A Cartesian conception of material space views each part as external to every other part: "partes extra partes." Because two material things cannot occupy the same space, each of it exists in itself, separated by a boundary from everything else, including other things. This ontology is the origin of thinking the world in terms of…

Advocates of using songs and music in English as a second language (EL2) teaching and learning contexts emphasize the educational benefits of song lyrics. To make the full potential of using songs more visible and accessible to EL2 teachers, this article presents a methodological framework that can be used when planning a song unit for learners.…

The authors describe how Middle Eastern Muslims are represented in a text set of award-winning picture books. Most were written by authors with outsider perspectives who wrote about (a) antiquated times and practices and (b) war-stricken countries and dangerous journeys. Although most of the books are not problematic on their own, the large number…

Cultural awareness is essential in foreign language education. This paper explores two projects that exemplify the integration of cultural elements into foreign language learning involving both first language (L1) and second language (L2) cultures. The first project was initiated in the course "German Cinema". It focuses on the legendary…

We present an instructional approach to teaching causal inference using Bayesian networks and "do"-Calculus, which requires less prerequisite knowledge of statistics than existing approaches and can be consistently implemented in beginner to advanced levels courses. Moreover, this approach aims to address the central question in causal…

We approach Hong Kong's Umbrella Movement, also known as Occupy Central, encountered in 2 days in November 2014 as an exemplar of literacy as placemaking. As a contemporary city-based resistance movement, the creation and subsequent resemiotisation of literacy artefacts were an important element of spatialised practice in asserting a new and…

One of the most effective methods for teaching social studies events, concepts, and issues incorporates the fine arts into lesson plans. The fine arts, such as photography, architecture, paintings, tapestries, and sculptures reflect the core cultural values, political ideals, and religious beliefs of a civilization and offer excellent…

This article discusses one social movement in Buenos Aires--"Frente Popular Darío Fernández" (FPDF)--whose goal was to assist public school teachers in becoming leaders of their communities by providing them an opportunity to learn about social mobilizing and popular education through a series of Freirean-based workshops. Guided by…

The implementation of social constructivist approaches to learning science in primary education in Vietnamese culture as an example of Confucian heritage culture remains challenging and problematic. This theoretical paper focuses on the initial phase of a design-based research approach; that is, the description of the design of a formal, written…

This article reports on the design, implementation and evaluation of an activity used to teach non-honorific speech styles through multimedia to a class of intermediate learners at a university in Europe. Although much emphasis has been placed in Korean language learning and teaching on the importance of honorific styles, my article reveals that…

The purpose of this article is, first, to describe Sami children's education and its status in the Finnish education system and, secondly, to contemplate its development in Finland. The core of the article is intertwined with issues concerning the status, language, and culture of indigenous peoples. According to the article, the western school…

The nature of silence is complex in any classroom with international or domestic students. Instructors sometimes fail to recognize that the classroom silence of foreign students is unlike their native counterparts. With an insider perspective, this article explores the concept of silence among international students by examining the existing body…

Affectivity is an important dimension in humans' social and individual lives. It is either a stimulating or hindering aspect of language learning. This article aims to draw attention to material culture as a powerful, but mostly neglected source of data on the use and acquisition of languages, and demonstrates the close and intricate links between…

A large part of human communication is nonverbal, and the messages sent by gestures, proximity, and eye contact can mean quite different things in different cultures. Because today's classrooms are culturally very diverse, teachers need detailed information about nonverbal information and how it varies among the students' cultures. (Contains 19…

This forum considers argumentation as a means of science teaching in South African schools, through the integration of indigenous knowledge (IK). It addresses issues raised in Mariana G. Hewson and Meshach B. Ogunniyi's paper entitled: Argumentation-teaching as a method to introduce indigenous knowledge into science classrooms: opportunities and…