ELT Journal - recent issues

ELT Journal 62/2: Announcement

2008-03-11

An ethnographic diary study

Hall, G. — 2008-03-11

This article examines a small-scale ethnographic survey of a single classroom. Drawing on the collected data, the discussion focuses on some of the problems encountered whilst collecting and interpreting data through self-report diaries. Amongst the issues considered are the perceptions of teachers and learners and their ability to articulate these perceptions, revealing that key assumptions need to be made explicit before appropriate conclusions can be drawn from the data. The article also discusses how variation within the data might be the result of the specific diary approach developed.

The article concludes positively, however, suggesting that explicit recognition of these difficulties can still lead to fruitful, localized approaches to the data.

The impact of TESOL on maths and science teachers

Feryok, A. — 2008-03-11

This article looks at a teacher trainer development programme designed in response to the shift from Malay-medium to English-medium instruction in Malaysian secondary maths and science teaching. The programme presented a group of 25 Malaysian maths and science teachers with principles and methods from teaching English to speakers of other languages (TESOL). The immediate aim was to prepare them to design and implement an in-service workshop for other maths and science teachers by focusing on task-based learning and teaching (TBLT). At the interim point in the programme, written assignments and classroom observations showed that the teachers had begun to understand the value of tasks for teaching content in English.

Improving scores on the IELTS speaking test

Issitt, S. — 2008-03-11

This article presents three strategies for teaching students who are taking the IELTS speaking test. The first strategy is aimed at improving confidence and uses a variety of self-help materials from the field of popular psychology. The second encourages students to think critically and invokes a range of academic perspectives. The third strategy invites a close inspection and utilization of the marking criteria published in the IELTS handbook. These strategies were applied to a small group of students who sat the test in September 2005 and their scores are presented and analysed. There is some evidence that the strategies were effective in raising scores on the speaking component.

Teacher research for professional development

Atay, D. — 2008-03-11

Current in-service education and training programmes (INSET) are often found to be unsatisfactory due to the fact that they do not provide the teachers with opportunities to be actively involved in their development and to reflect on their teaching experiences. This study presents an INSET programme in which Turkish EFL teachers were provided with relevant theoretical knowledge along with guidance for research, reflection, and collaboration. Results of the study showed that although teachers faced difficulties in conducting and reporting their research, the programme had a positive impact on their professional development. Thus, a research-oriented programme of this kind may help to resolve the problems and difficulties associated with INSET programmes in general.

Student perceptions of computerized tests

Pino-Silva, J. — 2008-03-11

The challenge to test small groups by means of microcomputers demands appropriate software design and sound test design. To comply with this demand, students' beliefs or perceptions on the advantages and disadvantages of a computerized test were tapped. Overall, self-reported advantages outnumbered disadvantages to a significant degree. This was taken as a strong indication that test-takers' perceptions of the computerized test appear to be positive. This is an encouraging finding, since user perceptions and criticism are crucial in the acceptance, implementation, and improvement of computerized tests.

A step forward: investigating expertise in materials evaluation

2008-03-11

This article reports on a study investigating the textbook evaluation techniques of novice and experienced teachers, which was conducted by the Language Teaching Expertise Research Group (or LATEX) within Lancaster University's Department of Linguistics and English Language. Three ELT teachers were chosen to evaluate the student and teacher editions of a newly-released ELT textbook using the technique of concurrent verbalization. The results of the research add to the growing body of knowledge on expertise, providing insight into the differences between the teachers with respect to their various evaluation strategies. They also point to implications for the development of teacher education and training.

Meaningful form: transitivity and intentionality

Saraceni, M. — 2008-03-11

Grammar has often found itself at the centre of innovations in English language teaching. In the last forty years the role of grammar has gone through three main stages: absolute prominence, exclusion, reintroduction with caution. These three stages have been associated respectively to three different approaches to instruction: ‘focus on forms’, ‘focus on meaning’, and ‘focus on form’. In the third stage, the teaching of grammar is meant to take place as the need arises during communicative activities. Even in such cases, however, there appears to remain a fundamental distinction between form and meaning. This paper suggests that such a distinction is unnecessary, given that form has its own semantic value. A practical task is proposed which analyses the semantic value of the grammatical system of transitivity, showing how it expresses the idea of intentionality.

Exploiting transcriptions of identical subject content lessons

Harfitt, G. J. — 2008-03-11

This article describes a strategy employed on a teacher training course in Hong Kong involving the use of lesson transcriptions. Transcriptions from two course participants' English lessons were used to arouse greater classroom language awareness and promote reflection in one of the teachers, who was initially very reluctant to accept comments and suggestions on her teaching and interactive decision making in the classroom. Her attitude underwent a transformation following her exposure to lesson transcriptions taken from another teacher working in a different school but who was teaching the same subject content as she was. The article will document the changes in this experienced ELT teacher and will also show how emphasis upon lesson transcriptions as an alternative to the more conventional video-recording can promote self-reflection and raise awareness of classroom interaction, and exert a powerful influence on teaching and learning.

Learner self-beliefs

Mercer, S. — 2008-03-11

Graded readers in English

Hill, D. R. — 2008-03-11

World Englishes: Implications for International Communication and English Language Teaching * English in the World: Global Rules, Global Roles

Maley, A. — 2008-03-11

English as a Lingua Franca: Attitude and Identity

Rajagopalan, K. — 2008-03-11

Discourse Analysis

McCarthy, M. — 2008-03-11

From Corpus to Classroom: Language Use and Language Teaching

Tribble, C. — 2008-03-11

Social bookmarking

Eastment, D. — 2008-03-11

iatefl

Greenall, S. — 2008-03-11

Editorial

2007-12-11

Critical incidents in ELT initial teacher training

Farrell, T. S. C. — 2007-12-11

A critical incident is any unplanned event that occurs during class. In has been suggested that if trainee teachers formally reflect on these critical incidents, it may be possible for them to uncover new understandings of the teaching and learning process. This paper outlines and discusses how eighteen trainee teachers in an English language teacher education course in Singapore reflected on critical incidents that occurred while they were teaching. Results indicate that while analysing critical incidents can be useful for trainee teachers, language teacher educators should realize that classification of such incidents into neat categories may be problematic and that care should be taken when assigning a critical incident assignment.

The reality of stress-timing

Barrera-Pardo, D. — 2007-12-11

According to some accounts, the linguistic reality of stress-timing in English is questionable and the existence of this type of language rhythm is rejected as a perceptual illusion. In this article, the temporal characteristics of English are re-analysed in the light of current linguistic research, and a range of implications for pronunciation teaching are set out.

Coherence in the assessment of writing skills

Walker, R., Riu, C. P. — 2007-12-11

Unhappy with the contradiction of teaching writing skills through a process-genre approach and testing them by means of a timed essay, the authors devised the Extended Writing Project (EWP) as an alternative evaluation mechanism. This requires students to write an extended text in consecutive sections that are drafted and revised with external help. At the marking stage, the final version is compared with the drafts to gain an insight into the development of both content and language from the planning stage to the final version. The EWP allowed the incorporation of process into the assessment of writing skills, and encouraged increased learner autonomy. Despite flaws, the EWP was well received by students as is reflected in a voluntary questionnaire.

Reading aloud: a useful learning tool?

Gibson, S. — 2007-12-11

This article is concerned with the role of reading aloud (RA) in language learning. General ELT methodology literature does not recommend the practice. However, recent research and specialist literature recommend using RA for various purposes. It can help reading by reinforcing graphemic-phonemic correspondences. It can aid the acquisition of prosodic features of English and help to develop writing skills by using it as oral proofreading. RA can also be used as a technique for autonomous learning and may help some anxious students to feel more able to speak. It is suggested that the benefits of RA could outweigh the disadvantages, and that the latter could be mitigated by careful and appropriate use of the activity. A small study of NS and NNS teachers and learners gives support to most of the purposes recommended above. This evidence suggests that the role of RA in language learning should now be reappraised.

Integrating feedback and reflection in teacher preparation

Brandt, C. — 2007-12-11

This paper examines tutor and peer post-teaching practice feedback in the context of short intensive TESOL certificate courses. Outcomes of recent research into such courses suggested that feedback was a contentious and problematic component.

The outcomes were considered in the context of the syllabus, and in the light of recent research into adult learning, reflection, and what is considered ‘good practice’ in feedback. Drawing upon insights from these areas, a new approach to the post-teaching practice meeting is proposed in which feedback alone is considered insufficient. Instead, feedback and reflection are integrated in the form of reflective conversations with a number of features including the assigning of greater prominence to reflection, and to the presence of a facilitator and language learners. It is suggested that such features would address several of the problems identified in the research by providing a more trainee-centred forum in which feedback is balanced by reflective practice.

The value of English picture story books

Hsiu-Chih, S. — 2007-12-11

This paper presents a study investigating EFL teachers' views on the educational values of English picture story books in Taiwan. Ten teachers with experience of using the books with primary school children participated in this study. The results suggest three main educational values perceived by the teachers: (1) linguistic value, (2) the value of the story, and (3) the value of the picture. A pattern of how the teachers presented the books also emerged from the data: the majority of the teachers perceived themselves as a mediator whose job was not to transmit the meaning of the book to the students, but to encourage participation and interaction.

A framework for goal-driven pair drills

Saito, H. — 2007-12-11

This paper proposes a framework for goal-driven pair drills. What distinguishes these drills from ordinary controlled drills lies in the motivating characteristics such as clear goals, outcomes, and communicativeness. With these features present, goal-driven pair drills encourage learners to process multiple layers of language skill aspects. A brief review of the relevant theoretical and empirical literature underpins the rationale for this framework. Three sample activities are introduced along with the results of learner surveys. High school students who experienced these drills showed positive attitudes more than university students did. They also identified some benefits and challenges in these drills.

Learner mining of pre-task and task input

Boston, J. S. — 2007-12-11

The findings reported in this article suggest that learners inevitably ‘mine’ wordings contained in pre-task and task materials when performing tasks, even when the teacher did not explicitly draw learner attention to these features. However, this was found to be true only with written materials, and learners did not appear to mine specific wordings from audio pre-task materials. Learner mining of language input from written pre-task/task materials opens the possibility of deliberately embedding specific language items into such materials. While the article acknowledges that such an approach to task design is controversial, with some arguing that it is inconsistent with principles behind task-based learning, the article leaves it to the reader to decide if finding ways of harnessing learner mining of wordings from pre-task input is in harmony with the principles of a task-based approach.

Texting

Crystal, D. — 2007-12-11

From madness in method to method in madness

Rajagopalan, K. — 2007-12-11

Corpora and grammar how much 'Well, it depends' can we take?

Ruhlemann, C. — 2007-12-11

Comment is a feature which allows contributors to express a personal, and sometimes controversial, view about a matter of current concern in the profession outside the format of a reviewed academic article. The views expressed are not necessarily those of the Editor or the Publisher. Reaction to Comment features is especially welcome in the form of a letter to the Editor.

(Re)-Locating TESOL in an Age of Empire

Waters, A. — 2007-12-11

Doing Task-Based Teaching * Task-Based Language Education

Tomlinson, B. — 2007-12-11

Young EFL Pupils Reading Multicultural Children's Fiction: an Ethnographic Case Study in a Swedish Language Primary School in Finland

Arnold, W. — 2007-12-11

Focus on Vocabulary

Li, J. — 2007-12-11

CALL Dimensions: Options and Issues in Computer-Assisted Language Learning * A Practical Guide to Using Computers in Language Teaching

Sharma, P. — 2007-12-11

A Place I Know Well * My Family * A Typical Day

Thompson, S. — 2007-12-11

Business English

Eastment, D. — 2007-12-11

Correspondence

Swan, M. — 2007-12-11

iatefl

Greenall, S. — 2007-12-11

ELT Journal/IATEFL debate DVD

2007-09-12

L1 differences and L2 similarities: teaching verb tenses in English

Collins, L. — 2007-09-12

In making decisions regarding the focus for grammar teaching, ESL instructors may take into consideration errors that appear to result from the influence of their students' first language(s) (L1). There is also evidence from language acquisition research suggesting that for some grammatical features, learners of different L1 backgrounds may face similar types of challenges. This article examines the issues of L1 influence and common developmental patterns in the domain of verb tense and aspect. The first part of the article provides an overview of some of the tense-aspect learning challenges faced by learners in general. The second summarizes findings from a study that compared the acquisition of the simple past in English by Japanese and French-speaking learners. In the final section, teaching suggestions, based on the insights gained from acquisition research, are offered. The different activities presented all focus students' attention on the contextual factors which motivate choices about the most appropriate tense-aspect forms for conveying intended meanings.

Culture and the 'good teacher' in the English Language classroom

Sowden, C. — 2007-09-12

In the present post-method situation, ELT has become increasingly sensitive to the issue of culture. However, this concept has been defined so broadly that it cannot fill the gap left by the retreat from methodology. In the absence of objective guidelines about what to do in the classroom, the teacher has returned to centre stage, but as a more informed, articulate, and empowered professional.

Learning from the transcripts of an oral communication task

Lynch, T. — 2007-09-12

This article reports a study of two English for Academic Purposes (EAP) classes who used different forms of transcript of their performances on a role-play speaking task as the basis for reprocessing and improving their output. One class used transcripts produced by the learners themselves, and the other used extracts transcribed by the teacher. Analysis of two subsequent performances on the same task—the second after two days and the third four weeks later—showed that both procedures were manageable under normal classroom conditions, and suggests that the self-transcribing procedure was more effective in helping the learners to maintain higher rates of accuracy in the forms highlighted during the reprocessing activities.

Preparing pre-service English teachers for reflective practice

Lee, I. — 2007-09-12

This article explores how dialogue journals and response journals can be used to encourage reflection among pre-service teachers. Thirty-one pre-service English teachers from two Hong Kong universities participated in the study. One group wrote dialogue journals and the other group wrote response journals throughout two semesters on two separate ELT methodology courses, both taught by the author. Data was gathered from their journal entries and post-study interviews. The findings show that dialogue and response journals provided opportunities for pre-service teachers to engage in reflective thinking, and all of them found the experience of journal writing beneficial. The article concludes with a number of recommendations on how teacher educators can use journals effectively as a tool for promoting reflection in pre-service teacher preparation.

Texts and frequency lists: some implications for practising teachers

Hancioglu, N., Eldridge, J. — 2007-09-12

Written texts play a major role in the work of English language teachers, and it is obviously important to consider how we select those texts, what difficulties students might encounter with them, and how those difficulties might be surmounted. But what is it that makes a text difficult? These days there are tools available to any teacher with access to Microsoft Word and the Internet, which can provide instant data about texts. These include software which provides detailed analysis of texts based on frequency lists. In this survey, five texts are analysed using these tools. The data is compared with comments provided by a sample of teachers and students concerning the same texts. The study concludes with some suggestions as to how teachers might go about text selection, and how approaches to teaching both reading and writing in the language classroom might be further informed by the insights that emerge.

Teaching writing to low proficiency EFL students

Firkins, A., Forey, G., Sengupta, S. — 2007-09-12

This article describes a genre-based literacy pedagogy which can be used with English language learners. The pedagogy discussed involves a combination of two explicit teaching methodologies, a genre-based and activity-based pedagogical approach. The pedagogy was introduced in an English Club at a local Hong Kong school, as part of a collaborative research project. In this article, we discuss the approach used and present examples of the students' work. The findings are particularly suitable for educational contexts where the students are low proficiency English as a foreign language (EFL) learners.

ELT and 'the spirit of the times'

Waters, A. — 2007-09-12

In recent years, ELT professional discourse has been increasingly characterized by the active promotion of a number of ideas which lack popular appeal. It is argued that one reason for this trend is the influence of the prevailing intellectual ideology in the professionally-dominant Anglophone West - one of ‘political correctness’ (PC). The nature of the PC concept is outlined and the way in which it can be seen to have influenced ELT explained. It is further argued that, despite a healthy concern with opposing the abuse of power, the PC-based ELT stance is itself prone to the very same problem, and several representative examples of the unbalanced and distorted views that result are described. It is hoped the analysis provided will help to increase understanding of the ideological basis for trends in ELT, and thereby also improve critical evaluation of them.

Response to 'ELT and "the spirit of the times"'

Holliday, A. — 2007-09-12

It is important to distinguish superficial political correctness from the need to address destructive phenomena such as cultural chauvinism directed at ‘non-native speakers’. Because of the deep-rooted and often hidden nature of this chauvinism, evidence for its existence is not straightforward, but derives from a broad range of interconnected data. This evidence is supported by sociological facts concerning the ideological nature of professions and the position of ELT within an unequally structured postcolonial world. At the same time, the assertion that much of our practice is chauvinistic is not an attempt to disqualify it, but to bring greater awareness to its practice and the discourses which underpin it. Ironically, the hegemonic political correctness which Waters critiques may be more deeply rooted in English-speaking Western ELT's established desire to ‘liberate’ ‘non-native speakers’ who do not need liberating, than in acting against chauvinistic attitudes towards them.

Ideology, reality, and false consciousness in ELT

Waters, A. — 2007-09-12

Motivation in ELT

McDonough, S. — 2007-09-12

What attitude, exactly?

O'Dwyer, S. — 2007-09-12

Teacher education in the postmethods era

McMorrow, M. — 2007-09-12

This is a summary of on an online discussion hosted by the IATEFL Teacher Training and Education SIG (Special Interest Group) in January 2007.

English: One Tongue, Many Voices

Spiewak, G. — 2007-09-12

IATEFL 2006 Harrogate Conference Selections

Finster, G. — 2007-09-12

Language and Politics

Scott, R. — 2007-09-12

Independent Learning Schemes: A Practical Approach

Pemberton, R. — 2007-09-12

Writers and their Other Work 20th century British Writers and English Teaching Abroad

Early, P. — 2007-09-12

Body Matters

Eastment, D. — 2007-09-12

iatefl

Greenall, S. — 2007-09-12

Extensive Reading Foundation

2007-09-12

Annual index

2007-09-12