ELT Journal - Advance Access

Correspondence

Lebowitz, A. — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 06:14:16 PST

'Dearest beloved one, I need your assistance': the rhetoric of spam mail

Viswamohan, A. I., Hadfield, C., Hadfield, J. — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 06:14:15 PST

The role of EFL teachers' emotional intelligence in their success

Ghanizadeh, A., Moafian, F. — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 03:12:22 PST

This study examines the relationship between EFL teachers’ emotional quotient (EQ) and their pedagogical success in language institutes. In addition, the role played by their years of teaching experience in their EQ and the relationship between their age and EQ were also studied. For this purpose, 89 EFL teachers were chosen from different language institutes in Mashhad, a city in north-eastern Iran. They were asked to complete Bar-On's ‘EQ test’. Simultaneously, a questionnaire entitled ‘Characteristics of successful EFL teachers’ was filled in by the students taught by each teacher with the aim of evaluating the teachers’ performance. Subsequent data analysis revealed that there is a significant relationship between teachers’ success and EQ. Furthermore, significant correlations were found between teachers’ EQ, their teaching experience, and their age. The implications of the study are discussed.

A mindset for EFL: learners' beliefs about the role of natural talent

Mercer, S., Ryan, S. — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 03:12:21 PST

This article explores the role of the psychological construct of ‘implicit theories’ or ‘mindsets’ in the context of foreign language learning. It considers psychology-based research of the construct in respect to the EFL context and reports on a small exploratory study using interviews carried out with tertiary-level learners in Austria and Japan. The authors wish to argue for the relevance and importance of the construct for ELT, explore some of the potential issues raised by the initial study, and consider some of the pedagogical implications arising from both the literature and the findings.

Students transcribing tasks: noticing fluency, accuracy, and complexity

Tue, 03 Nov 2009 03:12:21 PST

Student self-transcription can greatly enhance the power of tasks to promote language learning, for it allows students to re-examine their experience freed from the pressure of performing the task itself, so they can notice and reflect on the language used and encountered. This is a powerful step in language development because it allows for increased awareness and informed goal setting. Students can thus become researchers into their own language use, with their transcriptions offering teachers an efficient means of tracking their performances. This article shares findings gleaned from the implementation of a self-transcription activity that followed a poster presentation task, in which post-task reflection had the students assess their transcribed language according to simplified measures of fluency, accuracy, and complexity. In the closing, alternative means of adapting such work to suit a range of classroom conditions and purposes will be discussed.

Immersion and CLIL in English: more differences than similarities

Lasagabaster, D., Sierra, J. M. — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 12:36:10 PDT

In ELT literature, the reader often finds the terms Content and Language Integrated Learning (CLIL) and immersion used interchangeably, even though there are important differences between them. These two labels usually appear as generic terms covering any kind of teaching in which an L2 is used to teach content. In this article, we attempt to unravel this ambiguity from the Spanish context, describing from a psycholinguistic and methodological point of view the aspects they share and, above all, their main differences. Although CLIL can be implemented in different foreign languages, the fact is that English is the language overwhelmingly used as a means of instruction in most European countries (Eurydice. 2006. Content and Language Integrated Learning (CLIL) at School in Europe. Brussels: European Commission).

Reducing student reticence through teacher interaction strategy

Lee, W., Ng, S. — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 12:36:09 PDT

Reticence is a common problem faced by ESL/EFL teachers in classrooms, especially in those with mainly Asian students. The willingness to communicate model of MacIntyre, Clement, Dörnyei, and Noels (1998. ‘Conceptualizing willingness to communicate in a L2: a situational model of L2 confidence and affiliation’. The Modern Language Journal 82/4: 545–62.) postulates that willingness to speak is determined not only by learners themselves but also by the situation they are in, suggesting that situational variables such as topic and participants should be included in the investigation. This paper aims to examine whether teacher interaction strategy could be one of the factors triggering student reticence in classrooms. A group of Form 1 (Grade 7) Hong Kong Chinese students were given two lessons characterized by different interaction patterns. The two lessons were videotaped for analysis. The results show that teacher strategy is a major determinant of student reticence in classrooms, but it is not the sole factor. Pedagogical factors such as lesson objectives and task type were also found to influence a teacher's classroom-based interaction strategy decision making.

A response to Graham Hall

Uysal, H. H. — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 11:05:54 PDT

Ellis's corrective feedback in a problem-solving context

Kozlova, I. — Wed, 16 Sep 2009 06:49:41 PDT

'Would you perhaps consider ...': hedged comments in ESL writing

Nurmukhamedov, U., Kim, S. H. — Fri, 28 Aug 2009 06:02:05 PDT

Both research and practice have shown that while some comments on L2 writing lead to substantive revision, others go unattended, failing to achieve their anticipated instructional effect. It is therefore crucial to determine how learners perceive different commentary types, so that teachers can enhance the efficacy of their feedback. The present study shares practical suggestions on making written comments more effective, based on the results of an examination of the effects of four different commentary types on ESL students’ essays: statements (stating students’ problems), imperatives (directly asking students to change, delete, and add), questions (showing elements of doubt and uncertainty), and hedging (avoiding directness by implying or suggesting). While hedging comments were associated with substantive and effective revisions, stimulated recall interviews revealed that challenges may exist for ESL writers in interpreting hedging comments appropriately because of the difficulty in understanding their pragmatic function.

Why are students quiet? Looking at the Chinese context and beyond

Xie, X. — Fri, 28 Aug 2009 06:02:04 PDT

This paper is part of a larger project on teacher–student interaction and the contextual issues which shape them. It reported that the reticence of English majors is caused by the communicative environment that the teachers create in their interactions with their students. The data were collected through observations, audio- and videotaping, and stimulated reflection across a two-and-a-half-month period. Informed by Vygotsky's (1978) sociocultural theory which puts talk at the core of successful teaching and learning, the analysis presented reveals how the teachers’ thematic control leads to students’ low interaction levels. Based on the findings, implications are discussed and some possible changes to teaching practices proposed, which are applicable not only to the Chinese context but beyond.

Direct teaching of vocabulary after reading: is it worth the effort?

Sonbul, S., Schmitt, N. — Fri, 28 Aug 2009 06:02:04 PDT

This experimental study evaluated the effectiveness of direct teaching of new vocabulary items in reading passages. The study compared vocabulary learning under a reading only condition (incidental learning) to learning that is aided by direct communication of word meanings (explicit learning). Three levels of vocabulary knowledge (form recall, meaning recall, and meaning recognition) were assessed using three tests (completion, L1 translation, and multiple choice, respectively). Incidental learning plus explicit instruction was found to be more effective than incidental learning alone for all three levels. The results also showed that direct instruction is especially effective in facilitating the deepest level of knowledge, i.e. form recall. These findings demonstrate the value of the time and effort spent on direct teaching of lexical items in EFL reading classes.

An exploration of on-task language policy and student satisfaction

Rivers, D. J. — Tue, 04 Aug 2009 06:06:18 PDT

In this study, 94 university freshmen undertook an authentic, experientially driven media production project at a Japanese university which promotes a target language (TL)-only classroom language policy. The project was staged across six 90-minute lessons and sought to promote culturally and socially relevant task-based activities grounded in the belief that authentic learning can only occur through tasks that result in achievement which is significant and meaningful rather than that which is trivial or useless (Newmann and Wehlage 1993). The project manipulated the on-task language policy of the students by assigning 47 of the students to work under strict TL-only policy whilst the other 47 students were permitted to use both the TL and the native language. General student satisfaction and the specific attributions of both satisfaction and dissatisfaction with the project under both language conditions were recorded through a questionnaire and analysed in relation to attitudes toward the optimal language-learning environment.

What is this English what I teach?

Parker, M. — Mon, 03 Aug 2009 03:05:13 PDT

This is a feature in which individuals are invited to express their personal, and sometimes controversial, views on professional issues. These views are not necessarily those of the Editor, the Editorial Panel, or the Publisher. Reaction to Comment features is especially welcome in the form of a letter to the Editor.

A focus on purpose: using a genre approach in an EFL writing class

Myskow, G., Gordon, K. — Mon, 27 Jul 2009 05:48:32 PDT

This article shows how a genre approach has been used in an EFL high school writing course to teach the university application letter genre to students preparing for post-secondary studies. The authors discuss specific classroom materials to illustrate how a genre-based approach can be employed, not simply to teach static textual patterns but to help learners gain a richer understanding of the complex relationship between written texts and the social contexts in which they are situated. The article begins with a brief overview of L2 writing scholarship, and as the authors acknowledge, some overlap exists between contemporary genre-based pedagogies and earlier product approaches. The authors argue, however, that awareness of the (somewhat slippery) distinction between these approaches is essential, if teachers are to present genres as resources to be drawn on to help learners achieve specific social purposes rather than inflexible text templates to be prescriptively imitated.

Pragmatics, awareness raising, and the Cooperative Principle

Murray, N. — Mon, 27 Jul 2009 05:48:31 PDT

In recent years, pedagogical pragmatics has sought to improve the effectiveness with which learners express and interpret meaning, through awareness-raising activities that draw on authentic materials and break away from simplistic explanations of form–function correspondences. By and large, these efforts have been informed by an inductive approach through which, over time, learners can infer general principles governing appropriate language use from an understanding of particular speech acts based on observation, description, and classroom discussion. This paper argues that learners can simultaneously benefit from a deductive approach which develops an appreciation of those general principles that background the performance and interpretation of speech acts. It is suggested that Grice's Cooperative Principle provides a useful means through which to implement such an approach and help ensure that learners use language in a socially appropriate way.

International English language testing: a critical response

Hall, G. — Tue, 21 Jul 2009 05:58:50 PDT

Uysal's article provides a research agenda for IELTS and lists numerous issues concerning the test's reliability and validity. She asks useful questions, but her analysis ignores the uncertainties inherent in all language test development and the wider social and political context of international high-stakes language testing. In this response, I suggest there is ample evidence that, in the normal course of its test development and review processes, IELTS is aware of and addressing problematic issues in its testing as they arise. However, I also argue that to address some of the issues arising from Uysal's discussion, we need to take a broader perspective and examine the social, economic, and political dimensions of international high-stakes English language testing.

Linguistic and cultural strategies in ELT dictionaries

Corrius, M., Pujol, D. — Fri, 17 Jul 2009 07:02:34 PDT

There are three main types of ELT dictionaries: monolingual, bilingual, and bilingualized. Each type of dictionary, while having its own advantages, also hinders the learning of English as a foreign language and culture in so far as it is written from a homogenizing (linguistic- and culture-centric) perspective. This paper presents a new type of dictionary that tries to overcome the linguistic and cultural limitations of its predecessors. This is achieved by means of a series of strategies that have to do with localization, delocalization, globalization, and glocalization of language and/or culture. It is hoped that the presentation of the linguistic and cultural strategies underlying this new kind of dictionary will (1) help the ELT community to improve students’ linguistic and cultural competencies, (2) help teachers evaluate the efficacy of different ELT dictionaries, and (3) promote the creation of more effective ELT dictionaries.

Formulation as evidence of understanding in teacher-student talk

Nakamura, I. — Thu, 16 Jul 2009 04:41:22 PDT

As we regularly find in exchanges outside the classroom, formulating (the rephrasing of what has been said) makes use of such conversational skills as active listening, elaboration, and affiliation as well as the precise timing of taking turns to keep the talk going. This paper examines how formulations occur in talk outside the classroom including during arranged informal talks between a teacher and his students and what we can learn about facilitating more extensive talk in classroom interactions. Formulating understandings of what one speaker says offers the next speaker a valuable interactional resource to promote both confirmation of previous turns and elaboration in subsequent turns. In contrast to methodological practice where teacher and student are language expert and novice, formulations draw attention to how real-world interactions are jointly constructed for understanding.

A member may use some part of the conversation as an occasion to formulate the conversation. (Garfinkel and Sacks 1970: 350)

Using the linguistic landscape as a pedagogical resource

Sayer, P. — Wed, 15 Jul 2009 03:11:08 PDT

This article discusses the idea of linguistic landscape and describes a small-scale research project undertaken in a local EFL community in Mexico using public signs to analyse the social meanings of English. The author presents a framework that distinguishes between intercultural and intracultural uses, as well as iconic and innovative uses of English on signs. He also identifies six social meanings represented on the signs and uses photographs to illustrate each meaning. He argues that the project is useful both for thinking about the innovative ways people use the language in local contexts and as a template for a classroom-based project that teachers can implement that engages EFL students in investigating and talking about social language use. The conclusion presents an approach for using the linguistic landscape as a pedagogical resource in the EFL classroom which casts the students as language investigators and offers ideas for extension activities that connect the language classroom to the streets of the learners’ community.

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

Huang, L.-S. — Tue, 23 Jun 2009 01:14:11 PDT

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.

Pre-task syntactic priming and focused task design

Boston, J. S. — Tue, 16 Jun 2009 11:30:28 PDT

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. — Fri, 05 Jun 2009 09:50:32 PDT

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.

Attribution and learning English as a foreign language

Peacock, M. — Thu, 07 May 2009 08:28:48 PDT

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. — Thu, 07 May 2009 08:28:47 PDT

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. — Fri, 17 Apr 2009 08:42:22 PDT

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. — Fri, 17 Apr 2009 08:42:21 PDT

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. — Fri, 17 Apr 2009 08:42:21 PDT

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. — Thu, 09 Apr 2009 09:45:47 PDT

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. — Mon, 06 Apr 2009 07:27:22 PDT

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. — Wed, 01 Apr 2009 04:07:45 PDT

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. — Fri, 27 Mar 2009 13:57:55 PDT

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. — Fri, 27 Mar 2009 13:57:54 PDT

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. — Thu, 12 Mar 2009 07:44:56 PDT

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. — Tue, 10 Mar 2009 06:08:01 PDT

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.