It Sharpens My Brain

2018 ◽  
pp. 174-189
Author(s):  
Yang Wang
Keyword(s):  
English Language ◽  
Language Skills ◽  
International Teaching Assistants ◽  
Teaching Skills ◽  
Cultural Backgrounds ◽  
International Teaching Assistant ◽  
Teaching Assistant Training ◽  
International Teaching ◽  
The U.S

In this case study, the author investigated how international teaching assistants in the U.S. learned English language and teaching skills within a course they took about teaching at an American college. Four participants from three different countries and three disciplines volunteered to participate in this study. The results suggested that by talking with a partner, all of the participants acquired communication and conferring skills and learned teaching skills by practicing, sharing, getting feedback, and reflecting with their peers. All participants contributed to this social learning environment and enjoyed the communication between each other no matter what backgrounds and disciplines they came from. Their conversations revealed their strengths and challenges and represented their various cultural backgrounds, disciplines, and personal goals. The findings from this study suggest that teachers in the international teaching assistant training program should encourage peer learning and provide opportunities for students to work in pairs or small groups. They should also plan meaningful activities for students through which students can learn language skills and cultivate communicative competence.

A statute is divided into: Vocabulary • sections; Repeal— abolition of all or part of a • sub-sections; previous statute. • paragraphs; Amend— changing part of a previous • sub-paragraphs; statute. • Parts; • Schedules (at the end). Parliament can enact laws about anything—but a law may prove impossible to enforce. Legend records that one particular King of England, Canute, was humbled when he attempted to demonstrate his sovereign power by seating his throne on the beach and ordering the tide not to come in! For come in it did, much to his embarrassment. When approaching a statute as a new law student the most difficult task is understanding, at a basic macro- (wide) level, what the statute as a whole is striving to do and at the micro- (narrow) level what each section is saying. As proficiency is gained in handling statutory rules it will be found that it is not usually necessary to deal with the entire statute. The overall statute can be briefly contextualised and only relevant sections need to be extracted for detailed consideration, analysis, or application. However, ‘sections’, those micro-elements of statutes, will be all the more confidently analysed because, at any given moment, it is known how to relate any aspect of the statute to its general layout. Often, initial understanding eludes the law student. Doubts concerning the meaning of parts of the statute do not occur at the level of sophisticated analysis. They occur at the basic level of combining English language skills and legal skills to obtain foundational understanding. If doubts remain at this level, there can be no possibility of attaining sophisticated analysis! 3.4.4 Case study: breaking into statutes 3.4.4.1 Unfair Contract Terms Act 1977 To explore methods of breaking into statutes and understanding statutes at the macro- and micro-level the rest of this chapter will deal with a real statute, the Unfair Contract Terms Act (UCTA) 1977. Figure 3.10, below, builds on the abstract general layout of Figure 3.8, above, by customising it to fit UCTA 1977. This statute will continue to be used for demonstration purposes for the rest of the chapter. The full text of the statute can be found in Appendix 1. Study Figure 3.10, below, carefully. Note which parts are linked and which are not by following the lines and arrows. Reading the summarised headings constructs a basic overview of what the statute is about. Before considering how to break into statutory language in such a way as to be able to confidently précis whole sections for the purposes of such a layout, it is important to study the layout until it is familiar and comprehensible. There are no shortcuts; this takes time.

2012 ◽  
pp. 58-59
Keyword(s):  
English Language ◽  
Language Skills ◽  
Detailed Consideration ◽  
Micro Level ◽  
To Come ◽  
Law Student ◽  
Micro Elements ◽  
Basic Level ◽  
Sophisticated Analysis

scholarly journals STUDENTS’ PERCEPTIONS TOWARD TEACHER’S TALK IN EFL CLASSROOM OF INDONESIA SENIOR HIGH SCHOOL: A CASE STUDY

2021 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
pp. 82-91
Author(s):  
ERLY MULFIAS YULI
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Language ◽  
English Language ◽  
Language Skills ◽  
Research Question ◽  
Lessons Learned ◽  
English Teacher ◽  
Research Subject ◽  
Eleventh Graders ◽  
Language Classrooms

This study is a case study to investigate students’ perceptions toward teacher’s talk in EFL (English as a Foreign Language) classrooms. It is conducted for two months on a single entity as the research subject, ie on 35 Eleventh-graders with varying English language skills and an English teacher. Since it focuses only on a certain entity, the results of the study cannot be generalized to the broader context. This study uses a qualitative approach by showing data from the results of questionnaires, observations and interviews with research samples. The study focuses on a research question on how Eleventh graders' perception on a teacher’s talk in EFL classrooms. Regarding to the research question, it aims to determine the thoughts of students on teacher’s talk, so that the teacher can organize and modify the class based on the perceptions that can implicate the learning process by reducing students’ anxiety. It provides students opportunities to be able to process information or lessons learned more comfortably, thus it reduces obstacles in learning. The findings of the study show that the majority of students of Eleventh-grade want to fully use English although they still have difficulties in understanding and feel less confident in using English.

scholarly journals Tale of the Tape: International Teaching Assistant Noticing During Videotaped Classroom Observations

2015 ◽  
Vol 5 (4) ◽  
pp. 434-446
Author(s):  
Gwendolyn M. Williams ◽  
Rod E. Case
Keyword(s):  
Teaching Assistants ◽  
Classroom Observation ◽  
Teaching Assistant ◽  
International Teaching Assistants ◽  
Classroom Observations ◽  
Initial Interview ◽  
American Universities ◽  
International Teaching Assistant ◽  
International Teaching ◽  
Effective Use

International teaching assistants face challenges in learning the norms for teaching in American universities. In order to address this learning curve this article describes a qualitative study of twenty international teaching assistants that examined how these participants viewed observations as part of their professional development. The study explored the noticing practices of international teaching assistants who participated in an initial interview, followed by a classroom observation so that the ITAs could notice their own teaching practices in the classroom. After examining the ITAs’ noticing of events during observations, the article will conclude with general recommendations for effective use of observations as part of the training of international instructors.

scholarly journals Evaluating an ESP textbook: a case study of English for banking purposes at EDBI

2020 ◽  
Vol 13 (32) ◽  
pp. 1-16
Author(s):  
Mohammad-reza Takrousta ◽  
Parviz Behrouzi ◽  
Sholeh Kolahi
Keyword(s):  
English Language ◽  
Language Skills ◽  
Physical Appearance ◽  
New Materials ◽  
Text Book ◽  
Positive Attitudes ◽  
Language Needs

An English language textbook for banking purposes had been designed based on the language needs of EDBI staffs. Consequently, an English course for banking purposes was held at EDBI using the designed book. To ensure about the validity and quality of the textbook, it was evaluated by 2 language experts through an interview before the course and 30 bank’s staffs as the learners through a set of questionnaire after the course. Based on the quantitative and qualitative findings of the study, both language experts and EDBI’s staffs had positive attitudes toward the materials, topics, activities and tasks, language skills and physical appearance of the text book and recognized it relevant to their language needs. However, they asked for some modifications such as edition of misspelling and ungrammatical use of some sentences and additions of new materials such as a glossary and business and banking correspondences to the existing ones. The results of the study became a basis to further improvement and correction until the draft would be finalized as a ready use material. Therefore, some modifications and alternations were conducted based on their evaluations to make the product more valid and more practical. The findings of the present research bear significant implications for materials developers and teachers especially in applying appropriate materials in ESP courses and evaluating the textbooks in the related studies.

Anxiety in academic speaking situations among EFL majors: a case study

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
pp. 115-132
Author(s):  
Biljana Radić-Bojanić ◽  
Jagoda Topalov
Keyword(s):  
English Language ◽  
Language Skills ◽  
The Self ◽  
Negative Effects ◽  
Speaking Anxiety ◽  
Response Variable ◽  
Explanatory Variables ◽  
Perceived Difficulty ◽  
Language And Literature

Abstract In the study reported a total of 145 students pursuing the academic title of a BA in English language and literature were tested with the aim of establishing which explanatory variables have the independent power to explain the level of English language speaking anxiety. The instrument used in the study was taken from Yaikhong et al. (2012) and adapted for the purposes of the current investigation. The response variable in the study was the average level of anxiety measured by means of the questionnaire, whereas the explanatory variables included gender, the year of study, the number of presentations students gave during the course of their studies, the grade in language skills, the expected grade, the self-perceived proficiency and the perceived difficulty of the English language. The results reveal that gender, the expected grade and the self-perceived proficiency can account for the variation in the levels of anxiety among students. The paper ends with suggestions of interventions for helping students cope with the negative effects of anxiety on their speaking performance and learning experiences.

scholarly journals Indoctrination and Islamization in Higher Secondary Curriculum in Pakistan: A Case Study of Sindh Textbook Board of Pakistan

2019 ◽  
Vol 5 (1) ◽  
pp. 80
Author(s):  
Razia Kazim ◽  
Shabana Sartaj ◽  
Sadia Memon
Keyword(s):  
Language Learning ◽  
Critical Discourse Analysis ◽  
English Language ◽  
Language Skills ◽  
Active Agent ◽  
Critical Discourse ◽  
Modern World ◽  
Policy Makers ◽  
Language Textbooks

Language is a social phenomenon. It helps us to interact with the world around us. The prevailing content explores and emphasizes the idea of language as a significantly active agent which indoctrinates learners and excludes people from minorities through English Language textbook of Class 9 published by Sindh Textbook Board of Sindh, Pakistan. The study used Fair Clough’s model of CDA 1995 (Critical Discourse Analysis) as a tool to reveal the hidden ideologies behind the language used in the textbook. English, in Pakistan, is used as a language-learning subject in the context of L2. However, the language used in textbooks imposes certain ideological connotations in not only an implicit but also explicit manner. Rahman (2002).The language textbooks indoctrinate learners by propagating hidden agendas such as excessive promotion of Islamization and glorification of war and war heroes to name just a few. The study recommends language textbooks to focus on developing language skills and enlarging the lingual capabilities of the learners instead of selling indoctrination and constricting the critical abilities of the learners. In order to meet the needs of a modern world, balance curriculum contents should be designed for the learners. It is highly suggested to the designers and policy makers, to focus on language learning items and content, instead of content-oriented textbooks. The research will be beneficial in the domain of education and for fellow researchers as they would be able to discern in clear terms why indoctrination should be discouraged in the process of education; language should only be taught without distortion.

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