Rejected proposal and useful lessons

I recently submitted a proposal for a book chapter (book title: The Place of English in Societies of the Arabian Gulf), but was disappointed to learn that it was rejected. The reviewer remarked that my research question wasn’t clear and she also could not see from my proposal how I intended to conduct my study. Upon more careful reading of what I had written, I couldn’t really disagree with her.

Here are some issues I identified as problems: time-management, planning, clarity and ability to express myself concisely but meaningfully.

1. I submitted the proposal a day before the deadline and consequently didn’t give myself any time for modifications and potential resubmission.
2. Also, I put the proposal together so hastily that I didn’t review it for clarity and coherence.
3. My research question was not apparent at first reading, because it wasn’t really articulated and presented as such.
4. Apparently, I was so preoccupied with the number of words allowed for the proposal (max. 300, I wrote 298!) that I lost sight of its content.

Here are some lessons from this experience: in future, I need to plan potential submissions well in advance and beware of deadlines, giving myself plenty of time for editing, corrections and/or resubmission. I also need to review what I have written and check it for clarity and coherence. Finally, it is always a good idea to have in mind a simple structure or blueprint for what one’s article/chapter/essay wants to convey (something like an outline) to make sure that all its vital elements are dealt with and work well together.

Of course, this is exactly what I teach my academic composition students… 🙂

Here is the proposal as I submitted it:

Working title

Tied to Tongue: Hybrid Linguistic Identities of Qatari Students

Chapter proposal

In this study, I want to explore the impact that newly emergent linguistic/educational realities are having on Qatari students’ changing sense of cultural identity, in the context of English language education.

The study is inspired by a writing project I regularly assign to my Qatari students in the Academic Bridge Program (ABP), Education City, Doha, Qatar. It is a comparative exploration of English and Arabic patterns of expression and rhetoric, and pertinent social, cultural, educational, and personal issues. The assignment includes reading selected materials (e.g., Nydell; Patai; Hamady), guest lectures, discussions and self-reflection, with an academic essay as its final outcome. Re-consideration of issues related to identity (Verkuyten; Wilson) constitutes a by-product of this project.

My study will present the socio-cultural context of the project and discuss the concept of regional identity moving from traditional to modern, with emphasis on English language education and its complexities within the Qatari/Gulf setting. It will focus on student voices as it attempts to articulate the changing parameters of local identity and its emanating hybrid forms.

Consequently, I intend to use data gathered from focused analysis of anonymised student essays and questionnaires and thematically coded, semi-structured interviews with students and teachers. Additionally, I will make use of insights collected through examination of appropriate documents (syllabi, policy publications, etc.), relevant literature (e.g. Adler; Al-Attas; Findlow; Hatherley-Green; Holliday 2010; Khatri; Lindsey; Syed) and personal observations as noted in my teacher diary.

The whirlpool of educational reforms and transformations taking place in Qatar (Al-Misnad; Asquith; Brewer et al; Górak-Sosnowska and Czulda; Paschyn; Romani; Stasz et al) reflects trends also present elsewhere (Atkinson; Bauman; Holliday; McNamara; Palfreyman; Pennycook). Exploring the issue of Gulf Arab identity as exemplified by Qatari students participating in English language education is therefore relevant in the global context of transnational academic endeavours.

+ References (omitted in this post for brevity)

Magda