Developing and Improving: A Study of the Middle School Students' Writing Ability in the Second Language Education

With the development and advancement of social and cultural communication between China and other countries in the world,the second language education is very popular with Chinese people.And usually,it will take the young for nearly16 years to learn a second language,especially English.Most of them learn English from primary school until university.Besides having routine English classes at school,they also pay extra time and money to learn English in their spare time in many training companies.And now,English education has already become an industry in China and some training companies such as New Oriental English,are familiar to common people.And a crucial problem is that,after so many years of hard work,most of them are even having basic writing difficulties.The systemic and effective teaching method of writing in a second language education in China is being researched.This thesis attempts to cultivate the students’subjective initiative in second language education activities,raise the students’learning consciousness,and enhance their lasting interests in learning so as to reach the goal to improve the students’writing ability in second language education.     

美国高校TESL教学及对我国大学英语教学的启示—以亚利桑那大学TESL语言培训中心为例

美国高校TESL教学得到世界英语界的高度认可.在亲历美国亚利桑那大学TESL语言培训中心初级、中级、高级到学术级课堂教学的基础上,反思我国大学英语教学.为改革我国大学英语教学现状,应强调中国元素的英语推广,保证师生互动不断线,超越应试教育,使学生养成自学英语和终身学习英语的能力.     

大学英语学习的策略研究

在二语习得领域里,学习策略是一项重要的研究内容,通过定量分析可以给大学英语教学带来重要的帮助。基于此,本文对青海师范大学中学生的英语学习策略进行实证研究以便对教学有所启示。     

Meeting English Language Needs in Teacher Education: a flexible support model for non-English speaking background students

The English language needs of students in teacher education programmes have become an issue of concern. There has been an increase in the numbers of local and international students, the range of their backgrounds and the diversity of their language needs. This paper explores the question of what constitutes effective English language support for students, focusing on the development of provision for a group of 110 overseas-trained teachers undertaking teacher education at the University of Sydney between 1999 and 2002. Data are drawn from focus group interviews, semi-structured interviews with students and staff and student learning journals. The paper proposes an integrated and flexible model of English language support involving content-based units, tutoring/mentoring programmes and self-directed study. Such a model may be useful for English language support for different groups of English as a second language (ESL) students in other contexts at tertiary and secondary levels.     

民族地区大学生英语学习需求分析

文章通过问卷调查,对民族地区本科院校非英语专业学生英语学习的个人需求及社会需求进行调查和分析。结果显示,调查对象缺乏学习英语的兴趣和自信;同时由于缺少良好的语言学习环境,加上大学英语教学与就业环境较不符合,使得学生们对英语学习不够重视。     

中美大学英语写作教学对比研究

文章首先用二语习得理论强调了语言输入、评价系统和教师反馈在写作教学中的重要地位,然后以此为基点,根据作者写作学习的经历和访谈调查结果,对美国华盛本大学写作课程和中国浙江某大学英语专业写作课程进行了对比分析,指出了中国高校英语专业写作教学中存在的问题,并提出了若干教学建议。     

Challenges in Linguistically and Culturally Diverse Elementary Settings with Math Instruction using Learning Technologies

This research effort reports the findings of an empirical study focusing on the ways in which technological tools are implemented specifically in mathematics education in a Title I school. The purpose was to identify the perspectives and actions of the school’s mathematics specialist and the multi-graded (grades 2–3) classroom teacher as they attempted to deliver instruction with technology for both English Language Learners¹ (ELL) and non-ELL students. Findings showed that a critical factor in access to mathematics education and technology for ELL students in a multi-graded 2–3 classroom in a Title I (K-5) school setting was language. Although potentially powerful technologies—analog (concrete objects) and digital (software) were used, many ELL students could not access the content solely because of language difficulties. Teachers used the concrete objects as modeling tools, to reveal students’ thinking, and for communication of foundational mathematics. Conversely, the software used served none of these functions because the available software did not do the kinds of things the manipulatives did, teachers’ knowledge of exemplary software was insufficient, the school used an impoverished model of technology integration, and teachers were constrained by the school district’s policies of English immersion for ELL students.This paper was presented at the American Educational Research Association Annual Meeting, 2005, Montreal, Canada, on Tuesday, April 12, 2005, 4:05–5:35 pm, in Le Centre Sheraton Montreal/Salon 7, in a session titled, “Science and Mathematics Teaching for Linguistically and Culturally Diverse Students” sponsored by Division K-Teaching and Teacher Education/Section 1—Research on Teaching Practices, Teacher Knowledge, and Teacher Education in Math and Science.Tirupalavanam G. Ganesh is a December 2003 graduate of the Interdisciplinary Ph.D. program in Educational Media and Computers, Division of Curriculum and Instruction, at the College of Education, Arizona State University. He also holds a Master of Computer Science degree from Arizona State University. His teaching interests include graduate and undergraduate courses for in-service and pre-service teachers in the use of learning technologies for Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) education and technology integration. His research interests include studying the impact of informal learning experiences in settings such as museums and after-school programs, technology integration, and teacher’s practices in elementary/middle schools. Address correspondence to Tirupalavanam G. Ganesh, Assistant Professor, Instructional Technology, College of Education, Curriculum and Instruction, University of Houston, 256 Farish Hall, Houston, TX 77204-5027. Tel.: +1-713-743-0574; e-mail: tganesh@uh.edu.James A. Middleton is Division Director of Curriculum and Instruction at the College of Education, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ. He obtained his Ph.D. in 1992, in Educational Psychology from the University of Wisconsin, Madison. His teaching interests include mathematics methods for secondary teachers and graduate courses in children’s mathematical thinking and technological innovation. His research interests include motivational processes in education, children’s mathematical thinking especially in the area of rational number and geometry, and technological innovation in mathematics instruction and assessment. James A. Middleton, Director, Division of Curriculum and Instruction, College of Education, Arizona State University, Box 871011, Tempe, AZ 85287-1011. Tel.: +1-480-965-9644; e-mail: james.middleton@asu.edu.     

Poor English language proficiency hinders generic skills development: a qualitative study of the perspectives of first-year medical students

A number of generic skills have been identified as outcomes of higher education, largely to prepare graduates for the unpredictability of their professional practice. Generic skills include – but are not limited to – information-handling, managing learning, communication and presentation, computer literacy, critical thinking and problem-solving. After completing a quantitative validated skills audit, three cohorts of new medical students at a Gulf university (English second language learners) were surveyed for their self-identified strengths and deficiencies in terms of these generic skills. A year later, again, after completing the skills audit, they were provided with their skills list from the previous year and asked to identify factors that had promoted or hindered skills development. Students identified information-handling and communication and presentation skills as two skills categories in which considerable development had taken place. Despite these gains, due largely to the activities in a Medical Communication and Study Skills theme (English for Special Purposes) and extra-curricular activities such as research, students acknowledged that poor English language skills (e.g. vocabulary deficiency, difficulty reading) had hindered the development of their communication and presentation and information-handling skills. For some, poor English language proficiency had affected their behaviour in terms of classroom participation and approaching their teachers. With English as the international language of higher education, the implications of language deficiency amongst English second language learners in terms of the development of some generic skills as well as recommendations for remediation are discussed.     

谈英美文化融入与大学英语教学

英语作为一门语言,主要用于交际和应用,在大学英语教学中,英美文化有着重要的作用。将英美文化融入大学英语教学中,并通过具体的案例、调查、大学英语教材中有关英美文化的内容,对英美文化融入大学英语教学的重要性进行了阐述。结合实际的教学情况,制定了大学英语的相应教学策略和教学模式。将英美文化融入到大学英语教学中,能使学生的知识面得到拓宽,对所学英语知识有更深的理解,同时也有利于语言能力的提高。     

积极反思 终身学习——大学英语教师职业发展的素养要求

时代发展对大学英语教师的能力和素质提出新要求。大学英语教师的教育教学水平成为高校提高外语教学质量的关键。然而,外在原因、个体原因、教学任务重等诸多因素极大地限制了大学英语教师接受正式继续教育的机会。反思型教学能够成为大学英语教师保持与时代同步的有效方法。经常地反思改进就是一种学习。终生的反思与改进就是一种终身的学习。这种终身的学习将益己益人,益教育、益国家。     

高校英语教师的教学学术实践与发展研究

高校英语教师的教学学术实践与学生英语水平发展密切相关,直接决定我国高校英语教育质量。本研究基于Weston&McApline(2001)教学学术实践三阶段发展续谱论,聚焦华东某高校一个英语教研组,叙事探究英语教师教学学术实践的故事。研究发现教学学术实践是个体和共同体共创共享教学知识的科研活动;具有问题链效应、批判反思性和互动探究三大特质。研究验证续谱论在我国高校英语教育语境下的适恰性,初步构建英语教师教学学术实践可行性指导框架,诠释高校英语教师专业化发展的有效路径。     

大学英语拓展系列课程设置之初步调查

现代高等教育对大学英语教学提出了新的要求,即应培养出符合社会需求,既有扎实语言知识、语言应用技能,同时还不乏语言文化素养的复合型人才。这一较高的要求需要通过大学英语拓展系列课程来实现。为此,笔者对我校大学英语拓展系列课程等相关问题进行了调查,旨在了解大学二年级后学生对该课程设置的真实想法,为该课程设置和教学改革提供依据和参考。     

浅谈二语习得的环境论

二语习得理论是一个极为综合性的学术体系,其包含了诸多与语言教育相关的教研典范,并逐渐演变成各种理论性的教育思想,指导着高校英语教学活动的有序开展。"环境论"是二语习得理论的一个重要分支,强调了外在环境对大学生学习英语知识的影响,倡导教师在实际教学期间注重主客观环境的创造,提供优越的英语学习条件。文章分析了二语习得环境论的核心内容,详细地提出了基于环境论的大学英语教育改革措施。     

Global English, Hegemony and Education: Lessons from Gramsci

Antonio Gramsci and his concept of hegemony are often invoked in current debates concerning cultural imperialism, globalisation and global English. However, these debates are rarely cognizant of Gramsci's own university training in linguistics, the centrality of language to his writings on education and hegemony, or his specific engagement with language politics in his own day. By paying much greater attention to Gramsci's writings on language and education, this article attempts to lay the groundwork for an adequate approach to the current politics of global English.
While Gramsci may have left formal education and his studies in linguistics at Turin University as a young man to become a full time journalist and political activist, he certainly did not 'jettison' his study of language as is commonly implied. It has been widely accepted that Gramsci had an expansive conception of education which would curtail any suggestion that 'education' must be limited to formal schooling or university. Likewise, this article demonstrates the importance of Gramsci's lifelong analysis of language, its role in education and the development of hegemony. It argues that Gramsci's writings on language policy in Italy, specifically la questione della lingua [the language question] and his concern with linguistics, are an integral part of his approach to education and hegemony.     

An Empirical Study on the Students' Second Language Acquisition of the Newly Built University

Eastern Liaoning University is a newly built university with dissatisfying English teaching effect.To make a good understanding of what problems exist in the students’ second language acquisition,an empirical study was conducted on the 213 undergraduates in June,2009.Some related factors with second language acquisition are surveyed and analyzed.It suggests that it is crucial to strengthen the guidance and training of metacognitive strategy to improve the students’ autonomous learning ability.     

Examining Arizona’s Policy Response Post Flores v. Arizona in Educating K–12 English Language Learners

This article provides an analysis of Arizona’s policy response in educating English language learners by conducting a narrative review. A critical Latina/o theory approach was used to analyze the data. This study reveals 5 salient policy responses: (a) severely limit bilingual education, (b) develop controversial funding solutions, (c) implement a segregated 4-hr English language development block, (d) mandate structured English immersion–focused teacher preparation, and (e) develop disputed identification and classification instruments. The available data suggest that these policies have negatively impacted the educational experience and academic attainment of English language learners.     

An institutional approach to English language proficiency

As the university student body becomes ever more diverse, the place and nature of English language provision is coming under unprecedented scrutiny and is the object of greater regulation. Today, more than ever before, institutions of higher education are being called to account for the way in which they support this diverse population in respect of their English language provision. Increasingly, auditing bodies are expecting universities to demonstrate a commitment to supporting students adequately in this area and to be able to articulate a systematic process for doing so, along with a sound rationale and conceptual framework. This has put pressure on English-medium universities everywhere to review their English language provision and to develop creative and theoretically-informed solutions to what is perceived by many in the sector as a complex and very pressing issue, particularly given its financial ramifications and its importance in terms of the student experience. This article describes one such initiative at the University of South Australia, outlining both its conceptualisation and issues around its implementation.     

远程开放教育——培养合格英语本科生的可行之路——天津电大塘沽分校1999级英语本科班跟踪调查报告

本是对天津广播电视大学塘沽分校1999级英语本科（专升本）一个教学班跟踪调查的实证报告。它提供了有关学员学习动机、学生浸润于英语输入（Exposure to English Input）途径和时间、教材和课程的质量控制等方面的基本情况以及可以量化的资料，从而说明远程开放教育是培养合格英语本科毕业生的有效途径。     

从学习动机看艺术类大学英语教学策略

艺术类大学英语教学一直是大学英语教学实践中的难点。艺术类专业学生在语言学习方向具有自身的特点,总体表现为语言基础薄弱,学习动机水平低。本文从学习动机角度分析艺术类大学英语教学策略,研究艺术类大学英语教学实践的改进方法。