ethanporcaro/eric-fulltext-meta huggingface dataset:
Reducing Listening Test Anxiety through Various Forms of Listening Support
Author: Chang, Anna Ching-Shyang
Date: 2008-06-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Listening Comprehension Tests,Achievement Tests,Foreign Countries,Listening Skills,Test Anxiety,English (Second Language),Second Language Learning,Teaching Methods,Vocabulary Development,Questionnaires,Interviews,Language Proficiency,Second Language Instruction,Learning Strategies,Business Education,Majors (Students),Scores,College Students

Foreign language learners typically experience considerable anxiety about taking listening tests. This study investigated how four forms of listening support (pre-teaching of content and vocabulary, question preview, and repeated input) affect the anxiety levels of college students in Taiwan taking a multiple-choice achievement test, which counts for their final grade in a required listening course. Participants included 160 students in four intact classes matched in listening ability. The instruments were a general listening anxiety questionnaire, short measures of task anxiety given just before and after the test, and post-test interviews. Prior the test, the test-takers were uniformly anxious but afterwards, there were significant differences in anxiety according to type of support and level of proficiency. A three-way interaction effect indicated that no single factor accounted for the changes in the learners' listening anxiety. It is concluded that strategy instruction may enhance the effectiveness of support in listening tests. (Contains 10 tables, 2 figures and 2 notes.)
Merging a Metalinguistic Grammar Approach with L2 Academic Process Writing: ELLs in Community College
Author: Camhi, Paul J.
Date: 2008-09-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Metalinguistics,Action Research,Writing Tests,Second Language Learning,Process Approach (Writing),English (Second Language),Teaching Methods,Grammar,Academic Discourse,Syntax,Community Colleges,Urban Schools,Writing Instruction,Surveys,Interviews,Student Attitudes,Second Language Instruction

This action research study evaluates a classroom approach incorporating a reflective, metacognitive component within a second language process-oriented writing environment. Inspired by the literature and developed by the first author, this approach seeks to provide English language learners (ELLs) with a command of metalinguistic principles through a process of analysis and discovery, helping them develop greater control and accuracy in the syntactic and rhetorical structure of their writing. Quantitative and qualitative data were collected over three years from 1,016 ELLs at an urban community college, comparing outcomes from the experimental L2 writing classes to those using other approaches. The experimental approach was more successful for ELLs, who passed the institutional writing test at a modest rate (approximately 50%), but one substantially higher than that of students in other classes (20%-28%). Survey and interview data demonstrated student satisfaction with the approach but frustration with class time limitations. (Contains 3 tables and 2 notes.)
Teacher Language in ESL Face-to-Face and Written Electronic Discussions
Author: Fitze, Michael
Date: 2008-09-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Interaction Process Analysis,English (Second Language),Language Teachers,Computer Mediated Communication,Second Language Instruction,Language Usage,Second Language Learning,Comparative Analysis,Classroom Communication,Discourse Analysis,Classification,Intensive Language Courses,Foreign Countries

This repeated-measures, counter-balanced study reports on a comparison of quantity and quality of one teacher's language in face-to-face (FTF) and written electronic (WE) discussions with advanced English as a Subsequent Language (ESL) students. Transcripts from the two types of discussions were compared for complexity of teacher input and the language functions this input served during the discussions. Analyses show that the teacher contributed more words, more t-units, and longer t-units to the FTF discussions, and his contributions were longer, consisting of more t-units. The teacher's input to the FTF discussions, unlike the WE discussion, created inequality in participation in the whole group. In the WE setting, teacher language encouraged interaction with individual students, while in the FTF setting, it tended to promote interaction with the whole group. Categorization and analysis of the language functions used showed statistically significant differences. (Contains 7 tables, 2 figures and 5 notes.)
Web-Based Music Study: The Effects of Listening Repetition, Song Likeability, and Song Understandability on EFL Learning Perceptions and Outcomes
Author: Beasley, Robert E.
Date: 2008-09-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Music,Singing,Educational Environment,Internet,English (Second Language),Second Language Learning,Music Education,Second Language Instruction,Foreign Countries,Student Attitudes,Web Based Instruction,Teaching Methods,Correlation,Sample Size,Regression (Statistics)

This study adds to the body of empirical knowledge regarding the use of music in the EFL classroom. This original investigation centered around the following question: Does listening repetition, song likeability, and/or song understandability influence learning environment perceptions, learning perceptions, and/or learning outcomes in Taiwanese EFL learners engaged in web-based music study? The subjects in this study consisted of 196 Taiwanese students. Correlation and regression analyses were performed to determine if any statistically significant relationships existed between the study's variables of interest. The results suggest that both song likeability and song understandability significantly and positively influence web-based learning environment enjoyment, which in turn significantly and positively influences learning perceptions. Implications for practice are offered, including criteria for selecting appropriate songs for use in the EFL process. (Contains 5 tables, 1 figure and 2 notes.)
English in Kerala: Plus ca Change?
Author: Nayar, P. Bhaskaran
Date: 2008-12-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Applied Linguistics,Ecology,English (Second Language),Second Language Learning,Foreign Countries,Second Language Instruction,Ethnic Groups,Distinctive Features (Language),Teaching Methods

This article overviews the status, ecology, use, and the teaching/learning of English in the southern Indian state of Kerala. It does so along two overlapping dimensions. A socio-demographic dimension situates the ecology of English in Kerala in the general Indian context, and relates it to the ethno-linguistic identity of Kerala. A second applied linguistic dimension tries to explore some of the distinctive features of English taught and used in Kerala, and comments on the prevailing institutionalised praxis of the teaching and learning of English in schools and colleges, leading on to some educational, functional, social and communicational implications intra- and internationally. (Contains 2 notes.)
Diffusion of Innovation: A Plea for Indigenous Models
Author: Rubdy, Rani
Date: 2008-12-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Educational Change,Teaching Methods,English (Second Language),Second Language Learning,Second Language Instruction,Educational Trends,Cultural Context,Foreign Countries,Foreign Policy,Educational Innovation,Language Variation,Indigenous Populations

Much of curriculum innovation in English language teaching in the context of former colonial countries has been derivative rather than generative, imitative rather than self-initiated or self-regulatory. This trend is in part the result of historical exigencies that made the importation of ELT approaches, methods, and techniques for classroom pedagogy from mainstream educational theory and practice in the core countries of the West a &quot;natural&quot; and almost inevitable practical necessity. Such categorical espousal of mainstream western paradigms that fail to take into account existing pedagogical practices that are rooted in organic, homegrown traditions is unlikely to work and therefore may turn out to be of questionable relevance and value. Not surprisingly, then, attempts at energizing the ELT scenario with innovative curricula have not had much success--resulting frequently in what Holliday has aptly called &quot;tissue rejection,&quot; owing to their incompatibility with the &quot;local rhythms&quot; of the contexts and cultures in which these innovations have been transplanted (Holliday, 1994). A more insidious consequence of this trend has been the devaluation and suppression of local practices and the marginalizing and silencing of the voices of local practitioners. We need to develop a more ecological and responsive curriculum, one whose pedagogy is firmly anchored to the specific strengths that local practitioners bring to the classroom, where the local teachers' voices are heard, and where the teaching-learning process is carried out in a more critical and context sensitive way. The article explores the conditions and the parameters that could lead to the creation of such an indigenous curriculum model and identifies aspects that need to be taken into account in creating such a model.
Towards the Creation of Appropriate Teaching Materials for High Proficiency ESL Learners: The Case of Indian Management Students
Author: Nickerson, Catherine
Date: 2008-12-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Business Administration Education,Textbooks,Foreign Countries,North Americans,English (Second Language),Second Language Instruction,Second Language Learning,Instructional Materials,Language Proficiency,Management Development,Material Development,Business Communication

Many of the textbooks used to teach Indian management students are South East Asian editions of U.S. publications. Although these provide a great deal of information on the business world, particularly in a North American context, outside of India, they do not always meet the needs of either the Indian ESL Learner, or of Indian business and industry. This paper seeks to address this imbalance and to identify a number of key areas in which research may usefully contribute to the development of appropriate teaching materials for Indian management students.
Rebuilding English from the Bottom up: Negotiating Basic Literacy with/for Working-Class Adolescents in Kolkata
Author: Fonken, Gael
Date: 2008-12-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Elementary Secondary Education,Multilingualism,Second Language Learning,Educational Change,Foreign Countries,Working Class,Ethnography,English (Second Language),Second Language Instruction,Student Needs,Females,Remedial Instruction,Indians

This ethnographic reflection foregrounds the efforts a K-12 English-medium (EM) school in Kolkata is making to pull EM schooling more fully into India's multilingual ethos. By focusing on the special needs of a small group of struggling working-class girls, the successes of the majority of working-class students at this school become more visible. Through a description of the activities emerging from an experimental &quot;remedial&quot; classroom, I imagine a curriculum designed especially for first-generation English learners. Although such adaptations would be more complicated to implement officially, my intent is to highlight the potential EM schooling has to better address the needs of a country whose majority is still chronically undereducated. For English to become truly Indian, students of all types need to be freer to use it creatively. As a guest teacher from the U.S.A., I recount some tentative moves in this direction, made possible by the special environment at this school. (Contains 2 notes.)
From Experience to Learning: An Appraisal of the Questionnaire and Workshop as Research Methods in ESL
Author: Dheram, Premakumari
Date: 2008-12-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Research Tools,Research Methodology,Questionnaires,Workshops,English (Second Language),Teaching Methods,Reflective Teaching,Second Language Learning,Second Language Instruction,Professional Development,Language Teachers,Teacher Attitudes

An appreciation of the role of reflection in professional development is encouraging more and more research scholars, teachers, and teacher trainers to locate research in the classroom. And, most of them collect data using the questionnaire. Given the situation, it is useful to acquire fresh insights into the questionnaire as a research method in L2 situations. Our study demonstrates that respondents may find exploratory questions threatening both cognitively and linguistically, and choose not to respond to them. This will lead to a low response and return rate of the questionnaire. Although a great deal of guidance is available on the design and administration of the research tool, there appears to be very little research on the relationship between the nature of the open-ended questions and the low response rate, especially in the ESL context. The findings of this study show that researchers, investigating classroom-related issues, can use the workshop as an alternative tool for data on unobservable phenomena such as attitudes, perceptions, and opinions. Between the two research methods, the workshop is less threatening than the questionnaire for two reasons. It allows interaction among peers, encourages them to think on the issues through reflective activities, and facilitates their learning from the experience. (Contains 1 table.)
Media Work: An Authentic Context for Developing Communication Skills in English
Author: Amritavalli, R.
Date: 2008-12-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Teamwork,Interviews,Word Recognition,Communication Skills,English (Second Language),Second Language Learning,Second Language Instruction,Weather,Acoustics,College Students,Skill Development,Radio,Video Technology,Editing,Film Production,Assignments

Entrusting students with the responsibility of creating a programme brings into play various cognitive and linguistic abilities as well as organizational and team work skills, such as researching a topic, planning and visualizing the format and presentation, editing a collection of shots and clips into a coherent whole, interviewing people, narrating and sub-titling, as well as dealing with weather, noise, unexpected technical and human problems, and the varied personalities and abilities within a team. This article briefly discusses the kind of assignments that have been given to students of the Media and Communication programme of the EFL University (formerly CIEFL) over the years, and details some of the responses that have been generated. (Contains 1 note.)
Narrative Strategies in an EFL Classroom: An Experiment
Author: Tickoo, Champa
Date: 2008-12-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Negative Attitudes,English (Second Language),Writing (Composition),Second Language Instruction,Second Language Learning,Case Studies,Teaching Methods,Foreign Countries,Language Teachers,Newspapers,Interference (Language),Language Patterns,Language Acquisition,Language Usage

This article is divided into two parts. Part 1 focuses on the events that took place in teaching the class as a whole. Part 2 presents a case study of five learners who, because they had serious problems, both attitudinal and other problems, received special attention and additional support. The study had two main aims. The first was to respond to the request made by the school principal to help with the problems of teaching English, particularly in one of the high-school classes. The problem was that although the class had learnt English for eight years, they could neither speak nor write it. More importantly, they had built totally negative attitudes toward the learning of the language. The second was to satisfy my own desire to find out how, as a non-native teacher, I could respond to the problems by putting into use different strategies that I had acquired in confronting similar situations over the years. (Contains 1 table and 3 notes.)
Testing Spoken English for Credit within the Indian University System
Author: Chaudhary, Shreesh
Date: 2008-12-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Educational Technology,Computer Networks,French,English (Second Language),Second Language Learning,Language Tests,Oral Language,Second Language Instruction,Test Validity,Test Reliability,College Credits,Foreign Countries,Test Items,Phonology,Pronunciation,Universities

Courses in Spoken English (SE) are yet to be acceptable in Indian universities because conducting session-end tests in SE is assumed to be logistically difficult and academically problematic. This article argues that it need not necessarily be so; session-end tests can be conducted just as in other courses. With voice recording, preferably a computer network in a local area, this can be done relatively easily, meeting all the demands of a standard test with respect to validity, reliability and ease of administration and evaluation. The article begins with a description of some reasons behind the unpopularity of SE tests, particularly at universities, and then talks about the features of a standard academic test. Finally, it reports the results and organization of a session-end test for a credit course in SE at the Indian Institute of Technology, Madras. This article also defines the items to be tested in a course in SE, and argues that there is greater need to test the features of continuous speech than those of the sounds in isolation. Tempo, phrasal pause, and word-stress deserve greater attention than segmental features. Recorded speech, particularly on the computer, can be as easily evaluated and stored for verification as a written text. Use of headphones can facilitate mass recording without compromising privacy, as required in an academic test. Testers can use more than one set of questions to test the predetermined aspects of SE. (Contains 1 note.)
Sensitizing ESL Learners to Genre
Author: Swami, Jasti Appa
Date: 2008-12-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Job Application,Language Attitudes,Writing Instruction,English (Second Language),Second Language Learning,Second Language Instruction,Language Styles,Letters (Correspondence),Writing (Composition),Academic Discourse,Essays,English for Special Purposes,Pretests Posttests,Questionnaires,Observation,Sales Occupations,Foreign Countries,Metalinguistics

This article evaluates the efficacy of explicit genre-based instruction by sensitizing the ESL learners to the concept of genre. The main questions addressed are: How does sensitizing ESL learners to the rhetorical move structure of a genre, the communicative purposes of these moves, and linguistic features that realize these moves help them to become confident writers? What impact does this sensitization have on the learners? To answer these questions, an experiment was carried out by identifying two genres--sales promotion and job application letters--and a text-type--academic essays. This was done for two different groups of students with two different needs-English for Specific Academic Purposes and English for General Academic Purposes. Pre- and post-tests were conducted. An analysis of these test scripts revealed that the students improved not only their confidence to handle genres but also their attitude toward language learning, as explicit instruction provided them with &quot;a concrete opportunity to acquire conceptual and cultural frameworks to undertake writing tasks beyond the courses in which such teaching occurs&quot; (Cheng, 2006, p. 77). The findings drawn from the analysis were also crosschecked for corroboration with the students' responses on the questionnaire and observations recorded in the teaching journal. The findings suggest that knowledge of genre and the generic features works as a powerful pedagogical tool for teachers and it benefits students as well. (Contains 1 table.)
Impact of Professional Learning Community Participation on Teachers' Thinking about Classroom Problems
Author: Padwad, Amol
Date: 2008-12-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Constructivism (Learning),Language Teachers,Professional Development,English (Second Language),Second Language Learning,Second Language Instruction,Teacher Attitudes,Foreign Countries,Professional Associations

Teacher education seems to exhibit a shift from product-oriented mode to social constructivist, process-oriented mode of working. The emergence of professional learning communities (PLCs) of teachers may be seen as one manifestation of this shift. PLCs are increasingly seen as an effective channel for teacher learning and professional development. This article presents the findings of a small-scale research into the impact of the participation in a PLC called English Teachers' Clubs (ETCs) on teachers' thinking about and attitudes towards classroom problems in a central Indian context. It has been found that the participation in ETCs has led to better performance among the members in terms of contextualisation of the problems, critical approach to the problems, belief in self agency and pragmatic approach to finding solutions. (Contains 1 table.)
ESP for Theology: Teachers Must Go the Extra Mile
Author: Devadason, Iris
Date: 2008-12-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Discourse Analysis,Foreign Countries,Philosophy,English for Special Purposes,Second Language Learning,Second Language Instruction,Theological Education,Theses,Writing Instruction,Writing (Composition),Academic Discourse,Teaching Methods,Computer Software

This article describes teacher research in an EAP context, teaching English for theology at the United Theological College, Bangalore, India, an international, liberal, and ecumenical institution. Conceptually grounded in the theory and practice of genre teaching, and discourse analysis of large pieces of texts such as the thesis, inspired by Swales (1990) and Hoey (1983), this article analyses NNS-students' struggle to conform to the academy and seeks ways to enculturate unskilled L2 learners in the art of thesis writing. (Contains 2 tables and 2 notes.)
Special Concluding Essay: Writing for Academic Journals
Author: Saraswathi, V.
Date: 2008-12-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Faculty Publishing,Guidelines,Academic Discourse,Periodicals,Foreign Countries,College Faculty,Writing for Publication

Writing for academic publishing is a unique professional challenge. It is enriching and fulfilling; at the same humbling as well as frustrating. In this article I propose to examine the challenge and offer guidelines necessary in the Indian context, where the &quot;publish or perish&quot; syndrome has just arrived. Academics like to publish, but often lack the expertise. This article begins with the question, &quot;Why write for journals?&quot; The paradox that writers want to write but don't is also investigated. A positive approach to writing is examined. Guidelines on what one should do before, during, and after writing the paper are presented.