scholarly journals JALT2015 Conference Article: Plenary Speaker Interview

2015 ◽  
Vol 39 (4) ◽  
pp. 17
Author(s):  
Stephen Ryan
Keyword(s):  
Language Learning ◽  
Willingness To Communicate ◽  
Teaching Techniques ◽  
Conference Theme ◽  
Challenges And Opportunities ◽  
Long Time ◽  
Major Shift ◽  
International Posture ◽  
International Profile ◽  
To Come

The theme of JALT2015—Focus on the Learner—is a timely one highlighting a major shift in our field, from one dominated by descriptions of language and teaching techniques to a greater consideration of the contributions learners make to their own language learning. It is particularly apt that JALT should choose this as a conference theme since researchers from Japan have been at the forefront of this shift. In fact, Japan-based researchers have been so prominent in recent years that it is very easy to forget that this has not always been the case and that for a very long time many researchers in Japan felt disconnected or even isolated from theoretical advances occurring elsewhere. A key figure in the rise of the international profile of Japanese research into individual learner characteristics is this year’s plenary speaker Tomoko Yashima. Her pioneering research into L2 willingness to communicate (WTC) and, in particular, her development of the concept of international posture inspired a generation of Japan-based researchers—myself included—to have the confidence to come up with our own theories and explanations of what is happening in our classrooms, as opposed to slavishly attempting—usually unsuccessfully—to apply models and theories developed elsewhere. Recently I was fortunate to share a conversation with Tomoko, in which I had the opportunity to ask her about her work, her views on some of the main challenges and opportunities facing language educators in Japan, and her thoughts on JALT 2015.

Western Education and Rural Productivity in Tropical Africa

Africa ◽  
1962 ◽  
Vol 32 (4) ◽  
pp. 313-323 ◽  
Author(s):  
P. C. C. Evans
Keyword(s):  
Rural Life ◽  
Tropical Africa ◽  
African Countries ◽  
Western Education ◽  
Political Independence ◽  
White Collar Workers ◽  
Long Time ◽  
Complete Rejection ◽  
To Come ◽  
Opening Paragraph

Opening ParagraphFor many years British administrators and others concerned with the developing countries of tropical Africa have criticized Western-type schooling introduced there for what they believe to have been its bad effects on the life of rural peoples. They have complained that such schooling is prejudicial to rural life, since it produces a distaste for agriculture and leads to a drift from the land. They say it promotes in schoolchildren a desire to be clerks or white-collar workers and, because of their schooling, they develop a strong dislike for manual work and a reluctance to soil their hands with physical labour. They assert that these values inculcated by Western schooling lead finally to an almost complete rejection of rural life, a contempt for agriculture, and therefore to a decrease in rural productivity. Finally, they maintain that this is particularly serious in view of the fact that, as far as we can see at present, many African countries will have to depend on agriculture and the land for a long time to come, for it is only through such dependence that it seems likely that they will achieve economic viability which will be an important factor in making a success of political independence.

Using Old Photographs in Interviews: Some Cautionary Notes About Silences in Fieldwork

1990 ◽  
Vol 17 ◽  
pp. 327-334 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bill Bravman
Keyword(s):  
Power Relations ◽  
Men And Women ◽  
Cultural Assumptions ◽  
The People ◽  
Taita Hills ◽  
National Archives ◽  
Long Time ◽  
Photo Collection ◽  
Image Production ◽  
To Come

In September 1987, early in my research at the Kenya National Archives, I came across a collection of photographs taken by a British missionary during the 1920s and early 1930s. The collection contained nearly 250 photos of the terrain and people of Kenya's Taita Hills, where I would soon be going for my fieldwork. I pored over the photo collection for a long time, and had reproductions made of twenty-five shots. The names of those pictured had been recorded in the photo album's captions. Many of the names were new to me, though a few WaTaita of the day who had figured prominently in the archival records were also captured on film. When I moved on to Taita in early 1988,1 took the photographs with me. Since I would be interviewing men and women old enough either to remember or be contemporaries of the people in the pictures, I planned to show the photos during the interviews. At first I was simply curious about who some of the people pictured were, but my curiosity quickly evolved into a more ambitious plan. I decided to try using the photographs as visual prompts to get people to speak more expansively than they otherwise might about their lives and their experiences.In the event, I learned that using the photographs in interviews involved many more complexities than I had envisaged in my initial enthusiasm. I found that I had to alter the expectations and techniques I took to Taita, and feel out some of the limitations of working with the photographic medium. I had to recognize the power relations embedded in my presence as a researcher in Taita, in my position as bearer of images from peoples' pasts, and in the photos themselves. I found, too, that I needed to come to grips with a number of issues about the politics of image production, and the historical product of those politics: the bounded, selected images that are photographs. Finally, I had to address some of my own cultural assumptions about photography and how people respond to pictures, assumptions that my informants did not necessarily share.

scholarly journals Physical Properties of Thermoplastic Starch Derived from Natural Resources and Its Blends: A Review

Polymers ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (9) ◽  
pp. 1396
Author(s):  
Z. N. Diyana ◽  
R. Jumaidin ◽  
Mohd Zulkefli Selamat ◽  
Ihwan Ghazali ◽  
Norliza Julmohammad ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Thermoplastic Starch ◽  
Natural Fibre ◽  
Polymer Materials ◽  
Secondary Pollution ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Potential Applications ◽  
Long Time ◽  
To Come ◽  
Main Component ◽  
Significant Attention

Thermoplastic starch composites have attracted significant attention due to the rise of environmental pollutions induced by the use of synthetic petroleum-based polymer materials. The degradation of traditional plastics requires an unusually long time, which may lead to high cost and secondary pollution. To solve these difficulties, more petroleum-based plastics should be substituted with sustainable bio-based plastics. Renewable and natural materials that are abundant in nature are potential candidates for a wide range of polymers, which can be used to replace their synthetic counterparts. This paper focuses on some aspects of biopolymers and their classes, providing a description of starch as a main component of biopolymers, composites, and potential applications of thermoplastics starch-based in packaging application. Currently, biopolymer composites blended with other components have exhibited several enhanced qualities. The same behavior is also observed when natural fibre is incorporated with biopolymers. However, it should be noted that the degree of compatibility between starch and other biopolymers extensively varies depending on the specific biopolymer. Although their efficacy is yet to reach the level of their fossil fuel counterparts, biopolymers have made a distinguishing mark, which will continue to inspire the creation of novel substances for many years to come.

The English Language Learning Progressions (ELLP): Challenge or opportunity?

2020 ◽  
Vol 16 ◽  
pp. 21-37
Author(s):  
Judith Anthony
Keyword(s):  
Language Learning ◽  
English Language ◽  
Future Research ◽  
English Language Learning ◽  
Learning Progressions ◽  
Ministry Of Education ◽  
Critical Policy Analysis ◽  
Challenges And Opportunities ◽  
Key Issues ◽  
Critical Policy

This article provides an overview and critical analysis of The English Language Learning Progressions (ELLP) (Ministry of Education, 2008). Identifying main themes through critical policy analysis, this review seeks to place ELLP in context through a comparison with The English Language Learning Framework: Draft (Ministry of Education, 2005) and English Language Learning Progressions (ELLP ) Pathway Years 1–8 (Ministry of Education, 2020a). Within this review, the structure of ELLP is explored along with key ideas and claims. It is argued that there are both challenges and opportunities in ELLP. Finally, the key issues are summarised and suggestions are made for future research.

Secrecy, State-Private Networks and Operational Effectiveness in Cold War Europe

2016 ◽  
Vol 25 (3) ◽  
pp. 551-560
Author(s):  
ERIC PULLIN
Keyword(s):  
Central Intelligence Agency ◽  
Unintended Consequences ◽  
Freedom Of Information ◽  
Public Attention ◽  
Operational Effectiveness ◽  
Intelligence Agency ◽  
The Us ◽  
Long Time ◽  
To Come ◽  
Us Senate

Secrecy has unintended consequences. The release on 9 December 2014 of the US Senate Intelligence Committee's report on the torture of terrorism detainees focused public attention on the secret activities of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA). Regrettably, lost amidst debate over justifying or condemning state-sponsored torture is a more basic concern, the issue of state secrecy, which underlies the discussion of how governments promote national ends. Only two days after the issuance of the Senate Intelligence Committee's report, the US House of Representatives adjourned without taking action on the Freedom of Information Act reform bill – despite receiving unanimous approval in both houses. This bill would not have required complete openness, but it would have eliminated many of the arbitrary mechanisms that enable the CIA and other governmental agencies to suppress requests for information. Although the House Republican leadership failed to put the act on the legislative calendar, the Obama administration's Department of Justice also deserves opprobrium for surreptitiously opposing the act behind the scenes. The US government's disregard for establishing reasonable rules of transparency virtually guarantees that the CIA will continue to suppress its records, and thus public scrutiny of its unchecked activities, for a very long time to come.

scholarly journals Developing Students’ Cognition Culture for Successful Foreign Language Learning

2018 ◽  
Vol 50 ◽  
pp. 01128
Author(s):  
Lyubov Pavlova ◽  
Yuliana Vtorushina
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Language ◽  
University Students ◽  
Language Learning ◽  
Foreign Language Learning ◽  
Culture Conditions ◽  
Social Adaptation ◽  
Teaching Techniques ◽  
Cognitive Component ◽  
Effective Development ◽  
The University

This paper presents results of the research aimed at determining essential aspects of the development of university students’ cognition culture as a factor of successful foreign language learning. The authors define cognition culture as a complex of capabilities and skills, enabling students to look for, analyze, process, organize and critically assess information in the text, considering its historical and cultural value background. The investigation proves that a student’s cognition culture is manifested in his/her knowledge of national mentality, language, and cultural picture of the world as well as in the student’s skills of search, procession and critical assessment of information, the skills of analysis, comparison, generalization, cognitive motivation and aspiration for constant improvement of foreign language skills. The research determines the contents of the cognitive component of foreign language learning and works out a complex of teaching techniques for developing students’ cognition culture. The results prove that the application of the complex of special teaching techniques ensures effective development of the university students’ cognition culture for successful foreign language learning. Thus, students’ cognitive culture conditions their social adaptation and academic mobility.

scholarly journals Affect and willingness to communicate in digital game-based learning

ReCALL ◽  
2014 ◽  
Vol 27 (1) ◽  
pp. 38-57 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hayo Reinders ◽  
Sorada Wattana
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Language Learning ◽  
Classroom Practice ◽  
Digital Games ◽  
Willingness To Communicate ◽  
Digital Game ◽  
Game Based Learning ◽  
Learning Program ◽  
Barriers To Learning ◽  
Learning And Teaching

AbstractThe possible benefits of digital games for language learning and teaching have received increasing interest in recent years. Games are said, amongst others, to be motivating, to lower affective barriers in learning, and to encourage foreign or second language (L2) interaction. But how do learners actually experience the use of games? What impact does gameplay have on students’ perceptions of themselves as learners, and how does this affect their learning practice? These questions are important as they are likely to influence the success of digital game-based language learning, and as a result the way teachers might integrate games into the curriculum. In this study we investigated the experiences of five students who had participated in a fifteen-week game-based learning program at a university in Thailand. We conducted six interviews with each of them (for a total of 30 interviews) to identify what impact gameplay had in particular on their willingness to communicate in English (MacIntyre, Dörnyei, Clément & Noels, 1998). The results showed that gameplay had a number of benefits for the participants in this study, in particular in terms of lowering their affective barriers to learning and increasing their willingness to communicate. We discuss the implications of these results in terms of further research and classroom practice.

scholarly journals Study Abroad and Willingness to Communicate: A Case Study at Junior High School

2015 ◽  
Vol 39 (3) ◽  
pp. 3
Author(s):  
Adrian Leis
Keyword(s):  
High School ◽  
Second Language ◽  
High School Students ◽  
Study Abroad ◽  
Language Learning ◽  
Junior High School ◽  
Junior High ◽  
Willingness To Communicate ◽  
School Students ◽  
Study Abroad Program

The goal of this paper is to gain a deeper understanding of whether a short study abroad program is effective in increasing its participants’ willingness to communicate in a second language. Using a questionnaire designed by Yashima (2002), a pre-post design study was used to examine a sample of 80 Japanese junior high school students who participated in a ten-day study abroad program to Sydney, Australia. The results indicate that although there were no statistically significant differences seen in the second language learning motivation of the students participating in the study abroad program, there were salient decreases observed in the anxiety students felt towards speaking English. Furthermore, as clear differences were seen in international posture, joining the study abroad program also meant that students felt more a part of the global community. Based on these results, the author concludes that traveling abroad for the purposes of study is indeed effective for adolescent learners of English, helping them feel more comfortable using the language as a tool for communication. 本論の目的は、短期海外研修参加者の第2言語におけるWillingness to Communicate (WTC) の向上に及ぼす効果について、より深い知見を獲得することである。八島（2002）によって作成されたアンケートを用い、シドニー•オーストラリアでの10日間の海外研修に参加した80人の日本人中学生のサンプルを事前事後調査方式で研究を行った。結果からわかったことは、統計的にみると海外研修に参加した生徒の第2言語における学習意欲には有意差が見られなかったが、生徒が英語を話すことに対して抱いていた不安の軽減が顕著に見られたということである。さらに、国際的な姿勢に明らかな差異が見られ、海外研修への参加は、生徒が国際社会の一員としての認識を強めるものとなっていた。これらの結果により、筆者は、学習を目的とする海外研修は英語を学ぶ生徒には非常に効果があり、海外研修によって生徒たちはより安心感を持って言語をコミュニケーションツールとして用いることができるようになったとの結論に達した。

scholarly journals Mellem to verdener - Krigsrepræsentationer hos Walter Flex, Ernst Jünger og Erich Maria Remarque

2018 ◽  
pp. 65-84
Author(s):  
Adam Paulsen
Keyword(s):  
World War I ◽  
World War ◽  
Western Front ◽  
Major Shift ◽  
The Difference ◽  
To Come ◽  
The Wanderer

This article compares representations of war in Walter Flex’ The Wanderer between Two Worlds (1916), Ernst Jünger’s Storm of Steel (1920), and Erich Maria Remarque’s All Quiet on the Western Front (1929). It shows the extent to which these representations are shaped by political and ideological convictions. The difference between the romantic idealism of Flex and Jünger’s “soldierly nationalism”,which he proposed as a model for the time to come, reflects a major shift during World War I itself. By contrast, neither past nor future seem to be of any use in Remarque’s famous antiwar novel, in which the war generation surprisingly is described as having nothing else to live for beyond the present, i.e. beyond war. Finally, the article suggests how these different representations of war each, in their own way, contributed to the aesthetics and ideology of fascism.

scholarly journals THE IMPACT OF TEACHER SELF-EFFICACY ON TEACHING TECHNIQUES: TRADITIONAL OR CONTEMPORARY?

2021 ◽  
Vol 6 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Ümit Levent Değirmencioğlu
Keyword(s):  
Language Learning ◽  
Teaching Methods ◽  
Classroom Environment ◽  
Self Efficacy ◽  
Teaching Experience ◽  
Teaching Techniques ◽  
Factors Affecting ◽  
Efl Teachers ◽  
Teacher Self Efficacy ◽  
The Impact

There are countless factors that impact the process of second language learning and teaching in both positive and negative ways. These factors are not limited to only student-oriented factors since some of them might stem from teachers themselves as well. One of the teacher-oriented factors that shape the learning/ teaching process is teacher’s levels of self-efficacy. For decades, teacher self-efficacy has been holding its position as being one of the most popular topics of investigation. Many studies have been conducted to further understand its effect on classroom environment. These studies have put forward a great deal of invaluable findings. However, only a few examined its effects on teaching methods and techniques used in the classroom. The present study set out to investigate this issue by collecting data from 64 EFL teachers, using both quantitative and qualitative methods with a three-staged survey. The findings showed: 1) Turkish EFL teachers have moderately high teacher self-efficacy, 2) age and gender are not factors affecting teacher self-efficacy while teaching experience is, 3) teachers with high self-efficacy use more modern techniques in their lessons and 4) high self-efficacy leads teachers to more implementations of communicative and collaborative tasks. The findings have numerous implications for further research that will be conducted in Turkey as they shed light on the relationship between teacher self-efficacy and teaching methods. Teachers of foreign languages should also be aware of the teaching implications that have been suggested throughout the study and criticize their teaching techniques in terms of traditional or contemporary, by bearing in mind their levels of self-efficacy. <p> </p><p><strong> Article visualizations:</strong></p><p><img src="/-counters-/edu_01/0796/a.php" alt="Hit counter" /></p>

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