University lecturers’ experiences of teaching in English in an international classroom

ABSTRACT

Demand for English-taught courses (ETCs) is growing exponentially in non-English speaking universities. These courses require new teaching competences of lecturers, most obviously English language proficiency and intercultural skills. Given the high workloads academics are currently burdened with, it can be expected that this form of teaching is presenting them with a considerable challenge. Despite this, little is known about their ETC teaching experiences. This study addressed this issue by examining and comparing beginning and experienced ETC lecturers’ perspectives on their practices. The study was conducted at a university in Taiwan. Ten academics were interviewed in-depth, some two to three times over a two-year period. The study found the two groups’ experiences were polar opposites. This paper argues an awareness of English as a lingua franca accompanied by student-centered teacher concerns led to the senior cohort’s positive ETC teaching experiences, while a lack thereof gave rise to the beginning lecturers’ unfavorable experiences.     

Integrated language and content instruction in Qatar Independent schools: teachers’ perspectives

The aim of this study is to explore teachers’ attitudes towards the shift to English as a medium of instruction in Qatari Independent schools. It focuses on the advantages and disadvantages of this approach for teachers and students, and the challenges they face in the process of its implementation. Data for the study were collected by means of a questionnaire and follow-up interviews. Findings point to teachers’ beliefs that while the approach has benefited them and their students, it is a challenging process. The challenges teachers face are organizational in nature relating to ineffective planning for the introduction of the change, lack of teacher preparedness for its implementation, and parents’ resistance to this change. These results have implications for teacher training in the Qatari context and for planning of the introduction of change in English as a Second Language or English as a Foreign Language contexts.     

One international university,two perspectives: the role of English as a lingua franca as perceived by Mainland and Hong Kong Chinese students

Internationalisation of higher education greatly facilitates cross-border student mobility, which has been extensively researched. This comparative study focuses on the relatively under-explored field of intra-regional educational mobility. It compares attitudes towards learning and using English of M ainland Chinese students and Hong Kong Chinese students while studying side-by-side at an English-medium university in Hong Kong. Using a mixed methodology the study found that the two groups expressed a similarly strong need for, and acceptance of, English as an academic lingua franca but expressed significantly different attitudes, needs and desires in relation to the use of English for social intercourse. The weaker presence of a social lingua franca was accompanied by perceptions of a lack of inclusivity. If, as is suggested in the literature, both social and academic integration are integral to the university experience, the findings reveal a lacuna in the learning environment of this and potentially other similarly internationalised universities.     

A mixed-method study of EFL teachers’ Internet use in language instruction

Information and communication technology has affected language instruction in Taiwanese higher education. Varieties of assorted Internet tools are incorporated in educational settings to engage students in learning. To facilitate the improvement of teacher preparation for Internet use, it is important to study the factors influencing teachers in integrating the Internet into their instruction. A concurrent mixed-method approach is employed in this study. Both quantitative and qualitative results show that teacher training is crucial for Internet-integration instruction by the teachers of English as a foreign language (EFL) in Northern Taiwanese higher education institutions. Continuous professional development focused on technology application in language instruction is imperative.     

中国英语教师专业发展研究综述

英语教师的专业发展是提高教师专业水平和教学方法的有效途径之一,对其自身、对学生乃至对整个英语教育系统的发展都有很重要的影响。通过对近六年中国英语教师专业发展研究的研究数量、研究侧重面、研究对象、研究方法以及研究成果进行全面总结和分析,提出了目前研究存在的问题以及未来值得研究的方向。     

小组讨论式Seminar教学法在二外日语课堂教学中的应用——以浙江中医药大学滨江学院为例

Seminar指的是在大学,少数学生在教授的指导下,根据自己的发言和小组讨论等自主学习的形式开展的课程或此类授课方式。Seminar注重学生的课堂参与,能够使师生在民主、自由的氛围下进行深入地、多层次地交流互动,能够实现＂学有所获,教学相长＂的教学目的。二外日语课堂开展小组讨论式Seminar教学法,能够培养学生的创新能力、研究能力和小组协作能力,学生灵活应用日语的能力会显著提高。     

Indispensable but Under‐valued: the exploitation of contract research staff

This article describes a study that looked at the presence of metaphor in lectures given in an International Development department at a British university, and at the problems that this caused for overseas students. It was found that metaphor was extremely prevalent and that it was used mainly for evaluative purposes. The interpretations given by overseas students differed significantly from those offered by university lecturers. The overseas students tended to focus on inappropriate connotations of the vehicle in the metaphor. This often meant that they misunderstood the main points of the lecture and, more importantly, misinterpreted the lecturer's stance towards the topic of the lecture. A number of ways are suggested in which this problem might be alleviated.     

刍议高校学籍档案管理在学生发展中的指导作用

随着我国高等教育的发展与完善,高校学籍档案管理呈现出规范化、系统化、电子化的趋势,对学校教学、教务管理有重要的参考作用。学校应重视档案管理对学生发展的指导作用,争取建好档案、管好档案、用好档案,力争为培养高素质人才做出更大贡献。     

“教师专业发展”观批判

教师专业化运动已经从工会主义转向了专业主义范式下的教师专业发展 ,但教师专业发展也并没有使教师的专业地位有明显的提高。现代主义的时代范式和教师职业的本性决定了教师专业发展的专业化范式是行不通的     

Strategies and shoes: Can we ever have enough? Teaching and using reading comprehension strategies in general and vocational programmes

This qualitative study examines a reading comprehension strategy use in English as a second language in upper-secondary schools one year after teachers participated in a professional development course. The data comprises observations, teacher narratives, and student interviews. A key finding is that the teachers used a repertoire of strategies from the course, suggesting an impact of the course. A second finding was a clear difference between how students in general and vocational programmes used the strategies taught: the vocational students used them in ways that indicated their relevance to them as learners, while the students in general programmes did not. The findings also suggest how and why students employ strategies. The article discusses implications for strategy instruction and how to enhance the reading proficiency of adolescent readers.     

案例教学法和情境教学法结合在高职高专英语教学中的应用

国家关于职业教育培养目标和培养方式进一步改革,同时也对高等职业教育英语课程教学提出新的要求,顺应一系列改革的呼声,高职高专英语教学也要做出相应的调整。本文通过分析建构主义理论及其相关的教学模式和教学方法提出将案例教学法和情境教学法结合的高职高专职业英语教学模式。