The Learning of Multicultural/Global Themes through Authentic Materials in EFL Classrooms

Abstract

This study explored the learning of Multicultural Education (ME) and Global Education (GE) in Taiwan`s English as a Foreign Language (EFL) classrooms using authentic materials. The study was based on the data collected from an elective course named ”Multicultural and Global Education” at a university in northern Taiwan. The study aimed to explore (1) what multicultural/global learning means to EFL students and (2) how EFL students relate multicultural/global themes to their lives. The data were collected from students taking the course during the 2006 school year. The data consisted of students` interviews, students` reflective journals, and the instructor`s (i.e., the researcher) reflective journals. The study found that multicultural/global learning helped construct students` knowledge, provided them with opportunities to learn more about themselves, and encouraged them to take actions within and outside of their communities. It also found that authentic materials helped motivate students in learning English. Based on the findings, some theoretical and pedagogical implications are provided.

此研究探究了在台灣以英文為外語的教室中使用真實教材，以達成多元文化教育以及全球化教育。研究的資料來源是北台灣一所大學的選修課程，課程名稱為「多元文化與全球化教育」。此研究旨在探討（1）對EFL的學習者而言，何謂多元文化/全球化學習（2）EFL的學習者是如何將多元文化/全球化議題與其生活做相關。資料來源取自修習2006學年度課程的學生；資料包括學生訪談、學生反思的札記、以及老師（亦為研究者）的反思札記。研究發現多元文化/全球化學習幫助建構學生的知識、提供他/她們更認識自己的機會、並且鼓勵他們在其社群內外付諸行動。研究也發現真實性的教材能引起學生學習英文的興趣。根據這些發現，此研究也提供了一些理論上以及教學運用上的建議。