Alaa Bazuhayr Professor Walden ENGL 1102-017 20 September 2013 According to the first reading Theorizing the Space

for Literacy Practices, figured world is defined as a group of people living in a particular place or having the same jobs, characteristics, or reactions that are related to that place. Then, artifact is defined as the description physical movements or the reaction of human in the context of the figured world. In the same article, actor is defined as a person who is related to the figured world that he or she is presenting in which he or she part of this community. Finally, what is understood from the article that literacy practice is not defined as the ability of people in reading or writing, it is how people are successful on other fields of studies such as anthropology, sociology, linguistic, education, and so on. For the first assignment my figured world is going to be the English Language Training Institute (ELTI), this institution is located at University of North Carolina at Charlotte (UNCC), it gives many English instruction for international students who are planning to study abroad at one of U.S. universities or for the people who have passion to learn new language or to gain some English skills. Since there are many people coming from deferent countries there are some of rules or conventions for appropriate and inappropriate behavior (it is going to be summarized later in this assignment) that actors should deal or interact with. The actors are going to be the director of the ELTI, the teachers, and the students. During the three observations there are going to be some literacy practices other than just learning English. At this institution there are seven levels that consider to determine what is the language ability or how well the student has reading, writing, speaking, and listening skills. In every level, there is a specific books or skills limits that students should learn from. Usually, level one, two, three are consider to be lower level, but staring from level four through seven are consider to be advance or professional levels. Considering placement tests, Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOFEL), or international English Language Testing System (IELTS). After studying some of its level, tests too can decide whether student is qualify or not to begin his or her new academic life at the university or it may be a new business life since some jobs require skills or ability in English. There are some appropriate behaviors at ELTI. First, treat people as you wish people treat you which mean respect people around you, respect their abilities, believes, culture, and religion so other will respect you. Second, asking a lot questions related to learning English is enjoyable at ELTI, teachers love when students ask a lot of questions and they think that student who ask a lot is a smart student.. Third, communicate with other people who have different nationality, it does not that you can not talk to people from your country, but it means that talking with other nationality people force you to speak by English, so by this way you are going to increase your English skills. As there are appropriate behaviors there are inappropriate behaviors too. Such as, having more than 7 absents in one of the courses can change the student visa statues which means you are no longer going to stay in U.S, or smoking between classes at inappropriate places can lead to expulsion from the institution, and other inappropriate behaviors that I am going to address through out my observation project. I used to be studying at that institution for a year and a half usually 5 semesters, I had a great time there and i make new friends from different countries and also I make friends with my teachers too.

Alaa Bazuhayr Professor Walden ENGL 1102-017 20 September 2013

Observation One Tuesday, September, 2013 Time: 1:00PM-2:15AM Note: this observation took a place at one of the classes ELTI provides to their students to help them increase their skills or ability to listen or speak in English, it is held at College of Health and Human Services building, room 285. The actors on this observation are: Lynn: an listening/ speaking teacher, teaches advance levels (from 4 to 7), she has her own rule that she always walks with her cellphones bag that contains small zip bags for every student with the students name tag , because using cellphone during the class is prohibited, she has her own way to punish her students.. Mohammad: a student from Saudi Arabia, always active in the class, moves a lot and laugh a lot. Majed: a student from Kuwait, I can see that he is kind off nerd always like to ask. Priscilla: a student from Columbia, sarcastic, she always makes fun of Mohammad. Nesren: a shy girl from Libya, always smiling and smart student. At 1:00 Lynn entered the class as usual with her cellphones bag, there are some students in the class but some of them have arrived later, Lynn is now taking the attendants by her Moodle page. At this time Mohammad is talking to Priscilla and she seems like she is not in the mood to listen to hem, while Majed and Nesren are reading the class books. At 1:05 Students are opining their books for Lynn to check the homework, some of them did it some of them not, Mohammad did not do it because he has not buy the book yet, Priscilla is laughing about that, Lynn is disappointed and she ask him to get it by next class otherwise he is going to be marked as an absent for the next class. At 1:10 Lynn is asking the students to share their answers with the class, students are answering all in the same time with a loud voice, she is impressive now that all of their answers are right. At 1:20 Lynn is playing an Audio for student to listen, while they are listening they should answer the question there in their books. Since Mohammad did not bring his book or we can say did not have a book he is bothering Majed this time, and Majed is speaking to him in his language like please stop talking to me I am focusing. At 1:25 Lynn asked the Students to discuss the answers with a group of two, we can say it is a workshop for them to practice their listing and speaking skills. At 1:30 Students are ready now to share their opinion with their classmates, the topic is about some to the restrictions or rules in Singapore, Priscilla is giving her opinion about it and think her country should have the same rules, Mohammad is laughing he think that it is funny, Lynn is looking at him with an angry face like she wants to say you are being rude. At 2:15 It is time for the class to get finished, Lynn is talking about the new restriction here in U.S about the seat belts, that people in the back seat should have them on too, student are not listening they are busy because they are packing their bags, Lynn is like Listen (in a loud voice)

Alaa Bazuhayr Professor Walden ENGL 1102-017 20 September 2013 there is somebody is talking here," she is looking on to the student with an angry face, then when they are paying attention to her she asked them to leave with a sad face. Observation Two Wednesday, September, 2013 Time: 2:30PM-2:50AM Note: this observation took a place in front of College of Health and Human Services building. The actors on this observation are: Kelly: the director of the ELTI, he is so SERIOUS about the rule at UNCC, and so upsets with smoker students Aziz: a student from ELTI and smoker, he does not like the director and he does not like to flow his rules. Yu: a student from ELTI, Azizs friend, he dose not like what Aziz reaction with the director, he is trying to change Aziz. At 2:30 It is a break time from some of the ELTI students, Aziz is walking out side of the CHHS building, lighting up his cigarette then smoking in an inappropriate place, and talking to somebody in the phone, Yu is in his way to him, he is now waiting for him to end up his call. At 2:40 Yu and Aziz are talking, Kelly is looking at them from his office window. while they are talking, it seems that Kelly is coming to them, Kelly is telling Aziz that what he is doing is not appropriate and he is on charge if his boss know about it. At 2:50 It seems that their is a rule at ELTI, If you caught smoking at smoke-free places their is punishment, which is what Aziz is doing now, he is collecting other smokers cigarettes batts, and Yu is laughing so hard at him I told you,, I told you man

Alaa Bazuhayr Professor Walden ENGL 1102-017 20 September 2013

Observation three Wednesday, September, 2013 Time: 4:00PM - 4:30AM Note: this observation took a place at Prospector Faculty/Staff Dining Room that was reserved to the International Student/Scholar Office for the international students specifically for ELTI student to practice English it is for student and staff to enjoy coffee and conversation at informal gathering held twice monthly during the academic year. The actors on this observation are: Maxine: Secretary of kelly and student special events organizer, she do what every Kelly asks her because he is her boss. Students from ELTI: deferent countries and deferent ELTI levels. At 4:00 Students are setting as groups on different tables, talking, playing games, eating, and some students are walking around an around. At: 4:15 one of the students meets one his friend that he used to study at ELTI and now he is a student as UNCC, he is asking him about his courses and his major, it seems that he is not satisfied with his classes, he is complaining all the time about everything because his English skills is not enough to attend school at this time. 4:30 Student are leaving, and Maxine is asking the students to collect anything belong to them, because she is in charge if they leave the room messy.

Alaa Bazuhayr Professor Walden ENGL 1102-017 20 September 2013

For this assignment I interviewed two people one of them is the teacher of the ELTI and the another one is one of the ElTI students. ELTIs student interview: 1. What is your first Language? My first Language is Arabic. 1. Tell me why did you chose to study English language? I chose English because I want to study here in U.S. 1. Explain for me the reason why did you chose to study English here in United States? I chose U.S because one of my friend suggested me to study here and also as I said before that my goal is to study pre-med here in U.S. 1. How well were your English skills before you arrived to United States, and how well are they now? I used to learn English back in my school for 6 years, my English was good but I felt like I want to learn even more. Now my English is getting better but I am a shy person I would like to increase my speaking skills but I do not know how. 1. What culture shocks did you face when you came to Unites States? Since I come from Libya, I feel it is safe here, because back there in my country there is a war, no police, no government, people are killing each other, so I love how people are secure here.

Alaa Bazuhayr Professor Walden ENGL 1102-017 20 September 2013

ELTIs teacher interview: 1-As an ESL, what did you learn from different cultures that your students have? I have learned so much about different cultures. I have learned a great deal about my students' customs, beliefs, and learning styles. 2-I heard that students from specific country or culture have the same weakness or strengths in Englishs skills, can you tell me some of those weakness or strengths that students have? I don't like to generalize, but yes, it is fairly easy to identify strengths and weaknesses based on a student's culture. For example, many Saudis have fairly high speaking skills. However, their writing tends to be much weaker. Many Asian students are outstanding in grammar, but their speaking tends to be very weak. 3-What difficulties do you face as an ESL teacher? The difficulties I face as an ESL teacher are varied depending on the class. Because different cultures have particular strengths and weaknesses, it is sometimes difficult to balance these in a large class. For instance, if the class is primarily Saudi, the speaking skills of these students are usually much higher than the Asian students. This can sometimes be frustrating for the Asian students who feel out of place in a high-level class. As a result, I must differentiate appropriately so that both students progress at an equal rate. 4-How well do you think student is going to be literate in English after he/she graduate from ELTI? ELTI's curriculum is very rigorous. Therefore, students must be willing devote a great deal of time and energy to these classes. I think a student's success depends on many factors beyond ELTI classes. One, the student must study and practice English both in and out of class. This means that the student should be speaking in English at all times, not just in the confines of the classroom. Next, students must attend classes regularly and participate. Finally, I think it is imperative that students immerse themselves in American culture. For example, students need to leave the safety of their culture-based cliques and join campus clubs, go to events where they can interact with Americans, and participate in activities with native speakers. ELTI provides a solid foundation for language acquisition, but students really need to make a commitment to acquire the language. 5-Tell me how do you find this experience as an ESL teacher? Being an ESL teacher is easily the most rewarding profession I've ever had. I never leave school thinking that what I've done is "work." Instead, I usually leave filled with excitement to start the next day. I can't believe I get paid to do something I love so much. I am blessed to work alongside some of the best educators I've ever met, and perhaps most importantly, teach such

Alaa Bazuhayr Professor Walden ENGL 1102-017 20 September 2013

caring and compassionate students. I am truly the luckiest teacher on the planet! My students fill my world with great joy.

here is the UNCC campus map where the ELTI located. as you can see in the map the ELTI office and most of their class are located at the red building in the middle of the map at building number 63. You can take a look closer by visiting this website http://facilities.uncc.edu/sites/ facilities.uncc.edu/files/media/Maps/Uncc_Campus_Map.pdf

Alaa Bazuhayr Professor Walden ENGL 1102-017 20 September 2013

The ELTI front desc,,!!