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Language teaching
Language teaching
98-325 Allan, Margaret (James Cook U., 98-327 Bariki, Ozidi (U. of llorin, Nigeria). Faut-il
Australia). Assisting autonomous performance. etudier la traduction au secondaire? [Should
Prospect (Macquarie U., Sydney), 12, 3 (1997), translation be studied at secondary level?]
4-14. Francophonie (Rugby), 16 (1997), 8-11.
This paper is concerned with second language (L2) Having been displaced by language teaching methods
pedagogy and focuses on two aspects of autonomy: which emphasise the spoken word much more, e.g. the
autonomy as a communicator in the L2 and autonomy direct method, audio-aural methods and, more recently,
as a language learner. It draws on a case study of a pro- the communicative approach, translation is once again
ject to introduce a group of six postgraduate learners of being recognised as a useful teaching tool. Its use does,
English for Academic Purposes to the concept of dis- however, raise certain questions, including the type of
course intonation. The paper first outlines the theoreti- translation undertaken, which is addressed in this paper.
cal framework of the project, which included the Three levels of translation are identified and related to
design of a CD-ROM program as an integral part of a the school situation: a literal translation, which ignores
consciousness-raising approach to the study of language semantics and may thus be unintelligible; one in which
system. Data are presented from the case study to the translation is comprehensible, but not what a native
exemplify ways in which this approach encourages speaker would say; and one in which the translation
autonomous learning. Interview data are then drawn operates much more at a semantic level—the translator
on for indications that the development of explicit decodes the meaning of the original and re-encodes it
knowledge of the language system can contribute to in the target language. The second level is seen as the
increasing control over language performance. The most appropriate to expect of secondary-level pupils, at
paper also examines features of the context that appear least in translation into the target language, though the
to encourage learner autonomy. third level might be achieved in translation into the first
language. It is emphasised that the use of translation is
98-326 Ayaduray, Jeyalaxmy (Bukit Merah Sec. one approach that needs to be adapted to modern
Sen., Singapore) and Jacobs, George M. teaching techniques, with texts chosen for their interest
(SEAMEO Regional Lang. Centre, Singapore). Can rather than as traps for the linguistically unwary. Some
learner strategy instruction succeed? The case of classroom activities are suggested.
higher order questions and elaborated responses.
System (Oxford), 25, 4 (1997), 561-70. 98-328 Barrett-Lennard, Siri (Macquarie U ) .
Encouraging autonomy and preparing for IELTS:
Previous research on learner strategy instruction has mutually exclusive goals? Prospect (Macquarie U.,
produced mixed results. This article reports a study in Sydney), 12,3(1997), 29-40.
which two classes of 32 Singapore upper secondary
school second language users of English participated. Although the IELTS (International English Language
Both classes had the same teacher. One class received Testing System) training industry is flourishing, over-
instruction in asking higher order questions; the other seas students from non-English speaking backgrounds
class did not. Higher order questions are related to the may not be getting the assistance they need to integrate
development of thinking skills. Participants' questions successfully into university studies in Australia. This
and responses to questions during small group discus- paper reviews studies that show that these students need
sions were tape-recorded before and after the 10-week help not simply with language, but also require assis-
treatment. While there were no significant pre-instruc- tance in learning how to learn at an Australian universi-
tion differences, after the instruction the treatment class ty. The paper then goes on to describe and evaluate the
asked significantly more higher order questions and academic preparation courses at the National Centre
provided significantly more elaborated responses. A for English Language Teaching and Research (NCEL-
0.05 alpha level was used. The findings are discussed in TR) which attempt to address both the linguistic and
the light of theory and previous research on issues of socio-cultural needs of learners from non-English
learner strategy instruction, the teaching of thinking speaking backgrounds.
skills, and learners' use of questions.
152 Lang.Teach. 31,152-185. Printed in the United Kingdom © 1998 Cambridge University Press
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98-329 Benucci, A. (U. of Siena). La lingua agents. Twelve Arabic textbooks taught in junior high
italiana descritta nelle grammatiche per stranieri. schools in the Hebrew educational system in Israel
[The Italian language described in grammar books were examined. The findings indicate that Arab society
for foreigners.] Rassegna Italiana di Linguistica is presented in a partial, subjective, and unbalanced
Applicata (Rome), 29, 3 (1997), 59-73. manner. It is claimed that the textbooks under investi-
gation do not reflect the new reality in the Middle East
Learners often complain that, by favouring structural in the era of peace nor the contemporary Arab culture.
skills, formal instruction in Italian as a second or foreign These findings are seen as especially significant in light
language tends to neglect the acquisition of pragmatic of the fact that within the Israeli setting Arabic text-
competence. On the assumption that this imbalance is books constitute one of the most meaningful sources of
partly due to the language content of grammar text- knowledge about Arab society.
books, the author (herself an experienced Italian
teacher) has carried out a comparative study of about
150 volumes published since 1945. The findings sum- 98-332 Biihrig, Kirstin (U. of Hamburg).
marised here show a clear shift in the late 1980s from a Innerbetriebliche Wirtschafts-kommunikation in der
prescriptive approach modelled on written usage to a Fremdsprache Deutsch: Erfahrungen mitdem
more inclusive description of language use and 'lower' Einsatz von Transkriptionen im Unterricht Deutsch
registers. Innovations are noticeable at several als Fremdsprache. [Internal business
levels-from syntax and vocabulary to pronunciation communication in German as a foreign language:
and sociocultural data—but await a consistent, explicit experiences using transcriptions in the teaching of
illustration of the actual impact on learners. Despite the German as a foreign language.] Zielsprache
'permissive' trend observed in later publications (as Deutsch (Munich, Germany), 28, 4 (1997), 180-90.
reflected in their richer content), the traditional author-
ity of abstract literary norms remains largely unchal- The teaching of business German as a foreign language
lenged. Future developments will show which changes often takes the form of individual tuition with students
are deep enough to become widely accepted and thus who already possess an advanced level of German and
assimilated by grammarians and textbook authors. have very concrete requirements of the tuition, which
cannot easily be fulfilled by extant teaching materials
98-330 Bloomer, Robert K. (The State U. of New due to the heterogeneous nature of business. One of
York, Stony Brook). Etymology in a course on the the main-and particularly problematic- requirements is
history of the German language. Foreign Language that of (business-)internal communication. This is
exemplified by one of the author's own students, an
Annals (New York), 30, 3, 345-51.
advanced learner of German in a business situation
This article suggests a method for reinforcing some of the who felt, nonetheless, the need for more specific teach-
topics covered in an upper-division or graduate course on ing in the area of business communication. A transcript
the history of the German language. Among these are the of a lesson based on a business presentation [provided in
second or High German consonant shift and the influ- an appendix] was discussed with the student in the light
ence of culture on the development of the language. In of effective communication strategies and discourse
three-week-long projects towards the end of the semes- structure. Using transcriptions in this manner, where
ter, students investigate modern German words according the student is also a participant in the transcribed dis-
to conceptual groups (Musikinstrumente, Sdugetiere, etc.) course, it is deemed possible to reconstruct and control
from the penpective of etymology. For their groups of the student's linguistic aims to see whether the form of
words, students perform a number of concrete tasks. The the utterances efficiently serves these aims.
project introduced in this article is practical: it is claimed
that it enhances the learners' decision-making and organ-
isational skills, expands vocabulary, and makes purposeful 98-333 Busa.M.G. (U. of Bologna).
use of etymological sources as it achieves its primary goal L'insegnamento della fonetica a studenti della
of deepening the practical understanding of these issues. facolta di economia. Risultati di un questionario
somministrato a conclusione di un'esperienza
98-331 Brosh,Hezi (Tel Aviv U.). The didattica. [Teaching phonetics to undergraduates at
sociocultural message of language textbooks: the Faculty of Economics. Answers to a
Arabic in the Israeli setting. Foreign Language questionnaire administered at the end of a course.]
Annals (New York), 30, 3, 311-26. Rassegna Italiana di Linguistica Applicata (Rome),
29,3(1997),115-38.
This paper investigates both the explicit and the
implicit sociocultural messages conveyed by language Despite its presence in many language teaching pro-
textbooks. More specifically, it investigates (1) what grammes, the influence of phonetic training on learner
kind of concept frameworks or schemata learners can motivation is still largely unexplored. This article illus-
form based on the cultural information communicated trates the results of a nine-hour pilot course on English
to them through language textbooks; and (2) to what phonetics, attended by 25 students of economics at
extent these messages are clear and in agreement with Bologna University. At the end of the project, partici-
messages coming to them from different socialisation pants were asked to complete an anonymous question-
153
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naire eliciting their assessment and an estimate of future well as links to other Web sites, all using regular word-
language needs. The answers showed great appreciation processing skills. It also allows students to create and
of teaching methods/materials and increased awareness manage their own personal pages and project pages.
of phonetic difficulties in spoken communication;
while most students expected to employ English pro- 98-336 Collentine, Joseph (Northern Arizona U.)
fessionally and ranked oral/aural skills well above read- and Collentine, Karina. The compatibility of
ing and writing, only 8% were confident that foreign computer-mediated communication solutions with
language competence would be 'highly useful' to their beginning level foreign language curricula.
careers. Over 90% of attenders acknowledged the ben- Computer Assisted Language Learning (Lisse, The
efits of phonetic training, not only for comprehension Netherlands), 10, 5 (1997), 411-25.
purposes but also to overcome sociocultural barriers
and feel accepted by the host language community. The This paper explores the compatibility of computer-
scheme's positive impact was widely confirmed by the mediated communication (CMC) with two basic objec-
fact that most students claimed their peers would be tives of modern foreign language curricula: (1) that
willing to attend a similar course, especially if spread students should develop functional (i.e. real world) and
over a longer period. pragmatic abilities; and (2) that instructional design and
materials should be informed by what is known about
98-334 Carter, Ronald (Nottingham U.). Orders the cognitive processes responsible for acquisition. The
of reality: CANCODE, communication, and culture. authors assert that CMC is indeed compatible with these
goals, and that in many ways CMC environments have
ELT Journal (Oxford), 52,1 (1998), 43-56.
greater potential than previous technologies. CMC solu-
This article is concerned with the topic of language tions largely entail input-oriented acivities; and it is sug-
awareness in relation to spoken texts and their cultural gested mat the CMC environment is particularly
contexts. The topic is considered to have become more compatible with the manner in which acquisition occurs
and more relevant in recent years, given the increasing in the early stage.The paper concludes with an outline of
development of corpora of spoken English; more excit- an introductory Spanish curriculum, created in conjunc-
ing developments in the work of COBUILD; the tion with the Educational Management Group, whose
growth of the British National Corpus, with its spoken instructional design is informed by these notions.
components; and the development of CANCODE
(Cambridge/Nottingham Corpus of Discourse in 98-337 Craig, Barbara (Tunghai U., Taichung,
English) by the present author and Michael McCarthy Taiwan). Negotiating discourse expectation in an
at Nottingham University, with the support of English as a Foreign Language classroom. Hong
Cambridge University Press. The data in this paper are
Kong Journal of Applied Linguistics (Hong Kong), 2,
drawn from everyday situations of language use collect-
1 (1997), 1-22.
ed for CANCODE and developed with an eye to their
potential relevance for English language teaching. When students and instructor have been socialised in
different educational systems, they often hold divergent
98-335 Chen, Daxing (U. of South Carolina) and views of the learning process. Such mismatches in
Zhao, Yong. EWeb and HomePage Maker: making instructional expectations can have significant effects
it easier to develop content on the WWW. on the participants' satisfaction with their interactions
Computer Assisted Language Learning (Lisse, The in the foreign language classroom. This paper describes
Netherlands), 10, 5 (1997), 427-41. a year-long study of two classes of university English
students in Taiwan, and contrasts the students' custom-
EWeb and HomePage Maker are two Web-based pro- ary approach to learning with that promoted by their
jects that aim to make the World Wide Web (WWW) American instructor. Through ethnographic partici-
more interactive and, at the same time, easier for less pant-observation by the instructor, combined with
technically-inclined language professionals to take informal written feedback and brief oral interviews
advantage of Web technology and allow them to con- with the students, the study documents the process
centrate on content development. The eWeb, an inte- through which the participants re-negotiated their
grated Web-based education environment that expectations and adjusted their classroom social and
facilitates collaboration as well as individualised learn- linguistic behaviours during the course of the year. It is
ing, consists of a set of functions that support both suggested that international university English as a
large-group and individual synchronous and asynchro- Foreign Language programmes can better meet the
nous communication; enhance learning in a variety of sociocultural and linguistic needs of their students by
modes; and provide instructors with additional tools basing their initial instructional approach on students'
such as exercise/test maker, materials development, pre- locally-held attitudes towards learning, rather than by
sentation templates and class management utilities. imposing exogenous models of language instruction
With database support, all data are interlinked and often promoted in English language teaching.
shareable and can be organised in a variety of ways.The
HomePage Maker allows the instructor to create and
manage interlinked Web pages such as course syllabuses,
daily schedules and assignments, and lecture notes, as
154
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98-338 de Carlo, Maddalena (Rome). within the curriculum of EUROTECH: An
Stereotype et identite. [Stereotype and identity.] International Programme in Engineering at the
Etudes de Linguistique Applique'e (Paris), 107 University of Connecticut. By virtue of the structure of
(1997), 271-90. these modules, which feature multiple lectures by out-
side experts in fields of engineering and science, the
This article discusses the relationship between identity module functions as a unique vehicle for content-based
and stereotypical representations of'the other', particu- education. As such, the module is deemed a creative
larly in relation to foreign language teaching. It begins response to the curricular demands of a dual-degree
by examining the concept of stereotypes and the cogni- programme. The paper discusses these curricular
tive need to use them to make sense of complex reality. demands, examines the concept of a 'module' course,
This leads into a reflection on the means by which presents the EUROTECH module series, and argues
identity is constituted through the self's relationship for its advantages.The authors see the module arrange-
with the other (drawing on the work of Paul Ricoeur). ment as an effective implementation that may well
Identity construction is represented as being a narrative serve other dual-degree courses.
process, and thus both dialogic and transformable; rela-
tionships between 'self and 'other' can therefore be
98-341 Duran, James P. (Marymount Coll., Palos
critically addressed and challenged. Finally, the author
Verdes). Preparing a structural syllabus for adult
suggests activities in the foreign language classroom
which could lead students to reflect critically on the learners of Irish. Journal of Celtic Language
construction of stereotypes. Pupils are asked first to Learning (Paramus, NJ), 3 (1997), 6-40.
construct narratives of their own identity, and then to The author of this article proposes that a careful exami-
realise the reductive nature of others' representations of nation of Modern Irish linguistic structures suggests an
their identity in comparison. Role plays and interviews inherent logical sequencing of grammatical structures
are used to encourage students to put themselves in the which could prove very useful in designing a language
position of'the other', and to recognise how their own course syllabus. It is suggested that the teacher of
stereotypes about other groups can be equally reduc- Modern Irish, following this somewhat flexible
tive. sequence of structures embedded in natural commu-
nicative situations, could slowly introduce the learner
98-339 de Courcy, Michele (U. of Melbourne). to the grammatical core of the language over time. The
Teaching and learning with different scripts: cross- paper provides detailed illustration of such an approach
cultural conflict in a Chinese late immersion to teaching Irish grammatical structures. It is claimed
classroom. Language and Education (Clevedon), 11, that a similar approach could also be useful in teaching
4 (1997), 242-59. the grammatical structures of other languages.
This paper reports some of the results of a study con- 98-342 Edmondson, Willis (Hamburg U). The
ducted with learners of Chinese who were involved in role of literature in foreign language learning and
a late immersion programme in a graduate school of
teaching: some valid assumptions and invalid
education in Australia. Four learners acted as key infor-
arguments. AILA Re view (Oxford), 12 (1997),
mants for the project. The aim of the project was to
explore in depth the learners' experiences of learning 42-55.
Chinese in an immersion setting. The learners and their This paper takes a negative stand on two issues. One is a
teachers faced many problems during the time they teaching strategy whereby the systematic and extensive
were involved with this project: these problems can be handling of literary texts is pursued in courses which
described as being those involved in learning to 'do are in fact designed to teach foreign/second language
school' with/in a different script. The challenge of (L2) skills and proficiency. The second issue is the claim
learning to read and write in a different script-a char- that literary texts have, in some sense, a special role to
acter-based language—was one of the challenges faced play in the L2 classroom—not in their own right, but as
by the learners. However, both learners and teachers a means of developing language competence. These
were faced with the challenge of coming to grips with two issues of curriculum inclusion and theoretical justi-
a different script for what was meant by learning and fication are not necessarily directly related; it is never-
teaching a language in a classroom. theless suggested that a negative stance regarding the
second point would appear to lead to a negative view
98-340 De Vries, Jr., Herman J. and Long, of the practices associated with the first. The author
Richard P. (U. of Connecticut). The EUROTECH begins by presenting some empirical observations con-
module: a curricular innovation for German cerning how the role of literature in L2 teaching
instruction. Foreign Language Annals (New York), appears in practice. The basic questions then addressed
30, 3, 369-77. are whether literature has something special to offer the
language learner and teacher, and whether its inclusion
This paper presents the module course as an effective in language teaching programmes is justified. It is
curricular innovation within the framework of a dual- argued that there are no valid arguments whatever for
degree programme in German and engineering. Three the special status of literature in L2 teaching and learn-
modules, or one-credit courses, are offered in a series ing.
155
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98-343 Fox, Matthew (Southampton Inst). 98-345 Gonzalez-Bueno, Manuela (U. of
Beyond the technocentric-developing and Kansas). Voice-onset-time in the perception of
evaluating content-driven, Internet-based language foreign accent by native listeners of Spanish. IRAL
acquisition courses. Computer Assisted Language (Heidelberg, Germany), 35, 4 (1997), 251-67.
Learning (Lisse, The Netherlands), 10, 5 (1997),
The experiment reported here sought to determine the
443-53.
extent to which the variation of temporal characteris-
The Language Learning Network project has set out to tics of stops in a particular Spanish utterance spoken by
design, deliver and evaluate empirically vocational lan- an English speaker had a noticeable effect on the per-
guage courses with a strong emphasis on sound peda- ception of foreignness of speech. The experiment was
gogical approach.This report of the project's pilot phase conducted by manipulating an utterance with special
seeks to demonstrate how a range of learning and tech- computer programs and using native participants to rate
nological devices can be combined to create a rich and the manipulated utterances as being more foreign or
communicative content-driven learning experience via more native. The results were positive: the variation of
a mix of media, including the Internet and Video- the temporal characteristics of stops did have a notice-
Conferencing, for distance (or indeed, classroom and able effect on the perception of foreignness of speech
self) study. The primary focus of the courses is to offer by native listeners. The author therefore recommends
the learner stimulating materials which will encourage, instruction directed to shorten such temporal charac-
enable and enhance language learning.The course Units teristics of English accented stops towards more
draw on customised situational dialogues, rich in Spanish-like values. It is suggested that this might be
humour and imagination. While technology is utilised as achieved through the use of interactive computer tech-
a conduit for enriched language acquisition, it is clearly niques.
not the end in itself-the project aims to address the
question of what type of content should be used and 98-346 Gonzalez-Bueno, Manuela (U. of
how it is best mediated through technology to enable Kansas). The effects of electronic mail on Spanish
successful language acquisition. The major part of the L2 discourse. Language Learning and Technology
paper is devoted to an explanation and initial assessment (http://polyglot.cal.msu.edu/llt), 1, 2 (1998), 50-65.
of the project and its pedagogical framework.
This paper analyses the effectiveness of using e-mail as a
tool to promote foreign language learning in and out of
98-344 Gika, Anastasia-sissy (Inst.of Ed., U. of
the classroom. The study identifies the following fea-
London). Modem foreign languages in primary
tures of the foreign language generated through the
schools: a comparison of four national schemes.
electronic medium, some of which have already been
English Language Teacher Education and
observed in previous studies: (a) greater amount of lan-
Development (ELTED) (U. of Warwick / U. of guage; (b) more variety of topics and language func-
Birmingham), 3,1 (1997)45-71. tions; (c) higher level of language accuracy; (d) more
This article compares research findings gathered by similarity with oral language; (e) more student-initiated
questionnaires, interviews and observation relating to interactions; and (f) more personal and expressive lan-
six main areas of modern foreign languages (MFLs) guage use. These observations are expected to expand
teaching in four European countries. First, it compares the generalisations made in previous studies, and more
the official primary school curriculum of each country finely tune theoretical propositions, about how to inte-
and the aims of MFLs teaching. It then moves on to grate electronic communication in the classroom in
consider initial teacher education and entry require- order to facilitate foreign language learning.The obser-
ments for MFLs teacher trainees, revealing that varying vation of these features, together with the tentative
degrees of general education and linguistic competence explanations of the cause for their appearance, is
are demanded. In-service training is next considered, expected to contribute to a better understanding of the
with representatives from all four nations acknowledg- language learning processes that result from the use of
ing the need for better in-service provision to maintain electronic communication in the context of a foreign
language skills. Teachers' most frequent concerns are language course. It is also hoped that further research in
highlighted: lack of linguistic competence in the target this topic confirms the prediction that foreign language
language; misgivings about implementing a commu- learners exposed to this learning tool would become
nicative approach which may detract from the status of lifelong learners of the foreign language beyond the
MFLs teaching; and classroom management issues again classroom context.
arising from a child-oriented, fun approach to MFLs
teaching. Aspects of good classroom practice are identi- 98-347 Hemsley, Michael (U. of Huddersfield).
fied, with teachers tending to focus on listening and The evaluation of teachers' guides-design and
speaking skills rather than reading and writing. Finally, application. English Languager Teacher Education
the reactions of pupils are presented, showing that they and Development (ELTED) (U. of Warwick / U. of
are positive about MFLs teaching and enjoy language Birmingham), 3,1 (1997), 72-83.
lessons. The article concludes, however, that neither
parents, teachers nor pupils perceive the longer-term This paper begins with a discussion of the functions of
benefits of foreign language learning. teachers' guides, summarised as follows: to state the
156
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purpose of the associated teaching materials and lowing observations: (1) learners' L2 pronunciation did
describe the rationale behind them; to encourage the appear to improve; (2) the greatest improvement
development of teaching skills and assist the teacher to appeared to be in segmental features; (3) suprasegmen-
understand the course as a whole; to provide guidance tal aspects had a greater effect on listeners; (4) improve-
on how to use the material and the linguistic and cul- ment varied depending on individual learners, time of
tural information required for its effective use; and to year within the course, and type of task; and (5) success-
help teachers develop towards an eventual position of ful acquisition of L2 prounciation appeared to be
self-reliance and independence of such explicit guid- affected by training, aptitude for oral mimicry and talk-
ance. Various issues in the design of evaluations for such ativeness. In short, it is suggested that the proven posi-
guides are then examined; and several existing check- tive effects of training and talkativeness should
lists of criteria for evaluation both of teachers' guides encourage educationalists to keep the students talking!
and of English language teaching materials in general
are introduced. Finally, a model for evaluation of teach- 98-350 Koifman, Clara S., Justo, Elisabeth A.
ers' guides in this context is developed, with the inten- C. and Kerr, Lilian (Escola Tecnica Federal de
tion of providing readers with an evaluation framework Quimica, Rio de Janeiro). Considering aspects on
that can be adapted for their own contexts. Reference selecting ESP teachers. The ESPecialist (Sao Paulo,
tables are provided in two appendices. Brazil), 17, 2(1996), 175-95.
98-348 Johnston, Bill (U. of Minnesota). Do EFL This paper deals with the issue of teacher selection,
teachers have careers? TESOL Quarterly specifically of teachers of English for Specific Purposes
(Alexandria, VA), 31, 4 (1997), 681-712. (ESP) in the authors' institution, a technical school in
Rio de Janeiro. Since the authors did not consider their
The terms career and profession are increasingly common pedagogical practice to be based on a 'traditional'
in discussions of English as a Foreign/Second Language approach, they wished to design selection procedures
(EFL/ESL) teaching; yet little is known about the based firmly on their own ESP theory and practice, and
working lives of teachers in this field.The study report- reflecting a broader perspective than simply linguistic
ed here, based on life history interviews with 17 EFL and pedagogical skills and knowledge. They emphasise
teachers in Poland, set out to address this issue. In the the need to find teachers who are aware of, and share,
light of a range of substantive and theoretical problems the philosophy underlying ESP teaching. The paper
with applying existing teacher career models to an EFL describes the features of the local context and the role
context, the study employed an innovative analysis of English within it, and oudines the structure and steps
based on the theory of language of Mikhail Bakhtin. of the selection process, reflecting on its positive and
Bakhtin describes language as heteroglossic, or compris- negative results.
ing multiple, competing discourses that are in ongoing,
dynamic dialogue with one another. In the present 98-351 Kwakernaak, Erik (U. of Groningen).
study, die interview transcripts are treated as discourse, Vernieuwing en leermiddelen in het
and the central question posed is what discourses vreemdetalenonderwijs. [Innovation and teaching
teachers draw on in discursively constructing their materials in foreign language teaching.] Levende
lives. The analysis reveals that, in teachers' discursive Talen (Amsterdam), 524 (1997), 547-52.
presentations of their lives, teachers' life-story narratives
do not appear to be present. Rather, teachers' stories This paper describes how materials development for
reflect dynamic and non-unitary identities that interact foreign language teaching is organised in the
discursively in complex ways with a range of other dis- Netherlands. As a result of the professionalisation dur-
courses from the social, economic, and political con- ing the 1970s, materials development and, hence, inno-
text. The implications of this situation for the field of vation have become complex processes in which
EFL/ESL are considered. teachers, authors, publishers, experts and authorities all
play a role. Since national exam requirements are the
98-349 Kendrick, Helen (Hurtwood House Coll., government's main instrument of control over educa-
tion, the opportunities for innovation are largely dictat-
Dorking, UK). Keep them talking! A project for
ed by these general requirements and the way in which
improving students' L2 pronunciation. System
Cito, the Dutch Institute for Educational Measure-
(Oxford), 25, 4 (1997), 545-60.
ment, translates them into actual exams. On the other
This paper describes a substantial research project hand materials development is-for political and histori-
which looked at the effectiveness of different methods cal reasons-a completely liberal market in the
of improving the pronunciation of learners of English Netherlands.Thus, the authorities attempt to introduce
as a Foreign Language, and evaluated the significance of innovations by means of exam requirements, but the
instruction as one of the factors affecting the acquisi- implementation of these new policies is then left to
tion of second language (L2) pronunciation. The learn- market mechanisms. Competition is supposed to exer-
ers who participated were eight non-native teenage cise sufficient quality control, but the author argues for
students at (approximately) intermediate level resident additional policy measures. The authorities should
in an English boarding school. Following quantitative extend their control into the domain of materials
and qualitative analysis, the research resulted in the fol- development; teachers should be trained specifically in
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evaluating teaching materials, and objective evaluations from high school and complete their baccalaureate
should be made available to them. degrees in four years; and the rising numbers of such
students, coupled with the economic crunch caused by
98-352 Lee, Una (The U. of New Hampshire). increasing tuition and decreasing financial aid, make
Using Internet tools as an enhancement of C2 study abroad inaccessible to some students. It is suggest-
teaching and learning. Foreign Language Annals ed in this paper that an intensive experiential course
(New York), 30, 3, 410-27. based on university and community resources can offer
such students a rich alternative linguistic/cultural expe-
The author affirms that, in spite of many efforts and rience. In describing such a course run at the
contributions from previous researchers, the need for a Department of Spanish and Portugese at the Ohio State
creative approach in using combined Internet tools for University, the author hopes to provide a model for
learning about the target culture (C2) has not yet been other departments wishing to identify and incorporate
found. It is claimed that the pilot study reported here community resources into their curriculum, as well as
shows the use of Internet resources to be a meaningful offer their students an alternative to study abroad.
way to integrate language and culture that provides
opportunities for students to learn about the target cul- 98-355 Malmkjaer, Kirsten (U. of Cambridge).
ture while using E-mail to discuss cultural aspects with Translation and language teaching. AILA Review
native speakers. In addition, the use of the Internet and
(Oxford), 12(1997), 56-61.
E-mail is claimed to increase students' interest and
motivation for learning the target language and culture Translation has had a bad press among language teach-
in a dynamic rather than passive way. It is suggested that ers in recent decades, although a re-evaluation appears
foreign language teachers be encouraged to explore to be under way. This paper briefly charts the history of
and experiment with the Internet to fully exploit the the use of translation in language teaching from the late
possibilities for language learning by means of this 18th century, summarises the objections that have been
resource •which opens pathways to authentic materials raised repeatedly since the late 19th century, and sug-
and dynamic communications with native speakers gests that, if translating in the foreign language class-
around the world. room resembles 'real-life' translation sufficiently closely,
all these objections fall away. In conclusion, it is argued
98-353 Liou, Hsien-Chin (Nat. Tsing Hua U., that translation might profitably be seen as a valuable
Taiwan). The impact of WWW texts on EFL additional language learning method, from both a ped-
learning. Computer Assisted Language Learning agogical and a pragmatic point of view.
(Lisse, The Netherlands), 10, 5 (1997), 455-78.
98-356 McCarthy, John (Regional Technical
The project reported here aimed to examine how the Coll., Galway, Ireland). Towards a conceptual
use of the World Wide Web (WWW) has an impact on framework for implementing a cross-curricular
college English as a Foreign Language (EFL) learning.
approach to language awareness in the school
The study set out to explore the Web's function as
curriculum. Language Awareness (Clevedon), 6, 4
information provider—real time and spontaneous. New
(1997), 208-20.
sites were the focus. The study used a comparison
method to investigate the use of the Web texts in a col- One of the most important perceived benefits of lan-
lege writing class, with an experimental group of 15 guage awareness is its facilitative effect on all language
students, and a control group of 18 students. In addi- learning, and it has been assumed that this effect is
tion, four ethnographic observations were conducted increased by establishing linkages and pathways between
on four students. Questionnaires were given to investi- the learners' various language learning experiences. At
gate participants' perception of the activity. It was found the same time, among the major problems identified as
that the experimental group improved their reading militating against a cross-curricular approach has been
comprehension and writing, and that they held positive the lack of suggestions for bringing together teachers of
attitudes towards the Web activity and its prospects. the mother tongue and teachers of foreign languages,
Interesting findings from the ethnographic observations and the generally compartmentalised development and
are also reported. organisation of the school curriculum. This paper sug-
gests that one approach to these problems may be
98-354 Long, Donna Reseigh (The Ohio State through the provision of a conceptual framework out-
U.). The experiential course: an alternative to study lining what is known about language development and
abroad for non-traditional students. Foreign metalinguistic awareness. It then goes on to consider the
Language Annals (New York), 30, 3, 301-10. ways in which this may provide a reference framework
to guide the work of the various committees responsible
The general consensus is that study-abroad pro- for developing the language curriculum. The example
grammes for language students contribute significantly of the curriculum in Ireland is used to explore the prac-
to consciousness-raising, world knowledge, and acade- tical implementation of this proposal.
mic knowledge, as well as to development of language
skills. However, many students today do not fit the tra-
ditional mould of those who enter college directly
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98-357 McLaughlin, Denis (Australian Catholic ness of the Japanese language and culture course enti-
U., Queensland). The clash of cultures: learning ded Japanese for the Business Community 1 (JBC l).The
through English in Papua New Guinea. Language, study analysed seven cross-cultural competence attrib-
Culture and Curriculum (Clevedon), 10, 2 (1997), utes in interactions with Japanese people in business
89-105. settings. Seven participants were in the experimental
group, and 22 in the control group. A small sample t-
When expatriate academics teach Papuan New test for parallelism was calculated prior to the analysis
Guineans, there is often a cultural dynamic at play that of co-variance. Although enrolment in JBC 1 was not
is inconsistent with that operating in 'Western' univer- statistically significant as a predictor, there was at least
sities. Insights into some of these issues, particularly lan- an implication that it helped the participants raise their
guage, may assist expatriates to restructure accepted cross-cultural competence levels. It is recognised that
assumptions about teaching and learning in English to this result could be due to the small sample size.
more appropriately meet the needs of students from a
different culture. This paper argues that language prob- 98-360 Murray, Liam (U. of Warwick). Advanced
lems occur because students are educated in a language
CALL to WALL. Francophonie (Rugby), 16(1997),
in which their teachers themselves lack facility.
28-32.
Moreover, in the Papua New Guinea context the learn-
ing problems with English are associated with a lack of There exists a plethora of Computer-Assisted Language
equivalence between the concepts in the academic dis- Learning (CALL) packages which are designed to meet
course and the students' existing conceptual frame- the needs of French learners up to GCSE level (age 14
work. Learning problems in English are deemed to be to 16 in the UK) and of adult beginner and intermedi-
more about concept acquisition than translation. ate learners. Some of these packages are good, some bad
and many are indifferent, whereas for A(dvanced)-level,
98-358 Meyer, Meinert A. (U. of Hamburg). Scottish Higher and equivalent (age 16 to 19) levels, the
Erziehender Unterricht-von Johann Friedrich author considers that there are very few decent CALL
Herbarts 'Zucht' zur 'Lernerautonomie'. [Educating products. This article has a twofold aim: to provide a
teaching-from Johann Friedrich Herbart's summative yet critical review of several of the packages
'cultivation' to 'learner autonomy'.] that purport to cater for advanced level learners, and to
Fremdsprachenunterricht (Berlin, Germany), 6 offer ideas to teachers on using and integrating other
(1997), 411-17. sources of electronically-based materials for higher-
level teaching purposes.These include designated mul-
The author discusses the concepts of independence, timedia programs and the much-hyped Web, a form of
self-activity and learner autonomy, and finds their roots Web-Assisted Language Learning (WALL).
in the classical German pedagogical writings of Johann
Friedrich Herbart, focusing in particular on the idea of 98-361 Nagata, Noriko (U. of San Francisco). An
education as both mediation of declarative and proce- experimental comparison of deductive and
dural knowledge and promotion of character develop- inductive feedback generated by a simple parser.
ment. Similar views also found in the writings of the System (Oxford), 25, 4 (1997), 515-34.
East German pedagogue, Lothar Klingberg, and, more
recently, of David Little on learner autonomy are dis- This paper describes a new parser-driven Japanese
cussed.The dialectic problem of students being compe- tutor-BANZAI-designed for second language acquisi-
tent to organise their own learning, yet remaining tion. An empirical study using the BANZAI program is
primarily receptive, and not active, during teaching, is also presented. The relative effectiveness of teaching
highlighted by interviews with students from the 11th explicit grammatical rules as opposed to providing rele-
grade with respect to English lessons. This is discussed vant examples without rule instruction has been a sub-
in the light of recent developments in cognitive psy- ject of continuing debate in second language
chology. From both an historical and a contemporary acquisition research. This debate raises an important
perspective, the author draws conclusions pertaining to design question for computer feedback. To address this
reforms of foreign language teaching which would bet- question, an experiment was performed in which two
ter facilitate the development of learner autonomy. types of feedback were implemented into the BANZAI
program: rule-based (deductive) feedback and exam-
98-359 Miyamoto, Yumi (San Diego State U.) ple-based (inductive) feedback. The participants were
students taking Japanese at the college level, most of
and Rasmussen, Roger. The effectiveness of a
whom were native English speakers. The results of the
Japanese language course on cross-cultural
study suggest that ongoing rule-driven deductive feed-
competence. Journal of Language for International back is more effective than example-driven inductive
Business (Glendale, AZ), 9,1 (1998), 53-64. feedback for learning relatively complex structures
The study reported here examines how Japanese lan- whose grammatical rules are not salient in the light of
guage and culture instruction affects the cross-cultural examples.
competency level of the participants, specifically in
interacting with Japanese people. A quasi-experimental
research design was employed to measure the effective-
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98-362 Osuna, Maritza (U. at Albany) and is suggested that a more in-depth understanding of the
Meskill, Carla. Using the World Wide Web to source text is arrived at collectively, and that a greater
integrate Spanish language and culture: a pilot degree of grammatical correctness, accuracy, and faith-
study. Language Learning and Technology fulness can be achieved in the translation through dis-
(http://polyglot.cal.msu.edu/llt), 1, 2 (1998), 66-87. cussion and negotiation as participants are required to
justify their solutions. Social support is important as
This pilot study investigates the potential role of participants share their difficulties. They gain in self-
Internet resources as a means to gain a deeper sense of confidence and self-esteem; they also become more tol-
the culture of the Spanish-speaking world for college erant of different opinions and appreciate the
students. Thirteen college students enrolled in the first non-threatening atmosphere of working in small
quarter of Basic Spanish were instructed to utilise the groups.
Web to complete five activities that expanded on the
aspects of culture studied in the class. The aim was to 98-365 Schleppegrell, Mary J. (U. of California,
assess learners'perceptions of their experiences in terms Davis). Teacher research through dialogic inquiry.
of both the language and cultural learning designed
The Canadian Modern Language Review/ La Revue
into each of the five tasks they were assigned. Data col-
canadienne des langues vivantes (Toronto, Ont.),
lected demonstrate that the Web is a suitable tool to
54,1 (1997), 68-83.
increase language and cultural knowledge, as well as a
means to increase motivation. Pedagogical implications As teachers engage in research to improve their teach-
are discussed. ing practice and inform their pedagogical programmes,
they need appropriate tools for collecting and analysing
98-363 Pally, Marcia (City U. of New York). data. This paper seeks to show how dialogic inquiry
Critical thinking in ESL: an argument for sustained through problem posing is a tool for teacher research in
content. Journal of Second Language Writing the interpretive tradition which can help teachers to
(Norwood, NJ), 6, 3 (1997), 293-311. develop a richer knowledge base regarding students'
backgrounds, motivations, cultures, and the strategies
This article suggests that, in adult learners of English as a they use to learn English. In addition, it is suggested
Second Language (ESL), development of critical think- that dialogic inquiry can inform curriculum and mate-
ing skills, as defined by English for Academic Purposes, rials development by providing teachers with informa-
cognitive psychology and transformative pedagogy, ben- tion about students' responses to potential curriculum
efits from sustained content study-or studying one area topics. The process of engaging students in structured,
over time. Sustained content study is recommended open-ended inquiry provides data which teachers can
because it allows students: (1) to accrue information, analyse from both content and linguistic perspectives.
without which they are less able to question, synthesise Outlined are the steps in dialogic inquiry and examples
and evaluate what they read; (2) to become familiar with of how teachers have used it to inform their classroom
the rhetorical conventions of a discipline; and, as these practice and improve their curricula.
are the skills needed for university study, today's work-
place and to understand the socio-political factors that
affect students' lives, (3) to practise in the ESL class what 98-366 Sengupta, Sima (Hong Kong Poly. U.).
they will need outside it. This article defines critical Peer evaluation: 'I am not the teacher'. ELT Journal
thinking; discusses who should learn it and why; reviews (Oxford), 52,1 (1998), 19-28.
the role of content in ESL and the literature supporting This article is based on an exploratory investigation of a
sustained study; and discusses content that engages ESL secondary school writing class in Hong Kong. Through
students with varied majors and goals.Three courses are examination of the way learners in this study viewed the
described, one on selected economic/political issues, roles of the teacher and learner as 'readers' of the com-
one on language acquisition itself, and one on film and positions they had written, it explores the extent to
society. Selections from students' discussion and writing which the broader educational context and its belief sys-
are examined. tem shaped six English as a Second Language students'
perceptions of peer evaluation. Finally, the article ques-
98-364 Romney, J. Claude (U. of Calgary). tions whether notions of collaborative construction of
Collaborative learning in a translation course. The knowledge in the classroom are viable options within an
Canadian Modern Language Review/La Revue examination-driven, accuracy-oriented second language
canadienne des langues vivantes (Toronto, Ont.), curriculum which may preclude learners (and teachers)
54,1 (1997), 48-67. from re-conceptualising their traditional roles.
Collaborative learning, based on small group discus- 98-367 Smith, Geoff P. (U. of Hong Kong). An
sions conducted according to specific rules, provides an independent learner's guide to Cantonese
alternative to traditional classroom structure which has instructional materials. Hong Kong Journal of
been shown to be useful in second language acquisi- Applied Linguistics (Hong Kong), 2,1 (1997), 55-80.
tion. This article describes its application in a translation
course at a Canadian university: participants were stu- This article reviews some available instructional materi-
dents in their third year of a French language course. It al for learning Cantonese, particularly from the point of
160
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view of the independent learner. These materials 98-370 Tang, Gloria M. (U. of British Columbia).
include introductory courses consisting of printed texts From graphic literacy across languages to
and audiotape recordings, as well as dictionaries and integrating English and content teaching in
glossaries and academic descriptions of Cantonese. The vocational settings. Hong Kong Journal of Applied
more successful materials for self-study are identified, Linguistics (Hong Kong), 2,1 (1997), 97-114.
and some possible ways of avoiding the usual pitfalls
involved in learning Cantonese are discussed. Some This paper is about the teaching of English and specific
suggestions for future instructional materials are also content areas in vocational settings. It supports the
made. recently established Hong Kong medium of instruction
policy and aims to contribute to the government's ini-
98-368 Smith, Kevin J. (La Trobe U., Victoria, tiative to improve the use of the language in the work-
Australia). Cross-cultural schemata and change in place by advocating a model which employs knowledge
structures and graphics. It is suggested that these can be
modern China: 'First fresh air comes in and also
used to promote the use of one language, English, for
flies come in'. Language and Education (Clevedon),
teaching vocational subjects by integrating the teaching
11,4(1997), 260-70.
of English and content. The paper reports on the find-
This paper presents basic theorising regarding the ings of research conducted in a pre-vocational school in
notion of'cultural schemata', as well as an analysis of Hong Kong which show that (1) knowledge structures
how this theory impacts on cross-cultural understand- and graphics are common across English and Chinese,
ing in modern China. A small-scale classroom study of and (2) students were aware of knowledge structures
an aspect of cross-cultural thinking related to marriage and could interpret graphics presented in an unfamiliar
and divorce is outlined. The procedure, developed with language. It is demonstrated how a content unit taken
a group of Chinese university students, demonstrates from Hong Kong vocational materials, in English or
the value of simple 'in role' drama as a means of stimu- Chinese, can be planned according to Mohan's categori-
lating dialogue and transforming ordinary discussion sation of knowledge structures indicating that language
into a powerful learning and thinking process. The and content knowledge can be taught simultaneously.
paper concludes by emphasising that task-based prob-
lem-solving approaches, which have a socio-cultural 98-371 Vigner, Gerard. Comment favoriser
basis, can provide a very useful structure for developing I'apprentissage du FLS? [How can the learning of
oral language skills in an 'English as a Foreign French as a second language be encouraged?]
Language' setting. Diagonales (Paris), 43 (1997), 17-19.
98-369 Storch, Neomy (U. of Melbourne). This article claims that, despite a recent increase of
interest in the learning of French as a second language
Students' reactions to innovations in grammar
(FLS), there is still a lack of a theoretical basis and
instruction. Prospect (Macquarie U., Sydney), 12, 3
research into appropriate teaching methods. Teaching
(1997), 41-53.
techniques are usually borrowed from the teaching of
A constant concern for language teachers when design- French as a first or foreign language. The many and very
ing innovative courses is how accepting students will be complex problems associated with the teaching of FLS
of such innovations. This paper presents the findings of are highlighted here, with specific reference to coun-
a qualitative evaluation study which set out to investi- tries where French is the medium of instruction in
gate students' reactions to an innovative grammar schools within cultures that use one or more other lan-
course and the reasons for these reactions. Decisions guages. In this environment, French tends to be taught
regarding the course's content and methodology were by more traditional methods, not for oral communica-
based largely on the writings of Rutherford (1987) on tion but for study relying on the written word. Cultural
consciousness-raising and Ellis (1991, 1993) on the as well as educational problems can arise, e.g. adolescent
comprehension-based approach to grammar instruc- learners have difficulty in reconciling their develop-
tion. Eleven tertiary students-seven females and four ment in their own language with their education in
males—from a range of language backgrounds partici- another, and tend to rebel; teachers are often unsure of
pated in the course. The study used oral and written their own abilities in conveying their subjects in French
student feedback, course documents, the instructor's and tend to be very conservative in their teaching. It is
diary, and peer observation reports for its data. The argued that the answer lies in more research into the
results of the study show that students may be quite problems that are related specifically to this situation.
willing to accept innovations if they perceive them as
valuable and if they concur with the students' views 98-372 Vogt, Eric W. (Thunderbird, American
about language learning. Grad. Sch. of Internat. Management). A fast track to
cultural understanding: literature in translation.
Journal of Language for International Business
(Glendale, AZ), 9,1 (1998), 10-27.
Students of international business need to know the
cultures of the countries in which they may one day
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