ISSN 0219-9874
Articles
Language Teaching Materials and the (Very) Big Picture
Discussions in language teaching have most commonly emphasised applied linguistic or educational arguments to explain innovation in teaching materials. This article, however, focuses on the very much bigger picture. Drawing on ideas from social theory, the article takes a wide perspective, and suggests that the evolution of language teaching practices is, in fact, intimately related to the socio-historical context. Taking the development of English language teaching materials as an example, the article first offers a brief social history of the West from the 1950s onwards, and shows how ideas for materials were clearly influenced by changes in the zeitgeist of the time. The article then offers a more detailed analysis of contemporary developments in English language teaching materials and argues that the link to social context has shifted from being one of ‘influence’ to one of ‘imperative.’ The article aims to show how the phenomena of McDonaldization and Neo-liberalism are clearly shaping present-day ELT materials design. The article concludes with a discussion of the significance of this, and argues that language teaching professionals need to be more cognizant of external influences.
Four Models of Language Learning and Acquisition and Their Methodological Implications for Textbook Design
This article explores the consequences of four models of language learning and acquisition on textbook design, and the sequencing and distribution of lesson activities. The model developed by Levelt (1989) to explain oral speech production, which was later extended to second language learning by De Bot (1992), points to the importance of lexical knowledge and subconscious, automatic processing. Paul Nation (2001) cited ample evidence for the effectiveness of an equal distribution of meaningful input, language focused instruction, meaningful output and fluency practice in his four strands model. Segalovitz and Gatbonton (2005) proposed the ACCESS-Model, an acronym that stands for automatization in communicative context of essential speech segments. Merrill Swain’s model of output hypothesis, which insists that learners learn not only from input but also from output and thus pushes for learner output at an early stage, has also been the subject of much discussion. As far as I can see, none of these four models have been sufficiently reflected in terms of their consequences for textbook sequences or task and exercise design. Based on practical examples of tasks and exercises, this article will put forward a few ideas and suggestions based on these models and try to come to some general conclusions with regard to a research-based textbook design.
Learners as Ethnographers, Informants and Mediators: Developing Intercultural Awareness through Language Teaching Materials
The article aims to present a model of materials design for the development of plurilingual intercultural competence in a secondary school setting where two foreign languages – English and German – are taught. The intended learners are native speakers of Spanish, have acquired an elementary competence in English (A2 level) and are learning German as a second foreign language (A1 level). The plurilingual activities involve the simultaneous use of both languages in the class and simulate situations to communicate about the social practice of barbecues in Argentina, and English and German-speaking settings. Learners act as ethnographers as they find out facts about barbecues in other countries through access to Internet sources and further develop a plurilingual competence as they get information in the two foreign languages they learn. They also get ready to transmit the information to people who do not speak one or the other foreign language, thus acting as mediators across languages and cultures.
Instructional Materials for Developing Multi-Competencies: The Case of Performative Exercises
This study examines learners’ perceptions about classroom activities called Performative Exerceises and how to enhance the instructional materials for teachers. Performative exercises are role-play based exercises that aim at fostering learners’ communicative competence to use language in a contextually appropriate and socio-culturally meaningful way. Through a completed questionnaire submitted by 122 elementary learners of Japanese, the study reveals the features of the lessons that make learners perceive them to be “useful,” “fun,” and “difficult” as well as the benefits of Class Work and Pair Work. Based on the findings, this paper argues that the conventional way of communicative language teaching, such as facilitating interactions in pairs or groups, and providing feedback on prepared conversation is not enough to achieve educational goals. It suggests that the instructional materials should include a structured sequence of communication tasks that gradually build up learners’ knowledge to construct longer and more complex discourse with ease, and that enhance rapid interaction skills in language use in various contexts as well as acute monitoring skills that would lead to culturally meaningful and socially appropriate use of the language.
Using Self-Study Materials for Classroom Teaching
In the last decade, a substantial number of Hindi textbooks for non-Hindi speakers have been published. They all are more or less self study materials. There are a very few, if any, teaching specific textbooks for the Hindi language. Hindi language teachers all over the world have to rely on self-study materials, and mold and modify them for classroom teaching purposes. The study investigates the possibilities for the use of self-study materials for classroom teaching. The study also surveyed student opinions regarding the use of a particular textbook and the supplemental material used along with this book.
Improving Reading Proficiency via Interactive Online Lessons
This paper describes a materials development project to create interactive online reading lessons for Indonesian. The objectives of these lessons are two-fold: to teach reading strategies and to improve Indonesian reading proficiency. The lessons are developed based primarily on schema theory using authentic texts found in the Indonesian mass media and other public domains. Each lesson consists of three major stages: i) the pre-reading stage where the tasks are designed to activate student’s schemata about the topic and genre of the texts and to anticipate new information in the text; ii) the during-reading stage where students are guided to develop comprehension by processing information from general to specific, and to develop skills to utilize context to interpret key linguistic aspects; iii) the post-reading stage where the activities necessitate students to incorporate other skill domains, i.e. speaking, listening, writing, while performing real world tasks related to the topic. The reading materials incorporate online, interactive exercises for the first and second year Indonesian language instruction at the tertiary level and will be accessible on the Internet at no charge.
Developing Student-Centered Grammar Materials for Beginners’ Level Indonesian
Curriculum development is an integral element in determining the success of language learning. The selection and preparation of teaching materials is one element that needs to be considered in curriculum planning. It is important to have materials tailored to students’ needs in order to facilitate better learning and to enhance their learning experiences (Richards, 2001; Tomlinson, 2001). This article discusses the pedagogical considerations, design and development of the student-centered “Communicative Practical Indonesian Grammar” materials and the “Pelangi Bahasa Indonesia” podcasts for beginners at the National University of Singapore. The grammar materials were developed in accordance with communicative language teaching principles. Grammatical structures are presented in the materials in accordance with the inductive approach through which students learn the use of the structure through practice of the language in context and formulate the rules from practical examples. They discover and generate the rules from their experience of using the target language (Brumfit & Johnston, 1979; Ellis, 2001; Richards, 2006). Research has shown that podcasting has many advantages. They are portable, convenient, attractive and motivating (Chan, Chen, & Döpel, 2011). The “Pelangi Bahasa Indonesia” podcast materials were produced as a supplement to the “Communicative Practical Indonesian Grammar” materials to reinforce grammar knowledge, and encourage learning beyond the classroom.
The Development of Chinese Language Podcasts: Podcast Units for Beginning Chinese Classes (in Chinese)
The application of podcasting technologies to language teaching is attracting increasing attention among language teachers. While research on the use of podcasting in language teaching is still lacking, it has seen an increase in the past 2 years (e.g. Abdous, Camaraena, & Facer, 2009; Chan, Chen, & Döpel, 2011; Chi & Chan, 2009, 2011; Chin & Lin, 2011). Nevertheless, Chinese podcasting remains nearly unexplored. The Centre for Language Studies of the National University of Singapore inaugurated Chinese podcasting in 2009, creating audio podcasts in the initial phase, followed by video podcasts subsequently. The Chinese podcasting project spans three years. Surveys are conducted at the end of each phase to collect qualitative and quantitative feedback from students for the modification and revision of podcast units for the following semesters.
The Chinese podcasting project was introduced in Chinese courses with five objectives: to (1) complement classroom teaching; (2) provide a more relaxed learning environment; (3) promote mobile learning; (4) update the learning materials in a timely fashion; and (5) provide local Singaporean cultural and social information not available in the adopted textbooks imported from China.
This article describes the phases of development for the Chinese podcast units from 2009 to 2012. Firstly, it documents the structure, designs and contents of podcast units produced during that period of time, and proposes a workable formula for the production of Chinese podcast units. Secondly, this article examines and reframes the five objectives of the project. It was ascertained that the five objectives are achievable. Indeed, students agreed that podcasting did provide them with a relatively more relaxed learning environment. Teachers were able to create and update units whenever the need arises. This timeliness makes podcasting a useful tool in creating supplementary materials to make up for the lack of certain specific information in the existing textbooks. The study reported in this article has also uncovered that Chinese language students are most motivated by utilitarian objectives, such as their course grades, and that certain conditions need to be met in order to effectively promote mobile learning. Finally, this article discuses some pedagogical applications of Chinese language podcasts in and beyond the classroom, and points out feasible directions for future developments.
Articles
Assessing the Action Plan: Reform in Japanese High School EFL
In 2003, the Japanese Ministry of Education (MEXT) introduced potentially far reaching reforms to EFL curricula in high schools entitled “The National Action Plan to Cultivate ‘Japanese with English Abilities’ ” (the Action Plan). However, given the failure of previous attempts at reform, there was some doubt as to whether the Action Plan would meet with success. This paper investigates the state of policy implementation through a review of the literature and presentation of new research. By means of a multi-regional five site study (N=309), first year university students were asked about the EFL lessons they experienced in their senior high schools. The study finds that many schools are meeting at least some of the aims of the Action Plan, but few if any are meeting all of them. Relevant issues and apparent trends are explored and discussed.
Beliefs about Language Learning of Thai Students Learning Chinese and Japanese: Relationships with Past Learning Experiences and Target Language Variations
The objective of this study was (a) to investigate the nature and structure of the language learning beliefs of Thai students, and (b) to determine whether there was any significant difference in terms of the language learning beliefs among groups of students with different past educational experiences and students learning different foreign languages. Horwitz’s Beliefs About Language Learning Inventory (BALLI) was administered to Thai students learning the Japanese or Chinese language (N = 189) at a university. Through a principal component analysis, a six-factor structure was identified for the beliefs. Only in terms of one of the six factors was a significant difference identified between the groups of students who had graduated from different types of secondary schools and had different experiences of the preparatory pre-university English language course. Similarly, the language learning beliefs were significantly different for the groups of students learning two different languages only in terms of one factor. With the wide range of similarities in the participants’ past experiences in learning English and other foreign languages, the findings suggest that language learning beliefs are shared if the learners had similar learning experiences.
Language Anxiety, Acculturation, and L2 Self: A Relational Analysis in the Taiwanese Cultural Context
Due to the detrimental effects of foreign language anxiety on multiple areas of language achievement, a large body of research has been devoted to examining the sources of this anxiety. Yet very few studies have con-sidered acculturation and L2 self as causal factors in foreign language anxiety. This enquiry proposes hypoth-esized links between foreign language anxiety, three components of Schumann’s (1978, 1986) acculturation theories (assimilation, preservation, and adaptation), two aspects of Dörnyei’s (2005, 2009) L2 motivational self system (ideal L2 self and ought-to L2 self), and selected sociodemographic variables in the Taiwanese EFL context. A setwise multiple regression analysis revealed four variables that contributed significantly to the prediction of foreign language anxiety: the L2 self, preservation, hours spent on English listening com-prehension practice, and self-perceived English proficiency. The pedagogical implications of these findings for reducing foreign language anxiety and for improving foreign language learning are discussed.
Effects of Using Facebook as a Medium for Discussions of English Grammar and Writing of Low-Intermediate EFL Students
The present study explored the effects of using Facebook as a medium for grammar and writing discussions of low-intermediate EFL students. The data were collected from the students’ utterances asking for explanations about English grammar and writing that were posted on Facebook, their gain scores in the pre-test and post-test, and interview responses. The findings showed a statistically significant difference between the mean scores of the pre-test and the post-test (t = 6.65, p = 0.00). Most common topics of discussion involved sentence structures, followed by word meanings, parts of speech and then relative clauses. It was found that English grammar was worth promoting for discussions on Facebook because there were correlations between the gain scores in the grammar and writing parts at the significant levels (r = 0.399 in the pre-test and r = 0.859 in the post-test). The students also had positive attitudes toward using Facebook as a means of learning grammar and writing. As an alternative learning tool, Facebook provided them a convenient and attractive means to engage in discussions with the teacher and other users who had better grammatical knowledge.
An Integrated Approach to the Teaching and Learning of zh
This paper presents an integrated approach to the teaching and learning of Chinese zh, one difficult sound particularly challenging to Hispanic students. The proposed approach consists of three components, namely a mouthercise, a flash animation, and a set of class practice and performance drills. An experiment of this approach has been conducted in a beginning Chinese class in an American university classroom setting. The results yield strong support for the efficacy of the proposed approach.
EFL Students’ Understanding of Their Multilingual English Identities
Little is known about how multilingual English users (MEUs) in EFL contexts such as Indonesia understand and construct their MEU identities. The purpose of the study is to explore how 30 students in a pre-service teacher education frame their multilingual English identities as written in response journals, part of a course requirement in a Cross-cultural Understanding (CCU) course. The findings illustrate that many of the participants negotiated their identities based on a core identity derived from their assumed first language (L1) culture. With regard to the English use, encounters with native speakers appeared to magnify their linguistic insecurity, viewing their nonnative status as a drawback. All of the participants appeared to be fully aware that the use of English in public spaces would project negative identities as Indonesian nationals. Implications for pre-service teacher education programs are made at the end of the paper.
The Use of Complaint Letters as an Authentic Source of Input for an Interactive Task in Second Language Learning
This article reports empirical findings from a micro-interactional analysis of the use of complaint letters as an authentic source of input for an interactive task that intermediate level university students performed in the ESL context. The present research study aims to examine whether the tasks of comprehending, responding to, and discussing complaint letters engage students in socially, cognitively and linguistically laden undertakings. Three international students from Brazil, Saudi Arabia and Taiwan participated voluntarily in this research study. These participants were asked to comprehend, respond to and discuss complaint letters, which served as an authentic source of input for these tasks. The recorded audio data were transcribed, coded and analyzed through a micro-interactional analysis. The key findings are that the use of complaint letters enabled: passive and active engagement in peer interaction; meaning making of the input content; meaning negotiation; cognitive and emotional responses to the input; prior knowledge or experience activation; and the deployment of discourse markers in dialogic interaction. The findings suggest that the use of appropriate authentic texts as interactional input affords students the opportunity to engage in tasks personally and meaningfully.
Reviews
- Review of "Learning Japanese as a Second Language: A Processability Perspective"
- Review of "Oxford Modern English Grammar"
- Review of "Interlanguage Variation in Theoretical and Pedagogical Perspective" (in Chinese)
Contact address:
The Editor
e-FLT
Centre For Language Studies,
Faculty of Arts & Social Sciences,
National University of Singapore,
9 Arts Link, AS4/02-52 Singapore 117570
Copyright © 2004-2012 by the Centre for Language Studies
Webmaster
Date of Publication: 2 April 2013
e-FLT is indexed and abstracted by: SCOPUS, MLA International Bibliogaphy, Directory of Open Access Journals, EBSCOhost, Ulrich's Periodicals Directory
Visitor No: