Resaka Kolontsaina Le Raha (It Is About Cultures): Cultures and Foreign Language Teaching in Madagascar

• In Event: Moscone Center North Roundtable Session 16
  In Roundtable Session: The Sister Project: A Global Decolonial Collaboration of Scholars, Activists, Researchers, Educators, and Community Experts

Abstract

Ny taotrano tsy vitan’irery [=Building a house cannot be done by oneself], a Malagasy saying.

This project on cultures and Foreign Language (FL) teaching utilizes participatory action research (PAR) to conceptualize and implement a culturally relevant pedagogy (CRP) in FL classrooms. The purpose of this study is to tell the story of six Malagasy high school teachers collaborating in a teacher learning community (TLC) to construct and put into practice pedagogical approaches. A postcolonial viewpoint was utilized as was participatory action research. My research suggests that what the teachers and learners know and experience, in the past or in the present, can make the basis of nurturing cultures other than those of the target language.

Author

• Rijasoa Andriamanana, University of New Mexico