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Newsletter
of the
Bahá'í Language Educators
Special Interest Group of the
Association for Bahá'í Studies, North America
Vol. 3, No. 1: December 2003
I. News and Articles from the 2003 ABS Conference
Bahá'í Language Educators SIG Program
27th Annual Conference of the Association for Bahá'í Studies — North America
San Francisco, California
Friday, 29 August 2003
Conference Report
On Friday, August 29, 2003 over 50 language educators and interested people attended the third annual meeting of the Bahá'í Language Educators Special Interest Group (SIG) of the Association for Bahá'í Studies, North America in San Francisco.
The full program of speakers was followed by a Roundtable on Bahá'í inspired teaching activities. Several of these are available for downloading from the SIG website; two of the papers presented are included in this newsletter.
Program
Bahá’í Language Educators SIG Program August 29, 2003
9:00-9:30 Creating a Talk Show: An EFL Opportunity for Authentic Communication
Irshat Madyarov, Teaching Assistant. Intensive English Program, West Virginia University, West Virginia, USAAbstract: It is a common knowledge that EFL students drastically lack opportunities for real world communication in English. This presentation introduces a way of creating an environment where students can use their language skills in a meaningful way. The presenter will share his experience of facilitating a talk show in English among university students in Russia. The talk show was initiated as a Bahá’í-inspired social economic project. Its main objective is to cultivate morality and a positive attitude to real life problems. Tailored to pedagogic objectives, the talk show can also serve as an efficient tool to teach language skills.
9:30-10:30 The Middle-Eastern Student
Safineh Tahmassebi, Teacher Trainer/ESL Instructor. University of California, Irvine-Extension, California, USAAbstract: In these times of crises, the Middle-Eastern people are, more than ever, objects of prejudice, stereotyping, and cultural/religious misunderstandings. In order to help promote the unity of mankind, especially in the ESL classrooms, this presentation will provide the participants with a general understanding of the cultures (peoples, religions, languages, values, relationships, system of education/learning) of the Middle East. It will also address some of the linguistic challenges which students from that region face in their ESL classes. These challenges include spelling/handwriting, reading writing, and pronunciation that may or may not be exacerbated by cultural influences.
10:30-11:15 Integrating Character Education into your ESL/EFL Classrooms
Nancy Watters, President, Watters & Associates; educator and consulting psychologist. Cobble Hill, British Columbia, CanadaAbstract: Discover The Virtues Project--an inspiring, award-winning program that teaches simple elements of character honored by all cultures and spiritual traditions—traits such as kindness, honesty, respect and responsibility. Learn to weave character education throughout your curriculum. This presentation will give an overview of five specific strategies that help enhance academic achievement, reduce discipline problems, create a caring school climate and boost moral behavior.
11:30-12:00 Innovative Language Pedagogy and Community Building Features of the Ruhi Study Circle Process: A Cross Cultural Comparison
Sandra Fotos, Professor of English, Senshu University. Tokyo, JapanAbstract: The Universal House of Justice considers the Ruhi training courses to be part of a systematic process for transformation of the Bahá’í community. The study circle books use innovative pedagogical techniques, many of them language-based, to enhance learning outcomes and to support community building. This talk presents data from a survey conducted in North America on participant response to the training course pedagogy and the community building nature of the study circles.
1:30-2:00 What's in a Name? The Kalakwahti Vision
Pauline Tuttle, Adjunct Professor of Ethomusicology, University of Victoria. Victoria, British Columbia, CanadaAbstract: On the Northwest Coast, through the vehicles of traditional song, dance, and ceremonial cycles, the process of naming through language lies at the very core of identity and life-ways, playing a crucial role in the development of community life and its attendant healing process. This multi-media Power-Point presentation offers an overview of the vision and development—embedded in the language of a name—of the Kalakwahti Studies, a Bahá’í inspired oral history research and outreach centre located on Vancouver Island BC.
2:00-2:30 Designing your ESL/EFL website: An Introduction
Jonah Winters, Website developer; Webmaster of the Bahá’í Library website and the Bahá’í Language Educators SIG website. Vancouver, British Columbia, CanadaAbstract: The presentation discusses the preliminary considerations and steps necessary before designing an ESL/EFL website, introduces software and tutorial sites and gives practice tips for creating a successful online resource for your students and colleagues.
3:00-4:30 Roundtable on Bahá’í Inspired Activities
Presenters Activity 1. Judith Johnson What If 2. Irshat Madyarov Successful consultation skills activity 3. Nancy Watters Virtues Pick 4. Jerry Strain Speak and Write the Promise.... 5. Marilyn Higgins Working with the Language of Human Rights
II. Papers from the 2003 ABS Conference
The January 17 letter from the Universal House of Justice emphasizes that the transformative power of the Bahá’í Faith as a pattern for future society must be shown by example—that is, through its effects on the lives of the Bahá’ís and their community. Innovative Language Pedagogy and Community Building Features of the Ruhi Study Circle Process
Dr. Sandra S. Fotos
Professor of English
Senshu University, Tokyo
Bahá’í Language Educators SIG
August 29, 2003; San Francisco
sfotos@gol.com
Along with devotional meetings and children’s classes, the study circles of the Institute Process are specifically identified as, “a way for Bahá’ís to reach out to the surrounding society, share Bahá’u’lláh’s message with friends, family, neighbours and co-workers, and expose them to the richness of His teachings”. The House also emphasizes that, “this outward looking orientation is one of the finest fruits of the grassroots learning taking place.”
Study circles are powerful mechanism for large-scale education and capacity building. Although Bahá’í communities have had various classes and deepening programs in the past, and several Institutes have existed for many years—for example, the Ruhi Institute in Colombia—at last the Bahá’í world as a whole has a systematic, structured vision for addressing the three basic needs of new believers: the development of spiritual insight, the development of knowledge, and the development of skills. In fact, as House member Arbab said in his 2001 talk at the World Center, Institutes are not only instruments for consolidation but also for expansion. He notes that “numerous individuals who sometimes know very little of the Faith seem to be more than willing to participate in certain institute courses, especially those dealing with spiritual subjects, and often by the end of the first course they become Bahá’ís.”
This consideration also applies to those who are participating in study circles held in a second or foreign language—for example, many Bahá’ís living overseas as EFL teachers hold their Ruhi classes in English very successfully.
In its June 1995 description of Institute Training Programs, the International Teaching Center suggested that rather than implying a short deepening course held for a fixed period, the term “Institute” refers to a range of activities for establishing and implementing a long-term program of human resource development. So because of the on-going scope of these activities, the ITC uses the term “institute process.” This emphasizes the continually evolving nature of the system for educating the believers, a system which will be the foundation of vast future educational institutions offering life-long learning.
When the administrative structure, which is already in place in many areas, is augmented by a richer spiritual life through regular devotional meetings, children’s classes and the establishment of this basic education system, we will have the key components for a truly functioning Bahá’í community.
An Institute begins when a core group decides to study, pray and act together in order to reach people and invite them to become Bahá’í. This group operates under the Local Spiritual Assembly, and gathers new believers together to go through a series of courses. The group considers the needs of the new believers and factors such as the time, place and the materials.
When Japan was visited in 1996 by Institute facilitator David Mockon from the Philippines, who gave us our initial training in Ruhi pedagogy, he emphasized that each country would create its own materials after the believers had gone through the seven basic books. He also said that the Associations for Bahá’í Studies would play an important role in needs analysis and curriculum development.
So while I was on sabbatical in Canada during 2002-2003, I completed all Ruhi courses and the facilitators’ training. As a veteran teacher, I saw that the pedagogy was extremely effective in promoting good learning outcomes. Two things were especially notable. First, all participants in the learning act are called “collaborators” whether they are students or teachers. The study circle is a great equalizer: long term Bahá’ís, new Bahá’ís and seekers all learn together.
The emphasis here is on the collaborative nature of the learning process and learner autonomy. Learning is seen as reciprocal and the relationships among the group members is not what is found in traditional teacher-fronted classrooms, where an expert dispenses knowledge to the ignorant. As ‘Abdu’l-Bahá emphasizes,The teacher should not consider himself as learned and others ignorant. Such a thought breedeth pride, and pride is not conducive to influence.
We are all aware of the rise of collaborative learning in education. Here we are talking about learners working together to solve problems, each contributing her own strengths to the learning task. Collaborative learning is linked to the work of two Russian scholars whose research has had a tremendous impact on cognition and learning theory and we should consider them briefly.
'Abdu’l-Bahá, Selections from the Writings of 'Abdu’l-Bahá, p. 30
Lev Vygotsky (1896-1934) was an educational psychologist working with infants and very young children. His research suggested that children construct meaning collaboratively, and, therefore, social interaction is critical in establishing their organization of reality. Meaning remains mutable throughout life; it is actively and continually reconstructed through discourse. Vygotskian analysis can be applied to many types of interaction—for example, we can use it to understand Bahá’í consultation.
The work of the second Russian, philosopher Mikhail Bakhtin (1895-1975), is used in literary theory. His basic idea is that the child internalizes the voices of those around her during her early years, and then re-externalizes those voices for the rest of her life. In other words, when we speak, we speak with the voices of our mother, our father, our teachers, our friends. True thought, Bakhtin suggests, is not found in the isolated minds of the individuals, but emerges through the discourse of multiple voices.
So, from the Bakhtinian perspective, collaborative learning not only encourages the construction of meaning through interaction, but—through study and memorization of the Writings—also supplies the new believer or seeker with the Voice of God.
The second interesting point about the study circles is that the material is very highly structured. In fact, we could say that it is virtually “teacher proof.” Practically speaking, this means that the facilitators and participants always know what will be presented so they can invite seekers without any risk that the seekers will hear something difficult or challenging.
The courses are structured so that the participants take responsibility for their own learning—this is the key concept of learner autonomy—and so that all participants have to talk. This encourages passive participants to learn to give their views and helps them develop their communication and consultation skills. On the other hand, those who usually dominate traditional deepenings and firesides are forced be patient and to develop the ability to listen to the views of others. A sense of mutual respect is fostered by the structured nature of the material and this turns into a sense of community as the group continues to study together. If the group members are also on an assembly together, their consultation skills improve as a result of their increased respect and sense of closeness.
Let’s consider the lesson plan for Book One, Reflections on the Life of the Spirit. This book takes between 20 to 24 hours to complete, and consists of 20 short quotations from the Writings which are studied in groups and memorized. Then the participants answer questions about the Writings. Three levels of comprehension are targeted: comprehension of the meaning of the words and sentences; applying the concepts to daily life, and applying the concepts to more general situations.
Now, let’s go through a lesson. First the learners read the target passage several times. This activates their background knowledge and the repetition helps them process the new content and link it to previously developed knowledge. Next is clarification of the meaning of the words used in the passage. Again, this facilitates integration with previously learned material, and creates new schemata, or mental organizations, in the mind. Many new believers will be studying ideas that they have never thought of before, and the development of mental structures for handling the new material is very important.
In the third next step the students manipulate the passage by forming four questions from its words. For example, after reading the quotation: “The betterment of the world can be accomplished through pure and goodly deeds.” the learner would ask, “How can the betterment of the world be accomplished?” The other learners would answer, “through pure and goodly deeds.” This might seem too simple, but actually such repetition is a very important learning strategy. Furthermore, by changing the grammar, the learners are able to access the deep structure of the passage—its underlying meaning according to principles of Universal Grammar. This process also promotes “chunking”, the grouping of related concepts for easy cognitive processing and storage in long term memory.
After asking and answering these questions, the learners move to the fourth step and discuss the quotation, analyzing its application to different situations in their lives. At this point, the collaborative nature of the discussion leads to the creation of meaning for all participants. Through discussion, the new believers think deeply about the passage, and develop spiritual understanding. This is a very different process from quickly reading new material and then, very superficially, being able to paraphrase its general meaning. The collaborative nature of the study process enables a more detailed exploration of the many meanings contained within the Holy Word.
The final step is the memorization of the passage—in the Bakhtinian sense, empowering the learner with the Voice of God.
After the passages have been studied, the learners answer review questions which test the three levels of understanding. When they answer these questions, the learners reinforce their knowledge of the Writings and the spiritual principles they embody. Through collaborative discussion, they come to understand how the Writings have direct application to their own lives and the operation of their community. They also develop strong personal connections with the people in their course and develop their consultation skills. In this way, they move down the path of spiritual development.
If we compare this process to traditional, teacher-led deepenings or study classes, where the participants often tend to forget what they’ve studied as soon as they leave the room and no feeling of group membership develops, we can understand how effective the Institute Process can be.
Now I’d like to present some preliminary results of research on study circles conducted this past spring. There were three research areas: First, what was the participant’s reaction to the highly structured nature and collaborative participation pattern of study circles? Second, what was the participant’s perception of her personal enrichment resulting from attending study circles? Third, what was the participant’s perception of the development of community building and improved consultation skills in the members who attended the study circle?
I developed a 23-item questionnaire with 14 of the items in a Likert scale format, where participants were asked to mark whether they agreed or disagreed with a statement along a five-point scale. “Strongly disagree” was scored as one point, “disagree” as two points, “no opinion” as three points, “agree” as four points, and “strongly agree” as five points, the maximum. So the range was from one to five points, with higher figures indicating stronger agreement. The final three items were open-ended, where participants wrote their feelings and reactions to the study circle format and its impact on the participants. This questionnaire was reviewed and approved by the people in charge of study circles in British Columbia, Canada and complied with ethnical review procedures set by Canadian universities.
The participants were a convenience sample of 44 members of study circles in Western Canada and US. Most were between 36 to 65 years old and had been Bahá’í for an average of 20 years. 21 had facilitated courses, 23 had not; of this group, most intended to facilitate courses in the future.
Since this is a preliminary presentation, I’ll present just a few items. One asked how the participants put into practice what they had learned after they completed a course. Here multiple responses were possible. 32 said they studied the Writings and prayed more; 25 said they mentioned the Faith more often, and 19 said that they started their own study circles. 17 said they invited seekers to a Book One course.
Now we’ll consider some responses to Likert Scale items, recalling that the scores went from Strongly Disagree, at 1 point, to Strongly Agree at 5 points.
First, the average score of those responding to the statement that they felt comfortable studying in the highly structured Ruhi courses was 4.25. This is quite high when we consider that a middle score would be 2.5 and the maximum score would be 5.
Second, the average score of those responding to a statement asking if they liked the collaborative nature of the courses with the facilitator guiding the class was 4:43 points—nearly the maximum number of points. So the group learning process that promoted full participation, consultation and learner autonomy was highly valued by these participants.
Third, the average score of those responding to a statement asking if they liked the relative lack of individual interpretation was 4, again, quite high.
Fourth, the average score of those reporting that they remembered what they had studied better in study circles compared with other forms of study and deepening was also 4, a high value.
The average score of a second cooperative learning item asked if the participants understood material better when they studied with other people. This score was also very high, at 4.42 points out of a maximum of 5 points.
The average score of those responding to a statement asking if they liked repetition of key ideas was 4.32, and the average score of those responding to an item asking if they liked the paraphrasing of key ideas was a similar high value, at 4.23.
Finally, the average score of those responding to an item asking whether they agreed that the facilitator learns with the class was another high value, at 4.3.
So all scores for these items were four or over, showing the very favorable views of this convenience sample of participants towards the Study Circle pedagogy.
In conclusion, let’s consider some open-ended responses on how study circles helped personal transformation and community building. The participants wrote their comments in this section and I’ve chosen some interesting ones.
One participant said that study circles are a “concrete practical realization and actualization of spiritual concepts”—they are the “bridge between knowledge and action.”
Several others wrote that through the Study Circles, the Sacred Word becomes part of daily life.
Others noted the improved retention of what was learned/memorized.
One participant wrote the interesting comment that participants don’t become “victims of their own interpretations,” and several noted positive effects from the discipline of listening to others, and respecting diverse views.
Many participants wrote about increased feelings of closeness with study group members—noting the community building effect of having members of the same community meet regularly to study together.
Related to this were several comments about improved consultation skills. One participant said that he had served on an assembly with a study circle member, but it wasn’t until they had gone through several intensive courses that they became very close, and this resulted in superior consultation during assembly meetings.
Other comments noted that passive members become able to participate actively.
The development of knowledge was a common theme and several participants noted increased self-confidence in their ability to hold their own children’s classes and facilitate study circles due to improved knowledge and skills.
One participant noted that study circle methods can be used to study other materials, saying that his community used the Ruhi pedagogy to go through A Century of Light. This is an example of curriculum development using Ruhi pedagogy.
Another participant wrote that study circles are “unique and strong because they have a great structure while giving the student the maximum chance to talk and be responsible for his/her own learning.” And several others noted that study circles are focused on service and action, not just on intellectual appreciation.
One participant considered intercultural issues, suggesting, “its simplicity makes it universal—study circles can be used with all cultures and groups of people.”
Another wrote that study circles “eliminate the dilemma of consolidation vs. teaching since they both go hand in hand.”
And several noted that they liked “the regularity of the study circle and its predictable, structured progression.”
So the preliminary results suggest that the study circle’s structured interactive format is perceived as a strong plus, equalizing participation, giving predictability, and promoting the development of group ties and consultation skills. The participants recognize the development of personal skills, especially their ability to incorporate spirituality into their daily lives, and hold classes themselves. And they are ready to take study circle pedagogy and develop new programs based on its pedagogy.
References
Messages of the International Teaching Center on Teaching Institutes. February 1992.
International Teaching Center. Institute Training Programs. June 1995.
Letter from the Universal House of Justice, January 17, 2003.
Universal House of Justice. Building Momentum: A Coherent Approach to Growth. April, 2003.8.16.
Arbab, Farzam (1994). Lectures on Bahá’í-Inspired Curricula. Palabra Publications,
Learning About Growth. Riviera Beach, FL: Palabra Press. 1991.
Creating a Talk Show: An EFL Opportunity for Authentic Communication
Irshat Madyarov
Teaching Assistant in the Intensive English Program,
West Virginia University
irshat@yahoo.com
Introduction
ZIPoPo (Academy for positive behavior) was initiated as a Bahá’í-inspired socio-economic project. It was first shown on Tatarstan TV, Kazan, Russia, 1994.
The author: Shamil Fattakhov, a journalist, Kazan, Russia.
Main objectives and principles:to educate participants in moral and spiritual truths with reliance on wisdom proclaimed by world religions, philosophers, and prominent people;
Variations of the Happy Hippo Show:
to support youth and children in solving their real life problems in a positive and moral way;
to promote independent investigation of truth, and principles of consultation;
integration of drama elements through a skit.TV talk show;
Happy Hippo Show in EFL context: description of experience
Club discussion (schools, penitentiaries, asylums, etc.);
Puppet show (nursery and elementary schools, kindergartens, etc);
Radio version;
Newspaper version.
Setting:EFL context: Orenburg State University (OSU), Russia (students majoring in foreign languages: English, French, German (all taking English at some level)
Objectives of the Happy Hippo show at OSU:to raise awareness among the students and faculty of the most crucial problems, promote open discussions, and facilitate solutions of these problems in a constructive way;
Procedure:
to provide opportunities for students and faculty to use English in a meaningful way;
to enable students to achieve unity through the creative process.Survey of topics to reveal students’ interests (all in English)
Talk show topics discussed (1-2 month break between each)
Choosing the dates and hours suitable for most students;
Setting up a team: actors-playwrights; technical support (computer operator, photographers, camera person); PR (getting information from outside through interviews, research, etc.); decorators and artists, etc.
Inviting a special guest (native speaker of English);
Survey to reveal the public’s opinion on the selected questions related to the targeted topic;
Collecting information pertaining to the topic (interviewing respective people, specialists, doing research, if needed);
Writing the script for the skit and acting it out;
Putting everything together involving available technology;
Holding the talk show;
Setting up a follow-up display with the key points of the discussion (display would run until the next talk show).Teacher-student dynamics (bias issues, other than academic relationships between teachers and students, bribery);
Conclusion: Results of the experience
Child out of Marriage (responsibility, having sex out of marriage, abortion, etc.);
Marry or not to Marry (pros and cons, main conditions: age, money, parental consent, etc.).
Enjoyable experience for myself, students, and faculty;
An opportunity for students to practice English in meaningful way;
A place for an open and fruitful discussion of students’ and faculty’s pressing concerns;
Foundation for unity among students and faculty;
Arena for students to gain confidence by expressing themselves in English in public.
References
ZIPoPo International Movement. 15 Aug. 2003 www.wellwishers.net/zipopo
ZIPoPo. (In Russian).15 Aug. 2003 www.zipopo.narod.ru
ZIPoPo. (In Russian).15 Aug. 2003 zipopo.tripod.com
III. ANNOUNCEMENTS
2004 ABS Conference:
The 28th Annual Conference of
The Association for Bahá'í Studies-North America
"Spirit and Intellect: Advancing Civilization"
Hyatt Regency Hotel
Calgary, Alberta, Canada
3-6 September, 2004Special Interest Group meetings will be held during the day on Friday, September 3. The Bahá'í Language Educators (BLE) Special Interest Group (SIG) of the Association for Bahá'í Studies, North America invites you to submit proposals for presentations, workshops, colloquia or roundtable activities for its annual meeting at the 2004 annual ABS conference in Calgary.
Presentations may be on any theme integrating Bahá'í principles and concepts with instruction, curriculum design, materials development, classroom participation patterns, intercultural studies, mentoring, computer assisted language learning (CALL), web page design, translation, literature, and other topics involving language education. Talks should be 20 minutes in length, including 10 minutes for questions.
Please send proposals to Sandy Fotos sfotos@gol.com, SIG Coordinator, with copies to Dara Shaw daragay9@yahoo.com, Program and Newsletter, and Joy Allchin, njallchin@comcast.net, Membership and Newsletter.
The afternoon program again includes the very popular Roundtable on Bahá'í Inspired Materials. Participants are invited to share classroom activities based implicitly or explicitly on Bahá'í principles. Presentations should be 10 minutes in length and be accompanied by a handout of the activity and teaching guidelines. Activities may be for any language, grade or ability level, and will be uploaded to our website after the conference. If you are interested in sharing your favorite classroom activity with other language professionals, please contact Dara Shaw daragay9@yahoo.com with your proposal!
Listserv for Bahá'í ESL/EFL Professionals
Members of Bahá'í Language Educators might be interested to know about Bahai-ESL@bcca.org, a free non-moderated internet listserv for members of the Bahá'í Faith who have an interest in the teaching of ENGLISH as a SECOND or FOREIGN LANGUAGE (ESL/EFL). There are 150-200 subscribers worldwide, and the volume of messages to the list varies but is usually no more than one per day.
The list helps Bahá'í ESL/EFL professionals exchange information about:
* Methods and ideas for teaching ESL/EFL from a Bahá'í perspective
* Employment and career needs and information
* Development of Bahá'í-inspired curricula
* Upcoming conferences and other events of ESL/EFL interest
To subscribe to the list, send a message to Bahai-ESL-Request@BCCA.Org including your name, country of residence, email address, and Bahá'í identification number. Questions about the list may be directed to .
Joining the Bahá'í Language Educators' Special Interest Group
Membership in the Bahá'í Language Educators' SIG is open to all members of the Association for Bahá'í Studies, North America (Please check the ABS NA website for information on how join: www.bahai-studies.ca) If you will be joining the Language Educators SIG, please send the information below to Joy Allchin at . You will be added to our membership list. Bahá'í Language Educators will meet again at the 2004 ABS conference, and modest dues will be assessed at that time to cover the annual ABS fee of $75.00.