Language Education in Asia最新文献

{"title":"Reading Aloud as a Technique for Developing Teachers’ Awareness of English Phonology","authors":"L. Hanington","doi":"10.5746/LEIA/14/V5/I1/A09/HANINGTON","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.5746/LEIA/14/V5/I1/A09/HANINGTON","url":null,"abstract":"This paper describes an exploratory qualitative study that is part of a larger research project into the impact of experiential learning on teacher proficiency and practice. It focuses on how, through a process approach to developing and evaluating their own oral skills, trainee teachers at the National Institute of Education in Singapore became more aware of features of spoken language that relate particularly to reading aloud in class. Such awareness is important because when these teachers enter school, they will work with primary school children and follow the Strategies for English Language Learning and Reading (STELLAR) program, which takes a shared-book approach and involves both teachers and students in reading aloud activities. This paper demonstrates how increasing awareness of features of their own spoken English and reflecting on the implications for reading aloud helped the teachers improve their own delivery and relate what they had learned to the classroom. Reading Aloud in the Development of Literacy The primary literacy education task of preschool and early school years is not teaching children letter-sound correspondences but reading to them. If a child is experiencing difficulty in learning to read, we should not ask if he or she knows the sounds of letters but if he or she has been read to extensively. (Moustafa, 1997, p. 78-79) The importance of being read aloud to in the development of literacy has been extensively documented (Fox, 2008; Krashen, 2004; Trelease, 2006), and promoted through national literacy initiatives such as Becoming a Nation of Readers in the U.S.A. or through the National Literacy Trust in the U.K. A short article by McQuillan (2009) summarizes the benefits of being read to. These include learning the purpose of reading, exposing learners to different text types and to vocabulary and language patterns not part of their everyday repertoire, helping learners to imagine, and laying the foundation for good writing skills. Of particular relevance to this discussion is that it also enables learners to hear the phrasing, inflections, and expressions that good readers use. While much of the research has focused on reading aloud in the child’s first language, in today’s multicultural world, many children come to school with home languages other than the school language. Similarly, children are learning foreign languages at ever-younger ages (de Language Education in Asia, 2014, 5(1), 117-128. http://dx.doi.org/10.5746/LEiA/14/V5/I1/A09/Hanington Language Education in Asia, Volume 5, Issue 1, 2014 Hanington Page 118 Lotbiniere, 2011). For such children, being read to in the new language may be a critical aspect of their literacy development. Being read to is not just for young children, however. Krashen (2004), for example, reported a study showing that college students benefitted from listening to stories and then discussing them, while Amer (1997) found that learners of English as a foreign language who were rea","PeriodicalId":263152,"journal":{"name":"Language Education in Asia","volume":"21 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2014-10-29","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"129352089","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Investigating the Interaction of Visual Input, Working Memory, and Listening Comprehension","authors":"K. Pusey, Karen Lenz","doi":"10.5746/LEIA/14/V5/I1/A06/PUSEY_LENZ","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.5746/LEIA/14/V5/I1/A06/PUSEY_LENZ","url":null,"abstract":"This study investigated the effect of visual input on L2 listening comprehension within the context of a North American intensive English program. The interaction between visual input and working memory (WM) was also investigated, with the aim of clarifying what role visual input, together with WM, plays in L2 listening tests. The study compared two groups of upperintermediate L1 Chinese and Arabic ESL students. All participants (N = 24) took a WM test and were divided into two groups to take a listening comprehension test under two treatment conditions: one with video and one with audio-only texts. Results indicated that the presence of visual input had a significant negative effect on listening comprehension, while working memory had no significant effect. Additionally, no interaction was found between WM and the presence or absence of visual input. This paper concludes by discussing further research questions and implications for L2 listening assessment. Listening in a second language (L2) has been described as an arduous task: comprehension of speech requires the simultaneous processing of phonological, syntactic, semantic, and pragmatic information (Flowerdew & Miller, 2005). The act of listening, moreover, does not typically occur in isolation. Listeners usually receive visual input, such as observations of kinesic behavior and contextual information (Gregersen, 2007; Kellerman, 1992). In light of this fact, teachers began using video in L2 listening classrooms in the mid-1970s due to its ability to contextualize language and increase motivation (Flowerdew & Miller, 2005). However, while the use of video has now become standard practice in many L2 classrooms, it is not always used in testing situations. This discrepancy begs the question of what effect, if any, the use of video has on listening comprehension test scores. Another dimension of L2 listening is working memory (WM). Unlike aspects of language ability such as reading and writing, the aural channel through which listening is accomplished is typically more ephemeral in nature; the input listeners receive disappears after a speaker has finished speaking. This is particularly true in many academic contexts, where listening is often a one-way, transactional process (Buck, 2001; Morley, 2001; Peterson, 2001) that requires a high level of fluency and possibly a high WM capacity, especially at the discourse level (Juffs & Language Education in Asia, 2014, 5(1), 66-80. http://dx.doi.org/10.5746/LEiA/14/V5/I1/A06/Pusey_Lenz Language Education in Asia, Volume 5, Issue 1, 2014 Pusey and Lenz Page 67 Harrington, 2011). Thus, the question arises as to whether or not differences in WM capacity impact performance on tests of listening comprehension. The present study sought to investigate the relationships among visual input, WM, and listening comprehension. Such insight may influence test design, including selection of item types, testing conditions, scoring procedures, and training of raters. ","PeriodicalId":263152,"journal":{"name":"Language Education in Asia","volume":"18 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2014-10-29","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"114456036","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Cognitive Strategies for Dual Imperatives: EFL Listening and Speaking in Chinese Universities","authors":"I. Liyanage, B. Bartlett, Thomas Tao","doi":"10.5746/LEIA/14/V5/I1/A05/LIYANAGE_BARTLETT_TAO","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.5746/LEIA/14/V5/I1/A05/LIYANAGE_BARTLETT_TAO","url":null,"abstract":"Strategic development of oral communication skills (i.e., listening and speaking) in English as a Foreign Language (EFL) in China is fraught with difficulties, including lack of contexts for authentic language use, examination-oriented pedagogy, and tacit educational practices. The quantitative study reported here was designed around a research question of how extensively three specific cognitive strategies – translation, deduction, and contextualisation – are used when students are listening and speaking in class. It was conducted with a large sample (N = 1,440) of Chinese EFL learners at the tertiary level who were learning in class to speak and listen in English. Findings indicate all three strategies are used extensively in both modalities, but significantly more so in speaking. These findings are interpreted in relation to instructional objectives of preparing students for oral communication beyond the classroom and for passing the listening test in the College English Test Band 4 (CET-4). The development of oral communication (listening and speaking) skills as opposed to the development of literacy (reading and writing) for English as a Foreign Language (EFL) learners in mainland China has been a slow and cumbersome process for both learners and teachers. Whilst factors such as limitations on access to resources and upgrading teachers’ qualifications are constraining variables, most difficulties stem from lack of authentic contexts and purposes for oral language use, together with use of pedagogy which is culturally inappropriate within the Chinese educational tradition (see Anderson, 1993; Harvey, 1985; Rao, 2002; Y. Wang, 1991). Multilingual communities usually present pragmatic reasons for authentic use of oral English as a medium of intracommunity communication. However, in non-English monolingual contexts such as China, typically there is no need for intracommunity communication in oral English. As a result, Language Education in Asia, 2014, 5(1), 46-65. http://dx.doi.org/10.5746/LEiA/14/V5/I1/A05/Liyanage_Bartlett_Tao Language Education in Asia, Volume 5, Issue 1, 2014 Liyanage, Bartlett, and Tao Page 47 use of oral English has been limited mainly to language classrooms where learners are prepared for end-of-course examinations rather than for out-of-class contexts. Examination-oriented instruction also calls for heavy reliance on textbook-contrived linguistic accuracy. Hence, major focus has been on explicitly teaching and learning grammar (Rao, 2002). The present study is one of several in a large ongoing research project between Australian and Chinese universities to examine the use of language learning strategies (LLS) by Chinese learners of English. The current research stems from one of the studies (Liyanage, Bartlett, Birch, & Tao, 2012) which explored usefulness of strategies in developing listening and speaking skills as perceived by Chinese EFL learners. The authors extended the focus of that study by revisiting its data wit","PeriodicalId":263152,"journal":{"name":"Language Education in Asia","volume":"5 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2014-10-29","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"130599167","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Impacts of Video-Recorded Feedback in Public Speaking Classes: An Empirical Study","authors":"Thi Thu Hien Do, T. C. T. Dang","doi":"10.5746/LEIA/14/V5/I1/A04/DO_DANG","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.5746/LEIA/14/V5/I1/A04/DO_DANG","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":263152,"journal":{"name":"Language Education in Asia","volume":"208 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2014-10-29","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"115749092","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"University Student Attitudes Towards Peer Review in EFL Writing: A Quantitative Study","authors":"Brett Morgan, Bjorn Fuisting, Jeremy White","doi":"10.5746/LEIA/14/V5/I1/A08/MORGAN_FUISTING_WHITE","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.5746/LEIA/14/V5/I1/A08/MORGAN_FUISTING_WHITE","url":null,"abstract":"This quantitative study investigates student attitudes and teacher perceptions regarding peer review in EFL writing at a Japanese university. Prior research has suggested numerous benefits from employing peer review in L2 settings, but some studies have indicated learner difficulties with peer review. A total of 125 first-year students undertook a peer review activity and completed preand post-activity surveys concerned with how their attitudes changed throughout the process. Results showed that students’ enjoyment of writing and students’ willingness to offer and accept critical feedback increased. Furthermore, students showed confidence in their peers’ abilities to give feedback, but greatly doubted their own abilities. Additionally, 36 instructors completed surveys regarding their perceptions of students’ peer review attitudes, showing that teachers overestimated students’ discomfort in giving and receiving written feedback. Implications include the need for learner training and confidence building and greater teacher awareness of students’ views towards peer review. Peer review in writing activities has become a common feature of many L2 writing classrooms that employ a process-writing approach (Hyland & Hyland, 2006). Peer review, which in this paper refers to the process of students editing for mistakes and giving formative feedback on other students’ writing, provides writers with alternative sources of feedback to their teachers’. Theoretical support for the use of peer review is found in Vygotsky’s (1978) social-constructivist learning theory, which posits that social interaction is an essential component of cognitive development, and in collaborative learning theory, which contends that learners benefit from peer interaction and dialogue and the pooling of resources to complete tasks they may find too difficult on their own (Hirvela, 1999). With the myriad pedagogical possibilities offered by the employment of peer review, many EFL / ESL programs are including peer review in their writing curriculums (Hyland & Hyland, 2006). It is therefore prudent for educators to examine how to effectively implement this learning tool in their educational contexts. Language Education in Asia, 2014, 5(1), 93-116. http://dx.doi.org/10.5746/LEiA/14/V5/I1/A08/Morgan_Fuisting_White","PeriodicalId":263152,"journal":{"name":"Language Education in Asia","volume":"22 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2014-10-29","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"132656268","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Exchange Classes: A Strategy for Enhancing Student Communicative Competence and Confidence","authors":"Monica Hamciuc","doi":"10.5746/LEIA/14/V5/I1/A11/HAMCIUC","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.5746/LEIA/14/V5/I1/A11/HAMCIUC","url":null,"abstract":"Motivating EFL students to improve their language ability is not an easy task. Many times, institutional requirements, classroom settings and students’ individual needs do not match, so students have difficulty in learning English and lose their motivation. This action research study examines how domesticinternational exchange classes can be used as an effective, interactive strategy which can contribute to improving student attitude and motivation to learn by personalizing the learning process and developing communicative competence. Findings show that students’ self-perceived communicative skills and confidence improved through regular conversation activities in exchange classes. The study concludes with suggestions for implementing a similar approach in a different environment and for further research.","PeriodicalId":263152,"journal":{"name":"Language Education in Asia","volume":"40 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2014-10-29","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"134074068","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Teaching EFL Academic Writing Through I-Search","authors":"Ignatius Harjanto, W. Mandala","doi":"10.5746/LEIA/14/V5/I1/A12/HARJANTO","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.5746/LEIA/14/V5/I1/A12/HARJANTO","url":null,"abstract":"EFL (English as a Foreign Language) graduate students are prepared and expected to be able to write good EFL academic papers. However, previous research and preliminary observation revealed that EFL graduate students still experience difficulties in grammar rules, idea development, referencing skills, and rhetoric. Academic writing problems have become a major challenge for many EFL students of graduate schools in Indonesia. To help graduate students write academic papers in English, the I-Search approach was employed to teach them academic writing. The I-Search approach appeared to help students to select topics, develop ideas, and find concrete support.","PeriodicalId":263152,"journal":{"name":"Language Education in Asia","volume":"66 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2014-10-29","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"127743862","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Review of Critical ELT in action: foundations, promises, praxis by Graham V. Crookes","authors":"G. Jacobs, Harumi Kimura","doi":"10.5746/LEIA/14/V5/I1/A14/JACOBS_KIMURA","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.5746/LEIA/14/V5/I1/A14/JACOBS_KIMURA","url":null,"abstract":"[Extract] The word \"critical\" has been around in linguistics and education since at least the 1970s, with terms such as \"critical linguistics\" and \"critical pedagogy\" being used. Critical ELT in Action offers an example-rich explanation of how \"critical\" might be applied to English Language Teaching.","PeriodicalId":263152,"journal":{"name":"Language Education in Asia","volume":"97 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2014-10-29","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"123143982","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Major Trends in the Global ELT Field: A Non-Native English-Speaking Professional's Perspective","authors":"Yilin Sun","doi":"10.5746/LEIA/14/V5/I1/A02/SUN","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.5746/LEIA/14/V5/I1/A02/SUN","url":null,"abstract":"Twenty-nine years ago, as a young EFL university teacher full of dreams, I left China, going across the ocean to Canada to pursue my goal of getting a graduate degree in TESOL and Applied Linguistics. As the only graduate student from China in that prestigious Canadian graduate school, Ontario Institute for Studies in Education (OISE) / University of Toronto, I encountered all kinds of challenges in addition to cultural shock during the first few months. The terminologies in the field were all very foreign to me. “Comprehensible input,” “UG,” “SLA” – I had never heard these terms. Even the daily interaction with Canadians was definitely not Small Talk to me. Whenever someone initiated a “small talk” with me, my heart started jumping fast. “Small talk” always felt like “stressful talk” as my English learning in China was based on grammar-translation, literature-translation and memorization. With persistence and good learning strategies, I overcame one barrier after another and became the first Ph.D. in Applied Linguistics from mainland China to graduate from OISE. OISE is one of the leading institutions in ELT in the world where many well-known ELT scholars have taught and / or studied, like David H. Stern, Jim Cummins, Merrill Swain, Michael Canale, J. P. B. Allen, Alistair Pennycook, Bonnie Norton, Ryuko Kubota, Brian Morgan, and Angel Lin, to name a few. Today, I am able to teach graduate students, do teacher training, and work with adult English language learners. I also have had the opportunity to serve as President-elect of TESOL International Association and am serving as President in 2014-2015. I have been working with people in the field whose work I read and respect. My story is just one of many stories about the journey of non-native English-speaking ELT professionals. Together, we are making a difference in our professional lives and writing a new page in the ELT field.","PeriodicalId":263152,"journal":{"name":"Language Education in Asia","volume":"14 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2014-10-29","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"132937076","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"The Language Educator and Globalization: How Do We Best Prepare Our Learners?","authors":"Richmond Stroupe","doi":"10.5746/LEIA/13/V4/I2/A02/STROUPE","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.5746/LEIA/13/V4/I2/A02/STROUPE","url":null,"abstract":"The process of globalization and increasing interconnectedness through technology, business, and institutional exchange is leading to greater opportunities and mobility for students. In response, in an effort to adequately prepare learners, the nature of the language classroom is changing. While still based on fundamentals of improving linguistic understanding and proficiency, emphasis is increasing on the broader role of the language class and language educator in preparing graduates to enter a global workforce. As a result, the increasing number of expectations placed on our profession lead to new challenges and opportunities. How can language educators prepare students for regional and international opportunities in a time of fast-paced change, increased expectations, and global competition? This paper presents some current and innovative approaches which address the need for skills beyond general fluency in English, including emphasis on English for professional purposes, development of critical thinking skills, and increasing cultural understanding. The effects of globalization have been well-documented and are far-reaching (Institute for the Study of Labor, 2008; Milken Institute, 2003; Mrak, 2000; Sapkota, 2011). Multinational companies, supply chains that span multiple countries and regions, regional and international trade agreements and an ever increasingly mobile workforce are commonplace. Politically and economically, international agreements bringing governments closer together are increasing in number and breadth (Burall & Neligan, 2001; Phillipson, 2001). Most recently, a number of countries around the Pacific are considering ratifying the Trans-Pacific Partnership free trade agreement, which would have significant consequences for some of the largest global economies (Congressional Research Service, 2013). Within two years’ time, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) member states are planning further economic integration, which will also have economic, social, and political ramifications even beyond the nations in Southeast Asia (ASEAN Secretariat, 2008; Chia, 2013; Hansakul, 2013). Contributions for this increased level of internationalization will be necessary from those in both the public and private sectors. Government officials will need to work more closely with their counterparts in other countries (Anderson, 2012; Council on Foreign Relations, 2012; U.S. Language Education in Asia, 2013, 4(2), 110-121. http://dx.doi.org/10.5746/LEiA/13/V4/I2/A02/Stroupe Language Education in Asia, Volume 4, Issue 2, 2013 Stroupe Page 111 State Department, 2012), and executives and managers in different business sectors will face increased and diversified competition (Dexter, 2004; Forbes, 2011; Institute for the Study of Labor, 2008; Kliesen, 2006; Lerche, 1998). Quite importantly, educators will be called upon to prepare each national workforce to rise to these challenges (Sahlberg, 2006; World Economic Forum, 2013). In part","PeriodicalId":263152,"journal":{"name":"Language Education in Asia","volume":"55 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2014-02-03","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"122577248","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}