This research is a case study of stakeholders' perceptions of learning and provision during a specific English language program. The pedagogical context of the program was clearly defined. English teachers from Hong Kong who had either Cantonese or Mandarin as their first language (L1) came to Australia for intensive language proficiency training and assessment. The Hong Kong government determined the program's syllabus, including assessment instruments and criteria in the Syllabus Specifications for the Language Proficiency Assessment for Teachers (English Language) (LPATE) (Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR), 2000). The Australian provider had created the program from the specifications and had developed appropriate teaching and assessment materials for its implementation in all syllabus components. Additionally, the provider was responsible for administering and marketing the program. Delivery was in immersion mode with the Hong Kong teachers travelling to Australia and residing with Australian 'homestay' families for the 6-week program. The 'guiding issue/question' for the case study was: How did the multiple stakeholders perceive learning and provision? The study drew on a corpus of data collected from the perspectives of various stakeholders within provision of a 6-week in-service and education training program (INSET) (Bolam, 1986) for Chinese first language (L1) primary and secondary school teachers. Stakeholders represented in the study were teachers who participated as learners; the researcher who was a part-time language instructor; a course designer who was a full-time language instructor in the program; and an administrator who also held a wider role in the general marketing of INSET. Multiple forms of data were collected and analysed within a case study design (Stake, 1995, 2000). These included: a document analysis; pretest and posttest questionnaires; semi-structured interviews from individuals and focus groups; stimulated recall interviews from individuals; learner journals; and a researcher journal. Existing knowledge was reviewed through a search of literature, policies and accounts that examined four contextual layers that framed the study and situated it in terms of global, local and intercultural issues. Specifically, the layers were: (a) imperatives for Australian higher education to internationalise; (b) provision of INSET for teachers of English as a Second or Foreign Language (ESL/EFL); (c) language education and proficiency in Hong Kong; and (d) intercultural communication and culture learning as they pertained to an immersion program. While higher education institutions in Australia have recognised the imperative to internationalise, some recent initiatives are poorly researched. Bodycott and Crew (2001a, p. 23) noted a 'dearth' (p. 2) of literature surrounding short-term, immersion versions of INSET such as that used in the current research. A review of literature where INSET had been used for the education of language teachers provided important insights into issues that might affect learning and provision. These involved the extent to which teachers' home country contexts were included in the design and content of programs, whether 'one-off' programs could be effective in the long-term, and what models underpinned the current design of INSET. The major gaps in the literature were (a) reported research on INSET where it is delivered as a short-term, immersion program to South East Asian teachers; and (b) published work on the LPATE as a learning-teaching experience. The current study attempted to address these gaps. While there was an absence of literature on the specific context of the INSET under study, the literature did reveal ways for the teacher/researcher to objectify and reflect on INSET provision. Literature on interactionism and social constructivism provided insights into the role and effect of the teacher/researcher in a data-gathering process. The case study approach was reviewed and Stake's (1995, 2000) design used in the study within a theoretical framework of social constructivism. In its reporting, the case accounts for forces of change surrounding the participants' INSET. These included the internationalisation of Australian higher education and curriculum reform in Hong Kong. At more personal levels, participants provided reflective data throughout the immersion experience. These data from the Hong Kong teachers indicated perceptions of strong positive growth in their English proficiency. This is an outcome consistent with the purpose of the INSET, which was to improve and benchmark proficiency standards. The data also revealed that the teachers had learned much about pedagogy and culture, which formed insights into intercultural negotiation and learning. The providers - an administrator and an instructor - supported accounts their learners had given of learning and provision. Yet, each had particular views regarding what constituted success in delivery of an INSET. While the case study provided detailed explication of the 'nature' of this particular INSET, this researcher supports Crew and Bodycott's (2001) call for further, longitudinal research into the phenomenon. Drawing on findings from this study, specific research questions are suggested to investigate the effects of immersion INSET. Within the constraints of case study method, implications are drawn for the design and delivery of future short-term, immersion INSET. A detailed mapping of what stakeholders reported as culture learning and cross-cultural experiences provided an account of this aspect of the phenomenon. There was strong evidence that a component based on intercultural communication should be included in any future trial to inform INSET design. A new model, entitled 'Intercultural INSET', is proposed for future implementation and research. It incorporates domains of learning established from the case study data and is informed by a theoretical construct designed in the current study and termed, 'Positive Effect Chain'. The proposed model embeds the design within contexts significant to the teacher/participants and to their ongoing critical reflection. This ongoing reflection informs thinking about the proposed INSET course evaluation. Finally, the proposed model extends INSET into a post-immersion phase. This subsequent phase extends participants' INSET interaction, once they have returned to their own countries and to their work in home classrooms. The model seeks enduring and effective learning and requires trial and further study. The case study approach provided a successful vehicle for organising the data of the research and for framing the discussion. It also yielded indications as to the means by which INSET providers might structure ongoing feedback and assessment of their intended curriculum design. These indications are reflected in the proposed 'Intercultural INSET' design.

This field study proposes a basis for the establishment of a professional development program for Vietnamese high school teachers. The social background and the problems of teaching and learning English in Vietnamese high schools are discussed, including the students' goals in learning English in high schools; the teachers' qualifications and the methods of teaching commonly used; the coursebooks and how they are used; learning facilities, and the attitudes and policy decisions of education authorities. To develop effective solutions to these problems, it is necessary also to know the background to teaching and learning English in Hanoi Foreign Languages Teachers' College. In-service training is of vital importance in the education of all nations. A review of what other people have done in this field is included with particular reference to the problems which are relevant to the situation in Vietnam. Given the constraints of funding and work procedures, a short full-time in-service course would be the most practicable for the Vietnamese situation. A survey of the needs of high school teachers in their professional development has been carried out and is discussed in relation to the priorities to be given to various components of an in-service syllabus. The priorities were found to be: to improve the language, teaching techniques and awareness of a communicative approach to teaching and learning language of high school teachers in Vietnam. These priorities having been identified, the study considers: iv 1 - the syllabus model. 2 - the development of specific goals. 3 - the development of content. 4 - possible modifications of the syllabus in the future. The solution to the problem of professional development must take into account not only the work of internationally known authorities, but also the needs of Vietnamese teachers. The proposed course suggests ways of finding out and meeting the needs of participants and points to possible future development.

The increasing number of economic and cultural aid programmes for Vietnam to reconstruct its war-torn economy in recent years from the United Nations Development Programme and other international and governmental organizations has created a great demand for English language teaching and learning in Vietnam. The language problems that face Vietnamese scientists and technicians working in these aid programmes have been a major concern of many educational institutions in Vietnam and a reason for the author of this Study Report to take up this study. Chapter one of this study covers major stages of development of the teaching of English for Specific Purposes (ESP) and various factors that influence the teaching of ESP. Chapter two discusses some current issues in the teaching of ESP in Vietnam with special reference to course organization, syllabus and material design at the Hanoi Foreign Language College. It also points out some misunderstanding and misconception in the teaching of English to Vietnamese scientists and technicians. Chapter three looks at major language problems that Vietnamese students meet when they go to study at different colleges or universities in English speaking countries. A close investigation will be carried out over a number of Vietnamese veterinary doctors studying at the university of Queensland in Australia. Chapter four is concerned with the selection of suitable syllabus models for ESP/EAP courses at HFLC and also attempts to work out appropriate syllabuses for EAP courses for Vietnamese students going to study overseas. The final chapter suggests some further considerations for organizing ESP/EAP courses at HFLC especially for material production, ESP teacher training and ESP testing. It is hoped that this Study Report will give language teachers in the ESP Department at the Hanoi Foreign Languages College a clearer picture of what ESP is all about and provide some guidelines for successful organization of teaching ESP and EAP to Vietnamese students.

Increasing development of the relationship between Vietnam and other countries has resulted in a great demand for English language teaching (ELT) throughout the country. The need is ever greater for a considerable number of people who can use English effectively in their work. However, at present ELT in Vietnam is still far from satisfactory. There exists a common problem of communicative incompetence in Vietnamese learners. ELT in the Hanoi Foreign Languages Teachers' College (HFLTC) is taken to illustrate the fact that even after five years of training, students frequently remain deficient in the ability to actually use the language, to understand its use in normal communication, and to carry out their teaching adequately afterwards. That existing situation demands a critical look at ELT in all institutions to work out suitable materials and methods to be used in the Vietnamese setting. This work has been undertaken as an exploratory study of this problem. To provide a context for the study, the background to ELT in Vietnam is reviewed. Following it is a detailed description of different approaches used in ELT with reference to the teaching and learning situations in Vietnam. Special emphasis is placed on the differences between conventional approaches and the currently influential one - the Communicative Approach. A detailed comparison is made between two lessons taken from structuralbased and functional/notional-based textbooks representing two distinct approaches. This comparison will be examined from the methodological point of view, investigating, for example, how language is treated in the two approaches, how different types of activities are used, and the role of teacher and learner in the two approaches in order to highlight a possible fresh approach for Vietnamese coursebook designers, teachers and learners in ELT. A sample lesson based on the Communicative Approach is finally provided to assist any attempts to teach and learn English communicatively. It is hoped that this survey will contribute to reducing the existing problem of inadequate communicative competence in Vietnamese learners.

With the increase in international communication and the growing demand for foreign language professionals in the last decade, the teaching of foreign languages, especially English, has gained considerable prominence in Chinese education. Despite the long history of English teaching in China, there are still significant deficiencies in this area. If these deficiencies are to be addressed, then methodology is a crucial variable worthy of examination. Many of the TEFL (Teaching English as Foreign Language) methods developed in the last twenty years are unknown to the Chinese teachers, although they may be introduced to China in the future. Since these methods are products of Western experience, a scrutiny of their relevance to the Chinese teaching situation is necessary. In particular, it is important to focus on the psychological appropriateness of these methods to the Chinese setting. A number of the most crucial psychological issues, such as learner's motivation, aptitude, personality and learning style, are discussed in CHAPTER 2, together with those social and cultural influences which may affect the learner's psychological attributes. CHAPTER 3 provides a detailed, yet not exhaustive, description of a range of TEFL methodologies, which may provide potential solutions to the deficiencies that have been identified. Here the emphasis is on psychological theories that underlie these methods and on their psychological impact on the learner. CHAPTER 4 moves to a specific investigation of the psychological attributes of Chinese students. To this end, data have been obtained from a study specifically designed for this paper, and used as a basis for evaluating the motivation, personality, affect and learning style of English majors at ERWAI (Peking Second Foreign Language Institute). This evaluation is further supplemented by the views of foreign visitors to China and by the results of some published studies of Chinese nationals in America. Based on the discussion in the previous chapters, the fifth and final chapter concludes with an overview of the appropriateness of TEFL methodologies to the Chinese situation.

This study examines the listening comprehension difficulties of Chinese learners of English as a foreign language at the tertiary level by means of two listening comprehension tests that were specifically designed for this paper and administered to 50 students in the English Department of ERWAI (the Peking Foreign Language Institute No. 2). The students' listening comprehension ability is evaluated on the basis of the results of multiple-choice test items, and the students' oral performance in answering questions, all of which have been recorded and transcribed in full. Proceeding from the date and from the theory and practice of language teaching and learning, suggestions relating to this area are discussed. Chapter 1 introduces the background to the problem, in which some basic facts concerning the teaching of English as a foreign language at the primary, secondary and tertiary levels in China are provided. This serves as a general review of tertiary students' entry behaviour in learning English as a foreign language. In addition, the aims and objectives of foreign language teaching based on ERWAI students' future professional needs are discussed. Chapter 2 moves to a discussion of the format and procedures of the two listening comprehension tests, followed by the description and interpretation of the test results. Chapter 3 discusses the nature of the listening process and surveys the listening strategies needed for successful communication. In Chapter 4, proposals for improving the teaching of listening comprehension at ERWAI are recommended.

University departments that offer graduate programs require feedback to assess the quality of the education they offer. Feedback on the quality of education is provided in the form of program evaluation. In the general approach to program evaluation, outsiders, i.e., people who are not parts of a program, do the evaluation. This descriptive study starts out with the belief that the best feedback in program evaluation can only come from insiders, i.e., faculty, students, and alumni, who are parts of a particular program. In order to capture the perspectives of insiders on the quality related characteristics of a program, this study evaluated a master&rsquo / s degree program in TESOL (Teaching of English to Speakers of Other Languages) at an American university in a practical and cost-effective way, using a minimum number of evaluators. All faculty, students, and alumni of the program form the participants in this study. Regular program evaluation studies are conducted to do one type of evaluation only and they do not seek insiders&rsquo / opinions. Unlike such studies, this evaluative research study aims to go beyond that familiar narrow focus and provide a richer description of the program it evaluates. Its research design and the data collection methods employed in it are chosen to achieve that goal. These enable the present study to have a broader scope than those of the regular program evaluation studies as the collected data can be used for more than one type of analysis. The results of data collection show that all parties express positive opinion on the aspects of the program that are directly related to the teaching that takes place in classes. Areas of the program that need improvement are also introduced, and recommendations to overcome them are presented.

Most teachers prefer not to write and publish on teaching. As a result, teaching tends to be written by researchers and others who are not core participants in the practices and contexts they are writing about. Furthermore, the narratives these writers provide are frequently told and explained in language that teachers find inauthentic. Since composing in writing is a key component of learning, teachers who do not write miss out on valuable opportunities for self-growth; and those who do not publish their reflections in any written form forgo a source of collaborative learning. This Doctor of Philosophy study examines the possibilities of published reflective writing in teacher learning for TESOL practitioners.

The aim of this study was to investigate teachers’ perspectives on how they want to be supervised with a view to critiquing existing practices in light of teacher experience, viewpoint and professional aspirations. Documents used in the supervisory cycle in the setting of the study were analyzed to develop a broader understanding regarding the issues that comprise the supervisory activities and the supervisory criteria as documented by the educational organization that was the setting of this study. In addition, a total of eleven preparatory year EFL teachers in a university in Saudi Arabia were interviewed. The study used qualitative methods, with the data subjected to rigorous analysis that employed an analytical approach informed by the principles of grounded theory. The ideas gathered from the qualitative analysis of the interview data - complemented by the insights developed from document analysis - led to the emergence of two themes under which teachers’ expectations and ideas were grouped: 1) the professional aspect and 2) the social aspect. Under the professional aspect, teachers discussed their ideas regarding activities and concepts directly related to teaching practice and professional activities of teachers. The second theme, the social aspect, covers concepts which are related to the way the organization deals with teachers. Analysis of teachers’ interview data showed that there was some level of commonality between the ideas and expectations of teachers regarding some of the general points related to how they want to be supervised. However, there was considerable disparity in their priorities and their expectations regarding the overall approach of the supervisory system, to the extent that at times the expectations and priorities of some teachers were incompatible with and mutually exclusive of the expectations of the other teachers. This led to the conclusion that a multi-streamed supervisory system would provide for the needs of teachers with different expectations, priorities and needs. Such a system would have different streams with different activities for beginning and veteran teachers, with one or two more streams in between for teachers who do not fit in either stream. A multi-streamed system could allow the teachers the opportunity to articulate their needs and expectations and it does not impose a ‘one-size-fits-all’ system on all the teachers. Furthermore, it was recommended that supervisors should draw on the literature on professional life cycles and consider variables related to the workplace (regulations, management style, social expectations etc.) and to teachers’ personal lives (family, cumulative life experiences, individual disposition etc.) so that they can make informed decisions when assigning teachers to different streams within a multi-streamed supervisory system.

The aim of this project was to explore the jigsaw-method as a teaching tool in English as a Second Language-classrooms, and to design and evaluate a jigsaw-style lesson that aims to promote student activation and communication. To achieve this goal, we conducted a case study in which we designed and tried out a jigsaw-style lesson in two classes. We then evaluated the lessons through a survey which was analysed using thematic content analysis. The results of the survey showed that the negative aspects voiced by the participants belonged to the two main themes Perceived difficulty and Perceived lack of time. Additionally, the participants made several suggestions for improvements which were identified as belonging to the following three themes: Predetermined groups (Based on skill), More time for each step of the lesson, and Pre-activity & Prior Knowledge. The results from the survey, in combination with a review of literature on second language teaching and prior research, was used to propose several changes to the lesson format as it was used in the case study. For example, we proposed the addition of a pre-reading exercise aimed at giving prior knowledge and activating schemas, as well as the addition of graphic organisers to help provide a clear focus to the different stages of the lesson. The proposed changes were aimed at alleviating the difficulties voiced by the participants in the case study. The changes were then applied to the case study lesson as an example.