Main Editions
Towards a Globalized Notion of English Language Teaching in Saudi Arabia: A Case Study
This paper uses one case study at a Saudi Arabian university to illustrate the effects of competing Discourses on the identities of English language teachers in this context. Through an unpacking of their language teaching narratives, the notion of ‘global’ English language teaching emerges as a way of potentially resolving these conflicting identities/Discourses.
Revisiting Japanese English Teachers’ (JTEs) Perceptions of Communicative, Audio-lingual, and Grammar Translation (Yakudoku) Activities: Beliefs, Practices, and Rationales
Research has shown that teachers’ beliefs about language teaching are shaped by a myriad factors, among them, their own experiences as language learners, their pedagogical training, and the contexts in which they work (Borg, 2003; Fang, 1996; Freeman, 2002; Lortie, 1975). How their beliefs influence their practice has also been studied, and it has been found that whether teachers consistently put these beliefs into instructional practice varies considerably. For example, while some research on reading and literacy instruction has demonstrated a clear relationship between teachers’ theoretical orientations and what they do in their classes, other research has found this relationship to be weak, with teachers tending towards inconsistency; in other words, not doing what they believed was appropriate (Fang, 1996).
Moving towards the transition: Non-native EFL teachers’ perception of native-speaker norms and responses to varieties of English in the era of global spread of English
In Asia, the dominance of English as a foreign or second language has greatly contributed to the prevalence of Standard English and Native English Speaking Teachers (NESTs). Japan, Korea, Hong Kong, and Taiwan have been officially recruiting NESTs to introduce ‘authentic’ Standard English to their citizens. However, as globalisation continues throughout the world, the genres featuring native speaker norms have been challenged for failure to equip English learners with English as an International Language (EIL) or World Englishes (WEs) competence to communicate with other non-native English speakers from different cultural and linguistic backgrounds in international settings.
‘To act in a good way’ Constructions of EFL teacher-self
This article examines the notion of ‘good’ in the construction of the teacher-self. Brown (2005) challenges those of us involved in ESL teaching to resist complacency in the construction of ESL teacher identity as a force for good and remain aware of the potential to be much less than this (2005, p.18). This article addresses such a challenge drawing on data collected from a doctoral study into the lives of Nicaraguan Secondary School English language teachers ELTs (Fennell 2007).
Contextual influences on the Teaching Practice of a beginning TESOL teacher: A narrative inquiry
Traditionally, learning to teach was viewed as applying discrete amounts of teaching knowledge in one context and developing teaching skills in another context. However, in recent years, there has been a paradigm shift in teacher education focusing on the specific teaching context that shapes the reality of classroom practice. According to Freeman and Johnson (1998), the teaching context such as schools and classrooms are the sociocultural terrains in which the work of teaching is conceptualized, implemented and evaluated (Freeman & Johnson, 1998, p. 408)
Writing in the Devil’s Tongue: A History of English Composition in China
Xiaoye You. Carbondale: Southern Illinois University Press, 2010, Pp. xi + 237. Reviewed by Jamie Elizabeth Marko State University of New York at Buffalo, New York, U.S.A English instruction has long been part of a global love-hate relationship, and perhaps nowhere is this more evident than in China. Colonialism, Maoist thought, national pride, economic growth, […]
Thematization in Romantic and Criminal Short Stories in English and Persian: Implications for Second Language Reading
Some teachers may believe that EFL/ESL students will be able to read and write in the target language if they focus on linguistic elements only, but other teachers who integrate short stories in the curricula have found out that stories add a new dimension to the teaching of reading.
To Teach More or More to Teach: Vocabulary-Based Instruction in the Chinese EFL Classroom
In the Chinese EFL classroom, explicit teaching of vocabulary is the dominant paradigm. While there are pragmatic and cultural reasons behind this teaching practice, the techniques used by teachers to fulfill the vocabulary requirement in the syllabus and textbooks have never been studied.
Characteristics and Transformation of Native English Speaker Teachers’ Beliefs: A Study of U.S. English Teachers in China
Native English speaker (NES) teachers presumably play a unique role in developing English-as-a-foreign-language (EFL) learners‘ oral competence. Teachers‘ beliefs about what and how to teach and how students learn are assumed to strongly influence their teaching practices and students‘ learning outcomes. Thus, it is worth exploring whether and to what extent NES teachers can develop their beliefs in the EFL context.
The Dynamic Nature of Learner Beliefs: The Relationship between Beliefs about EFL Learning and Proficiency in a Chinese Context
Notwithstanding a number of studies on L2 learner beliefs, there has been insufficient attention to how this individual difference (ID) variable is related to second language development. Also, there has been a call to adopt a dynamic approach to the role of individual difference variables in SLA, that is, conducting ID research in situational and cultural contexts (Dörnyei, 2009; Li, 2005).
