On the process of teaching : a perspective from functional grammar

The acquisition of a new language is at the heart of the methods developed in English language teaching. Specifically, teaching the English language to adolescents mirrors the approaches used to teach the English language to adults. From the direct method to teachers as mediators of the foreign language, new developments have contributed to many methods and strategies for language teaching. Within these teaching methods, technology such as softwares and websites have been useful but there are still areas where technology can never replace a teacher or the structure and methods necessary to foreign language teaching. Text book usage in language teaching is useful principally for the order and structure offered by a curriculum. The research conducted in this paper dovetails on research of best practices in language teaching as well as technology use in the classroom and the benefits of a blended approach. Chapter one explores the existing methods and strategies used in the history of foreign language teaching and includes innovative techniques and practices. Chapter two goes into more detail of technology as well as text book use in the foreign language classroom and concludes with a description of English teaching in the Italian high school setting historically. Chapter three presents the results of research conducted at Cometa High School in Lake Como Italy. The blended learning approach has shown to be the most effective in increasing students’ test scores and improving their English language level. Through the results of standardized regional tests as well as teacher created benchmarks based on the European levels of language, looking at trends in scores moving towards a technology-based curriculum, as well as qualitative research results, data was compiled to offer a proposal for a blended learning approach as the most appropriate for the learning of the English language at a secondary school level, including adequate speaking practice, assessments and a curriculum appropriate for a vocational high school.

This paper discusses the case of appropriating a teaching approach as a response to the needs of a Deaf student registering to an English Department of a State University in Depok. The study particularly looks at the sign language interpreting practice in the classroom. In the teaching and learning process, the sign language interpreter has a significant role in transferring the course materials from the lecturer. In other words, the interpreter becomes one important factor for the student's achievement in acquiring the target language. However, there are several challenges faced by the interpreter in delivering the teaching content, such as, speech tempo, the usage of determiners ( this , that ), the usage of media, classroom preparation, and language differences (English and BISINDO—the natural sign language used by the Deaf community in Indonesia). The aim of this paper is to provide a clear picture concerning 1) sign language interpreting process in English teaching classroom, 2) the coordination of interpreter and lecturer(s), both in classroom preparation as well as teaching process, and 3) challenges experienced by the interpreter. Questionnaire and in-depth interviews are used with the lecturers, the student, and the interpreter in order to elicit as well as acknowledge the data related to the classroom preparation and teaching process. Data were transcribed, coded, and analyzed following interpretive paradigm. The results of this research offer suggestions in sign language interpreting process in English teaching classroom.

This research examines the professional experience of Vietnamese TESOL teachers who previously underwent professional training in two types of Master’s level TESOL programs: those offered by institutions of one of the Inner-Circle countries (e.g., USA, UK, Australia, New Zealand) in these countries (overseas programs), and programs offered by Inner-Circle institutions in association with a Vietnamese institution in Vietnam (localised programs). These programs were chosen as the research is situated in the context of TESOL becoming a globalised field, partly demonstrated in the mobility of teachers and teacher training programs. The impacts of previous TESOL training are investigated through three main lenses believed to encompass different current aspects of TESOL teachers’ professional experience, and which reflect the training content and aims of contemporary TESOL teacher education programs. The three lenses are teachers’ beliefs toward various issues related to the teaching of English as an International Language (TEIL), their autonomy in teaching practice, and their satisfaction with the teaching job. Adopting a sequential explanatory mixed methods design, the present study involves the participation of 85 Vietnamese English language teachers who were trained in either an overseas or a localised TESOL program. Two-thirds of the participants were working at public higher education institutions in Vietnam at the time of the study, and the rest were teachers of private educational organisations. An online survey was first delivered to all participants to garner data on their beliefs about TEIL, their perceptions toward autonomy in teaching practice, and their work satisfaction level. Semi-structured in-depth interviews were then carried out with 20 of them to obtain further clarifications and deeper information about the researched issues. Additionally, teaching observation sessions and retrospective interviews were conducted with three overseas-trained teachers to provide further evidence of their teaching autonomy. In terms of teacher beliefs about aspects of TEIL, it was revealed that post-training, both overseas- and localised-trained teachers had an increased awareness of the pluricentricity of English, the importance of teaching both Anglophone and non-Anglophone cultures, and understanding of the larger social, cultural, and political context of teaching. The study also found that teacher education programs played a significant role in modifying teacher beliefs, such as strengthening, disproving, and reconstructing existing beliefs, or shaping new beliefs. It also uncovered aspects of TEIL where teacher education could exert more impact, such as the construct of language teacher proficiency, and the risk of over-relying on Western teaching methodologies. Regarding autonomy in teaching practice, teachers in both program types demonstrated a medium level of autonomy in their teaching, with the level of autonomy in general aspects of teaching (e.g., deciding on teaching methods and learning activities) being greater than that of curricular aspects (e.g., selecting learning content and materials). Noticeably, teacher education programs were found to provide them with professional knowledge and ideas that they could use to innovate their everyday teaching activities, and to a certain extent allowed them to be autonomous learners. However, they did not seem to provide teachers with much assistance in dealing with curricular constraints, nor inspire them to create spaces for more teaching autonomy. Finally, the teachers’ level of satisfaction with their teaching job was found to vary depending on various aspects. They were most satisfied with intrinsic aspects of the job and the relationships with their students, colleagues, and supervisors, and were less satisfied with aspects related to institutional support (e.g., autonomy given to teachers, recognition of teaching accomplishments), and professional standing (e.g., promotion and salary). Influence of training seemed most evident in how the teachers were positively seen and welcomed by their supervisors, students, and colleagues when they returned, and, in the case of teachers taking overseas programs, how the overseas living and study experience added enjoyment and stimulation to their perception of the teaching profession. These findings confirm the role of TESOL teacher education in enriching the overall professional lives of practising TESOL teachers. On the other hand, they reveal tensions resultant from mismatches between Inner-Circle-based curricula and training approaches and the local Vietnamese context where the teachers returned to teach. The research has important implications for stakeholders involved in the professional development of non-Inner-Circle TESOL teachers in the current globalised world.

Unfortunately, fewTeacher Training Centers (TTC) have adequately incorporated metacognition or simply thinking about thinking into their teacher education programs. The reason might be that the role of metacognition in regulating the teaching and learning processes is not yet fully understood by policy makers and educators. The purpose of this study is to investigate the role of metacognition in TTC programs for English language teachers. In so doing, a sample of 131 male and female experienced and inexperienced teachers of English as a Foreign Language (EFL) with an age range of 25-50 from the North of Iran wasrandomly selected to participate in this study. A validated Teachers’ Metacognition Scale (TMS) questionnaire was utilized to measure teachers’ awareness of four metacognitive factors, namely pedagogical, declarative, procedural, and conditional ones. The results indicated that teachers' metacognitive awareness of teaching processes has poorly been used in the EFL context. To conclude, the TTC authorities need to realize the implication of metacognition in the teacher education programs and to afford more opportunities for metacognitive practice in enhancing teachers' metacognitive awareness of teaching processes. Keywords: Metacognition, Teacher education, Teacher training program, Pre-service teachers, In-service teachers, Teacher autonomy.

The continuing expansion of English as a means of international communication has led to negative effects on other languages and cultures. Among the concerns is the critique of the English language teaching industry regarding its hegemonic relationship with local languages especially in English language teaching and learning contexts and practices. As a consequence, a move from previous paradigms of English language teaching to creatively devise new practices that would address locally emerging communicative needs is advocated fostering the values of local cultural, linguistic and teaching and learning norms. Based on this understanding and aspiration, this study involved Vietnamese EFL teachers and investigated the contextual factors contributing to the development of a localized teaching methodology that uses compatible elements of communicative language teaching, the ‘traditional’ approach or a local fusion of both methods. The debate on professional aspects of English language teachers under the binary, native speaker and non-native speaker in a broader, cultural and political context of English learning and teaching, has impacted on the way teachers see themselves and the way teachers conceptualize their teaching practice in English as a foreign language contexts. Research on identity issues considering the politics of English and the pervasiveness of the discourse of native speaker authority in TESOL programs is of great significance in understanding influential factors contributing to language teacher professional identity. This study also explores the impact of TESOL programs on teacher professional identity in local teaching contexts in Vietnam involving teachers’ sense of their pedagogical, linguistic competence and professional roles as language teachers. Drawing on various theories of language teaching and learning, critical pedagogy, teachers’ professional identity from native and non-native perspectives, and teacher cognition and beliefs, this study explores the process of negotiating appropriate teaching practice by a group of Vietnamese MA TESOL teachers after their education in Australia. To understand the teachers’ professional identity and their teaching practice, a qualitative case study approach with the intensive use of in-depth interviews, reflective writing and observation was adopted to generate data. The findings suggest that the TESOL teachers’ self-positioning in Australia as learners and as English teachers in Vietnam contributed to their re-conceptualization of professional identity. Many teacher participants’ growth was not totally shaped by Western ideology and theory in teaching and learning but through the critical construction of knowledge which is both culture-driven and locality-driven. Their previous education background and teaching experience became the platform for them to negotiate their professional identity back home in Vietnam. However, compared to senior teachers with longer years of teaching experience, junior teachers were more deeply influenced by dominant Western-based discourses, which appeared to orient and govern their perceptions, hence influencing their pedagogical approaches in their local teaching contact. Indeed, the teachers’ changed identities were found to contribute much to their choices of pedagogical practices. On the ideological level, while the junior teachers were likely to favour the ‘communicative’ approach, those with longer years of service seemed to feel under less pressure to abandon locally adopted teaching practice or feel ‘backward’ in enacting their role as non-native English teachers. Despite this, some participants still succumbed to the dominant discourses in language teaching and learning. Based on the findings, a number of implications for the ELT field have been suggested, in particular for TESOL education programs and TESOL professionals.

The teaching of English language has significant and strategic contribution. English language as a tool is used to understand and study many literatures of Islamic Studies use English language. This is as cause of the developing of Islamic Studies that is taken in hand by West. They have published their thought in Islamic Studies using English language as an international language in many academic publishing. Besides that, the developing of Islamic Studies is not discharged with the other science, including language. In line with this statement, STAIN Pekalongan has taken a new policy relating to the English language teaching. The goal of that policy is to maximize the process of English language teaching, so the students’ ability in English is better than before and could be utilized in developing of Islamic Studies. Based on that reason, this research explored four problems. First; students’ perception on English language teaching in STAIN Pekalongan. Second; significance of English language teaching for students’ Islamic Studies developing. Third; relationship between perception on English language teaching and the developing of Islamic Studies. Fourth; competency in English language teaching expected by the students.

This paper describes parents’ reasons for sending their children to an English language course, their expectations from the English language instruction, and the disadvantages they perceive in getting their children to learn English at their early ages. A small-scale exploratory survey using questionnaires was conducted among 46 parents whose children learn English at a private course. The results indicate that the majority of the parents are generally aware of the practical values of providing English instruction for their children and hardly perceive any disadvantages in this early English learning. Also, they expect English instruction to enable their children to perform the four language skills, notably speaking. Implications for the young learners’ first language as well as the teaching of young learners are then presented. These may offer teachers, parents, and other researchers some important points to consider. Keywords : parents, young learners, English language teaching.

The idea of ‘teacher as moral guide’ (TMG) is a core motif among teachers in Vietnam. However, what counts as morality and the moral role of teachers in contemporary Vietnam is constantly challenged and reconstructed by processes of globalisation, the international status of English, the country’s exposure to different values brought about by its open-door policy, and its ambition to integrate globally. Employing a qualitative case study research approach with nineteen student teachers and ten teacher educators of English at three different English language teacher education institutions in Vietnam, this study has attempted to re-examine the notion of ‘morality as an identity filter’ and the conception of ‘teachers as moral guide’ (Phan, 2008; Phan & Phan, 2006; Phan, Phan, & McPherron, 2011) as the ‘core’ identity of Vietnamese teachers through the participants’ social positioning of self and others and through interactions. In other words, it focuses on examining the reconstructed meaning of this professional/national identity in relation to English as an international language (EIL) in the context of globalisation. More specifically, the study looks deeply into the way EIL might influence the development of teacher identities within the boundaries of English language education. The data collection process involved three stages proceeding from guided journal writing/semi structured individual interviews (before the practicum), through 4-6 weekly diaries collected through email correspondence (during the practicum) to in-depth individual interviews (after the practicum). Individual in-depth interviews were carried out both with teacher educators and student teachers at the final stage. The findings have illuminated the translation in meaning of TMG and ‘teacher morality’ firstly through dialectic positioning of self and others, and secondly through the conflicts and negotiation of morals and values associated with the informants’ experiences during English language learning and teaching (ELLT). The meaning of TMG in relation to EIL and globalisation has been identified in recognition of several influential factors. It is found that the pragmatic issues of teaching professions such as low pay, work and life balance, the vision of being perfect, overloaded professional requirements, the senior teachers’ models (both negative and positive images), and experiences of ELLT have contributed to the negotiation of teacher morals, moral roles and related values leading to the transformation of subjectivity among the participants. The complex interplay of factors and reasons created dilemmas which student teachers navigated as they developed their particular understandings of TMG and the formation of their professional identity. The meaning of teacher morality and TMG has been extended from being good in conduct and knowledge, to also being an inspiring model. The study has portrayed a shifting image of Vietnamese teachers, focusing on teachers being ‘moral’ in a less conventional way. The ELT teachers are suggested as being a model of modern teachers who own a typically distinctive image without having to wear the image of a ‘classic’ teacher. Wearing a new look and practising their own styles, ELT teachers have been perceived as setting an example for their students with their knowledge, their enthusiasm, their open-heartedness, their inspirational spirit, and most importantly their embodiment of morality of Vietnamese teachers. The findings have also contributed some universal characteristics of ELT professionals and the tensions that they engender. ELLT has more or less acted as a driver of shaping and reshaping the personal and professional identities of ELT teachers. The concept of TMG as a ‘core’ identity of Vietnamese teachers, while retaining its currency and significance, has been socially and linguistically reconstructed in relation to universal ELT professionalism, in which teachers should perform their moral roles as ELT professionals while demonstrating themselves to be moral educators for issues that matter locally, nationally and globally. The perceptions of ELT Vietnamese teachers’ image/teacher identity have confirmed the usefulness of the underlying socio-cultural approach (Bucholtz & Hall, 2005) that informs this study, and which shows that identity is (re)constructed through positioning and interactions. The study also reinforces the scholarship about professional identity as constructed through identification and negotiation of personal, local and universal values and beliefs. This project puts forward issues for teacher education, urging the explicit encouragement of TEs to enact their moral guiding roles through a caring relationship while enhancing STs’ understanding of morality and development of moral identity.

Language is very important in our lives. Through language, we convey our feelings, desires, and thoughts. Of importance is English language in Kenya which is the medium of instruction from upper primary school and beyond. English is taught as a Second Language in schools in Kenya and has implications to the school curriculum and education in general. This paper is a discussion of the Social Development and Interaction theory advanced by Vygotsky (1978) and its implications for English language teaching in Kenya. This theory formed the theoretical framework for a study that looked at the teaching of English oral communication skills in upper primary school in a particular district in Kenya in the year 2009. This paper is drawn from part of the literature review that guided the study and the recommendations that the study arrived at. The study utilized a qualitative research approach with a heuristic methodology. The research population consisted of primary school teachers teaching English in upper primary classes and standard six pupils. Data was collected using structured and focused group interview schedules, observation checklists, and document analysis. In the light of the findings, the study concluded that the kind of new language items, learning activities and methods of conveying the meaning of new language items that the teachers selected were inadequate and ineffective in enhancing interaction. So were the practice activities adopted by the teachers and the strategies used in motivating learners in the teaching and learning of oral communication skills. The argument advanced in this paper is that effective teaching of English language in Kenya demands an interactive approach. In other words, English teachers should use interactive strategies in their teaching because as Vygotsky (1978) argues, children learn language best through interaction. Article visualizations:

This paper focuses on the role of vocabulary in second language learning with reference to the teaching of English language to learners at tertiary level in Saudi Arabia. As we are well aware that English language is the demand of the contemporary times, a large number of people around the world are rather bound to learn English for different reasons. The learning of any second language hugely relies on vocabulary. Keeping the relevance of English in view, the Saudi government implemented English language courses in almost all the levels and domains of education. Therefore, it is expected from the language instructors that they will provide an environment within the classrooms in which learners can acquire the targeted language easily. Therefore, this paper also explores the perception and role of English teachers in the attainment process of Vocabulary learning goals in English language classrooms. The study is exploratory in nature, and it utilizes qualitative analysis. The finding will lead to improvement on the curriculum design, contents selection and teaching styles. Article visualizations:

This paper aims at contextualizing and presenting the first volume of the journal Research in Corpus Linguistics and is, therefore, divided into two main parts. First of all, it provides an introduction to the field of corpus linguistics and its increasingly relevant role in language teaching and learning. Secondly, it briefly introduces and discusses the six articles of the volume. Stemming from oral presentations delivered at the 4th International Conference on Corpus Linguistics (CILC2012, Jaen, Spain), these articles have a number of features in common. They all make extensive use of corpora and at the same time deal with language teaching and language learning, the underlying assumption being that a genuine and mutually beneficial connection can be established between teaching and research. For this reason, each of them constitutes an illustrative sample of how different corpora can be exploited for different research purposes.

This paper attempts to advance the idea that English language songs are an important addition to the foreign language classroom. While it is not a novel idea to use English language songs in the ESL/EFL classroom, and many foreign language educators have included songs in a language lesson, an explanation is offered as to the possible reason why many language teachers do not include songs as a part of their classroom curriculum on a consistent basis. Attention is also given to the benefits language learners can and have derived when using songs as a language learning tool. Additionally, this paper reveals how songs offer busy language teachers the opportunity to spend a minimum amount of time and use a limited amount of materials while still giving students the chance to have an interesting and valuable language learning experience. Finally, this paper examines the potential downsides associated with using songs in the classroom and offers some practical solutions for the language teacher in order to ensure that any potential problems may be avoided.

This study investigates the development of teacher identity in a transnational context through an analysis of the voices of sixteen preservice teachers from Hong Kong who engage in interaction with primary students in an Australian classroom. The context for this research is the school-based experience undertaken by these preservice English as a second language teachers as part of their short language immersion (SLIM) program in Brisbane, Australia. Such SLIM programs are a genre of study abroad programs which have been gaining in popularity within teacher education in Australia, attended by preservice and inservice teachers from China, Hong Kong, Korea, and other Asian countries. This research is conducted at a time when the imperative to globalise higher education provision is a strategic factor in the educational policies of both Australia and Hong Kong. In Australia, international educational services now constitute the country’s third largest export with more than 400,000 students coming to Australia to study annually. In order to maintain Australia’s current global position as the third most popular Englishspeaking study destination, the government is now focusing on sustainability and the quality of the study experience being offered to international students (Bradley Review, 2008). In Hong Kong, the government sponsors both preservice and inservice English as a second language (ESL) teachers to undertake SLIM programs in Australia and other English-speaking countries, as part of their policy of promoting high levels of English proficiency in Hong Kong classrooms. Transnational teacher education is an important issue to which this study contributes insights into the affordances and constraints of a school-based experience in the transnational context. Second language teacher education has been defined as interventions designed to develop participants’ professional knowledge. In this study, it is argued that participation in a different community of practice helps to foreground tacit theories of second language pedagogy, making them visible and open to review. Questions of pedagogy are also seen as questions of teacher identity, constituting the way that one is in the classroom. I take up a sociocultural and poststructural framework, drawing on the work of James Gee and Mikhail Bakhtin, to theorise the construction of teacher identity as emerging through dialogic relations and socially situated discursive practices. From this perspective, this study investigates whether these teachers engage with different ways of representing themselves through appropriating, adapting or rejecting Discourses prevailing in the Australian classroom. Research suggests that reflecting on dilemmas encountered as lived experiences can extend professional understandings. In this study, the participants engage in a process of dialogic reflection on their intercultural classroom interactions, examining with their peers and their lecturer/researcher selected moments of dissonance that they have faced in the unfamiliar context of an Australian primary classroom. It is argued that the recursive and multivoiced nature of this process of reflection on practice allows participants opportunities to negotiate new understandings of second language teacher identity. Dialogic learning, based on the theories of Bakhtin and Vygotsky, provides the theoretic framing not only for the process of reflection instantiated in this study, but also features in the analysis of the participants’ second language classroom practices. The research design uses a combined discourse analytic and ethnographic approach as a logic-of-inquiry to explore the dialogic relationships which these second language teachers negotiate with their students and their peers in the transnational context. In this way, through discourse analysis of their classroom talk and reflective dialogues, assisted by the analytic tools of speech genres and discourse formats, I explore the participants’ ways of doing and being second language teachers. Thus, this analysis traces the process of ideological becoming of these beginner teachers as shifts in their understandings of teacher and student identities. This study also demonstrates the potential for a nontraditional stimulated recall interview to provide dialogic scaffolding for beginner teachers to reflect productively on their practice.

Media enhanced interest of learners enlivened the classroom and improved learning outcome. Despite use of media in teaching and learning, English language registered dismal performance in the Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education (KCSE) examinations in Kakamega East Sub-County, Kenya. The decline was attributed to inappropriate and non-use of media in the curriculum. The purpose of the study was to establish perceptions of teachers on media use in teaching and learning of English language in public secondary schools in Kakamega East Sub-County. Specific objective of the study was to establish: perceptions of teachers on media use in teaching and learning of English language. The study revealed that teaching while incorporating appropriate media enhanced academic performance in the curriculum. The study used descriptive survey design. Romiszowski (1992) Conceptual Framework was used to establish perceptions of teachers on media use in teaching and learning of English language. The study population consisted of 23 head teachers, 46 teachers of English and 1500 Form Two students. Saturated sampling technique was used to select a sample of 20 head teachers and 40 teachers of English. Simple random sampling technique was used to select a sample of 500 Form Two students. Piloting of instruments was done on 10% of the population. Research instruments were questionnaire, document analysis guide, observation schedule and interview schedule. Content validity was attained by presenting research instruments to three experts in Department of Educational Communication Technology and Curriculum Studies. Quantitative data was collected from closed questionnaire items which were tallied and presented using frequency counts, percentages and means. Qualitative data was transcribed and organized into categories, subcategories and themes. The findings of the study showed that media use enabled learners to conceptualize abstract concepts and increased rate of retention in the curriculum. The study therefore recommended that teachers should use media appropriately to improve learning outcome in teaching and learning of English language. Article visualizations:

Learning and teaching languages in technology-mediated environments : why modes and meaning making matter