Relanguaging Language from a South African Township School

Using data from a long-term ethnographic study of English language classrooms in a South African township, this book conceptualises language teaching not as a progression from one fixed language to another, but as a circular sorting process between linguistic heterogeneity (languaging) and homogeneity (a standard language).

Language Learning Strategies (LLS) Implementation of Students and Teachers at a Malaysian Pre-Tertiary Educational Institution

The study which took place at a Malaysian pre-tertiary educational institution aimed at investigating the implementation of language learning strategies (LLS) of its two major stakeholders, namely the students and the teachers. As the study employed mixed-method design, both quantitative and qualitative data were collected as to report the findings. The Strategy Inventory for Language Learning Strategies (SILL) and classroom observation protocol were the two important instruments for this study. A total of 300 students were involved in the study in which the number was determined using Krejcie and Morgan table. The students were divided into two groups consisting of 150 students who passed the institution’s English Proficiency Test, being referred to as ‘EPT-pass’ and 150 students who failed the test, hence known as ‘EPT-fail’ in the study. Four teachers voluntarily involved in the study after invitation to be part of the study was extended to all teachers at the educational institution. Analysis of data was done using descriptive statistics (mean and standard deviation scores) and thematic analysis. The findings showed that students employed indirect language learning strategies more than direct strategies with EPT-pass group recording (M=4.084, SD=0.625) and EPT-fail group with (M=2.722, SD=0.466). It was apparent that metacognitive strategies (M=4.361, SD=0.954) were EPT-pass group’s most employed strategies while EPT-fail students implemented affective strategies (M=3.077, SD=0.399) the most. Additionally, LLS were undoubtedly embedded into the lesson implementations of the four teachers whose lesson implementations were observed. The study implies that LLS play fundamental part in the teaching and learning of English and should be directly nurtured and embedded into English language classrooms to ensure more effective implementations.

A Discursive Analysis on Gender Biased Issues in the International ELT Textbooks

Although textbook is one of the traditional ELT material that playacts an authentic hazardous character in all English language classrooms, in the latest decades there has been a lot of controversies all over the ELT business on the real role of mediums in teaching English as a Foreign Language (TEFL). Other points that have appeared in these years encompass textbook designs and practicality, the authenticity of materials in terms of the appropriateness and equality of gender representation, and cultural components. This research is an attempt to scrutinize the representational method of genders in English learning book series, i.e., Face 2 Face Student Textbooks. To reach this end, of the four volumes of the English textbook series “Face 2 Face” were studied with a stress on the representation rate of male and female characters by conducting the content analysis of gender attributed lexicon such as names, nouns, pronouns, and adjectives to see if the two genders are equally distributed. Chi-squares based on five factors (female vs. male’s characters, titles, order of appearance, engaging activities and, pictorial representation) as well as gender representation in conversation accomplished to determine the proportion and frequency of the male vs. female discrimination. The findings revealed that this series is significantly bearing sexism; Male is more foregrounded than female. Comparing with females, males are outstanding in many ways such as independence, status and occupations.

THE IRF EXCHANGE AS A PEDAGOGICAL TOOL: A STUDY OF ESL CLASSROOMS IN POKUASE TOWNSHIP, GHANA

<p>The classroom is a place where teachers and their pupils or students engage in interaction in order to promote effective learning. Such interactions can follow different patterns, and one such pattern is the IRF (initiation-response-feedback) exchange structure, developed by Sinclair and Coulthard (1975, 1992). This study examines the use of the IRF exchange pattern as a pedagogical tool in the English language classrooms of some Basic Schools in Pokuase, a town in the Greater Accra Region of Ghana. It investigates the way teachers and pupils initiate, respond to, and provide feedback for effective language acquisition. In order to achieve this objective, a qualitative case study was adopted to analyze 11 hours and 40 minutes of classroom recordings and 100 minutes of interview data. Results regarding the IRF structure show that the various acts within the initiation move included nomination, directing, and prompting; the acts in the response move were replying and reacting, while the acts within the feedback move were acceptance, praise, criticism, and expansion. This result is an indication that there were more initiation and feedback acts than response acts, suggesting the teachers dominated the use of the exchange pattern, leaving the pupils to only provide responses. Results of the teachers’ role indicate that they are engaging in teacher talk as a way of providing explanation, organizing the lesson, and redirecting learners in the interaction. The teachers also provided prompt guidelines by creating conducive environment for the learners to be able to write, read, also provided specific and individual feedback to either correct learners’ language input or to encourage them to learn more. Based on the results, it is argued that teachers, especially at the basic level, should endeavour to employ the use of the IRF pattern because it has the potential to contribute a great deal to ESL teaching and learning.</p><p> </p><p><strong> Article visualizations:</strong></p><p><img src="/-counters-/edu_01/0845/a.php" alt="Hit counter" /></p>

Authenticity and awareness of English as a lingua franca in English language classrooms

Research on the incorporation of the emerging English as a lingua franca (ELF) paradigm into English language teaching has flourished in recent years, foregrounding the necessity of translanguaging practices. However, despite the growing awareness of ELF, teachers still struggle to determine whether and how to adhere to the emerging paradigm. In particular, the authenticity of ELF teaching methods in the English language classroom has not been sufficiently addressed, and therefore, needs to be revamped. The aim of this paper is twofold. On the one hand, it explores the aspect of teachers’ ELF awareness in English teaching practices as well as the importance of incorporating authentic ELF materials into the classroom to help learners become ELF-aware and, consequently, competent intercultural speakers. On the other hand, it helps English language teachers, specifically those who have no or marginal exposure to ELF to reflect on the subject they teach, challenging the dominant World Englishes paradigm.