English and French pedagogical cultures: convergence and divergence in Cameroonian primary school teachers' discourse

This article approaches the phenomenon of the continuing influence of French and English pedagogical cultures in Africa relying on post-modern notions of time and space. It reports on a project carried out in Cameroon where both cultures are in contact and where the teachers from two primary schools were observed and interviewed over a period of five weeks each. The data collected is interpreted as revealing divergent professional contexts within which the teachers' discourse about their professional roles and the place of languages rests on assumptions reminiscent of the pedagogical values of the former colonisers. However, teachers from both schools are strongly in favour of maintaining French and English as medium of education. The significance of the phenomena reported is critically discussed to highlight new discontinuities in present day Cameroon which transform these apparently sharp distinctions: the disjunction between the notion of place and the medium of education, the fast evolving meanings of ‘French’ ‘English’ and ‘bilingualism’ in the twenty first century and the fact that schools are multilingual sites. The paper concludes that the differences in the way teachers construct their professional identities has prevented them from developing a joint pedagogical repertoire and that lack of mutual understanding might be a reason for the reported mere ‘cohabitation’ provided by bilingual schools.     

Creativity and performativity policies in primary school cultures

Cultures of performativity in English primary schools refer to systems and relationships of: target‐setting; Ofsted inspections; school league tables constructed from pupil test scores; performance management; performance related pay; threshold assessment; and advanced skills teachers. Systems which demand that teachers ‘perform’ and in which individuals are made accountable. These policy measures, introduced to improve levels of achievement and increased international economic competitiveness, have, potentially, profound implications for the meaning and experience of primary teachers’ work; their identities; their commitment to teaching; and how they view their careers. At the same time as policies of performativity are being implemented there is now increasing advocacy for the adoption and advancement of ‘creativity’ policies within primary education. These major developments are being introduced in the context of a wide range of social/educational policies also aimed at the introduction of creativity initiatives into schools and teaching. This complex policy context has major implications for the implementation process and also primary teachers’ work and how they experience it. The ethnographic research reported in this article has been conducted over a school year in six English primary schools in order to analyse the effects of creativity and performativity policy initiatives at the implementation stage. The article concludes by arguing that in the schools of our research the drive to raise pupil test scores involves both performative and creative strategies and that this critical mediation goes beyond amelioration toward a more complex view of professional practice. Implementing creativity and performativity policies provided important contextual influencing factors on teacher commitment. These were: curriculum coverage and task completion; and providing psychic rewards of teaching.     

情景教育在小学英语课堂中的应用

小学英语教育改革势在必行,情景教育方式运用先进的教育理念,创设教学环境,在教学中激起学生英语学习欲望,把学生的情感活动和认知充分结合起来,有效的提高英语课堂的学习效率,促进学生个体的发展。     

汉语对新加坡英语的影响

本以日常社会交往中谈话的实例，从语法结构、词汇特点、交际语气、语调等角度论述了汉语对新加坡英语的影响。揭示了语言有趣的负迁移现象。     

中国农村小学英语教育现状及对策

我国农村地区的小学英语教育发展缓慢,远远落后于中国和世界发展的步伐。基于当今我国农村小学英语教育的现状及存在的问题,教育部门应从转变教育观念、加强师资队伍建设、完善教学设备、创新教学方法和教学模式、家长关心等五个方面提升英语教学实效。     

小学英语教育当中的情感教育

情感是人们对于现实当中的客观事物所进行的反映。虽然在英语教学的过程当中,它不是理论性的因素。但是其在英语教育中对于学生的影响可谓是至关重要的。在本文中,我们将对小学英语教育当中情感的重要性进行简要的分析,依据小学英语教学现状,为其进行相应对策的提出。     

小学英语语用能力培养

从课堂观察中,笔者意识到目前小学英语教学中并不重视语用能力的培养。因此,本文首先分析了小学英语语用教学的现状,然后反思现状形成的原因,最后提出改善现状的策略。     

浅析小学英语教学中的情景教学法

英语是一种在世界范围内使用较为广泛的语言,所以对小学生加强英语方面的教育是很有必要的。英语这门科目也是现如今我国教育行业当中的第二种语言类科目,而小学阶段的英语教学又是对学生基础进行教育的重要阶段,所以有关教育部门一定要对小学英语教学加大管理力度,通过采取一些有效的教学方法使得小学生对于英语这一科目产生学习热情。下面笔者将会简单的介绍情境教学的定义,并对小学英语教学的特点以及如何在小学英语课堂上灵活运用情境教学法进行具体的论述。     

Discussion on teaching English songs in primary school

English is a foreign language for the pupils in primary school in China.There are giant differences between English and our mother tongue——Chinese,and we don't have the real situation for the English study,which makes it more difficult.Primary school is the key stage of gaining a language,and the result depends on their interest during the learning,to a large extent.As we know,pupils like singing and dancing,they're lively and active,easy to shift attention,and has great capability to imitate.Songs are popping,easy to pronounce and recite,lively and active,which correspond with the pupil's cognition characteristic and the law of somatopsychic development.Furthermore,they enrich the teaching,provoke the interests,memory new knowledge,break through teaching difficult points.This essay mainly discusses about the application of English songs in the primary school teaching,also,I will share with you some experiences of teaching English songs in a primary school for six years.     

浅析小学英语教师的课堂评价

课堂评价是课堂教学的关键环节,要使课堂教学评价发挥作用,教师课堂评价方法的应用是最为重要的。教师运用正确的课堂评价方法不仅会调动学生学习积极性,而且有利于培养小学生学习英语的兴趣。因此,在小学阶段的英语教学过程中,教师应该运用正确的课堂评价方法,充分发挥教师在课堂评价中的重要作用。     

Learning English Spellings: strategies employed by primary school boys

Abstract The use of visual and auditory information in learning to spell is explored, together with the effect, if any, of semantic information. One hundred boys aged from seven to eleven were tested, using eight nonsense words with contrived meanings. It was expected that visual information would be helpful in spelling irregular words and that, with age, use of strategies would become more flexible, incorporating semantic (along with visual and phonological) information. Contrary to expectations, it was only with the 10‐ and 11‐year‐olds that visual information produced better results than auditory presentation alone but for them, in conjunction with oral responses, it did aid spelling. Such a finding is in keeping with Ehri's Amalgamation Theory (1980) which suggests that, in order to be able to manipulate printed words, the learner must draw on several strategies and accepts that no single strategy can be used to overcome all irregularities in written English.     

农村小学英语教学现状调查与反思——以一所县城小学为例

本课题通过对农村地区小学英语教学现状的调查研究,了解农村地区英语教学现状,并对农村地区英语教学存在的问题提出了反思。     

Teachers as game designers: using a game in formal learning in a Singapore primary school

Researchers have offered, in recent years, compelling reasons for considering the potential of digital games to support learning and in response policy-makers and educators around the world have demonstrated a commitment to exploring their practical use in school. There remain, however, many questions about how games can best support learning, particularly in formal education. This paper examines the implications of formal game-based learning for teachers developing their own digital learning games, exploring two guiding overarching research questions. What strategies are employed by teachers to manage intergenerational, technological, operational and pedagogic tensions in the classroom? And to what extent is the notion of being a “designer” visible in their professional practice? The paper suggests that there are multiple ways of “being a designer” for teachers, and that the notion of “designer” may be a more problematic representation of teacher agency and identity than currently visible in the literature.     

小学英语词汇教学的策略研究

古今皆有所语:"万事果之成败,依其基,夯实与否。"而在英语,特别是对于处于初学阶段的小学生的英语学习过程中,词汇的掌握,便是其学习英语的基础,是其今后通往英语华殿的阶梯。而英语词汇的积累,往往也是英语学习者学习"终身制"的一个方面,"背单词"也成了英语学习的"家常便饭"。但是,"没兴趣,背不出,记不牢"或许也是大多数还没有掌握技巧的孩子们在背单词时最真切的感受。既然我们已经了解了掌握坚实的词汇基础的重要性,那么,基于以往的学习与实践经验,我们是否应该想到一些创新性的词汇教学法,来把孩子们从枯燥乏味的"苦背生记"中解救出来呢?由此,笔者总结了一些词汇教学的方法,为日后的教学工作或家庭教育提供些许灵感。     

从一项调查看中小学英语教科书存在的问题及编制原则

英语教科书的开发是实施基础英语素质教育的基础工程。自2001 年新课程改革以来,国家审定通过了多套中小学英语教科书,但对一线英语教师的调查发现,现行教科书在趣味性、系统性、知识性等方面存在问题。笔者全面分析了产生这些问题的原因,并结合调查结果和相关理论,提出并重点讨论了编制英语教科书应该遵循“有趣”、“有意”和“有理”的选材原则。     

小学英语教学中巧用角色扮演法

随着新课改不断深入推行发展,许多小学英语教师纷纷打破传统教学模式,积极探索创新适合学生身心素质发展的教学策略,促使学生在新型教学方法中提高自身英语综合素养。角色扮演可以通过制作角色扮演道具,创设角色扮演情境,激发学生学习兴趣,调动学生参与积极性,促使学生在角色扮演基础上进行课本创编,建立健全教学活动评价体系,从而提高学生自身素养,为学生学好英语奠定良好基础。为此,本文将对小学英语教学中角色扮演法的巧妙运用进行分析。     

小学英语有效课堂教学研究

在小学英语课程实施中,有效地进行课堂教学设计,有利于学生把握正确的学习方向、采用科学的学习方法、形成浓厚的学习氛围,进而提高学生的学习效率,同时,还将为学生日后的自主学习打下扎实的基础。     

小学教师校本英语培训：困境与对策

随着教师专业化发展的推进与双语教学实验的深入,不少城市小学尝试对其在任教师进行校本英语培训,这无疑给教师综合素质的全面提升搭建了有利平台。然而,小学教师校本英语培训在实践中却困难重重,存在重形式而轻实效、学校与受训教师对培训目标定位不一致导致培训方向不明确等诸多弊端。为使小学教师校本英语培训走出困境,学校、培训教师及受训教师应加强彼此间的沟通与对话,促进受训教师专业与非专业化成长。     

Stress and Job Satisfaction: a study of English primary school teachers

Using a self‐report questionnaire, a picture of the sources of stress and job satisfaction amongst a sample of 267 teachers, drawn from primary schools in the North and Eastern regions of England, is established. Teachers scored the frequency and intensity of 18 items on a stress scale. A principal components analysis was carried out and three factors were identified: professional concerns, pupil behaviour and attitude and professional tasks. The strongest correlations were found between professional concerns and occupational stress. Biographical factors were examined and significant differences were found between men and women, and teachers of different ages and length of teaching experience. Men reported more stress than women on professional tasks and pupil behaviour and attitude. Women scored higher than men on professional concerns. Just over one‐third of teachers were satisfied with their job. When specific facets of job satisfaction were examined, teachers were most satisfied with their professional performance and least satisfied with teaching resources. Stress and job satisfaction were found to be negatively correlated. High reports of occupational stress were related to low levels of job satisfaction. Attention is drawn to the likely significance of including a frequency as well as intensity measure when considering the experience of stress and to the complex nature of job satisfaction.     

Pre-service education for primary school English teachers in Indonesia: policy implications

Although English is only an extra-curricular subject at primary level in Indonesia, expectations over the improved quality of the teachers are exceptionally high . This is the case in the past few years in which the low proficiency of primary English teachers and their lack of teaching competencies have repeatedly been pointed out as major constraints. Unfortunately, it remains unclear whether this problem is attributed to the delivery of pre-service education in preparing primary school English teachers. This paper gathered data from teachers, language teacher educators, primary school principals, members of educational boards, and educational consultants. The data were analysed using Grounded Theory in order to examine the adequacy of pre-service education in Indonesia to prepare primary school English teachers as well as factors that contribute to its efficacy or lack thereof. The findings of the study demonstrate the need for specific preparation for primary school English teachers as well as further training for teacher educators. This present study is highly relevant to Indonesia and other Asian countries where teacher efficacy is a major concern.