“It Was Because I Could Speak English That I Got the Job”: Neoliberal Discourse in a Chinese English Textbook Series

The issue of neoliberalism has aroused sustained interest among English language teaching (ELT) and applied linguistic researchers who are politically minded. Neoliberalism is a dominant rationality with immense economic, political and ideological consequences in all aspects of social and institutional life in globalization, including foreign language education. This article presents a critical analysis of the neoliberal discourse on English language learning in the Chinese context with a special focus on teaching materials. Informed by a political economy perspective on English language education, the study employs critical discourse analysis (CDA) as a methodological principle. Specifically, it examines the way (a) competence in English is commodified as a desirable linguistic cultural capital, (b) English learning is portrayed as an individualized and asocial undertaking, and (c) a monolingual and monocultural dream is built to include learners in an imagined homogeneous discourse community. Implications for ELT pedagogy and curriculum are discussed.     

Literacy,power and practices: taking a discourse-ethnographic approach to exploring adult literacy practices in Pakistan and the UK

ABSTRACT

The framework for this paper takes its central orientation from the New Literacy Studies (NLS) body of research which focuses on the analysis of texts and practices rather than the skills-oriented perspective of large-scale quantitative studies. In this paper, these are the texts of everyday life and the literacy practices of adult migrants before and after their migrations. Barton and Hamilton (2000) claim that practices are neither accidental nor random but are given their structure by institutions. This includes social institutions, such as the family, education and religion, and includes those institutions which are formally structured through rules and procedures, such as schools. The analysis in this paper focuses on the sponsorship of literacy in Pakistan prior to one adult’s migration and the ways in which these literacies are taken up after migration to the UK. The contribution of this paper to the field of adult literacy is the multi-disciplinary methodological framework it presents for analysing the socio-political influences which shape the accessibility of literacy, accessibility which is taken for granted in large scale surveys which measure literacy skills. To do this, I combine work using the Discourse Historical Approach in Critical Discourse Studies (Wodak 2011) with the literacy practices approach set out above to explore how one Mirpuri family deploy their multilingual literacy resources.     

Supporting academic literacies: university teachers in collaboration for change

This article deals with an action research project, where a group of university teachers from different disciplines reflected on and gradually extended their knowledge about how to support students’ academic literacy development. The project was conducted within a ‘research circle’ [Bergman, L. 2014. “The Research Circle as a Resource in Challenging Academics’ Perceptions of How to Support Students’ Literacy Development in Higher Education.” Canadian Journal of Action Research 15 (2): 3–20], in which the teachers engaged in a continuous dialogue where experience-based and research-based knowledge could meet. The two-year long process was divided into three phases: exchange of experiences and knowledge, small-scale empirical investigations in the participants own teaching, and presentations of the outcome of the research circle work. The main focus in this article is the second phase. The choice of small-scale-investigations, and how they were discussed and developed in the collaborative work, will be foregrounded as well as the changes that occurred in the participants’ teaching practices and how the participants value the outcome of the research circle work.     

Implications of a Learning Organisation for Social Justice in Poverty Stricken Communities: A Theoretical Perspective

Abstract

The term “social justice” cuts across disciplines and theoretical orientations. Critical theory underpinned the study reported on in this article. Many South African schools, particularly in poverty stricken communities, still experience insurmountable economic and social injustices despite progress since the apartheid regime. The injustices manifest in poverty, inequalities and unequal distribution of educational resources, impacting on the achievement gap. While social justice is a concern in the literature, South African literature has little on how to apply the concept of a learning organisation to reclaim a commitment to social justice. The article argues that schools perceived as learning organisations are sites of social and political struggle that can promote and encourage human rights to fundamental freedoms for all, without discrimination. This requires progressive teachers and critical thinking by students to transform dehumanising social milieus into communities of participation embodying the values of progress and human emancipation.     

应用QSPR方法预测烷烃的临界压力

根据分子拓扑学原理，通过探讨烷烃的临界压力与其分子结构之间的定量关系，发展了一种直接由分子结构信息预测烷烃临界压力的新方法，对160种烷烃的预测结果表明，临界压力预测值与实验值的一致性令人满意，平均绝对误差0．0150MPa，平均相对误差0．681％，计算精度优于文献方法。     

关键期理论与第二语言学习的时机和方式

关键期理论及其相关研究表明：正规学习环境中，年龄对二语习得的作用并不十分重要。我国目前教学条件下，盲目追求外语学习低龄化存在许多隐患，它有碍儿童外语能力发展，同时也影响儿童母语学习和对母语文化的认同。外语学习时机和方式的选择应充分考虑到实际教学条件、学习者的心理特点及不同认知发展阶段等其他更重要因素。     

New directions in education? A critique of contemporary policy reforms

This paper draws on facets of Foucault's theoretical resources to critique current education policy reform from within the Australian State of Victoria, namely the Department of Education and Early Childhood Development's (DEECD) discussion paper New directions for school leadership and the teaching profession. Implicit in the reform effort is decentralization, including penalties for “underperforming” classroom teachers and “ineffective” teacher education courses. Principals will hold a pre-eminent rank in the reforms proposed as they are charged with their oversight and implementation, including intervening in the education and preparation of pre-service teachers.     

宋湘书法简评

以史籍、方志等文献记载及宋湘先生流传下来的书法作品为材料,简述宋湘生平,主要突出与书法艺术相关的部分。联系其生平经历与其书法风格的演变,将其书法分为早、中、晚三个时期,对各个时期的代表作进行评述,并对各个时期的书法风格作了概括。     

关于蛋白质Davydov孤子热稳定性问题

用Ｌａｎｄａｕ相交理论讨论了蛋白质孤子的热稳定性问题，进而导出了蛋白质孤子生存的临界温度Ｔｓｃ．并与《科学通报》１９９３年第１１期第１０４０页的论文作了对比讨论．     

读《中国教育史学九十年》所思

《中国教育史学九十年》所取得的学术成果是应该充分肯定的，但关于教育史发展的历史分期则可以商榷。