ISSN:0039-8322    

DOI:10.1002/j.1545-7249.1994.tb00780.x

出版商:Blackwell Publishing Ltd    

年代:1994

数据来源: WILEY

摘要:

The distinction between theory and practice in professional and public discourse is generally dysfunctional for teachers. There are a number of reasons for this. Because the individuals involved in developing theory are seldom full‐time language teachers themselves, the theory/practice distinction creates strata of expertise in which teachers are considered less expert than theorists. The theory tends to be imported from other disciplines and is, therefore, only marginally applicable to language teaching. As in education in general, the discourse tends to be authoritarian and prescriptive. It is also general, necessarily limited in applicability to particular classrooms. Finally, the theory/practice discourse underestimates the institutional, political, and interpersonal constraints in which teachers work. This article expands each of these points in developing the argument that the distinction is unhealthy for the profession. Possible responses are explore

ISSN:0039-8322    

DOI:10.2307/3587196

出版商:Blackwell Publishing Ltd    

年代:1994

数据来源: WILEY

摘要:

Recent explorations in L2 pedagogy signal a shift away from the conventional concept of method toward a “postmethod condition” that can potentially refigure the relationship between theorizers and teachers by empowering teachers with knowledge, skill, and autonomy. So empowered, teachers could devise for themselves a systematic, coherent, and relevant alternative to method, one informed by principled pragmatism. The postmethod condition can also reshape the character and content of L2 teaching, teacher education, and classroom research. In practical terms, it motivates a search for an open‐ended, coherent framework based on current theoretical, empirical, and pedagogical insights that will enable teachers to theorize from practice and practice what they theorize. This paper explores one such framework consisting of 10 macrostrategies, based on which teachers can design varied and situation‐specific microstrategies or classroom techniques to effect desired learning outcomes. The paper maintains that the framework can be used to transform classroom practitioners into strategic teachers as well as strategic rese

ISSN:0039-8322    

DOI:10.2307/3587197

出版商:Blackwell Publishing Ltd    

年代:1994

数据来源: WILEY

摘要:

Many teachers believe that research on L2 learning has little to say to their everyday classroom needs and decisions. The following paper attempts to address questions about classroom life that can be illuminated by current research findings on L2 learning and teaching. Among the topics covered are the role and importance of learners' L1 and cultural adjustment in successful L2 learning and the relative merits of a range of classroom practices, including those which emphasize learners' comprehension over their production, provide correction of error, incorporate drill and practice, and offer instruction in grammar rules. Also addressed in light of research are the strengths and limitations of classroom management strategies for using student groups and pairs, providing teacher‐directed instruction, and encouraging class participation. Problems in achieving pronunciation accuracy and in preventing and overcoming fossilization are also explored with respect to relevant researc

ISSN:0039-8322    

DOI:10.2307/3587198

出版商:Blackwell Publishing Ltd    

年代:1994

数据来源: WILEY

摘要:

As English for academic purposes (EAP) writing instructors and writing curriculum planners, we need to know the degree to which ESL writing courses have been successful in gauging and providing for ESL students' writing needs across the university curriculum. However, making this determination is difficult because many academic writing requirements may be implicit in the curriculum of the disciplinary course and thus not amenable to ready description by the outsider. Furthermore, we also need to know how much carryover from ESL writing courses occurs with ESL students—that is, what elements of their ESL writing instruction have they found useful and available to them as students in content courses? This article reports on a survey of former ESL students now in university‐level content courses that is designed to investigate students' perceptions of the relationship between the writing instruction the students received in ESL writing classes and the actual writing tasks they found in courses across the disciplines. The results of the survey include indications of which writing skills taught in ESL writing courses students found most useful in dealing with the writing demands of other content courses. In their answers to open‐ended survey questions, ESL students also described their perceptions of their ongoing writing needs beyond the ESL writing curri

ISSN:0039-8322    

DOI:10.2307/3587199

出版商:Blackwell Publishing Ltd    

年代:1994

数据来源: WILEY

ISSN:0039-8322    

DOI:10.2307/3587200

出版商:Blackwell Publishing Ltd    

年代:1994

数据来源: WILEY

摘要:

The past decade has brought increased legislative pressure to assure English language “fluency” on the part of nonnative‐English‐speaking teaching assistants (NNS TAs). However, no consensus has been reached in second language assessment about the appropriate instruments to evaluate the spoken language proficiency of NNS TAs. We see as a major issue the fact that, as a field, we have not articulated the theoretical grounds on which to evaluate the merit of assessment instruments as they are used in NNS TA testing. In this paper, we use Bachman's (1990, 1991) framework of language testing and, in particular, his standard of “authenticity” for language testing instruments to evaluate three instruments of spoken language assessment— the SPEAK (Spoken Proficiency English Assessment Kit) test, the OPI (Oral Proficiency Interview), and a performance test—in terms of their “authenticity” as language tests for NNS TAs. We first look at the three test instruments as contexts for language use by examining what Bachman terms theirtest method facets. We then examine discourse elicited by the test instruments and consider the discourse differences arising from these differences in test context. Finally, we consider the three test instruments in relation to features of language use in the target context and draw conclusions regarding the authenticity of the instruments i

ISSN:0039-8322    

DOI:10.2307/3587201

出版商:Blackwell Publishing Ltd    

年代:1994

数据来源: WILEY

摘要:

A basic premise of this article is that the frequent paradigm shifts in the field of second and foreign language teaching have not resulted in significant progress in language learning. The fault seems to lie in the overstatement of criticisms directed at existing paradigms and the failure to challenge the validity of the advantages imputed to replacements. It is suggested that a new paradigm shift is gaining momentum in the proposals for the task‐based syllabus; if we wish to prevent another unproductive revolution, we must submit those proposals to critical scrutiny. Such scrutiny will reveal that the criticisms of the synthetic syllabus (i.e., of conventional methods) and of method comparison research are largely unjustified when seen in the light of largely ignored research findings. It is concluded that the priority for advocates of the task‐based syllabus should lie in the necessity to demonstrate the greater effectiveness of such an approach over those of a more conventional nat

ISSN:0039-8322    

DOI:10.2307/3587202

出版商:Blackwell Publishing Ltd    

年代:1994

数据来源: WILEY

ISSN:0039-8322    

DOI:10.2307/3587203

出版商:Blackwell Publishing Ltd    

年代:1994

数据来源: WILEY

ISSN:0039-8322    

DOI:10.2307/3587204

出版商:Blackwell Publishing Ltd    

年代:1994

数据来源: WILEY