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ABSTRACT

Using the notion of structure of feeling by Raymond Williams, this article seeks to illuminate an ideological understanding of Korean English teachers’ anxiety and deep sense of insecurity in English language teaching (ELT). Through a discussion of how their anxiety is grounded deeply within unequal social relations and how they reframe their anxiety through critical reflection on the cultural and ideological bias of their own anxiety, it points out the intricate relationship between ideology and emotion; teachers’ emotions are shaped by dominant ideologies that constitute the social structures constraining their position as teachers, while their engagement with those emotions also enables their self-transformation towards gaining confidence as teachers. The results of the study emphasise the tension between social structure and agency in teachers’ emotional experiences and discuss implications for teacher education and development.  相似文献   

3.
ABSTRACT

This essay comprises multiple sets of dialogues between us as colleagues and friends as we revisit the question of the status of English as a global language. Through the metaphor ‘multiple classrooms of life’, we share reflections and narratives arising out of our experiences with English that are embedded in our professional work, scholarship, pedagogy and creative interests. Our discussion encompasses a range of artefacts, including excerpts from our diaries, poems, vignettes, visuals, letters, songs and anecdotes. This amalgam of materials represents our personal engagement with English, as distinct from treating the spread of English simply as a metanarrative played out at a remove from personal experience. We reconstruct ‘sparkle moments’ arising from personal encounters and social interactions that have caused us to reflect on the role of English in our lives. We thus focus on ideology as personally felt and lived from within and through inter-personal interactions.  相似文献   

4.
ABSTRACT

Language proficiency is highlighted in the literature on the adjustment and security of international students. India is the second top source country for mobile students globally, but few studies have focused explicitly on students from India. The purpose of this study was to examine the English language experiences of Indian students at New Zealand universities. This mixed-method study utilised a questionnaire (n?=?109) and interviews (n?=?15). Collectively the participants had high levels of confidence and proficiency in English language and adjusted more rapidly than many international students to the new academic environment. Major differences experienced by the participants between India and New Zealand related to unfamiliar forms of academic writing and tasks, and on the role of learning support services. Formal high value assessment was for some the first indication of a problem with writing. While most students adjusted through error-based learning others struggled with argumentation and avoiding plagiarism. These findings have relevance for local and international students. We recommend the use of, and research on, early low-stakes assessment of writing and on effective support services for students transitioning into new academic contexts.  相似文献   

5.
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.  相似文献   

6.
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.  相似文献   

7.
ABSTRACT

Prior inquiry into teachers’ beliefs demonstrates that a top priority of early childhood teachers’ is developing children’s social-emotional skills (e.g., Hollingsworth & Winter, 2013; Kowalski, Pretti-Frontczak, & Johnson, 2001). This study builds upon and advances the knowledge base by providing evidence that the pervasiveness of these beliefs extends to Head Start teachers who work with the growing population of dual language learning (DLL) children. In this qualitative study, interviews that included practice-based vignettes for participants to analyze and respond to were conducted with 20 Head Start teachers serving classrooms with large proportions of DLL Latino children. Teachers reported they believed developing social-emotional skills among DLL children is of primary importance, noting that these skills are foundational for supporting DLL children’s English language acquisition. In turn, participating teachers also reported they believed using Spanish in the classroom is a strategy to support social-emotional skill development among DLL children and thus ultimately facilitate their English language acquisition. Finally, the interviews revealed that participating teachers believed English language acquisition occurs naturally and easily within the preschool setting. The implications of these beliefs for the design of preservice early childhood teacher education to meet the needs of today’s linguistically diverse childhood population are discussed.  相似文献   

8.
This article explores the journey of eight hearing families of bimodal-bilingual deaf children as they navigate the decision-making process reflecting their beliefs and values about American Sign Language (ASL) and English through their family language policy framework. The resources offered to families with deaf children often reflect a medical view, rather than a cultural perspective of being deaf. Because medical professionals, educators, and specialists who work with deaf and hard-of-hearing children have a strong influence on family members’ opinions, beliefs, and attitudes about being deaf, it is even more crucial to correct misconceptions about ASL and empower families to develop a family language policy that is inclusive of their deaf and hard-of-hearing children. This article informs researchers, teachers, and other professionals about the potential benefits and challenges of supporting the families’ ASL and English language planning policy.  相似文献   

9.
Abstract

We provide data 3 to 4 years postintervention for four samples of English language learners from two sequential Grade 1 cohorts who received supplemental Grade 1 reading interventions in Spanish or English and for whom the language of instruction for intervention was matched with language of core reading instruction. Participants were 300 students at risk for reading difficulties who were randomly assigned to intervention or comparison groups; there were 186 students from the four samples assessed in both languages (Spanish, English) 3 or 4 years after intervention completion (Spring Grade 4 or 5). Findings from the Spanish study revealed few statistically significant differences in favor of intervention students on Spanish measures, although effect sizes generally favored this group (median d = +0.33). Findings from the English study also revealed few statistically significant differences in favor of intervention students, though again, effect sizes were positive (median d = +0.23). Transfer effects were generally small, though nearly all were positive. Although the effects were small, receipt of intervention in Grade 1 was associated with clinically significant gains in a variety of literacy-related domains 3 to 4 years after the termination of supplemental instruction.  相似文献   

10.
ABSTRACT

The challenges faced by learner-centred education (LCE) reforms in developing countries may be partly explained by their failure to engage with the culturally shaped beliefs in which teachers’ practice is rooted. Drawing from a mixed methods study of 60 government primary teachers in India, this research points to cultural tensions faced by LCE reforms in India. Although India’s own Constitutional values and pedagogical reform movements support LCE’s ideals, many teachers’ beliefs are shaped by dominant ideologies that contradict LCE’s assumptions. Imposing a predetermined, ‘Western’ model of LCE practice will inevitably face challenges if not supported by teachers’ underlying beliefs – and in fact contradicts LCE’s own ideals of empowering teacher agency. Instead, the paper argues for pedagogical reforms to focus less on a predesigned model of learner-centred practice and more on its underlying beliefs: by seeking to instil culturally relevant learning-centred beliefs, and involving teachers themselves in determining what learning-centred practice might look like within their context.  相似文献   

11.
The current educational context in many English speaking countries is one where literacy is understood to be essentially monolingual in orientation; that is, an understanding of literacy around a single common language, with the emphasis on identifying universal, normative ‘standards’ and ‘benchmarks’, such as the National Assessment Program-Literacy and Numeracy in Australia, the Primary National Strategy in the United Kingdom, and No Child Left Behind in the United States. This paper aims to problematise such assumptions by examining how teachers, themselves, understand “teaching literacy” when their students come to the teaching/learning relationship with a first language other than English. With a focus on teachers working with bilingual and multilingual students in their early stages of acquiring English as a second language (ESL), the study thus acknowledges the increasingly diverse sociolinguistic profile of students in Australia and elsewhere in the varying degrees of communicative competence they bring to the mainstream in their use of ESL. Moreover, it draws on ESL teacher knowledge and expertise which has been identified as increasingly marginalised within mainstream educational discourse. Through case studies of three ESL teachers in the middle years, salient themes around the interrelated notions of literacy as learning, language for literacy and language as literacy were identified with respect to the literacy needs of second language learners.  相似文献   

12.
English language programmes provide established pathways for international students seeking university admission in countries such as Australia and the United Kingdom. In order to refer international applicants to appropriate levels and durations of English language support prior to matriculation into their main course of study, pathway providers need effective and efficient language assessment tools. This report evaluates the effectiveness of an online vocabulary knowledge test as an index of English proficiency for university English pathway programme applicants (N = 177). The Timed Yes/No (TYN) test measures vocabulary recognition size and speed in a time- and resource-effective format. Test results were correlated with performance on a comprehensive placement test consisting of speaking, writing, reading and listening components. The predictive validity of word recognition accuracy (a proxy for size) and response time (a measure of efficiency) for placement test outcomes were examined independently and in combination. The TYN test scores’ sensitivity at predicting comprehensive placement test scores were assessed using a cut-score analysis resulting in an identification accuracy rate ranging from 76 to 86% for five critical band scores. The potential use of the online vocabulary-screening test for measuring international students’ English language proficiency is discussed in terms of reliability, validity, speed, usability and cost-effectiveness in onsite and offshore testing conditions.  相似文献   

13.
张耿 《海外英语》2012,(5):125-127
Implications of second language reading learning are often aroused by the insights of reading experience in first language.Chi nese learners’ performance concerning English reading comprehension may influenced by Chinese language or English language.This pa per attempts to explore the influence of first language(Chinese) knowledge on second language(English) reading comprehension for Chi nese students in middle school.This investigation concerns over three aspects of L1 knowledge:genre knowledge,reading skills,and cultur al knowledge.It firstly demonstrates the research question.Then,based on schema theory,it introduces the research method and partici pants in this study.Furthermore,this paper presents the data of the investigation along with the data analysis.It finally concludes that the positive effects of L1 knowledge on L2 reading comprehension overweigh its negative effects.  相似文献   

14.
Much research into the use of corpora and discourse to support higher education students on pre-sessional and in-sessional courses champions subject specificity. Drawing on the work of writers such as Bakhtin [(1981). The dialogic imagination: Four essays by MM Bakhtin (M. Holquist, Ed.; C. Emerson & M. Holquist, Trans.). Austin: University of Texas Press] and Voloshinov [(1973). Marxism and the philosophy of language (L. Matejka, & I.R. Titunik, Trans.). New York: Seminar Press. (Original work published 1929)], in this article we extend this research by showing how the specific subject ‘context’ is fundamentally linked with the ‘English’ used within it. We first detail some of the literature related to corpus and genre studies and discuss some of the literature related to the importance of providing a context for language. We then present and discuss data from 21 interviews and five focus groups with subject lecturers to illustrate how the ‘English’ used in the subject areas of ‘Design’, ‘Nursing’, ‘Business’ and ‘Computing’ subjects flows through what we term their ‘paradigmatic hearts’. By ‘paradigmatic heart’ we mean the set of values, beliefs and perceptions that represent the central or innermost engine of the subject, through which its ‘English’ flows. In ‘Design’ the paradigmatic heart is ‘visual’, ‘philosophical’ and ‘persuasive’; for ‘Nursing’ it is ‘emotional’ and ‘empathetic’, yet also ‘technical’; for ‘Business’ subjects it is ‘income generating’, ‘numerical’ and ‘persuasive’; and for ‘Computing’ it may be ‘visual’, ‘numerical’ or ‘code-based’. We demonstrate how ‘English’ flows through the paradigmatic heart of its subject and that to remove the ‘English’ from its subject paradigmatic heart changes its nature. Thus, we argue that if students are not being taught ‘English’ in the context of the subject, the ‘English’ we are teaching them will be different, and that preparation and support needs to be undertaken in the subject itself.  相似文献   

15.
作为语言学习中的重要个体差异,语言学习信念是相对稳定的,但并非一成不变,而是不断发展变化的。语言学习信念受诸多因素的影响,影响语言学习信念的因素主要有两类:外部原因和内部原因。以外部原因——语言学习经历的研究为侧重点,采用焦点小组访谈,调查了英语学习者中学和大学阶段的语言学习经历以及他们在中学阶段和大学阶段对语言学习的看法。结果表明:中学和大学阶段的英语学习信念有很大的不同:英语学习信念随着语言学习经历的不同而发生变化。  相似文献   

16.
ABSTRACT

In the field of second and foreign language learning, the Common European Framework of Reference for languages (CEFR) is widely-used for setting language proficiency standards within European, and increasingly global, contexts. Few studies, however, have investigated the ways in which systemic, macro-level factors within national educational contexts may influence standard setting practices using the CEFR. In this paper, we explore this issue through an analysis of recorded discussions within standard setting sessions for the Épreuve Commune for English, a national English language examination in Luxembourg. The data reveals four key sources of influence on standard setting decision-making: Luxembourg’s unique language ecology, streamed schooling, the national curriculum, and an ongoing exam reform project. Through this analysis, we argue that Luxembourg functions as a critical case illustrating the tension between international standards of language proficiency and local realities.  相似文献   

17.
ABSTRACT

Students entering English-medium universities frequently struggle to cope with the language demands of their degree programmes, despite having met the English language entry conditions stipulated by their receiving institutions. This can have significant repercussions for the teaching-learning process, for the student experience and for universities’ reputations. Most universities, therefore, have in place some form of in-sessional English language support to develop students’ language proficiency. Such provision tends to be centralised and to offer English for general academic purposes rather than language development that responds in a more nuanced way to the particular literacy needs of students’ disciplines. In this article we report on an alternative, decentralised model of language support, implemented in a School of Nursing and Midwifery, and which seeks to develop students’ competency in the language skills required for their Nursing studies and professional practice. Results to date have been encouraging and provide further evidence that such tailored provision offers a potentially fruitful language development strategy.  相似文献   

18.
This paper draws on research on masculinities to examine poetry as a socially and culturally gendered genre. Situated in the context of the current ‘crisis’ around boys’ underachievement in school, attention is drawn to the problematic understanding of poetry as an unsuitable genre for boys. Attention is further drawn to the way in which poetry, when offered up to boys, is often imbued with traditional and outdated definitions of masculinity. We illustrate the extent to which hegemonic versions of masculinity are implicated in discourses about poetry as an unsuitable genre for boys. This is accomplished by undertaking a critical analysis of various sources such as Odean's (1998) Great Book for Boys, and Scieszka's (2005) Guys Write for Guys Read, as well as Iggulden and Iggulden's (2006) The Dangerous Book for Boys. Historical perspectives which highlight the role of sexologists in forging an association between poetry and effeminacy are also used to illuminate the legacy associated with the treatment of poetry somehow discordant with dominant understandings about boys’ developing masculinity. In this way, we provide a richer understanding of poetry and its discursive relationship to masculinity.  相似文献   

19.
Many supporters and critics of a ‘global English’ assume that English is (initially) ‘outside’ of cultures in what Braj Kachru calls the ‘Expanding Circle’. But this ignores the ways English has been culturally and historically constituted in countries where it is still a ‘foreign’ language. In South Korea, English education—as an institution—has been part of Korean life since the 1880s. During that time, English has acquired a variety of contradictory cultural meanings related to the colonial and postcolonial experiences of South Korean people. For example, although introduced as part of the late‐nineteenth century ‘enlightenment’ of Korean society, English became associated during the Korean War with conservatism and the US military government. More recent beliefs surrounding English suggest a combination of liberatory possibility and imperialism. Through an examination of historical sources, literature and ethnographic interviews undertaken from 1999 to 2001, I describe some of these shifting meanings as relevant not only for our understanding of English in South Korea but for world Englishes as a whole. ‘Global English’, I suggest, must be understood as both global and local.  相似文献   

20.
English as a foreign language,globalisation and conceptual questioning   总被引:1,自引:1,他引:0  
This text discusses the locus of English in globalisation discourses. Assuming that languages constitute discursive formations informing ways of knowing, discourses of English as a global language (EGL) are positioned in relation to teaching English as a foreign language in the glocal scene. We draw on post‐colonial theories and critical education, treating languages as social practices and conceiving of teaching EGL as a privileged context for discursive agency, especially when discourses of global English are critically engaged with through dialogue and conceptual questioning. We present a post‐method suggestion of procedures to promote conceptual questioning through construction of open spaces.  相似文献   

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