Main Editions
Exploring EFL Teachers’ Perceptions of Task-Based Language Teaching: A Case Study of Korean Secondary School Classroom Practice
The purpose of this study is to explore EFL teachers’ perceptions of task-based language teaching (TBLT) in a Korean secondary school context. The data for this study were collected through questionnaires from a total of 228 teachers at 38 different middle and high schools in Korea.
Apologies Across Cultures: An Analysis of Intercultural Communication Problems Raised in the Ehime Maru Incident
This paper describes in detail an example of a failed intercultural communication and offers a teaching procedure to help students cope with culture’s impact on language. Using the 2001 accident involving the sinking of the Ehime Maru, a Japanese fisheries high school training boat…
EFL Instruction and Assessment with Portfolios: A Case Study in Taiwan
As the reform movements continue to sweep across the educational landscape in Taiwan, educators and practitioners are exploring and attempting new and innovative practices in the classroom. Of all non-traditional approaches to instruction and assessment, portfolio use seems to show the greatest promise in enhancing diverse dimensions of learning and developing multiple intelligences as well as promoting learner autonomy.
Semantically Acceptable Scoring Procedures (SEMAC) Versus Exact Replacement Scoring Methods (ERS) For ‘Cloze’ Tests: A Case Study
It has been suggested by a number of theorists that a semantically acceptable scoring procedure (SEMAC) is preferable to an exact replacement scoring method (ERS) for ‘Cloze’ tests. They argue that the SEMAC procedure is fairer for testees and that it provides a better indication of communicative competency and the overall linguistic abilities of ESL/EFL students.
The Influence of Partial English Immersion Programs in Taiwan on Kindergartners’ Perceptions of Chinese and English Languages and Cultures
Many Taiwanese scholars and parents raise concerns about the influences of the partial English immersion programs (EIPs), indicating EIPs might lead children to devalue their Chinese language (L1) and Chinese culture (C1), and favor English (L2) and Western culture (C2). This study explores whether a typical partial English immersion program leads children to devalue their L1 and C1.
Technology and Change in English Language Teaching (ELT)
This paper examines the ways in which computers are impacting upon change in ELT and argues that Asian countries are, in a sense, at the heart of this. The paper reviews and further develops a shorter forthcoming colloquium article in The British Journal of Education Technology and begins by linking the growth of English to the growth and widespread availability of computers.
What can EFL Teachers Learn from Immersion Language Teaching?
Immersion language teaching has developed techniques that enable teachers to make their subject matter, through a second language, more comprehensible. It is argued in this article that EFL teachers can also use techniques used by immersion language teachers in their classrooms.
Task-Based Pronunciation Teaching: A State-of-the-art Perspective
The purpose of this paper is to critically analyze what some pronunciation teachers are currently doing in some Asian contexts and, in view of their contribution to the profession and their results obtained, propose a state-of-the-art methodology for teaching English pronunciation founded upon the combination of fluency- with accuracy-focused tasks.
The Effects of Online Grammar Instruction on Low Proficiency EFL College Students’ Achievement
Technology is not currently used in EFL classrooms at King Saud University in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Therefore an online course was used in the teaching of English grammar from home. The aim of the present study was to find out whether integration of online learning in face-to-face in-class grammar instruction significantly improves EFL freshman college students’ achievement and attitudes.
Alternatives to Questioning: Teacher Role in Classroom Discussion
In language classrooms turns of talk facilitate the meaning-making process as students and teachers collaboratively come to understand the discourse of knowledge they are co-constructing (Wells, 1999; Vygotsky, 1978) in their interactions together, teacher to student and student to student
