English and French Pedagogical Cultures: Convergence and Divergence in Cameroonian Primary School Teachers' Discourse

Autor/in	Esch, Edith
Titel	English and French Pedagogical Cultures: Convergence and Divergence in Cameroonian Primary School Teachers' Discourse
Quelle	In: Comparative Education, 48 (2012) 3, S.303-321 (19 Seiten)Infoseite zur Zeitschrift PDF als Volltext Verfügbarkeit
Sprache	englisch
Dokumenttyp	gedruckt; online; Zeitschriftenaufsatz
ISSN	0305-0068
DOI	10.1080/03050068.2011.622505
Schlagwörter	Bilingual Schools; Multilingualism; Foreign Countries; Educational Environment; French; Interpersonal Relationship; English (Second Language); Second Language Learning; Elementary School Teachers; Observation; Interviews; Teacher Attitudes; Teaching Methods; Language of Instruction; Self Concept; Teacher Role; Cameroon + Suchen Sie Ihr Suchwort? Bilingual scholl; Bilinguale Schule; Mehrsprachigkeit; Multilingualismus; Ausland; Lernumgebung; Pädagogische Umwelt; Schulumwelt; Französisch; Interpersonal relation; Interpersonal relations; Interpersonelle Beziehung; Zwischenmenschliche Beziehung; English as second language; English; Second Language; Englisch als Zweitsprache; Zweitsprachenerwerb; Elementary school; Teacher; Teachers; Grundschule; Volksschule; Lehrer; Lehrerin; Lehrende; Beobachtung; Interviewing; Interviewtechnik; Lehrerverhalten; Teaching method; Lehrmethode; Unterrichtsmethode; Teaching language; Unterrichtssprache; Selbstkonzept; Lehrerrolle; Kamerun
Abstract	This article approaches the phenomenon of the continuing influence of French and English pedagogical cultures in Africa relying on post-modern notions of time and space. It reports on a project carried out in Cameroon where both cultures are in contact and where the teachers from two primary schools were observed and interviewed over a period of five weeks each. The data collected is interpreted as revealing divergent professional contexts within which the teachers' discourse about their professional roles and the place of languages rests on assumptions reminiscent of the pedagogical values of the former colonisers. However, teachers from both schools are strongly in favour of maintaining French and English as medium of education. The significance of the phenomena reported is critically discussed to highlight new discontinuities in present day Cameroon which transform these apparently sharp distinctions: the disjunction between the notion of place and the medium of education, the fast evolving meanings of "French" "English" and "bilingualism" in the twenty first century and the fact that schools are multilingual sites. The paper concludes that the differences in the way teachers construct their professional identities has prevented them from developing a joint pedagogical repertoire and that lack of mutual understanding might be a reason for the reported mere "cohabitation" provided by bilingual schools. (As Provided).
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Erfasst von	ERIC (Education Resources Information Center), Washington, DC
Update	2017/4/10