English as an additional language (EAL) viva voce: the EAL doctoral oral examination experience

Is the doctoral viva voce a reasonable method of examination? This exploratory paper proposes that the doctoral viva voce (oral examination) is a slightly different hurdle for doctoral candidates for whom English is an additional language (EAL, also termed ESL) than for those whose first language is English. It investigates the experience of 11 EAL candidates at a New Zealand university to provide phenomenographical insight to the viva voce as an assessment process. Their additional anxiety about language highlights the problematic side of internationalisation: the need to maintain fairness, equity and impartiality in the face of diversity. What is somewhat glibly called ‘best practice’ must accommodate the tension between institutional practice, desirably consistent and fair, and individual experience of that practice, experience that is unavoidably diverse. Unexpectedly, however, the EAL candidates critiqued the viva voce evaluation practice itself, endorsing it as a final confirmation of doctoral success in the English language.     

Early literacy and comprehension skills in children learning English as an additional language and monolingual children with language weaknesses

Many children learning English as an additional language (EAL) show reading comprehension difficulties despite adequate decoding. However, the relationship between early language and reading comprehension in this group is not fully understood. The language and literacy skills of 80 children learning English from diverse language backgrounds and 80 monolingual English-speaking peers with language weaknesses were assessed at school entry (mean age = 4 years, 7 months) and after 2 years of schooling in the UK (mean age = 6 years, 3 months). The EAL group showed weaker language skills and stronger word reading than the monolingual group but no difference in reading comprehension. Individual differences in reading comprehension were predicted by variations in decoding and language comprehension in both groups to a similar degree.     

The role of background knowledge in text comprehension for children learning English as an additional language

Children learning English as an additional language (EAL) often experience difficulties with reading comprehension relative to their monolingual peers. While low levels of vocabulary appear to be one factor underlying these difficulties, other factors such as a relative lack of appropriate background knowledge may also contribute. Sixteen children learning EAL and 16 of their monolingual peers, matched for word reading accuracy, were assessed using a standard measure of reading comprehension and an experimental measure of reading comprehension for which relevant background knowledge was taught before assessing understanding. Tests of receptive and expressive vocabulary were also completed. Results confirmed lower levels of reading comprehension for children learning EAL for both standard and ‘background’ controlled measures. Analysis of comprehension by question type on the experimental measure showed that while both groups made use of taught knowledge to answer inferential questions, children learning EAL had specific difficulties with both literal questions and questions requiring the interpretation of a simile. It is suggested that relevant background information should be used to facilitate children's text comprehension. Furthermore, several factors, especially vocabulary differences, but also text search strategies, context use and comprehension monitoring skills, may contribute to the comprehension difficulties experienced by children learning EAL.     

Cultural dimensions of feedback at an Australian university: a study of international students with English as an additional language

International students with English as an additional language face transitional challenges when entering a new academic culture. One such challenge involves optimising feedback to help foster their academic development, bearing in mind that feedback is not a culturally neutral entity (Nazif, A., Biswas, D., &; Hilbig, R. (2004–2005). Towards an understanding of student perceptions of feedback. Carleton Papers in Applied Language Studies, 21/22, 166–192). The current study of 134 postgraduate international students examines pre-course and in-course perceptions, experiences and expectations of feedback at university in Australia. Responses to questionnaires and in focus groups revealed that students’ previous feedback experiences had largely been summative, with an emphasis on error correction, but they expected to receive more feedback, particularly formative, throughout their courses. They also had concerns about understanding feedback, and about potentially negative remarks. These concerns were partially borne out by a follow-up survey (n?=?43) in which only 29% said they understood everything their lecturers said. Teachers giving feedback to international students may, therefore, need to consider the nature of their comments, their method of delivery and how their feedback affects student development.     

Language and reading development in children learning English as an additional language in primary school in England

Children learning English as an additional language (EAL) are a growing population of learners in English primary schools. These children begin school with differing levels of English language proficiency and tend to underperform in relation to their non-EAL peers on measures of English oral language and reading. However, little work has examined the developmental trajectories of these skills in EAL learners in England. EAL learners and 33 non-EAL peers in Year 4 (age 8–9 years) were assessed at three time points over 18 months on measures of oral language (vocabulary, grammar and listening comprehension), phonological processing (spoonerisms and rapid automatised naming) and reading skills (single-word decoding and passage reading). At t1, EAL learners scored significantly lower than non-EAL peers in receptive and expressive vocabulary (breadth but not depth), spoonerisms and passage reading accuracy. Contrary to previous research, no significant group differences were found in listening or reading comprehension skills. With the exception of passage reading accuracy, there was no evidence for convergence or divergence between the groups in rate of progress over time. After three years of English-medium classroom instruction, EAL learners continue to underperform relative to their non-EAL peers in breadth of English vocabulary knowledge. This discrepancy in vocabulary knowledge does not appear to narrow as a result of regular classroom instruction in the run up to the final stages of primary school, pinpointing vocabulary as a key target for intervention.     

Working on arithmetic word problems when English is an additional language

There has been little research in the UK into how students learning English as an additional language (EAL) learn mathematics. This article reports results from a three‐year study of the participation of learners of EAL in Year 5 in an arithmetic word problem task. The research, drawing on ideas from discursive psychology, used discourse analysis to explore patterns of attention in students' interaction as they worked in pairs or threes. The article briefly describes four patterns of attention: to genre, to mathematical structure, to narrative experience and to written form. Further analysis explored how students used attention as part of the social activity involved in working on the task. The rest of the article illustrates how students used attention to narrative experience to make links between word problems and their own experience, as well as to negotiate their relationships with each other.     

English language teaching reform in Sultanate of Oman: The case of theory and practice disparity

Sultanate of Oman is one out of many developing countries around the world which have valued English as a very important international language and a tool for achieving multiple purposes. When His Majesty the Sultan came to power in 1970, the government accepted English as the only official foreign language and allocated huge budgets and resources for its implementation through education. However, almost three decades after this, it was found that students exiting the ELT system in Oman suffer from various inadequacies in their English language proficiency, which has had negative implications for Oman??s national development. This has driven the government to attempt to revolutionize English language teaching (ELT) through pursuing a reform plan??Basic Education System (BES). This paper attempts to examine the attitudes of 141 freshmen, who have exited the BES and joined Sultan Qaboos University (SQU) in September 2009, about their teachers and the curriculum. The results have shown that there have hardly been any significant changes in the BES reform project, as compared to the previously implemented system??General Education System (GES) mainly due to implementation shortcomings.     

Teachers’ roles in early childhood English language pedagogy: beliefs of kindergarten English language teachers

ABSTRACT

The present qualitative study explores the beliefs of Iranian early childhood English teachers regarding their roles in teaching English as a foreign language (EFL) to young learners at kindergarten and preschool age. The data were collected through classroom observations and interviews with 13 Iranian EFL kindergarten teachers who volunteered to participate in this study. More specifically, after initial introductory interviews with each participant, their classes were observed, and subsequently, verbal recollection interviews were conducted. Depending on the various administrative constraints at different kindergartens, each participant was observed two to four sessions, 36 sessions in total. Three major themes representing beliefs of the participants emerged from thematic analysis of the interview data. The themes included teachers’ beliefs about, first, the constraints affecting early childhood methodologies and pedagogical practices; second, the influence of English language on children’s native language, culture, and, identity; and third, the attempts required for achieving an ideal early childhood EFL instruction. As such, these results may provide potential implications for policy makers and curriculum designers responsible in this field to encourage reforms in kindergartens’ instructional, administrative, and marketing policies.     

Developing language and literacy: effective intervention in the early years

Reading Recovery is an early intervention program used around the world for at-risk readers. Developed at a time when constructivist principles dominated educational philosophy, its efficacy has caused debate and division over the last three decades. This qualitative study employed in-depth interviews and observations to explore 10 Reading Recovery teachers' views and experiences about working with the program. Findings revealed that the program was implemented by participants as originally prescribed and its contents were well regarded. However, deeper analysis revealed that Reading Recovery teachers held the view that the program was best suited for children with innocent deficits such as mild maturational delay but were not necessarily confident about its ability to meet the needs of children with various clinical conditions, including specific reading difficulty. Theoretical, ethical and clinical implications are explored regarding the utility of the Reading Recovery program as an early intervention program for low progress readers.     

Parent involvement in early childhood: a comparison of English language learners and English first language families

This study evaluated parents’ communication, involvement and knowledge of their children’s abilities in reading and mathematics among parents who spoke English as a first language (EL1) and those who were English language learners (ELL). Forty‐two kindergarten‐aged children, their parents and their teachers participated in the study. Results indicated that EL1 parents communicated more frequently with the teacher than ELL parents. However, there were no language group differences in parents’ involvement in their children’s education (as rated by the teacher). For both groups of parents (EL1 and ELL), parents’ ratings of their children’s abilities in reading did not predict children’s reading scores. However, parents’ ratings of their children’s abilities in mathematics did predict their children’s mathematics scores. Further analyses indicated that this relationship was not mediated by parents’ communication or involvement. It is concluded that parents’ accurate knowledge of their children’s abilities in mathematics may be the result of their involvement at home and particularly for ELL parents, their greater understanding of and emphasis on mathematics learning.     

English language learners with reading-related LD: linking data from multiple sources to make eligibility determinations

Results are reported for an exploratory study of eligibility decisions made for 21 Spanish-speaking English language learners (ELLs) with learning disabilities (LD) and no secondary disabilities who received special education support in reading. Eligibility determinations by an expert panel resulted in decisions that differed significantly from those of school multidisciplinary teams. The panel agreed that some students appeared to have reading-related LD (n = 5) but also identified students that they believed had disabilities, but not necessarily reading-related LD (n = 6). Another group of students (n = 10) had learning problems that the panel believed could be attributed to factors other than LD or for whom substantive additional data would be required to validate eligibility. Issues associated with referral, assessment, and eligibility determinations for ELLs are discussed, and recommendations for improving practice are offered, with an emphasis on the importance of linking data from multiple sources when deciding whether ELLs qualify for special education.     

English language teaching curriculum in Iran: planning and practice

The present study investigates English language teaching (ELT) curriculum planning in Iran's Ministry of Education and its implementation by teachers. We studied programme evaluation; needs analysis; the ELT-specific documents; communication channels between planning and practice levels; teacher evaluation and student assessment; interpretation and re-examination of national policies within the Ministry; and the criteria set for ELT material development. Instrumentation included: curriculum documents; interviews with Ministry officials, material developers and headteachers; and teacher questionnaires. Results attested to the lack of any ELT-specific document for material development and absence of research-based needs assessment as the foundation of the programmes. Also, there are no pre-defined linguistic and professional criteria for evaluating teachers, and planning for students' assessment is limited to a set of general guidelines. Moreover, there is neither a programme evaluation nor an ELT evaluation model and national-level policies are not re-examined at planning level. Results also indicate that politico-ideological beliefs of material developers are as important as their expertise and communication channels between planning and practice levels are of a top-down nature. It is argued that the gap between planning and practice results from a highly centralised policymaking process in which local policymakers (i.e. teachers) are not involved.     

Personal action potency: early years practitioners participating in interprofessional practice in early years settings

This paper reports on case study research in the UK analysing the participation of early years staff in interprofessional practice to provide effective care and education for children, primarily those with special educational needs. Even though case study staff in different ‘outstanding’ settings had equivalent qualifications and similar years of experience, the ease with which they were able to marshal and deliver effective provision for children requiring input from other services varied depending on a complex set of factors. Social Practice Theory (Holland and Lave 2009) and the concepts of personal action potency in trajectories of participation (Dreier 2002, 2008) shed light on how and why this was the case. The findings indicate that structural arrangements, interpersonal relationships, history and contentions influenced the practitioners' participation in interprofessional practice, but were not entirely deterministic. Contributing to theoretical development, the paper argues that the potential for interprofessional practice is a shared rather than individual capacity in settings. There is scope for enhancing this capacity through attention to the features identified in the analysis.     

Bilingual language development: what do early years practitioners need to know?

This paper considers what early years practitioners need to know about bilingual acquisition. It argues that bilingualism is not only an asset in the classroom and the community, but also an individual and family achievement that requires commitment and determination. The different contexts of bilingual acquisition are considered, along with the implication for a successful outcome. In particular, given our current understanding of the processes of language acquisition, the role of the input in each of the two languages will be discussed; the implications of this for early years teachers/practitioners are also considered in order to find the most effective ways of supporting bilingual development in the classroom.     

Learning to solve addition and subtraction word problems in English as an imported language

This paper reports an intervention phase of a design study aimed to assist second-grade Filipino children in solving addition word problems in English, a language they primarily encounter only in school. With Filipino as the medium of instruction, an out-of-school pedagogical intervention providing linguistic and representational scaffolds was implemented with 17 children. Pre-intervention, children experienced linguistic difficulties and were limited to conceptualising and solving simple additive structures. Post-intervention interviews revealed improved performance and understanding of more complex structures, but only when linguistic difficulties were minimised. The study identified socially and culturally driven barriers to learning: superficial strategies, children’s engagement, and learning in an urban poor context.     

论二语习得理论对大学英语教学的启示

当前,大学英语教师的首要任务就是引导学生学习英语知识并熟练运用英语,本文简单介绍了二语习得的理论概念,深入分析了二语习得理论对大学英语教学的启示。     

语言学能对于边疆地区大学英语教学改革的启示——以云南省为例

大学英语教学改革是当前学术界的热点问题.过往大学英语教学改革研究主要集中于对于原有英语教学秩序的修修补补,忽视各地区自身的特殊性和复杂性,难以取得实质性进展.云南省地处我国西南边陲,大学英语教学改革具有特殊性,对于云南省大学英语教学改革的研究有助于为我国边疆地区大学英语教学改革提供借鉴.边疆地区大学英语教学改革应该立足于以下四点:大学英语课程性质;英语语言普及度;四、六级考试;英语在整个外语教育体系中的语言地位.