The second BIPHEC meeting was held in Bogotá, Colombia from 29 to 31 May, 2019 at the University of the Andes. BIPHEC co-investigators presented the development of their case studies focusing on the arts and humanities and critical pedagogies: e.g., music (Istanbul University); creative writing (Islamic University of Gaza); drama and theatre games (University of the Andes); photography (Sakarya and Anadolou Universities); and life narratives of education (Durham University). Co-I Dr Peña Dix presented the Bogotá case study, “Empowering scholarship pre-service language teachers as multilingual mediators through critical intercultural pedagogy in Bogotá” which aims to support preservice English language teachers from low-income families in creating their own intercultural pedagogies based on their life experiences. With the help of Professor Livia Esther Jiménez from the Teatro Libre of Bogotá, the students learned how—through English—drama techniques, role plays, and theatre games can be used to develop intercultural communicative competence (ICC) and foster intercultural dialogue and mediation. The research group on Bilingualism and Bilingual Education from the University of the Andes, shared their projects on themes of critical intercultural pedagogies which they are developing in Colombian higher education contexts. Dr Jose Molina described how a small group of English language learners was prompted to use various higher-level thinking skills in order to answer questions related to ethical and moral issues. The goal was to help the students to improve their oral skills, specifically in terms of giving opinions and expressing agreement and disagreement, as they reflected on their own attitudes and developed a sense of social awareness, responsibility, and engagement. Dr Edgar Garzón demonstrated how his research on scientific citizenship, conducted in the public sector with students and teachers, has been used to foster content and language learning. Dr Camila Hernandez described Kyle as a short story resulting from creative writing based on her ethnographic studies carried out in San Andres Island where creole, English and Spanish are spoken. Mg. Félix Gonzalez presented action research conducted in an advanced Spanish course regarding historical analysis of the Colombian armed conflict, along with focused reflections on national/personal identities and formation of stereotypes. He highlighted the need for an explicit instruction in critical intercultural communication; and the importance of ethnography in reflecting on individual impressions and changing stereotypes towards Colombia in change. Mg. Mariana Escobar discussed her practical work involving workshops and artistic/cultural activities to promote dialogue, inclusion, empathy, gender equality, peaceful conflict resolution, etc. among children who were previously part of illegal armed groups in Colombia and who now live in an organization in Bogotá. In another workshop on the final morning, Prof. Prue Holmes gave a presentation on researching multilingually, which is an area of investigation in the project. Key concepts and examples were explained to illustrate how co-investigators might apply a researching multilingually approach in their own case study research.
Participants
Professor Prue Holmes –Durham University [Principal Investigator]
Professor John Blair Corbett – University of Sao Paulo [Co-Investigator]
Dr Ayşe Zişan Furat – Istanbul University [Co-Investigator]
Dr Beatriz Peña Dix – University of the Andes – Colombia [Co-Investigator]
Dr Filiz Goktuna-Yaylacı – Anadolu University [Advisor] (online)
Dr Marta Moskal –Durham University [Co-Investigator] (online)
Dr Nazmi Al-Masri – Islamic University of Gaza [Co-Investigator] (online)
A further Bogotá-based meeting took place on 6th and 7th September as a follow-up to the Colombian case study. Co-I Professor John Corbett visited Bogotá to coach the third and last workshop of “Empowering scholarship pre-service language teachers as multilingual mediators through critical intercultural pedagogy in Bogotá”. In the workshop student participants discussed intercultural competence and English Language Teaching (ELT), and the critical and reflective stances associated with the intercultural dimension in ELT; and drama as a strategy to foster intercultural mediation and dialogue. Students finished the “Toolbox” of activities that will be shared in “the Mirror Project”, the final activity of the Bogotá case study.
Professor Corbett also gave a public lecture entitled: Mastering English? Internationalization, Academic Cultures and the rise of English as a Medium of Instruction. The lecture invited reflection on the international rise of English as a Medium of Instruction in higher education (opportunities, threats, and challenges), and its impact on academic cultures.
See more here .