Reading With My Eyes Open: Embracing the critical and the personal in language pedagogy

Reviewed by Sarah Knowles, Professorial Lecturer, American University on 2/24/21

Comprehensiveness rating: 5 see less

The text is extremely comprehensive in its discussion of various approaches to foreign language teaching over the years. The discussions of culture/intercultural theories are also very robust. The integration of language teaching theories with culture/intercultural theories (Chaps. 1-3) provides a thorough background to the research study that Quist describes in Chaps. 4-5 and in her concluding chapter. The research context, participants, and methods are described in detail. The index includes topics and referenced scholars. There is no glossary, although the concepts discussed in the book are well-defined and illustrated through citing and responding to seminal sources.

Content Accuracy rating: 5

The content is well-aligned with the work of the best-known scholars in this area (e.g., Kramsch, Byram, Foucault, etc.) and accurately reflects their definitions and perspectives. Although I am not an expert in this area myself, the claims seem to be well-supported through relevant cited literature and the argumentation is logical. Her interpretations of her data are reflective of the theoretical concepts that provided the foundation for her study. It's helpful to have so many verbatim quotations from her participants (from transcribed classroom interactions and transcribed interviews), which strengthens the credibility of her analysis.

Relevance/Longevity rating: 4

It’s interesting that Quist is reporting on a study that she conducted many years prior to writing this book, while reflecting on how her own pedagogy has changed since that time. Quist references seminal, earlier works from key scholars that have been since updated by those authors, so we get the sense that she is reflecting both the origins of these ideas and how the ideas have evolved over time. Since she is reporting on a study that was conducted many years ago, I doubt that there would be a need for updating. However, I would love to learn more about what she is currently doing as a result of her reflexive practices in this area.

Clarity rating: 4

Readers will need a substantial amount of background knowledge in language teaching, critical pedagogies, discourse and culture studies, and intercultural communicative competence in order to understand the text. This text is definitely not an introductory text nor one that would appeal to someone without a philosophical orientation to the topic. However, I found her discussions and connections to these theories to be very helpful and validating. I have certainly read more accessible texts on these topics, but her discussions are insightful in providing a “next level” context. She is a very good writer, and manages to balance the heavy theorizing in Chaps. 1-3 with the more pragmatic research descriptions and findings in Chaps. 4-6.

Consistency rating: 5

Yes – we see the same ideas/concepts woven throughout the chapters. She constructs strong, coherent threads among the theories and the research and the classroom practice.

Modularity rating: 5

I would suggest reading the book chapter by chapter, although each chapter does have many well-titled subheadings that could be sectioned off. However, each chapter presents such a thorough discussion of the particular concepts that it would be difficult to divide the reading of each chapter into smaller reading sections. The text is very well-organized, reviewing what was previously discussed and previewing how it connects to future chapters in the book.

Organization/Structure/Flow rating: 5

In some ways, the book reads like a doctoral dissertation with extensive introduction and literature review making the case for the study (Chaps. 1-3) and then methods and findings presented (Chaps. 4-5). The conceptual chapters are lengthy and contain quite a bit of information that requires a concentrated reading. However, the subheadings are clear and the internal structure (reviewing, previewing, connecting) is very effective in linking the overall organization of the argumentation and evidence.

A small suggestion would be to re-format the TOC so that the main subheadings are indented and not bolded. In the TOC, Chaps 2-3 and 4-6 all have bolded subheadings that are aligned and formatted in the same way as the title of the chapters themselves. The bolding of certain main subheadings (e.g., ‘Teaching Culture’ in Chap. 2 and ‘Intercultural Communication in Language Teaching’ in Chap. 3) is confusing, especially because they are the same font/alignment as the chapter titles themselves.

Interface rating: 5

No interface problems.

Grammatical Errors rating: 5

No grammatical errors or infelicities.

Cultural Relevance rating: 5

The topic of the book is centered on intercuturality and intercultural competence; it is not insensitive or offensive but rather provides important rationales and compelling data for how/why we should approach foreign language teaching in a more humane, meaningful, and personal way.

Comments

I teach graduate students in a TESOL program, so I was hoping that this book would be useful for my methods and cultural issues courses. After reading the book myself, I don’t think I would use it in my graduate TESOL courses. My students don’t have the requisite background knowledge on the topic. Many of them are non-native English users themselves who would struggle with the level of academic writing in this book. The book would be more suited to PhD students or other scholars who specialize in this area.

However, I find it extremely useful for myself in clarifying my own understanding of the topic and in identifying examples of English language teaching approaches that I want to share with my students. I can reference Quist’s concepts, research, and findings in my own classes and distill key takeaways for my students. Her work is meant to inform classroom practice rather than to stay in the ivory tower. I appreciate the depth of thought, research, reflection, and connection that Quist infuses throughout the book.

I would love for her final chapter to be extended to share *more* of what she currently does now in her classroom practice. My only real criticism of the book is that it focuses on a previous iteration of her practice that has since evolved; although it is helpful to understand how thought and practice evolve, it would be great to see a “part 2” written with an updated discussion of how she continues to evolve her practices in addressing discourse and interculturality in L2 instruction.

Reviewed by Xue Song, Adjunct Chinese Instructor, Bunker Hill Community College on 5/31/20

Comprehensiveness rating: 4 see less

Although the book is based on the author's classroom study, it provides information related to basic concepts. The holistic introduction of theories and the unique classroom practice of the author in language education are organized in a concise and clear manner. The index and glossary are effective and helpful.

Content Accuracy rating: 4

The book is student-centered from several perspectives. First, by introducing and presenting conflicts between language and culture learning, as well as students' feedback on different approaches, the content is to a certain extent unbiased and encourages critical thinking. Moreover, the concept and relationship of language, culture, education and pedagogy are organized to bring people into the reality of university language teaching and learning, instead of just textbook theory. I think a good textbook is not the one that covers all concepts of a certain area, but presents and highlights the notions that are worth discussing and/or implementing.

Relevance/Longevity rating: 5

The focus on personal experience in language classes is up-to-date and culturally responsive. The author encourages pedagogies of engagement where students can make personal connections with the language and even the community behind it. By far, this is the direction that a lot of researchers and educators are heading towards and is worth discussing.

Clarity rating: 5

As the author explains this new theory, there are quit a number of terms taken from other researchers and created by Quist. Most of the terms, however, are provided with detailed historical information and are illustrated in various contexts.

Consistency rating: 4

The text is pretty consistent in terms of terminology and framework. The overall structure follows a historical timeline and a balance between theory and practice.

Modularity rating: 5

The text is easily and readily divisible into smaller reading sections if there's need to just emphasize on only some parts of the book. Other than giving readers a taste of each chapter in the Introduction, each chapter has its own introduction and conclusion. Within each chapter, the main terms/ideas/concepts are distinguished and are reader-friendly.

Organization/Structure/Flow rating: 4

The text is logical and clear. The highlight that distinguishes this textbook from some theoretical and analytical books might be its illustration of the author's unique classroom data. The interviews of two students are at the very different ends of the spectrum. It might be more objective to include more information from students who are in the middle.

Interface rating: 5

No interface issue identified.

Grammatical Errors rating: 5

No grammatical errors identified.

Cultural Relevance rating: 4

As mentioned before, the approach advocated by the author is culturally responsive. It's inspiring and encouraging to see that culture has been considered as an organic part of a language class with more than extracurricular cultural activities. One thing might also need to be taken into consideration is that the further the difference between a learner's native culture and a target culture is, the more efforts and strategies we may need to cross the barrier in learning.

Comments

I think this will be a good book/reference for a course like creative pedagogy or second language acquisition.

Reviewed by Jack Peterson, Associate Professor of English Language Teaching, Taylor University on 4/9/19

Comprehensiveness rating: 5 see less

The text gives a comprehensive treatment of how liberal humanist and instrumentalist approaches to education have informed the language classroom.

Content Accuracy rating: 5

The classroom study that anchors the book is presented with nuanced complexity. Quist carefully addresses the biases of the author in how the classroom enactment is analysed.

Relevance/Longevity rating: 4

The theoretical framework that sets up the foundational study for this book could benefit from more recent approaches to language pedagogy, particularly those informed by translingual approaches to language.

Clarity rating: 5

This book is clearly written.

Consistency rating: 5

The reader comes away with a strong understanding of the problems and concepts that are immanent to this text.

Modularity rating: 5

There are sections that could certainly supplement other classrooms on language pedagogy and culture.

Organization/Structure/Flow rating: 5

The book reads like a dissertation study.

Interface rating: 5

There are no distracting or confusing interface issues.

Grammatical Errors rating: 5

I did not encounter any grammatical errors.

Cultural Relevance rating: 5

Intercultural communication is a central concept of this book and is presented with great sensitivity.

Comments

After an insightful treatment of the shortcomings of liberal humanist and instrumental approaches to language teaching, Gerdi Quist critiques approaches to teaching culture in language pedagogy as being out of step with a world of interconnectedness and fluidity. The fixedness on culture as national attributes found in the influential CEFR is a particularly prescient focus of Quist’s book.
Quist incorporates an ethnographic approach to texts in the language classroom that allows her students to “be intercultural” as they are languaging, rather than merely acquiring cultural knowledge or functions of language that allow for intercultural communication.
Quist shows how these ideas are enacted in a Dutch language classroom, to great effect. The result is not a neatly packaged study, but one that revels in the complexities of being intercultural in the language classroom.
I see this text as useful in a couple of ways. One, it was helpful to me as a language professor to articulate the foundations of the tensions that I experience in a higher education classroom. In this regard, this text will be valuable to those thinking about what it means to teach language in today’s world. Secondly, I could see the theoretical framework that Quist develops in the first few chapters as being helpful supplements to any undergraduate or graduate level classroom concerned with thinking through the relationship between language and culture, and how this relationship is manifest in the modern college or university.

Reviewed by Andrea Emerson, Assistant Professor, Western Oregon University on 2/21/19

Comprehensiveness rating: 4 see less

This text covers the rich history of language pedagogy from two important perspectives. Both the critical and the personal lenses for studying and questioning language and text are unpacked for the reader at length in the first half of the book. The second half of Reading with My Eyes Open provides applied examples of the researchers observations of students encountering themselves as they engage in text and discourse analysis.

Content Accuracy rating: 4

The content I found most helpful was the historical and theoretical perspectives of language pedagogy. My work with pre-service teachers requires that I help them see how they are cultured. This text provides consumable history and theory as tools for pre-service teachers to explore their interpretations of language both personally and professionally. I think the content of this book provides a strong foundation for discussions regarding new approaches such as Emdin's (2016) Reality Pedagogy.

Relevance/Longevity rating: 3

The historical and theoretical content of this text is somewhat timeless. The interpretations and practical applications are subject to the constant questioning and reinvention of pedagogy in educational research. Nonetheless, I think this text provides a strong foundation and is relevant for initiating discussions that assert that the cultural and the critical are not new trends in language development or education at large.

Clarity rating: 3

The theoretical and historical nature of this text may prove dense for some readers. Nonetheless, the author does a good job of keeping the prose concise and intentional

Consistency rating: 3

The author is consistent in the utilization of vocabulary relevant to language pedagogy throughout the text. In addition, each chapter is careful to introduce, define, and cite additional concepts and terms in order to orient the reader.

Modularity rating: 4

This text would be a great addition to any syllabus inviting pre-service teachers to consider the complexity of language in the classroom. Chapter 2 provides a strong foundation for further discussion of Culturally Relevant Pedagogy, Reality Pedagogy, or even the recent Abolitionist Teaching.

Organization/Structure/Flow rating: 4

The book is well organized. The table of contents provides a clear guide to the themes of each chapter.

Interface rating: 5

The text has no interface issues.

Grammatical Errors rating: 4

The book is written in British English.

Cultural Relevance rating: 4

This text addresses culture head on. The theoretical and historical perspectives to seeing language through personal culture has potential to be a powerful tool for students in higher education. This approach informs students in ways that doesn't directly question their own implicit or explicit culturally biased use of language and text.

Reviewed by Mikel Cole, Assistant Professor, Clemson University on 2/1/18

Comprehensiveness rating: 3 see less

The author is clear that this textbook is "based on a classroom study exploring a particular intercultural
approach to language teaching", she does a commendable job situating her cultuurtekst approach to language teaching in historical context. The first two chapters also do a decent job of presenting the theoretical framework in which the study is situated. It is not, however, a thorough overview of language teaching approaches (e.g., grammar-translation, audiolingual, task-based).

Content Accuracy rating: 4

There are some minor type-editing issues (e.g., the following sentence fragment on page 1: Secondly, that attempting
to develop students’ critical awareness and language competence would need an even clearer conceptualisation coupled with a more considered pedagogical approach.). However, there are no glaring misrepresentations of competing theoretical perspectives or empirical research.

Relevance/Longevity rating: 4

The text presents a close examination of a new/emergent language teaching approach, grounded in empirical data drawn from the author's own teaching experience at a "traditional university" in Britain. AS such, it is much like a published study, or dissertation. It promises to inform ongoing scholarship, especially as publishable manuscripts make their way into the academic mainstream. This text also stands out in the OER world as a rare example of a textbook focused on innovative approaches to language teaching.

Clarity rating: 5

The author writes in an incredibly approachable style, even when delving deeply into critical theoretical approaches in Chapters 2-3. There is certainly a fair amount of jargon, as the author coins new terms and employs relatively-new theoretical constructs. however, they are explained with the patience and clarity of a classroom teacher, and students/teachers/researchers alike will find it easy to read and useful.

Consistency rating: 5

The author carefully lays out the theoretical perspectives used throughout the book. Terminology is consistent throughout.

Modularity rating: 3

I imagine that the clear organization of material would make the book highly appropriate for remixing/reusing the material. The potential for modularity is considerable, though honestly, I would worry that much would be lost in the process. This is a dissertation-style, expansive report on a single study. The theoretical/historical sections are probably fine to excerpt, but I wonder if the data and implication sections would stand well on their own.

Organization/Structure/Flow rating: 5

As demonstrated clearly in the Table of Contents, and in the use of Headers and Subheaders throughout, the book is very well organized.

Interface rating: 5

the text is free of interface issues, as it loads neatly in .pdf format.

Grammatical Errors rating: 4

See my note in the "Clarity" section. There are some typographical issues here and there throughout the text. It might benefit from a professional type-editing pass.

Cultural Relevance rating: 4

This text is culturally relevant, but perhaps not in the way this question is intended. I imagine the question to be asking about cultural relevance or responsiveness as discussed in Geneva Gay, Gloria Ladson-Billings, and Samy Alim and Django Paris. Rather than drawing on culturally-specific knowledge about students and their communities to transform classroom pedagogy, this book does a nice job of centering the cultural aspects of language learning. In fact, this is the focus of Chapters 2-3.

Reviewed by Karin Sprow Forté, Professor-in-Charge, ESL, Penn State Harrisburg on 2/1/18

Comprehensiveness rating: 4 see less

The text provides a comprehensive view of two theoretical approaches (traditional, instrumental vs. liberal humanist) to language teaching in a UK university and discusses how their underlying theoretical assumptions ground language teaching paradigms. These concepts are then connected to the traditional separation of the culture and language, decreasing the potential for language learners to communicate intercutlurally. The second half of the book focuses specifically on the author's research on these topics in the classroom as learners interact with written texts.

Content Accuracy rating: 4

The theory content is accurate, and the research content appears to the same. The author has a clear goal of exploring and interpreting the data from a particular theoretical perspective.

Relevance/Longevity rating: 4

The content of the book is relevant to today's discussions of language and culture, particularly in light of the globalization that increase every day with the ability to communicate with individuals all over the world at a moment's notice. For traditionally-oriented language teachers, the text provides a contrasting view of how language teaching in this developing environment can be interpreted and implemented.

Clarity rating: 4

The prose is clear and accessible to individuals with some background in learning and language learning approaches.

Consistency rating: 5

The text is consistent and clear in the way it explains ideas and the path on which the author takes the reader. The organization of the book is logical.

Modularity rating: 4

The chapters in the first half of the book are easily divisible into smaller reading sections and clearly laid out in a logical way to assist instructors in identifying when to utilize which sections. The second half of the book is referential and would need to be read in order.

Organization/Structure/Flow rating: 5

The topics are presented in a logical order and follow the traditional dissertation pattern, making it easily accessible to those in academia.

Interface rating: 5

There are no interface issues noted.

Grammatical Errors rating: 5

No grammar errors were noted, but readers should be aware of the fact that the author is writing from the UK. Readers from other English-speaking locations may find some word and phrase choices to be distracting.

Cultural Relevance rating: 5

The text is culturally relevant, particularly in light of the intercultural communication topics addressed in the book.

Comments

This text is appropriate for graduate-level courses in language acquisition and/or culturally responsive pedagogy courses.