Teacher professional development through collaborative action research: impact on foreign English-language teaching and learning

In 2011 we, a group of English-as-a-foreign-language teachers at a secondary school in Argentina, decided to investigate our teaching practices through collaborative action research so as to improve our students’ learning opportunities and thus revitalise English-language teaching in our context. We implemented and evaluated the integration of content and language learning in our classrooms through the development of our own materials. The experience revealed a growth in professional development and how our motivation and autonomy influenced our students’ motivation and language development. In our attempt to disseminate our experience as a group, this report particularly focuses on the evaluation facets of our collaborative action research project so as to encourage other teachers and teacher-researchers to adopt collaborative action research to improve their own practices.     

Teaching the language of mathematics at three levels of an English-medium primary school

This study, situated in a multilingual, English-medium educational context, draws on theory from mathematics and language education to capture teachers’ perspectives on the place of language in their mathematics pedagogy. The benchmark study explored this topic through surveying and interviewing teachers. Additionally, it sought to relate teachers’ views to their practice by focusing on observing three teachers’ mathematics lessons at primary one, three, and five. Findings are that mathematics teachers placed importance on teaching language, being specifically concerned with language as input and comprehension. They taught vocabulary and reading skills in supportive ways explicitly yet differently at the three grade levels. Particularly at the lower levels, teachers contextualised language in the concrete examples employed for mathematics teaching. At all three levels, prominence was given to teaching pupils how to read word problems as well as how to solve them. However, at primary three, a tension was observed between the two aims of teaching mathematical vocabulary and teaching the reading skills for word problems. This paper illustrates the tension and discusses its possible causes.     

Communicative-based curriculum innovations between theory and practice: implications for EFL curriculum development and student cognitive and affective change

This qualitative study examines the influence of teacher conceptualisations of communicative language teaching on their actual classroom practice and student cognitive and affective change. The qualitative paradigm underpinned this research at the levels of ontology (multiple teacher realities), epistemology (interaction with, rather than detachment from, the respondents), and methodology through using an idiographic strategy (qualitative case study), instruments (qualitative interviews, participant observation and questionnaires), and data analysis technique (explanation-building). The results indicated that teachers who understood CLT and managed to materialise its principles into action significantly improved student language learning (cognitive change) and motivation (affective change). Moreover, traditional, structural and didactic teaching as well as communicative knowledge that was not translated into practice had almost a typical negative impact on student learning and motivation. Recommendations for curriculum development, teacher development, teacher training and future research are made.     

Racism and citizenship education in Northern Ireland

Racist attitudes towards, and attacks on, the minority ethnic populations in Northern Ireland (NI) have increased dramatically over the last number of years. Despite the increased media attention regarding racist attacks, the fallacy that racism is not a major problem in NI is an enduring one. However, there is a growing recognition that minority ethnic communities experience a diverse range of racial harassment. Education is a mode promoted by national and European governments as the vehicle in which anti-racism programmes can be delivered. This article suggests the impending introduction of a statutory citizenship education (CE) component to the revised NI curriculum from September 2007 can play an important role in tackling the high levels of racism being experienced by the minority ethnic population in NI.     

Academic socialization of doctoral students through feedback networks: a qualitative understanding of the graduate feedback landscape

ABSTRACT

Scholars focus on the social nature of academic writing to refine an understanding of feedback interactions in higher education. However, studies on the various sources of feedback – feedback networks – have been scarce, particularly during the initial years of doctoral education. Using a qualitative case study approach, multiple sources of feedback for four students in one doctoral program in the United States were identified in line with broader trends focusing on feedback as a social practice. Informed by the academic socialization framework [Duff, Patricia A. 2012. “Second Language Socialization.” In Handbook of Language Socialization, edited by Alessandro Duranti, Elinor Ochs, and Bambi B. Schieffelin, 564–586. Malden: Wiley-Blackwell], this study aims (1) to navigate the landscape of graduate feedback, including interactions beyond class as well as oral and written feedback, and (2) to elucidate the socialization process. Findings suggest that academic writing development is defined as how feedback is situated within disciplinary, academic communities of interaction. This article describes how the larger network of feedback creates the types of interaction that characterizes the community.     

儿童语言习得对高职英语教学的启示

儿童语言习得与第二语言习得都属于语言习得范畴,但习得所花费的时间与精力以及最终达到的水平却相差甚远。本文通过研究和分析儿童语言习得的过程,找出儿童语言习得过程中适用于二语教学的方法和策略,并通过具体事例进行阐述,希望对二语教学有所帮助。     

《山海经》成书时地及作者新探

这里在前人研究成果的基础之上,从对历代学者有关《山海经》的不同看法中,就《山海经》的内容(山川、乐园、主神)、语言特点与考古资料进行了比较研究,最后得出结论:《山海经》巴蜀图语本成书于西周前期,战国初中期,华文本《山海经》由定居蜀地的楚国贵族后裔综合图语本、口头流传,再加入楚地神话以及中原、海外历史地理知识编写而成。     

VRML技术及应用

虚拟现实技术是一门涉及众多学科的新兴技术,在许多领域具有广泛的应用前景。概括介绍了VRML发展、定义及特点,最后介绍了VRML在机械设计方面的应用。     

师源性心理因素对外语学习者语言焦虑的影响

语言焦虑是影响学生外语学习效果的一个重要情感因素。通过对师源性心理因素引起的语言焦虑的判断与分析,我们不难发现语言学习中的情感因素不可忽视,教师对语言焦虑的觉察和调控在组织教学中不可或缺。事实上教师的行为既可以造就“焦虑诱导情境”,也可以以良性的情感信息刺激学生,对已经存在的语言焦虑进行有效的调控。     

语用失误以及第二语言学习者语用能力的培养

在跨文化交际以及外语教学中常常会出现语用失误而构成交际的障碍。在第二语言教学实践中,如何理解语用失误的原因及影响值得研究和评价。本文分析了语用失误的类型和原因,讨论了有意识地发展第二语言学习者的语用能力的必要性,并提出发展语用能力的有效途径。