Browsing by Author "Carter, Beverly-Anne"

Now showing 1 - 7 of 7
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    A call to action: Will French survive this time in the school curriculum in Trinidad and Tobago?
    (School of Education, UWI, St. Augustine, 2004) Carter, Beverly-Anne
    This paper examines the interface between language planning and French language teaching/learning in Trinidad and Tobago. It does not revisit the larger policy issues on the role and status of French, but focuses instead on how a bottom-up approach to language planning is critical to ensuring the viability of French in the school curriculum. The paper argues that a bottom-up approach to language planning is more likely to contribute to a focus on renewal and revision, than has been possible to date with a top-down approach. In this regard, the paper offers some suggestions to French language teachers--an important group of stakeholders--since they can play a significant role in fighting attrition in French language learning. In conclusion, the paper suggests that while subject specialists must act as catalysts for renewal and revision, language policy and planning would be better served by a more comprehensive approach, including all teachers of language. Such a holistic would see educators recognizing the interconnectedness of their task, and ensuring that language planning is geared to nurturing the multilingual communicator of the future in today's classrooms
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    Guidelines for the use of non-sexist language and The University of the West Indies
    (2010-06-07T13:13:17Z) Youssef, Valerie; Carter, Beverly-Anne
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    Language and competitiveness in Trinidad and Tobago: Taking stock
    (2015-07-15) Carter, Beverly-Anne
    Language and Competitiveness is a multilingual, multidisciplinary, and multi-component research project that looks at the nexus between language and competitiveness in contemporary Trinidad and Tobago. The project, which is funded by the GORTT Research and Development Impact (RDI) FUND, has promised to deliver a number of outputs, outcomes, and benefits, that is, research impact, to different stakeholders beyond the academic community. In the short paper presented here, the focus is on two of the project's sub-projects: one which explores the linguistic, cultural, and sociological factors supporting or hindering trade with China; and the second a language audit documenting foreign language capacity and supply in the country. The paper shows how the project has been able to address certain national developmental issues in the area of linguistic and intercultural competence as they pertain to trading with China and documenting language capacity. A discussion of the outputs, outcomes, and benefits shows that the project is clearly fulfilling its mandate for research impact. Clear elements of best practice relevant to conducting research with impact also emerge from the discussion.
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    Reconceptualizing the agenda for language education at the UWI: Languages for all
    (School of Education, UWI, St. Augustine, 2008) Carter, Beverly-Anne
    In 1997, the St. Augustine Campus of The University of the West Indies (UWI) embarked on a programme of languages for all via the establishment of the Centre for Language Learning (CLL). The mission of the unit was clear. The CLL was to be the institutional means for organizing and expanding the teaching of foreign languages at UWI, St. Augustine. Its mission meant that students could now aspire to foreign language competence as a core skill of their "graduateness." At the end of the first decade, it is useful to examine how successfully the CLL has accomplished its mission. Moreover, as it embarks on its second decade, a refocusing of its mission-with reference to current research on non-specialist learning, new societal imperatives such as the Spanish as a First Foreign Language (SAFFL) Initiative, and institutional objectives such as the Campus's adoption of internationalization as a strategic objective-is called for. These are the issues addressed in this paper, which seeks to set out how the CLL, as a UWI centre of excellence for languages, proposes to meet the challenge of teaching, research, innovation, advisory and community services, and intellectual leadership in non-specialist language learning in the next decade
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    Reconceptualizing the agenda for language education at the UWI: Languages for all
    (School of Education, UWI, St. Augustine, 2009) Carter, Beverly-Anne
    In 1997, the St. Augustine Campus of The University of the West Indies (UWI) embarked on a programme of languages for all via the establishment of the Centre for Language Learning (CLL). The mission of the unit was clear. The CLL was to be the institutional means for organizing and expanding the teaching of foreign languages at UWI, St. Augustine. Its mission meant that students could now aspire to foreign language competence as a core skill of their "graduateness." At the end of the first decade, it is useful to examine how successfully the Centre has accomplished its mission. Moreover, as the Centre embarks on its second decade, a refocusing of its mission-with reference to current research on non-specialist learning, new societal imperatives such as the Spanish as a First Foreign Language (SAFFL) Initiative, and institutional objectives such as the Campus's adoption of internationalization as a strategic objective-is called for. These are the issues addressed in this paper, which seeks to set out how the CLL, as a UWI centre of excellence for languages, proposes to meet the challenge of teaching, research, innovation, advisory and community services, and intellectual leadership in non-specialist language learning in the next decade
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    Telecollaboration in Spanish as a Foreign Language Learning in Trinidad
    (Ikala, 2010-04) Neva, Carolina; Landa Buil, Maria; Carter, Beverly-Anne; Ibrahim-Ali, Amina
    Objective: To study how participation in tandem partnership influences the motivation towards the target language and culture and the autonomy of learners of Spanish as a foreign language in Trinidad and Tobago. Method: An action research project was conducted with 33 learners of Spanish in Trinidad and 33 learners of English in Colombia, who engaged in a seven week telecollaboration during which they used email and Web 2.0 technologies to communicate. Data were collected through questionnaires and a weekly journal. Quantitative and qualitative analyses were carried out. Results: The objectives of the project were all met. Conclusions: The project was a rich source of learning for all the participants and stresses the need of a deeper understanding of learners' language learning, an analysis of the sociocultural, psycholinguistic, and linguistic dimensions of intercultural competence in a specific context, and the critical assessment of the role of Web 2.0 technologies in fostering autonomy. Link to article