Educationist Khaniya in plagiarism row
RUDRA PANGENIKATHMANDU: A renowned educationist‚ Tirth Raj Khaniya‚ has made it to the top of his field and enjoyed political patronage. What people outside the education sector don't know is the case of plagiarism‚ which caused embarrassment to the Nepal English Language Teachers' Association and the editorial team of its journal‚ NELTA‚ in 2010.
Khaniya lifted part of an article‚ including its conclusion‚ from a work of Ferit Kilickaya‚ an English Teacher at the Middle East Technical University‚ Ankara‚ and published it as his article -- Use of authentic materials in EFL classrooms -- in 2006 without giving due credit to Kilickaya. Kilickaya's article -- Authentic Materials and Cultural Content in EFL Classrooms -- was published in 2004.
Kilickaya discovered this in 2010‚ when Tribhuvan University’s online portal publishing journals posted NELTA’s journals‚ and complained to the NELTA in an email. "NELTA forwarded the mail to Khaniya seeking clarifications‚" sources quoted NELTA officials as saying. Asked about the article‚ however‚ chief editor of the journal‚ Jai Raj Awasthi‚ said he has no idea. “My editorial team is only responsible for the articles published in the NELTA journal after 2009 as we started peer review of the articles by two scholars thereafter.”He said authors themselves are accountable for the articles published before 2009.
NELTA‚ which started publishing the journal in 1996‚ not only removed the article from the online portal‚ but also withdrew the hard copies from its library and storage. NELTA officials told this daily on condition of anonymity that the edition was missing and said they were unaware of it. A copy of the journal obtained by THT from a personal collection‚ however‚ reveals whole paragraphs copied and pasted from Kilickaya's article without any change other than formatting.
Khaniya's article was published in the journal (Volume 11‚ Number 1-2) of Nepal English Language Teachers' Association (NELTA) in 2006.
Several academicians associated with the Tribhuvan University and other universities said they had no knowledge of the episode‚ while some spoke about it‚ only on condition of anonymity.
Khaniya is currently professor at the TU's Central Department of Education‚ Kirtipur. He was head of the department from 2004 to 2006.
Talking to this daily over the phone‚ Khaniya said he had forgotten to give reference to Kilickaya’s article. “I have included the ‘reference’ in the second edition of the book ‘Examination for Enhanced Learning’‚ which is coming within a week‚” added Khaniya. He was director of Basic and Primary Education Project under the Ministry of Education from 1992 to 1995 and was first vice-chairman of the Higher Secondary Education Board from 1995 to 2000. He was appointed member of the National Planning Commission for 2009-2011.
Besides‚ he was founding-president of the NELTA and founder-member of the Linguistics Society of Nepal. He has authored several series of school's reference materials of English Language Teaching and Learning.
Khaniya achieved master's degree from the TU in English Education and PhD in applied linguistics from the University of Edinburgh‚ UK.
He did post-doctoral research in Education under the Fulbright Programme at the George Washington University‚ Washington‚ DC.
published in the Himalayan Times on February 17, 2013
link
http://www.thehimalayantimes.com/fullNews.php?headline=Educationist+Khaniya+in+plagiarism+row&NewsID=366209
Khaniya's article is in NELTA's journal 2006
and he copied majority of the articles
all the green part was copied
Authentic Materials and Cultural
Content in EFL Classrooms
Ferit
Kilickaya
kilickay [at] metu.edu.tr
http://www.metu.edu.tr/~
Middle East Technical University (Ankara, Turkey)
kilickay [at] metu.edu.tr
http://www.metu.edu.tr/~
Middle East Technical University (Ankara, Turkey)
This paper aims to answer the questions of when and how
authentic materials should be used in EFL classrooms, and how cultural content
may be included in the curriculum. To address these questions, the paper is
organized in two parts. In the first part, the definition of authentic
materials is given. Then advantages and disadvantages of the use of authentic
materials are discussed. In the second part, the definition of culture is given
and then, why and how cultural content should be used is discussed.
Introduction
The use of authentic materials in an
EFL classroom is what many teachers involved in foreign language teaching have
discussed in recent years. We have heard persuasive voices insisting that the
English presented in the classroom should be authentic, not produced for
instructional purposes. Generally, what this means is materials which involve
language naturally occurring as communication in native-speaker contexts of
use, or rather those selected contexts where standard English is the norm: real
newspaper reports, for example, real magazine articles, real advertisements,
cooking recipes, horoscopes, etc. Most of the teachers throughout the world
agree that authentic texts or materials are beneficial to the language learning
process, but what is less agreed is when authentic materials should be
introduced and how they should be used in an EFL classroom.
Authentic
Materials: Definition
The definitions of
authentic materials are slightly different in literature. What is common in
these definitions is 'exposure to real language and its use in its own
community'. Rogers (1988) defines it as 'appropriate' and 'quality' in terms of
goals, objectives, learner needs and interest and 'natural' in terms of real
life and meaningful communication (p.
467). Harmer (1991), cited in Matsuta (n.d.,
para. 1) defines authentic texts as materials which
are designed for native speakers; they are real text; designed not for language
students, but for the speakers of the language. Jordan (1997, p. 113) refers to authentic texts as texts that are not written
for language teaching purposes. Authentic materials is significant since it
increases students' motivation for learning, makes the learner be exposed to
the 'real' language as discussed by Guariento & Morley (2001, p. 347).
The main advantages of using authentic materials
are (Philips and Shettlesworth 1978; Clarke 1989; Peacock 1997, cited in
Richards, 2001):
- They have a positive effect on learner motivation.
- They provide authentic cultural information.
- They provide exposure to real language.
- They relate more closely to learners ' needs.
- They support a more creative approach to teaching.
We can claim that learners are being exposed to real language and they feel
that they are learning the 'real' language. These are what make us excited and willing to use authentic materials in
our classrooms, but while using them, it is inevitable that we face some
problems.
Disadvantages
of Using Authentic Materials
Richards (2001, p. 253) points out that alongside with these advantages, authentic materials often contain difficult language,
unneeded vocabulary items and complex language structures, which causes a burden for
the teacher in lower-level classes. Martinez (2002) mentions that authentic materials may be too culturally biased and too
many structures are mixed, causing lower
levels have a hard time decoding the texts.
There comes the question of when authentic
materials should be introduced and used in a classroom; in other words, can we use authentic materials regardless of our
students' level?
Using Authentic Materials: At Which Level?
Guariento & Morley
(2001) claim that at post-intermediate level, the use of authentic materials is
available for use in classroom. This
might be attributed to the fact that at this level,
most students master a wide range of vocabulary in the target language and all
of the structures. They also note that at
lower levels, the use of authentic materials may cause students to feel
de-motivated and frustrated since they lack many lexical items and structures
used in the target language. Matsuata (n.d.) states
that the use of authentic materials is a burden for the instructors teaching
beginning students as they have to spend a lot of time to prepare for authentic
materials regarding the ability level of the students.
Do all these mean we are not able to use authentic materials in lower-level classes apart from post-intermediate and advanced levels? According to the findings of the survey carried out by Chavez (1998), learners enjoy dealing with authentic materials since they enable them to interact with the real language and its use. Also they do not consider authentic situations or materials innately difficult. However, learners state that they need pedagogical support especially in listening situations and when reading literary texts such as the provision of a full range of cues (auditory and visual including written language).
Do all these mean we are not able to use authentic materials in lower-level classes apart from post-intermediate and advanced levels? According to the findings of the survey carried out by Chavez (1998), learners enjoy dealing with authentic materials since they enable them to interact with the real language and its use. Also they do not consider authentic situations or materials innately difficult. However, learners state that they need pedagogical support especially in listening situations and when reading literary texts such as the provision of a full range of cues (auditory and visual including written language).
What
Can be Done to Overcome Difficulties We Face?
We may conclude that learners feel better with authentic materials helping them involve
in the 'real' language as long as we, as teachers, provide them with
pedagogical support. In order to achieve
this, we have a wide range of choices.
Martinez (2002) suggests that teachers may use authentic materials for the learners to listen for the gist of the information presented and also he adds that by using authentic materials teachers will have the opportunity to encourage students to read for pleasure especially certain topics of their interest. Matsuta (n.d.) claims that using audio-visual materials aiding students' comprehension is beneficial since it will prevent students especially beginning ones from being frustrated about authentic materials. Materials such as popular and traditional songs will help us to create a non-threatening environment.
Guariento & Moley (2001) suggest that authentic materials should be used in accordance with students' ability and adds that suitable tasks can be given to learners in which total understanding is not important. According to Jordan (1997), in the earlier stages, non-authentic materials can be used, but stresses that upon students' dealing with materials from their own subject area, authentic materials should be introduced.
Martinez (2002) suggests that teachers may use authentic materials for the learners to listen for the gist of the information presented and also he adds that by using authentic materials teachers will have the opportunity to encourage students to read for pleasure especially certain topics of their interest. Matsuta (n.d.) claims that using audio-visual materials aiding students' comprehension is beneficial since it will prevent students especially beginning ones from being frustrated about authentic materials. Materials such as popular and traditional songs will help us to create a non-threatening environment.
Guariento & Moley (2001) suggest that authentic materials should be used in accordance with students' ability and adds that suitable tasks can be given to learners in which total understanding is not important. According to Jordan (1997), in the earlier stages, non-authentic materials can be used, but stresses that upon students' dealing with materials from their own subject area, authentic materials should be introduced.
Cultural Content
Westerhuis (as cited in Cheung,
2001, p.56) defines 'culture'
as the customs, values, laws, technology, artifacts and art of a particular
time or people. Culture in English language
teaching materials has been subject to discussion for many years. The reason
for the use of cultural content in classroom is for the supposition that it
will foster learner motivation (McKay, 2000, p.7).
Changes in linguistic and learning theory suggest that culture can be used as an important element in language classrooms, but many students say that they do not want to learn about the culture of the target language. This might be because of the fear of assimilation into what they perceived as something strange to them. Also, misrepresenting cultures by reinforcing popular stereotypes and constructing these cultures as monolithic, static 'Others', rather than as dynamic, fluid entities might result in failure in making cultural content an effective element in language learning and teaching (Guest, 2002).
I believe that cultural content is a key to effective teaching and learning a language provided that problems arising from introducing culture into EFL classroom are dealt with effectively and teaching strategies and learning materials are chosen appropriately.
Changes in linguistic and learning theory suggest that culture can be used as an important element in language classrooms, but many students say that they do not want to learn about the culture of the target language. This might be because of the fear of assimilation into what they perceived as something strange to them. Also, misrepresenting cultures by reinforcing popular stereotypes and constructing these cultures as monolithic, static 'Others', rather than as dynamic, fluid entities might result in failure in making cultural content an effective element in language learning and teaching (Guest, 2002).
I believe that cultural content is a key to effective teaching and learning a language provided that problems arising from introducing culture into EFL classroom are dealt with effectively and teaching strategies and learning materials are chosen appropriately.
Why
Should We Use Cultural Content?
As all we know,
knowing a language goes beyond the knowledge of grammatical rules, vocabulary
items and pronunciation of these items. Successful language learning requires
language users to know that culture underlying language in order to get the meaning
across. Also, Tseng (2002) suggests that culture effects changes in individual
perception and is vital for expanding an individual's perspective of the world.
According to Stuart and Nocon (1996),
Learning about the lived culture of actual
target language speakers as well as about one's own culture requires tools that
assist language learners in negotiating meaning and understanding the
communicative and cultural texts in which linguistic codes are used" (p. 432).
Also, Shanahan (1997, p. 168) states that cultural
content provides exposure to living language that a foreign language student
lacks. So, culture is not something consisting of facts to be learnt, but a
helpful tool to make learners feel the need to speak and use the target
language.
How Can We Deal with Problems?
Today, English
teachers have a lot of choices in terms of textbooks, and it is surprising that many
of them rely on uninteresting textbooks that focus students' attention on
grammatical structures, and on practice in isolation. Also, the activities
chosen are based on teacher-talk and student-listen routines as suggested
by Cheung (2001). These practices are unlikely to
lead students to develop a genuine interest in learning English. Students
lacking motivation to learn a language need variety and excitement. We should
help them to notice that learning a language is not just learning its
grammatical rules, vocabulary items and so on.
The reason for the use of cultural content in classroom is that it will foster learner motivation (McKay, 2000, p. 7). She, like many other experts, believes that there should be a variety of culture in the materials and not only an overload of western culture in ELT classrooms. Besides, learning about a culture does not mean accepting that culture. If the role of the culture in the materials is just to create learner interest towards contents and thus towards language, that is highly desirable. But overuse of cultural material in the language classrooms will constitute problems not for students but also for the teachers and decrease the motivation.
McKay identifies three types of cultural materials: target culture materials, learners' own culture materials and international target culture materials. For her, the best one is international target language materials, which supposedly covers a variety of knowledge from different cultures all over the world using the target language (McKay, pp. 9-10). That will most probably increase the learners' interest rather than imposing only one culture all the time and prevent learners from having the fear of assimilation into a specific culture, and help them respect other people's cultures. Students' own culture should be discussed together with target culture. In other words, home and target culture should be integrated. Robinson (as cited in Stuart and Nocon, 1996, p. 435) refers to this integration as 'Color Purple'. According to Stuart and Nocon, this synthesis is created when one becomes aware of one's own cultural lens (e.g. blue) through the recognition that a person from another culture has a different lens (e.g. red). Neither person can escape his or her own cultural lens, but each can choose to overlap lenses (e.g. purple) in order to understand better the other's perspectives and arrive at shared meaning. While using cultural content in classrooms, teachers should keep in mind that English is an international language, and culture is an aid to motivate our students rather than something to be taught.
The reason for the use of cultural content in classroom is that it will foster learner motivation (McKay, 2000, p. 7). She, like many other experts, believes that there should be a variety of culture in the materials and not only an overload of western culture in ELT classrooms. Besides, learning about a culture does not mean accepting that culture. If the role of the culture in the materials is just to create learner interest towards contents and thus towards language, that is highly desirable. But overuse of cultural material in the language classrooms will constitute problems not for students but also for the teachers and decrease the motivation.
McKay identifies three types of cultural materials: target culture materials, learners' own culture materials and international target culture materials. For her, the best one is international target language materials, which supposedly covers a variety of knowledge from different cultures all over the world using the target language (McKay, pp. 9-10). That will most probably increase the learners' interest rather than imposing only one culture all the time and prevent learners from having the fear of assimilation into a specific culture, and help them respect other people's cultures. Students' own culture should be discussed together with target culture. In other words, home and target culture should be integrated. Robinson (as cited in Stuart and Nocon, 1996, p. 435) refers to this integration as 'Color Purple'. According to Stuart and Nocon, this synthesis is created when one becomes aware of one's own cultural lens (e.g. blue) through the recognition that a person from another culture has a different lens (e.g. red). Neither person can escape his or her own cultural lens, but each can choose to overlap lenses (e.g. purple) in order to understand better the other's perspectives and arrive at shared meaning. While using cultural content in classrooms, teachers should keep in mind that English is an international language, and culture is an aid to motivate our students rather than something to be taught.
How
Can We Introduce Cultural Content in Our Classrooms?
There are a lot of activities we can
use in our classrooms in order to create interest towards the target language
by using cultural content. The key point is that we should create a relaxing
environment where our students can discuss their own culture together with the
target culture in meaningful and communicative tasks and activities. This will
ensure that students are doing something with a purpose in their mind.
Sources and
Techniques for Cultural Content
Today, with the help of technological
developments, we have access to many sources easily and quickly. Almost all the
printed materials are on the Internet in electronic forms and we can easily
search anything anytime. As a result, we do
not lack cultural content to use in our classrooms. Cullen and Sato (2000) suggest practical techniques and a
wide range of sources for teaching culture in the EFL classroom using
three different parameters, namely, information sources, activity-types and
selling-points and also Kodotchigova (2002) discusses the role of role-play in
teaching culture for classroom suggesting quick steps for classroom
implementation. Jordan (1997, p. 105) lists
sources of cultural information:
- Newspapers: these are a good source of cultural information: local papers will give more of a flavour of everyday life in towns.
- Video: a number of published ELT video tapes are a good visual source of cultural information. (Today, we have CD/DVD versions of these video tapes, which provide us with better quality.)
- Talks/discussions: some topics may be suitable for giving information to students in a plenary session.
- Role play/dramatizations: these can be used to initiate discussion and introspection.
- Culture quizzes/tests.
Conclusion
Authentic materials enable learners
to interact with the real language and content rather than the form. Learners
feel that they are learning a target language as it is used outside the
classroom. Considering this, it may not be wrong to say that at any level
authentic materials should be used to complete the gap between the competency
and performance of the language learners, which is a common problem among the
nonnative speakers. This requires the language patterns being put into practice
in real life situations. Since learning about a culture is not accepting it and
the role of the culture in the materials is just to create learner interest
towards the target language, there should be a variety of culture in the
materials, not a specific one.
And the article here contains some more subtopics. I think they can be found at :
My computer did not open it. Could you open it and send me the word version
