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Situating Local Literacies at the Core of ELT Curriculum in Higher Education

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  • Author(s): Nieto-Gómez, Yuly Andrea (ORCID Nieto-Gómez, Yuly Andrea (ORCID 0000-0002-3758-9213); Clavijo-Olarte, Amparo (ORCID Clavijo-Olarte, Amparo (ORCID 0000-0002-3752-7020)
  • Language:
    English
  • Source:
    GIST Education and Learning Research Journal. Jul-Dec 2021 (21):27-46.
  • Publication Date:
    2021
  • Document Type:
    Journal Articles
    Reports - Research
  • Additional Information
    • Availability:
      Institucion Universitaria Columbo Americana UNCA. Calle 19 # 2A - 49 Third Floor, Bogata, Columbia. Tel: +571-281-1777 Ext 1291; e-mail: gist@unica.edu.co; Web site: https://latinjournal.org/index.php/gist/index
    • Peer Reviewed:
      Y
    • Source:
      20
    • Education Level:
      Higher Education
      Postsecondary Education
    • Subject Terms:
      Higher Education; English for Academic Purposes; Local Issues; Foreign Countries; Private Colleges; Sociocultural Patterns; Teaching Methods; Second Language Learning; Second Language Instruction; Curriculum Design; Curriculum Implementation; Personal Autonomy; Sanitation; Conservation (Environment); Access to Education; Physical Activities; Grounded Theory; Group Discussion; Student Attitudes; Relevance (Education); Language Usage
    • Subject Terms:
      Colombia
    • ISSN:
      1692-5777
    • Abstract:
      This qualitative interpretive study carried out with four EFL teachers in an English for Academic Purposes (EAP) course at a private university in Bogotá, Colombia addresses the disconnect that exists between curricular content and the life of students in education. From our understanding of literacy as a sociocultural practice, we proposed a pedagogical approach that immersed teachers and students in community explorations to study local issues informed by different disciplines. Therefore, this study describes the ways teachers designed and implemented curriculum using community assets (Kretzmann & McKnight, 2003) to develop student agency. The issues addressed by students in their inquiries included improving civic practices in the cycling route; fostering river preservation; environmental issues with garbage in Bogotá; and possibilities to access higher education for young populations in Colombia. Using a grounded theory approach, we collected and analyzed data from class discussions, curricular units, semi-structured interviews and class observation. Findings reveal that community explorations fostered students' agency towards studying social issues and promoted the construction of context-embedded opportunities for learning using students' realities and topics of local relevance (Canagarajah, 2005). The target language was used to reflect, pose problems, produce texts and participate in social reflections within an academic environment.
    • Abstract:
      As Provided
    • Publication Date:
      2021
    • Accession Number:
      EJ1285918