SELS Dialogues Journal Volume 3 Issue 1

Pedagogy and Critical Thinking
could be a good response for their smooth transition
to a new culture because the concept of “Third Space”
implies a dialogical learning space where difference is
given a place and worked with in beneficial ways.
Using the concept of third space, learners can transform
the frustration regarding their identity crisis, and they
also may be enabled to succeed in the new culture
without having to assimilate and lose what they have
come with. Most importantly, students usually feel
connected to the new culture no matter who they are.
They create their own identity by accepting the new
and sustaining their own identities in the given space.
In Kanu’s (2003) words, “That is, there is no longer a
single set of discourse about progress and change;
rather there is a hybrid —a third space –-where local
and global images meet in a weaving that has its own
configurations and implications” (p. 77). The idea is
to facilitate more humane transitions, and the ESL
classroom has the potential to turn some of their
activities into both language and cultural learning
opportunities.
In the COMM 161 course at Centennial College, these
types of cultural activities are already included, and I
have found students truly happy while accomplishing
these components. Especially in “Culture: Oral
Presentation Assignment”, I observe students become
very enthusiastic and are proud of presenting their
own culture. Therefore, I believe including cultural
components in every other ESL course would make our
students feel more distinguished, and they would feel at
ease in their classes.
To be more specific, these components work as the
concept of third space of Bhabha as the students have
an opportunity to be in a dialogical space between their
old and new culture. Thus, the given third space would
be able to help students with their vulnerability in a
new country and culture, in the mainstream learning
environments, and in their careers.
References
Bhabha, H. (1990). The Third Space. In J. Rutherford (Ed.), The value
of difference (pp. 207-221).
Lawrence Wishart.
Bhabha, H. K. (1994). The location of culture. London: Routledge.
Kanu, Y. (2002). Understanding curriculum and pedagogy as
attunement to difference: Teacher preparation for the 21st century.
Journal of Professional studies, 9(2), 50-60.
Kanu, Y. (2003). Curriculum as Cultural Practice: Postcolonial
Imagination. Canadian Association for Curriculum Studies, 1(1), 67-
81.
Author’s Bio
Sohana Z. Haque is a TESL Canada certified
professional, and she has been teaching at
Centennial College for six years. Her second
masters is with Athabasca University in MAIS
(MA in Interdisciplinary Studies), where her
major was Adult Education. Her first MA
was in English literature and language. Her
experience in teaching ESL at the tertiary level
is more than 10 years. She tries to exercise
open-mindedness in dealing with people
from diverse cultural backgrounds. Her goal
is to foster and maintain an open, honest,
communicative, and supportive classroom,
in which each student feels at ease, secure,
special, and appropriately challenged.
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