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E-behaviors and E-community Formation: An Investigation on Vietnamese EFL Students
Online communications have been widely researched in different education contexts during the last two decades. Together with the development of emerging technology, educational applications have received a huge change in e-communication modes, from unidirectional to interactive websites, asynchronous to synchronous exchanges, and stand alone to networked real-time simulations.
Investigating the Degree into which CLT is Implemented in Twenty- three EFL Classes in an East-European Post-communist Country
This dissertation is an investigation into the extent to which CLT (Communicative Language Training) is being used in EFL (English as a Foreign Language) classes in Albania. As shown below, the Albanian education system – similar to that of many other East European post-communist countries – was heavily influenced by the Soviet models of education. As a result, Albanian students have been taught their L2 (second language) for more than five decades by memorising grammatical rules and isolated words, as well as by translating sentences from English into Albanian and vice-versa.
Electronic professional development, action research and blogging: An ideal combination
Information and Communication Technology (ICT) provides tools for electronic interaction that enables global dissemination of information and inter-personal connectivity. An internet-based electronic professional development course for English language teachers can allow any teacher with access to a computer and the internet to participate.
Differentiated error correction: A grounded theory
The findings of theory-first studies about error correction are inconclusive since they compare different techniques of error correction without specifying the conditions under which they can be applied. Through open-ended interviews and in line with the sampling procedures of Grounded Theory…
The Reality of English Conversation Classes: A Study in a South Korean University
Government Language Planning and Policies (LPPs) have affected how English is learned and promoted in South Korea. One result has been requiring university students to take English conversation classes. However, it was through personal interactions with these classes that the focus seemed to be on general English proficiency rather than on conversation learning. Additionally, it seemed that conversation classes were not guided by any acknowledged goals or an evaluation process of those goals, which seems to have generated much divergence across these classes.
Classroom Interaction in Story-Based Lessons with Young Learners
This study evaluated the innovative introduction of a story-based approach in EFL classrooms with young learners in Taiwan. This article presents the features of classroom interaction in the story-based lessons through detailed analyses of classroom discourse in a teacher-fronted classroom setting.
The New Role of English Language Teachers: Developing Students’ Critical Thinking in Hong Kong Secondary School Classrooms
In 1999, the critical thinking syllabus (CDC, 1999) was issued by the Curriculum Development Council to all junior secondary school English language teachers in Hong Kong. Different from the earlier curriculum guidelines, the recommendations highlight the importance of thinking in English language teaching and learning…
One Teacher’s Development as a Reflective Practitioner
Using qualitative case study methodology, this article explores a language teacher’s development as a reflective practitioner, while she was engaged on a three-year in-service BA (TESOL) programme in the Middle East. Data gained from observations and interviews reveal evidence of growth in her reflective qualities, skills and capacity to reflect critically, as she learned to solve teaching problems, drawing on public as well as personal theories.
Parameters of Language Teaching in the Context of High Schools of Iran: A Data-First Approach
Theory-first approaches to language teaching research assume that teaching is directed by factors internal to the teachers, i.e., teacher cognition. Along these lines, second language teacher education programs immerse language teachers in general concepts and principles of language teaching to remove their cognitive constraints.
Effects of Electronic Portfolios on EFL Oral Performance
Electronic portfolios (e-portfolios) refer to the online virtual spaces where students upload artifacts to document and showcase their learning processes. In the literature, some studies have examined the practice of this novel learning tool in L1 and L2 writing classrooms. However, few attempts have hitherto been invested to put to empirical test its impact on speaking skills.
