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Presenter
Instr. Stavroula Bibila
Istanbul Bilgi University, Preparatory School, Kuştepe Campus, ISTANBUL - TURKEY

Title
Tales from the ‘third’-side

Abstract

Abstract:  With the era of learning English by simply ‘mastering’ its grammar coming to an end, the emphasis has begun to shift towards the socio-cultural dimension of English language education and the need to help learners become English speaking citizens of an intercultural world.  The speaker, being a Greek teaching English in Turkey, and therefore neither a ‘native’ nor a ‘home’ English teacher, will share her views about the reality of teaching a language which is both for the teacher and the learners, a ‘third’, but the only available linguistic vehicle for communication and expression, making this way the classroom a true reflection of the outside world.  The advantage of such classrooms lies in their potential to be used as a physical ‘third space’ inside which, English language ‘ownership’ is re-negotiated and its speakers’ cultural identities are re-imagined to reflect individuality rather than being confined to national stereotypes.  In such ‘third spaces’, the development of intercultural (communicative) competence becomes a two-way learning process as both the ‘third-country’ teacher and the learners are challenged to question their ability and willingness to handle ‘otherness’ during communication.