Intl. version magic carpet to Arabia (and back!)

Or these?

Or these?Or these?

Or these?

Or these?

Do you have any students like these?1

2

How About These?

Saudi ELLs: Optimizing Your

Classroom Experience

Carol Costello

University of Texas at San Antonio

Instructor Dept. of ESL Services

carol.costello@utsa.edu

TESOL Workshop March 18, 2011

www.saudistudentteam.com

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Workshop Structure

4

Background

In the Classroom

The BIG Picture

Classical Islamic Studies + Focus GroupsBrandeis University Waltham, MA5

Maryam, age 25

“My grandfather never saw an airplane.”6

Ahmed, age 28

“You have such a nice little house. But where are the

servants?”

7

HRH Abdullah

bin Abdul Aziz

King of Saudi

Arabia

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Ethnography of Communication

The study of communication in varying

intercultural and intracultural contexts.

(Saville-Troike, Dunn)

Knowing something about your students’

culture can increase teaching effectiveness

(Tawake)9

Important Differences

Language

History / Conflicts

Religion

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Student Attitudes

12

Let’s All Be Saudis!

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What’s wrong with this picture?

Mr. James Kelim, Director of ESL

Services, at Awards Presentation

11/2010

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What’s wrong with this picture?

A. The woman is allowing herself to be photographed.

B. She should be wearing an abaya.

C. Men and women should not be photographed together.

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What’s wrong with these pictures?

Saudi Women

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What’s Wrong with these Pictures?

A. If there are any men around, these women are acting immodestly.

B. The Religious Police can arrest the women.

C. A picture like this in the wrong hands can ruin the women’s reputation.

Keep in Mind: Acceptable Contact

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What Happens When Saudis Come

Here?

Communicative Methodology:

What works best in the classroom?

19

20

A Visit to My Classroom:

Early in the semester

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Communicative Methodology?

22

Mid-Semester

23

Communicative Methodology Tips

24

Arab Etiquette: People then Work

25

A Little Arabic Helps

Marhabba = Hello

Inshallah = God willing

Al hamdu lillah = Praise be to God!

Shukran = Thank you!

Mabruk! = Congratulations!

Mumtaz = That’s excellent!

Ma ‘a lesh = Too bad! Sorry about that

Ma ‘a salaamah = Good bye

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Ask students to “do it for you”

T.E. Lawrence

“Laurence of Arabia”

“Arabs believe

in persons,

not in

institutions.”

27

Build a Safe Environment for Women

28Validate the Differences

Students Want to Learn the Culture

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30

Use Cards to Your Advantage

Kismet = Fate

31

Go Slowly at First

1st weeks

◦ Everyone chooses

own partner

3rd week

◦ Use cards to mix

women separately

from men

4th-5th weeks

◦ Use cards to mix all

of the class

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Veiled Women

Bring Veiled Women to Life!

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Male Teachers—A New Experience34

Respect for Teachers

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What’s the BIG Picture?

References

37

Baki, R. (2004) Gender-segregated education in Saudi Arabia: Its impact on social norms and

the Saudi labor market. In Education Policy Analysis Archives 12 (28). Retrieved

6.6.2010 from http://epaa.asu.edu/epaa/v12n28/.

Cordesman, A. H. (2003) Saudi Arabia enters the twenty-first century. Westport, CT: Praeger.

Doumato, E. A. (1999) Women and work in Saudi Arabia: How flexible are Islamic margins?

In Middle East Journal 53 (4) 568-583.

Doumato, E. A. (2003) Manning the barricades: Islam according to Saudi Arabia’s school texts.

In Middle East Journal 57 (2) 230-247.

Duff, P. A. (2002). The discursive co-construction of knowledge, identity, and difference: An

ethnography of communication in the high school mainstream. In Applied Linguistics

23 (2): 289-322.

Lacey, R. (2009). Inside the kingdom. New York, NY: Viking.

Nydell, M. K. ( 2006). Understanding Arabs: A guide for modern times. Yarmouth ME: Intercultural

Press.

Saville-Troike, M. (2003) The Ethnography of Communication. Maulden, MA: Blackwell.

Seale, P. (2010) Saudi Arabia’s royal revolution. In The Washington Report on Middle East Affairs 29

(4): 30-31.

Tawake, S. K. (1991) Multi-ethnic literature in the classroom: whose standards? In World Englishes

10 (2), 335-340.

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Credit and Thanks to:

Dr. Peter Sayer of the BBL Department

Mr. James Kelim, Director of ESL Svcs. /UTSA

Faculty members of ESL Department

The many Saudi students who have spent hours in focus groups with me

The wonderful students whom I have had the honor of teaching!

Dr. Jose Vazquez for his Zen slide ideas

My husband Bill for his patience and understanding

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