There are plenty of steps that educators can take today to put students on the path towards creating a better world for tomorrow. This doesn’t require legislation that mandates a change in the curriculum, the introduction of a global studies course for graduation, or a line item from the state or federal budget. Below are some introudctory ways to engage students with global education the English language arts classroom. These strategies may be applied to any classroom. First, view Ted Talks where people have learned more about the world by broadening their rexperinces with reading beyond what we in the United States consider globally conscious. Also explore new work from Yaa Gaisi called Home-going, as well as the body of work by Jhumpa Lahiri who herself has explored italian, work a book in the language and translated it. Also, purse and explore Kimberly Mays The Most Iconic Books Set in 150 Countries Around the World.
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How books can open your mind by Lisa Bu
What happens when a dream you've held since childhood ... doesn't come true? As Lisa Bu adjusted to a new life in the United States, she turned to books to expand her mind and create a new path for herself. She shares her unique approach to reading in this lovely, personal talk about the magic of books.
My year reading a book from every country in the world by Ann Morgan
Ann Morgan considered herself well read -- until she discovered the "massive blindspot" on her bookshelf. Amid a multitude of English and American authors, there were very few books from beyond the English-speaking world. So she set an ambitious goal: to read one book from every country in the world over the course of a year. Now she's urging other Anglophiles to read translated works so that publishers will work harder to bring foreign literary gems back to their shores. Explore interactive maps of her reading journey here: go.ted.com/readtheworld
Homegoing by Yaa Gyasi
This is the most important book I have read in years. This should be the new To Kill a Mockingbird for the coming generation of students. To the left see an interview with Yaa Gyasi for The Wall Street Journal. Following the Youtube clip, there are several wonderful book discussion with Yaa Gyasi to check out after you read the novel.
Global English Language Arts
The Collected Works of Jhumpa Lahiri
Author, teacher, and translator Jhumpa Lahiri joins Tyler for a conversation on identity, Rhode Island, writing as problem solving, reading across languages, the badness of book covers, Elena Ferrante, Bengali culture, the magic of Calcutta, Italian authors, Indian classical music, architectural influences, and much more.
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Her latest work, In Other Words, sought total immersion in the Italian language. She and her family relocated to Rome, where she began to read and write solely in her adopted tongue. A startling act of self-reflection, In Other Words is Lahiri’s meditation on the process of learning to express herself in another language—and the stunning journey of a writer seeking a new voice.
In her debut collection Interpreter of Maladies (1999), Lahiri present us with nine stories, some set in Calcutta and others on the U.S. East Coast, examine such subjects as the practice of arranged marriage, alienation, dislocation, and loss of culture and provide insight into the experiences of Indian immigrants as well as the lives of Calcuttans.
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Lahiri first novel The Namesake (2003; film 2006), is a story that examines themes of personal identity and the conflicts produced by immigration by following the internal dynamics of a Bengali family in the United States.
She returned to short fiction in Unaccustomed Earth (2008), a collection that likewise takes as its subject the experience of immigration as well as that of assimilation into American culture. Her novel The Lowland (2013) chronicles the divergent paths of two Bengali brothers.
Reading a book allows you to visit somewhere new, transporting you to the past, an imagined future, and entirely new worlds.
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The best books are set in locations that are so vivid they feel like another character in the story. Many books are written by a local author who knows the back streets and unspoken history of a place. Occasionally an author will fall deeply in love with a new place, however, and base a fantastically evocative setting on an adopted home instead.
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Whether you are looking to revisit a favorite country or learn about someplace new, our list of the most iconic books set in 150 countries has something for everyone. With this list, you can tour the entire world—without ever leaving home.
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We include epic poetry like Pan Tadeusz from Poland, international best sellers like The Three Musketeers set in France, and books recently translated into English for the very first time like the Iraqi classic The Long Way Back. You will find books from favorite authors like Margaret Atwood and Anthony Burgess and discover vibrant new voices like Pulitzer Prize-winning author Junot Díaz.
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Get ready to travel someplace new without even putting on your shoes. Sit back, get comfortable, and read your way through our list of books set in 150 countries around the world.
The Most Iconic Books Set in 150 Countries Around the World
by Kimberly Mays