Orchestrating Cultural Differences in Pedagogy: A Transformational Experience

Abstract

In this world of plurality and polivocality, it has become a challenge for both educators and learners to negotiate their voices and opinions on a number of things the way that they should move forward and hence give the pedagogy a go, keeping the tunnel open for any sort of heightened understanding between parties concerned. I, like others, in the same boat, feel the exigency of this orchestration, as I encounter the problems of differences in opinions between my students and me both inside and outside the classroom. Negotiating these differences between students and their teachers and also among themselves bring forth a practical challenge for both parties. The study in progress has actually grown out of my personal observations and interactions with my students inside and outside the classrooms. It also zooms in on my continual effort to find the middle ground to deal with these practical concerns. It also takes how my interactions with students have transformed the way I have been teaching for a long time. By the way, it would be apposite to mention that my purpose is here just to exploit the parameter of contact zone to show how it heleds me to resolve the crisis I experienced while teaching and interacting with my students. It does in no way encompass the whole process of learning and teaching in its entirety in view of the concepts of them having emerged in keeping with recent developments in the field.

Key words: Culture, Transformation, Contact zone

DOI: 10.3329/dujl.v2i3.4145

The Dhaka University Journal of Linguistics: Vol.2 No.3 February, 2009 Page: 91-100