Annotated Bibliography

Qianying Jenny Zhang

Bachman, L. F. & Palmer, A. S. (1996). Language Testing in Practice: Designing and

Developing Useful Language Tests. New York, NY: Oxford University Press

This book relates language testing practice to current views of communicative language

teaching and testing. It examines the design, planning, and organization of tests. As an

ESL teacher, I work with a population who rely on their language test performances for

potential academic or career advancements. The book provides the context of language

testing and clarifies the abilities to be tested, which gives me a deeper understanding of

language testing. The thorough illustration of the process of test development, including

blueprints, resources, operationalization, and scoring methods also helps me develop

better practice tests for my students.

Barton, D., & Hamilton, M. (1998). Local literacies: Reading and writing in one community.

London, UK: Routledge.

This book is a unique detailed study of the role of reading and writing in peoples

everyday lives. By concentrating on a selection of people in a particular community in

Lancaster, England, the authors analyze their use literacy in their day-to-day lives

including how they use local media, their participation in public life, the role of literacy

in family activities and in leisure pursuits. Barton and Hamilton stated that while literacy

practices were unobservable, the associated literacy events and texts are observable units

and thus based their study on an ethnographic approach to studying these observable

aspects of literacy practices. This source provides me with a different perspective on

 literacy, one that is more measurable and specific, and helps me redefine my role as an

adult literacy instructor.

Emerson, R., Fretz, R. & Shaw, L. Writing Ethnographic Fieldnotes. Chicago, IL: The

University of Chicago Press.

In this book, Emerson, Fretz, and Shaw present a series of guidelines, suggestions, and

practical advice for creating useful fieldnotes in a variety of settings, demystifying a

process that is often assumed to be intuitive and impossible to teach. They discuss

different organizational and descriptive strategies, through which I am able to learn how

to transform direct observations into vivid descriptions results, not simply from good

memory but from learning to envision scenes as written. Besides teaching me how to be a

good ethnographer, the book also highlights important theoretical concepts in regards to

social interactions, such as members meanings, which are helpful for me to

compartmentalize the interactions I had with students and coworkers as well as my

observations of students interactions with one and other during my internship.

Erickson, F. (2004). Talk and Social Theory: Ecologies of Speaking and Listening in Everyday

Life. Malden, MA: Polity Press.

Drawing on the work of Goffman and influenced by the critical discourse analysis

approach of Fairclough, Erickson introduces the study of talk linked to social theory and

develops a new theoretical argument that reviews the relations between local social

practices and general processes of talk. Through illustrating the argument by examples of

local discourse practices as they are situated within their own specific social and

historical circumstances, the book helps me better comprehend the key theoretical

perspectives and conceptual frameworks in social theory and in the sociolinguistic study
 of talk. The book helps me reassess and appreciate the value of analyzing real-time

conduct of interactions and enables me to use these perspectives to connect power with

oral discourse in my own research.

Freire, P. (1972). Pedagogy of the oppressed. New York: Herder and Herder.

The author argues that the traditional banking approach stimulates oppressive attitudes

and practices in society. The author instead advocates for a more world-mediated, mutual

approach to education that considers students as equal collaborators in the teaching-

learning process. This source is considered one of the most influential texts of critical

pedagogy, which I adopt as an effective tool in adult education. The book serves as a

foundation for me to approach education as a means of consciously shaping the person

that I am teaching instead of a means of unilaterally transmitting knowledge.

Finegan, E. (2015). Language: Its Structure and Use (7th ed.). Philadelphia, PA: Harcourt

Brace.

Finegans textbook comprehensively covers the core concepts of linguistics: morphology,

phonetics, phonology, syntax, and semantics. It treats language as both a system

(structure) and a social tool (use), which has helped me tremendously in understanding

the uniquely human trait of language. Through explaining what human language is and

how it works, the book gives me a look into the multiple fascinating and surprising facets

of this uniquely human trait. It offers me many opportunities to ask my own questions

and inspires me to do further research in the realm of linguistics.

Gee, J. P. (1990). Social Linguistics and Literacies: Ideology in Discourses. Bristol, PA: The

Palmer Press.
 The book was one of the founding texts of the New Literacy Studies and serves as a

classic introduction to the study of language, learning and literacy in their social, cultural

and political contexts. It shows how contemporary sociocultural approaches to language

and literacy emerged and engages with topics such as orality and literacy, the history of

literacy, the nature of discourse analysis and social theories of mind and meaning. The

book is particularly relevant to my ICC experience in that it helps me put things in

perspective when I explore how language functions in a society. By learning the notion of

discourse with specific reference to cross-cultural issues in communities and schools

from the book, I resonate much more deeply with the argument that what we say, think,

feel, and do is indebted to the social groups to which we have been apprenticed.

Goffman, E. (1961). Encounters: Two Studies in the Sociology of Interaction. Indianapolis, IN:

Bobbs-Merrill.

The author defines an encounter as a unit of social organization and explores its

relationship to the larger social structure in which it is embedded. The author urges the

field study of encounters in their natural setting by looking for transformation rules which

defines for the participants which particular attributes and attitudes of the wider world are

to be recognized and expressed within the boundaries of the gathering. This is a helpful

source when I need to conduct breakdown analysis of various types of social encounters

in educational settings. It served as a useful guide when I adopted a similar approach to

dissecting my encounters with students, co-workers and supervisors during my

internship. With the understanding of sociological concepts such as role distance and

footing, I was more aware and more observant of these interactional phenomena and

gained many insights on the varying nature of dynamics involved in encounters.

Hymes, D. H. (ed.) (1964) Language in Culture and Society: A reader in linguistics and

anthropology. New York: Harper & Row.

This book surveys the full range of anthropological interests in the study of language, and

of linguistic interests in the sociocultural context of language. The introduction of such

key topics as: structural and functional differences among languages, world view and

cognitive style, cultural focus and semantic fields, socialization and speech, and social

structure and linguistic community, have helped me develop a deeper understanding of

the different facets of the use of language and of culture. These key topics have helped

me narrow down my own interests and ethnographical focus and has shaped the way I

identify myself as an ethnographer. A significant percentage of the academic writing

pieces I wrote later on in the program revolve around the central arguments from this

book.

Institute of International Education. (2016). Open Doors 2016: Report on international

educational exchange. Retrieved from: http://www.opendoors.iienetwork.org

The Open Doors Report is a comprehensive information resource on international

students and scholars studying or teaching at higher education institutions in the United

States, and U.S. students studying abroad for academic credit at their home colleges.

Open Doors 2016 reports the results of IIEs annual statistical survey of the international

students in the United States, which are illustrated by the most up-to-date data on such

information about international students as leading places of origin, academic level,

enrollment trends, fields of study and sources of funding. International education has

been an integral part to my studies and research commitment for the past two years and
 this report provides the backdrop of the current state of international education and serves

as a credible reference when I work on projects regarding international education.

Kolb, D. A. (1983). Experiential Learning: Experience as the Source of Learning and

Development. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall

In this book, Kolb offers a systematic statement of the theory of experiential learning and

its modern applications to education, work, and adult development. Building on the

intellectual origins of experiential learning as defined by figures such as John Dewey,

Jean Piaget, and L.S. Vygotsky, the book argues that experiential learning is a powerful

and proven approach to teaching and learning. The exceptionally useful typology of

individual learning styles that Kolb offers in the book, as well as the corresponding

structures of knowledge in different academic disciplines and careers, influences me

deeply as I frequently incorporate experiential learning into my teaching and workshop

facilitation. As I applied Kolbs theory to the programming I was responsible for

designing and supervising during my internship, I made sure that the academic activities I

planned follow the Experiential Learning Cycle and cater to the needs of all types of

learners.

Pinker, S. (2007). Language Instinct: How the Mind Creates Language. New York, NY: William

Morrow.

In this book, Pinker reveals some of the most long-standing mysteries about language by

lucidly explaining how it works, how children learn it, how it changes, how the brain

computes it, and how it evolved. Pinker makes a compelling argument that language is a

human instinct, wired into our brains by evolution. This book has helped me clear up

many of my confusions and long-held inaccurate preconceived notions regarding

 language and mind. As a former psychology major, I consider this book the perfect

illustration of how language serves as a window into the never-ending exploration of

human cognition.

Purcell-Gates, V., Degener, S. C., Jacobson, E., & Soler, M. (2002). Impact of Authentic Adult

Literacy Instruction on Adult Literacy Practices. Reading Research Quarterly, 37 (1), 70-

92.

This paper investigated the relationship between the degree of authenticity of the

activities and texts employed in adult literacy classes, and change in the literacy practices

of adult literacy students. The results showed that the degree of authenticity in the

activities and materials was statistically significant related to changes in frequency or

type of out-of-school literacy practices among the students. By creating criteria for typing

classes along the authentic dimension, the authors were able to empirically explore which

types of adult literacy instruction are more effective than others. This paper serves not

only as a reference for the type of instructions and texts I choose to employ as an

instructor when teaching reading and writing to adult learners, but also a reminder that

the ultimate goal of literacy instruction is the actual use of that reading and writing skill,

not a final test score and that the conventional assessment of reading and writing skill

level is not the only measure of instructional outcome.

Robinson, K. (2006). Do Schools Kill Creativity? TED Ideas Worth Spreading. Retrieved at May

18, 2008, from:

http://www.ted.com/talks/ken_robinson_says_schools_kill_creativity/transcript?language

=en.
 The speaker argues that creativity is as important in education as Literacy. The speaker

points out that all education systems globally have a hierarchy with math and language at

the top, social sciences in the middle and arts at the bottom, corresponding to the

demands of market economy. The speaker believes intelligence needs to be defined, not

as stable and inherent but as diverse, dynamic and distinct. If one were to develop this

idea, it opens up interesting possibilities for further research. This is an important source

for me to position myself as an educator who strives to help her students grow by

stimulating their creativity instead of scoring high on tests.

Rymes, B. (2013). Communicating Beyond Language: Everyday Encounters with Diversity. New

York, NY: Routledge.

Rymes discusses the communicative resources humans choose to deploy out of their

communicative repertoires on a daily basis. These resources include not only the multiple

languages we use, but a plethora of communicative tools that combine in infinitely varied

performances of identity. This source provides a useful perspective on cultural diversity

and human interaction and helps people to find common ground and communicate in

increasingly multicultural schools, workplaces, markets, and social spheres. The book

lays the foundation of my entire Intercultural Communication experience by introducing

key concepts such as communicative repertoire and meta-commentary and by illustrating

UNESCO (1974). Recommendations Concerning Education for International Understanding,

Cooperation and Peace and Education Relating to Human Rights and Fundamental

Freedoms. Paris: UNESCO.

The rising popularity of intercultural education in the 20th century had an origin in global

human rights movement. It became a well-established field of practice, particularly after

the United Nations documents about the basic rights and this publication by UNESCO.

This document represents the reflections of the UN search for means and values to

safeguard nonviolence and peaceful cooperation between nations, specifically promoting

education for international understanding, cooperation and peace. The UN mission is

consistent with the Kantian idea of treating others as subjects and as goals instead of as a

means for something, which is an essential guideline in education that I strongly believe

in. As an intercultural educator, I champion the commitment to equity between people,

groups and cultural areas. Equal intercultural dialogue challenges us to evaluate things

from new perspectives and to widen our horizons and scope of caring.