World Englishes Approaches to the Teaching of Writing: a Survey of Afghan University English Teachers
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Minnesota State University, Mankato Cornerstone: A Collection of Scholarly and Creative Works for Minnesota State University, Mankato All Theses, Dissertations, and Other Capstone Theses, Dissertations, and Other Capstone Projects Projects 2020 World Englishes Approaches to the Teaching of Writing: A Survey of Afghan University English Teachers Abdul Khaliq Sahibzada Minnesota State University, Mankato Follow this and additional works at: https://cornerstone.lib.mnsu.edu/etds Part of the Bilingual, Multilingual, and Multicultural Education Commons Recommended Citation Sahibzada, A. K. (2020). World Englishes approaches to the teaching of writing: A survey of Afghan university English teachers [Master’s thesis, Minnesota State University, Mankato]. Cornerstone: A Collection of Scholarly and Creative Works for Minnesota State University, Mankato. https://cornerstone.lib.mnsu.edu/etds/995/ This Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by the Theses, Dissertations, and Other Capstone Projects at Cornerstone: A Collection of Scholarly and Creative Works for Minnesota State University, Mankato. It has been accepted for inclusion in All Theses, Dissertations, and Other Capstone Projects by an authorized administrator of Cornerstone: A Collection of Scholarly and Creative Works for Minnesota State University, Mankato. World Englishes Approaches to the Teaching of Writing: A Survey of Afghan University English Teachers Submitted by: Abdul Khaliq Sahibzada A Thesis Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Master of Arts in English with an emphasis in Teaching English as a Second Language Minnesota State University, Mankato, Minnesota April 2020 Date: 04/07/2020 This thesis paper has been examined and approved. Examining Committee: ___________________________________________________ Dr. Sarah Henderson Lee, Advisor ___________________________________________________ Dr. Nancy Drescher, Committee Member i Acknowledgment This thesis is based on a research conducted on influence of World Englishes on the teaching of writing in Afghan universities. I believe writing a thesis and/or conducting research without the help of others is never possible. I am grateful for a number of people for their help and contribution to the present study. First of all, I would like to express my very great appreciation and gratitude to Dr. Sarah Henderson Lee, my academic and research advisor, who guided, encouraged and supported me with the writing process of this thesis from the beginning until its completion. Her office door was always open for me when I encountered any problem or had any question regarding this major assignment. This would have not been possible without her guidance, suggestions, encouragement, support, and keeping my progress on schedule. I would also like to acknowledge Dr. Nancy Drescher of the English Department at Minnesota State University as the second reader of the present thesis. I am grateful to her for her very crucial and valuable comments and feedback on this thesis. In addition, I would like to offer my gratitude and thanks to all my professors at MNSU for their constant support, guidance, and training. I believe without their guidance and support; I would not be able to complete my MA degree. I also wish to express my gratitude to Lauren Martone, CESR research assistant, Minnesota State University, Mankato for proofreading the thesis. Moreover, I would like to express my sincere thanks to all the teachers at three Afghan universities who have participated in the current study and made the data collection possible. Without their participation and help the completion of this thesis would not be possible. ii Furthermore, it is my honor to extend my grateful thanks to the US Embassy in Afghanistan, State Department, Fulbright, and IIE for providing me this great opportunity to pursue my M.A program in the US I am grateful to the staff of the mentioned organizations for the great assistance they have provided me from the beginning to the completion of my master’s program. Finally, my very special thanks and appreciation go to my family and friends, especially my parents who always provided me with unfailing support and continuous encouragement throughout my life. They were always by my side to help me walk every step of my life. Dear parents, it is all your support, guidance, love, and encouragement that made the completion of this degree and thesis possible. Thank you for everything, Mom and Dad. Abdul Khaliq Sahibzada iii Table of Contents Acknowledgment ............................................................................................................................. i Table of Contents ........................................................................................................................... iii List of Tables and Figures............................................................................................................ viii Abstract .......................................................................................................................................... ix Chapter I: Introduction .................................................................................................................... 1 Background Information ............................................................................................................. 1 Statement of the Problem ............................................................................................................ 2 Statement of Purpose ................................................................................................................... 4 Importance of the Study .............................................................................................................. 5 The Aims and Justification of the Study ..................................................................................... 6 Positionality Statement ................................................................................................................ 7 Summary of the Chapter ............................................................................................................. 8 Overview of the Upcoming Chapters .......................................................................................... 9 Chapter II: Literature Review ....................................................................................................... 11 Introduction ............................................................................................................................... 11 Section I: Description of Afghanistan ....................................................................................... 12 Geographical information of Afghanistan ............................................................................. 12 Languages spoken in Afghanistan ......................................................................................... 12 Education and literacy in Afghanistan. .................................................................................. 13 Section II: Context of English in Kachru’s three Circles .......................................................... 15 The context of English in Inner Circle countries. .................................................................. 15 The context of English in Outer Circle countries .................................................................. 17 The context of English in Expanding Circle countries. ......................................................... 18 The historical context of English in Asian countries and contact in Afghanistan ................. 21 History of English in Pakistan. .......................................................................................... 23 History of English in Iran .................................................................................................. 24 History and development of EL in Afghanistan. ................................................................... 25 The context of English writing in Afghanistan ..................................................................... 27 The context of English writing instruction in EFL context. .................................................. 29 Section III: Review of Literature on Pedagogical Approaches/Frameworks ............................ 33 iv Translingual approach. .......................................................................................................... 33 The tenets of translingual approach ................................................................................... 34 Benefits of translingual approach ...................................................................................... 35 Code-meshing/mixing and code-switching strategies. .......................................................... 36 Ways and practices for successful application of code-meshing strategy in the teaching of writing. ............................................................................................................................... 39 Showing circle of WEs chart. ......................................................................................... 39 Multimedia assignments ................................................................................................. 39 Interviews ....................................................................................................................... 40 Writing narratives about simple topics .........................................................................