Abstract
Considering the history of the spread of English around the world, issues of linguistic imperialism and the cultural politics of language education have been discussed for a few decades now (Pennycook, 2017; Phillipson, 2009). Contemporary policies of promoting English by English-speaking countries beyond their borders have also been occasionally examined (Mirhosseini & Babu, 2020; Tupas & Tabiola, 2017). However, the actual implementation of these international policies seems to remain underexplored. Therefore, aiming to investigate one instance of the implementation of such policies of English language teaching, we explored the English Access Microscholarship Program (ACCESS) in the context of Morocco, where the program was designed “for students to gain an appreciation for American culture” (US Department of State’s Evaluation of the ACCESS Program, 2007, p. 2). This qualitative study was guided by two research questions: 1) What were the cultural elements imparted by the ACCESS program? and 2) What were the participants’ reactions to the program’s cultural contents in this context? To understand the experiences of Moroccan stakeholders involved with the program, we conducted interviews with three students, two teachers, and one administrator. Qualitative analysis of the interview data showed various aspects of the American culture embedded in these programs as well as a range of these participants’ perceptions and responses to the possible sociocultural influences of ACCESS. On this basis, we discuss cultural awareness that may be needed for audiences of such programs and for larger groups of English language policy makers, teachers, and learners worldwide.
Speaker
Prof. Seyyed-Abdolhamid Mirhosseini
Prof. Adil Bentahar
About the Speaker
Seyyed-Abdolhamid Mirhosseini is an Associate Professor at The University of Hong Kong. His research areas include the sociopolitics of language education, qualitative research methodology, and critical studies of discourse in society. His writing has appeared in journals including Applied Linguistics; Critical Inquiry in Language Studies; Language, Identity and Education; Language Teaching, and TESOL Quarterly. His books include Worldwide English Language Education Today: Ideologies, Policies and Practices (Routledge, 2020); Doing Qualitative Research in Language Education (Palgrave Macmillan, 2020); and a forthcoming volume on Critical English Medium Instruction in Higher Education (Cambridge University Press).
Adil Bentahar is an Associate Professor at the University of Delaware’s English Language Institute, with a joint appointment with the School of Education. He usually teaches second language reading and English composition as well as teacher education (special) programs benefiting domestic and international teachers. As a faculty member of the MA-TESL program, Dr. Bentahar works with and advises pre- and in-service teachers interested in supporting multilingual learners in K-12 settings and higher education. His research includes L2 reading, EFL teaching in Morocco, and international student experience. Currently, he is investigating the impact of TV viewing and Internet browsing on Moroccan EFL teachers’ reading habits.
Time
10-11 AM (HK Time)
Location
Zoom (Register through the link: https://hku.au1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_9SvwHd1FhO1E4oS)
Chair
Prof. Lianjiang Jiang
- ‘Curses in TESOL’: Postcolonial Desires for Colonial English
- “Enhancing Data-Driven Learning in Disciplinary L2 English Contexts: Introducing CorpusMate”
- “Neither Bilingual nor Education”: critiques of bilingual education in state school education and responses to them
- A Two-Tiered Investigation Into the Dual Goal in EMI Education: Assessment and Instructional Practices
- Appropriation of Resources by Bilingual Students for Self-regulated Learning of Science
- Auckland U – HKU Joint Webinar (28 November, 2024)
- Automated Content Feedback and Young English Learners’ Behaviours, Performances and Response
- Book Launch Seminar: Language Across the Curriculum & CLIL in English as an Additional Language (EAL) Contexts
- Crosslinguistic influence in foreign and second language learners
- Developing Language Educators’ Understanding of Assessment Reform Discourse and Practices: School-University Collaborative Action Research as Praxis
- Digital literacy pedagogy:
Key issues in the age of Gen-AI
- Digital Multimodal Composing for Specific Purposes: The Case of Sustainability Discourse
- EMI Symposium 2023: Fostering Collaboration
- Exploring Self-Regulated Use of Artificial Intelligence Tools in Language Learning
- Generative AI: Implications and Applications for Education
- Global Englishes-informed Teacher Education: Present Cases and Future Directions
- HKU-NIE Joint Webinar: Designing Learning and Assessment with Multimodality in CLIL Classrooms
- Hong Kong SAR Government’s ‘Biliteracy and Trilingualism’ Policy: Sizing Up and Meeting the Challenge
- Hong Kong Students’ Self-regulated English Writing for Academic Studies
- HUMANISING TECHNOLOGY in Language Learning & Teaching
- Language ideologies in text-based art of Xu Bing: Implications for language policy and planning
- Language Learning in 3D Virtual Worlds
- Learning about and using academic vocabulary: Critical issues for pedagogy (Feb 18, 2025)
- Motivational and Empowering Feedback in the Writing Classroom
- Multilingualism and its Ramifications
- Multilingualism and Mobility: The Semiotic Production of Centres and Peripheries in Airport Spaces
- Multilingualism and the Brain
- Narrative Skills in Mandarin- English Dual Language Immersion Learners
- Narratives of Cross-Cultural Understanding among South Asian Diasporic Students in Hong Kong
- Newcastle U-HKU Joint Webinar on Cultural Artifact Creation (14 November, 2024)
- Oklahoma U-HKU Joint Webinar (05 December, 2024)
- Optimising Classroom Learning: Speaking in and about Mathematics Classrooms
- People who come from state education are different”: How language use maintains social exclusion in Medical Education
- Policy vs Practice: Homework in Hong Kong EFL Classrooms
- Review of recent research on AI-powered technology in second language teaching, learning and testing (Feb 10, 2025)
- Revival and Threat: Language ideologies, policy, and nationalism in Kazakhstan and Mongolia
- Secondary school students’ source use in inquiry project-based learning (PjBL): Working towards avoiding plagiarism and engaging with sources
- Studies of Public Policy Process and Implications for Research on Education Policy
- The Challenges of Teaching Non-Chinese Speaking Children to Learn Chinese at Kindergarten Level
- The Contributions of Growth Rates in Phonological and Spatial Abilities to Chinese Reading and Mathematical Competencies: A Longitudinal Study of Hong Kong Kindergarteners
- The Digital Literacies Forum 2023
- The Effects of the Medium of Instruction in Physics on Achievement and Motivation to Learn
- The Historical and Linguistic Background of South and Southeast Asian Multi-ethnic Communities in Hong Kong
- The Influence of Extramural Access to Host Culture Social Media on Ethnic Minority Students’ Motivation for Language Learning
- Top desk rejection reasons and how to avoid it
- Translanguaging in Everyday Textual Performances: Implications for Literacy and Pedagogy
- Understanding Language Learning Motivation in Hong Kong
- University of Melbourne – University of Hong Kong Joint Symposium (19 November, 2024)
- Using Reading to Learn Pedagogy to Support Non-Chinese Speaking Students Learning Chinese in Hong Kong
- Videos in language classrooms: A social semiotic perspective
- What can we learn from the Hong Kong Archive of Language Learning Project?
- New technologies in literacy research:
“Measuring” embodiment through
galvanic skin response
- Publishing in top-tier applied
linguistic journals:
Perspectives of an editorreviewer-author
