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Magellan K.K.
Magellan K.K. are Independent International Investment Advisers. We
advise the long stay Educational Professional working in Japan, of
whatever nationality, whether Language Teacher, Lecturer or University
Professor on how best to use their privileged expatriate status to achieve
their long term financial objectives.
As an Educator living and working in Japan you have joined the ranks ofthe long stay Educational Professionals who choose to live and workoverseas. The motivations to do so are many and complex but common tomost is the opportunity it provides by way of an income higher than could
be enjoyed at home to accumulate some sort of wealth. One of the pricesthat all expatriates pay for the benefits of living and working overseas isthat they lose the advantages of the Retirement, Medical and Healthcarearrangements that their domestically based counterparts continue to enjoy.
Magellan, commercial members of JALT, specialize in the Off Shore
Saving, Investment and Insurance schemes that all expatriates need toreplace those they have chosen to leave behind. Whether your need is tofill the hole in your retirement planning, save to buy a home or simply to
enjoy the benefits of off shore banking, we can help. With access to thewidest possible range of products in the international market place, adetailed knowledge of the complex rules relating to off shore taxation,
current and future residence / domicile issues, we can help you design anappropriate, tailor made solution. To discuss the expatriate solution tothese, or indeed any other financial matter, contact in the first instance,with no obligation, Jim Neufeld, Magellan's Country Manager for WesternJapan at:Magellan K.K.
Grand Palace Bldg. #705
2 - 2 - 18 Nagai Higashi
Sumiyoshi-ku
OSAKA
558 - 0004
Tel-: 06 - 4700 - 3158

Fax: 06 - 4700 - 3159

Email: mokk@gol.com

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Aims:To provide a forum for the presentation and discussion of research, ideas and curriculum activities of broad interest to College and University Language Educators.

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EXICIIIIII
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Hugh Nicol Membership Chair: Miyazaki Koritsu Daigaku, 1-1-2
Funatsuka, Miyaz.akiishi 880-8520; (h) Tel: 0985-22-8812; (w) 0985-202000, ext 1306 Fax: 0985-20-4807
E-mail: <hnicoll@funatsuka.miyazaki-mu.acJp >Alan Mackenzie, CUE SIG Coordinator and On CUE Layout: Keisen
University; Riverside Heights 2a, Yaguchi 3-12-12, Ota-ku,Tokyo 1460093 Tel/Fax: 03-3757-7008 E-mail: <asm@typhoon.co.jp>
Steven Snyder, Treasurer: Kyushu Univesity of Health and Welfare;
1714-1 Yoshino-cho, Nobeoka-shi, 882-8508 Tel: 0982-23-5670 E-mail :Michael Carroll, Publications Chair/On CUE Editor: Kyoto University
Of Education; English Dept., I Fujinomori-Cho, Fukakusa, Fushimi-Ku,
Kyoto 612-0863; (h) Tel: 075-723-1275; (w) Tel: 075-644-8240, Fax: 075645-1734 E-mail: <oncue@carroll.freehosting .net><snyder@phoenix.ac.jp>

Eamon McCafferty, Prognm Chair: Tokai University, Shimizu campus; 439-52-201 Utouz.aka, Shimizu-shi, Shizuoka-ken, Japan, 424-0873;(h) Tel/Fax: 0543-48-8299; (w) Tel: 0543-48-8299, Fax: 0543-34-9837;
E-mail: <eamon@gol.com>

IDCIEUillrill lllVISl'Illlnl:
AlanMackenzie(Layout)<asm@typhoon.co.jp>;SusanPhillippoussis<sphilipp@miyazakimic.ac.jp>; JosephTomei<jtomei@kumagaku.ac.jp>;John Mclaughlin<jmcl@gol.com>

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There are a few other changes to On CUE forthis and subsequent issues. One more editorialchange is that Keith Ford will be joining the teamand taking on the editing of the Opinion and Perspectives column, leaving Debra Pappier andMark Weinkle to concentrate on the new Professional Development column. A more substantial change is that the proposal for peer referring, raised in the last issue and canvassed
through CMN-Talk, was approved by the AGM
at Shizuoka. We are therefore going ahead withthis and would like to create a process which
retains our concern to support writers editoriallyand facilitate publication, while accrediting thequality of the finished work through the rigor of
the peer review. (Incidentally this would be agood point to correct a misprint in last issue's
editorial. The phrase ' ...so the aim would not be
so much to acknowledge the quality as to enhance it' despite conveying the exact opposite
of my intention, unfortunately went undetectedby our proofreading. (For 'our' read 'my ' .) The
phrase should have read, ' ...so the aim would beto acknowledge the quality as much as to enhance it'.) Suggestions, nominations for review
board members and so on are very welcome.

as been delayed but I. Our main feature artist seem rather far fromguage teaching in Jaunt of some of the difglish and other varieve a direct application
ooms in the universities and. ers, but it does give us,· d of English should. ? What role do otherassrooms? Is there a role
And aside from theseus as language educad of micro analysis?
cCafferty's review ofthis year's IATEFL panel discussion on varieties
of English considers some of these questions, anding the vitality of linexcitement of investiuse oflanguage, so as- ves to discover the Ian-

is issue is Alan Maceil Cowie and Alison
tive College and UniCUDs for short. These
ay in which teachersa the teacher privatism_gthat is so embedded a part of the university culture ofJapan and sotially limiting of teachrofe
al dement. The article ends
UDs there may be out, at we can notify otherd of sharing of informamost useful ways inembership.
ogether with Susanna
uss1s, a so contribute to this issue a repteoTESOL conference.
· g of a passion for• on has agreed to edit~
ce report column in fua
ture On CUEs. If you've been to a recent conference and would like to disseminate some ·of thethings you heard or saw there, please contact
Eamon.

onCUE
VolumeI Issue1:
s1ec1a1Pre-contarenceIssue
ca1111rPa1111
The first issue of On CUE 200 I will be dedicated to the theme of the coming mini-conference on autonomy. The purpose of this is to provide a rough frame of reference for the conference, to give us some ideas to start off with. If
you're planning to present at the conference,
we're looking for short (500-1000 words) 'conference tasters', mini-articles (appropriate for amini-conference) giving a brief introduction to
the issues addressed by your presentation. If you
are not presenting, but want to raise an issue related to autonomy submissions are also welcome.
Deadline for expressions of interest Feb I, 200 I.

I•c •Ellllllrllll:

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CUE
2001Mini-Conlerence:
Developinu
Autonomv Alan S. Mackenzie iM

CUE coordinator and co-con/ erence chair
Our first conference was a huge success. With
this issue of On CUE, you should have received
a copy of the conference proceedings whichshows the diversity of approaches to content being taken at universities in Japan and elsewhere.
At some point in the future, we would like toreturn to this topic. However, our second conference moves away from teaching material(though not entirely) to focus on developmentof learner and teacher autonomy.
There is widespread agreement in educational
circles that fostering student autonomy should
be a primary purpose of education systems. Increasing learner autonomy is said to increase student motivation, develop character, and aid learning. However in Japan, the promotion oflearnerautonomy is very recent and many teachers andadministrators are still searching for what exactly
it involves, how it can be taught and how its benefits can be measured. Indeed a major topic ofdebate is whether it is culturally appropriate.

• How can teachers and learners be autonomous within the given framework of theuniversity/ college?
• How can teachers foster our own autonomy as learners learning about teaching?
• How can we foster autonomy in our learners? How desirable is this?
A further thread within the conference is assessment.
• What does autonomous assessment involve?
• What assessment methods can develop
autonomy?
• How can autonomous assessments be integrated into current course frameworks?
• What outcomes result from the use of autonomous assessment methods?

• Under what conditions is more or less autonomy, more or less desirable?

The questions involved in thinking about autonomy are diverse. Some of the questions wewish to explore involve the examination of individual experience in the hope that that experience will help others to change their thinking,situations, and practice.

• How appropriate is the development ofautonomy across cultures?
• Is autonomy a human right, or is it an imposition of western cultural values on
Asian societies?

• How are your ideas of what autonomy
means in your teaching/ learning situation
developing?

The CUE conference 200 I in association with
the Leamer Development, Teacher Education(soon to become Teacher Development), andMaterials Writers SIGs aims to explore issues
involved in defining, promoting and implementing autonomous learning in the colleges and universities of Japan from both the students' andteachers' points of view.

• How is autonomy developing in yourteaching/ learning situation?
• What language and language-learningtheories lie behind autonomous learningand teaching approaches?

• What is an autonomous teacher/ learner?

• What techniques, methods, materials andideas can we use to enable ourselves and

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our students to develop their own sense of
autonomy?

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•

What opportunities are there for autonomous developmentwithin faculties and departments?

We encourage presenters to add depth to theirchosen topic and to actively demonstrateautonomous classroom activitiesthrough their presentations.Discussionsessionsand the use of novelpresentation formats are also encouraged.
Wehope that by providinga platformfor teachers fromcollegesanduniversitiesat differentstagesof autonomousdevelopment,we will discoverthe
range of forms autonomous teacher and learnerdevelopmenttake and the outcomesthat result.
Submission of presentationproposals is open
until the end of Januaryand shouldbe made online
at the conferencewebsite<http://www.wild-e.org/
cue/conferences/autonomy.html>.
If you are interestedin attendingthe conference,
we recommendthat you pre-registerbeforeMarch
31st• This year, we are in Shimizu,Shizuokaat the
Miho KenshukanofTokaiUniversity.This is a selfcontained facilitywith accommodation,presentation rooms, and restaurantsin one. Becauseof this,we have arrangeda conferencepackage which includes shared accommodationfor two nights (Friday May 11111, Saturday 12111) and five meals over
the weekend (breakfast, lunch on both days andevening banquet Saturday)as well as conference
fees for 20,000yen.Combiningconferenceand retreat, this event will provide many opportunities
for interaction,discussion,andmakingconnections
with others involved in similar teaching and research situations.Having said this, there are oneday registrationoptions available for those in thearea. Discounts are available for members of participating SIGs and students.
Also includedin this issueis a conferenceposter.
Pleasedisplaythis in a prominentplacewhere bothfull and part-time faculty can see it. Please also
spreadtheword on e-mailmailinglists,andby wordof mouth about the conferenceso that we can duplicate the success of last year.
We hope to see many of you, your colleagues
111
and your students in Shimizu on May 11111- 13 •:.7¥ease suhmil brief summaries
in~.liouse puhficalions
research

reporbof currenl

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Conlerence
CalenderTechnology," St. Louis,

Missouri. Contact Craig
Deville, LTRC 2001 Program
Chair, Iowa TestingPrograms, Universityof Iowa,
7-9
318 LindquistCenter, Iowa
City, Iowa 52242. Tel. 319335-6424. Fax 319-3356038. E-mail craigdeville@uiowa.edu.Web site
http://www.surrey.ac.uk/ELI/
ilta/ltrcmail.html

Edited by Alan Mackenzie

Februarv
2011
7-9

Alaska Association for
Bilingual Education and
the Alaska Deparbnent of
Education and Early
Development 27th Annual
Bilingual Multicultural
Education
EquityConference,"Multicultural Education:
Partners in Leaming,"

Anchorage,Alaska. Contact
Logistics,LLC, 329 F Street,
Suite 206 Anchorage,
Alaska, 99501. Tel. 907-2766060. Fax 907-276-6061.Email bmeec@logisticsllc.com
10

Hawai'iTESOL Roundtable,

Honolulu, Hawai'i. Contact
Patricia Reiss,Transpacific
Hawaii College, 5257
KalanianaoleHighway,
Honolulu, Hawaii 968211884. Tel. 808-377-5402.
Fax 808-373-4754.E-mailreiss@cchono.com. Web
http://lc.byuh.edu/
HawaiiTESOL.

24-26 Nepal English Language
Teachers' Association(NELTA). Eighth International Conference, "Classroom Research in ELT,"

Kathmandu,Nepal. Contact
Ganga Ram Gautam,
General Secretary,NELTA.
GPO BOX NO. 11110,
Kathmandu,Nepal. Tel.
+977-1-330243.E-mailqep@wlink.com.np
24-27 American Association ofApplied Linguistics (AAAL).
AAAL 2001 Annual Convention, St. Louis, Missouri.

ContactAAAL, PO Box
21686, Eagan, Minnesota
55121-0686. Tel. 612-9530805. Fax 612-431-8404. Email aaaloffice@aaal.org.
Web http://www.aaal.org/
27-3 Teachers of English to
Speakers of Other Languages, Inc. (TESOL).
Annual conference (including pre-andpostconventlon institutes,
and extensive exhibition),"Gateway To The Future,"

12-14 Mofet Institute, Israel. First
Virtual Conference, "Opening Gates in Teacher
Education," Online. Contact

Jean Vem,el, Co-convener.
Seit Berl College. E-mailjean@macam.ac.il.Web
http://vcisrael.macam98.ac.il
18-23 British Council. Seminar,"Quality Management in
Language Training,"

Sheffield, United Kingdom.
Contact lnfom,ation Manager, InternationalNetworking Events,The British
Council, 1, BeaumontPlace,
Oxford, OX1 2PJ, United
Kingdom.Web http://
www.britishcouncil.org/
networkevents
21-24 Language Media Center,
University of Iowa. 23rd
Annual Language Testing
Research Colloquium,"Language Testing andTravelling concepts:
meaning, frame, metaphor,
Amsterdam, The Netherlands

Contact ASCA, t.a.v. Joyce
Goggin, Spuistsraat210,
1012 VT Amsterdam, The
Netherlands.Fax: +31 20
525 3052. Email:asca@hum.uva.nl;Web
http://www.hum.uva.nV~asca

8-1 O Georgetown University
Round Table on Languages
and Linguistics (GURT).
Conference, "Linguistics,
Language, and the RealWorld: Discourse andBeyond," Washington, DC.

E-mailgurt@georgetown.edu; Web
http://www.georgetown.edu/
events/gurt
8-1 O Conference on paradigm
uniformity, Berlin, Germany Contact CPU Organis-

ers, Zentrum fuer Allgemeine
Sprachwissenschaft,
Jaegerstr. 10-11, 10117
Berlin, Gem,any. Fax: +49 30
20192 402. Emailcpu@zas.gwz-berlin.de;Web
http://www.zas.gwz-berlin.de/11-14 ACM Symposium on
applied computing: special
track on coordinatedmodels, languages andapplications, Las Vegas,

Nevada,USA .
St. Louis, Missouri.Contact
Web http://lia.deis.unibo.it/
TESOL, 700 South Washingconfs/SAC01
ton St., Ste. 200, Alexandria,
Virginia 22314. Tel. 703-836- 13-17 CALICO. 2001 Annual
Symposium, Orlando,
0774. Fax 703-836-7864.EFlorida. Contact CALICO,
mail conventions@tesol.org.
214 Centennial Hall, SouthWeb http://www.tesol.org
west Texas State University,
601 University Drive, San
Marcos, Texas 78666. Tel.
Heartland Area Education
512-245-1417.
Fax 512-245Agency 11. Professional
9089.
E-mailinfo@calico.org.
Educators' Convention,
Web http://www.calico.org/"2001: A Literacy and
CALICO01/
Leaming Odyssey," Des
Moines, Iowa. Contact
HeartlandAEA11, 6500
Corporate Drive, Johnston,
Iowa 50131-1603.Tel. 800362-2720 or 515-270-9030.

March2111
5

Fax 515-270-5383.E-mailhkaplan@aea11.k12.ia.us.
Web http://
www.aea11.k12.ia.us

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1111111r11•11111111.11111a
100 MorrisseyBlvd, Boston,
MA 02125-3393 USA. Web
http://www.cs.umb.edu/~meyer/conf/index.html

14-16 TESOL Arabia. 7th International Conference, "Challenges in the New Millennium," Dubai, United ArabEmirates. Contact Sandra
29-1 NECTFL. Northeast ConferOddy, PO Box 17258,Al Ain,ence on Teaching Foreign
United Arab Emirates. E-mailLanguages, " Changing
sandra.oddy@hct.ac.ae.
Contexts in Language
Web http://
Leaming," New York.
tesolarabia.uaeu.ac.ae
5-7
Contact NECTFL, P.O. Box
14-17 National Council of Teach1773, Carlisle, Pennsylvania
ers of English (NCTE).
17013-2896. Tel. 717-24552nd Annual Convention,
1977. Fax 717-245-1976Email nectfl@dickinson.edu.
"Conference on College
Composition and CommuWeb http://
nication," Denver, Colorado.
www.dickinson.edu/nectfl/
Contact NCTE, 111W.
29-1 Oxford Conference ManKenyon Road, Urbana,agement Conference,
Illinois 61801-9981.Web"Language, the Media, andhttp://www.ncte.org
International Communica16-18 Workshop on formaltion," Oxford, United King6-7
dom. Contact Oxford Conferpragmatics, Berlin, Germany Web http://www.rz.huence Management, 1Ob
LittlegateStreet, Oxford OX1
berlin.de/asg/blutner/dialog/
1QT, United Kingdom. E-mailworl<2.html
oxconf@pop3.hiway.co.uk.
23-25 The Second International
Web http://
Conference on Contrastivewww.english.ox.ac.uk/
Rhetoric, "Linguistics,
language
Culture, and Teaching,"
30-1 TESOL-Spain. 24th Annual
The American Universityin
Convention, "2001: A
Cairo, Egypt. Contact The
Quest for Teacher DevelopAmerican Universityin Cairo,
ment," Seville, Spain.
113 Sharia KasrEl Aini,
Contact Tammi Santana,
Cairo, Egypt. E-mailConvention Coordinator,
CRCONF@aucegypt.ed.
9-11
American English School,
Web http://
EdificioViapol, Portal A-40
www.aucegypt.edu#13, 41018 Seville, Spain.
23-24 TexFLEC (Texas Foreign
Tel. +95-492-5224.E-mailLanguage Education
tammisantana@jazzfree.com.
Conference). 2001 ConferWeb
http://www.eirelink.com/
ence, "Bridging the Gap:
tesol-sp/
Theory & Practice in the
Language Classroom,"

30-1

Austin, Texas. Proposal
Deadline January 15, 2001.
Contact TexFLEC,Foreign
Language Education Program, Universityof Texas atAustin, D6500 SZB 528,
Austin, Texas 78712. E-mailTexFLEC@ccwf.cc.utexas.edu
Web http://www.utexas.edu/
students/flesa/texflec
23-25 3rd North America! Symposium on corpus linguistics
and language teaching,

Boston, Massachusetts,USA
Contact Corpus Linguistics
Conference,Applied Linguistics Program, Universityof
Massachusettsat Boston,International Linguistics
Association. 46th Annual
Conference, New York, New

York. Contact Johanna J.
Woltjer, 511 West 112
Streeet,#14, New York, NewYork 10025-1634.Tel. 212749-3366. E-maililaconf.woltjer@gte.net.Web
http://www.ilaword.org

llrll2111
4-6

11th Colloquium on generative grammar, Zaragoza,
Spain(FAc. Filosofiay Letras),
Pedro Cerbuna 12, 50009
Zaragoza, Spain. Tel: +34
976 761 000, ext. 3965; Fax:
+34 976 761 541. Emailcgg2001@posta.unizar.es;
Web http://fyl.unizar.es/
CONGRESOS/cgg/cggzaragoza.htm
4th International conference on researching andapplying metaphor (RAAM
IV), Tunis, Tunisia

Contact Zouhair Maalej,
Dept of English, Faculty of
Letters and Human Sciences, Tunis-Manouba,
2010, Tunisia.Tel +2161
600 700; Fax +216 1 520
910. Email zmaalej@gnet.tn
The Mid-Atlantic Association of Language Leaming
Technologies (MAALLT).
Annual Conference,"Language Instruction in
the Digital Age," Durham,

North Carolina. Proposal
Deadline December 18,
2000. Contact Rachel Saury,President,MAALLT,P.O. Box
400784, Charlottesville,
Virginia 22904-4784.E-mailres4n@virginia.edu. Web
http://www.duke.edu/~ssearp/maallt2001/
University of Strathclyde.
British Association of
Lecturers in English for
Academic Purposes(BALEAP) Conference,"EAP: Directions for the
Future," Scotland. Proposal

Deadline February 1, 2001.
Contact Dr. Leslie E.
Sheldon, FBIELT,Conference Chair, English Language TeachingDivision,
Universityof Strathclyde,
LivingstoneTower,26RichmondStreet, Glasgow
G1 1XH, Scotland, United
Kingdom.Tel +141-5483065.
Fax +1411-582209.E-maill.e.sheldon@strath.ac.uk
Web http://www.strath.ac.uk/
Departments/ELTD/
baleap2001.htm

Contact 11th Colloquiunoon 17-21 IATEFL. 35th Annual
GenerativeGrammar, Depto.
Conference, Brighton,
LintuisticaGeneral e
United Kingdom. Contact
Hispanica, Univ.de Zaragoza

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18-20 Third InternationalSymposium on Bilingualism,
Bristol, United Kingdom .
Contact Jeanine TreffersDaller, University of the Westof England, Bristol, Faculty of
Language and European
Studies , Coldharbour Lane,
Bristol BS161QY, United
Kingdom. E-mailjeanine .treffersdaller@uwe .ac.uk Web http://
www.uwe.ac.uk/facults/les/research/bilingual/frames.html

19-21 IADA 2001: Recent trends
in dialogue analysis- the8th Biennialcongress of
the InternationalAssociation of DialogueAnalysis,
Goteborg, Sweden. Web
http://www.hum .gu.se/~engadeVIADA/

19-22 Cognitive linguisticsin theyear 2001, Lodz, Poland
Contact CLY 2001, Institute ofEnglish, University of Lodz,
Kosciuszki 65, 90-514 Lodz,
Poland. TeVfax: +48 42 636
6337 . Emailcly2001@krysia.uni.lodz .pl

26

Saudi Associationof
Teachersof English(SATE). Annual Conference, "Information&
CommunicationTechnology: Its Relevanceto
LanguageLeaming,"
Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.
Contact Sayed Abdel Hamid ,Dar Al Fikr School , P.O. Box
14279, Jeddah KSA, Saudi
Arabia. Tel. +966-2-6800005
x 227 . Fax +966-2-6800808.
E-mailsate2001@hotmail.com

26-29 HUPE-IATEFLConference,
Zadar , Croatia. Contact
Bozana Knezevic. E-mailbknez@pfri .hr

Minnesota . Contact Conference Planning Committee ,CARLA , University of Minnesota, 617 Heller Hall, 271
19th Avenue South,
Minneapolis, Minnesota
55455. Tel. 612-626-8600.
Fax 612-624-7514. E-maillteconf@tc.umn .edu ; Web
http://carla.acad.umn.edu/
conference2001/CALL FOR
PAPERS.html

Web http://www.reading.org

11112001
3-5

2nd Annual ELT Conference, "Creativitywithin
Constraints,"Istanbul,
Turkey. Proposal Deadline
February 16, 2001. Contact
Carol Gitzendanner or
Burcak Gurkaya , lsik University, EFL Department ,Buyukdere Caddesi 80670 ,Maslak , Istanbul, Turkey. Tel+90-212-286-2961. Fax +90212-285-2875 . E-mailcgitz@zdnetmail.com ;bgurkaya@isikun .edu. tr

618-19 Universityof the AmericasPuebla. Sixth Conference
on Applied Linguistics,"Technologyand Education in Second Language
Acquisitionand Teaching,"
Puebla, Mexico. Proposal
Deadline January 15, 2001.
Contact Virginia Locastro,
Universidad de las AmericasPuebla, Departamento de
Lenguas , Sta. Catarina
Martir, 72820 Puebla,
Mexico. Tel. +52-(2)-229-3105. Fax +52-(2)-229-31-01 .
E-maillocastro@mail .udlap.mx

Universityof Cyprus and
CyTEA (Cyprus Teachersof EnglishAssociation).
Conference,"Implementing CALL in EFL: Living up
to Expectations,"Nicosia,
Cyprus . Proposal Deadline
January 30, 2001 . Contact
Organizing Committee ,Department of Foreign
Languages and Literatures ,University of Cyprus , PO Box
20357, 1678 Nicosia, Cyprus. E-mailppavlou@ucy.ac.cy

22-26 InternationalAssociation
for LanguageLeaming
Technology(IALL) 2001
Conference, Houston,
Texas. Contact Claire
Bartlett, Language Resource
Center, Rice University, MS
37, Houston , TX 7752511892. Tel. 713-737-6157. Fax
713-737-6168. E-mailiall@rice.edu. Web : http://
lang.rice .edu/iall2001.

11-13 Semanticsand linguistic
theory (SALT)11, New York
City, USA
Contact: Anna szabolcsi ,Dept of Linguistics , New York
University, 719 Broadway,#501 , NY, NY 10003. Tel +1
212 998 7956 ; Fax +1 212
995 4707 . Web http://
www.nyu.edu/gsas/dept/lingu/

29-31 LanguageCenter, Hong
Kong Baptist University.
Conference,"Culture,
Communication

12-13 DevelopingAutonomy,
JAL T CUE conference
2001, Shimizu Shizuoka ,our Strengths: Second
International Conference1andLanguage Pedagogy:
Building Bridgesand
Meeting Challenges," HongJapan. Deadline for submissions Jamuary 31st • Contact
Alan Mackenzie
asm@typhoon.co .jp Web
http://www.wilcl-e.org/cue/
conferences/autonomy.html·29-4 InternationalReading
17-19 Universityof Minnesota,
Association(IRA). 46th
Center for Advanced
Annual Convention,"For
Researchon Language
the Love of Reading and All
Acquisition(CARLA).
That Jazz," New Orleans,
Conference, "Building on
Louisiana . Contact IRA, 800
Barksdale Road, PO Box

on Language Teacher
Education,"Minneapolis ,8139, Newark,Delaware . Tel.
302-731-1600. Fax 302-3698476.

Alison Medland . E-mail114563.1723@compuseNe.cx:m.
Web http://www.iatefl.org

Kong , SAR, China . Contact
Derrick Stone. Tel. +8522339-5825 . Fax +852-23395936. E-maillc2001@hkbu .edu .hk Web
http://www.hkbu.edu.hk/~lc2001

Jun12111
1-2

Hong Kong Polytechnic
University. Conference, "IT& Multimedia in English

•-M

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--'
I

Language Teaching 2001
(ITMELT 2001)," Hong
Kong, China. Contact Bruce
Morrison, ELC, Hong Kong
Polytechnic University,
Kowloon , Hong Kong,
China. E-mailitmelt2001@elc.polyu.edu.hk.
Web http://elc.polyu .edu .hk/
conference/

CII

2-7

Language technologies
2001: 2nd meeting of theNorth American Chapterof the Association for
Computational Linguistics, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA
Contact: Kevin Knight,
Program Chair, USC/
Information Sciences
Institute, 4676 Admiralty
Way, Marina del Rey, CA
90292 USA. Web http://
www.cs.cmu .edu/~ref/naacl2001.html

Kowloon, Hong Kong . Tel.
+852-2358-7850. Fax +8522335-0249. E-maillcconf@ust.hk. Web http://lc.ust. hk/~centre/conf2001 /JUIV2011
5-7

Barcelona, Spain. Contact
ALTE Secretariat. Fax +441223-553036 . E-mailalte@ucles .org.uk

6-11 ACL and EACL Association for computational
linguistics, Toulouse,
France . Web http://
www.irit.fr/ACTIVITES/
EQ_ILPUaclWeb/
acl2001 .html
8-21

14-16 Bi-Dialog 2001: 5thworkshop on the semantics and pragmatics of
dialogue, Bielefeld,
Germany Deadline forpapers: 15 February '01
Email bidialog@unibielefeld .de Web http://
www.uni-bielefeld.de/bidialog

17-20 1st conference of EATAW:The European Association
for the Teaching of Academic Writing - Teachingacademic writing acrossEurope, Groningen, The
Netherlands Fax +31 503
636 855. Emaileataw.conference@let.rug.nl
Web http://www.hum.ku .dk/
formidling/eataw/
26-30 Technology in Language
Education: Meeting the
Challenges of Researchand Practice. Hong Kong
University of Science andTechnology Language
Center and Nanjing University's Department of Applied
Foreign Language Studies.
Hong Kong, SAR, China .
Contact the Conference
Committee, Language
Centre, Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, Clear Water Bay,

The Association of Language Testers in Europe.
Conference, "European
Year of Languages,"

9-11

Carleton University.
Systemic Functional
Linguistics Summer
Institute, Ottawa, Ontario ,Canada. E-maillsfc28@carleton .ca. Web
http://www.carleton.ca/
isfc28/Interdisciplinary conference on aphasialogical,
computational andneuroimaging approaches: the neurological basis of language,
Groningen, The Netherlands
Email nbl@let.rug.nl; Web
http://www.let.rug.nVnbV
12-15 BRAZ-TESOL and Southern Cone TESOL. 4thSouthern Cone TESOLConvention, Curitiba,
Puerto Rico. E-mailbraztesol@nox .net
19-22 4th International conference of the Association
for Linguistic Typology(ALT IV), Santa Barbara ,California, USA
Contact: Casper de Groot,
Chair, Program
Committee.ALT,
Leerstoelgroep
Theoretischetaalwetenschap,
Universiteit van Amsterdam,Spuistraat 210, NL-1012 VT
Amsterdam, The Netherlands. Fax +31 20 525
3052 . Emailcasper.de.groot@hum.uva.nl;

I

Web http://
www.ling.lancs.ac.uk/alt

22-28 Carleton University. 28th
International Systemic
Functional Congress,"Interfaces: Systemic
Functional Grammar andCritical Discourse Analysis," Ottawa, Ontario ,Canada. Proposal Deadline
December 31, 2000. E-mailisfc28@carleton .ca. Web
http://www.carleton.ca/
isfc28/22-27 7th International cognitive
linguistics conference,
Santa Barbara, California,
USA To be held in conjunction with the 2001
Linguistics InstituteWeb http://www.unm.edu/~iclc/abstracts.html
22-28 International systemic
functional congress,
Ottawa, Canada
Email isfc28@carleton .ca ;Web http://www.carleton.ca/
isfc2824-28 8th International conference on cross-culturalcommunication: communication and cultural(ex)change, Hong Kong

Deadline for abstracts: 1
February '01
Contact Dr Shiwen Pan,
English Dept, Hong Kong
Institute of Education , Tai
Po, Hong Kong SAR , PRC .
Tel: +852 2948 7242; Fax:
+852 2948 7270. Emailspan@ied.edu.hk ; Web
http://www.louisville.edu/~mstc01 /iccc.htm

28-30 International symposium
on language planning andlexicology, Zagreb,
Croatia Deadline for

abstracts: 30 November '00
Contact Prof. Christer
Kiselman, PO Box 480, SE751 96 Uppsala, Sweden.
Emailkiselman\@math.uu .se For
papers: Prof. Geraldo
Mattos . Emailmattos@super .com.br

25-29 Whole Language Umbrellaof National Council of
Teachers of English.
Annual Conference,W1111r2111:..._..,1111,a

IICIE
Chicago, Illinois. Contact
NCTE, 1111 W. Kenyon
Road, Urbana , Illinois
61801-1096 . Tel. 217-3283870. Fax 217-278-3761. Email covreg@ncte.org. Web
http://www.ncte .org

IUUUSl2001
27-31 3rd International conference on cognitive science(ICCS2001), Beijing, China

Deadline for abstracts: 30
April '01
Contact Beijing Laboratoryof Cognitive Sciences,
University of Science andTechnology in China,
Graduate School, Academia
Sinica, PO Box 3908,
Beijing, 100039 Beijing, P.
R. China. Emailiccs2001org@etang .com ;Web http://
www.iccs2001.com

30- 1 Storytelling in the Americas, St Catherine's,
Ontario, Canada
Contact Storytelling in theAmericas, c/o Dr. MarkAnderson . Emailics@www.brocku.ca
31-2

IATEFL GI and TT SIGs.
Joint Workshop Conference, "The Integration of
Global Issues into Teacher
Training: AwarenessRaising, Methods, Contents," Bielefeld, Germany .
Proposal Deadline March
31, 2001. Contact JWH
Ridder, MA, Beethovenstr .
5, D-33604 Bielefeld,
Germany. Tel. +49(0)521521-24-40. Fax +49(0)5216-62-09. E-mailjwh.ridder@t-online.de.

s1111mbar
2011
1-3

University of Exeter. Ninth
Biennial International
Exeter CALL 2001 Conference, "CALL: The Challenge of Change," Exeter,
United Kingdom. Contact
Keith Cameron, School of
Modem Languages,
Queen's Building, The
University, Exeter, United
Kingdom EX4 4QH. Tel+1392-264221. Fax +1392-

264222. E-mail
K.C.Cameron@ex.ac .uk

21-23 Panama TESOL. 15th
Annual Convention,
Panama City, Panama.
Contact Christopher C.
Mclean, President. Tel. 507442-0210 . Fax 507-4434629 . E-mailcmclean@pancanal.com

0ctebar2001
4-7

University of Hawaii at
Manoa. Pacific Second
Language Research
Forum (PacSLRF) 2001
Conference, Honolulu,
Hawaii.Proposal Deadline
April 2, 2001. Contact Jim
Yoshioka, PacSLRF Conference Co-Chair, c/o National
Foreign Language Resource Center, University of
Hawaii, 1859 East-WestRoad #106 , Honolulu,
Hawaii 96822. Tel. 808-9569424. Fax 808-956-5983 . Email pacslrf@hawaii.edu ;Web http://
www.LLL.hawaii .edu/pacslrf

Januarv
2002
3-6

1Prll2002
6-9

22-25 Japan Association for
Language Teaching . Pan
Asian Conference 3 at
JALT 2001, "A Language
Odyssey," Kitakyushu,
Japan. Contact David
McMurray, Japan Association for Language Teaching,
Urban Edge Building, SF, 137-9 Taito, Taito-ku, Tokyo
110-0016. Tel +81-3-38371630. Fax +81-3-3837-1631
E-mail jalt@gol.com ; Web
http://www.jalt.org

I

American Association ofApplied Linguistics(AAAL). Annual conference, Salt Lake City, Utah.
Contact AAAL, PO Box
21686, Eagan, Minnesota
55121-0686. Tel. 612-9530805. Fax 612-431-8404.
E-mail aaaloffice@aaal.org
Web http://www.aaal.org• 112002
2-5

Dickinson College.
Northeast Conference on
the Teaching of Foreign
Languages, New York,New York. Contact Northeast Conference, Dickinson
College, PO Box 1773,
Carlisle, Pennsylvania
17013-2896. Tel 717-2451977. Fax 717-245-1976 .
E-mailnectfl@dickinson.edu; Web
http://www.dickinson.edu/
nectfl/7-11

Organization in Discourse
II: The Historical Perspective: An international
conference on historical
discourse linguistics,
Turku, Finland. Web http://
www.utu.fi/hum/engfiV
oid2002 .html

N1v111bar
2001
16-28 American Council on the
Teaching of Foreign
Languages (ACTFL).
Annual conference, Washington, DC. Contact ACTFL,
6 Executive Plaza, Yonkers,
New York 10701-6801 . Tel
914-963-8830. Fax 914963-1275. E-mailactflhq@aol.com ; Web
http://www.actfl.org/

Linguistic Society ofAmerica. Conference, San
Francisco. Contact
Margaret Reynolds, LSA,
1325 18th Street, NW, Suite
211, Washington, DC
20036. Tel202-835-1714.
Fax 202-835-1717. E-maillsa@lsadc.org ; Web http://
www.lsadc.org

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Challen 11Catching
languagein
Fu
Joseph Dias, Kitasato University
Eamon McCafferty, Tokai University·ewof a panel dis- an expression such as Remind me to punch yourconference in lights out later is understood instantly as playful
as titled 'Vari- banter, and is countered in kind.
O'Keeffe noted that varieties of English can befurther subdivided into areas that cut across national and regional boundaries, activity type, agegroup, profession, and culture. Viewed from thisperspective,it is clear that varieties of spoken English do not readilylendthemselvesto being labeled,categomed and simplified in dictionaries, grammars, or even in computer corpora. It was at thispoint that the speaker evoked John Sinclair's provocative question: "Why would one look at artificial flowers to study botany?" This metaphor became the glue that stuck the four panelists' talks
together. Whether it is a grammar, a textbook, acorpus or a dictionarybased on a corpus, O'Keeffe
reminded us that it is useful to ask ourselves "Arewe dealing with language itself or some sort oflifeless approximation, an artificial flower if you
will?" The question kept the subsequent talks,
given by Koester and McCarthy on their interesting findingsbased on the study of spoken corpora,in humble perspective.
Ahnut Koester, who, like Michael McCarthy,is basedat the UniversityofNottingham, discussed
her work on a corpus ofBritish and American "office talk." She further narrowed her focus to one
type of task: giving directions. Her research question was "Do Americans express themselves moreor less directly in this context?" The relative use
or avoidance of hedges was studied. She qualified
her results by saying that the corpus was not huge
and the area of interestnarrow, so it was not possible to make any blanket statements about differences between British and American English. She
e ression is not reported the following:
Really tended to be used as a hedge in British
ps in values,·ation or so- English rather than an intensifier (21 incidences
a place where to 3) but the reverse was the case in American11

Wllllrllll: 11111111,lall IIICIEEnglish (17 to 5). However, she noted that the total
incidence of hedges of all sorts (as she measuredthem) were not different. She found that there weredifferent preferences in the two cultures for particular hedge wordings. For example, whereas
Americans preferred a little to a bit (20 incidences
to 9), British people opted for the latter (21 to 6).
Like was found to be used in American English(38 incidences to 4) in the same way that sort of(23 to 1) is used in British English.
Modals such as have to, must, or should, were
avoided in giving instructions in both cultures. Instead, indirect expressions were used, especially ifutterances or the use of we as opposed to you
should. For example, in British Then we go onto
the June ones or in American Then we wanna keep
the 2 cover sheets.
Koester was justifiably cautious in her provisional conclusions on whether British English wasless direct than American English in the narrowcontext studied. She noted that the database wassmall and the samples not necessarily representative. Also, from the perspective of someone interested in conversation analysis (talk in interaction),
it is clear that much can be missed by isolating
elements of language and putting them in a priori
categories. Subtle interactional differences at workin the two varieties oflanguage, which may be responsible for the widely held perception that British English is less direct, might be missed. Thisillustrates the danger that corpus linguistics may
be producing fascinating pressed flowers that lackthe scent and bee-attracting allure of the real
McCoy, that is, talk in its tum-by-turn, technicolor
context.
Perhaps I was more sensitive to this issue after
the panel discussion, but as I was leaving Amsterdam's Schiphol Airport a week after the conference on a British Midland jet, I heard the British
pilot use (in his opening announcement) one of themost impressive strings ofhedges imaginable. "Asyou know, flying into any airport in the European
corridor is subject to rather long delays," he began. The passengers grew visibly tense as the pilot
continued what seemed to be a preamble to disastrous news. We expected that the flight would bedelayed, canceled, or worse. The upshot ofhis long
digression, however, was that we would be about
10 minutes late. On the words 10 minutes most of
the passengers visibly relaxed and broke into

smiles. I turned to the Dutch man sitting next tome and said "That was an amazing explanation
and apology for a 10-minute delay." He said "TheEnglish have a word for it, waffling." That incident made me realize that it might be the placement of hedges in contexts where they are not expected (or deemed to be warranted by people ofother cultures), rather than their relatively higher
frequency, that gives non-British people the impression that British English is less direct and more
prone to waffling. Although difficult to prove, thisspeculation would not have easily arisen from thesort of decontextualized analysis described by
Koester. I do not mean to suggest that her findings
are not interesting. They do capture something thatis going on in language, and they are sensitive tomeasurable differences. However, the question remains: "Are these the important differences andthe ones relevant to the questions at hand?"

JosephDias
Michael McCarthy and Luke Prodromou continued the discussion on varieties of spoken English, although both paid less attention to their own
research in favor of posing some of the questions
they see as central to the issue of the place of different Englishes within language teaching.
McCarthy began by focusing on the dichotomy
between written and spoken language. Whereas
written language is centripetal orienting us towards
the standard or norm, spoken language is moredemocratic in its centrifugal orientation. Homogeneity in written language is replaced by heterogeneity in the spoken word, models are exchanged
for samples, attested becomes authenticated andpresentation is traded for exposure.
McCarthy candidly admitted to being "infected"
by exposure to Irish English since his arrival in
Dublin a few days before and saw this as positive.
He believed a major criticism of language teaching textbooks today is that publishers do not caterto these different types of English. The big question is, which type should they use?: American?
British? Or maybe a nice 'balance' with the use of
so-called International English? The point
McCarthy was making here is that language has
always been used as some sort of model, but itneed not only exist in this way. Rather, he argued,
we should look at varieties as a set of samples.
With an example that had local audience mem-

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•

hers nodding their heads in agreement, he pointed
to the uneasiness that might exist in Ireland withthe use of models of 'good' English in the postcolonial context.
In answer to the questions, "What about theauthentication process?" and "To what degree canlearners take these texts unto themselves?"
McCarthy encouraged teachers to breathe new life
into the 'dead flowers' that spoken words become
when transcribed or taken out of context. This could
be construed as an unusual comment from a man
working on a dictionary based on the findings of
spoken corpora. After all, a dictionary is generally
used independently, thus making the comment
about breathing life into its entries seem rather redundant. However, it may well be that he was anticipating Prodromou's criticisms of coipus linguistics' 'fruits ' , and was subsequently toning down
what he could have said about its potential. It isclear from listening to McCarthy on several otheroccasions that he believes the copious examples
of how English is used by native speakers can bebeneficial to both native and non-native speakers
of English (not to mention students).
Continuing on an upbeat note, McCarthy suggested that it is commonalties in the varieties of
spoken English that we should explore. With theuse of corpora he believed it possible to move towards establishing a core English rather than amodel to be followed. He urged us to look at othervarieties . Indeed, he claimed this to be "crucial".
With this, McCarthy gave closure with a championing call tempered by classic British understatement: "Varieties? Yes. Differences? Indeed.
Commonalties? YES!" Maybe this final word, ina raised voice not typical of the man I had listened
to on previous occasions was due to hispassion on
this particular topic. Personally, I believe that
Michael had indeed been affected a little morestrongly by the Irish variety of spoken English thanhe might have realised!
Luke Prodromou was a stimulating, final
speaker on the panel of four. He skillfully wove
the ideas that had come before him into his own
call for more emphasis to be given to the many
wonderful varieties of spoken English that exist
among those speech communities speaking English as a second language.
Alerting us to the dangers of focusing too muchon language description per se, Prodromou re-

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minded us that although this is not unimportant, it
is simply one part of a very large puzzle. Some ofthe hazards he warned of are: native speakers remaining the 'authority', thus peripheralising nonnative teachers; academic power remaining theprivilege of the so-called BARNA (British, Australian and North American) countries; teachertraining remaining in the hands of native 'expert
users'; and, a contradiction between the autonomyof the learner and the inauthentic texts served up tothem, with learners being encouraged to be autonomous on the one hand and, on the other, being yoked
to endless varieties of language that are probably
divorced from their contexts and are more of a burden than a mind-expanding exercise.
Prodromou suggested that there may be an "idiomatic common core" that we can concentrate on.
Echoing Sinclair's (1991) point that native speakers command that aspect oflanguage (idioms) with
aplomb, and Carter and McCarthy's research ( 1997)
showing that idioms are often elliptic, involving lotsof punning and wordplay within the same speechcommunity, he pointed out something that as teachers we should easily recognise. That is, non-native
speakers have difficulty knowing where to draw theline on creative play. But, he argued, non-natives
are busy generating their own norms often with theuse of transfer from their mother tongue, and it is
this kind of creative word-play that we should use
in our classes.
This idea of making use of corpora from otherareas of the world where speakers use English as asecond language is a powerful one, and can, as
Promodou mentioned, be used most effectively as
consciousness-raising activities for our students.
Drawing on O'Keeffe's by now popular metaphor,
Prodromou cautioned us, though, that these 'deadflowers' cannot be used as models, since, after all,they've been uprooted from their pragmatic contexts.

Eamon McCafferty

WIii

11111111s

Prodromou finished his talk with some advice
that resonated strongly with our own attempts attrying to nurture autonomy in the classroom: namelythat we should encourage each of our learners to
become a Sherlock Holmes of language. We feelthat this may be the best way to make use of the11

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Wllllrllll:lllllllllalllrich and wonderfulvarietiesof spokenEnglishthat
exist. After all, for the majority of our students inJapan, the most likely arena for the employmentof their English skills will be with other non-native speakers.Therefore,to make direct use of thepressed blossoms found in North American, British or Australian-basedcorpora (by incorporatingthem into students' personal repertoires)is not appropriate. We can be of better service to our students by showing them how they themselves candiscoverthe featuresthat make a 'variety' of English unique - whether it is the English of bilingual speakersin their midst or that of doctors they
hear on videotapesrecordedin doctors' offices.We
would liketo give accountsof a few ways we haveturned our studentsinto linguisticsleuthsby equipping them with ways they can 'freeze-frame' linguistic events and put them under their magnifying glass.

Elmll'Se•rlelcl
Studentsbecome sleuths in my classroomwith
the use of project-based learning where they areencouraged to take the output of one lesson anduse it as the input for the next. One way I do this isby having students participate in encounter styleprojects in which they interviewand record bilingual speakersof Englishbeforeanalysingtheir dataand presentingit to other groups in the class (for abrief descriptionof the mechanicsof such a projectsee McCaffertyand Ford, 2000). Another projectthat I use in writing classes is to involve students
in an extended email exchange with an overseas
group of ESL/EFL learners.Much of the dialogue
is built around the topic oflanguage learningitself
and includes readings on aspects of interculturalcommunicationto help students reflect on what
they are doing as well as givingthem languageandideas for discussion.The project culminateswith
a final essay that asks studentsto criticallyanalyse
the email exchange itself

example) about how medical discourse works or does not work - can be of some use to students, but I believe the discoveriesstudent sleuths
make themselveswill be the most meaningfuland
memorable.As the field ofESP and those engaged
in researchon professionaldiscourserecognize,job
and profession-relatedEnglish often constitutevarieties of the language that can best be studied intheir own milieu. Getting studentsto recognizethe
relevancyof focusingon an area of discourse thatwill be an importantpart of their working lives is
not a difficulttask.
Making discoveriesfor oneself is a way of taking ownership, or at least,joint ownership, of thelearning process. In that sense, Eamon and I
stronglybelievethat sleuthingtasks must be incorporated into any curriculum that attempts to deal
with varieties of language.This is one way to ensure that the flowers in our increasinglyunwieldy
corpora gardens are showered with the attention
they deserve, without being selectively picked,pressed and dried.

·-

Carter,R. & McCarthy,M. (1997). &ploring Spoken English.Cambridge:CambridgeUniversity
Press.
Crystal, D. (1995). The CambridgeEncyclopedia
oftheEnglishLanguage.Cambridge[England];New York:CambridgeUniversityPress,p. 111.
Dias, J. (1999). Developingan ESP course aroundnaturally-occurringvideotapedmedicalconsultations." The Internet TESLJournal,V,3.Available at: http://www.aitech.acJp/~iteslj/Lessons/Dias-MedicalVideos/index.html
Koester, A.; O'Keeffe, A.; McCarthy, M. &Prodromou, L. Varieties of spoken English:
Same difference?Thirty-fourthannual conference of the InternationalAssociationof Teachers of Englishas a Foreign.Language[IATEFL].
(30 March 2000; Dublin, Ireland).
McCafferty,E. & Ford, K. (2000).Making student
presentationsinteractivein the context of JapaMakinguse of a marvelouscorpusof videotapednese EFL classrooms.TESOLJournal, 9, 3, 30medical consultations between British GPs and31.
their patients,I guide my studentsin becomingin- Sinclair,J. (1991). Corpus, Concordance,Collocreasingly sensitive observers, transcribers and,cation. Oxford: Oxford UniversityPress.
ultimately,conversationanalysts [see Dias, 1999].
The insights of others (medical sociolinguists,for............

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I loTESllConterence
Reoon~

Eamon McCafferty, CUE Program Chair
Susanna Philippoussis, CUE Publicity Chair
conversation helps negotiation. He developed
this point further as he described student navigation as just "getting by" and student negotiation as "getting on" and made the distinction
between tasks and conversation. He stipulated
that conversation uses more complex language,is far more intricate and much more challenging
to the student than tasks, which alone can be too
restrictive. However, tasks in a project lead tonegotiated interaction, which in turn leads to activity and then to exploratory and dynamic interaction. The project is the "cumulative " outcome.
During the negotiation for meaning, pragmatic
monitoring can be done in three ways, reactively,
concurrently, and proactively. Reactive monitoring leads to repair and correction. Concurrent
monitoring induces back channeling and signals
11
understanding through gazes and turnover sigCIISSrlllD11111111 nals. Proactive monitoring has two stages, strategic planning and predicting. This of course begs
111rn111
Dr. Leo van Lier the question, is speaking "bad" good for the stuMontereyInstituteof InternationalStudies,US dent in the classroom? Dr. van Lier said yes andemphasized that speaking is good for peer relaThe audience waited patiently for the open- tions and also develops the less proficient stuing ceremony speeches to end in order to hear dents in the classroom.
Dr. van Lier ended his presentation with reDr. van Lier's plenary that would herald the truecommencement of the conference . Dr. van Lier marks about quality. He left us with two memo(incidentally, a previous student ofDr. Allright's rable quotes. The first, "There are remarks thatat Lancaster) began with a historical perspec- sow and remarks that reap" and second "Goodtive on the role of interaction in classroom lan- teaching is in the creation of memorable events".
guage learning before quickly moving on to an Dr. van Lier's presentation was one such event.
Although his time had been arbitrarily cut, Dr.
ecological perspective containing four points:
vanLier addressed the audience with a delivery
emergence, affordance, triadic interaction, andquality. The phenomenon of the ecological per- that was quick yet easy to understand. The unspective, according to van Lier, is that language anticipated time factor also meant that his presemerges from social activity. Social activity in- entation ended before he could impart all thatvolves perception, and perception means that we he wanted. It was difficult to tell who was more
notice things. The physical environment provides disappointed, the audience or the presenter. He
did however leave us with his web address:
the affordances for our activities to be valued.
<http://maxkade.miis.edu/Faculty_ Pages/Throughout his presentation, Dr. van Lier
stated that projects are key to classroom language lvanlier/index.html> and the promise that he willlearning. Projects encourage conversation and post his paper there.

The Eighth annual KoTESOL Conference
was held at Kyongbuk National University in
Taegu on the weekend of September 30th-October 1st. The conference had a strong attendancefrom many countries including Japan. The
attendees and the presenters seemed generally
pleased with both the venue and the cultural
events arranged by the KoTESOL organizing
committee. Perfect autumn weather coincidedwith Taegu's annual festival to create a warm
and welcoming backdrop to the conference. Two
plenary speakers headed the presentation lineup, Dr. Leo van Lier of the Monterey Institute,and Dr. Dick Allright of Lancaster University.
We review their plenary speeches below.

Pen11C11V1slhl roleII
InteractionIn

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c11ssre1• 11111111111rn111
Dr. Dick Al/right
Lancaster University,UK

Dr. Allright belies his softly spoken mannerin a way that conveys the passion he obviously
has for the professional development of language teachers. Also concerned with quality, hebegan with two basic propositions: firstly, forteacher education, job satisfaction is more important than teaching efficiently; and secondly,for classroom language learning, precisionteaching "efficiency" is less important than general lesson "productivity". It is misguided, hecontended, to operate under the assumption thatteaching has a direct one-to-one causal relationship with learning. Teachers stand a betterchance of educating by providing rich lessons,and in this sense it is infinitely more important
to strive to be an "interesting' teacher and an"alive" teacher than to be a "precise" one. Since
there will inevitably be thirty-one separate andunique 'lessons' happening in any class of thirty
students, any attempt to quantify will result in
the disappearance of quality.
Turning to the role of students' learning, theLancastrian scholar reminded us that being aclassroom learner is essentially a public matter,
while actual learning is a private one. The actors in the classroom are essentially 'putting ona show' for the benefit of the other cast members. The importance of this is that you can't
predict what people will actually learn from,.1111, atheir public behavior, and, Dr. Allright asked,
does it really matter, and if so, what can we doabout it? Are learners ever really learning whatthe "efficient" teacher is trying to impart? Hesuggested that they probably aren't and therefore, as teachers, it is more important for us tofind an understanding of what we are doingrather than chase new ways to teach something.
So, asked Dr. Allright, what can we do? One
suggestion is to develop learner autonomy. By
getting learners to teach themselves we can hopethat they are more efficient at it than we are! We
can also develop teacher understanding throughexploratory practice. Dr. Allright listed the defining characteristics of such practice as practitioners working to understand what they wantto understand following their own agendas but
not necessarily in order to bring about change
and certainly not primarily by changing. One waythat he suggested we do this is by harnessing
typical pedagogical practices as investigative
tools, so that rather than being an extra activity,
working for understanding is part and parcel ofteaching and learning.
Taken together these two plenary presentations might provide an appropriate starting point
for thinking about the forthcoming CUE miniconference on autonomy, by reminding us thatwhile teaching and learning may be different
things, good teaching ( creating memorable
events and working to develop teacher understanding) does lead to effective (autonomous)learning.

15

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...,u1:1111111,_avarietiesofEnglish:
IrishEnglish
Robert Mahon,Osaka City Board of Education
llll'ldlCIIII
searchers agree that non-standard characteristics
oflrish English can be directly attributed to substantial transfer from Gaelic. Interestingly,
though, studies from University College London
have challenged this assumption. Harris ( 1991,
p.41) comments

A regional dialect is a variety of a language
specific to a given geographical region. The regional dialect I discuss here, Irish English, is usually classified as a variety of British English, but
it also shares certain features with General
American English.
Irish English is not the only dialect spoken in
Ireland. There are four present-day linguistic
configurations in southern Ireland, the area comprising of the counties Leinster, Connacht andMunster. These are Irish Gaelic (mainly confined
to rural areas of the West and Southwest), Irish
English (spoken mainly in Cork and tracing its
roots back to the Elizabethan period), Received
Pronunciation (spoken by older, aristocraticfamilies) and finally Standard English with an
Irish Accent (spoken by most people in Ireland
nowadays).
A personal anecdote can illustrate the originof my interest in this particular topic. I remember distinctly an episode from Summer Camp in
1984 when I roomed with two boys from Dublin city. After I made some folksy statement like,"and what did she see there, only a rat!" Theylaughed, saying "this fella talks funny". We were
all aware that a Dublin accent is very distinct
from a provincial one, but there we were realizing that the way we say things is also different.
To put this in a historicl context, the fact isthat English became and remained the vernacular of Dublin city hundreds of years before it took
over the rest of the country, and that has affected
how English is spoken there right up to thepresent day.
In this paper I want to review briefly the mostprominent features of Irish English which distinguish it from other varieties of spoken English. These are in the areas of Grammar, Lexicon and, principally, Pronunciation.

· It has been argued that many of the nonstandard characteristics of Irish English
which were previously attributed to theextensive influence of Irish are more likely
to represent archaic English forms. In somecases it seems necessary to view particular features as reflecting a convergence of
substrata! and earlier superstratal inputs.
As we will see later, Irish English has quite afew lexical items which are archaisms, so it
seems plausible that it retained grammatical constructions in addition to vocabulary, which later
passed out of standard English.
The Finnish linguist Markku Filppula ( 1991)
completed a study which investigated the incidence of three linguistic features:
1. Clefting, a device to give special thematicand focal prominence to a constituent
placed in the hinge position of the sentence; for example, It was the window that
Sean broke.
2. Topicalisation, where a constituent is
moved to the very beginning of its clausefor prominence, in a way very similar toclefting, for example, The window Sean
broke (not the chair).
3. Subordinating and, where and is used to
introduce a subordinate clause lacking afinite verb, for example, He fell and him
crossing the bridge, for He fell while crossing the bridge.
Of course, clefting and topicalisation can beheard in other parts of the British Isles, but muchless. Filppula found that in a sample 1.000 words,
Educated Spoken English (ESE) yielded 0.7 ex-

lrammar
We can find many examples of non-standard
grammar in this particular dialect. Many re-

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1. Universal perfect in which a state of affairs prevailed throughout some interval
stretching from the past into the present
e.g. All the week is after being cold

amples of clefting, Dublin 1.3, Wicklow Gust
south of Dublin) 1.8, and the southwest 2.8. As
regards topicalisation, ESE yielded 0.4, Dublin
0.9, Wicklow 1.4 and the southwest 1.4. Finally,
regarding subordinating and, ESE yielded zero,
Dublin 0.09, Wicklow 0.31 and the southwest
0.32. This result (that subordinating and was theleast common feature of the set) was surprisingbecause in my home area (rural east) the use ofsubordinating and appears to be very common.
It would be interesting to see if the result could
be replicated in further studies.
In any case, Filppula concluded that rural dialects and the urban speech of Dublin are significantly different but that otherwise, Irish English
dialects are relatively uniform.
In addition to the three features highlighted
by Filppula I would postulate various other examples of distinctively Irish grammatical constructions, which can be attributed to thesubstrata! influence of Gaelic , rather than to archaic forms of once standard English:

2. Existential perfect denoting the existenceof past events e.g. Three times she s after
changing it.
3. "Hot News" perfect based on relative recency and the presupposition that the addressee does not yet know the news, e.g.
Leo! I 'm just after sending a lady up thatway.
4. Stative perfect indicating that the direct
effect of a past event still continues, e.g.
What your after gettin ' in the Budget isnothing.
It is also interesting to note the variety of usage categories for after
1. Giving Out (a rebuke). Immediate reference to a concluded action or event, withspeaker expecting an apology or changeof attitude/behaviour by the listener, e.g.
You 're after breaking the gate!

• BIONN SIAD ag caint sa rang

THEY DO BE talking in class

2. Announcement. Immediate reference to aconcluded non-durative action/event, e.g.
I'm after spilling a drop of that in the saucer.

• Tar anseo JONAS GO taispeainfidh me duit

Come here TILL I show you.

3. Report. Proximate reference to a concluded action/event (non-durative) or stateof affairs (durative ), e.g. Shes only after
joining. Non-durative; They 're just after
being used up. Durative.

• Tusa ata ann an ea?

Is it yourself that's in it?

1
1

A study by a linguist from Trinity College
Dublin, Jeffrey L. Kallen ( 1991), investigated theincidence of another well-known syntactic feature, the use of after as a perfective marker.
Kallen conjectures that the origins of this feature may lie in the large-scale contact between
English and Irish speakers in the seventeenth
century. Kallen's study was confined to the Dublin city area; he notes that it is "a large urban
centre in which the Irish language can effectively
be ruled out as a direct influence on the modem
use ofEnglish" (p. 61).
He found that after covers the range of semantic functions for the perfect as described inlanguages generally:

4. Comment. Reference to a state of affairs
which continues from a non-proximate
past through the moment of speech; sharedknowledge of the state of affairs is presupposed, e.g. Its after getting real long.
5. Narrative. Narration of past event; typically using past tense (pluperfect), e.g. /was just after saying to Aine .
6. Non-factual. Hypothetical/counterfactual
related uses, e.g. A student will be after
accomplishing an academic task.
7. Reported speech. Quoted uses of caegories
1 and 4 above, with embedding as appropriate, e.g. I wouldn 1 want you coming

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over and saying, "Look, what you 're after
doing to it."Kallen concluded that after "is favoured foruse in contexts where the relationship between
the designated event/state of affairs and the timeof speaking ... is fairly recent" (p.72). Regarding
conditioning by discourse factors, it is favouredin "friendly" and family domains. Kallen also
found that after is not confined to any particularage or social group.

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Prenancllllon

Our final section reviews dialect pronunciation
in southern Ireland. If we consider segmental fea~tures, the following observations can be made.
Irish English is firmly rhotic. It has a complete
range of vowel oppositions in the environment offollowing/r/. Hence,all the followingminimalpairs
are distinguished from each other: mere/myrrh,
care/Kerr,pour/per,horse/hoarse,born/borne,and
Mary, marry and merry.
This /r/ has a strikinglydark resonance,particularly in final and pre-consonantal environments.
LIIICOI lrlSldV
As for the other liquid,Ill, in Irish English it is genWhen we consider lexicon and prosody, we erally clear in all environments..
can certainly find evidence of how earlier forms
Regarding weak vowels, it can be noted thatwhich are now archaic in standard English were phonologicallythere is only one reduction vowel
preserved in Irish English. Rapscallion, delph, in Irish English.The weak form for my pronouncedlad, mangey,ye, cobbler, aye, cur, cog, mannerly, as me extendsfar up the socialscale.By pronounced
whelp, perch (for distance) etc. are all words very as be is more likelyto be a "consciousHibernicism"familiar to me (a native of a rural area in the east (Wells, 1982).
of Ireland) but not, I think, to many speakers of
For many of us in southern Ireland, theta andstandard English!
eth are impossible to get right. They are released
In Gaelic, schwa insertion or epenthesis occurs as dental plosives rather than as interdental fricabetween liquid or nasal consonants, and is seen in tives; they are not distinguishedand in some cases
Irish English in words such asfilm andform. This
may not even be perceived. Personal experience isphenomenon also occurs between a plosive (including theta) and a liquid or nasal, e.g. in petrol relevant here. While engaged in phonemic tranand Dublin. The two processes combined can give scriptionI found myself relying on familiaritywith
a distinctivepronunciationto words such as apron, Irish "mistakes" to transcribe theta and eth. Foror the name Charles. Plosive epenthesis makes example when faced with a new word like throw
homonyms of false and faults, scents and sense. or thousand! would have no idea if the initialsoundAnd if we consider stress for a moment, certain was voiced eth or voiceless theta. I knew, though,words can take on a non-standard form, e.g. com- how the words might be mispronounced. Thus themittee, architecture, lamentable, educated, disci- initial sound was recogniz.edas theta. Similarly I
pline, etc. Commentingon this phenomenon,Wells could tell that words like, thus, though or this con(1982) notes that in Ireland word stress is more tained initial Th. In intervocalic positions where
flexiblethan in StandardEnglish.The same speaker Standard English would have /ti and General
might use both stress patterns interchangeablyfor American English would have a flap, Irish English
the same word. Also, the addition of an unstressed can have a voiceless, alveolar slit fricative similar
pronoun can trigger a stress shift, e.g. standardpro- to esh in words like bottom,jetty, hit, etc. This kindnunciation of educated would change in a state- of lenition can lead (at a further stage in the procment like, He educated her and recognizedher taless) to /h/ which is in fact the phonologicallylenitedents.
form of /ti in Gaelic.
We can also advert here to one more prosodic
Irish English has no glide cluster reduction; /hifeature, namely that Yes/No questions may have afalling intonation in Irish English, in contrast to is kept in the environment of a following /w/. Its
both Standard English. and Standard American phonological distribution is wide and is probably
due to the substratal influence of Gaelic. Again,
English.
One final point on lexicon. As is obvious from though, it's possible that a superstratal element iswords like behaviour and from other examples in also involved. The first community of English
this paper, British spelling conventions predomi- speakers on the island of Ireland was establishednate and the American English forms are, perhaps in the twelfth century when the British English /hiironically,stigmatized in Ireland.
was also aspirated much more stronglythan today,

and

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and was kept in the environment of a following/w/.

Harris, J. (1991). Ireland. In Cheshire, J., (Ed.)
EnglishAround the World:SociolinguisticPerspectives (pp. 37-51). Cambridge: Cambridge
University Press.
Filppula, M. (1991). Urban and rural varieties ofHibemo-English. In Cheshire, J. (Ed.) English
Around the World: SociolinguisticPerspectives(pp. 51-61). Cambridge: Cambridge University
Press.
Kallen, J. L. (1991). Sociolinguisticvariation andmethodology: after as a Dublin variable.In
Cheshire,J. (Ed.) EnglishAround the World: Sociolinguistic Perspectives (pp. 61-75). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Wells, J. C. (1982). Accents of English 2. Cambridge : Cambridge University Press.

To quickly summarisethese segmentalfeatures,glance back over what you've just read and try
makingthis statementwith a rustic Irish lilt!: Thoseboys there are whelps; they better give back thethirty-threepence I lent them.
In Irish English you still may hear the lax vowel/ey/ substituting the tense vowel /iy/ (We preservea featurethat disappearedin standardEnglish,probably, in the late 1700's. We can refer to Shakespeare's rhyming of case with ease, or grease withgrace, and we also have Alexander Pope's couplet"Here Thou, great Anna whom three realms obey,
dost sometimescounsel take? and sometimestea."
Wells (1982) quotes findings by Bertz that thisfeature is most frequentlyheard in the items: leave,
meat, eat, beat, cheat, tea, mean, easy, quay, treat
and Jesus. However, this it is often done as a Avery,P. & Ehrlich, S. (1992). TeachingAmerican
EnglishPronunciation.Oxford:Oxford Univerconcious joke or Hibemicism.
Secondly, in Gaelic, Isl followed by "I" or "e",sity Press.
before "t'', and at the end of a word, is pronounced Mccrum, R, Cran, W., & MacNeil, R (1986). The
as esh, giving an initial "shushing" sound in words
Story of English. New York: Penguin.
like, steal and stairs.
Gaelic slender /ti is very close to the affricate"t-esh ligature." Also, /aw/, not /ow/ occurs before/-ld/. Finally, as we saw earlier, though Irish English may pronounce a word like "educate" as inStandard English, adding a preceding unstressed
pronoun can trigger a stress shift. How does all
this affect a statement like, " Matthew is very bold;
he shows his old fella no thanks though he educated him and reared him."
In conclusion, then, we can say that substrata.I
influences from Gaelic and superstratalinfluencesfrom British English seem to have been significant factors in the creation of Irish English, a regional accent which is very distinctive as regards
grammatical constructions, lexicon and intonation
patterns. The degree to which substrata! orsuperstratal influences determined the nature of
spokenEnglish in Irelandis open to furtherresearchand could yield valuable insights.
As Harris (1991) puts it: "Future empirical research into this area is to be welcomed not only forthe light it may shed on the complexities of thesociolinguistic situation in Ireland but also for thecontribution it may be expected to make to a general understanding of the role played by sociopolitical factors in shaping the course of linguisticchange" (p.46).

lthernetulsoun:esfReferences

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1,111111

Chewing
theCUIwithAlison& Neil:theWIFFlErs

Alan S. Mackenzie, CUE Coordinatorlntreducuon
CUD's or College and University Discussion
groups are small, informal groups of college anduniversity educators that decide on setting aside
time in their busy schedules for some form ofcooperative development. The following is theresult of an e-mail interview conducted with
Alison Stewart (AS) of Waseda University
School of English Literature and Neil Cowie(NC) ofSaitama University, both of whom havestarted their own groups on their own initiatives.
The main difference between them is that the
Waseda group consists of teachers from within
the Waseda School of Literature alone, while
Neil's group is a collection of teachers from different institutions with a similar research focus.

Both of you groups have similar acronyms.
What are they? What do they mean and why
did you choose them?
AS: Before it first got off the ground nearly
two years ago, the name WAFFLE was bandied
about, for no particular reason other than thatthe object of the meetings was talk, and becauseof a vague assonance with TEFL. To be honest,
I'm still not sure what it should be called, sincenaming it will probably entail determining its
purpose more clearly, something that at present
none of the usual participants seem to want, andwhich might turn off other participants fromjoining in in the future. In the email notices ofmeetmgs that I send out to all the English teachers in the department I generally call it a seminar or discussion group, although I also try andmake it plain that a (the) major reason for the
meeting is the beer afterwards. It worries methat 'seminar' comes over as 'hard work',
whereas the real object is 'focused talk'.
NC: WAFFLE - Writing and Feedback for Language Educators. Apart from the obvious double meaning we started off talking about writing and feedback in particular - we have carried on with that ever since the first meeting.

What is the purpose of the group and why did
you start it?
AS: The idea to set up a special group for teachers to meet and talk grew out of a situation thatwas going on naturally in the staffroom. A change
in the timetable at Waseda meant that a numberof new teachers were taken on at the same timeto teach the same slots on Monday and Tuesday
mornings. For whatever reason, a great rapport
developed between many of these teachers andthe talk before and between classes was something that many of us found very stimulating. In
addition, at the time, a number of us were preparing to give papers at JALT and other conferences, so one of the initial ideas was to create aforum for rehearsing presentations and getting
constructive feedback from peers.
NC: About three years ago three of us; Ethel
Ogane, Andy Barfield, and myself all were on
the same small group at a Teacher Education SIG
sponsored weekend workshop on action research.
There were about six groups all looking at different topics. I think it is probably fair to say that
our focus (on writing) was the most fruitful one
because it is such a rich and complicated topic
but at the same time a very focused one - wefound we had a lot we could share and learn fromeach other. Later we met several other teachers
through the Tokyo Foreign Languages University and expanded a bit.
I guess each person would probably view our purpose differently but to meet and talk about teaching writing, and researching writing methodology is the general aim. Of course we are goodfriends so it's not as dry as that sounds -we meetfor a whole day usually and get a lot of eating
and drinking done together.
Where do you meet?
AS: We generally meet round a table in a roomin the English department. However, what goesn_,IIH:11111111,lalll

11111
on after the meeting (in the pub) is also important to the aims of the group, i.e. talking shop.
NC: We all live in the Kanto area: Tokyo,
Tsukuba, Saitama , Kawasaki. We take it in turns
to go to each others' houses/offices I guess wehave averaged about four meetings a year and
we decide the topics one meeting at a time. The
office meetings are probably the most effectivefrom a 'getting things done' point of view. We
probably focus too much on socialising in ahouse.

How many people typically attend?
NC: Usually around four , five or six.
AS: I would say there is a core group of four of
us. The largest meeting had eight, the smallest
only two, though it was no less stimulating forthat.
Whathas beendisc~in the lastfew mee~?
NC: We did a joint presentation at JALT, 2000
so planning for that was a big item: the connecting theme was about how to recycle student ideas
into current classes . At next year 's JALT we aim
to present on how we have researched about
weaker students and their writing.
AS: The shape and content of these meetings
has changed considerably over the two years of
its existence. For one thing, half the people coming to the meetings this year are new to Waseda
and to this group , and have brought with them arange of new interests and concerns. In our firstyear, some of us were motivated to use the meetings as trial runs for conferences (student selfassessment, content-based teaching in writingclasses) or for new research plans (introducing
controversial subjects in the classroom). We also
used the group as a basis for our own development as teachers in the classroom, with three ofus video-ing each other's classes for our own
benefit as well as for wider discussion. This semester we've done a workshop on using projects
in writing classes, which in turn led to the topic
of the next meeting: how to get students to talkand participate in class.
How do you choose your topic focus?
NC: Writing has always been the focus, although we have talked about other issues (teach-ing British studies for example). However, wehave tried to stick to the original theme of feedback: initially we looked at different ways forteachers to give feedback, and have widened thatto feeding back student ideas into subsequent
lessons. Our next topic, on weaker students, isan ext~nsion of the feeding back process because
it has arisen out of our reflections from the JALT
2000 presentation including feedback given byparticipants. So far we have tended to look at
better students and we felt it was time to look atones who may be struggling more.
AS: To begin our topic focus was entirely up
to the people who were leading each discussion.
This semester the three of us who have taken
part in the video project will identify a problem
in our own class , and we'll leave it to the workshop to discuss what was interesting or different
about other people's classes. Generally, like
Neil's group, we take one meeting at a time. The
theme for the next meeting usually grows out of
the meeting we are having.

Participantsobviously spend a lot of time coming to these meetings on weekends, why do you
think they attend?
NC: They are productive and good fun. We always learn something from each other and havea good laugh.
AS: Mostly, I suppose because we are all fairly
motivated as teachers and because we get onquite well. As a full-time teacher, I feel slightly
ambivalent about my role in getting people tocome. I do want more people to be involved but
I don't want to badger anyone. It has to be purely
voluntary, and the risk then is that it just drifts
apart.
How do your respective institutionsview thesegroups?
NC: They are not involved at all.
AS: My institution is aware of the existence ofthe group to the extent that I book a room throughit; otherwise, it has no interest in it. I've tended
to limit the meetings to the English-speaking
teachers, mainly because they all knew eachother and felt comfortable with each other already. In a way, the formation of this group issimply the consolidation of an informal group11

IIC

•

ing that already existed. I've wondered whether
I should try to open it up more: the dilemma thenis, how to balance an atmosphere of trust andmutual support with new and different ideas andperspectives.

ably won't last long. We have found presenting
at the JALT conference (and proceedings) to bea good focus on which to organise ourselves - itis an external stimulus to make sure things get
done.

What problems have you had setting up yourgroups?
NC: No problems at all.
AS: The main problem is one of keeping up
the momentum. Last year, it took ages to get off
the ground again after the summer break. So far,the meetings have been on Saturday afternoons,since this coincides with the teaching schedulesof two of the core participants. However, there
have been suggestions that a weekday evening
would be better. The question is, which weekday?
One of the main issues affecting the group now
is that even the core members have pressing commitments elsewhere which means less time forthe group.
Generally, I think that any group needs some direction and coordination and I feel that I should
be doing more to provide that if the group is tocontinue as a forum for all the English teachers.
If it ends up (as it seems to be at present) as asmall but stable teacher self-development support group, then that direction and coordination
would presumably be a more collaborative effort.

C11c11s111
The main points that come out of this interview
are that any group of committed teachers whoare interested in talking about teaching can cometogether in small groups to discuss what they are
doing and how they wish to change.
The success of the groups mentioned above relyon:
• regular meetings at mutually agreed times• having a theme set before the meeting• sticking to the theme in the meeting but
allowing flexibility for thematic development• arranging the theme for the next meeting
during the current one• combining "business" with a social event• having a concrete goal such as a paper ora presentation helps• creating a friendly, cooperative, respectful atmosphere

What advice would you give to people wanting to start their own CUD?
AS: It depends very much on individual circumstances. In this case, the group was set up toextend the opportunities for teachers working inthe same department to talk about what they do.
The aims of the group have so far deliberately
lacked any focus, because the idea has been to
include more teachers with different interests andobjectives. Other groups might decide from theoutset to work towards specific goals. Either way,
the important thing as I see it is to stimulate goodteacher talk.
NC: Find people who are genuinely interested
in a topic( s), make the meetings purposeful andsocial, and see if you can gel with each other.
Share the work of organising and writing up
around - if it rests on one person then it prob-• having group members take turns to direct
meetings

If you are interested in starting your own CUD,
all you need is one other person and you are agroup. Start talking, give yourselves a witty acronym, and send us a brief report of what you
are doing so that we can share your activities
with other CUE members.

nlllllllll'IIN:....

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TheSuddl-1-Opening
Debra Pappier and Mark Weinkle
you still have openings in your schedule, they
are more likely to think of you when they hearof a position.
Job-hunters who do hear of an opening andwant to send a CV should be sure to get the nameof someone in the department they are applying
to. Letters addressed simply to the English Department don't always get to the correct person.
In addition, many universities have a variety ofschools (e.g. the School of Literature, the Schoolof Foreign Languages) that use native English
teachers. According to Greg Strong of Aoyama
University getting a name may be the key factor
in keeping your CV out of the rubbish bin.
"There's always plenty of openings, provided
that teachers looking for work ask their friends
for the contact names in the particular departments. If you don't have a contact, then yourresume may be simply passed down the line andeven discarded." If your CV meets a school's
criteria, it will usually remain on file until openings come up. This doesn't mean, however, thatyou should just assume that they will contact you
as soon as they have an opening. Brief followup letters and calls can remind people that you
are still looking (avoid making a pest of yourself, however). A time that you should most definitely follow-up is when you hear from a colleague that a school that you've sent your CV tohas an opening. A quick note or call can bringyour CV out of the file cabinet and into consideration.
It seems obvious but instructors on the lookout for new positions should always have an updated CV ready to be sent. When filling positions that have suddenly become available, timeis an important factor. If you hear about a position, your CV should be in the mail the next day;better yet your CV should be in your briefcase
to be immediately passed on to the person fromwhom you hear about the position. Because they
are eager to fill unexpected openings, you should
assume that a university will hire the first qualified person they find. If you have to spend time

Even though most asort out their spring schedul
seems that every year one heings; some occurring only w
is about to begin. While thisschedule-maker, it's good neteacher looking to fill out
So if you haven't yet workfor next Spring, don't fret:sional Development Page wil
ing up those last minute pos ·By their very nature une
not predictable, but accordin
trators contacted for thisary.
occur in December, Janu ""c.t :;.,..'...!.~o.:.':!
-1(~f-;-'il• _..
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ommon,so 1:_(fomeiiSl f•. mostas March T~-~•7Ji
of opening
leav-time posi ·leaver; sicknes

en searofTokyo ruvers1 ocover the courses, the school
teachers if they know other int be interested or refers to its
f the position can't be filled
thods, the school might placein The Language Teacher or
nal publication. Part-time teachup positions after the regulars ended can maximize theirowing some simple advice.
e you have to know somee connotations, it couldn't be
en looking for work at univerany openings are never listed
i~n and are basically filled byetworking with colleagues andand JALT members is a good way toen openings. If people know that
II

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updating your CV or working on your cover let• ter,someone else will pick up that job .
•• Thoughn1s 11,••• 111111111111
Seasonthe process for picking up work out
1. Network with people in who work at uni!I of season is similar to the regular application
versity and JALT and CUE members andone important difference is timing. Last•• process,tell them you still have openings in yourminute jobs are rarely advertised and fill quickly.
schedule
are also generally less flexible in terms of• Theyuscheduling; therefore, it can help to include your
2. Whenever you hear of an opening try to-~availability in your cover letter. Doing so saves
both you and the administrator the hassle of comparing schedules only to find out that they don't
match. 'I think it helps to indicate available timeslots,' says Hiroko Hagino, a part-time lecturer.
'for example indicating Tuesday afternoons 16pm and Thursday afternoons, etc. Giving a few
options would help instead of giving only one
available day.' Most of the advice offered above
may seem obvious to those already working inuniversity. For those just getting started, however, or trying to fill their schedules, employing
the above tips can make a difference.

get the name of the person to whom you
should send your CV
3. Always have current copies of your CV
both at home and with you
4. Follow-up with letters or brief phone calls
5. Include your availability in your cover letters
6. Respond quickly

1s1111111111rc1s
http://www.ohayosensei.com
http://www.eltnews.com/jobsinjapan.shtml
http://www.wizweb.com/~susan/mainpage
http:/ /www.eslcanada.com/actj/
http://langue.hyper.chubu.ac.jp/jalt/features/jobs.html

I

I IIIIB't11111
wish11111
CllllltlillSISiliB1h11-

i SIIB,illSIbadBIIIIIBPI Pelican
PeteandJapan's
Generaaon
Y.
Michael Carroll, Kyoto University of Education
Like many teachers, I often play songs in class.
In a country where Karaoke is such a pervasive
pastime, students are often highly attuned (nopun intended) to listening to the words of songs,
as well as simply enjoying the relaxing effect ofthe music. Choosing the song though, is not entirely unproblematic. Unlike the generally clear
diction of Japanese songs, the English of much
popular music is sometimes difficult to process
into words and phrases. Lyrics also vary at thelevel of discourse comprehensibility and in termsof whether they express any intrinsically interesting ideas. Some pop music scores highly interms of clarity of enunciation, and comprehensibility, but lower in terms of interest, while lyrics worth thinking about are often not so easy toactually hear.
A chance discovery made through my children a few years ago led me to a suite of songs
that combine clarity and comprehensibility, andwhich appear to tap into a philosophy of life
shared, or on occasion opposed, by many of myfirst year students. The songs come from a 1990s
television animation popular in Australia among
the under-5s, Ferry Boat Fred. The theme offriendship looms large in Ferry Boat Fred's

14

Wllllr!Hl:11111111.-1

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ciety he lives in: 'Who would
need for our lives if everyb
In the recurring debate
dents' oft-posited lack of critIand unwillingness to express m'these students' responses to
Pelican Pete seem to point tveloped capacity not only £about their own and other swillingness to challenge maj
issues surrounding the placecontemporary Japanese socijor concern of today's geleavers and university stud nwhich can present these isauthentically has been a maj
If one of the marks of goodance of long words and se f ,~fa.!_l~~~•:l.[:;1ortones will do, the choice of 11i ~~~- ute'H0·,,111s1n,,;;(j):1,thatfor one's purpose, then it'
these songs, in this context,
municative purpose so wellost on these students, that thmefrom the radically different culture oflia,
they nevertheless seem t·chstrike such a chord withappie.
Of course at one level the lyrics are as banal as
many long-forgotten pop- ;f}~~-_;ll!: !I-~~~1.f, m... i1'(~~ eemstances of underlying cul .;, 1•R-lll{.f.
11"/,\_1!t[l;s_1~
H,Si ink
to provide an impetus fo
critically both about langua
genuinely to want to makeresources to communicate stance. This is surely a basic goa
teaching in Japan.

world: 'Everyone needs a friend, someone you
can rely on; someone to stand beside you, sailalong and guide you'. Though on the surface
it's hardly a startlingly original sentiment, thesongs develop the theme in various ways, looking at both the value of friendship and the responsibilities incurred by being someone's
friend. Over the last three years of using thesesongs in classrooms I've learned an enormous
amount about my students' personal philosophies through reading their responses to these
deceptively simple songs. Every year there is a
discussion around the socio-cultural implicationsof the indefinite article in 'everyone needs afriend'. Is it important to have one special friend
or is it simply the case that friends are important? Is having a special friend an expression ofgroup membership or of individuality? This in
itself is a poerful demonstration of the connection between grammar and communicaion. Students often refer to other songs, for example
Simon and Garfunkle's 'I am a rock', with it'squite different notion of the place of the individual in society. Even Donne ('No man is an
island') has been brought into the discussions
by well-read English majors.
There is another character in the story, Pelican Pete, who provides a different view of therelationship between the individual and society.
'Pelican Pete, he's got no worries, he just sits inthe sun all day'. Pelican Pete 'makes no plans'
for the future, he just 'sits and fishes all day'.
He never hurries, he's always laughing, he greetspassers by 'with a sparkle in his eye'. For him,'every day is a holiday'. Of course for students
in Japan, this kind of character is precisely the
opposite of the salaryman stereotype, and evenquite opposed to most of their own lives which
are crammed with part-time jobs, club activities
and fulfilling the requirements of their university courses. He arouses strong emotions. Somelook at him with envy. 'He's my image of thetypical Australian! I want to be like him.' Others question the desirability of a life in which'everyday's a holiday'. 'It's true that life in Japan is too busy, but Pelican Pete's life is not theanswer. If everyday was a holiday it would beboring. He seems lonely.' Still others comment
on Pete's sense ofresponsibility towards the so-

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Ian Munby, Hokusei Gakuen University

Summarv
Students predict contents of a newspaper story
from the headline and write prelistening task questions. Follhension task, students assum ,ters in the story and the reporter
article.
I.
2. Preparation
reading co
3. Comprehen
4. Role play.

STAIE
2: Pre1arat11111r
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1. Tell the students that they are the reporters who wrote the article. What questions
would a reporter ask? These should be elicited or constructed with the teacher's help,
and displayed to the class:
Where did the attack happen?
When did the attack happen?
Why did the attack happen?
How seriously was the boy injured?
Was he taken to hospital?
What was his name?
How old was he?
What was the boy doing at the time of theattack?
Did anybody help him?
How did they help him?
What happened to the snake?
How big was the snake?

fleas:

l•ve•:
Matell•ls:
Time:111111111

To help students make questions, suggest
possible answers. For example:
Question: Where did the attack happen?
Answer: Thailand? India? South America?

-

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11111
...
Read the text aloud to the class once, pausing after each sentence. Students answer thequestions from Stage 2, and teacher writes answers on the board .

.....

· eon the board: "GIANT PY-

Distribute copies of the text to the students.
Students check their suggested answers again.

BOY."
python? Are they poisonous?
ey dangerous?"''translate" the headline into~..---~: "a giant python has attacked•••••••v

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Have students role play the dialogue between
the newspaper reporter, the snake attack victim,
and his parents.

Reflecdons

Eliciting questions is worthwhile for bothteacher and students. When students have a partin the design of tasks, these become learner strategies which can be applied to other listening andreading comprehension activities. Repeatedpractice with eliciting questions about stories
from headlines in subsequent sessions should
result in learners becoming more adept at forming and confirming hypotheses about an article.
Grammar problems may arise in constructing
questions, but this creates ideal conditions forteaching grammar within the context of the task.

Students may make incorrect predictions,which may lead to them making irrelevant questions. Although these unanswerable questions
may temporarily interfere with comprehension,
they may result in a positive learning experienceas students readjust their predictions when dealing with spoken or written input.

V1rl1d11:
Gue11111
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Between stages 3 and 4, hand out the sametext with a matching exercise where students
match difficult or potentially unknown words
from the text with their definitions. The aim of
this activity is to help students guess the meaning of words from context, without using a dictionary.

Tall:
Associated Press, 1999

GIANT PYTHON ATTACKS BOY
CAIRNS, Australia (AP). The parents ofa 7-year-old boy awoke to find their son
smothered in the coils of a giant python andslashed the reptile with machetes until it slithered into the jungle, the boy's mother said
Wednesday.
"It was like a horror movie. All I could see
was my boy's head and toes," Kathy Dryden
told the Associated Press by telephone fromthe tropical town of lnnisfail, 1,150 miles(1,840 kilometers) north of Sydney, in Australia's tropical northern state of Queensland.
Dryden said her son was treated for lacerations to his legs, and bruises, but was
not seriously injured. lnnisfail police said theincident had been reported to them but they
did not plan to search for the snake.
Dryden said she was awakened early
Tuesday by screams from the room of her
son Bartholomew and ran to the son's room
along with her husband Peter, a school
teacher. There they found a four-meter (14foot) long python crushing and trying to swallow Bartholomew.
"It was a hot night and Bartholomew waslying under a mosquito net. He suddenly
started screaming. We rushed to the bedroom to find this huge snake trying to strangle him," she said. "It was coiled three times
around his arms and neck and was going
down his body."

11

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1h111u11iti1111:
Teaching
ReductionsaUsingAuthentic
Materiale•-Brent Poole,Human International University- Japan

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summarv

2. Have the students work in pairs and writein the reductions where they think they willappear. At this time, the teacher shouldmill about and answer any questions.

This activity is designed to raise learners'
consciousness by recognizing reductions. Intertwined with this is the goal of helping them tounderstand that there is a difference between
written and spoken discourse.
Facus: Reductions in spoken discourse.
level:
Intermediate (TOEFL 450 +)1111r111:A copy of the video The Fugitive;
a section of dialogue; Q. and A.
cards. The best way to make thesecards is to print and laminate
them. Each question and answer
must be on a separate card.
lad111le: EFL learners in particular often
have trouble recognizing and understanding authentic discourse.
By making aspects of this discourse explicit, we may facilitate
comprehension.
30-45 minutes.
Time:

WrittenSpoken(have) got to gotta
out ofoutta
want towanna
ought tootta

ExampleI gotta find Dr. Kimble.
I gotta get outta here.
I wanna find the suspect.
I otta get outta here

Gerard: There's no way ___this place!
Renfro: Yeah, we
go up.
Gerard: What?
Renfro: You go down that way!
Gerard: No, no.
3. Play the scene from the movie. It may benecessary to replay it a few times. Thenelicit answers from the students.
4. Have students form groups of three andhave them practice the dialogue. Make
certain that everyone has the opportunity
to be a different character. Next, ask for agroup to volunteer in front of the class.

IVlrvllW
The activity below can be used with any
movie. First, the teacher explains the learning
objectives of the lesson. Next, learners use thecontext from the dialogue to predict where thereduced forms will appear. By watching themovie clip, students check the accuracy of their
hypotheses. After that, opportunity is given toact out the scene. Finally, an interactive gamelike activity allows for students to practice theform while negotiating meaning.

5. Each question and answer needs to be on
separate cards and it is best if they are different colors. Distribute the cards and havestudents find their partners by asking andanswering the questions. As students look
for their partner, they are not only
practicing listening to and producing reductions, they are also negotiating meanmg.

1. Give a brief explanation of what a reduction is (i.e. (have) got to in written discourse is often spoken as gotta) and havethe students repeat the examples that are
given in the handout. Give a synopsis of
the movie and describe the scene that will
be played later.

Eu• III:
Q: Didja see Dr. Kimbel on the train?
A: Yes, he was dressed in a blue suit.

21

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feet off ofthis river. Make him aware of thesewires.
Biggs: Sam! __outofyourmind?! He's
dead!
Gerard: That __make him easy to catch!
Hounds, I want hounds on both banks of thisriver for two miles, upstream and downstream.
Gerard: You guys ___search and rescue
team in this county?
State Trooper: Yeah, we do.
Gerard: __down here and drag the bottom of this spillway.

Q: Doya gotta go now?
A: Yeah, but I'll call back soon.

Q: Ya, gonna give me money?
A: Not unless I hafta.
The questions and answers could be previewed or it could be left up to the students tonegotiate the correct answer.
6. As a review, the teacher can go over all of
the reductions that were used in the dialogue and game.

Ranecuons
Written(have) got to
outof
get himwant towhat are you
ought toSpokengotta
outta
get'emwanna
wad' dya
Otta

ExampleI gotta find Dr. Kimble.
I gotta get outta here.
Getem here now!
I wanna find the suspect.
Wad'dyaoutofyourmind?
I otta get outta here

Directions: With a partner, fill in the blanks theway you think they will appear in the dialogue.
Scene: Gerard's pursuit of Dr. Kimble continues. The Doctor enters a drainage pipe in thehopes of escaping but he soon realizes that there
is no place to run.

This exercise has been effectively used anumber of different times. Students often comment that they found it to be useful in that they
were learning "real English". By giving learners opportunities to move beyond "teacher talk,"
we can raise their level of consciousness and at
the same we may be aiding in comprehension.

1111,ancas
Davis, Andrew (Director). (1994). Harrison
Ford is the Fugitive . [videotape] Warner
Home Video.
Stuart, Jeb, Twohy, David. (1995). [Screenplay]
Harrison Ford is The Fugitive. Nagoya:
Screenplay Publishing Co. Ltd.

Renfro: Yeah, we ___go up.
Gerard: What?
Renfro: You go down that way!
Gerard: No, no.
Renfro: Go up! Go up!
Biggs: Up, up, up the stairs! Up Up!
Renfro: Poole, ____
down here now.
Helicopters. Divers.

Poole, Newman and two state troopers comerunning toward Gerard's group. Gerard isgiving orders over his radio.

in

Gerard: ___on the telephone. ___toturn that water off. Come over here, gentleman. Put two patrol cars on that bridge down
there. Four patrolmen. Have them glass thisriver upstream and down. Next thing, I
see a helicopter come over here, one hundred

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Tokailniva
21

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erspectiVe
ontheRecem
DebateonrlVLanguage
EducadonPolicv
ShiftalJohn T. Denny, Taiwan

-·~

=
Cl
=

s, the world has seen an unfavor of the use of English
ational communication. It hason the question of how, and- g of this 'global' language-ed into any given nation's for-appears to be based on theedge of the native language islearning other languages, or for usfor abstract or intellectual
1 e there is plenty of research
expression .
supporting s~eions for delayed instruction,
there ·
amount suggesting instruction
e is the key to multilingualcompConsequently, rather than argue about the timguage education, I feel wettention on a much more funarding the Japanese nationala real second language thatthan simply studied. That is,
orts a goal of English-Japathere needs to be a majors of viewing how languages,..,__ ..... u ,--,:~c·=.,._-__C,-_anfocus constantly on whenoduced to the school curricu. e the inefficiency of typicalfo •ucation as a basis for foreignlan~-yview, it is not plausible to
mak lilliililli ~ rly language education ascap- 1 issue, which is a lack ofe_~to the target language and al~lf-study.

The reality, in my opinion, is that formal education alone does not result in good learning.
Therefore, I would like to see a greater effort
inclusive program oflanfocussed on creating anguage learning at all ages and across all sectorsof society, and so necessitating massive informal educational opportunities for self-study.
Because of the inefficiencies of mass education
I would like to see a de-emphasis on formal educational language learning in Japan, and elsewhere.
To exemplify this point, think for a moment
about two imaginary cases of a child attempting
language practice at home. Child A lives in a
supportive environment where the parents areboth bilingual, books in both languages abound,multilingual media is available and the parents
encourage exposure at all points in the child'slife.
In another scenario envision Child B. ChildB lives without books, her/his parents speak only
the mother tongue and she/he is not encouraged
to communicate with the parents. I hope that you
can see, through those two disparate examples,the shift from formal education as a stimulus forreal learning. Child A has all the advantage of ahealthy environment in which learning is supported by the family, while Child B is found to
be at a terrible disadvantage due to the lack ofenvironmental support for his/her learning.
The bottom line for Japan and other nationsattempting the goal of mass-bilingualism is asfollows: requesting more language education is
like throwing money in the wind when a societal
shift supporting the massive change is notpresent. A solution that creates massive exposure to and motivation for the target language
while not burdening those who do not wish topartake in the language shift is paramount to thecause. My recommendation would include a directional change from rigorous exam-basedlearning. Thinking about when and where tolearn the language should be superseded bythinking about exposure, and opportunity for
self-learning at all stages in life.
31

Wl•er2111: ltlllll l,111111

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RighttoReply
Colla
Sloss
replies
toBeraM•lvev
I was rather surprised by Mr Mulvey's response to my letter (On CUE 8, 2) which had
been written partly in response to his interestingarticle in the previous On Cue (8, 1). Unfortunately, I feel he has some what misunderstood
my intentions. I would like to stress that it iscertainly not my intention to "demonize" theMonbusho.
The unremarkable point that I hoped to makeis that I agree with many of our Japanese colleagues that the proposed reforms of the national
universities should not primarily consist of costcutting measures. As I understand it from Mr
Mulvey's article and response to me, he agrees
with this point as well.

-•-•
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T11acbiB!I
IIJCIIBd-lan1111a1111
WritiBI/: =•s.
CherryCampbell,Heinle and Heinle,

IBttJractiB!I
withTIJXI

1998. Pp xi+ 95 (,nduding references)
ISBN0-8384-7892-1•

CD

T11acbiB!I
Ill CIIIR//IISilillB:
P11r1111s11,
PrllCIJSS
andPractiCIJ
Dana Ferrisand John Hedgcock,
LawrenceErlhaum,Mahwah,NJ, 1998.
Pp xviii+ 329 (induding references).
ISBN 0-8058-245~2

Reviewed by Alison Stewart,
Waseda University
If, like me, you've been scratching your headover course descriptions and planning for yourwriting classes next year, you could do worse
than to take a look at two books which, in theirvery different ways, reflect the state-of-the-art
of teaching second-language writing. Thesebooks are written chiefly for novice teachers, butwould certainly benefit experienced teachers too.
Both start from the premise that writing itself isa type of social interaction, and from this muchelse follows: both in the way the authors conceptualise how writing is best taught as well as
how they want to get this message across to you,the reader. Rather than laying down any hard-

and-fast rules, their aim is to engage with yourexperiences and practices as teachers, writers
and language learners so as to give you supportand encouragement for creating and developing methods that work for you and your students
in the particular working situation you have tolive with.
Of the two, it must be said, Cherry
Campbell's Teaching Second-Language Writing, is the better read. Written in a light, breezystyle, Campbell shows us what she considers tobe the best in writing pedagogy through thevoices of her students and inspirational colleagues, and her own experience. In her view,31

Wllllr 2111:........

IICIE

I ''writ'i ·plex s•'I•dents) ,takin

in.ball" (p.12), a comincludes (for stu' using the library,isting, clustering,classmates, draftore revising, edrinting, although thisame on any two
y, she sees little·ting or teaching=•~acteristics
of writis unpredictable, its of teachers fmdents with specifice gain insight.
for instance, isa problem of mocademic writingts unhappy with hercourses, she de. library 'in a box'
, ve broad content
choose themselves
arious assignments.
a huge amount ofteacher felt thatre than any otherdents looked like

111113the best policy is that "ESL writing should becautiously eclectic" (p.34). In fact, the philosophy that underlies the practices they advocate is
not as eclectic as this might imply. Like
Campbell, they too are working within the latest paradigm of second-language writing instruction, which they term social constructivism.
Rooted in the heavyweight theories of Vygotsky
and Bakhtin, this view of writing emphasises
such concepts as genre, purpose in writing andcommunities of writers, and these aspects are
explored very thoroughly in chapters on reading-writing relationships, syllabus design andlesson planning, text selection, materials and task
construction, teacher and peer feedback, correction, assessment and computer technology.
The wealth of detail is both the strength andweakness of this book. Like Campbell'sbook,Teaching ESL Composition ends each ofits chapters with questions for the reader to ponder and with applications and examples of thepractices under review. Unlike Campbell's book,however, the examples are general enough toserve without much adaptation as a reference andchecklist for all kinds of course management,
syllabus and task design, peer review forms, selfassessment questionnaires , rating scales andmore. On the down side, the long lists of references to second-language writing research areboth too long (the text occasionally reads like a
PhD dissertation) and too short (there is hardly
any coverage of extensive and pioneering research done in Australia and the UK).
Obviously, these are books written by Americans for ESL teachers in the United States, which
is of course quite different from teaching English writing in Japanese higher education, notleast because of the much lower priority set on
English study by the majority of students anduniversity administrators. There are still very few
higher education institutions in Japan that provide even half the number of contact hours thatare the norm where Campbell and her colleagues
teach. This may change in the future, but in themeantime, these two books can still inspire us
to look for better, more effective ways to help
our students to write in English.

1Sl"Vl'nu.-r,

iting, computern, workshops,
cock's Teachingt a much heavier
omprehensive re.ting research, theouch of the researchbecause, as Tonyo coherent, comg". Research has
eer editing is effecat teaching gram, t it serves a purdoesn 't work andis morass of conck advise us that32

Learning to teach.
Teaching to learn.

The School for International Training (SIT), an
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Course this February in Kyoto. This four week 130
hour intensive course will cover the practical aspectsof teaching English to adult learners and is groundedin SIT's philosophy of experiential learning. New andexperienced teachers are both welcome. Reasonableaccomodation can be arranged. Please see our
website for details and an application.

r

Dates:
Place:
Cost:
Participants:
Trainers:

February 7- March 6, 2000
Kyoto YWCA (Subway Maruta.machi Sta.lion)¥190,000
limited to 12
Bruin Long: MAT SIT, RSA Certificate
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