English As A Second Language Teachers Research Articles

“A Personal Touch of Advocacy to My Profession”: Counter-Narratives of Immigrant Latina Teachers in English as a Second Language Education

Guided by Critical Raced-Gendered epistemologies and methodologies, this study investigated life experiences of six Latina teachers who were former English Language Learners (ELL) and are currently becoming English as a Second Language (ESL) teachers in an urban community. Multiple data sources such as interviews, open-ended autobiographical surveys, anecdotal notes, reflection journals, online discussions, and field observation notes were collected over two years and analyzed through inductive analysis in conjunction with Grounded theory. The findings present counter-narratives to dominant yet deficit narratives of minority teacher education. Salient themes included teachers9 support versus institutional racism; strength of motherhood and female family support versus traditional gender roles; agency and advocacy versus marginalized socio-cultural environments. In their journeys from ELLs to ESL teachers, constant negotiation between the conflicting life experiences and critical self-positioning turned out to be crucial.

The character of teaching practices in a teacher education institution: Findings from observation checklist

This study was conducted to characterise the teaching practices in a teacher education institution so as to inform us the existing practices which could then be compared with the aspired practices, uncovering the pedagogical shortfall. This study employed a form of implementation study using classroom observation. A total of 20 lessons drawn from Early Childhood Education, Mathematics, Science, Secondary School TESL (Teaching of English as a Second Language), History, Physical and Health Education, and Moral Education taught by lecturers in one Teacher Education Institution were observed over a one-semester period. A psychometrically-supported Observation Checklist comprising 50 items or indicators that spread across six principles was utilised in the observation whereby observers checked in terms of presence or absence of each indicator during the classroom observations. This study provides the characterisation of evidenced-based practices, uncovering the pedagogical gap which could be subsequently addressed by various means such as the providence of continuous in-service courses. Empowering lecturers pedagogically will produce quality teachers which in turn, produce quality students.

Teachers’ Experience in Curriculum Implementation: An Investigation on English Language Teaching in Vocational Colleges in Malaysia

This qualitative research aimed to explore teachers’ experience in the implementation of the new English language curriculum in Malaysian vocational colleges. The research’s focus is on English as a Second Language (ESL) teachers’ perceptions on the new English language curriculum and its implementation, ESL teachers’ strategies in implementing the new English language curriculum, and the problems and challenges that they face in implementing the new English language curriculum. A full qualitative research paradigm was employed using a phenomenology design, where 6 ESL teachers from Negeri Sembilan participated to share their insights on the research topic. The research used purposive sampling method, and the participants were selected based on research location. The research instrument used to collect the data was a semi-structured interview administered via Facebook video call and recorded with Callnote application software. This approach was chosen for its feasibility and cost-saving nature. Research findings show that ESL teachers are receptive of the curriculum change and most of them understand the new curriculum well. They have positive feelings towards it despite acknowledging negative curriculum aspects, having curriculum concerns and dealing with problems and challenges. Teachers recommended for proper training and support in order to improve the teaching and learning process in ESL classroom. The implications of the research findings have been outlined and highlighted, followed by several suggestions for the stakeholders involved, including ESL teachers, policymakers, training division, and vocational college administrators.

TESL Trainee Practitioners’ Self Perception of their Personality Traits and Verbal Communication Skills

The teaching and learning of English as a second language involve many different skills. This study investigates the relationship between Teaching English as a Second Language (TESL) trainee practitioners’ (TPs) personality traits and their verbal communication skills. The personality traits investigated are the Big Five, while the verbal communication skills investigated include interpersonal skills, verbal-linguistic skills, motivation, altruism, and self-regulation. This study involved 277 TESL TPs from four different teacher training institutes in Malaysia. This quantitative study used questionnaires to investigate both the variables. The findings show that out of the Big Five personality traits, only openness showed positive relationship to verbal communication. This trait deserves greater attention if students are to maximise the use of effective communication skills. This study profiles personality traits to examine the relationship of each trait in relation to communication skills. The findings of this study would be significant for the Higher Education Ministry of Malaysia and education regulators, apart from the teaching community.

Lessons from experience: ESL student teachers' reflection during practicum through reflective journals

Reflection is a prospective alternative in exploring student teachers’ thinking during practicum. The data gained from student teachers’ reflection are significant in informing teacher education programs on how to equip pre-service teachers to become quality teachers. It is also crucial in addressing issues and conflicts highlighted by student teachers when they interact with the real context. This study is conducted with six semester seven student teachers undergoing their Bachelor in Education with honors Teaching English as a Second Language (TESL) program. The student teachers were asked to write reflective journal entries throughout the 14 weeks of their teaching practicum experience. The aim of the study is to identify the focus of the student teachers’ reflection and the challenges faced by them during practicum. Data were gathered using the reflective journal entries and semi-structured interviews with all the participants. The data were analyzed according to emerging themes. The findings indicated that the student teachers focus on three main themes in their reflections, which are managing learning, pedagogy and teacher attributes. While the challenges highlighted were difficulty in socializing with members of the institution, lack of professional support and lack of ability to manage a classroom.

A Review of Challenges for Professional Development of Malaysian Teachers

This paper reviews the strategies and challenges for professional development of Malaysian teachers. In relation to the government’s effort to improve teacher professional development, many English as a second language (ESL) teachers register themselves to the ‘Teacher’s First-Degree Programme’ organized by the Ministry of Education. The participants of the programme, somehow, face a number of challenges. The main challenge is the adult ESL teachers need to follow in doing the degree part time as all of them are full time teachers and teaching in different schools located at different districts across the state. The challenges reviewed in this paper may be relevant to administrative decisions concerning education policies and goals intended to prepare TESL professionals. Finally, it may also provide insights into EFL program administrators who are intending to foster greater levels of commitment and permanence of faculty members through a more holistic understanding of their teachers’ needs and barriers in involving in professional development.

Queering ESL Teaching: Pedagogical and Materials Creation Issues

Queer issues in English language teaching (ELT) have received increasing attention in recent years. This has included calling for interfaces between queer theory and ELT theorizing and descriptions of what is at stake in heteronormative classrooms, as well as exploring normative discourses reflected in language learning materials. Despite this considerable progress, there is still much work to be done regarding how teacher trainers and practitioners might go about queering practice. This article seeks to explore how English as a second language (ESL) classrooms can be meaningfully queered to create safer and more respectful spaces for students to engage with lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender issues in a second language. This discussion begins by looking at how ESL teacher training can be queered, for example, including representation from queer TESOL literature and modeling queer teaching practices. The conversation concludes by arguing that there also exists a need for teachers to seek out ways to queer commercially available classroom materials.

The Transformational Learning Journey of a Novice ESL Teacher of Low-Literate Adults

This article reports on one teacher’s journey, Nan’s, as she struggled to provide appropriate instruction to low-literate day laborers in an English as a second language (ESL) class for adult learners. In her efforts to do so, Nan became inspired to implement alternative pedagogy based on a culturally responsive approach that resonated strongly with her professed educational and social justice beliefs. As researcher-practitioners, we were interested in exploring Nan’s transformational journey during her graduate studies. The culturally responsive approach she was studying and attempting to implement is itself transformative in nature, providing an excellent opportunity to examine transformational learning both in the context of a novice ESL teacher and in the implementation of this approach. This case study provides important insights into how transformational learning theory sheds light on the struggles of one woman to achieve her twin goals of reaching a marginalized group of learners she cared deeply about and earning her master’s degree in Teaching of English to Speakers of Other Languages.

Opportunity to Teach: Push-In and Pull-Out Models of English Learner Instruction

<p><em>As the number of US English Language Learners (ELLs) increases, elementary educators struggle to make decisions related to curriculum and instruction. This research fills an important gap in the research on program models for ELLs by presenting a two-part investigation of push-in and pull-out English Language Development (ELD) instruction from the vantage point of English as a Second Language (ESL) teachers. The first part of the investigation uses nationally administered surveys to capture the practices, beliefs, and challenges of ESL professionals working in these models. The second part highlights the concerns raised by those ESL teachers regarding the extent to which a cohort of 175 ELL students received their ELD instruction. We explore the implications for the academic achievement of ELLs in the primary grades when their access to consistent ELD instruction is curtailed. We illuminate the problematic aspects of both models and call for greater attention to the implementation and monitoring of services for young ELLs.</em></p>

Using Videos in ESL Listening Achievement Tests: Effects on Difficulty

The question as to whether an assessment construct of second language (L2) listening comprehension should include the decoding of visual information remains unanswered (see Buck, 2001; Ockey, 2007). This study aimed to fill this gap by investigating how audio-only and video-enhanced delivery formats of listening passages compared in terms of difficulty for English as a second language (ESL) students. It utilized students’ performance on listening achievement tests developed by the researcher. The participants were 60 low- and high-proficiency ESL students enrolled in an American intensive English program. The participants’ scores on the achievement tests were used to compare the difficulty of items of different formats and determine whether this difficulty related to video type (context versus content) and students’ proficiency level. The findings suggested that, at least for higher-level students, listening testlets enhanced with videos containing mostly content-related visuals were significantly easier than their audio-only counterparts were. On the contrary, the inclusion of videos with mostly context visuals did not affect the difficulty of testlets in any proficiency category. The findings are discussed in terms of their practical significance for ESL teachers as well as theoretical implications for the field of ESL listening assessment.

Forty years of doing second language testing, curriculum, and research: So what?

I started out as a budding English as a second language (ESL) teacher in 1976 at UCLA where I went through the M.A. TESL (Teaching English as a Second Language) and Applied Linguistics Ph.D. programs. Sadly, those two programs were ‘disestablished’ in 2014, which provides a stark lesson to any departments that think they are hot stuff thatnothing lasts forever. Nonetheless, my training in those programs provided me with an excellent start down three professional paths: second language testing, curriculum development, and research methods.

Language Teacher Identities in the Southern United States: Transforming Rural Schools

ABSTRACTForeign language (FL) and English as a Second Language (ESL) teaching present considerable challenges in the rural U.S. South. Local language ideologies, budgetary considerations, and challenges in other curricular areas (e.g., math and science) lead to marginalizing both FL and ESL in schools. This article examines the personal and professional trajectories of in-service language teachers in K–12 settings in the state of Mississippi to better understand how participants conceptualize their practice and their roles in schools. By analyzing the interview discourse of nine teachers, we found that both ESL and FL teachers positioned themselves against dominant ideologies and educational policies and constructed themselves as agents of change in the classroom, school, and community at large. This study contributes to the argument for integrating FL and ESL in rural areas, where both groups need support, and provides suggestions for ESL-FL teacher collaboration in rural schools.

English in Cameroon: Issues of Teacher Language Proficiency

Over the last three decades, the standards of English in Cameroon as well as the performance of students in theEnglish language at the General Certificate of Education (GCE) examination have been on a steady decline. Whilemany Cameroonians keep making their way into the English language teaching industry as a result of the rapidexpansion of English as a global lingua franca, the quality of language input administered to learners seems to leavemuch to desire. Thus, although a number of studies have attributed the continuous downward spiralling of standardsto a variety of reasons, this study set out to investigate the extent to which teachers of English as a second language(ESL) in Cameroon master the language they teach, as a demonstration that the teacher is one of the major problemsto be addressed. Our main objectives were to test teachers’ language skills. Employing the Homogeneous PurposiveSampling Technique, a total of 40 ESL teachers in Tiko and Buea Sub-divisions of the South West Region ofCameroon were investigated using questionnaires and interviews. Of the 40, 36 showed difficulties with spelling, 33with punctuation, 30 with pronunciation, 28 with capitalization, 27 with sentence construction, and five withagreement.

A CONTRASTIVE RHETORICAL ANALYSIS OF PHILIPPINE AND SRI LANKAN ENGLISH NEWS COMMENTARIES

Newspaper commentaries constitute a part of media discourse, which is a significant area of inquiry in intercultural rhetoric analysis. Through conducting a contrastive textual analysis of newspaper commentaries culled from the English newspapers in the Philippines and Sri Lanka, this paper explored the notions of genre and micro-genre on the 2015 papal visit in the two countries. To set a tertium comparationisin examining the genre-newspaper commentaries on the papal visit, the timeframe was set during the two-week duration of the visit. To investigate the micro-genres employed by the writers, two sets of 15 newspaper commentaries on the visit respectively in the Philippines and Sri Lanka were selected and analyzed. Findings revealed that both Filipino and Sinhalese writers in English newspaper commentaries tended to employ the micro-genre of “media explanatory exposition” more often than other micro-genres, and in terms of rhetorical structures, both of these writers tended to show variation, dynamism, and individuality. Implications for ESL (English as a second language) and EFL (English as a foreign language) teaching are provided in the light of these findings.

TESL/TEFL: Teaching english as a second or foreign language

Undoubtedly, teaching is a noble profession. Teaching provides a unique service to meet the educational needs of an individual or of society. Teaching facilitates learning and enlightens the society. Apart from achieving curriculum outcomes, teaching emphasizes the development of values-human values and moral values, and guides students in their social life. Teachers employ certain practices and updated techniques with suitable methodologies, from time to time, to educate students in all aspects. English is a global language today and it has brought about a revolution in communication, technology, education etc across the world. Teaching and learning English language has become a passion and a fashion for people across the world. English is taught and learned as a second language or a foreign language around the world. To meet the global requirements and grab the opportunities in terms of employment, everyone tries to learn English. English is the only way to most of the young graduates to get jobs or run their own industries. English is taught as a second language and a foreign language but there are basic differences between TESL (teaching English as a second language) and TEFL (teaching English as a foreign language). This research paper throws a light on these differences and analyzes how teachers adopt certain techniques in teaching English as a second language as well as a foreign language. It will be discussed in a comprehensive way in order to bring out the basic differences between TESL and TEFL and similarities also. Moreover, the outcomes of English teaching as ESL and EFL will be discussed.

The Use of Descriptives and Expressives by ESL Learners: Investigating the Relevance of Interpretation and Context.

Expressives and descriptives are units of language which serve to reinforce meaning and intent within an utterance. These linguistic devices include taboo words, exclamations and honorifics. Much of the work undertaken in the area has been focused on identifying the different functions that these units of language perform within speech and written work. There are also indications that context may be a factor in how they are received by listeners. Less attention has however been given to how English as a Second Language (ESL) learners may interpret expressives and descriptives and what influence and impact context has on whether the literal or implied meaning is taken from the sentence. Seventy-five ESL learners, living and working in the United Kingdom evaluated ten sentences, with and without context for their meaning and expressive use. The results suggest that context is highly significant, as is social and cultural understanding. This has implications for applied linguistics research, ESL teaching and learning, suggesting that achievement of native-like speech, which includes effective and appropriate use of expressives and descriptives needs to not only include context but also cross-cultural training and understanding of social norms in the target language. It is however recognised that additional research into expressives and descriptives in an ESL context is necessary.

Challenges and Prospects of Implementation of Teaching of English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL) Approaches in Nigeria

This paper looks into the challenges and prospects of implementing teaching of English to speakers of other languages(TESOL) approaches in Nigeria against the background of the Nigerian National Policy on Education (2004) which legitimise the teaching of English as a the official language. The review paper is a shift from the usual approach of examining the teaching of English as a Second Language(TESL) to teaching of English to Speakers of other Languages(TESOL).The two approaches recognize previous knowledge of English language but TESOL has a wider conceptual view. However, challenges of TESOL are highlighted in order to call the attention of stakeholders. The challenges of TESOL require urgent attention as previous studies have dwelt much on prospects which are interrelated with functions of English and importance of teaching English as a Second Language.

TEACHERS’ PERSPECTIVE ON THE READING BEHAVIOUR OF PRIMARY ESL LEARNERS IN SJKC CHUNG HUA SEMERA SARAWAK

This study attempts to investigate the reading behaviour of primary ESL (English as a Second Language) learners in SJKC Chung Hua Semera Sarawak through the perspective of their teachers in the ESL classroom. To acquire this, interviews were carried out with the teachers to collect qualitative data. A total of 3 ESL teachers were selected from the school to participate in this study. The analysis of the data reveals that majority of the ESL learners spent most of their time reading by skimming and scanning, identifying keywords, applying one-time reading, non-linear reading, and reading selectively. On the contrary, the ESL learners spent less time reading expansively and comprehensively. Since the English language is the learners’ second or third language, they lack confidence and motivation as they face various hindrances in fully understanding and interpreting information in this language. The findings of this study intend to provide a springboard for further researches on the approaches to enhance ESL reading skills. Instructional implications are also discussed.

Prereferral Process with Latino English Language Learners with Specific Learning Disabilities: Perceptions of English-as-a-Second-Language Teachers

This study explored perceptions of English-as-a-second-language (ESL) teachers on the prereferral process for Latino English language learners (ELLs). Using Colaizzi’s (1978) phenomenological approach, qualitative data were collected through interviews with four ESL teachers. Analyses of the data indicated that the ESL teachers used research-based interventions and progress-monitoring in the prereferral process with Latino ELLs. Data analysis also indicated negative participant perceptions of parental and school-level influence on the identification process. Key concerns about the identification of Latino ELLs with specific learning disabilities (SLD) are presented, raising questions about current practices in school districts with small ELL populations.

Adventure in a new language: what a first generation Canadian immigrant’s narrative holds for ESL teachers

AbstractThis paper explored the value of learner’s stories for ESL (English as a Second Language) teachers’ teaching and research through a narrative inquiry of the lived English learning experience of a first generation Canadian immigrant. It first reviewed the concept of narrative and the significance of launching narrative inquiry. Then, it presented an interview conducted with the Canadian immigrant as a model of narrative inquiry. Themes of the narrative interview were found to resonate with theoretical issues of SLE (Second Language Education), ESL and SLA (Second Language Acquisition). Considering the themes and the entire interviewing process, this paper closed with a discussion of the benefits of narrative inquiry for ESL teachers’ teaching and research.