This field study report covers three major areas: 1. the general significance of using literature in advanced Chinese EFL class 2. the approach to literature in the language classes 3. criteria for the selection of texts for advanced Chinese EFL learners The general significance of using literature in advanced EFL classes is that 1) literature has human relevance in that literature broadens the mind and promotes personal development; 2) literature provides a useful vehicle for teaching second language skills; 3) wide reading in literature will help in developing communicative competence, because literature provides knowledge about culture and examples of language in discourse. In searching for an ideal accroach to incorporating literature into language teaching, a thematic approach to Australian literature is proposed, the advantages of which have been discussed in detail. A sample of a thematic unit on "images of woman in early Australian literature" illustrates how to use a thematic approach in China's social context. This study argues for the inclusion of poetry for its linguistic and cultural values. A sample lesson on teaching "The Man from Snowy River" is given. Finally the study points out that ethical values, linguistic and stylistic appropriateness of the texts, student interest, and the background knowledge required should be the main concerns in selecting texts for advanced Chinese learners. A list of suggested texts in thematic grouping is given.

This Field Study Report concentrates on the appropriate language testing techniques for EFL tertiary teachers in different foreign language institutions and centres in Vietnam. It falls into five chapters. The first chapter is a brief introduction and an overview of the problems with EFL testing and assessment in Vietnam. It describes the need for this study, its general testing terminology. It also describes some general problems, problems with specific testing techniques and problems with testing assessment. The second chapter discusses the role of classroom language testing, the relationship between language teaching and testing and the use of different kinds of tests. In the third chapter, four qualities of a good test and instructions to the testee are considered. After discussing the use of various kinds of tests, the Study Report examines different EFL testing and assessment techniques in chapter IV. This chapter focuses on the pros and cons of major language testing and assessment techniques such as translation, essay writing, oral interviews, multiple-choice items, shortanswer items, cloze tests, dictations, terminal assessment. Critical comments on these techniques are also given. In the final chapter, some practical suggestions and proposals for EFL testing and assessment in Vietnam are made. It is hoped that these suggestions and proposals will help to improve the present language testing situation in Vietnam.

This field study is aimed at exploring a suitable curriculum in listening comprehension, especially for training Chinese EFL (English as a Foreign Language) students. The paper is concerned with relating three themes: why the emphasis should be laid on listening practice, what strategies should be used to develop a feasible curriculum and what factors should be considered during the designing process. This study project is intended to be useful to both Chinese EFL teachers in search of a listening curriculum and the students who need ear training in EFL study. The basic aims, objectives and scope of the study are explained in the Introduction. The first chapter presents an overview of existing difficulties and problems in developing the aural abilities of the Chinese EFL students. In Chapter 2, the importance of establishing clear and definite teaching aims is discussed and two basic aims of teaching listening comprehension are suggested according to the students' needs in their communication with native speakers and in their further study of EFL. Chapters 3 and 4 are concerned with choosing and sequencing the course content. Criteria of selecting materials and of classifying unit aims and objectives are studied in an attempt to find a way of teaching listening skills in a systematic manner. Chapter 5 outlines the main teaching activities and strategies of achieving the established objectives. The final chapter is devoted to the discussion of establishing an evaluation procedure throughout the whole designing process, with stress put on testing students' progress and the results of their learning. The whole content of the study is summarized through a suggested curriculum model in the Conclusion. In the process of study, theoretical concepts and linguistic principles basic to understanding spoken English are discussed and used as a reasonable basis for the curriculum. It is intended that this field study will contribute in some way to curriculum design in Listening comprehension, a facet of TEFL which has seldom been systematically treated in China.

This study explores English education in two local private kindergarten classes in Korea. The purpose of this study is to understand English education in private kindergartens in Korea by closely looking at pedagogical practices in two kindergarten classes and the insiders' perceptions of the pedagogical practices. The research questions guiding this study are as follows: (a) What are the pedagogical practices relative to English education in two private kindergarten classes in Korea?; and (b) How do the members of the two classes (i.e., the child participants, ECE teacher, and English instructors) perceive the language, language teaching and learning, and the pedagogical practices? The study was conducted as a qualitative study through the fieldwork using such methods as participant observations, interviews, questionnaires, and collection of documents and artifacts. The study took place in private kindergartens located in two separate communities in Korea. In each kindergarten, I focused on a particular class: The fieldwork in the two research sites spanned a two-and-a-half-month period, between May and July 2011. Regarding the first research question, I found that members of each class co-constructed the pedagogical practices relative to English education in a locally specific way. Within their particular context, the members of Red Class were involved in creating a caring classroom environment consisting of English lessons, learning, learners, and reciprocal relationships among them. The members of Green Class played their respective roles as leaners, ECE teacher, or English language instructors. However, many of the learners tended to care little about the English lessons or learning but all the same were sure to finish their English tasks. Regarding the second research question, the members of the two classes perceived English language, language teaching and/or learning, and the pedagogical practices based on their experiences in particular contexts. However, their perceptions, at the same time, reflected in various ways the larger culture. Red Class members tended to describe and interpret their pedagogical practices in positive ways and to consider English useful and important. Green Class members tended to talk more about their pedagogical practices with multiple voices. / text

No description available.

Recent research on the role, the development, and the effectiveness of reading comprehension instructions has provided substantial results concerning the methodology of teaching foreign languages. Cognitive load theory has assisted researchers to recognize cognitive effects in reading comprehensions that can lead to improvements in reading skill. The aim of this thesis is to analyse the split-attention effect in reading comprehension instructions to assist teachers of English to facilitate learning. Three experiments were designed to investigate whether the split attention effect applied to reading comprehension in EFL/ESL by comparing two instructional formats: split-attention and integrated formats. Participants were randomly allocated to one of the two groups and received one of the two instructional formats. The integrated format included a reading text and IO questions integrating physically into the text. The split-attention format consisted of the same reading text and the same questions at the end of the text. Results indicated that the split attention format increased extraneous cognitive load and interfered with the reading comprehension process compared to the integrated format.

Thesis (M.S.)--Brigham Young University. Dept. of Educational Psychology. / Subjects taken from Timpview High School Seminary classes. Bibliography: leaves 27-31, 45-49.

Thesis (D.A.)--Illinois State University, 1995. / Title from title page screen, viewed May 8, 2006. Dissertation Committee: Irene Brosnahan (chair), Janice Neuleib, Maurice Scharton. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 224-248) and abstract. Also available in print.

Due to an increasing number of students in the Swedish schools who has another first language than Swedish, multilingualism is now a feature all teachers must consider – and language teachers in particular. While multilingualism previously was believed to cause intellectual disabilities, more current research has showed the benefits of being proficient in several languages. Pedagogical strategies such as translanguaging, in which a students’ entire linguistic repertoire is recognized, has been developed, and studies have shown that this has increased students’ metalinguistic awareness. Despite this, a policy analysis of steering documents shows that other languages possibly could be interpreted as a problem in English education. By conducting interviews with English teachers I have identified positive as well as challenging aspects of using students’ first languages in English education in a multilingual classroom. This has concluded in a number of suggestions to policy makers, educators and researchers, in order to better make use of the positive aspects of multilingualism and solve some of the challenges.

This study’s aim is to investigate what strategies within cooperative learning teachers’ use in the English classroom. An additional aim is to investigate how teachers’ believe cooperative learning contributes to interaction between students. The study focuses on the perspective of the teachers. Cooperative learning is a pedagogical method with roots from the sociocultural perspective. Furthermore, it is described by Kagan and Stenlev (2006) as a method where students work in groups and cooperate in order to achieve the mutual goal. According to Kagan and Stenlev (2006), the students’ communicative interaction between each other is one of the critical elements of cooperative learning. The empirical material consists of qualitative interviews with four legitimized teachers. I chose to conduct a qualitative research in order to guarantee valid answers due to the time given. After the interviews, the recorded answers were analyzed and compared to one and other in order to reach answers to my research question. After having finished the result analyze, the recordings of the interviews were deleted. The result of the study shows that teachers tend to use following strategies within cooperative learning: think-pair-share, team-pair-solo, quiz-quiz-trade, jigsaw, poem for two voices and placement consensus. Furthermore, it shows that teachers’ attitude and willingness to use cooperative learning can depend on when they got their degree. However, additional factors may have an impact, such as the lack of further education in connection to the introduction of the new steering document in 2011.