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The article presents a call for papers relating to methods for teaching English to young students whose first language is not English.

This paper looks into the dilemma of what counts as a grammatical 'learner error' in ELT on the basis of recent results from English variationist research and English as a lingua franca research. Examples from these studies show that features often perceived as 'errors' for EFL speakers also occur in ESL production—where they are called 'innovations'—and even in English as a native language (ENL) production—where the term 'spoken language universal' would seem more appropriate. It is proposed that the traditional categorization of English speakers into EFL, ESL, and ENL actually hinders us from seeing the linguistic realities of the English-speaking world, disfavouring EFL speakers in particular. The paper calls for ELT to see EFL speakers as users of the language rather than learners in order to acknowledge their grammatical creativity as similar to that of other speakers of English. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although researchers and practitioners have discussed the concept of Global Englishes (GE), the degree of GE's influence in the practical use of English is much wider and deeper in the real world than in the field of education. Mainstream ELT practices tend to adhere to native and fixed norms, which are regarded as the central problems in ELT from the perspective of the GE paradigm. Although a GE-oriented pedagogy has been discussed, studies on curriculum in the Chinese ELT context from the GE perspective are relatively rare. This paper aims to investigate the extent to which the National English Curriculum (NEC) in China reflects GE-oriented phonology and cultural learning. The study adopted a content analysis in which the NEC statements on phonology and cultural aspects were identified and discussed. After reporting the findings, the paper further discusses some pedagogic implications about curriculum and language teaching from the GE perspective. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Over the last 25 years, scholars have proposed several recommendations for including spoken grammar in second language classrooms. However, recent studies point to potential challenges in this endeavour: learners may feel inauthentic when using what they see as 'native-speaker' forms, and interlocutors may see these forms as less acceptable when used by non-native speakers. This paper examines current recommendations for teaching spoken grammar in light of these issues and proposes a functional teaching approach that presents spoken grammar as a communicative resource rather than a formal characteristic of native-speaker usage. It then reports on a pilot study exploring the feasibility and students' reception of such an approach. The paper concludes that it is possible to adapt spoken grammar pedagogy to be more socioculturally sensitive, and that teaching should aim towards a fuller understanding and appreciation of the affordances of spoken grammar. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The instructional rationale behind critical pedagogy is to provide students the opportunity to voice their personal stories and opinions, and to reflect and act upon social concerns relevant to their daily lives. Students can then practice being agents of transformation in their own lives, starting in the classroom. This paper is based on the first author's experience of experimenting with critical pedagogy when she was teaching in the UAE. It justifies the suitability of implementing Paulo Freire's problem-posing model with younger EFL learners. Outlining the tenets of critical pedagogy developed by Freire, the authors support the practical nature of the model and its transference to a primary setting. The authors explicate Freire's problem-posing model as five phases, providing a background and case study application for each phase. The intention is to present a practical guide for teachers wishing to implement critical approaches in the EFL classroom. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents a study of EFL classroom talk with the focus on how teachers successfully encourage and elicit student dialogic talk through questioning. It is based on observation data from forty-nine classes involving eleven teaching staff in a university in central China. The findings reveal the difficulty of engaging students to be the first to participate in dialogic interactions in a culture where deeply engrained reserve is the accepted norm. Two teacher questioning patterns are identified that are effective in eliciting students' first dialogic contribution in each interaction. These patterns can also serve as a profitable investment to elicit subsequent productive talk from students. This study also argues for a situated, contextualized analysis of classroom talk. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines the opportunities and challenges of using Shakespeare as a teaching resource for English language learners, and reflects on an open distance learning programme aimed at engaging EFL students across diverse world contexts. The paper reviews the design, production, and dissemination of these teaching materials and in doing so discusses how points of language, issues of historical culture, and insights into modern usage can all be addressed in ways that are both entertaining and instructional by reference to Shakespeare's life and works. Additionally, it considers how the harnessing of the transmedia affordances of digital communication can create a broad, interactive experience for students, thus mixing the traditional with the cutting-edge in English language pedagogy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article investigates the effects of blogging as an approach to journal writing in the EFL writing classroom by means of a 16-week comparative experiment involving two groups of EFL college students. The experimental group (EG) was required to blog daily while the control group (CG) was asked to do so using traditional pen-and-paper methods. The writing performance and general attitudes to and perceptions of journal writing in both groups were evaluated through a writing test and a semi-structured survey. The research results show that blogging a journal helped the students to achieve a greater improvement in their writing than did the regular pen-and-paper treatment. Additionally, although both groups developed similar learning attitudes in general, the EG experienced significantly less anxiety in writing than did the CG. This suggests that the blogging approach is an effective approach for students in developing both writing skills and learning attitudes. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This article describes the efforts of an intensive English programme to design a class that addressed the challenges of bringing authentic English into the curriculum. This class exposed students to a variety of authentic English language input, while providing support. Through this class, students volunteered with various community organizations. These placements were linked with the curriculum of our intensive English programme. This hybrid class consisted of class meetings, electronic discussions, the community placement, paper journals, a final reflection paper, and a capstone experience. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study investigates the effect ofa mixed composition class in an American University on student interaction and writing over a semester. The class was a freshman academic writing course that consisted of fifteen international and ten American students. Some teachers believe that a mixed composition class enhances cultural understanding, and that cultural diversity presents a good learning environment, contributing to developing student writing and language skills; others believe the contrary because the needs ofthe ESL and native English speakers (NES) cannot be addressed simultaneously. To investigate this issue, we used student journals, interviewed students and observed the class. This paper describes the change in students' attitudes and interaction, the benefits that students gained from the course, and the teachers'/researchers' approach to teaching the course. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

At a time marked by the increasing use of technology in education, the study presented in this paper explores and compares teachers' and children's views on the use of digital games in class. A case study is presented in a primary school setting where tablets have been fully integrated into the EFL classroom. A mixed-method approach was used to collect and analyse data from teachers and students through interviews and questionnaires. Findings are presented which compare and contrast student and teacher views on: important elements to take into account when teaching/learning English; student behaviour; affective states; and the effects of digital games on learning. Contrasting perceived positive and negative effects of using digital games, the findings support claims that more work is needed to incorporate new technologies within classroom practice in ways which foster learner-centred models and facilitate the learning and well-being of all students. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this contribution, I argue for a radical reappraisal of accepted ideas about how English is taught and tested. I am not alone in questioning the validity of the current orthodoxy. Others have expressed views that correspond or are consistent with the points I make here. What I have sought to do is to synthesize them in the formulation of a connected argument so as to bring out more directly what I take to be their essential significance in making the case for reform. There is no doubt a counter-argument, a case for the defence of orthodox ways of thinking. It is indeed my purpose to provoke it. That, after all, is, in two senses of the word, the point of the paper. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although research on Global Englishes (GE) has demonstrated the potential for a new perspective of ELT, studies of GE in an Asian ELT context are relatively rare. As current mainstream ELT practice in China still largely emphasizes 'native English', university courses related to GE are scarce. This paper aims to unpack the influence of a course on English as a World Language in Chinese university students' awareness of their own English and GE. Data were collected from students taking the optional course at a university in southeast China. After reporting the findings, the paper further discusses the pedagogical implications of integrating GE into English learning and teaching. It also argues for raising students' GE awareness and applying critical pedagogy in ELT for GE-oriented instruction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Socio-pragmatic skills have been identified as important components of communicative competence in the workplace, yet relatively few studies have undertaken an evaluation of the effects of classroom-based support in developing both cognitive control and social competence in these areas of language proficiency. This paper reports on a collaborative study that tracks the development of skilled migrants’ socio-pragmatic performance over a period of 12 weeks, from their entry into the classroom, through six weeks of instruction and then into the workplace context. Using a detailed case study, this paper examines the effects of conscious learning, as well as opportunities for social interaction, in the acquisition of appropriate ways of negotiating workplace requests. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This article critically reviews the usefulness of grammar correction in second language writing instruction through the eyes of five second-language writers. It first examines the validity of four teaching principles that appear to influence how writing instructors approach error correction in classrooms and concludes with discussions as to why grammar correction is necessary for second-language writers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

It is commonly recognized that, for lecturers of English as a Foreign Language (EFL) in a university setting, the goal of their teaching is to develop learners' ability to communicate appropriately in this language. This means that teaching practices should pay attention not only to the keyfeatures of the linguistic system of English, but also to its pragmatic norms since lack of this knowledge may impede communication. Consequently, language learners need to be exposed to appropriate input in the classroom. In order to help lecturers in this task, it is the aim of this paper to present a learner-based instructional method designed to develop learners' pragmatic ability when using request mitigating devices in E FL The rationale behind the selection of this pragmatic feature is discussed in the paper together with an explanation of the proposed teaching method. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper describes how a group of intermediate learners of English were guided through the process of producing their first academic essays in English. The approach applied the concept of scaffolding to the academic writing process by providing flexible suppor for the learners throughout the writing of their essays. Scaffolding included a number of features, each of which is discussed in the paper. The writers argue that the approach they adopted promotes learner autonomy, by focusing on an authentic task, making the expectations of the task explicit, and providing flexible support for the learners as they approximate the target performance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article reports on the use of journals by prospective ESOL teachers who were asked, as one of the requirements ora writing methods course in a MATESOL program, to conduct student-teacher conferences in writing. Writing journal entries about conferencing, and providing feedback on student writing, required the prospective teachers in this study to confront themselves with what they already know; to evaluate themselves as writers, teachers, and learners; and to reflect on the practice of teaching writing in English to speakers of other languages. By describing how teachers adjusted their expectations about improving student writing, and how they discovered themselves as writers, this article presents a case for making individual conferencing and subsequent reflection through journal writing an integral part of L2 writing teacher education. This paper also discusses lessons learned by the methods course instructor after requiring that this practical training be part of the teacher preparation course. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Educational institutions are placing increased value on language tandems owing to the language development opportunities they offer for learners of modern languages. Where these learners lack autonomous language learning strategies, however, the results can be disappointing, with limited linguistic development taking place. This paper reports on recent research into the language tandem experiences of international study abroad students during their period of study at a British university. When it became apparent that the students lacked skills in managing their language tandems to meet their learning needs, strategy instruction was introduced to facilitate more effective language learning strategy use. The findings suggest that such an intervention can significantly increase learners' ability to create a language tandem which meets their learning needs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper reports on the first phase of our research into the potential merits of a collaborative writing/feedback/revision activity. The study compared the quantity and quality of the feedback provided, collaboratively and individually, by adult EFL learners in Saudi Arabia. Our analysis showed that learners provided more feedback, including more constructive comments, in the collaborative format. Most of the students also felt that providing feedback in pairs alleviated some of their concerns about providing feedback individually on their peers' writing. We suggest that the combination of collaborative writing and feedback may improve peer feedback and provide learners with enhanced language learning opportunities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The number of individuals undertaking IELTS has continued to grow in recent years, standing at approximately 3 million candidates per year in 2016. As a result, this high-stakes, high-pressure test has become firmly entrenched as a global gatekeeping institution, regulating the international flows of people for migration and academic study. This paper provides critical perspectives on the design and administration of the IELTS test from the viewpoint of the often-ignored, yet key stakeholders in IELTS: the test-takers themselves. It argues that, with the growth in the need for recognized and trusted evidence of English language proficiency internationally, the co-owners of IELTS have amassed enormous global power over the lives of millions of people, with considerable ethical ramifications. It critiques seven features of IELTS and suggests implementable solutions to enable IELTS to become a more democratic and humane testing system, imbued with potential for learning, for the benefit of its test-takers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper contributes to L2 listening pedagogy by exploring listening instruction and examining teachers’ authentic listening lessons. Listening instruction has yet to be investigated systematically, and the literature has typically relied on anecdotal and intuitive accounts of what takes place in listening lessons. Therefore, this paper reports on a practical investigation into listening pedagogy through a review of 30 listening lessons taught and recorded by ten EFL instructors in Japan. Lesson content was transcribed and coded according to a priori categories informed by the literature. These categories included, among others, comprehension questions, bottom-up listening activities, and metacognitive listening strategies. Results revealed some teachers using a range of techniques while others limited their teaching to product-based approaches. The paper provides empirical descriptions of L2 listening instruction in practice and discusses pedagogic implications stemming from the results, including suggestions for how language teachers can expand their repertoires for the teaching of listening. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This paper considers an alternative perspective to complement the existing body of research in child EFL/ESL. This perspective assumes that children’s views are different from those of adults, and, since children are ‘experts’ of their own lives, it is worthwhile for adults to explore innovative ways in which their unique experiences and perspectives can be uncovered. The paper reports on the two authors’ joint research projects in which children have been involved in various participatory activities. Using short extracts taken from conversations between an adult researcher and the children, we attempt to illustrate some of the benefits of researching ‘with’ children. The data indicate that children exercise their agency by shaping the research activities in their own ways, making spontaneous comments, asking unexpected questions, and selecting topics they find relevant. We also consider some of the challenges involved in this type of research, but conclude by recommending that working with children ‘collaboratively’ in research projects is an excellent learning experience for teachers, researchers, and children alike. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

With the availability of portable and relatively inexpensive audiovideo recording devices in the form of iPads and other mobile technologies in combination with increasing bandwidth, the remote observation and training of pre-service EFL student teachers without the physical presence of a tutor in the classroom is now a viable proposition. This paper reports on a novel initiative to provide remote feedback to a group of primary EFL pre-service teachers on teaching practice placement in Africa from a tutor based in Sweden via iPad minis and the training institution's Moodle virtual learning environment. The feedback was assessed in relation to the Cambridge English Teaching Framework. Results suggest that the combination of recorded audiovideo material during the pre-service teachers' teaching practice and Moodle feedback from the remote tutor can provide a valuable basis for tutorial support, formative assessment, and reflection for student EFL teachers on teaching practice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The study reported in this paper investigated the interaction of a group of Chinese intermediate EFL learners working in dyads on a dictogloss task. It examined the transition process of learners' role relationship (i.e. patterns of interaction) in dyadic communication. The pair talk data were analysed for patterns of interaction and incidences of language-related episodes. The results confirmed that collaborative pattern of interaction is more conducive to L2 learning than other patterns (e.g. dominant/dominant, dominant/passive). More importantly, the study found that these intermediate learners were able to adjust their relationship in dyadic interaction, from non-collaborative to a more collaborative end, along with an increasing frequency of language-related discussion. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present paper reports on a corpus-based study of university lecture discourse aimed at identifying linguistic patterns that may be useful for students to notice when taking notes. One of the most ubiquitous patterns, found following a qualitative analysis of lexical bundles (i.e. multi-word strings) extracted from the corpus relates to the function of introducing key terms and concepts in lectures. It was found that while some formulae seem to help students notice when a lecturer is defining a key term or concept, there are still many other devices employed by teachers when realizing the same function that students are likely to miss, or which could possibly be confusing. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This paper describes how ESOL and vocational teachers in an Australian technical and further education (TAFE) institute work together to prepare students to complete their vocational courses and obtain employment. Students are concurrently enrolled in an ESOL and a vocational course, and the teachers of these courses work closely together, jointly planning their respective courses and taking equal responsibility for the student groups. Drawing on theoretical concepts from ‘academic literacies’ studies in higher education, we explain how shared delivery can shift the pedagogy from deficit models, which maintain the disciplinary status quo, to social practice models that open the way to challenge established disciplinary pedagogies and practices. This is accomplished largely due to the equal sharing of the ‘ownership’ of the programme by the two teachers. We propose that such a model better prepares students for a changing world of work. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Communicating and collaborating in online contexts can be quite different from face-to-face situations and requires students to acquire multiple literacies in addition to foreign language skills and intercultural communicative competence. This paper looks at how the development of multiliteracies can be included in the EFL classroom through the practice of telecollaboration, that is internet-mediated intercultural exchange. The integration of multiliteracies in the task design of the three stages of a telecollaboration project is illustrated through practical examples from an exchange which used English as a lingua franca. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Unfortunately, despite encouragement from the literature, it seems that many teachers only rarely engage in action research. For this to change, further support may be required from in-service language teacher education courses that include an action research component. In this paper, I report on one such course: an in-service Bachelor of Arts TESOL run by a British university for the local Ministry of Education in a Middle Eastern country. Using qualitative case study methodology, I identify the achievements of four teachers who engaged in action research as part of their studies on this course and draw on their own words as they reflect on the benefits of researching their own practice. Conclusions focus on elements of the programme that may have helped them. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This article explores the potential of dual-language cross-cultural peer review and how it improves on traditional monolingual and monocultural peer review. Drawing on scholarship related to international exchange programmes, peer review, and two-way immersion programmes in the United States as well as data collected while facilitating the proposed model of peer review in Chile, the author explains how the type of peer review discussed here may help students develop writing abilities in their second language while promoting greater cross-cultural understanding. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This article explores how teachers can engage with ideas (research findings, theory, and professional knowledge) through participation in a reading discussion group. Focusing on one group formed by English language teachers at a Japanese university, the study employs survey data, attendance statistics, and observational notes regarding the group's meetings over one school term to investigate the relative merits of six discussion formats, varied according to the type of text discussed (conference presentation slide handout, opinion piece, plenary address video, book chapter, book review, and transcribed interview) and, in one case, the participant make-up (an author was invited to discuss his own work). The paper also identifies group management practices that are most effective for facilitating participation. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This paper introduces Philosophy-based Language Teaching (PBLT) as a new approach to developing productive language and thinking skills in students. The approach involves posing philosophical questions and engaging students in dialogues within a community of enquiry context. To substantiate the approach, the paper reports a study in which 34 university students from one of the major universities in Iran were randomly assigned to two groups: one experimental (PBLT/led by philosophical questions) and the other control (conventional/directed by ordinary or non-philosophical questions). Results revealed that there was a significant difference between the two groups with students in the experimental group outperforming those in the control group on both speaking and writing tasks. The findings of the study have implications for all stakeholders in ELT locally and internationally. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This pilot study explores the apologies Japanese nursing college students thought they would use in their L1 (i.e. Japanese) and their L2 (i.e. English) when bumping into each other. The students completed a questionnaire, the results of which indicated that they believed they should always apologize for bumping into someone. The paper describes apologies students expected to use in both languages and their observations of real-world apologies in Japan and the US. After reviewing differences between their L1 and L2 apologies and their perceived and observed apologies, the paper discusses students’ sociopragmatic, pragmalinguistic, and linguistic discoveries. The findings have implications for instructors who are interested in investigating and teaching the speech act. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The paper presents a notional account of the challenges facing the introduction of English as an international lingua franca (ELF) curriculum in the state schools of the expanding circle, taking Greece as a case in point. It broadly delineates an ELF curriculum as one focusing on the skills necessary for carrying out successful communication involving non-native speakers and then highlights a set of challenges linked to both teaching context and teachers' perceptions of professional identity. It focuses on challenges related to three facets of the professional identity of academically trained Greek state school EFL teachers, namely, their roles as users, specialists, and, ultimately, custodians of English for their learners and wider community. These facets are discussed with reference to a description of the country's current sociolinguistic and educational profile. The paper concludes with an overview of the strengths of an ELF curriculum for Greek state schools and discusses implications for ELF teacher education. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

How can teacher educators gauge what participants have learnt after taking a course in teaching English as a second language (TESL)? One method that can help both language teacher educators and their students trace conceptual changes as a result of taking a course is the use of concept maps. This paper examines the conceptual changes of a group of MA participants in Canada as a result of taking a TESL course. Pre-course and post-course concept maps were elicited from the participants who were also asked to write short descriptions of changes (and the reasons for these changes) they observed between their pre- and post-course maps. Participants were also interviewed about the contents of their individual concept map and their perceptions of the course. Results indicate that the course had some impact on the participants' prior beliefs and that a concept map may be a useful tool for tracing conceptual change. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

English language teaching tends to deal with the pleasanter side of second- language interaction such as making friends, relating experiences, and expressing likes/dislikes while ignoring such everyday communicative realities as rudeness, disrespect, and impoliteness. While neglected in the English as a Foreign Language (EFL) classroom, impoliteness is likely to be experienced by second-language (L2) users in the target-language context or when interacting with other L2 users. By drawing on the experiences of 84 L2 users in Mexico, I identify impolite situations encountered in second-language interaction and discuss how L2 users can be prepared for such everyday communicative realities. In this paper, I argue that L2 users need to be given choices when confronted with rudeness so that they decide how they want to react. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Reactive focus on form is a way of focusing students' attention on their own output. This paper describes a reactive focus on form task, which was part of a university EFL oral presentation course. The students in this study were encouraged to focus on their oral output by taping and transcribing a rehearsal of their presentation. They scrutinized and corrected the transcript before giving it to the teacher, who provided further feedback on points that they had missed. The paper describes the effect of this treatment by comparing the language of the rehearsal transcript with a transcript of the students' presentation two weeks later. It shows how they managed to recall many of the corrected forms and reformulations; the final presentation showed improvements in pronunciation and grammar, and in the organization of content. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents the results of an investigation into the value of using drama in a Brazilian university classroom. Drawing on Di Pietro (1987) and Via (1976) on the advantages of using drama in language learning, from Mezirow (1990) and Schön (1991) on the importance of reflection for promoting meaningful learning, and from Donato and McCormick (1994) and Lukinsky (1990) on the effectiveness of portfolios as a tool to promote reflection, the paper presents a case study of the use of drama in an oral skill class, describing the course structure and classroom procedures. It includes learners' voices as taken from their portfolios, and evaluates results, presenting setbacks and possible solutions. Finally, it encourages the use of drama and portfolios for transformative and emancipatory learning. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

It is a fact that a very low proportion of practising teachers are in the habit of reading ELT-related research papers. The main cause of this neglect is assumed to be that teaching and researching are two distinct forms of activity with no links to connect them. After comparing the concepts of progress and change in research versus teaching, this article discusses the issue of relevance encapsulated in the question: 'Who needs whom?'. Whereas it is a matter of utmost importance for researchers to reach out to teachers, the opposite does not apply: teachers can do well without outsiders' intervention. It is time, therefore, to accord more prominence to the 'teacher-inquirer', who is a professional capable of analysing their work on their own and exchanging their knowledge and experience with fellow teachers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The author responds to comments on his paper about international English language testing system (IELTS). He expresses his desire to contribute to the further improvement of IELTS by referring to areas that need more attention in its future research attempts. He notes that the most important characteristics of IELTS is its claim to assess English as an international language. He cites that his paper focuses on the test design of IELTS with respect to its reliability and validity issues with some implications for the wider context and test users.

'Readers respond' is a forum for individuals to contribute their own reactions, perspectives, or experiences in relation to a specific article published in a recent issue. These views are not necessarily those of the Editor, the Editorial Panel, or the Publisher. This paper responds to Calloway, N. and H. Rose 2014, 'Using listening journals to raise awareness of Global Englishes in ELT ('ELT Journal 68/4:386-96). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Reading to Learn (R2L) is an instructional approach that leads students from aided to independent creation of meaning in reading and writing. The approach uses whole texts as the point of departure for instruction. This case study explored how R2L promoted ninth graders' comprehension of explanation texts in EFL during six lessons and students' perceptions about R2L. The study involved a group of ninth graders from a secondary state school in Colombia whose results in national standardized tests had been traditionally low, particularly in EFL reading. Results revealed that students became better readers of explanation texts and perceived R2L as a useful approach to develop their ability to understand written texts in EFL. The study highlights the benefits of R2L for enhancing L2 students' meaning-making potential. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

From 1994, the South Korean government has implemented a series of innovations to change English language education from teaching about English to developing students’ communicative competence in English. This paper discusses the impact of a teacher certification scheme, one such innovation. The scheme is examined from three perspectives: its design, implementation, and perceived future impact. The discussion draws on documents from the certification scheme, lesson plans, video-recordings, and assessment results from assessed lessons for four candidates and interviews with these teachers. Analysis of this data shows that the scheme has the potential to make future classroom practice more communicative. However, there are a number of factors which seriously inhibit the impact of this scheme and which have implications for future innovations of this type. These include ineffective communication with teachers about the innovation, teachers’ perceptions of the relevance of the promoted practice, and the degree of compatibility between the innovation and its wider educational context. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

What lies at the centre of the evolution of human language, according to complex/dynamic theory, is the need for humans to innovate and use language to construct new meaning. Language evolution studies propose that language grows in complexity over time to deal with complex tasks. Language goes through a trajectory of change in accordance with the needs of language users as they innovate complex language to handle complex tasks and communicate new meanings. However, in many language learning tasks used in research and language teaching, language is employed primarily to express 'known meaning' rather than to construct 'unknown meaning'. In order to increase the learner's desire to explore and retrieve less accessible language within and beyond their Zone of Proximal Development, this paper discusses how language learning tasks can be transformed into creative tasks. It proposes two conditions that facilitate creativity: the use of multicultural experiences and constraints. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper’s focus is on the little researched and sometimes vague concept of interest, discussed here in relation to EFL learning and the potential interest-enhancing strategies that learners may employ if they do not find learning English interesting enough. The study was undertaken to investigate how adolescent EFL learners evaluate the interestingness of major classroom activities and how they cope with those activities that are ranked low in this respect. A three-part questionnaire was administered to 230 learners aged 13–16 years old at four different locations. The results of the study show that these learners are moderately interested in EFL learning activities, but they can encourage themselves to persist in doing tasks that they find less interesting by employing interest-enhancing strategies that are mainly instrumental and goal-oriented. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Content and language integrated learning (CLIL) has become a well-known term for foreign language teachers and language researchers. A little more than a decade ago, it was a term unheard of in most staff rooms or professional conferences. This paper seeks to define CLIL and to look into the reasons that have propelled it to widespread adoption. Important success factors of CLIL programmes will be presented, as well as research results relating to its impact. Finally, concerns about CLIL will be addressed and a way forward for the approach will be roughly sketched. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This paper introduces a new vowel notation system aimed at aiding the teaching of English pronunciation. This notation system, designed as an enhancement to orthographic text, was designed to use concepts borrowed from the representation of musical notes and is also linked to the acoustic characteristics of vowel sounds. Vowel timbre is represented in terms of the height of the symbol and vowel duration in terms of the length of the symbol. The Speechant system was evaluated in EFL adult education classes in Portugal. A formal assessment that measured the impact of a term's tuition by looking at changes in accent ratings of the learners over that period showed that the group taught using the Speechant system showed greater improvements in pronunciation than the control group. Speechant may be an especially useful aid to pronunciation teaching in situations in which foreign languages are taught without the benefit of technological support. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

A limitation of extensive reading programmes is the time required for progress in vocabulary acquisition. This paper reports on a qualitative exploration of student perceptions of the value of non-compulsory comic books in ESL elementary and upper-intermediate level courses at a tertiary institution. We aimed to develop supplementary materials that students would find valuable, use, and enjoy without requiring classroom time. The results suggest the learners’ views on the value of comic books and recordings can be broadly categorized into five themes: (1) helpful story characteristics, (2) perceived performance enhancement, (3) use of learning strategies, (4) enjoyment, and (5) areas for improvement. An interesting finding was the variety of uses to which the learners put the resources, in particular sharing them with their families. This study points to the importance of responding to learners’ specific contexts and to creative ways English learners undertake autonomous learning when provided with appropriate resources. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Negotiation of language form is thought to engage learning processes by helping learners to notice gaps in their developing L2 and find target-like ways of filling them. Self-transcription, where learners work together to find language errors in recordings of their own oral output, is an awareness raising exercise that encourages such negotiation. This paper examines the problem-solving efforts of a class of Japanese students as they worked on a transcription exercise in English. It describes the various resources they made use of while tackling L2 problems and considers some of the cognitive processes underlying their decisions. This small-scale study shows how these learners effectively negotiated form while working independently of the teacher. Recordings of their discussions reveal a depth of cognitive processing thought to be beneficial to language development. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The appearance of interactive whiteboards (IWBs) in schools in Britain and other parts of the world has been accompanied by research that attempts to analyse their effects on teaching and learning processes. The majority of studies to date have been carried out in schools in England in mainstream numeracy and literacy classes. The present paper attempts to contribute to this growing body of research by focusing on IWB use in a different learning context: an English language immersion class in a British primary school in Spain. Focus group interviews and annotated drawings were used with a class of NS and NNS children to identify their perceptions of the IWB and how it helps them learn. Issues that emerged from the data included the children's desire to interact more with the IWB, their frustration with frequently occurring technical problems, and the importance, particularly for the NNS, of the multimodal properties of the board. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]