The digital story map research project for EDUC/LANG/AFS/ESL 408 has five years of collected research from student projects examining the complicated issues of teaching English abroad. Students have spent the semester engaged in discussion, research, and a short teaching practicum and have worked to connect this to the larger issue of English as a global language. The map conveys information on theory and practice about TESOL (Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages) at specific points in the world to help students and future teachers understand educational frameworks, language policy, methodology, evaluation of learner and cultural considerations, and cultural assumptions as well as a specific TESOL topics. Country specific topics may include ESOL teaching pedagogy and culture, social justice in teaching ESOL/EFL, official languages and transition, a current hot topic in ESOL, teaching in regions suffering from trauma/working with refugees, classroom management, and international trends in teaching ESL.
Furthermore, this project is a combination of a socio-cultural profile and a situational analysis. The map is public and was presented at the TESOL International Conference in Seattle, Washington in March of 2016 by Robin Rhodes-Crowell, instructor for the course. There is no prerequisite for the class, which draws across disciplines, but also provides education and African studies minors with additional electives and other students with the DIV13 designation. The map is a reflection of the work and study students have engaged in during the semester and is a look into the larger phenomenon of teaching English abroad.
