Volume 9 Issue 1 2014
Volume 9 Issue 1 2014 (Full Journal PDF)
- {slider Foreword from the editor |closed}It is exciting to present the new edition of our journal publication. It IS new because we have got a new journal title: TESOL International Journal. This change testifies the journal’s increasing recognition in academic community, but will also help establish its unique identity. I welcome this move.
Before introducing the contents of this issue, I would like to share with you updates from our journal. First, we have established a team of Associate Editors in order to offer more efficient service to our reviewers and timely support to our authors. Our journal has been attracting increasing number of submissions and this new editorial structure is of utmost importance and necessity…{/sliders}
- {slider An Analysis of First-encounter Dialogues in EFL Textbooks. Hanh thi Nguyen, Saeko Tsukimi, Wen-Pei Lin |closed}In this paper, we use findings from conversation analysis on the development of setting talk and pre-topical sequences in first encounters (Maynard & Zimmerman, 1984; Svennevig, 2000) to inform an examination of dialogues in government-approved textbooks in China, Japan, Korea, Taiwan, and Vietnam. Our analysis concentrates on the types of topics introduced and the sequential organization of talk. With respect to the sequential organization, we focus on (a) whether the dialogues include pre-topical talk and if they do, we examine (b) the forms of response to pre-topical questions, namely, rejection (short-form reply plus a return question) or acceptance (short-form reply or long-form response beyond what is asked in the question), (c) the use of topicalizers as a way to invite the other speaker to further the topic, and (d) the transition from pre-topical talk to topical talk.{/sliders}
- {slider A Post-Use Evaluation of Pakistani Secondary School English Textbooks. Fatemeh Mahbod Karamouzian, Marie-Françoise Narcy-Combes and Fasih Ahmed |closed}This study evaluated the content of two English language series used at public secondary schools in two regions of Pakistan namely English 9 and 10 used in the Punjab and English Book 1 and 2 used in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa region. To this end, a textbook evaluation checklist was adapted and applied to the materials, and their major aspects regarding the Overall Impression, Organization, Content, and Overall Consideration were examined. Quantitative data were collected by matching each of the evaluating items to the related features of the materials, and the extent of conformation was revealed by percentages. Detailed quality descriptions were also provided. The results revealed that the four books lack quality features regarding their Overall Consideration. English 9 and 10 obtain the highest scores for the Overall Impression and Organization, and English 10 achieves the highest score for the Content and the highest total average score. The results suggest that English Book 1 and English Book 2 are of poor quality and should be extensively reconsidered and revised or quality alternatives should be substituted. English 9 and 10 are of medium quality and can be either substituted by quality alternatives, or be adapted and used with appropriate supplementary materials.
{/sliders} - {slider Case Histories and the Comprehension Hypothesis. Stephen Krashen |closed}There are three major views of language acquisition: The Comprehension Hypothesis, the Comprehensible Output Hypothesis, and the Skill-Building Hypothesis. Only the Comprehension Hypothesis is fully consistent with all case histories of language acquirers, including cases of polyglots and those who have acquired language despite handicaps.
{/sliders} - {slider Reflections on Teaching Critical Literacy: Reading through Sherlock Holmes Mysteries. Chiu-Hui Wu |closed}The Sherlock Holmes mystery series, written by the Scottish author Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, is one of the most popular detective series in the genre and has been translated into more than 60 languages. However, the pedagogical implications of reading Sherlock Holmes mysteries have rarely been noted, as it is considered a form of reading for pleasure. This study explored how using Sherlock Holmes mysteries in an EFL class can be considered a social act, which the stories provide EFL learners with the historical-political context of the United Kingdom in the 19th century. Using a first-person narrative, the author/instructor shares her experience of teaching critical reading using the Sherlock Holmes series in a college-level EFL classroom. She argued that although Holmes’ analytical reasoning and proper British manners impressed young readers, subtle{/sliders}
- {slider The Use of Laptops for Learning English as a Foreign Language (EFL): Merits, Challenges, and Current Practices. Reza Dashtestani and Hossein Samoudin |closed}Despite concerns over students’ use of laptops in educational contexts, the use of laptops has been considered to facilitate the process of learning and teaching. The goal of the present study is to provide insights into English as a foreign language (EFL) teachers’ and students’ attitudes towards the use of laptops for learning EFL in the EFL context of Iran. To achieve this aim, a mixed methods research design was employed. Questionnaires were administered to 164 EFL students. In addition, a total of 32 EFL teachers and 76 EFL students participated in the interviews. The findings suggested that the teachers and students held positive attitudes toward the use of laptops for EFL learning. The results indicated several considerable challenges and obstacles to the use of laptops for learning EFL. The obstacles comprised distraction, lack of teachers’ computer assisted language learning (CALL)knowledge and computer literacy, students’ non-academic use of laptops, high costs of laptops, lack of support and attention from teachers and authorities to include laptops in learning, and heaviness of laptop devices. It appears that students use laptops for non-academic purposes. The study proposes recommendations and strategies for the effective integration of technology in students’ and teachers’ educational practices.
{/sliders} - {slider What are challenges that Vietnamese students encounter when representing themselves through speaking English? Pham Thi Thanh Xuan |closed}Not many studies have been concerned with the voices of Vietnamese learners of English regarding their self-representation through speaking English inside and outside class context. Drawing on Miller’s (2003) theory of how language learners move towards self-representation through using English, this case study examined challenges that Vietnamese students whose English is not a major of study at a university encounter during the process of representing who they really are through speaking English. The findings demonstrated that communicative competence was one of the most challengeable factors preventing the participants from raising their voice. Besides, accessing communicative events, taking advantages of cultural capital as well as legitimizing themselves as speakers of English are not always easy for the participants to achieve and exploit maximally, all contributing to their silence both inside and outside classroom communication contexts. The study, therefore, throws some new light on how to assist Vietnamese students to represent themselves successfully through speaking English. Teachers and language educators need to provide available communicative events and situations for Vietnamese students to access as well as accomplish their legitimacy as speakers of English.
{/sliders} - {slider Testing Based Language Teaching in Bangladesh: Does It Promote or Impede Learning? Tanzina Tahereen |closed}English is considered as a foreign language in Bangladesh; and it is taught, and tested as a subject like all other subjects. English language teaching is influenced by testing in such a way that it controls the way of teaching and learning in the classroom. In addition, this extreme reliance on testing has shaped the opinions of the teachers, students and parents about language teaching. So, to some extent, passing the test with a high score is the main objective, rather than learning a language. So, real learning gets impeded. This paper attempts to answer the question whether testing based teaching promotes language learning or not. For finding the answer, it starts with the overall discussion of the issues and trends of language testing in Bangladesh. Then, it aims at focusing on the consequences and the impact of this testing system on language curriculum, teaching pedagogy, students’ learning, and students’ affective factors, etc. Therefore, this paper applies the quantitative research method to analyze the questionnaires, interviews responded by the students and teachers regarding this approach. Finally, the paper ends with discussion of the major findings how this testing based teaching impedes actual language learning for most of the students.{/sliders}
- {slider Assessing the Auditory Perceptual Skills of Gifted and Non-Gifted Turkish-Speaking Child L2 Learners of English. YaseminYildiz and Buket Kömürcü |closed}This paper reports on the auditory perceptual skills of child Turkish learners of English in differentiating native and non-native consonantal minimal pairs in word-initial and final positions. The study intends to enhance our understanding of a less analyzed population sample, namely gifted learners. The subjects were divided into two groups and (sub) groups according to their age and ability: Group (1a): 10 normal 4 year olds and Group (1b): 10 normal 6 year olds; and Group (2a): 10 gifted 6-7 year olds and Group (2b): 10 gifted 9-10 year olds. The study has revealed two key findings. Firstly, Groups (1a) and (2a) outperformed Groups (1b) and (2b) in word-final non-native voice distinctions. Secondly, the gifted outperformed the normal children, yet their performance was shaped by similar first language constraints as Group (1). The study presents pedagogical and linguistic implications with regard to gifted learners. The Perceptual Assimilation Model (Best, 1994) will guide the study.
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Category: 2014
