Volume 4, Number 1, June 2007
Christopher W. Storey
Insights into Language Curriculum Development (pp. 86–107)
This paper presents results from an exploratory case study of curriculum development processes at three Japanese universities. It considers the possible influence of “The Action Plan to develop ‘Japanese with English abilities’” (Ministry of Education, 2003), reviews models of curriculum development from theory and compares those to data collected from informants working at the three institutions. Analysis focuses on how the processes undertaken by the universities over the last five years show similarities to those predicted by theory, but also highlights how activities in the institutions have differed. Results indicate that the national university in the study undertook curriculum development in the most systematic way, one key being the development of a university wide English language education policy, which was supported by the majority of teachers and administrators. The municipal university (only one faculty in this study) had carried out development activities at its formation (2000), but had not continued the processes, particularly in the areas of needs and situation analysis plus evaluation. Curriculum development processes in the prefectural university were centered around an individual teacher, with little input from the rest of the organization. The most significant insights from the study are formulated into guidelines for curriculum developers. Finally, the Action Plan was found to have had little influence on language curriculum development processes at the three universities in the study.
Ming Yueh Shen & Yueh Kuey Huang
Collaborative Action Research for Reading Strategy Instruction: A Case in Taiwan (pp. 108–121)
EFL learners’ low engagement in reading class and poor reading proficiency has been a long lasting and widespread problem challenging English teachers in Taiwan. This report of a collaborative action research project involving a teacher researcher, a teaching assistant, and forty six students, focused on how action research helps the teacher researcher to seek solutions to the problem and on how the approach facilitates the learning of reading strategies by students. The general design of this study was based on the concepts of individual differences, the action research process – posing a question, planning, taking action, observing, and reflecting – as well as diagnostic teaching. Data were collected through a number of instruments: pre and post assessment of reading comprehension and strategies, classroom observation field notes written by the assistant, reflective learning journal entries, and semi structured interviews. Data analysis involved three stages: organizing the data, coding the data, and analyzing and interpreting the data. Results reveal the learners’ development in their use of reading strategies, better self images, and more positive attitudes toward learning. This study suggests that collaborative action research can bring about change in the classroom by giving teachers a greater breadth and depth in understanding their own pedagogical practice and can lead to a more meaningful learning environment for learners. However, given certain limitations and difficulties in effecting change in teaching and learning, teachers and students should moderate any expectations of achieving rapid success.
Jack Jinghui Liu
Placement of the Thesis Statement in English and Chinese Argumentative Essays: A Study of Contrastive Rhetoric (pp. 122–139)
Although researchers have compared rhetorical patterns of college level native English speakers with patterns of speakers of other languages, research on American and Chinese high school students’ writing in English and Chinese has received limited attention from investigators. This contrastive rhetoric study investigates placement of the thesis statement in argumentative essays written by Chinese and American students. One hundred and ten students enrolled in junior high schools in China and the United States participated in this study. The theoretical framework is based on insights from Kaplan’s (1966) theory of contrastive rhetoric both as a research base and as a base from which to draw pedagogical implications. The findings indicate that the argumentative writing of contemporary Chinese foreign language school students is closer to the "Anglo American" rhetorical style than previously assumed.
This article examines the question: what kind of effect digital media can have on the learner and the learning process? In this context, the term autonomous learning has become of special interest. Determining learning as “autonomous” directs the focus of attention to the basic question of education in light of the use of techno logical media: what should a technologically constructed medium be like, if it is not to turn the learner into an object of learning, but rather to permit him to utilize media as a free, self determining subject? In this article, several kinds of digital media will be discussed with reference to the Kantian concepts of “will,” “imaginative power,” and “sociability.” Among these are programs of the computer as tutor approach, tools for data driven and inquiry based activities, and tools for online activities. It is found that especially the internet, with its opportunities for people to participate in real social practice, offers the chance to appreciably enhance the agency of individual learners and their willingness to engage in learning activities.
Nematullah Shomoossi & Saeed Ketabi
A Critical Look at the Concept of Authenticity (pp. 149–155)
This article is intended to briefly overview the concept of authenticity which cannot be defined similarly for all contexts, as we confront various contexts around the world, each with their unique characteristics. In other words, authenticity is a relative concept, materialized within each context with the interaction of its participants. Also, following Chavez’ (1998) comments, authenticity cannot be defined as anything really existing in the outside world because any text taken out of its original context and away from its intended audience automatically becomes less authentic. Learners’ proficiency levels and their positive attitudes towards the text are other aspects in this regard. Authentic materials require at least two features: communicative potential and relevance. The binary division of authenticity is no longer relevant and efficient; rather, it is to be considered in relation to the context where the material is used. Therefore, literature on authenticity suggests that authenticity is subject to pragmatic variation which cannot be defined in a vacuum and that its defining characteristics lie in the context. This argument has implications for teacher education and material development because of the changing situation of ELT practice around the world. The final conclusion is that the notion of authenticity within the global context must be considered in the light of the pragmatic appropriateness of the materials used and the interaction tasks set in relation to learners’ needs and interests. The knowledgeable teacher is the nexus for empowering materials and tasks that are ‘authentic’ for their specific groups of learners.
Reviews
Review of “Audacity” and “Propaganda”: Two Applications for Podcasting (pp. 159–164)
reviewed by Martin G. Döpel