PAGES FROM A STORY-BOOK: AN ACCOUNT
OF A BRITISH-HUNGARIAN PROJECT
OF CULTURAL STUDIES
ARIANNA KITZINGER*
B i ish Council, Budapes , Hunga y
ABSTRACT
The a icle gi es an accoun o a B i ish Council p ojec on he a ea o
eaching Cul u al S udies, which has been going on o ou yea s in Hunga y.
I is a complex p ojec o eaching cul u e, li e a u e and language in an in e-
g a ed way and aims o in oduce new me hods especially in language each-
ing a seconda y schools. The ame o he a icle is he ch onological o de
ha co e s he pe iod om 1996 up o he p esen days. I shows he di e -
en s ages om he beginnings, which go back o a B i ish Council summe
cou se o eache s a Lake Bala on. The nex pe iod includes he eache s’
e o o y ou he new me hods a schools and dissemina e i among col-
leagues a wo kshops and p esen a ions. A p esen he g oup is in ol ed in
ma e ial w i ing. The a icle gi es a sho p ac ical example o eaching li e -
a y pieces om cul u al aspec s. The no el y o he p ojec and i s impac on
Hunga ian ELT is a key issue, which is also ou lined. Besides me hodological
and pedagogical sides o he p ojec , he psychological ac o s o eache de el-
opmen and ha o a closely co-ope a i e wo k a e also examined. The aim
o he a icle is o p o e ha , on he basis o he Hunga ian example, simila
p ojec s could be ca ied ou in any place o he wo ld whe e o eign lan-
guages a e augh .
KEY WORDS
B i ish Council p ojec ; no el y; in eg a ed cul u e, li e a u e and language
eaching; expe imen s; p ac ical aspec ; ield ip; B i ishness; c oss-cul u al
aspec ; ma e ial w i ing; eache and s uden iendly ma e ial.
CAUCE, Re is a de Filología y su Didác ica, nº 24, 2001 / págs. 325-343 325
* A ianna Ki zinge is a eache o Hunga ian and English languages and li e a-
u e. She has a wide ange o expe ience in eaching adolescen s a seconda y schools,
young adul s a a college o pedagogy and adul s in language schools. A p esen she
li es in Budapes and is in ol ed in a B i ish Council p ojec which aims o in eg a e
he eaching o language, li e a u e and cul u e in seconda y educa ion. She is one o
he au ho s o a c oss-cul u al cou sebook, “Zoom In”, which is due o be published
by Sep embe 2001.
ARIANNA KITZINGER
326
RESUMEN
Es e a ículo da cuen a de un p oyec o desa ollado en el á ea de la ense-
ñanza de Es udios Cul u ales, que se ha enido desa ollando a lo la go de
cua o años en Hung ía. Es un p oyec o complejo de enseñanza de cul u a,
li e a u a y lengua en o ma in eg ada y a a de in oduci nue os mé odos,
pa icula men e en la enseñanza del inglés en la escuela supe io . El cuad o
empo al del a ículo se e ie e al pe íodo desde 1996 has a el día de hoy.
Mues a a ias ases de desa ollo, desde un cu so de e ano en el Lago Bala-
on o ganizado po el B i ish Council pa a docen es de inglés que ep esen ó
el inicio del p oyec o. El pe íodo siguien e es á ma cado po el es ue zo de
los docen es po aplica es os nue os mé odos en la escuela y di undi los en e
sus colegas po medio de alle es y con e encias. Hoy en día el g upo es á
comp ome ido esc ibiendo ma e iales. Es e a ículo da un ejemplo co o y p ác-
ico de cómo enseña agmen os li e a ios a pa i de cues iones cul u ales, y
en a iza la no edad de es e p oyec o jun o con el ca ác e undamen al de su
impac o sob e la enseñanza del inglés en Hung ía. En el a ículo, además de
cues iones me odológicas y pedagógicas, se discu en los ac o es psicológicos
del desa ollo de los docen es y del abajo en colabo ación. Concluyendo, la
inalidad de es e a ículo es demos a que, a pa i de es e ejemplo húnga o,
se pueden desa olla p oyec os simila es en cualquie luga en el mundo don-
de se enseñen lenguas ex anje as.
PALABRAS CLAVE
P oyec o del B i ish Council; no edad; enseñanza in eg ada de cul u a,
li e a u a y lengua; expe imen os; aspec os p ác icos; iaje en el e i o io; B i-
anidad; aspec os mul icul u ales; esc i u a de ma e iales; ma e ial “ iendly”
pa a docen es y es udian es.
RÉSUMÉ
L’a icle po e su un p oje du B i ish Council dans le domaine de l’en-
seignemen des É udes Cul u elles qui es en pleine ac i i é en Hong ie depuis
qua e ans. C’es un p oje complexe de l’enseignemen de la cul u e, la li é-
a u e e la langue dans une o me in ég ée e qui ise à in odui e de nou-
elles mé hodes, su ou dans l’enseignemen de la langue dans les lycées. Le
cad e de l’a icle es l’o d e ch onologique qui cou e la pé iode de 1996
jusqu’à nos jou s. Il mon e les di é en es phases à pa i du déclanchemen ,
qui emon en aux cou s d’é é o ganisés pou les p o esseu s au Lac Bala on.
L’é ape sui an e compo e les e o s des p o esseu s pou me e les nou elles
mé hodes à l’ép eu e dans les écoles e les di use dans les collèges, dans
les a elie s e dans les p ésen a ions. Main enan , le g oupe es occupé à en
éc i e les ma é iaux. L’a icle donne un cou exemple p a ique d’enseignemen
des pièces de li é a u e d’un poin de ue cul u el. La nou eau é du p oje e
ses in luences su l’enseignemen de la Langue Anglaise en Hong ie son d’une
impo ance capi ale qui es aussi dé inie. Ou e les aspec s mé hodologiques
PAGES FROM A STORY-BOOK: AN ACCOUNT OF A BRITISH-HUNGARIAN…
327
e pédagogiques du p oje , les ac eu s psychologiques du dé eloppemen des
p o esseu s e du a ail en é oi e coopé a ion son examinés en même emps.
Le bu de l’a icle es de p ou e que su la base de l’exemple hong ois, des
p oje s similai es peu en ê e mis en place dans n’impo e quel end oi du
monde où les langues é ange es son é aluées.
MOTS-CLÉ
Un p oje du B i ish Council; nou eau é; cul u e, li é a u e, e l’enseigne-
men des langues in ég é; expé imen a ions; dimension p a ique; classes e es;
“B i annisme”; dimension en e-cul u elle; l’éc i u e des ma é iaux; ma é ial p o-
p o esseu e p o-é udian .
I s a ed as a usual eache - aining summe cou se o ganised by
he B i ish Council in a Hunga ian eso on Lake Bala on in 1996. Now,
when ou yea s ha e passed, we ind ou sel es in he middle o w i -
ing and edi ing a book o in e media e seconda y school s uden s hop-
ing ha we will open new ways o eenage s and hei eache s who
wan o ge amilia ised wi h he up- o-da e cul u e o he language ha
hey a e s udying and eaching. O iginally, we did no in end o ge so
a in ca ying ou ou plans. Ac ually, ou plans we e much mo e mod-
es . Ye , why did we s ay oge he , wha was he cohe en o ce o con-
inuing ou mee ings and wha was he aim o ou wo k?
W i ing and compiling a book which in eg a es language and cul-
u e is undoub edly a good ou come o ou ou yea s’ ac i i y. Is he
end o ou p ojec a necessa y esul , a pla eau whe e we can ha e a
li le b ea h and go back o ou classes as i no hing had happened o
is i a sp ingboa d o a na ional and in e na ional dissemina ion o ou
me hods o ou colleagues and he new gene a ion which is s udying
English?
You can answe he ques ions and will hope ully ind some aspec s
ha a e wo h hinking o e in you own si ua ion and line o each-
ing English whe e e you pu sue you job.
I. THE PAST (“SIMPLE”)
Long, long ime ago…
E e y hing has i s own his o y. Whe he he o icial s o y coincides
o no wi h he one we ha e expe ienced is usually a poin o a gu-
men . I p o es ha ou p i a e expe iences and he esul o ou i s
ARIANNA KITZINGER
328
mee ings we e jus as posi i e as he accoun s we handed in o he
B i ish Council ’o icially’.
‘I am so y, I won’ go his ime…’, I hough o mysel while I
was opening he usual en elope om he B i ish Council in he sum-
me o 1996. By ha ime I had aken pa in mos o hei summe
cou ses and I hough I would dese e a eal summe holiday. Two
minu es la e I picked up he ecei e and hea d my oice: “Yes, I’d
like o apply o one o you cou ses…’ The u ning poin was a i le
which I had no seen among he opics be o e: “Teaching Li e a u e
and Cul u e in Seconda y Schools”.
The cou se was supplemen a y aining o English eache s om
all o e he coun y. Wi h he help o ou wo aine s, P o John McRae
and Ma k And ews, we managed o see a di e en aspec o language
eaching. Al hough mos o us had al eady ied ou his/he own me h-
ods, he cou se managed o ein o ce he alues o an a ea ha had
no been augh a uni e si ies as pa o ini ial p e-se ice eache
aining.
To sum up he uniqueness o he cou se he i s hing o men ion
is ha language, li e a u e and cul u e appea ed in a e y in eg a ed
way, and no as an abs ac side o language eaching. We we e p o-
ided wi h lo s o au hen ic ma e ials, and we e glad o see ha op-
ics and language poin s we e ca e ully selec ed.
I hink he idea o a cou se like his coincided wi h he p ac ising
eache s’ old wishes. We had been a ending se e al cou ses which
we e un and eally use ul, a e a while howe e , pu e me hodologi-
cal aining became supe luous. The cou se was undoub edly a b eak-
h ough no only because i ga e us a esh and no el app oach o
eaching cul u e and li e a u e, bu also because o he sa is ac ion ha
we ound a g oup o eache s wi h a simila in e es .
A s ep o wa d-The age o expe imen s
Ou heigh ened in e es and a e y o una e coincidence made ou
la e wo k oge he possible: in Sep embe 1996 a new pos was c e-
a ed a he B i ish Council o in eg a e B i ish Cul u al S udies and ELT.
This pos was aken up by Ma k And ews, one o ou u o s on he
Cul u e and Li e a u e summe cou se. Due o his insis ence and belie
in he mu ual wo k we me again in he au umn. We all ealised ha
he summe cou se had had an eno mous impac on ou e e yday
eaching job, ye ou ideas abou u u e co-ope a ion we e ague.
PAGES FROM A STORY-BOOK: AN ACCOUNT OF A BRITISH-HUNGARIAN…
329
We me on a egula basis (once in e e y wo o h ee mon hs)
when we exchanged ideas and ied o iden i y wha we we e wo k-
ing on. A his poin we became a li le emba assed as we could no
apply he old, well-known e ms we came ac oss du ing ou p e ious
s udies o ou ac i i y. I could no be jammed in o a ca ego y. I could
no be labelled. As soon as we ound a pleasan -sounding name we
ound o he easons why ha was no app op ia e. We we e a guing a
lo abou he pu e e ms such as “Ci ilisa ion”, “B i ish S udies”, “B i ish
Cul u al S udies” o simply “Cul u al S udies”.
We had o ace he ca ego isa ions o ou subjec ma e .
Cul u e is a di icul concep […]: cul u e as a se o supe io al-
ues, especially embodied in wo ks o a and limi ed o a small eli e;
cul u e as a whole way o li e, he in o ming spi i o people; cul u e
as a se o alues imposed on he majo i y by hose in powe ; and cul-
u e as he way in which di e en people make sense o hei li es.
(Pennycook, 1994, p. 62)
The con en was no eally new, bu he way we we e ying o
in oduce i o ou s uden s and colleagues was.
Wha was new compa ing i wi h mo e adi ional ways o dealing
wi h his subjec ma e ? A one o ou ea ly mee ings Alan Pul e ness,
a ee lance eache aine based a he No wich Ins i u e o Language
Educa ion, summa ised ha in a p ojec like his eache s wan :
• hei s uden s o unde s and hemsel es and each o he be e ;
• o s eng hen he in e - and in acul u al unc ions, i.e. o gi e
s uden s he chance o app ecia e he di e ences and simila i ies be ween
hei own and he a ge cul u e;
• o de elop empa hy;
• o help objec i i y – on he basis o hei knowledge s uden s
lea n o obse e hei cul u e and ha o he a ge coun ies wi hou
bias;
• o widen s uden s’ ho izon;
• o de elop he abili y o be ole an ;
• o esul in a posi i e a i ude o language lea ning.
As a as pedagogical me hods a e conce ned some basic no el ies
we e also emphasised by him:
• he s a ing poin is he s uden s’ own cul u e, eache s ha e o
use i as a undamen al sp ingboa d;

ARIANNA KITZINGER
330
•g ounds o compa ison – e.g. simila i ies and di e ences o he
di e en cul u es should be s essed (compa ing he wo ins ead o
judging hem!);
•p ac ical ac i i ies:
–s uden s should collec ma e ial acco ding o hei own ields o
in e es based on pe sonal ela ions,
–analysis o he gi en da a (c ea i i y s. “swo ing o exams”);
•app oaching he gi en social and his o ic en i onmen on he
basis o pe sonal expe iences;
•a oiding gene alisa ion and sp eading s e eo ypes;
• o aise in e es in o he people’s opinions.
A e a while i was no enough o sha e he ideas amongs only
ou sel es; we el he u ge o in oduce he p ojec o o he colleagues.
The IATEFL con e ence in Budapes (1997) p o ed o be he i s sui -
able place o do i . The e e e ybody was gi en he oppo uni y o sha e
his/he knowledge and expe ience abou a opic o a special in e es .
I was ollowed by con e ences bo h in Hunga y and ab oad (Ox o d,
Dublin, Manches e ; C oa ia, Yugosla ia, Russia, Romania, Slo enia, Slo-
akia, Poland). In his way we made he ou comes o he p ojec a ail-
able o many colleagues, and hope ully mo e and mo e o hem we e
in e es ed in he app oach and ied i ou in hei own places.
How o pu i all in o p ac ice?
S opping a li le in he s o y o he p ojec , a his poin I would
like o illus a e wi h a wa me and a ex o show how i is manage-
able o each a piece o ma e ial acco ding o he abo e guidelines. My
s uden s we e om a college o pedagogy, 18-19 yea -olds, hei le el
was in e media e, hei majo was no English.
•The wa me
This ime i was a guessing game wi h loanwo ds.
1. S uden s we e gi en a shee wi h i e loanwo ds and hei un-
ny illus a ions ha came in o he Hunga ian language.
The wo ds we e as ollows: szpu nyik, dzsem, pék, o in , papucs.
(In English: spu nik, jam, bake , o in , slippe s.)
PAGES FROM A STORY-BOOK: AN ACCOUNT OF A BRITISH-HUNGARIAN…
331
The possible coun ies o o igin we e also w i en on he page, ce -
ainly no in he o de o he loanwo ds: Ge many/Aus ia, Tu key, I aly,
Russia, England.
2. The game was simila wi h he English loanwo ds, oo. Mos
o hese wo ds a e quali ied as in e na ional wo ds, so i was e en mo e
di icul o ind ou hei eal o igin.
The “English” wo ds we e bungalow, obacco, zeb a, ka a e, obo ,
esp esso, disco, ano ak, ba becue, coach.
The o e ed places we e F ance, I aly, Hunga y, he An illes, G een-
land, A ica, India, Czechland, Sou h-Ame ica.
A e ma ching he places wi h he wo ds we discussed he ol-
lowing ques ions:
–Why a e hese wo ds p esen in you mo he ongue and in Eng-
lish?
–Wha connec s hese wo ds?
–Can you men ion a special his o ic eason o he “mig a ion” o
hese wo ds?
As a as he Hunga ian wo ds a e conce ned, mos o he s uden s
ecognised he simila i y be ween he wo d “pék” and he Ge man
“Bäcke ”, and a ew o hem emembe ed om hei s udies ha behind
he wo d “ o in ” hides he amous Flo en ine gold coin wi h lily.
I was a su p ise ha “disco” and “ba becue” a e also loanwo ds in
English. S uden s ook hei English o igin g an ed! E en “coach” sound-
ed English. I is howe e among he ew wo ds om Hunga ian which
a e used almos in e na ionally. (F om he name o he illage, Kocs.)
In he case o he English wo ds we also p ac ised he p onuncia-
ion, which was also su p ising some imes.
The goal o he wa me was o ealise how many connec ing poin s
and in e ac ions he e a e be ween he appa en ly di e en cul u es
al eady om he aspec s o he languages.
•The ex
The ex was A hol Fuga d’s d ama, “My Child en! My A ica!”
which I ound a sui able song o , T acey Chapman’s “Ac oss he Lines”.
While lis ening o he song, s uden s we e able o ollow he ly ics wi h
hei eyes, oo. On he basis o he wo ds he ollowing ques ions
se ed as an in oduc ion o he piece om he d ama:
ARIANNA KITZINGER
332
–Find some key wo ds and jus i y you decision!
–Wha is he p oblem in ol ed in he song?
–Which places o he wo ld migh his p oblem a ise? Wha abou
you coun y?
The song could also be a sho summa y o he d ama; only he
names o he places should be eplaced…
Fuga d was inspi ed o w i e i by a li le no e in he local news-
pape epo ing he dea h o a eache who had s ayed a his desk in
spi e o a call o a boyco a his school. He has u ned his e e yday
inciden in o a play ull o genuine emo ions and hemes hinking abou
discussing, in spi e o all he changes o he be e ha ha e happened
since he play was w i en. As i s heme is mo e gene al han me e c i -
icism o he si ua ion in Sou h A ica hen, i will emain opical and
popula as long as he e is human su e ing, as long as he e a e opp es-
sion and disc imina ion because o ace and colou , in sho : as long as
he e a e unjus socie ies. (Scha anek 1995, p. 5.)
The e was a e y simple p e-ques ion (Wha is he scene?) which
only ocussed a en ion o he coun y o he d ama.
S uden s ead he ex o hemsel es, and a e discussing he mos
ele an unknown wo ds, ead i ou in small g oups.
This piece o he d ama is a ly ical pa ha ells he eade wha
his eaching p o ession and his home, A ica means o M . M. He sha es
his eelings wi h a a ou i e s uden , Thami in a diso de ed school. He
also ells he boy ha a he police he had al eady epo ed he
app oaching boyco . Thami wan s o ell a lie in he in e es s o his
eache and he wan s o con ince he o he s abou he innocence o
M . M, bu he eache e uses help. Wi h his bell M . M uns ou o he
schoolya d whe e he mob kills him.
This ime he ask did no only make he s uden s hink, bu also
demanded c ea i i y in w i ing. In h ee en elopes he e we e h ee di -
e en asks:
iii) W i e an a icle o he local WHITE newspape abou M M’s
dea h.
iii) W i e an a icle o he local BLACK newspape abou M M’s
dea h.
iii) W i e a FACTUAL a icle abou M M’s dea h.
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333
Ha ing w i en he a icles s uden s displayed hei shee s on he
wall, so ha e e ybody could see i . Finally we ied o ind ou which
o he a icles we e w i en o he whi e/black/neu al newspape . S u-
den s also poin ed ou wo ds and exp essions which we e cha ac e is-
ic o bias and neu ali y. The mos di icul a icle o compose was he
one o he “neu al” newspape .
A he s age o he con ex ual discussion he ques ion o di e en
alues came in o he limeligh . A e discussing he di e ences be ween
Thami’s and he eache ’s di e en ideas o alues, s uden s we e alk-
ing abou hei own opinion in he ligh o hei own li es.
The homewo k was as ollows: In “My Child en! My A ica!” M M.
made a jou ney om he sou h o he no h in A ica. Wha would you
see i you walked ac oss Hunga y ei he om he wes o he eas o
om he no h o he sou h?
The nex lesson we discussed he opic.
The ield ip
While eaching ma e ials in a simila way, we el an inc easing
need o ge an up- o-da e pic u e o B i ain as a whole g oup. We go
his oppo uni y by he B i ish Council in he summe o 1998.
As we did no wan o go unp epa ed we we e happy o welcome
Michael By am om he Uni e si y o Du ham, whose ins uc ions abou
e hnog aphic echniques we e highly app ecia ed du ing he ip.
Ou isi was conside ed o be unusual as, unlike o he o eign
g oups, we did no ake pa in any o he usual B i ish S udies cou s-
es o The College o S Ma k & S John. We in ended o wo k acco d-
ing o ou own plans we had made be o e he jou ney. In his way
we ied o ollow ou schedule, bu o handle i in a lexible way.
Ou g oup, 14 Hunga ian eache s o English and wo eache ain-
e s, we e di ided in o ou in e es g oups he ask o which was o
examine ou majo aspec s o B i ish li e such as olun ee wo k, a s,
language and amily li e.
Besides he abo e di ision o he ields, o he sake o a deepe
unde s anding ou aim was o ake di e en o he aspec s in o consid-
e a ion, e.g. wha kinds o oles do adi ion, gende , egion, age, al-
ues and classes play in he a s in a ce ain a ea o B i ain?
We spen mos pa s o he days isi ing o icial places. We wen
o seconda y schools (e.g. De onpo High School o Gi ls, S Boni-
ace Roman Ca holic Boys School), lib a ies (e.g. Plymou h Ci y Lib a y),
ARIANNA KITZINGER
340
A he beginning o No embe we ga he ed oge he whe e hey
p esen ed bo h hei own and hei s uden s’ eedback. I p o ed o be
a ele an and use ul s age o ou wo k.
Acco ding o eache s and s uden s who we e in ol ed in pilo ing,
he book:
•gi es ele an and au hen ic knowledge abou a cul u e s uden s
know a he supe icially;
•is no a language-o ien a ed ma e ial, bu much mo e;
•de elops di e en skills in an en e aining way;
•encou ages s uden s o make compa isons be ween B i ain and
Hunga y;
• eaches eal language.
Ob iously no each pa was welcomed. Some s uden s ound a
ce ain opic in e es ing while hei classma es ound i absolu ely
unnecessa y and bo ing. Teache s wan ed a mo e sa is ac o y his o ical
and social backg ound o uni s. S uden s missed he adi ional exe -
cises and opics. Mos o hem s ill insis on ge ing o know mo e abou
c icke o how o d ink ea. I p ecisely mi o s wha s uden s had had
o gi e an accoun o a an examina ion; wha had been expec ed and
discussed unde he heading “English cul u e”. S uden s also complained
abou he quan i y o new ocabula y.
A ou mee ings wi h he colleagues we discussed he eedback in
minu e de ail in he case o each uni and made he necessa y al e -
a ions. A p esen we a e a he s age o sending ou he e ised e -
sions in o classes.
Di icul ies o come o e
The majo p oblem p esen ed i sel soon: we a e no p o essional
ma e ial w i e s. I especially became ob ious when we sa down in
on o he compu e . Fo mos o us e en he so wa e we a e wo k-
ing wi h was unknown; no o speak abou dealing wi h ideo and
audio eco dings. Some imes he ques ion is e y simple: “Should i be
au hen ic o audible?”
Al hough he publishe eassu ed us ha no e e y iny de ail is
ou esponsibili y, we s ill eel mo e com o able i we ou sel es ake
ca e o on , colou s, numbe ing in o de o indica e ou concep ion o
he edi o .

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341
The es o he p oblems a e mo e psychological han echnical.
Al hough by now we ha e managed o o m a eal wo king eam i is
no easy o wel e people o ha monise ideas! On he o he hand, ou
indi idual i ues and weaknesses ha e become clea e , which helps
us o unde ake he p ope ask in he di e en phases o he wo k.
Sel -de elopmen in a g oup
I we speak abou de elopmen we mus men ion wo kinds o
ha . One o hem is he p o essional de elopmen and he o he is he
pe sonal. Wha he p ojec has gi en us up o now is sel -explana o y,
ye o he sake o comple eness le me quo e my colleagues.
Wha do hey say abou ou p o essional de elopmen ?
Csilla: “Consequen ly, my concep o B i ish s udies has al e ed as
well. I ha e ealised ha ins ead o lea ning/ eaching abou
B i ain I should s udy/ each B i ain i sel h ough a ious
ma e ial mani es a ions o ha cul u e […] By doing his, s u-
den s explo e cul u al opics and imp o e hei linguis ic skills
simul aneously, he e o e language and cul u e a e in eg a ed
in he EFL class, which is he only na u al way o EFL each-
ing –using he language as he medium and cul u e as he
con en o s udy.”
Gyöngyi: “The opics and ma e ials […] equi e a lo o esponsibili y,
sobe ness and cou age on he pa o he eache . Topics such
as d ug addic ion, eenage sex, eenage p egnancy, iolence
in socie y and he like can easily make eache s eel uncom-
o able o deal wi h in he class oom. Bu in ol emen in he
p ojec , I eel, has p epa ed me o i .”
As a as pe sonal de elopmen is conce ned we also eel he changes:
Ka i: “[…] I was so lucky ha I had a chance o make a simila
p esen a ion a an in e na ional con e ence in Zag eb wi h
ano he membe o he g oup: Csilla. […] The only way o
o e come he ension o his esponsibili y was he mos p e-
cise planning and long-long discussions o all he ques ions
ela ed o ou iews on educa ion, cul u e, alues and li e in
gene al. By he ime o he p esen a ion we go so close o
each o he ha p obably ei he o us could ha e gi en simi-
la answe s o he a ising ques ions.”
Csilla: “The p ojec has had an e ec on me as a pe son, oo. I ha e
become mo e in e es ed in poli ical and social a ai s […] Ha -
ing g own up in a mul icul u al en i onmen ( he o me
ARIANNA KITZINGER
342
Yugosla ia) as a membe o a mino i y e hnic g oup, I ha e
always been in e es ed in ques ions o na ional and cul u al
iden i y/iden i ies […]
Mo ing o Hunga y aised lo s o ques ions in me conce ning
assimila ion and/o keeping my iden i y, which my being
in ol ed in he p ojec has helped o esol e. I belie e ha
he pe sonal and p o essional iden i y I ha e been able o c e-
a e o mysel he e in Hunga y is closely ela ed o my wo k
in he p ojec .”
3. THE FUTURE (“CONTINUOUS”)
While emembe ing he pas imes and dealing wi h he p esen
du ies, we mus no o ge abou he u u e commi men s ei he . The e
a e wo ypes o u u e plans in he wo king o he g oup. Fi s o all
we mus concen a e on some sho - e m p oblems o sol e e.g. inse -
ing dic iona y en ies, w i ing glossa ies o such o e all asks as s an-
da dising he o m, checking he places and quali y o audio and ideo
ma e ials. As we wo k wi hin a e y igh schedule we cons an ly eel
he p essu e o ime in he case o nea u u e ac i i ies. Till we did
no s a w i ing and compiling he book, we had ague ideas abou
he publishing p ocess.
The e o e i was in e es ing o mee ou publishe who sha ed he
“hidden” pa o edi ing wi h he g oup.
Al hough we did no che ish he illusion ha i would be an easy
ask, some imes we s ill wonde how many iny de ails a e le o check
be o e sending he ma e ial o he publishe , and how many imes we
will ha e o al e di e en pa s. I seems o be a ne e -ending p ocess.
Apa om hese e e yday ac i i ies we ha e o keep o he , a p es-
en a li le less igh ening, deadlines in mind. I we wan he book o
come on he ma ke o he nex school yea , i.e. Sep embe 2001, we
ha e o make o he p epa a ions in he in e es o making o he each-
e s amilia wi h bo h he con en and he app oach. I will mean di -
e en o ums all o e he coun y.
Who is he book made o ?
I is basically w i en o eenage s, 16-17 yea -old s uden s a sec-
onda y schools. S uden s o language schools migh also make use o
i as mos o hem go o s udy English ou side school o ge some ex a
ma e ial and lea n he language in a less adi ional way.
PAGES FROM A STORY-BOOK: AN ACCOUNT OF A BRITISH-HUNGARIAN…
343
As i is a pionee ing book o he kind in Hunga y, hope ully i will
become a use ul companion o he s uden s o eache - aining ins i-
u es whe e he spec um o me hodology should be widened. We sin-
ce ely hope ha also eache aine s will welcome a esh aspec in
ELT.
D eams and eali y
Acco ding o ou expe ience in Hunga y he me hodology o ELT
and cul u al and li e a y s udies a e s ill sepa a ed. Those who deal wi h
he la e conside pedagogy a subjec o seconda y impo ance. While
eache aine s in ol ed in ELT end o hink ha cul u e is so sophis-
ica ed ha i is no wo h dealing wi h i in he class oom. I aises
he ques ion o e o m bo h in seconda y and e ia y educa ion.
We do no hink ha ou book will sol e he p oblem, bu we do
hope i will o e a new aspec which help eache s o ealise ha i is
possible o in eg a e wha is oday a i icially sepa a ed. A he same
ime we would like o gi e s uden s he oppo uni y o e ise hei old
s e eo ypes abou B i ain and eplace hem wi h a esh, up- o-da e pic-
u e, e en i hey ha e no isi ed he coun y.
[…] g ea e consciousness will, […] help make lea ne s mo e e lec-
i e, lexible and adap able. A mo e e lec i e language lea ne is a mo e
e ec i e language lea ne . (McCa hy, Ca e , 1994, p. 165)
We i mly belie e i is alid in he case o Cul u al S udies, oo.
REFERENCES
ANDREWS, M. (1999), “Re lec ion-in-ac ion: B i ish S udies o eache de elop-
men ”, in B i ish S udies Now Issue ele en Janua y, The B i ish Council.
MCCARTHY, M.; CARTER, R. A. (1994), Language as discou se: pe spec i e o lan-
guage eaching, Longman.
MEDGYES, P. (1994), The non-na i e eache , Macmillan.
PENNYCOOK, A. (1994), The cul u al poli ics o English as an in e na ional lan-
guage, Longman.
SCHAFRANEK, J. (ed.) (1995), “P e ace”, in Ak ion “Englisches Thea e geh in die
Schulen, Bundesminis e ium ü Un e ich und kul u elle Angelegenhei en.
TOWNSON, N. (1998), “Romania’s Ma e ials P ojec , 1997/8”, in B i ish S udies
Now Issue Ten Ma ch, The B i ish Council.
THE USE OF POETRY IN TEFL:
LITERATURE IN THE NEW LEBANESE CURRICULUM
DR. NAJWA NASR*
Lebanese Uni e si y, Lebanon
ABSTRACT
In his pape , I demons a e how he analysis o he language o poe ic
selec ions could be he basis o TEFL lessons. To illus a e, I use sample selec-
ions om he poe y o wo Lebanese-Ame ican poe s namely Ameen Rihani’s
The Chan o Mys ics and Gib an Kahlil Gib an’s The P ophe .
Nowadays, mo e a gumen s suppo he ele ance o using li e a u e o
he eaching o a o eign language, and discuss he use ulness o he linguis-
ic analysis o li e a u e o pedagogical pu poses.
The New Na ional Cu iculum o Educa ion pu in o e ec in Lebanon
beginning academic yea 1998-1999 di e s adically om he old one in
me hodology, app oach, and dis ibu ion o cycles. The new cu iculum adop s
he con en -based app oach, which allows o he possibili y o using li e a y
ex s as one sou ce o con en . My majo ocus in his pape is on he use o
poe y in he seconda y cycle o he Lebanese English cu iculum. The poe -
ic selec ions handled a e ich in hei ocabula y and s uc u es, which allows
o a a ie y o ac i i ies. Whe he we a e eaching a o eign language o e en
a na i e one, li e a u e is a highly ecommended ehicle o a numbe o ea-
sons. In such cases, ocus on he language pa es he way o a meaning ul
and ewa ding li e a y app ecia ion.
KEY WORDS
ESL/EFL, linguis ics and poe y, ocabula y, pa allelism, cohe ence, cohe-
sion, Gib an, Rihani, an onyms, awa eness, cloze, cu iculum, sound pa e ns,
s uc u es.
CAUCE, Re is a de Filología y su Didác ica, nº 24, 2001 / págs. 345-363 345
* Najwa Nas , Full P o esso o English Linguis ics a he Lebanese Uni e si y,
holds a Ph. D. om Geo ge own Uni e si y. A senio Fulb igh Schola and a Salzbu g
Semina alumnus. Has o e 25 publica ions in Linguis ics mainly in Linguis ics and Poe -
y and Phonology; TEFL; Lebanese Immig a ion he i age: web pages, a icles and pho-
o exhibi ions; he New Lebanese Na ional Cu iculum- amewo k and ex books; and
ansla ions namely My hs om Mesopo amia and poe ic selec ions.