Moral and Ethical Considerations

The study of the English language in other countries tends to present the subject exclusively in relation to Western environments.  For instance, a unit on “places in the city” would begin the chapter with a map of Washington D.C., or a unit on personal information would only include types of addresses found in the U.S. or Canada.  I think that to truly present English as an international language we need to present it in relation to a variety of non-Western environments.    This not only adds interest for students, but it makes English more relevant to their daily lives.

        With this in mind I have incorporated elements of my student’s physical environment into the unit.  Rather than using the map of Washington D.C., for example, we use a map of Taiwan to talk about places we know and live in.  Rather than discuss mythical addresses that could only exist in the West, we talk about how to translate our own addresses into English.  By doing so I am reemphasizing the true function of English (or any other language), which is communication.