has
Appropriate pedagogy 201
recently expanded this concept by characterizing the culture of the
classroom as an interrelated and complex mix of student culture, host
institution culture, international education-related culture, professional-
academic culture, and national culture. In Vietnam, for example, the
host institution assigns students to class groups that stay together
throughout their university careers. The whole class, therefore, is one
'group' composed of students who come to know each other very well.
The international education-related culture affects classroom practices
through educators from Australia or the UK who train teachers in
'communicative methodology'. The professional-academic culture pre-
scribes highly differentiated roles for teachers and students in ways that
reflect traditional Confucian precepts. And the national culture
Classroom-as- Second language acquisition research has supported the notion of the
family use of groups for learning (Long 1989, Long and Porter 1985). In fact,
the preference for a small group format as compared to a whole-class
format in language learning classrooms is rarely questioned. According
to Holliday (1994: 54)
The overall impact on English language education has been the
establishment of a notion of the optimum interactional parameters
within which classroom language learning can take place. For the sake
of discussion, I shall call this notion the learning group ideal. This
learning group ideal sets the conditions for a process-oriented, task-
based, inductive, collaborative, communicative English language
teaching methodology.
Each of these terms describing communicative teaching methodology
must be viewed within the context of a Western educational culture that
is traditionally described as individualistic and competitive, and within
which teaching methodologies such as the grammar-translation and
audiolingual methods were product-oriented, methods-based, deductive,
202 Claire Kramsch and Patricia Sullivan
and formal. The rationale for pair and group work in ELT is based on a
reaction against these methods, which were viewed as alienating and
alienated from real-life communication. However, as Holliday (ibid.)
points out, this preference for small groups does not take into
consideration broader social factors. Group work may be perceived
quite differently in classroom cultures with a different educational
tradition.
In Vietnam, students are placed into classes of approximately twenty or
thirty when they enter the university. Members of these classes often
live, study, and play together. The associations students form are more
akin to Western notions of 'family' than 'classmate'. In many cases
Excerpt 2
1 T: OK. So, what about the cause. What about the other causes?
2 SI: You fall down
3 S2: Fall down
Excerpt 3
1 T: OK. All right. What else?
2 SI: Or you STICK on your finger when you are... sewing.
3 T: Uh huh? Yes =
4 S2: = Yeah when [sewing.]
5 T: [and sewing] [( )]
6 Ss:
7 SI: [needle]
8 S2: [a needle]
9 S3: [very sharp]
10 T: Very sharp? Right? So what about the treatment for that?
(2.0)
These examples represent the notion of classroom-as-family. The
Appropriate pedagogy 205
narratives that students construct in class reflect their status as close-knit
members of a group. Verbal support comprises one aspect of the
formation of relationships that are the basis of lifetime commitments and
obligations. Another aspect of classroom relationships is the respect due
to the teacher, who is expected not only to be an expert knower of the
language but also to uphold the moral values of the community.
Teacher-as- In Vietnam, a country where people are deeply aware of their Confucian
mentor heritage, the tradition is that a teacher is honoured and respected, even
more so than one's parents. The teacher guides the students not only in
academic matters, but also in moral behaviour (Jamieson 1993, Nguyen
Khac Vien 1989). A well-known saying is 'First learn how to behave,
Excerpt 4
1 T: OK. OK. When decisions have to be made do you think first
of yourself?
2 SI: No =
3 S2: = Yes, sure.
4 S3: [Yes, sure.]
5 S4: [Sure]
6 S2: [Yes.]
7 S3: Sometimes.
8 Ss: Yes
9 T: It all depends.
10 S: Sometimes. =
11 T: = Sometimes
12 S3: I always think of myself first.
13 T: OK?
14 SI: So you're selfish.
15 S2: Yes, OK. =
16 T: = self
17 T/S2: ((overlapping speech, indecipherable))
18 T: OK.
19 S2: It's OK. I think for myself first.
20 T: OK.
21 S5: Nothing to complain (about)
22 T: Um no, no.
23 S5: No?
24 T: But of course it must be in accordance with the others. OK?
25 Ss: Yeah. Yes.