Working	  Papers	  in	  Language	  Education	  and	  Research	  Vol.	  1	  No.	  2.	  February	  2014,	  2-­‐1	  Working Papers
in Language Education and Research
http://eliworkingpapers.org/
EDITORIAL
Publication date: February, 2014

ISSN 2187-4972

Editorial	  –	  Neil	  Johnson	  Welcome	  to	  the	  February,	  2014	  issue	  of	  the	  online	  Working	  Papers	  in	  Language	  Education	  and	  Research.	  	  In	  this	  issue	  of	  Working	  Papers,	  we	  have	  five	  articles	  that	  provide	  insight	  into	  the	  research	  and	  practice	  being	  explored	  by	  members	  of	  the	  ELI	  from	  early	  2013	  through	  towards	  the	  early	  part	  of	  2014.	  	  These	  articles	  represent	  work	  presented	  in	  international	  forums	  and	  also	  ongoing	  research	  being	  conducted	  within	  the	  ELI	  at	  Kanda	  University	  of	  International	  Studies.	  	  The	  authors	  introduce	  a	  range	  of	  research	  and	  practice	  to	  hopefully	  inspire	  future	  work,	  collaboration,	  and	  classroom	  innovation.	  It	  is	  our	  hope	  that	  many	  of	  the	  pieces	  published	  in	  this	  forum	  will	  go	  on	  to	  stimulate	  discussion	  and	  collaboration	  and	  eventually	  develop	  into	  full	  research	  projects.	  The	  practice-­‐driven	  papers	  in	  this	  second	  issue	  should	  be	  of	  interest	  to	  practitioners	  in	  the	  Japanese	  university	  context	  and	  beyond.	  
Dani	  Fischer	  introduces	  work	  being	  done	  in	  the	  IC	  Reading	  and	  Writing	  program,	  where	  a	  total	  re-­‐visioning	  of	  the	  curriculum	  has	  taken	  place.	  Fischer	  uses	  the	  example	  of	  an	  authentic	  reading	  text	  from	  a	  hotel	  website	  to	  explore	  how	  a	  literacies	  approach	  to	  reading	  and	  writing	  can	  encapsulate	  the	  social,	  linguistic,	  and	  cognitive	  aspects	  of	  language	  use.	  	  By	  understanding	  language	  as	  a	  social	  semiotic	  system	  for	  meaning	  making,	  representing	  the	  position	  and	  interests	  of	  the	  author,	  learners	  develop	  the	  kinds	  of	  awareness	  that	  are	  crucial	  for	  successful	  participation	  in	  many	  digital	  and	  other	  contexts.	  	  	  	  Erin	  Hughes’	  paper	  offers	  a	  preliminary	  description	  of	  ongoing	  work	  in	  her	  EISO	  3	  content-­‐	  based	  course.	  	  In	  this	  course,	  learners	  are	  challenged,	  through	  structured	  fieldwork	  activities,	  to	  really	  push	  up	  against	  the	  unwritten,	  yet	  clearly	  understood,	  social	  rules	  and	  boundaries	  that	  govern	  daily	  life.	  	  This	  practice,	  influenced	  by	  the	  Ethnomethodology	  of	  Garfinkel,	  has	  important	  potential	  to	  further	  our	  understanding	  of	  the	  role	  of	  identity	  in	  the	  learning	  of	  a	  foreign	  language.	  

1Working	  Papers	  in	  Language	  Education	  and	  Research	  Vol.	  1	  No.	  2.	  February	  2014,	  2-­‐1	  	  Jo	  Mynard	  and	  David	  McLoughlin	  present	  work	  that	  seeks	  to	  understand	  the	  important	  place	  that	  affect	  plays	  in	  learning	  motivation	  and	  development.	  	  Mynard	  and	  McLoughlin	  offer	  a	  brief	  review	  of	  the	  literature	  on	  affect	  and	  try	  to	  distinguish	  some	  of	  the	  terminology	  that	  surrounds	  the	  concept.	  	  The	  concept	  is	  then	  applied	  to	  a	  brief	  excerpt	  from	  a	  Learning	  Advising	  session.	  	  Analysis	  suggests	  that	  the	  close	  interpersonal	  relationship	  that	  learning	  advisors	  develop	  with	  students	  can	  and	  does	  impact	  positively	  on	  the	  affect	  of	  learners.	  	  Donald	  Patterson	  Asks	  explores	  how	  students	  feel	  about	  evaluating	  their	  peers	  and	  being	  evaluated	  by	  them	  when	  giving	  presentations.	  For	  example,	  what	  can	  an	  instructor	  do	  to	  ensure	  students	  receive	  adequate	  feedback	  in	  larger	  classes?	  This	  paper	  addresses	  these	  questions	  by	  describing	  a	  preliminary	  study	  examining	  the	  efficacy	  of	  peer	  feedback	  on	  affect	  in	  small-­‐group	  presentations.	  	  Findings	  suggest	  that	  peer	  evaluation	  can	  be	  a	  welcome	  addition	  to	  teacher	  evaluation.	  	  Akiyuki	  Sakai	  offers	  a	  critical	  discourse	  analysis	  of	  reading	  texts	  from	  an	  Australian	  school	  context.	  	  His	  work	  confirms	  that	  reading	  books	  designed	  for	  specific	  academic	  or	  schooling	  contexts	  will	  often	  positively	  represent	  particular	  ideological	  positions	  and	  marginalize	  others.	  	  Caution	  and	  awareness	  are	  recommended	  when	  approaching	  such	  texts	  as	  potential	  material	  for	  second	  and	  foreign	  language	  classrooms	  in	  particular.	  	  The	  Other	  Papers	  section	  of	  this	  issue	  is	  also	  important	  as	  it	  highlights	  the	  publication	  profile	  of	  the	  ELI.	  	  This	  section	  features	  abstracts	  of	  papers	  that	  have	  been	  funded	  for	  international	  conference	  presentation,	  and	  have	  subsequently	  been	  published	  in	  a	  variety	  of	  conference	  proceedings,	  as	  well	  as	  in	  national,	  and	  international	  forums.	  	  	  2