The data in this article come from a two-year study that examines the transnational immigrant liv... more The data in this article come from a two-year study that examines the transnational immigrant lives of young adults whose families resided for a number of years in the United States, always maintaining close ties to their country of origin, Mexico, until they decided or were forced to return. These participants acquired English as children of Mexican immigrants in the United States. Using a narrative approach, findings depict how immigrant students shaped their identities through ambivalent feelings towards both countries and how this identity construction shaped their interest in becoming English teachers or rejecting the language to the point that they forgot the language they had learned in the United States. Their transnational experiences of living in and between two countries appeared to be at the forefront of their construction of identity, defining who they are and who they want to be. This work suggests that transnationals possess an important cultural and linguistic capita...
This paper aims to contribute to the understanding of the process of gaining entry into Mexican E... more This paper aims to contribute to the understanding of the process of gaining entry into Mexican English Language classrooms. After a very brief discussion of the basic concepts involved in the process of asking for permission to carry out research in educational settings, it then tells the story of our first-hand experience of gaining entry into public (and several private) preparatory schools in one city on the east coast of Mexico by starting at the top of the educational hierarchy at state level and working our way down into the actual English language classrooms. The paper finishes by raising some general issues that grew out of our anecdotal experience and that we claim may resonate or be helpful for other researchers approaching real EFL classrooms wishing to gain understanding of what is going on in practice in similar educational contexts.En este artículo queremos compartir nuestras experiencias sobre aspectos claves al hacer trabajo de campo en salones de lenguas extranjera...
espanolLa mayor parte de los profesores mexicanos que ensenan Espanol como Lengua Extranjera (ELE... more espanolLa mayor parte de los profesores mexicanos que ensenan Espanol como Lengua Extranjera (ELE) lo hacen mediante el enfoque comunicativo. Este enfoque, nacido en los anos setenta, enfatiza las actividades en las cuales los alumnos deben trabajar grupalmente o en parejas con el fin de hacer uso constante de la expresion oral. Cuando estos profesores van a ensenar ELE a China, encuentran un sistema de ensenanza de lenguas extranjeras basado en un enfoque gramatical, con un fuerte componente de traduccion y repeticion formulista, que contrasta visiblemente con el enfoque comunicativo. La mayor parte de los profesores mexicanos de ELE que llegan a China perciben un desfase entre el enfoque con el que han ensenado lenguas y aquel que es utilizado en su pais anfitrion. Este estudio pretende indagar como se vive este desfase en el dia a dia de los profesores mexicanos de ELE que trabajan en China y explorar las estrategias psicologicas y pedagogicas a las cuales recurren estos profesor...
El presente trabajo reporta los hallazgos sobre las percepciones de actuales alumnos universitari... more El presente trabajo reporta los hallazgos sobre las percepciones de actuales alumnos universitarios migrantes de retorno acerca de los desafíos a los que se enfrentan a su regreso a México. Siguiendo una metodología cualitativa y a partir de autobiografías y entrevistas semi-estructuradas, los participantes dan cuenta de sus experiencias en los sistemas educativos de México y Estados Unidos, además, relatan los desafíos que enfrentan en diferentes ámbitos: administrativo y lingüístico. Los resultados sugieren que los participantes muestran cierta nostalgia al pensar en el sistema educativo de Estados Unidos. Al mismo tiempo, sugieren que uno de los principales retos a los que se enfrentan en su adaptación social, se deriva de su competencia lingüística en español y en inglés, que si bien los pone en ventaja en algunas situaciones, como en convertirse en profesores de inglés, los margina en otras. Esto nos permite avanzar en los estudios de migrantes de retorno ya que su inserción en...
Profile: Issues in Teachers´ Professional Development, 2020
This paper discusses the perceptions that six English language teachers, from public schools in t... more This paper discusses the perceptions that six English language teachers, from public schools in the south region of the state of Veracruz in Mexico, have about their particular teaching contexts. A qualitative approach was adopted, and main data collection was through semi-structured interviews. The results show that all teachers have mostly negative perceptions about their teaching conditions. It was concluded that urgent action is needed on the part of the government to improve the English as a foreign language scenario, especially now when the introduction of English as a foreign language has been proposed at even earlier ages in all levels of education in the country.
A lot of research has been carried out on how students go about developing communicative competen... more A lot of research has been carried out on how students go about developing communicative competence when learning foreign languages. However, little do we know about how foreign language teachers help their learners to develop oral strategies that will enable them to cope with speaking problems on the fly and beyond the FL classroom. In this article we focused on a single oral communicative strategy that, we argue, has been neglected, in general, in foreign language classrooms. We present the findings of a research that focused on teaching fillers in FL classrooms in different teaching contexts and various FL classes.Se ha investigado bastante sobre cómo los estudiantes desarrollan la competencia comunicativa durante el aprendizaje de lenguas extranjeras (LEs). Sin embargo, se sabe muy poco sobre cómo los profesores ayudan a sus estudiantes a desarrollar estrategias orales que les permitan enfrentar problemas que surgen en el momento de la comunicación y más allá del aula. En este a...
The data in this article come from a two-year study that examines the transnational immigrant liv... more The data in this article come from a two-year study that examines the transnational immigrant lives of young adults whose families resided for a number of years in the United States, always maintaining close ties to their country of origin, Mexico, until they decided or were forced to return. These participants acquired English as children of Mexican immigrants in the United States. Using a narrative approach, findings depict how immigrant students shaped their identities through ambivalent feelings towards both countries and how this identity construction shaped their interest in becoming English teachers or rejecting the language to the point that they forgot the language they had learned in the United States. Their transnational experiences of living in and between two countries appeared to be at the forefront of their construction of identity, defining who they are and who they want to be. This work suggests that transnationals possess an important cultural and linguistic capita...
This paper aims to contribute to the understanding of the process of gaining entry into Mexican E... more This paper aims to contribute to the understanding of the process of gaining entry into Mexican English Language classrooms. After a very brief discussion of the basic concepts involved in the process of asking for permission to carry out research in educational settings, it then tells the story of our first-hand experience of gaining entry into public (and several private) preparatory schools in one city on the east coast of Mexico by starting at the top of the educational hierarchy at state level and working our way down into the actual English language classrooms. The paper finishes by raising some general issues that grew out of our anecdotal experience and that we claim may resonate or be helpful for other researchers approaching real EFL classrooms wishing to gain understanding of what is going on in practice in similar educational contexts.En este artículo queremos compartir nuestras experiencias sobre aspectos claves al hacer trabajo de campo en salones de lenguas extranjera...
espanolLa mayor parte de los profesores mexicanos que ensenan Espanol como Lengua Extranjera (ELE... more espanolLa mayor parte de los profesores mexicanos que ensenan Espanol como Lengua Extranjera (ELE) lo hacen mediante el enfoque comunicativo. Este enfoque, nacido en los anos setenta, enfatiza las actividades en las cuales los alumnos deben trabajar grupalmente o en parejas con el fin de hacer uso constante de la expresion oral. Cuando estos profesores van a ensenar ELE a China, encuentran un sistema de ensenanza de lenguas extranjeras basado en un enfoque gramatical, con un fuerte componente de traduccion y repeticion formulista, que contrasta visiblemente con el enfoque comunicativo. La mayor parte de los profesores mexicanos de ELE que llegan a China perciben un desfase entre el enfoque con el que han ensenado lenguas y aquel que es utilizado en su pais anfitrion. Este estudio pretende indagar como se vive este desfase en el dia a dia de los profesores mexicanos de ELE que trabajan en China y explorar las estrategias psicologicas y pedagogicas a las cuales recurren estos profesor...
El presente trabajo reporta los hallazgos sobre las percepciones de actuales alumnos universitari... more El presente trabajo reporta los hallazgos sobre las percepciones de actuales alumnos universitarios migrantes de retorno acerca de los desafíos a los que se enfrentan a su regreso a México. Siguiendo una metodología cualitativa y a partir de autobiografías y entrevistas semi-estructuradas, los participantes dan cuenta de sus experiencias en los sistemas educativos de México y Estados Unidos, además, relatan los desafíos que enfrentan en diferentes ámbitos: administrativo y lingüístico. Los resultados sugieren que los participantes muestran cierta nostalgia al pensar en el sistema educativo de Estados Unidos. Al mismo tiempo, sugieren que uno de los principales retos a los que se enfrentan en su adaptación social, se deriva de su competencia lingüística en español y en inglés, que si bien los pone en ventaja en algunas situaciones, como en convertirse en profesores de inglés, los margina en otras. Esto nos permite avanzar en los estudios de migrantes de retorno ya que su inserción en...
Profile: Issues in Teachers´ Professional Development, 2020
This paper discusses the perceptions that six English language teachers, from public schools in t... more This paper discusses the perceptions that six English language teachers, from public schools in the south region of the state of Veracruz in Mexico, have about their particular teaching contexts. A qualitative approach was adopted, and main data collection was through semi-structured interviews. The results show that all teachers have mostly negative perceptions about their teaching conditions. It was concluded that urgent action is needed on the part of the government to improve the English as a foreign language scenario, especially now when the introduction of English as a foreign language has been proposed at even earlier ages in all levels of education in the country.
A lot of research has been carried out on how students go about developing communicative competen... more A lot of research has been carried out on how students go about developing communicative competence when learning foreign languages. However, little do we know about how foreign language teachers help their learners to develop oral strategies that will enable them to cope with speaking problems on the fly and beyond the FL classroom. In this article we focused on a single oral communicative strategy that, we argue, has been neglected, in general, in foreign language classrooms. We present the findings of a research that focused on teaching fillers in FL classrooms in different teaching contexts and various FL classes.Se ha investigado bastante sobre cómo los estudiantes desarrollan la competencia comunicativa durante el aprendizaje de lenguas extranjeras (LEs). Sin embargo, se sabe muy poco sobre cómo los profesores ayudan a sus estudiantes a desarrollar estrategias orales que les permitan enfrentar problemas que surgen en el momento de la comunicación y más allá del aula. En este a...
This research report compares the processes of recruitment, education and retention of English la... more This research report compares the processes of recruitment, education and retention of English language teachers at all levels in Latin America and the Middle East by means of six national case studies: Brazil, Colombia, Mexico, Kuwait, the UAE and the remaining Arabian Gulf countries.
These geographical areas appear to have significant social, economic and political differences, however, as well as providing an interesting insight into the lives of the teachers living and working in each country studied. This report also identifies many commonalities within their English language teaching communities.
The teaching and learning of English as a foreign language has a long tradition within the Mexica... more The teaching and learning of English as a foreign language has a long tradition within the Mexican public education system. Unfortunately, this endeavor has been unsuccessful for the most part throughout the country. In this paper, we share and compare the results of two studies, ten years apart, whose data collections were carried out in very similar contexts. Both studies looked at what is happening in practice from the teachers' perspectives. Class observation, interviews, and official documents were important sources of information. We conclude that even though there has been ten years between these two studies there seem to be no changes that could enhance the teaching and learning of English as a foreign language in public schools.
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Papers by Nora Basurto
These geographical areas appear to have significant social, economic and political differences, however, as well as providing an interesting insight into the lives of the teachers living and working in each country studied. This report also identifies many commonalities within their English language teaching communities.