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Journal Week 3

Title         : Using folktales as a way to operationalise the paradigm of teaching English as an             international language
Author     : Soe Marlar Lwin & Roby Marlina
Year          : 2018
Publisher : Routledge

Background
Globalization and the changing sociolinguistic reality of English have changed paradigm from teaching English as a second/foreign language (TESL/TEFL) to teaching English as an international language (TEIL). Because of this, teaching English should aim to raise twenty-first-century language learners’ awareness of linguistic and cultural diversity, and to equip them with the ability to communicate their cultures in English. This study aims to present how folktales can be regarded as an example of materials to teach EIL, and to provide a guideline for teachers to use folktales as a way to engage students in learning to develop intercultural communicative competence.

Most Influencial Theory
folktales address psychologically significant themes and issues that are profound for all humanity – such as honesty, kindness, generosity, jealousy, arrogance, greed, and so forth. Being part of folk literature, folktales of a people are ‘a valuable part of its cultural heritage’ where ‘one finds the roots of the culture of that people’ (Eugenio, 1995, p. 1). Hence, they are often preserved as part of a long folk tradition reflecting the lives, experiences, wisdom, hope, fear, humour, and so forth of the people in a culture. Besides preserving the culture of a civilisation, traditionally folktales also serve to explain natural phenomena, transmit historical and social information (e.g. behavioural norms valued in a society), and teach important moral and ethical issues (Taylor, 2000).

Findings
Folktales fit well with communicative approaches that focus on teaching language for communicating meaning. Specifically for TEIL, as shown in the study, folktales give materials that not only expose students to varieties of World Englishes, but can help to raise their curiosity about linguistic and cultural diversity and facilitate their awareness of the linguistic and cultural knowledge needed for respectful negotiation and interaction among users of English with different socio-cultural backgrounds. Thus, folktales represent the kind of EIL-oriented ELT materials which teachers can use as a way to engage students in learning to develop intercultural communicative competence.

Implications in ELT
Using folktales, teachers could also provide tasks that require students to interact cross-culturally. For example, in a diverse classroom, students from various cultures can be asked to present a representative folktale from their own culture and explain to their classmates its cultural nuances.  Group or individual projects or written assignments can also be designed for students to carefully examine the cultural values and assumptions present in folktales of different countries by researching on the social, historical, or geographical factors that might provide some answers for those cultural values and assumptions.

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