ELT Journal - Advance Access

The potential influence of L1 (Chinese) on L2 (English) communication

Huang, L.-S. — 2009-06-23

A major issue in the field of L2 acquisition is the role that language learners’ L1 plays in the acquisition of an L2. This article shows some of the salient linguistic features of Chinese that may present communication challenges for Chinese-speaking learners of English as an additional language. Instructors’ awareness of such features will better inform their teaching and help learners develop effective communication strategies to counter potential interfering linguistic influences from the learners’ L1 during communication in English.

Grammar is not only a liberating force, it is a communicative resource

Bruton, A. — 2009-06-19

Pre-task syntactic priming and focused task design

Boston, J. S. — 2009-06-16

Focused tasks engage learners in using language for communication and in addition have a specific predetermined linguistic focus in mind. The difficulty in designing focused tasks is that many meanings can be articulated using more than one language form, making it difficult to design tasks which induce learner use of a specific target form. This paper describes an attempt to use pre-task activities to syntactically prime learners to employ a target structure during task production.

Tech-era L2 writing: towards a new kind of process

Stapleton, P., Radia, P. — 2009-06-05

This study argues that L2 writing pedagogy needs to give more recognition to the impact emerging from new technological tools and online resources. While shifts in approaches from product to process to genre are well documented in the literature, little research has appreciated the collective influence generated by advances in technology. It is suggested here that developments in software and online resources are leading to improvements in many areas of student writing, both at the levels of language and content. Moreover, efficient use of this technology could have a significant effect on the way in which teachers provide feedback. Collectively, these advances suggest a new dimension has entered the writing process.

Class-centred teaching

Senior, R. — 2009-05-25

This is a summary of an online discussion hosted by the IATEFL Teacher Training and Education Special Interest Group (TTEd SIG) in December 2008.

Attribution and learning English as a foreign language

Peacock, M. — 2009-05-07

Learner attributions, perceived causes of success and failure, have received little attention in EFL research. Attributions are categorized as either internal (for example effort) or external (for example luck) and may affect how students learn about and impose order on their world. We investigated the attributions of 505 university students in Hong Kong and the connections between attribution and proficiency, gender, and academic discipline. Student interviews identified 26 common attributions, which were listed in a questionnaire: students were asked to what they attributed EFL success or failure. Follow-up interviews investigated the origins of attributions. Also, 40 EFL teachers were asked to what they attributed student success and failure. Many statistically significant differences were found between attribution and EFL proficiency, gender, and academic discipline and between student and teacher opinions. We conclude that attribution affects proficiency, effort, and persistence. Finally, suggestions are made for learner training and teacher action in the EFL classroom.

Bumping into someone: Japanese students' perceptions and observations

Lieske, C. — 2009-05-07

This pilot study explores the apologies Japanese nursing college students thought they would use in their L1 (i.e. Japanese) and their L2 (i.e. English) when bumping into each other. The students completed a questionnaire, the results of which indicated that they believed they should always apologize for bumping into someone. The paper describes apologies students expected to use in both languages and their observations of real-world apologies in Japan and the US. After reviewing differences between their L1 and L2 apologies and their perceived and observed apologies, the paper discusses students’ sociopragmatic, pragmalinguistic, and linguistic discoveries. The findings have implications for instructors who are interested in investigating and teaching the speech act.

Feedback revolution: what gets in the way?

Lee, I. — 2009-04-17

Feedback in writing has in recent years attracted the attention of an increasing number of writing researchers. While much feedback research focuses on the act of feedback per se, little attention has been paid to the issue of teacher readiness to implement change in feedback. Using data gathered from Hong Kong secondary teachers attending a teacher education seminar on feedback in writing, this article investigates teachers' readiness to implement change in feedback as well as their perceptions of the factors that may facilitate or inhibit change. The findings show that while teachers may be cognitively aware of the need for a feedback revolution, there are obstacles that get in the way of innovation. The article concludes that if teachers are to start a feedback revolution a number of issues have to be addressed, including enhancing teacher training and empowering teachers.

A critical review of the IELTS writing test

Uysal, H. H. — 2009-04-17

Administered at local centres in 120 countries throughout the world, IELTS (International English Language Testing System) is one of the most widely used large-scale ESL tests that also offers a direct writing test component. Because of its popularity and its use for making critical decisions about test takers, it is crucial to draw attention to some issues regarding the assessment procedures of IELTS. Therefore, the present paper aims to provide a descriptive and critical review of the IELTS writing test by focusing particularly on various reliability issues such as single marking of papers, readability of prompts, comparability of writing topics, and validity issues such as the definition of the ‘international writing construct’, without considering variations among rhetorical conventions and genres around the world. Consequential validity-impact issues will also be discussed and suggestions will be given for the use of IELTS around the world and for future research to improve the test.

Critical Friends Group for EFL teacher professional development

Vo, L. T., Mai Nguyen, H. T. — 2009-04-17

For the best student outcomes, teachers need to engage in continuous professional development. As a result, models of teacher professional development have been developed, among which is the Critical Friends Group (CFG) technique. However, whether it works well with EFL teachers in an Asian context like Vietnam, where EFL teachers in particular do not seem to have the habit of working together, is as yet undiscovered. This study aimed to explore the experiences of a small group of Vietnamese EFL teachers during their participation in a CFG over one semester in a specific context in Vietnam. Through observations and interviews, this study offers insights into the participants’ experiences as well as the application of CFG as a model of EFL teacher professional development in Vietnam.

Culturally responsive L2 education: an awareness-raising proposal

Porto, M. — 2009-04-09

The increasing prevalence of multilingual, multiethnic, and multicultural classrooms in varied educational contexts worldwide points to the importance of cultural factors in language education and education in general. In the EFL/ESL classroom of this century, ELT is seen as including much more than purely linguistic aspects as it focuses also on broad literacy issues which acknowledge the importance of global economic, social, historical, and cultural factors in language learning and teaching. In other words, ELT in the twenty-first century means culturally responsive literacy education. It is argued here that foreign/second language education viewed in these terms requires cultural responsiveness in educators. This paper will offer a concrete proposal aimed at raising foreign language educators' awareness of this topic.

Balancing the dual functions of portfolio assessment

Lam, R., Lee, I. — 2009-04-06

While research on portfolio assessment (PA) has focused largely on the summative aspects of writing assessment, not much has been done to find out its formative potential. Drawing upon student questionnaires and student and teacher interview data, this paper aims to explore the formative functions of PA and, specifically, how the formative potential of PA can be better utilized in the EFL writing classroom. The findings of the study indicate that although students responded positively to the formative aspects of PA, they still preferred summative grading and tended to believe that grades were the best way to inform their current standards of writing. The paper ends with a discussion on how the formative aspects of PA could be strengthened and how PA can integrate teaching and assessment to benefit students’ learning of writing.

A case study: two teachers' reflections on the ELP in practice

Sahinkarakas, S., Yumru, H., Inozu, J. — 2009-04-01

We conducted an action research study with a group of EFL teachers in our local area in order to establish the grounds for the use of the European Language Portfolio (ELP) and the Common European Framework of Reference in local state schools. This paper reports on the way we conducted this study and the cycles we went through, specifically focusing on two teachers' experiences of the ELP in practice.

Views on creativity from an Indonesian perspective

Tin, T. B., Manara, C., Ragawanti, D. T. — 2009-03-27

With an increasing emphasis on creativity in education and language teaching, it is important for teachers and students to examine their own views on and perceptions of creativity. What is regarded as creativity may vary from one context to another. This paper examines the perceptions of creativity reflected in the evaluation of creative poems by students and teachers in an Indonesian context. The participants evaluated short poems written by a group of Indonesian university students. This resulted in several characteristics of creativity being highlighted: honesty, reality, truthfulness, and personal value. The poems were voted on and the ones which received the greatest number of votes were also analysed. The more creative poems demonstrated higher degrees of language play and creative language use. This paper1 suggests several activities which could be conducted by teachers and students in other contexts to help them examine their own explicit and implicit views on creativity.

Help seeking in English language learning

Skinner, B., Madden, M. C. — 2009-03-27

An examination of literature on the issue of help seeking (HS) has revealed a common theme: students will not always ask for help, even when they are aware that help is needed. The purpose of this action research study was to examine HS and help avoidance in the context of setting tasks in two types of English language-learning environment: a formal classroom situation and an informal community group. This action research study aimed firstly to explore whether and how instances of HS to understand tasks set could be increased, and secondly to examine the effects the two very different language-learning environments had on students’ HS. It was found that changes in HS behaviour were small and that regardless of interventions to support HS, learners will only seek help when the environment in which they are learning is relaxed and informal.

Student views on learning grammar with web- and book-based materials

Jarvis, H., Szymczyk, M. — 2009-03-12

This paper reports on a study which examined students’ attitudes to learning grammar in autonomous contexts and their preferences for the learning materials with which to do so. In all, 38 students were surveyed and 13 of these then spent some time working in a language resource centre (LRC) with web- and paper-based materials. Students then completed a series of questionnaires concerning what they liked and disliked about the two types of materials. Four participants were then interviewed in more detail about their responses. The data suggest that despite the well-documented advantages of the tutorial role of computers and the notion of the ‘digital native’, participants generally preferred working with paper-based materials. The paper concludes with a discussion of the implications of this for materials that LRCs stock and for the changing role of computers in self-study contexts.

Dealing with learner reticence in the speaking class

Zhang, X., Head, K. — 2009-03-10

This paper describes an oral English course for non-English majors at a university in the People's Republic of China. In the first year of the course, the students were very resistant to participating in group-based speaking activities, and their end-of-year results were disappointing. In the second year, the teacher decided to involve the students actively in designing their course and planning activities which would meet their needs and reasons for wanting to speak English. The aim was to increase their motivation and overcome reticence by getting them to talk about what and how they wanted to learn. It was expected that both their confidence and their ability to speak English would improve through more personal engagement with the course. The effectiveness of this approach was assessed using self-evaluation forms, classroom observations, and tests which showed significant progress in the students’ speaking.

Perspectives on spoken grammar

Goh, C. — 2009-03-10

English language teachers' opinions on the pedagogic relevance of spoken grammar are beginning to be reported, yet the voices of teachers in East Asia are rarely heard. In this article, the views of teachers from China and Singapore expressed in an online discussion are compared. The discussion, which was part of a taught postgraduate course, focused on the usefulness of British spoken grammar norms and the potential value of spoken grammar knowledge for language learners. There is a broad consensus of opinion about its importance for raising learners' language awareness, but Chinese and Singaporean teachers generally had different attitudes to native speaker norms, while opinions on some pedagogical issues vary more at the individual level. The similarities and differences are attributed to the teachers' sociolinguistic concerns, understanding of learner needs, and beliefs about grammar that are influenced by the written language. The implications of these teacher perspectives for teacher education are highlighted.

An investigation of two ways of presenting vocabulary

Papathanasiou, E. — 2009-03-05

The use of semantic links or networks in L2 vocabulary acquisition has been a popular subject for numerous studies. On one hand, there is a strong theoretical background stating that presenting words in related fashion facilitates the learning of L2 vocabulary. On the other hand, research evidence indicates that semantically related vocabulary seems to hinder rather than ease the learning of L2 vocabulary. The aim of the present study is to examine which manner of L2 vocabulary presentation is more helpful for L2 learners. It was conducted in EFL classrooms with Greek EFL students. The subjects were 31 intermediate EFL children and 32 beginner EFL adults. The two different ways of organizing new vocabulary for presentation were tested. The article will focus on the main conclusion that semantically related clustering impedes L2 vocabulary learning at beginners’ level.

Preparing ESP Learners for workplace placement

Wood, D. — 2009-02-23

Engineering students in North American universities often participate in cooperative education placements in workplaces as part of the requirements for their degrees and professional certification. Students for whom English is an L2 often experience difficulties in these placements due to the fact that while their academic language ability may be sufficient to manage their coursework, they struggle to cope with the communication demands of a workplace context. This paper is a report of a course designed to assist these types of students in augmenting their workplace communication abilities. Students were required to analyse the fluency features and formulaic language of native speaker (NS) models of speech in genres relevant to the professional workplace and to conduct ethnographic research and analysis with NSs in face-to-face communication on similar themes. Results of the course show that fluency and proficiency in general were improved for the majority of the students.

How good is your test?

Kucuk, F., Walters, J. — 2009-02-23

This article reports on a study of the validity and reliability of tests administered in an EFL university setting. The study addresses the question of how well face validity reflects more objective measures of the quality of a test, such as predictive validity and reliability. According to some researchers, face validity, defined as the surface credibility or public acceptability of a test, has no theoretical basis since it is based on the subjective perceptions of stakeholders such as teachers and students. However, due to lack of time or resources, or due to a perceived lack of competence, practitioners tend to rely on the ‘appeal’ of language tests, rather than seek empirical evidence. This article describes several ways of evaluating achievement tests, comparing their results in order to shed light on what measures can and should be taken to ensure that achievement tests accomplish their purposes.

Teaching discourse intonation with narrative

Beaken, M. — 2009-02-19

Brazil's system of discourse intonation (DI) is critically appraised, and some shortcomings are described. Modifications to DI are suggested, the most important being to recognize that tones have meanings derived from two functions: firstly to indicate the distribution of knowledge between speaker and listener—the analysis of tone in yes/no questions is crucial here; secondly to indicate the respective viewpoints of speaker and listener. With these modifications, a simple system of four basic tones can be constructed. This enables meaningful readings of simple narrative. Narrative is proposed as a register that can be used effectively to teach the basics of English intonation, with a suggested method.

The collaborative development of teacher training skills

Stillwell, C. — 2008-11-26

This paper describes ‘mentor development’, a means of collaborative professional development through peer observation that was initiated by the author with 18 peers, all native English speaker EFL teachers at Kanda University of International Studies in Chiba, Japan. It shows how such a programme allows teachers to learn from one another through classroom observations and peer mentoring, where observers practise teacher-educator skills by taking on the role of ‘mentor’ in post-observation conferences. A third colleague attends the post-observation conference with the aim of helping both the mentor and observed teacher reflect on and learn from their interaction during the conference, and to explore the implications these discoveries may have for effective teaching and mentoring.

Using online corpora to develop students' writing skills

Gilmore, A. — 2008-11-11

Large corpora such as the British National Corpus and the COBUILD Corpus and Collocations Sampler are now accessible, free of charge, online and can be usefully incorporated into a process writing approach to help develop students' writing skills. This article aims to familiarize readers with these resources and to show how they can be usefully exploited in the redrafting stages of writing to both minimize the teachers' workload and encourage greater cognitive processing of errors. An exploratory investigation comparing the use of these two online corpora in Japanese university writing classes is then described. This suggests that the participants in the study were able to significantly improve the naturalness of their writing after only a 90-minute training session and that the majority of students found these online resources beneficial, although there was a marked preference for the COBUILD Corpus and Collocations Sampler.

Promoting student autonomy through the use of the European Language Portfolio

Gonzalez, J. A. — 2008-11-10

The European Language Portfolio (ELP) is a document launched by the Council of Europe in 2001 which consists of three sections: the Passport, the Language Biography, and the Dossier. It has two complementary functions: a pedagogic function (helping students to reflect on their learning and objectives) and a reporting function (providing a record of their language skills in terms of the levels of the Common European Framework of Reference). The author has coordinated trials of the ELP in two adult language schools in northern Spain. Following a preparatory training period, the project was carried out for a year. A number of problems were detected and solutions for them were found mainly through the use of IT: a web-based resource centre was created, where over 50 ELP-oriented activities and a list of FAQs was uploaded. In addition, students were encouraged to use e-Portfolios and ‘Europass’ as well as the online ‘Dialang’ test to help them in the self-assessment process. With the help of IT resources, the ELP has proved to be extremely useful as a pedagogical rather than a reporting tool. It has raised student awareness about the language learning process and its implications and has promoted learner autonomy to a very high degree.