Monthly Editions
Exploring a Summer English Language Camp Experience in China: A Descriptive Case Study
This paper reports on a descriptive study of a summer English language camp held in China. Chinese youths ages 8-18 were taught conversational English through a variety of classes and activities. Instructors were visiting teachers from the USA assisted by local Chinese teachers.
The Effect of L1 and CAI on Grammar Learning: An Error Analysis of Taiwanese Beginning EFL Learners’ English Essays
The purpose of this study was to examine whether the CAI (computer assisted instruction) tutorial program had an impact on the EFL (English as a Foreign Language) grammar skills of the beginning EFL language learners. A quasi-experimental research design was conducted at a private college located in southern Taiwan.
Conversation Means Talking: A Case Study in Encouraging Participation in a Thai University English Conversation Class
On arrival in Thailand in November 2003 as a teacher at Dhurakijpundit University I was allocated, among other subjects, two classes of “Beginner English Conversation Skills”. At the outset I explained to my students that ‘conversation’ meant ‘talking’, and that meant them talking with each other and with me.
From EFL to Content-Based Instruction: what English teachers take with them into the sociolinguistics lecture
This paper describes the teaching of sociolinguistics to Japanese and Chinese 2nd grade students in a college in Japan by a teacher trained in English as Foreign Language (EFL). It shows how the native speaker EFL teacher employs a methodological combination of teacher transmission and student collaboration as an effective means to teach this particular content-based subject to non-native English speakers using primarily English as the instructional language.
Benefits of Using Short Stories in the EFL Context
The purpose of this article is to familiarize EFL instructors with the effectiveness of using literature in language instruction. While some instructors may still believe that teaching EFL encompasses focusing on linguistic benefits only, so eventually their students will communicate in the target language, others who have integrated literature in the curricula have realized that literature adds a new dimension to the teaching of EFL.
E- lectures in teacher education: Boon or bane?
This paper centres on incorporating electronic lectures (e-lectures) online into a pre-service English Language teacher education programme. It examines the nature of streaming video, the context for implementing video streaming of lectures, and considers the benefits and problems arising from integrating such a form of technology into a teaching methodology course for trainee teachers.
Munby’s ‘needs analysis’ model and ESP
The aim of this paper is to discuss some criticisms made of Munby’s (1978) book ‘Communicative Syllabus Design’ with a particular focus on Munby’s ‘needs analysis’ model. It also points out some validity of this model in ESP (English for Specific Purposes) course design.
Comparison of Three Methods of Assessing Difficulty
Text difficulty has been a concern of educational researchers and practitioners for more than 70 years (Chall and Conrad, 1991) and many have used different methods to assess the difficulty of the text (Chall and Dale, 1995). In fact, one of the most important aspects of textbook development has been considered to be texts of appropriate difficulty by educational publishers.
Two Examples of CALL Use In The Classroom
This paper is intended to serve as a guideline for teachers in the use of CALL in the English Language classroom and was written in Dublin, when the author was teaching TOEFL exam classes to a group of predominantly Asian students and decided that the material needed to be more motivational and more closely related to students’ own interests.
Collocation Errors Made by Arab Learners of English
Systematic and in-depth analyses of EFL learners’ lexical errors in general and of collocation errors in particular are relatively rare. This study presents empirical data verifying the informal observations and theoretic assertions that EFL learners produce ‘unnatural’ word combinations. A total of 420 collocations were found in 42 essays written by Arabic-speaking university students majoring in English.
