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Students and Teachers Use of and Attitudes to L1 in the EFL Classroom

Students and Teachers Use of and Attitudes to L1 in the EFL Classroom

| December 25, 2009

This study examines the students’ and teachers’ attitudes to the use of L1 in EFL classrooms at a Korean School in Vietnam. Little research has been done on English language teaching in multilevel language classrooms in the Asian context.

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Disciplines of English and disciplining by English

Disciplines of English and disciplining by English

| December 25, 2009

The article stresses the importance of seeing English in context, both in terms of its global importance and how we refer to it: labels such as ‘lingua franca’ are misleading. The fact that there is a standard form of written English of global relevance should not beguile one into thinking that the language is ideologically neutral.

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The Applicability of Principles for Instructed Second Language Learning: A South Korean Perspective

The Applicability of Principles for Instructed Second Language Learning: A South Korean Perspective

| December 25, 2009

Communicative language teaching (CLT) approaches in second language (L2) education have been central to recent curricula innovations in a number of English as a Foreign Language (EFL) contexts, including South Korea. Research indicates that teachers can face challenges in implementing these initiatives and feel frustrated by constraints perceived to be outside their locus of control.

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From outside in: from inside out; student’s expectations and perceptions of culturally different teaching styles

From outside in: from inside out; student’s expectations and perceptions of culturally different teaching styles

| November 1, 2009

Significant curriculum reform has been undertaken in Hong Kong for over a decade. There has been substantial education initiatives designed to enhance Hong Kong students’ English proficiency. The most prominent initiative has been the introduction of the Native English Teacher (NET) Scheme.

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Punctuation and Spelling in Learners’ Writing

Punctuation and Spelling in Learners’ Writing

| November 1, 2009

Despite their apparent straightforwardness, certain features of language seem almost less teachable. The learners’ writing is often full of minor errors on surface features that make it hard for the reader to make sense of it, let alone appreciate its content.

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Learning English as a Fourth Language: The Case of the Arab Pupils in Israel

Learning English as a Fourth Language: The Case of the Arab Pupils in Israel

| October 28, 2009

This study examines the function of the affective factors in learning English as a Foreign Language among the Arab pupils in Israel (APIs). For these pupils, English, which is the gateway to academic life, is considered a fourth language, due to the diglossic nature of Arabic itself, their L1, and Hebrew, the State language. The research profiles the Interlanguage of these pupils by exploring the lingual, cultural and socio-political factors. The dynamic interplay among the affective factors and the learners was revealed through a set of targeted materials and questionnaires.

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“Drill, baby, drill”: Exploring a Neurobiological Basis  for the Teaching of Segmentals in the ESL/EFL Classroom

“Drill, baby, drill”: Exploring a Neurobiological Basis for the Teaching of Segmentals in the ESL/EFL Classroom

| October 1, 2009

Segmentals are the individual sounds of a language that can be broken down and focused on for instruction. Problems with segmentals can cause miscommunication, embarrassment, and affect confidence and motivation. Although teaching pronunciation and thus segmentals have been suggested to be a crucial element of second language curriculum…

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Professional Learning Communities: What are they and what do they have to offer TEFL?

Professional Learning Communities: What are they and what do they have to offer TEFL?

| October 1, 2009

Professional learning communities (PLCs) have been advocated as a means of restructuring schools to maximize learning in the public education systems of the United States and Canada. This article will discuss the relevance of PLCs within the TEFL community.

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The Relationship between Morphological Awareness and English Vocabulary Knowledge of Indonesian Senior High School Students

The Relationship between Morphological Awareness and English Vocabulary Knowledge of Indonesian Senior High School Students

| September 28, 2009

The main purpose of the present study is to investigate the relationship between English morphological awareness and vocabulary knowledge in the context of English as Foreign Language (EFL) for senior high school students in Indonesia. Measurements of learner vocabulary size and morphological awareness are obtained and then correlated to assess the degree to which knowledge of English morphological processes and structures can be systematically related to vocabulary knowledge. Based on the findings, the possible role that morphological awareness can play in second language (L2) vocabulary development is discussed.

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Teaching Aids: Effective in Iranian Students Lexical Acquisition?

Teaching Aids: Effective in Iranian Students Lexical Acquisition?

| September 25, 2009

This study is a quantitative exploration of the effects of employing teaching aids on lexical acquisition. Two groups of advanced adult EFL learners were assigned to the treatment and control group. The treatment included the use of videos, flash cards, and dictionaries over a four-month period of time to observe whether vocabulary acquisition is completed better. We took cognizance not to let the participants know they were in an experiment.

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