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We
present 6 articles in the September
2003 edition of the Journal. We thank
the authors for their dedicated work.
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The
first article is presented by Lee Kyung
Ok from Korea. Ms. Lee examines a number
of factors relative to EFL learning strategies
among female and male students within the
Korean secondary school system. This work
supports the need to give increasing attention
to teacher centered approaches in TEFL by
more closely examining the learning processes
at the student level which enhances English
skill development. The following factors
received examination: gender, grammar proficiency,
school year and type and frequency of learning
strategies. Important EFL learning strategy
differences were discovered, for example
between males and females. Ms. Lee works
as a Korean secondary school EFL teacher.
She obtained her Master of Education (TEFL)
at Monash University, and now she seeks
to further her work in this field of learning
strategies through doctoral studies.
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The
second article is presented by Mr.
John Adamson from Japan. This study outlines
and acts as a discussion catalyst on the
potential influences of Theravada Buddhism
as practiced in Thailand on the learning
behavior of Thai students studying English.
This thought provoking and stimulating
work should provide a foundation on which
educators and researchers can more thoroughly
investigate the culture-language teaching
dynamic and how it plays out in the Thai
EFL classroom. One of the important goals
of the article is to help widen the focus
of teacher development in Thailand and
no doubt elsewhere, in regards to the
impact of local culture on EFL learning.
The author, Mr. Adamson, obtained his
doctorate from Leicester University in
England.
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The
third article, "Teaching English in
Japan to Chinese Students" is presented
by Mr. John Nevara. As succinctly outlined
by the author, a full time lecturer in Japan,
the homogeneous Japanese university is gradually
becoming more international in composition
with Chinese students representing an important
addition to this trend. This has significant
ramifications for EFL classroom teaching
in that country. The author examined classrooms
which were mixed (Japanese and Chinese)
and non-mixed (Chinese) and concluded that
a knowledge of the cultural background of
students is important for the EFL instructor
and increasingly so with respect to the
changing Japanese university landscape.
The writer, Mr. Nevara, possesses an MA
from the University of Hawaii.
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The
fourth article is presented by Vu Thi
Phuong from the Thao Hanoi University of
Foreign Studies, Vietnam. Vu Thi Phuong
Thao, an English Instructor at Hanoi University
of Foreign Studies, describes how Vietnam
is attempting to make "dramatic changes"
away from a grammar-translation approach
and towards one more inclusive of communicative
and multimedia approaches, particularly
in the context of a resource constrained
country. While benefits are enumerated,
some challenges are evident in developing
teacher and student skills and so maximizing
the usage of English language technological
resources.
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The
fifth article is by Mr. Erick Pollock
who is an English instructor at the Kyunghee
University of Seoul, Korea. Mr. Pollock
looks at teaching students through the medium
of reading. He points out how the mystery
story is an important language learning
vehicle for generating a more student centered
and responsive approach to EFL classroom
learning. He adds how it can "clarify, reinforce
and dramatize significant language structures
and main points that students might not
otherwise remember or understand." Specific
attention is given to how this literature
genre can be specifically applied to the
classroom.
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The
sixth article is presented by Esmat
Babaii & Hasan Ansary of the Shiraz
University, Iran. The authors explored ,
from a sociolinguistic perspective, the
textual and contextual characteristics of
contemporary Iranian TV advertising style.
As noted by the authors, advertisements
can be described as a "sounding board" which
makes social movements more apparent. The
data demonstrated that although advertisements
in Iran mimicked the discourse structure
of standard Western ads and utilized Western
advertising devices, there were apparent
basic differences. Sociolinguists study
the relationship between language and society
- this valuable work goes to the heart of
explaining the way language is used to convey
meaning.
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