Cultural, Disciplinary and Temporal Contexts of e-Learning and English as a Foreign Language

This article explores the interface of technology and pedagogy in respect to learning styles from different cultural perspectives or situations. McCarty proposes a general analytical approach to understand the cultural, disciplinary and temporal contexts behind any specialised field or concept. According to him, by using this approach, "two seemingly unrelated disciplines, e-Learning and teaching English as a Foreign Language (EFL), can be seen in parallel." McCarty reviews Japanese and other Asian learning styles to illustrate a cultural context when using e-learning with non-native users of English.

This article addresses questions as far-reaching as "why dictionary definitions seem inadequate, circular, or two-dimensional" and McCarty points out that a "sufficiently dimensional Japanese-English dictionary does not yet exist." McCarty believes that this is because "the cultural context or common sense is so different that there is no equivalency in the two languages between single words as they are actually used."

McCarty mentions that one of the needs for this analysis is based on the increasing number of foreign students in classes and the different assumptions and customary learning styles that come with them. According to McCarty, "differing contexts are the reason that practices do or should adjust according to the situation. In e-learning as in other fields, one size does not fit all."

McCarty's article explores some of the limitations of the Western e-learning paradigm when transplanted into a non-Western culture. He offers examples of significant cultural differences and makes reference to the fact that Japanese people are generally judged based on relations in a group rather than on individual qualities and that they tend to sacrifice their own interests in exchange for those of a group. He also refers to East Asian students who tend not to be familiar with a democratic educational environment where individuals can freely speak out. McCarty then makes the point that they then may not appreciate the value of "discussion board."

McCarty states that "some Japanese researchers have concluded that technology-supported learning is not working in Japan. A number of cultural attitudes have inhibited the evolution of online learning, such as a tradition-bound institutional culture of instruction, and elaborate face-to-face rituals essential to everyday communication. Japanese teachers tend to view the Internet as only useful for gathering information." In spite of these differences, he also points out that teachers are gradually becoming increasingly computer literate and learners will grow accustomed to "the new online world."

According to McCarty, "multimedia makes possible the kind of linked bilingual dictionary or encyclopedia that could also be described as bicultural." McCarty points out that a language cannot be entirely stripped of its cultural background and used as a tool without striking its native speakers as strange or disconcerting.