scholarly journals Homogenous Representations, Diverse Realities: Assistant Language Teachers at Elementary Schools

2021 ◽  
Vol 45 (3) ◽  
pp. 3
Author(s):  
Daniel Pearce
Keyword(s):  
Elementary Schools ◽  
Foreign Language ◽  
Classroom Practice ◽  
Native Speakers ◽  
Language Education ◽  
Foreign Language Education ◽  
Language Teachers ◽  
Cultural Backgrounds ◽  
Language Classes ◽  
Native Speakers Of English

As of 2020, foreign language as a subject has become compulsory for upper grades in Japanese elementary schools, and MEXT recommends the use of assistant language teachers (ALTs) in foreign language classes. While ALTs represent diverse linguistic and cultural backgrounds, MEXT documents for Japanese teachers portray them as homogenous monolingual native speakers of English. To better understand the linguistic repertoires of ALTs, this study investigates the languages ALTs know. The findings suggest that, contrary to MEXT portrayals, most ALTs have ability in at least one language other than English. With reference to the goals of foreign language education, this paper argues that MEXT should more accurately represent the diversity of ALTs in their literature and actively promote the inclusion of their other languages in classroom practice. 2020年度より、日本の小学校高学年には教科としての外国語が必修化された。文部科学省は外国語の授業における外国語指導助手（Assistant Language Teachers: ALTs）の積極的な導入を勧めている。多くのALTが様々な言語や文化的背景を持っているにもかかわらず、文部科学省の教員向け資料における記述の多くは、未だにALTをモノリンガルの英語母語話者としてのみ想定している。ALTの運用可能な言語について調査した先行研究が不足しているため、本研究は、小学校勤務のALTを対象に、使用言語に関するアンケート調査を実施した。結果として、ALTのほとんどが英語以外に1つ以上の言語を使用できることが判明した。本論文は、外国語科目の目標に照らして、文部科学省のALTに関する資料の更新の必要性を示すとともに、ALTの持つ英語以外の言語の知識をも外国語の授業に取り入れることの重要性を主張する。

scholarly journals Classroom Management in Foreign Language Education: An Exploratory Review

2018 ◽  
Vol 20 (1) ◽  
pp. 153-166
Author(s):  
Diego Fernando Macías
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Language ◽  
Classroom Management ◽  
Negative Impact ◽  
Language Education ◽  
Foreign Language Education ◽  
Language Instruction ◽  
Language Teachers ◽  
Target Language ◽  
Foreign Language Instruction ◽  
Language Classes

This review examines studies in the area of classroom management in foreign language education. It is organized into three large areas: The first area focuses on the distinctive characteristics of foreign language instruction that are more likely to impact classroom management in foreign language classes. The second area provides a description of classroom management issues that foreign language teachers usually encounter in their practice; and the third area centers on the different alternatives to reduce the negative impact of classroom management on foreign language classes. Conclusions suggest a need for more research particularly on the relationship between classroom management and aspects such as target language use and teaching methods. 

scholarly journals SCIENTIFIC AND PEDAGOCICAL APPROACHES TO THE FORMATIONOF PROFESSIONAL METACOMMUNICATIVE COMPETENCE OF FUTURE TEACHERS OF HIGHER EDUCATION INSTITUTIONS IN A SPECIALIZED SCHOOL

2020 ◽  
Vol 66 (2) ◽  
pp. 89-94
Author(s):  
Z.K. Zhanazarova ◽  
◽  
T.A. Kulgildinova ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Language ◽  
Working Conditions ◽  
Language Education ◽  
Component Composition ◽  
Foreign Language Education ◽  
Language Teachers ◽  
Foreign Language Teachers ◽  
Specialized School ◽  
Basic Approaches

The article discusses the scientific and methodological platform for the formation of professional metacommunicative competence of foreign language teachers in a specialized school. The content of the article reveals the basic approaches and principles of the formation of professional metacommunicative competence, which refers to the ability of students to use a foreign language for educational purposes as a tool for the development of foreign language education in a professional metalanguage aspect. The features of the component composition in determining the level of formation of professional metacommunicative competence of students are revealed. The tactical goal of training a foreign language teacher for specialized classes are described, which provides for improving the quality of training for students with the goal of mastering such technologies that give the prospect to a future teacher the ability to speak a meta- branch language in various working conditions.

Ecological perspectives on foreign language education

2008 ◽  
Vol 41 (3) ◽  
pp. 389-408 ◽  
Author(s):  
Claire Kramsch
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Language ◽  
Language Learning ◽  
Complexity Theory ◽  
Native Speakers ◽  
Language Education ◽  
Foreign Language Education ◽  
Ecological Perspective ◽  
Ecological Approach ◽  
Learning And Teaching ◽  
Institutional Contexts

Ecological approaches to language learning and teaching have captured the interest of language educators as both native and non-native speakers find themselves operating in increasingly multilingual and multicultural environments. This paper builds on Kramsch & Whiteside (in press) to conceptualize what an ecological perspective on foreign language education, based on complexity theory, would look like. It first explains some of the major tenets of complexity theory, and analyzes transcriptions of exchanges taking place among multilingual individuals in multicultural settings using the ecological approach offered by complexity theory. Based on what these analyses reveal about the ability of these individuals to shape the very context in which language is learned and used, it discusses the notion of ‘symbolic competence’ recently proposed by Kramsch (2006) and explores how symbolic competence might be developed through foreign language education in institutional contexts.

scholarly journals Necessity of improvement of foreign language teaching in the Slovak Republic

2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (2) ◽  
pp. 251-263
Author(s):  
Marcela Šarvajcová ◽  
Monika Štrbová
Keyword(s):  
Focus Group ◽  
Foreign Language ◽  
Language Learning ◽  
Information Technologies ◽  
Slovak Republic ◽  
Foreign Language Learning ◽  
Language Education ◽  
Foreign Language Education ◽  
Language Teachers ◽  
Foreign Language Teachers

Aim. The aim of the research study was to investigate the opinions of the Slovakian secondary school foreign language teachers and learn about their views on the system of education in the field of enhancement of teachers` professional qualifications. Methods. To perform the results of the study the method of focus group was used. Results. The results of the presented research show the differences between the perception of foreign language education in the past and how it appears today through the views of selected number of foreign language teachers in Slovakia. The pivotal role is played by the technological skills of the students and their ability to use information technologies instructed in foreign languages. The research results also indicate the possibilities of teachers to get in direct contact with the target foreign language as a part of their professional development. The research participants also specified the factors that they considered the most influential in the process of foreign language learning. Conclusion. The purpose of the article is to discuss the urge to achieve highly professional foreign language education in today`s technological society. As shown by the results obtained from the focus group, the teachers/participants agreed on a single highly impactful factor: family.

scholarly journals THE TRANSITION TO ENGLISH TEACHING: INFLUENCES AND CONSIDERATIONS FOR FOREIGN LANGUAGE EDUCATION AND LANGUAGE PLANNING

2018 ◽  
Vol 34 (5) ◽  
Author(s):  
Tran Thi Hao
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Language ◽  
Language Policy ◽  
Language Planning ◽  
Language Education ◽  
Transition Process ◽  
Foreign Language Education ◽  
Language Teachers ◽  
English Teaching ◽  
Study Approach ◽  
Survey Interviews

Language policy enactment processes are complex, confounded by varied forces and interests, and shaped through negotiations, interpretations and compromise. Working from this perspective, this article examines the transition process of foreign language teachers from teaching other languages to teaching English, and the influences of this process on general foreign language education and language planning. In Vietnam, even though the shift to English teaching from other languages has been noted as a phenomenon, its process with grass-roots changes and potential influences on foreign language policy enactments in the country have not been specifically examined. By employing a case study approach, this article explores the transition process at An Nam University (pseudonym), one of the universities undergoing the transition process. Drawn from a document, a preliminary survey, interviews with both teachers and leaders and observations, my study concludes that the transition process has an important role with various influences on different aspects in foreign language education in the university and in Vietnam. The study aims to provide fundamental pointers to current language policy implementation in the country as well as to other contexts undergoing similar changes.

Reviving pedagogical translation

2018 ◽  
Vol 4 (2) ◽  
pp. 248-281 ◽  
Author(s):  
Katrina Barnes
Keyword(s):  
Secondary School ◽  
Foreign Language ◽  
Language Learning ◽  
Language Education ◽  
Foreign Language Education ◽  
Ongoing Debate ◽  
Pedagogical Tool ◽  
Language Classes ◽  
Language Competency ◽  
Group Translation

Abstract The aim of this study was to determine to what extent translation may be an effective pedagogical tool for use by UK GCSE language students. It is offered as a contribution to the ongoing debate regarding the use of pedagogical translation. In March 2015, 41 students preparing for their GCSE Spanish exams were presented with a variety of translation-based activities, including a discussion about professional translation, a mistranslations exercise and a group translation task. The research design combined both translation as a means (explicative and process-oriented) and translation as an end (communicative and product-oriented), and was based upon a realistic, student-centred, socio-constructivist pedagogical foundation. Qualitative data, and a small amount of quantitative data, were collected via a post-session questionnaire and semi-structured group interview, through which students were asked about their experience of the translation sessions in order to answer the following questions: (1) According to students, does translation have a place in UK secondary school foreign language education? (2) If it does, what do students feel are its main benefits? (3) What form should translation activities take, according to students? Students felt that translation could add to their language classes in a variety of ways, including building their confidence, making their language learning more engaging, giving their learning a more ‘real-world’, practical focus and increasing their general language competency. They also felt that it was best delivered in the form of task-based group work. Students’ responses to the translation sessions were overwhelmingly positive, providing compelling support for further use of both explicative and communicative translation tasks in UK secondary school language education.

scholarly journals OTWARTE FORMY PRACY W GLOTTODYDAKTYCE – SPECYFIKA OCENIANIA W EDUKACJI SZKOLNEJ ORAZ W AKADEMICKIM KSZTAŁCENIU NAUCZYCIELI JĘZYKÓW OBCYCH

Neofilolog ◽  
2020 ◽  
pp. 105-131
Author(s):  
Beata Peć
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Language ◽  
Language Education ◽  
Foreign Language Education ◽  
School Education ◽  
Language Teachers ◽  
Project Work ◽  
Academic Education ◽  
Teaching Objectives ◽  
Research Perspectives ◽  
The University

Open forms of work are now successfully used both in foreign language lessons and in academic education. Often, it may be difficult to assess the work of learners due to its specificity – that is, the summing and shaping of the assessment of the achievement of teaching objectives in school education and the effects of education in the didactics of the university. The question arises how to assess the work of learners during free work, while learners are working to attainment targets, working to weekly plans or doing project work. These issues will be subjected to theoretical analysis and discussed on the basis of my own empirical research in two areas of language teacher/foreign language education. On this basis conclusions will be formulated and research perspectives will be outlined with relation to school education and the academic education of foreign language teachers.

scholarly journals Promoting Learner Autonomy Through Cooperative Learning

2019 ◽  
Vol 12 (8) ◽  
pp. 30
Author(s):  
Weixuan Shi ◽  
Ligang Han
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Language ◽  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
Language Education ◽  
Learner Autonomy ◽  
Foreign Language Education ◽  
Language Learner ◽  
Language Teachers ◽  
Language Competence ◽  
Learning Attitude ◽  
Interest And Motivation

Learner autonomy has become a hot topic and goal in the research of foreign language education. However, it is the most difficult question to define language learner autonomy and any answer to it is likely to be subjective. On the basis of expounding upon the different definitions concerning the research on learner autonomy in language teaching and learning, this study was to explore how cooperative group learning helps to improve learner autonomy. The survey’s findings indicate that the group work helps to improve students’ learning attitude, interest and motivation. It also reveals that students’ language competence and awareness of using learning resources are improved. This article discusses plausible explanations for the survey findings and makes recommendations on the roles and knowledge that language teachers should play and have to facilitate the development of learner autonomy.

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