Evaluation in Foreign Language Education in the Middle East and North Africa

2016-09-27
 |  Education
Evaluation in Foreign Language Education in the Middle East and North Africa

Author: Sahbi Hidri

Publisher: Springer

ISBN: 9783319432342

Category: Education

Page: 337

View: 587

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This book presents evaluation cases from the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) context, investigating the various facets of evaluation in different parts of the MENA region and beyond. In 19 chapters, it explores cases from Tunisia, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Sudan, Syria, the UAE, Turkey, Iran and Morocco. The book highlights the impact of evaluation on a range of stakeholders, arguing that it has repercussions at the individual, societal, economic, cultural and political levels, that it also has an ethical dimension, and that it is tailored to people’s needs, helping them to remain abreast of the effectiveness and efficiency of programs. Further, the book explores controversial issues concerning different evaluation themes, such as teacher and staff evaluation, assessment practices, text genre analysis evaluation, assessment of productive skills, textbook and ICT evaluation, evaluation of ELT certificates and programs, quality assurance, ESP needs analysis, assessment literacy, and dynamic assessment. It addresses key challenges, such as who the “right people” to implement evaluation are, and the appropriate use of evaluation results to avoid any misuse or harm to any stakeholder. In closing, the book calls for further research venues on the relevance of evaluation, testing and assessment in the MENA context and beyond.

The Use of First and Second Language in Chinese University EFL Classrooms

2016-08-23
 |  Language Arts & Disciplines
The Use of First and Second Language in Chinese University EFL Classrooms

Author: Yi Du

Publisher: Springer

ISBN: 9789811019111

Category: Language Arts & Disciplines

Page: 264

View: 431

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This book investigates first language (L1) and second language (L2) use in Chinese university classrooms, focusing on the experiences of four Chinese EFL teachers who were teaching non-English major students at four different proficiency levels. It examines these four teachers' actual use of L1 and L2, including the distribution of their L1 and L2 use; the circumstances, functions and grammatical patterns of their language use; and their language use across different frames of classroom discourse. It also explores their attitudes and beliefs regarding this issue in depth, as well as their own perceptions of and reasons for their language use and possible influencing factors. Through its detailed analysis of the teachers' language use, as well as their respective beliefs and decision-making techniques, this book contributes to L2 teachers' professional development and L2 teaching in general, especially with regard to establishing a pedagogically principled approach to L1 and L2 use.

Power in the EFL Classroom

2009-10-02
 |  Foreign Language Study
Power in the EFL Classroom

Author: Phyllis Wachob

Publisher: Cambridge Scholars Publishing

ISBN: 9781443815789

Category: Foreign Language Study

Page: 299

View: 934

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“Critical pedagogy is not a set of ideas, but a way of ‘doing’ learning and teaching” (Canagarajah, 2005). This definition puts CP squarely in the classroom and leads us to view how teachers interact with students and how students treat one another, while negotiating institutional and societal expectations. The chapters in the book use a variety of methods to address questions of power within educational institutions, from classrooms to the ministries of education. All the contributors are, or have been, teachers in the Middle East, from Egypt to Iran. Their nationalities range from Egyptian, to American, Canadian, British, Tunisian and Iranian. Ten of the contributors are women. All have conducted research and/or invited participation from among students and fellow teachers to explore issues of Critical Pedagogy from various perspectives. The question of physical space relates to power but is also related to linguistic space; student choice is not only related to linguistic space but also to motivation and thus empowerment. Changing teachers’ beliefs leads to empowerment for teachers, but also empowerment for students. Educational policy that recognizes social and personal identity reflects back to personal motivation. These studies meet and mesh, complement and sometimes take different viewpoints. However, all the studies embrace the concept that we must respect and nurture the human in our students, that we as teachers are the front line as enablers of our students’ empowerment. If we do not provide the space, and honor their dignity, our students cannot claim and embrace their power. Canagarajah, S. (2005). Critical Pedagogy in L2 Learning and Teaching. In E. Hinkel (Ed.), Handbook of Research in Second Language Teaching and Learning (pp. 931-949). Mahwah, New Jersey: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.

Children's Literature and Learner Empowerment

2013-07-22
 |  Education
Children's Literature and Learner Empowerment

Author: Janice Bland

Publisher: A&C Black

ISBN: 9781441165992

Category: Education

Page: 344

View: 869

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Children's literature can be a powerful way to encourage and empower EFL students but is less commonly used in the classroom than adult literature. This text provides a comprehensive introduction to children's and young adult literature in EFL teaching. It demonstrates the complexity of children's literature and how it can encourage an active community of second language readers: with multilayered picturebooks, fairy tales, graphic novels and radical young adult fiction. It examines the opportunities of children's literature in EFL teacher education, including: the intertexuality of children's literature as a gate-opener for canonised adult literature; the rich patterning of children's literature supporting Creative Writing; the potential of interactive drama projects. Close readings of texts at the centre of contemporary literary scholarship, yet largely unknown in the EFL world, provide an invaluable guide for teacher educators and student teachers, including works by David Almond, Anthony Browne, Philip Pullman and J.K.Rowling. Introducing a range of genres and their significance for EFL teaching, this study makes an important new approach accessible for EFL teachers, student teachers and teacher educators.

Thinking Skills and Creativity in Second Language Education

2019-06-26
 |  Education
Thinking Skills and Creativity in Second Language Education

Author: Li Li

Publisher: Routledge

ISBN: 9781351581578

Category: Education

Page: 218

View: 116

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Across the world, education is being restructured to include greater focus on developing critical and creative skills. In second language education, research suggests that cognition and language development are closely related. Yet despite increasing interest in the teaching of thinking skills, critical thinking has not been widely intergrated into language teaching. Thinking Skills and Creativity in Second Language Education presents a range of investigations exploring the relationship between thinking skills and creativity, and second language education. Focusing on cognitive, affective, social, and emotional perspectives, this book highlights current research and raises questions that will set the direction for future research. Its aims are as follows: Provide an in-depth understanding of the link between second language development and thinking skills. Consider approaches to developing thinking skills in second language instruction. Examine practices in implementing thinking skills in second language learning. Offer an updated list of sources of information on thinking skills in second language education. A new addition to the Research on Teaching Thinking and Creativity series, this book is relevant to researchers in the field of educational psychology, to Masters degree and PhD students in this field, and to anyone interested in developing thinking skills.

Higher Order Thinking Skills in the Language Classroom: A Concise Guide

2020-09-11
 |  Education
Higher Order Thinking Skills in the Language Classroom: A Concise Guide

Author: Afsaneh Ghanizadeh

Publisher: Springer Nature

ISBN: 9783030567118

Category: Education

Page: 195

View: 654

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In this book, we try to provide a practical, down-to-earth guide for those who are involved in language learning and teaching. We hope that this book will be a useful reading for those who would like to incorporate higher-order thinking skills (HOTS)-enhancing techniques in their teaching practice. We set out from the position that, although it is hardly doubtful that it is at the heart of education, critical thinking is in reality often not given its due attention in pedagogy, particularly in language education. This book offers readers some practical advice on how to implement HOTS in their own practice. It has been written to take the reader through each technique with the ultimate goal of promoting HOTS step-by-step. In the introductory chapter, we present an overview of the theory behind HOTS, its definition, its relation to Bloom’s Taxonomy, its two dimensions (critical thinking and reflective thinking), and the ideas of some influential thinkers in this area. The subsequent chapters present six HOTS-enhancing techniques that classroom teachers can draw from, namely graphic organizers, critical discourse analysis, argumentation, emotion regulation and emotional intelligence enhancing techniques, reflective journals, and mindfulness-based strategies. As the book draws on a wide-ranging review of literature with exercises for direct use with language learners, we hope that this provides both theoretical and practical support for the teaching process to help language learners become effective critical thinkers. The compilation of the ideas in this book took us a long time, over a decade. Something that takes such a long time requires much engagement and life experience; so did this book.

Co-Teaching and Other Collaborative Practices in The EFL/ESL Classroom

2012-05-01
 |  Education
Co-Teaching and Other Collaborative Practices in The EFL/ESL Classroom

Author: Andrea Honigsfeld

Publisher: IAP

ISBN: 9781617356889

Category: Education

Page: 319

View: 274

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Much has been written about the cognitive and academic language needs of those learning English as a new language (be it a second language in the United States or other English-speaking countries or as a foreign language in all other parts of the world). Many guidebooks and professional development materials have been produced on teacher collaboration and co-teaching for special education, inclusive classrooms. Similarly, much has been published about effective strategies teachers can use to offer more culturally and linguistically responsive instruction to their language learners. However, only a few resources are available to help general education teachers and ESL (English-as-a-second-language) specialists, or two English-as-aforeign-language (EFL) teachers (such as native and nonnative English speaking) teachers to collaborate effectively. With this volume, our goal is to offer an accessible resource, long-awaited by educators whose individual instructional practice and/or institutional paradigm shifted to a more collaborative approach to language education. Through this collection of chapters, we closely examine ESL/EFL co-teaching and other collaborative practices by (a) exploring the rationale for teacher collaboration to support ESL/EFL instruction, (b) presenting current, classroom-based, practitioner-oriented research studies and documentary accounts related to co-teaching, co-planning, co-assessing, curriculum alignment, teacher professional development, and additional collaborative practices, and (c) offering authentic teacher reflections and recommendations on collaboration and co-teaching. These three major themes are woven together throughout the entire volume, designed as a reference to both novice and experienced teachers in their endeavors to provide effective integrated, collaborative instruction for EFL or ESL learners. We also intend to help preservice and inservice ESL/EFL teachers, teacher educators, professional developers, ESL/EFL program directors, and administrators to find answers to critical questions.

Teaching and Learning English in the Primary School

2019-10-11
 |  Education
Teaching and Learning English in the Primary School

Author: Gila A. Schauer

Publisher: Springer Nature

ISBN: 9783030232573

Category: Education

Page: 297

View: 209

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This book is the first comprehensive investigation of interlanguage pragmatic issues in a primary school context that is based on both primary school teachers’ statements on their own teaching realities, views and preferences, and a thorough investigation of materials used by teachers and recommended by teacher educators in the state the primary schools are located in. It offers a contrastive analysis of primary school learners acquiring English in a typical English as a foreign language school context and their age peers in the same state that are exposed to English in a school immersion context. This book will be of interest to scholars, researchers, educators in higher education that focus on English language teaching, second language acquisition and applied linguistics. It is also intended for students who are planning to become primary school teachers of English as a foreign language.

Process and Experience in the Language Classroom

2014-06-06
 |  Language Arts & Disciplines
Process and Experience in the Language Classroom

Author: Michael Legutke

Publisher: Routledge

ISBN: 9781317901600

Category: Language Arts & Disciplines

Page: 350

View: 706

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Process and Experience in the Language Classroom argues the case for communicative language teaching as an experiential and task driven learning process. The authors raise important questions regarding the theoretical discussion of communicative competence and current classroom practice. They propose ways in which Communicative Language Teaching should develop within an educational model of theory and practice, incorporating traditions of experimental and practical learning and illustrated from a wide range of international sources. Building on a critical review of recent language teaching principles and practice, they provide selection criteria for classroom activities based on a typology of communicative tasks drawn from classroom experience. The authors also discuss practical attempts to utilise project tasks both as a means of realising task based language learning and of redefining the roles of teacher and learner within a jointly constructed curriculum.

Teaching Practices and Equitable Learning in Children's Language Education

2021-03-26
 |  Language Arts & Disciplines
Teaching Practices and Equitable Learning in Children's Language Education

Author: Giannikas, Christina Nicole

Publisher: IGI Global

ISBN: 9781799864899

Category: Language Arts & Disciplines

Page: 273

View: 751

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Educating children and leading them towards the path of bilingualism is a valuable and challenging task for any educator. Effective language teaching can contribute to young learners’ cognitive growth, develop their problem-solving skills, enhance their comprehension abilities, and provide children with the satisfaction of succeeding in the challenge of learning a foreign language. All these issues must be taken under consideration when researching children and their teachers. The current literature indicates that further material is needed to provide professionals with different classroom situations and enhance the art of teaching children. Teaching Practices and Equitable Learning in Children's Language Education focuses on various perspectives of efficient practices, approaches, and ideas for professional development in the field of young language learners. The chapters in this book link the theoretical understanding and practical experience of teaching children languages by concentrating on teaching practices, material design, classroom management, reading, speaking, writing, and more. This book is designed for inservice and preservice teachers, administrators, teacher educators, practitioners, stakeholders, researchers, academicians, and students interested in the field of early language learning and applied linguistics at large.

Discourse in Content and Language Integrated Learning (CLIL) Classrooms

2007
 |  Language Arts & Disciplines
Discourse in Content and Language Integrated Learning (CLIL) Classrooms

Author: Christiane Dalton-Puffer

Publisher: John Benjamins Publishing

ISBN: 9027219796

Category: Language Arts & Disciplines

Page: 352

View: 100

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The label CLIL stands for classrooms where a foreign language (English) is used as a medium of instruction in content subjects. This book provides a first in-depth analysis of the kind of communicative abilities which are embodied in such CLIL classrooms. It examines teacher and student talk at secondary school level from different discourse-analytic angles, taking into account the interpersonal pragmatics of classroom discourse and how school subjects are talked into being during lessons. The analysis shows how CLIL classroom interaction is strongly shaped by its institutional context, which in turn conditions the ways in which students experience, use and learn the target language. The research presented here suggests that CLIL programmes require more explicit language learning goals in order to fully exploit their potential for furthering the learners' appropriation of a foreign language as a medium of learning.