English Australia Journal the Australian journal of English language teaching VOLUME 36 - 02
In this issue… ARTICLES Towards wellbeing and happiness: Positive psychology in an Australian English language centre in the UAE Developing students’ reading speed in the online classroom
INTERVIEW Ten questions for Sarah Mercer
REVIEWS Teach Boldly The Digital Teacher ETpedia Management …more articles and reviews inside
English Australia Journal the Australian journal of English language teaching
A TESOL publication of English Australia Ltd
Volume 36 Number 2
2020
ISSN 2202-61696
English Australia ABN 86 003 959 037 Views expressed in articles and reviews are those of the author(s), and not necessarily shared by English Australia, the editorial team, or the Editorial Advisory Committee. Every effort has been made to trace the owners of copyright material in this issue, but notification of any errors or omissions is welcomed, and they will be rectified at the earliest opportunity. All articles and reviews appearing in this issue are copyright of the English Australia Journal and may not be reproduced without permission.
Cover image courtesy of English Australia member college Discover English, Melbourne CONTENTS
EDITORIAL 1 PEER-REVIEWED ARTICLES Debra McDermott 5 Towards wellbeing and happiness: Positive psychology in an Australian English language centre in the UAE Sandra Caon-Parsons & Paula Dimmell 20 The development of intercultural competency: A structured approach for practical classroom application Nhung Nguyen 34 Critical reading skills in ESL students: Challenges and pedagogical recommendations
BRIEF REPORT Olga Mhilli 54 ESL students transitioning from high school preparation to high school: Authorial voice in academic writing
CLASSROOM TALK David Squires Developing students’ reading speed online 63 Yulia Kharchenko & Phil Chappell Embracing the elephant in the room: Using L1 in the ELICOS classroom 69 Brian Poole Mining a poem to boost vocabulary awareness 77
Interview: Sarah Mercer Ten Questions for Sarah Mercer 82
Volume 36 No 2 English Australia Journal V REVIEWS Etpedia Management 90 Fiona Dunlop, Keith Harding & Robert McLarty Reviewed by Jakki Postlethwaite
Developing Expertise Through Experience 94 Alan Maley (ed.) Reviewed by Angela Snelgrove
The Digital Teacher 98 Reviewed by Lucija Medojevic
Teaching Boldly 101 Jennifer Williams Reviewed by Henno Kotzé
Scott Thornbury’s 101 Grammar Questions 105 Scott Thornbury Reviewed by Vanessa Todd
Reflective Practice In ELT 107 Thomas S. C. Farrell Reviewed by Jennifer Wallace
Etpedia Teacher Training 110 Beth Melia-Leigh & Nicholas Northall Reviewed by Rufus James ELT Training Library Language Fuel 114 Reviewed by Clare McGrath Roadmap 118 Jonathan Bygrave, Hugh Dellar & Andrew Walkley Reviewed by Sandra Pitronaci
GENERAL INFORMATION 122
English Australia Member Colleges 124
English Australia Journal Subscriptions 128
English Australia Journal Advertising 129
VI English Australia Journal Volume 36 No 2 ENGLISH AUSTRALIA JOURNAL
Executive Editor Lydia Dutcher The University of Sydney Classroom Talk Editor Sophia Khan British Council, Singapore Reviews Editor Sandra Pitronaci ILSC Sydney Editorial Advisory Board Phil Benson Department of Linguistics, Macquarie University Anne Burns School of Education, University of New South Wales Jill Burton School of Education, University of South Australia Phil Chappell Department of Linguistics, Macquarie University John Macalister School of Linguistics and Applied Language Studies, Victoria University of Wellington Brian Paltridge Faculty of Education and Social Work, The University of Sydney Jack Richards Faculty of Education and Social Work, The University of Sydney Steven Tait British Council, Malaysia Scott Thornbury The New School, New York Lynda Yates Department of Linguistics, Macquarie University
Volume 36 No 2 English Australia Journal VII Integrating journal articles into your Integrating centre’s PD program the Journal
Looking to integrate the English Australia Journal in your centre? Try these ideas.
Choose an an article article forfor everyone everyone to to read IIncorporatencorporate reading journalor writing articles journal into rebeforead before your nextyour nexPD tsession. PD session. Then, Then, articlesteachers’ intoprofessional teachers’ development professional review discuss thethe article andand its its application application to development(PDR) goals. review (PDR) goals. toyour your context context using using focus focus questions. questions. Organise aa treasure hunt hunt for for your your next next Try out ideas from Classroom Talk or a PD session with PD-based PD-based questions, questions, and peer-revieweda peer-reviewed article article and and write write a a post andthe treasurethe treasure is a co ispy a copyof the of English the English aboutpost about what youwhat found you founduseful. useful.Alternatively, Australia Journal. Journal. presentAlternatively, a short presentsession abouta short the session ideas at tabouthe next the sta ideas meeting. at the next staff meeting.
Set up up an an article article discussion discussion group group that that meets aa fewfew times times a year.a year.
englishaustralia.com.au
ad.indd 1 11/3/20 8:44 pm
VIII English Australia Journal Volume 36 No 2 EDITORIAL
Welcome to the September 2020 issue of English Australia Journal. In a year that continues to bring uncertain and difficult circumstances for the global community, and that presents unprecedented challenges for our local and international teaching and learning communities, it is even more important for us to join together to share our experiences and learnings. Now, more than ever, we anticipate the opportunity to connect with our colleagues at the upcoming English Australia Conference, the first to be delivered online and made accessible to so many teachers and managers across Australia and worldwide. We extend our gratitude to everyone involved in making this issue, including the authors, peer reviewers, editorial and design team, and the English Australia team, and we hope the themes addressed in this issue will be useful and timely for our readers. Recurring topics in the articles such as student and staff wellbeing, intercultural competence, global citizenship, and criticality are sorely needed in these challenging times. The authors’ reflections and narratives can help us to think more deeply about underlying complexities and practical ways to develop and nurture these often-abstract qualities. Like the April issue, this issue will be published exclusively online. We are particularly grateful during this year that the journal is open access and freely available to the community. The peer-reviewed article section is made up of three articles that present case studies of implementation of teaching and management approaches, grounded in the relevant literature(s). The section opens with Dr Debra McDermott’s reflections on developing and implementing frameworks and approaches to cultivate positive psychology at an English language centre. Her article provides insights into the challenges and rewards met from taking an interdisciplinary approach to supporting the wellbeing of students and staff. Next, Sandra Caon-Parsons and Paula Dimmell introduce their structured approach for developing students’ intercultural competency in a pathways program, which enables students to develop this graduate attribute in preparation for their upcoming university course. Finally, Nhung Nguyen presents techniques for enhancing students’ critical reading skills and provides a sample lesson
Volume 36 No 2 English Australia Journal 1 as inspiration for teachers. Olga Mhilli’s Brief Report provides a snapshot of her research into authorial voice in academic writing along with exciting and insightful quantitative research results on the development of this key skill. This issue’s ‘Ten questions’ interview returns to the topic of wellbeing. In this piece, Classroom Talk Editor Sophia Khan interviews Sarah Mercer, Head of English Language Teaching at the University of Graz, joint coordinator of IATEFL’s Research SIG, and member of Oxford University Press ELT Expert Panel. Mercer’s reflections on teacher wellbeing get to the heart of the challenges for practitioners that are inherent in navigating what has become our ‘new normal’. Another aspect of our new normal is the ubiquity of online teaching and learning worldwide, and Classroom Talk kicks off with David Squires providing an array of helpful Zoom-friendly tips to support students in developing their reading speed and fluency. Building on their prior research article regarding use of the L1 in ELT, Yulia Kharchenko and Phil Chappell provide a set of practical tips and procedures for incorporating L1 in the classroom as a tool for learning English, and encourage all teachers to venture into their students’ L1(s) to enrich their own teaching practice. Finally, Brian Poole’s article argues for use of poems as reading texts that can be mined for meaningful vocabulary development, and provides a set of practical and user-friendly techniques to help students make sense of poetic language use. The Reviews section, edited by Sandra Pitronaci, provides a set of comprehensive guides to a range of new and timely resources for professional development and classroom use. Please explore the section for further information on materials covering a range of topics such as building edtech confidence, promoting positive change through teaching, teacher training, management, reflections by key figures in the field, and grammar FAQs answered by none other than Scott Thornbury, as well as new materials such as Pearson’s new coursebook series Roadmap. This issue’s review offerings promise to provide some suitable candidates for your reading list. I wish to thank the editorial team for their perseverance and steadiness in a difficult year. Through it all, they have been unflaggingly professional, enthusiastic, and kind, and I thank them for all they do to support each other and the authors. Thank you to Derek Trow for putting all the pieces together, and to Sophia Khan for making sure those pieces make sense and follow the style guide. We all thank the English Australia Journal Board for being a fount of wisdom and support, and the English Australia team, especially Sophie O’Keefe, for her role as a sounding board and advisor. And we thank you readers for engaging with the Journal. We encourage you to think about becoming authors one day soon!
Lydia Dutcher Sophia Khan Sandra Pitronaci Executive Editor Classroom Talk Editor Reviews Editor
2 English Australia Journal Volume 36 No 2 Volume 36 No 2 English Australia Journal 3 OET Nursing Your Ultimate Route to Success
NEW The Cambridge Guide to OET Nursing 978-1-108-88164-7
Ask your local Cambridge University Press consultant for details
4 English Australia Journal Volume 36 No 2 Towards wellbeing and happiness: Positive psychology in an Australian English language centre in the UAE
Debra McDermott University of Wollongong in Dubai (UOWD) College
This article describes an exploratory project in which a range of strategies taken from positive psychology were introduced in a university English language centre in order to enhance the wellbeing and happiness of staff and students. A brief overview is provided of the current scholarly landscape of positive psychology in English language teaching and then useful insights emerging from implementation of the project are discussed. Suggestions are made both for replication of the project in other centres and for further research and development in this area.
Introduction The notions of wellbeing and happiness are receiving increasing attention in academic and non-academic fields. In the UAE, the idea of happiness as a societal goal has been adopted with enthusiasm, as demonstrated by the creation of a Ministry of Happiness and the re-conceptualising of government customer service centres as ‘happiness’ centres. The notion was further applied to the field of education at the global forum of the Observatory on Borderless Higher Education (OBHE) which met in Dubai in 2018, and where discussions were focused around wellbeing both as a criterion and as an indicator of student success. During the forum, academics and education administrators described the approaches taken to adopting positive psychology in various countries and institutions, based on a growing body of empirical investigation and theory building in the field. It was the discussions in this forum that prompted the project described in this article which explored the question of how techniques and strategies from positive psychology could be applied in an English language centre. MacIntyre and Mercer (2014) describe positive psychology as the study of wellbeing, or, drawing on Seligman (2001, 2011), ‘how people thrive and flourish’ (MacIntyre & Mercer, 2014, p. 154). The project, therefore, was aimed at finding practical ways to enhance and ensure the wellbeing, happiness and positive learning experiences of students of English language at an Australian university in the UAE. The project grew from a commitment to continuous program improvement
Volume 36 No 2 English Australia Journal 5 and the desire to build on a perceived strength of the centre, suggested in student feedback, as a place where students feel cared for and appreciated as individuals. A description of the project begins below with a brief overview of the current theoretical and empirical landscape of positive psychology as it pertains to English language teaching. The planning and implementation of the project is described next. This is followed with some emergent insights on issues related to the implementation process and to the wellbeing and happiness of the students involved. Finally the conclusion contains recommendations for replication of the project, further development in this area and potential topics for ongoing research.
Positive psychology in English language teaching It has been suggested that positive psychology in English language teaching is a progression from earlier humanistic approaches (MacIntyre & Mercer, 2014) and theories of learning and acquisition which highlight the roles of affect and emotion as potential motivators or barriers to learning, or focus on individual learner characteristics (cf. Krashen, 1981; Stevick, 1990). While it seems to be common sense that everyone wants their students to feel happy and be well, positive psychology puts an emphasis on an empirical approach, as a result of which there is now an emerging body of work which includes theory building and empirical investigation into the effects of different interventions on students' emotions and learning outcomes. Fredrickson's broaden-and-build theory, for example, has been particularly influential (Fredrickson, 2001, 2003). According to Fredrickson’s theory, positive emotions are brief and momentary in nature, involving multiple components of the mind-body system but they result in a broadened field of attention and thought- action repertoires (Cohn et al., 2009; Fredrickson, 2001, 2003). In the case of English language learners, this could mean that experiencing positive emotions in the course of learning may make them both more aware of and more motivated to engage in opportunities to practise their English skills, to acquire new language and to develop their ‘vantage’ resources, including social resources, which contribute to achieving positive learning outcomes (Fredrickson & Joiner, 2018). Possibly the best known model of wellbeing is Seligman’s PERMA model (Seligman, 2011), which Helgesen (2016) refers to as ‘wellbeing 2.0’ (p. 305). PERMA is an acronym for five measurable elements or pathways that correlate with, or contribute to, subjective wellbeing (Seligman, 2018). Positive emotion (P) is the first of these with the others being engagement (E), relationships (R), meaning (M), and achievement (A). Seligman (2018) describes the PERMA model as a ‘theory of the building blocks of wellbeing’ (p. 334) around which interventions can be constructed with the aim of enhancing each element and thereby increasing happiness. Tools which have been
6 English Australia Journal Volume 36 No 2 created around the PERMA model include the PERMA-Profiler (Butler & Kern, 2016) and the adapted version of this, called the Workplace PERMA-Profiler. This instrument, which was developed over 11 studies involving nearly 40,000 respondents, assesses wellbeing over the five PERMA dimensions. While not specific to English language learning or education generally, PERMA was the model used in many of the initiatives described at the OBHE Global Forum 2018, which related directly to applications in education, including English language teaching. An alternative framework to PERMA is offered by Oxford (2016) in which the acronym EMPATHICS is used to list various dimensions of wellbeing in language learning. According to Oxford, these are emotion and empathy (E), meaning and motivation (M), perseverance (P), agency and autonomy (A), time (T), hardiness and habits of mind (H), intelligences (I), character strengths (C), and self factors (S). Oxford's model is based on research over a number of years using PERMA and finding it less than fully satisfactory to describe the analysis of language learner narratives. In particular, Oxford is critical of the issue of overlap between PERMA elements; however, EMPATHICS also suffers from issues of delineation between dimensions. The combinations of 'hardiness' with 'habits of mind' in dimension six (H), for example, seems an uncomfortable juxtaposition. While both of these characteristics, plus others such as perseverance, resilience, and so on, in the third dimension (P), could also be considered to be 'character strengths' which come under dimension eight (C). The main focus of practitioners in English language teaching has been to find or create interventions to increase the positive emotions of learners. This can be linked to prior work into motivation, for example, in which strategies such as goal setting and achievement have been found to increase student self-confidence, self-efficacy, and intrinsic interest in language learning (Dörnyei, 1994) as well as subjective wellbeing (MacLeod et al., 2008). Teacher care has also been related to student happiness (Noddings, 2003) and the caring technique of ‘stroking’ (acknowledging and making individuals feel valued through actions such as naming, smiling, involving them in activities) has been found to increase class attendance and learning achievements (Rajabnejad et al., 2017). In learners of English as a Foreign Language (EFL) in Iran, teacher stroke was found to correlate with student perceptions of teacher credibility and effectiveness (Pishghadam & Karami, 2017). While the experience of positive emotions might be assumed to preclude the existence of negative emotions, the relationship has in fact been found to be more complex. For example, Cohn et al. (2009) found that while greater resilience correlates with positive emotions, lower resilience did not correlate with negative emotions. The emotions of foreign language enjoyment (FLE) and foreign language
Volume 36 No 2 English Australia Journal 7 classroom anxiety (FLCA) were investigated by Dewaele and MacIntyre (2016) with the interesting finding that both FLE and FLCA can be simultaneously present. They also note that FLCA is not always detrimental to successful learning. This suggests that an optimal balance of FLE and FLCA may contribute to helping learners to achieve a state of ‘flow’ (Csikszentmihalyi, 2008). According to Csikszentmihalyi, enjoyment is an important element in the notion of flow, a state in which the participant in an activity feels challenged but not overwhelmed. When applied to language learning and the structure of lessons and courses, this brings to mind Vygotsky’s Zone of Proximal Development (Vygotsky, 1986) and suggests the need to ensure that students experience sufficient challenge, combined with a sense of achievement and enjoyment in order to enhance their learning. Focusing on classroom interventions, Gregerson et al. (2016) trialled six positive psychology exercises (PPEs) which were found to increase the self-ratings of positive emotions and also the social engagement within the context of a peer-mentoring program. Some of these, such as laughter (LoSchiavo & Shatz, 2005), listening to music (Murphey, 2014; Peterson, 2006), expressing gratitude (Emmons & Shelton, 2002), and engaging in altruism (Batson et al., 2002) can be introduced into an English language centre environment quite easily. Others, such as exercise (Argyle, 2001) and interaction with animals (Chernetsky et al., 2004), however, are more challenging. Fresacher (2016) also offers several useful ideas, including expressions of gratitude, positivity portfolios, and meditation. Drawing on various sources, Helgesen (2016) proposes practical exercises such as making and discussing a gratitude list, complimenting other students, talking about and giving advice on health and wellbeing, identifying and listing good experiences, and talking about the positive characteristics of family members, friends and self. For the purposes of the project described here, then, a number of potential interventions have been suggested by the literature and two main models have been proposed. In this case, the PERMA model was chosen rather than the EMPATHICS model, mainly because the former was intended to be used as a design for interventions (Seligman, 2011, 2018) and has wider applications outside of language teaching and learning. The next section will now describe the project itself.
The PERMA project Context of the project The project described here took place in the English language centre of an Australian university in the UAE. The centre has been in operation for 26 years and delivers public courses in General English, and courses in English for General Academic Purposes (EGAP) to both undergraduate and postgraduate students at the university.
8 English Australia Journal Volume 36 No 2 The students vary in age range and nationality although the majority are between 18 and 30. The centre also has a large English language testing operation, running IELTS and OET exams for up to 10,000 candidates per year. The teaching staff consists of three full-time English language instructors and an additional 18 adjunct instructors, many of whom have been with the centre for a number of years. Similarly, the team of nine full-time administrators is augmented by casual, but long-term staff. Although the focus of this article is the application of the PERMA model to the English Language Centre, the project took place in the context of several staff and student wellbeing initiatives within the university based on best practices in Human Resource management and Student Services. These included new staff performance evaluation processes aligned with a set of explicit organisational values and a range of awards catering to different sectors of the workforce. An annual calendar of highly inclusive social events and activities was designed to develop workplace relationships and was complemented by a series of health-related events. In the Student Services department, a Happiness Centre was set up and a Happiness Carnival was scheduled. A Wheel of Wellbeing was prominently displayed in the Student Services area of campus and related activities have included sessions on mindfulness and laughter yoga. However, the English language centre was the first, and so far only, academic department to attempt to frame student and staff wellbeing interventions within the PERMA model.
PERMA in the English Language Centre A holistic approach was taken to integrating PERMA into the activities of the English Language Centre. While the main focus was on enhancing the student experience, the wellbeing of teaching staff was also considered of fundamental importance. Therefore, as well as the initiatives described above that involved the whole university, the Workplace PERMA-Profiler (Butler & Kern, 2016) was used with teachers both as a means of establishing a wellbeing baseline and as a tool to facilitate meaningful discussions during annual performance reviews. An additional innovation was the use of an approach to meetings that was based on a coaching model and comprises a four-stage approach using the slogan ‘Let’s CHAT!’ The CHAT acronym stands for: communication (C), in which information necessary for the running of the organisation is transmitted; help (H), in which assistance, collaboration or input is explicitly requested and/or offered; appreciation (A), where achievements are acknowledged and colleagues are thanked for their efforts and contributions; and, take action (T), which involves putting into place action plans and timelines (McDermott & Neault, 2011). With respect to the students, the focus of the project involved both classroom
Volume 36 No 2 English Australia Journal 9 practices and the student experience within the language centre overall. There were four stages to the project, which are illustrated in Figure 1.
Figure 1. Project stages The first stage involved a meeting of all staff in which the PERMA model was introduced. This was followed by a brainstorming session in which questions, comments and suggestions were elicited for each of the elements. After this was a planning stage in which particular techniques, activities and materials were selected to use with students with the objective of enhancing the students’ experience in each of the PERMA elements. These were implemented over the course of a teaching semester of 12 weeks and then a qualitative evaluation took place at the end of this time. Feedback was sought through focus groups with students and teachers and a review of students’ learning journals. It should be noted that as an exploratory project, which was not conceived as a study, the evaluation was not designed as or intended to be a rigorous empirical assessment but rather information gathering as a means to gauge the response of students and staff and inform future directions. For ethical purposes, however, consent was sought from those who contributed data to use it for development and for potential publication. The data gathered was anonymised and aggregated where possible with ownership of the data (learning journals and wellbeing profiles) retained by the participating staff and students (Miles et al., 2014; Patton, 2015). Risk of harm from the interventions or dissemination of the emerging data was considered minimal (Diener & Crandall, 1978; Green & Thorogood, 2004), while the
10 English Australia Journal Volume 36 No 2 project was considered worthy and implemented with the intent to bring advantage to the participants (Flick, 2008; Miles et al., 2014). Brainstorming responses and discussions The English Language Centre instructors brainstormed around each of the five PERMA elements (Seligman, 2011) and came up with several suggestions for implementation. Key among these were the integration of personal goal setting and reflection into the curriculum, opportunities for students to develop relationships, and recognition of student achievements. Drawing on work demonstrating the positive effects of goal setting and a sense of accomplishment (Dörnyei, 1994; MacLeod et al., 2008; Seligman, 2011), personal goal setting and reflection were proposed as tools through which to increase student subjective wellbeing in four of the PERMA elements: positive emotions (P), engagement (E), meaning (M) and achievement (A). In terms of positive emotions and achievement, students can recognise their own learning progress when they are able to acknowledge the achievement of the goals they set (A). Allowing students to set their own goals is a way of personalising the learning experience for them, making it more meaningful (M) and increasing the potential for engagement (E). Discussions around the PERMA element of relationships (R) featured three key questions: • How can we help students to build relationships with other students? • How can we improve the relationships and communications between students and staff? • How can we help students to feel part of a community? In response to these questions, it was suggested that the number of social activities for students should be increased and that the students themselves should be consulted and given the opportunity to take ownership of these. A change to the schedule of the English language classes was also proposed so that the breaks would coincide with those of the university classes, enabling language students to mix with other students. In order to better acknowledge student achievements (A), a showcase event at the end of the semester was proposed. Other suggestions included a projects gallery displaying student work, and certificates and badges (including reading badges, for example). It was also recommended that the potential to include service learning projects in the curriculum should be explored as a way of enhancing the relevance and meaningfulness of the courses (M).
Volume 36 No 2 English Australia Journal 11 Drawing on the wider literature and documented successful interventions in English language teaching, further discussions were initiated around gratitude and teacher care, with stroking techniques, error treatment and methods of feedback in general being considered for future attention. Feedback and error treatment is, of course, an area of considerable debate and extensive research which is beyond the scope of the present article. At the time of the brainstorming session, however, the main suggestions were that feedback should be specific and transparent, that it should not just focus on errors and that it should include praise, as a way to deliver a stroke and to inculcate a sense of accomplishment (A). Implementation, exploration and research into these proposed interventions and their effects on student wellbeing are still ongoing; however, a number of initiatives have been implemented and these will now be discussed. Implementation Several of the suggestions that were considered key to improving the students’ experience in Seligman’s PERMA dimensions (Seligman, 2011) were implemented during the following semester. These included specific initiatives designed to enhance opportunities for relationship building (R), to acknowledge student achievements (A), and to increase student engagement with the curriculum (E) by making it more meaningful in their lives (M). A further initiative, the introduction of a student reflective journal, addressed several of the PERMA elements while also providing a means of communication between students and teachers. In order to facilitate relationship building (R), the class schedule was changed so that English language students were able to participate in more university events. A schedule of social events specific to the English language students was also designed in consultation with them. These included bowling, paintball and various food-related activities. To highlight student achievements (A), an end-of-semester showcase was also held where students’ work was displayed and various certificates and prizes were awarded. The curriculum was related more to students’ outside lives through the introduction of regular field trips which were linked to student projects (E, M). A reflective journal was designed and introduced which was fundamental to the project. The journal gives students the opportunity and guidance to set learning goals for themselves, to express gratitude, and to reflect on their learning achievements (Castellanos, 2008; Hiemstra, 2001). It also provides a way for them to explore their emotions around their language learning experiences and to interact with their instructor, to the extent that they want to, through the medium of the journal. A page from the prototype journal is shown in Figure 2. However, development and refinement of the design continues in order to make this as meaningful as possible without being too onerous or demanding in language skills.
12 English Australia Journal Volume 36 No 2 Figure 2. Page from student reflective journal The final stage of implementation was a review of the project which was carried out through focus groups with both staff and students and feedback gleaned from the student journals. The insights that emerged will now be discussed. Insights gained from the project Although this project was not designed as an empirical investigation, several themes and issues emerged over its course and during the review, which offered insights into the affective environment of the Centre. With respect to staff, the results of the Workplace PERMA-Profiler (Butler & Kern, 2016) are given in Figure 3. Overall, the wellbeing of our staff appeared to be good and ‘Relationships’ were an area of particular strength. Informal feedback suggested that the Profiler was found to be a useful tool in making decisions and setting career and professional priorities.
Volume 36 No 2 English Australia Journal 13 Figure 3. Composite Workplace PERMA-Profile of staff In the case of the students, the reflective journals were primarily for their own use. Their completion was an optional activity and they were submitted to their instructors voluntarily. It seemed that the journals were useful in helping the students to identify and communicate the anxiety that some of them experienced around the specific activities of exams and tests, pronouncing new words and essay writing. This knowledge will enable the design of support and interventions related to these activities. Consistent with the findings of Dewaele and MacIntyre (2016), interactions with the instructor appeared to strongly influence the students’ self-confidence and willingness to take risks. A further observation with respect to the students was that talking to them directly, obtaining specific feedback from them, and involving them in planning was highly important. For example, it was found that social events needed to be targeted and that a particular group of students considered that building relationships, or social resources, within the class was more important than socialising outside class. It could be speculated that in-class social relations were considered more advantageous resources to the students in pursuing their goal of language learning (Fredrickson & Joiner, 2018). A key issue affecting both students and staff that emerged with respect to the project implementation itself was that both teacher and learner training needs to be included. A revised implementation model is therefore suggested in the conclusion along with other areas for development and for further research.
14 English Australia Journal Volume 36 No 2 Conclusion The project described here was an exploration of positive psychology in the context of an English language centre. A growing body of literature in this field offers theoretical underpinning, and tested interventions inform evidence-based practice with respect to English language teaching. Although the project was not intended as an empirical investigation, a number of insights emerged from its implementation which may serve to inform future research in this area. Overall the strategies suggested by the literature, along with initiatives emerging from a brainstorming session, were found to be relatively easy to implement and were positively viewed by students and teachers. Drawing on the experience of carrying out the project and on the insights which emerged, suggested areas for further investigation include the following: 1. The development of specific indicators and measurements of English language student wellbeing. 2. The development of methods to analyse cause and effect relationships between particular PERMA elements and language learning outcomes. 3. The effects of positive psychology interventions on student anxiety, particularly student anxiety related to specific language or learner tasks. 4. Further analysis of English language teacher–student interactions with respect to student confidence and risk-taking. 5. A study of approaches to teacher caring in the Centre and their effects on student wellbeing. Finally, teacher and learner training was identified to be lacking in the project implementation. Particular areas of need included further teacher training in the positive psychology theory underpinning the approach and in implementing particular related learning activities, such as use of journals with students. Providing students with an introduction to positive psychology would also have been useful as well as instruction in particular tasks such as goal setting. Therefore, for future replication of the project, a revised model including this as a stage is recommended, as shown in Figure 4.
Volume 36 No 2 English Australia Journal 15 Figure 4. Revised implementation model
In conclusion, then, the project described here demonstrates the potential for positive psychology as a source of practical interventions to improve student (and staff) wellbeing in English language teaching environments and as a theoretical framework for scholarly investigation into affective factors related to the student experience and learning outcomes.
References
Argyle, M. (2001). The psychology of happiness (2nd ed.). London: Routledge. Batson, C. D., Ahmad, N., Lishner, D., & Tsang, J. (2002). Empathy and altruism. In C. R. Snyder, & S. Lopez (Eds.), Handbook of positive psychology (pp. 485-498). New York: Oxford University Press. Butler, J., & Kern, M. L. (2016). The PERMA-Profiler: A brief multidimentional measure of flourishing. International Journal of Wellbeing, 6(3), 1-48. https://doi.org/10.5502/ ijw.v6i3.526 Castellanos, J. (2008). Journal writing and its benefits in an upper intermediate EFL class. Profile Issues in Teachers’ Professional Development, 9, 111-128. Chernetsky, C. J., & Brennan, F. (2004). Effect of petting a dog on immune system functioning. Psychological Reports, 3, 1087-1091. https://doi.org/10.2466/pr0.95.3f.1087-1091
16 English Australia Journal Volume 36 No 2 Cohn, M. A., Fredrickson, B. L., Brown, S. L., Mikels, J. A., & Conway, A. M. (2009). Happiness unpacked: Positive emotions increase life satisfaction by building resilience. Emotion, 9(3), 361-368. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0015952 Csikszentmihalyi, M. (2008). Flow: The psychology of optimal experience. New York: Harper Perennial. Dewaele, J-M., & MacIntyre, P. D. (2016). Foreign language enjoyment and foreign language classroom anxiety: The right and left feet of the language learner. In P. D MacIntyre, & S. Mercer (Eds.), Positive psychology in SLA (pp. 10-87). Bristol, UK: Multilingual Matters. Diener, E. and Crandall, R. (1978). Ethics in social and behavioral research. Chicago: University of Chicago Press. Dörnyei, Z. (1994). Motivation and motivating in the foreign language classroom. The Modern Language Journal, 78(iii), 273-284. https://doi.org/10.2307/330107 Emmons, R., & Shelton, C. (2002). Gratitude and the science of positive psychology. In C. R. Snyder, & S. Lopez (Eds.), Handbook of positive psychology (pp. 485-498). New York: Oxford University Press. Flick, U. (2008). Managing quality in qualitative research. London: SAGE. Fredrickson, B. L. (2001). The role of positive emotions in positive psychology: The broaden-and-build theory of positive emotions. American Psychologist, 56, 218-226. https://doi.org/10.1037/0003-066X.56.3.218 Fredrickson, B. L. (2003). The value of positive emotions. American Scientist, 91, 330- 335. https://doi.org/10.1511/2003.4.330 Fredrickson, B. L., & Joiner, T. (2018). Reflections on positive emotions and upward spirals. Perspectives on Psychological Science, 13(2), 194-199. https://doi. org/10.1177/1745691617692106 Fresacher, C. (2016). Why and how to use positive psychology activities in the second language classroom. In P. D MacIntyre, & S. Mercer (Eds.), Positive psychology in SLA (pp. 10-87). Bristol, UK: Multilingual Matters. Green, J., & Thorogood, N. (2004). Qualitative methods for health research. London: SAGE. Gregerson, T., MacIntyre, P. D. & Meza, M. (2016). Positive psychology exercises build social capital for language learners: Preliminary evidence. In P. D MacIntyre, & S. Mercer (Eds.), Positive Psychology in SLA (pp. 10-87). Bristol, UK: Multilingual Matters. Helgesen, M. (2016). Happiness in ESL/EFL: Bringing positive psychology to the classroom. In P. D MacIntyre, & S. Mercer (Eds.), Positive psychology in SLA (pp. 10-87). Bristol, UK: Multilingual Matters.
Volume 36 No 2 English Australia Journal 17 Hiemstra, R. (2001). Uses and benefits of journal writing. In L. M. English & M. A. Gillen (Eds.), Promoting journal writing in adult education (pp. 19-26). San Francisco: Jossey-Bass. Krashen, S. (1981). Second language acquisition and second language learning. Oxford: Pergamon Press. LoSchiavo, F. M., & Shatz, M. A. (2005). Enhancing online instruction with humor. Teaching of Psychology, 32(4), 247-250. MacIntyre, P. D., & Mercer, S. (2014). Introducing positive psychology to SLA. Studies in Second Language Learning and Teaching, 4(2),153-172. https://doi.org/10.14746/ ssllt.2014.4.2.2 MacLeod, A. K., Coates, E., & Hetherton, J. J. (2008). Increasing well-being through teaching goal-setting and planning skills: Results of a brief intervention. Journal of Happiness Studies 9, 185-196. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10902-007-9057-2 McDermott, D. & Neault, R.A. (2011). In-house career coaching: An international partnership. Journal of Employment Counselling, 48(3), 121-128. https://doi. org/10.1002/j.2161-1920.2011.tb01118.x Miles, M.B., Huberman, A.M. & Saldana, J. (2014). Qualitative data analysis: A methods sourcebook (3rd Ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage. Murphey, T. (2014). Singing well-becoming: Student musical therapy case studies. Studies in Second Language Learning and Teaching, 2(2), 205-235. https://doi. org/10.14746/ssllt.2014.4.2.4 Noddings, N. (2003). Happiness and education. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Oxford, R.L. (2016). Toward a psychology of wellbeing for language learners: The ‘EMPATHICS’ vision. In P. D. MacIntyre, & S. Mercer (Eds.), Positive psychology in SLA (pp. 10-87). Bristol, UK: Multilingual Matters. Patton, M.Q. (2015). Qualitative research and evaluation methods (4th Ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE Publications. Peterson, C. (2006). A primer in positive psychology. New York: Oxford University Press. Pishghadam, R. & Karami, M. (2017). Probing language teachers’ stroking and credibility in relation to their success in class. Alberta Journal of Educational Research, 64(4), 378-395. Rajabnejad, F., Pishghadam, R., & Saboori, F. (2017). On the Influence of stroke on willingness to attend classes and for foreign language achievement. Applied Research in English Language, 6(2), 141-158. https://doi.org/10.22108/ARE.2017.21344
18 English Australia Journal Volume 36 No 2 Seligman, M. E. P. (2002). Authentic happiness: Using the new positive psychology to realize your potential for lasting fulfillment. New York: Free Press. Seligman, M. E. P. (2011). Flourish: A visionary new understanding of happiness and wellbeing. New York: Atria. Seligman, M. E. P. (2018). PERMA and the building blocks of wellbeing. The Journal of Positive Pyschology, 13(4), 333-335. https://doi.org/10.1080/17439760.2018.1437466 Stevick, E. (1990). Humanism in language teaching. New York: Oxford University Press. Vygotsky, L. (1986). Thought and language. Massachusetts: The Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
Dr Debra McDermott is Director of the University of Wollongong in Dubai College. She has previously held teaching and academic leadership positions in language schools and higher education institutions in the UK, Ecuador, Egypt and Kuwait. Her research interests include professional identities, graduate employability, and learner motivation.
Volume 36 No 2 English Australia Journal 19 The development of intercultural competency: A structured approach for practical classroom application
Sandra Caon-Parsons
Paula Dimmell The University of Adelaide English Language Centre
The Intercultural Competency (ICC) Program is a structured program that has been developed at the University of Adelaide’s English Language Centre (ELC) to create opportunities for students to connect in a global context. This stand-alone and easily transferable program aims to create meaningful opportunities for mixed-language-ability learners to come together and develop their intercultural competency skills towards becoming global citizens. This paper will illustrate practical ways to create opportunities for concrete experiences in the classroom for the development of these skills and will demonstrate how this has been achieved at the University of Adelaide’s ELC. The curriculum framework, lesson plans, program logistics and data from students’ and teachers’ experiences of this program will be discussed.
Introduction Suárez-Orozco & Sattin (2007) identified that effective interaction with people and career advancement incorporates more than just fluency in a language or culture. Specific skills are needed, such as innovation, higher-order cognitive skills, and sophisticated communication and collaboration skills. It is the development of these skills which gives students the strategies and tools to connect globally and have the capacity to become global citizens. The Intercultural Competency (ICC) Program focuses on the development of these specific skills, and how they relate to our students enrolled in English Language Intensive Courses for Overseas Students (ELICOS).
Background Regular contact with diversity does not necessarily produce intercultural understanding in students, faculty and staff. Rather, intercultural understanding is the product of intent and design. Habacon (2014)
20 English Australia Journal Volume 36 No 2 Global citizenship is not a new concept. In fact, many universities around Australia and the world cite global citizenship in their strategic goals and some have even introduced ‘Global Citizenship Programs’. The focus of our ICC program is to help students develop the awareness, knowledge, skills and values needed to become global citizens. However, just knowledge of intercultural understanding or regular contact with other cultural groups does not necessarily lead to intercultural competence (J. Bennett, 2011; Deardorff, 2009; Habacon, 2014), which is needed for global citizenship. To make the development of ICC skills more concrete, and as exposure to diversity in and out of the classroom is not always enough, we addressed this gap and area of student need by designing an organised, intentional program at our ELC. The ICC program and curriculum framework we have developed has been aligned not only with ICC skills development, but also with institutional graduate attributes and the strategic direction of our university. The aim is to give our ELICOS students structured opportunities to develop a set of skills for operating successfully in diverse cultural environments. For these students, language is necessary to support the development of intercultural competence and is a vehicle through which to understand and discuss other perspectives. The explicit focus of this program is to develop ICC skills by integrating sociolinguistic and discourse competency, as well as vocabulary and language development.
Rationale According to Safiah and Sri (2010), intercultural skills are fundamental for success in the 21st century, within both university and workplace environments. More companies than ever before are recognising the benefits of multilingual and culturally literate employees (Suárez-Orozco & Sattin, 2007). Therefore, students need to develop the knowledge, attitudes and skills to maximise the opportunities and challenges they might face in the future. Students with well-developed intercultural competency will be able to enter into new cultural settings and immediately understand what is happening and why, confidently interact with people, and engage in the right actions (Gurin et al., 2002). The preparation of graduates to be interculturally competent citizens, and to be able to participate in workplaces across the globe is one of the primary aims of the Australian university sector’s goal of internationalisation (Leask, 2015). This is further highlighted by the University of Adelaide’s Academic Board Strategic Plan (2019) which clearly states the need for ‘ . . . the development of our students as global citizens with aspirations to experience, participate in, and influence, the global community.’ Although global citizenship is essential for our 21st century ELICOS learners and is
Volume 36 No 2 English Australia Journal 21 embedded in our institution’s strategic direction and graduate attributes, we found it was not identified in any of our English Language Centre program objectives or learning outcomes. Historically, cross-class activities tried to fulfil these university- level objectives; however, they focused mainly on general communication and were not part of the formal curriculum or aligned to program objectives and outcomes. To bridge this gap, we decided to embed opportunities that supported students’ development of ICC skills and cultural intelligence (Earley et al., 2006) towards becoming global citizens. The main objectives of the program were to focus on ICC skills at the ELC prior to entering university and to develop the students’ capacity to work within a ‘borderless’ world – without reliance on geographical location – in which there are a variety of perspectives, thus increasing their capabilities for future studies and employability.
Program structure Our ICC Program is now embedded across all courses at the ELC, integrating other core macro skills including vocabulary and language development. It involves all our students, regardless of level, working together on a common task. It provides structured opportunities to develop ICC by negotiating within varieties of English and building collegial networks through skills development, developing communication across cultures and increasing awareness of global perspectives. The program is designed to be easily implemented and transferable to academic or non-academic groups and is not reliant on the cultures within the groups. A bank of activities aligned to the specific outcomes of the curriculum, with associated detailed lesson plans, has been developed to ensure the sustainability and self-sufficiency of the program. ICC activities occur once in every five-week teaching cycle across the ELC. In order to facilitate the implementation of the program, at the start of each cycle, a schedule, lesson plan, tasks and additional resources are sent to all teachers. This teaching schedule is essential to the success of the program. Teachers are placed with other teachers and are given suggested days to conduct the activity. When organising the schedule, the core timetable for all classes is considered to ensure days are allocated that are free from any other activities, such as assessments. By providing this level of detail prior to cycle commencement, it has been found that it is easier for teachers to schedule the activity into an otherwise busy timetable. It also has the additional benefit of not being an activity that gets left until the last week, which could possibly negate any immediate benefit the students may get out of the activity in transferring skills gained to the current ELICOS classroom.
22 English Australia Journal Volume 36 No 2 Curriculum framework In developing the framework for this curriculum, a developmental model of intercultural competence was considered for understanding the stages of intercultural competence. Based on the Developmental Model of Intercultural Sensitivity (DMIS) (Figure 1), created by M. J. Bennett (1986, 1993, 2004, 2013), ICC competence evolves over time, from relatively ethnocentric understandings of other cultures to a more comprehensive ethno-relative appreciation. The DMIS identifies that people move through six stages in their acquisition of intercultural competence, from a monocultural worldview to an integration of own and other cultural worldviews. As explained by Hammer et al. (2003), ‘the underlying assumption of the model is that as one’s experience of cultural difference becomes more complex and sophisticated, one’s potential competence in intercultural relations increases’ (p. 423).
Defense Denial MinimisationMinimiza=on Acceptance Adap=on Integra=on Reversal
|------| |------| ETHNOCENTRISM ETHNORELATIVISM ETHNORELATIVISM
Figure 1: Developmental Intercultural Competence Model (M. J. Bennett 1986, 1993, 2004, 2013) The curriculum framework was created based on a wide range of literature on learning outcomes and intercultural competency models (J. Bennett, 2011; Bloom, 1956; Byram, 1997; Deardorff, 2006, 2009; Freeman et al., 2009; Howard-Hamilton et al., 1998; Leask, 2008; Oxfam, 2015). Based on this research, Deardorff’s Process Model of Intercultural Competence (2009) was chosen as the framework for this program as the main aims of the program are the development of ICC skills, which worked well when we developed all the aspects of the program, from the framework to the curriculum document and the activities themselves. The model highlights that how one acquires the knowledge, skills and understanding is as important as the acquisition of aspects of intercultural competence (Deardorff, 2009). Sociolinguistic discourse and linguistic awareness were added to the model, highlighting the interconnectedness of language and ICC skills and providing linguistic support to enable our students to fully participate in the ICC experience. This model identifies external and internal desired outcomes, as well as three domains (see Figure 2). The three domains are ‘Knowledge and Understanding’, ‘Skills’ and
Volume 36 No 2 English Australia Journal 23 ‘Values and Attitudes’. While no domain is predominant or sufficient, and students are able to move between the domains, the process of attaining a level of ICC begins with the development of requisite values and attitudes. The degree of ICC competence attained through this process is dependent on the degree of knowledge, understanding and skills reached throughout. The desired outcomes may be evident in varying degrees. The internal outcomes may not be visible, but refer to an individual who, on reflection, feels they have learned to be flexible, empathetic and have the ability to adapt to an ethno-relative perspective. The external outcomes refer to visible changes in behaviour and communication style. This is an ongoing process of development and improvement, emphasising the role that lifelong learning has in the acquisition of intercultural competency skills.
• Cultural self-awareness • Deep understanding & knowledge of • Respect & value other cultures culture • Openness & withholding • Culture specific information judgement • Socio-linguistic awareness • Curiosity & tolerance towards • Understand multiple perspectives and ambiguity & uncertainty diversity • Socio-linguistic discourse and • Socio-linguistic discourse and linguistic linguistic awareness awareness
Values & Knowledge & A*tudes Understanding
Intercultural Competency
Desired Outcomes Skills
• External: Behaving & communicating effectively & appropriately in intercultural situations • Internal: Seeing from others' perspectives • To listen, observe & interpret & responding according to the way others • To analyse, evaluate & relate desire to be treated • Socio-linguistic discourse and linguistic • Socio-linguistic discourse and linguistic awareness awareness
Figure 2: Model for Intercultural Competency Development (adapted from
Deardorff, 2009)
Within these domains, there are three levels of development (Ridings et al., 2008): ‘Awareness Raising’, ‘Understanding’ and ‘Autonomy’. Each task within the curriculum provides support for each level of development, thus providing each student with a differentiated entry point to the task and identified skills development. This assisted in selecting and evaluating ‘fit for purpose’ activities that are clearly aligned to the overall domains and the key outcomes to be achieved. Figure 3 shows a sample section of the curriculum document. The domain is ‘Knowledge and Understanding’; the main elements within this domain include
24 English Australia Journal Volume 36 No 2 ‘Globalisation and Interdependence’, ‘Identity and Diversity’, and ‘Peace and Conflict’ Within these elements, there are specific outcomes, such as 2.22 ‘Understanding the importance of language, beliefs and values in cultural identities’. These are highlighted in Figure 3. Each task or activity chosen is aligned with the domains and the learning outcomes.
Domain: Knowledge and understanding (KU) • Cultural self-awareness
• Deep understanding and knowledge of culture • Culture specific information- • Socio-linguistic awareness • Understand multiple perspectives and diversity • Socio-linguistic, discourse and linguistic awareness Levels of Development Elements: Awareness Raising Understanding Autonomy
1. Globalisation 1.1 Awareness of 1.2 Comparing 1.31 Evaluating differences in and links with other similarities and power relations within and interdependence places (e.g. through differences between between cultures food) places in various 1.32 Distinguishing connections parts of the world, and interdependencies between including own setting global and local issues
2. Identity and 2.11 Identifying 2.21 Describing the 2.11 Evaluating the role of diversity what contributes to impacts of language in prejudice, self-identity and stereotyping, discrimination and exclusion belonging prejudice and 2.12 Relating the multi-faceted 2.12 Describing discrimination and and flexible nature of identity to similarities and how to challenge ones’ own context differences these between self and 2.22 Understanding others the importance of language, beliefs and values in cultural identities
3. Peace and 3.1 Awareness that 3.2 Developing 3.3 Constructing creative and conflict our actions have strategies for positive outcomes of conflict consequences managing, resolving and preventing conflict
Figure 3: Sample section from the ELC ICC curriculum By formalising the curriculum, using research and this clear alignment to skills development and institutional goals, the learning experiences and outcomes are not only more clearly defined, but there are also other additional benefits:
• a formalised and structured program;
• clear rationales, aims and objectives for teachers;
Volume 36 No 2 English Australia Journal 25 • a wider understanding of the program’s purpose and relationship to the institution’s goals;
• transparent, meaningful, ‘fit-for-purpose’ tasks;
• easier implementation and management for teachers because everything is prepared for them;
• sustainability;
• a bank of tasks; and
• recognition by management.
Lesson plans The lesson plans have been developed to provide clear alignment with the curriculum framework and specific outcomes, both in relation to ICC skills and language outcomes. Activities include a range of mini case studies, roleplays, simulations, critical incidents, reflections and small group discussions which form the core of the program. Our aim was to provide the teachers with a clear rationale for each task and how it connects to the program curriculum. Each lesson plan includes the purpose and aim of the activity, as well as a suggested procedure which highlights how the activities reflect the different stages of learning outlined in the curriculum; from ‘Awareness’ to ‘Understanding’ to ‘Learner Autonomy’. A sample lesson plan ‘Towards Intercultural Competency for Global Citizenship’ (Appendix) shows this in more detail. Our lesson plans also provide identification and suggestions for any scaffolding needed to develop the language and skills that may be required for our ELICOS students to successfully participate in the task, further highlighting the interconnectedness of ‘language education and intercultural communication’ (Fantini, 1997). We found that teachers often use these lesson plans as a starting point, with many integrating the task and language development with work that is currently being delivered in the classroom. This occurs either by an individual class prior to the task or as an extension activity post-task. Often the teachers of lower-level classes will work on vocabulary and language surrounding the task, assisting the students in addressing the language outcomes prior to the activity taking place. This also provides the students with the confidence to participate actively in the task with classes of other levels. Teachers also extend and exploit the activity and the topic; examples of this include debates, essay writing in academic English classes, and topics for reflective blogs or journals.
26 English Australia Journal Volume 36 No 2 Program evaluation Data is collected through anonymous paper-based teacher and student evaluations and reflections. This enables us to continuously improve, adjust and modify the program as we progress. This also allows us to capture the student voice and gain a deeper understanding of their experience. As a result, the data has reinforced our objectives and demonstrates that students highly value the program. In 2016, at the initial stages of the program, students were asked to complete a self- evaluation of the ICC skills they felt they had developed as a result of the program in order to gain an understanding of the program’s impact. A sample data collection from 354 student respondents at that time illustrated that 99% of students enjoyed the activities and considered the program important for their English language development. Further analysis of the reasons highlighted two main themes: the opportunity to practise listening and speaking skills, and speaking with people of different cultural backgrounds. Within the latter theme, students identified that the program assisted them in:
• broadening their horizons; • understanding different cultures and different thinking; • knowing how behaviour is shaped by culture; • increasing confidence in interacting between cultures; • having confidence to speak with people from different cultures; • acceptance of difference; • improved communication skills; and • feeling comfortable in the classroom. Student responses also indicated that 84% would like the program to be conducted more often than the scheduled five-weekly activity, with 42.7% preferring weekly and 41.5% preferring fortnightly. Based on the findings of a review conducted in 2018, the validity of the self-evaluation reflective tool came into question. As a result, a retrospective post-then-pre-design tool was developed to gain a deeper understanding of students’ self-reported perceptions of their development of ICC skills through the program. The retrospective post-then-pre-design tool asks students to rate their perceptions of their development of ICC skills twice: now as a result of the program, and reflecting back on the same aspects before participating in the program.
Volume 36 No 2 English Australia Journal 27 Asking students to reflect on both these aspects at the same time means that they may have a better understanding of how the program content has assisted in the development of their ICC skills, as well as providing an indication of the changes in their attitudes and values. This tool is less intrusive and avoids pre-test sensitivity and bias that may occur due to the students over- or under-estimating their skills (Howard, 1980; Lam & Bengo, 2003). The Self-Evaluation Questionnaire includes 20 reflective questions. For each one, students provide 2 responses. First, in the column labelled ‘Now: after the ICC Program’, they tick the box that best describes them at that point. Then, in the shaded column labelled ‘Before the ICC Program’, they tick the box that described them before this program. Teachers pre-teach vocab and scaffold this questionnaire when necessary, depending on the language level of the students. The following table shows a sample of the type of questions used: Table 1 Sample Questions (5/20) from Student Self-Evaluation Questionnaire
Now: after the ICC Program Before the ICC Program Rarely Sometimes Often Rarely Sometimes Often
I feel confident when interacting with people from different cultures.
I am interested in learning about different cultures.
When I meet people from different cultures, I compare how my culture is similar to their culture.
Being around people from different cultures makes me feel uncomfortable.
I learn a lot when I interact with people from other cultures.
Teacher feedback is also collected through an Evaluation and Feedback Questionnaire distributed at the end of each 20-week program. The purpose of this feedback is to gather invaluable ‘front line’ advice on what worked well, feedback on activities and tasks, ideas for extension activities and what the needs are for further development. With the formalisation of the program, curriculum framework and clear rationale, we have had teacher ‘buy-in’ and their feedback has indicated that the lesson plans, materials and resources are much appreciated and have now become part of the
28 English Australia Journal Volume 36 No 2 culture of the organisation, and that they have gained invaluable insight into the essential role of ICC development in language teaching.
Conclusion We believe that our graduates now leave our centre with an education that has supported not only their language and skills development, but their intercultural competency skills development. The curriculum framework and fit-for-purpose activities are aligned to course outcomes and are meaningful to students, teachers and management. This program is systematically embedded within theory-grounded curriculum design and can be incorporated into programs as part of a transformative pedagogy for all students to enhance their future success. It is sustainable and transparent with clear aims and objectives and could be easily adopted in other contexts (language centres or schools, training centres, and primary, secondary or tertiary sectors). All of our language courses have now formally included the development of intercultural competency in their core course objectives and outcomes which has addressed the gap in student needs initially identified in our centre. In conclusion, we have observed a new vibe in our centre and there is a noticeable new camaraderie amongst the different student cohorts, showing a cultural shift in understanding and communicating with others.
References
Bennett, J. (2011). Developing intercultural competence for international education faculty and staff. AIEA conference, San Francisco, CA, USA [PDF file]. Retrieved from https://www.messiah.edu/download/downloads/id/923/Developing_Intercultural_ Competence_for_International_Education_Faculty_and_Staff.pdf Bennett, M. J. (1986). A developmental approach to training for intercultural sensitivity. International Journal of Intercultural Relations, 10(2), 179-95. https://doi.org/ 10.1016/0147-1767(86)90005-2 Bennett, M. J. (1993). Towards ethnorelativism: A developmental model of intercultural sensitivity. In R. M. Paige (Ed.), Education for the intercultural experience (2nd ed., pp. 21–71). Yarmouth, Maine: Intercultural Press. Bennett, M. J. (2004). Becoming interculturally competent. In J. S. Wurzel (Ed.), Toward multiculturalism: A reader in multicultural education (2nd ed.), pp. 62-77. Newton, MA: Intercultural Resource Corporation. Bennett, M. J. (2013). Basic concepts of intercultural communication: Paradigms, principles, and practices. Boston: Intercultural Press.
Volume 36 No 2 English Australia Journal 29 Bloom, B. S. (Ed.). (1956). Taxonomy of educational objectives, the classification of educational goals. Handbook 1: Cognitive Domain. New York: McKay. Byram, M. (1997). Teaching and assessing intercultural communicative competence. Cleveland: Multilingual Matters. Deardorff, D. K. (2006). Identification and assessment of intercultural competence as a student outcome of internationalization. Journal of Studies in International Education, 10(3), 241-266. https://doi.org/10.1177/1028315306287002 Deardorff, D. K. (Ed). (2009). The SAGE handbook of intercultural competence. Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE Publications. Earley, P. C., Ang, S., & Tan, J. (2006). CQ: Developing cultural intelligence at work. Palo Alto, CA: Stanford University Press. Fantini, A. (1997). New ways in teaching culture. Alexandria, VA: Teachers of English to Speakers of Other Languages. Freeman, M., Treleaven, L., Ramburuth, P., Leask, B., Caulfield, N., Simpson, L., Ridings, S., & Sykes, C. (2009). Embedding the development of intercultural competence in business education, ALTC [PDF file]. Retrieved from https://ltr.edu.au/resources/CG6- 37_Sydney_Freeman_Final%20Report_July09.pdf Gurin, P., Dey, E. L., Hurtado, S., & Gurin, G. (2002). Diversity and higher education: Theory and impact on student outcomes. Harvard Educational Review, 72(3), 330-366. https://doi.org/10.17763/haer.72.3.01151786u134n051 Habacon A E. (2014). The intercultural promise: Intercultural understanding mid-level strategic plan, UBC Vancouver. Retrieved from https://blogs.ubc.ca/interculturalu/the-intercultural-promise/ Hammer, M. R., Bennett, M. J., & Wiseman, R. (2003). Measuring intercultural sensitivity: The Intercultural Development Inventory. International Journal of Intercultural Relations, 27(4), 421-443. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0147- 1767(03)00032-4 Howard, G. S. (1980). Response-shift bias a problem in evaluating interventions with pre/post self-reports. Evaluation Review, 4(1), 93-106. Howard-Hamilton, M. F., Richardson, B. J., & Shuford, B. (1998). Promoting multicultural education: A holistic approach. College Student Affairs Journal, 18, 5-17. https://doi.org/10.1177/0193841X8000400105 Lam, T. C. & Bengo, P. (2003). A comparison of three retrospective self-reporting methods of measuring change in instructional practice. American Journal of Evaluation, 24(1), 65-80. https://doi.org/10.1177/109821400302400106
30 English Australia Journal Volume 36 No 2 Leask, B. (2008). A holistic approach to internationalisation – Connecting institutional policy and the curriculum with the everyday reality of student life. In C. Shiel, & S. Takeda (Eds.), Education for sustainable development: Graduates as global citizens (pp. 57-66). Dorset UK: Bournemouth University. Leask, B. (2015). Internationalizing the curriculum. London: Routledge Oxfam. (2015). Education for global citizenship: A guide for schools. Retrieved from http://www.oxfam.org.uk/education/global-citizenship/global-citizenship-guides Ridings, S., Simpson, L., Leask, B., Freeman, M., Ramburuth, P., Treleavan, L., Sykes, C., & Fletcher, M. (2008). Developing intercultural competence: ALTC project update. HERDSA Newsletter, 20(3), 17-19. Safiah, S., Sri, S. (2010). Strategies to embed intercultural competence as a soft skill in university curriculum. In N. S. Chin (Ed.), The proceedings of the TARC International Conference on Learning and Teaching: Emerging trends in higher education learning and teaching (pp. 39-46). Kuala Lumpur: Tunku Abdul Rahman College. Suárez-Orozco M.M., Sattin C. (2007). Wanted: Global citizens. Educational leadership: Journal of the Department of Supervision and Curriculum Development, N.E.A, 64(7), pp. 58-62. The University of Adelaide. (2019). Strategic plan: Future making [PDF file]. Retrieved from https://www.adelaide.edu.au/vco/system/files/media/ documents/2019-08/strategic-plan-19_0.pdf
Sandra Caon-Parsons is Education Advisor in the English Language Centre (ELC), University of Adelaide. She has worked as a teacher, lecturer, teacher trainer and TESOL consultant in Australia and abroad. Her interests focus on developing and integrating programs to enhance and improve students’ development of intercultural competency and wellbeing.
Paula Dimmell is an education program manager at the ELC, lecturer in the School of Education Masters program and CELTA trainer. Her main interests are program design and assessment evaluation, with the integration of technology and cross-cultural perspectives to enhance the learning experience and outcomes.
Volume 36 No 2 English Australia Journal 31 APPENDIX
SAMPLE LESSON PLAN
Towards Intercultural Competency for Global Citizenship Awareness of Intercultural Competency About the This activity gives learners the opportunity to show an awareness of Activity intercultural matters and reflect on their own level of cultural sensitivity. It also gives learners the chance to explore different attitudes towards intercultural communication and reflect on ways they have become more competent interculturally. Aim/s Intercultural Competency Skills Development • To develop an appreciation of multi-faceted and flexible nature of personal identity • To evaluate experiences, learning and feedback and use it to inform future learning, thinking and action • To adapt behaviour to new cultural environments • To listen to, reflect on and evaluate another person’s point of view and respond appropriately • To identify and address the challenges of intercultural communication • To show sensitivity to diverse perspectives and cultural norms when managing conflict • To integrate new or revised perspectives into own learning, thinking and actions Language Skills Development • To learn / practise vocabulary related to intercultural communication • To learn / practise making suggestions • To learn / practise negotiating
32 English Australia Journal Volume 36 No 2 Suggested Awareness activities Procedure 1. In small groups, ask students to brainstorm what Intercultural Communication is and what it involves. Use Worksheet 1 to assist with this activity. This should be followed up with whole class feedback to highlight the aims of the activity to the students and to see how much agreement can be found. You might establish that complete agreement on this subject is rare. 2. Worksheet 2 is an introduction to some common attitudes. You may need to check the vocabulary with your students to ensure task is clear. Words that may be problematic include: gestures, explicit and assume. Organise mixed pairs (one student from each class); ask them to discuss each statement and try to come to some agreement about which version is most applicable. If they decide not to agree, that is fine, but their discussion should centre on reasons for the opposing versions. It would be a good idea to do an example. One of the statements refers to ‘being the same deep down’. The meaning of deep down is crucial; at a very deep level, everybody is ‘human’, at a higher level, everybody is clearly different. So, discussion should be about the issue of the level at which differences become significant and how one might recognise them. Developing Understanding 3. Students should now pick three or more statements from the worksheet which they consider important. They may choose to modify these statements to make them true for them. Feedback – each pair joins with another pair and shares their responses. Facilitating Learner Autonomy 4. Bring the group together. Ask the group to think about people they know or have met with different levels of cultural sensitivity. Ask students to discuss in pairs if they have any experience with cultural insensitivity or sensitivity (positive and negative). 5. Introduce the final task as a way to define a progression in attitudes towards other cultures. In pairs, students consider the stages in Worksheet 3, and place them in an order that is logical for them, starting with a ‘mono- cultural approach’ and finishing with ‘becoming enthusiastic about cultural variety’. 6. Feedback – there is no fixed answer, although a suggestion is given below. Students should be encouraged to consider different options and in feedback consider reasons for each stage. Possible Depending on the level of your class you may need to do some vocabulary or problems and language work with them before they do the task. See the ‘Aims: Language solutions Skills Development’ for an outline of the language that will be needed for this task. The final activity could be followed up in individual classes. Additional See the Developmental Model for Intercultural Sensitivity (DMIS) for a more Resources in-depth analysis of the progression. Extension Students could reflect on their own personal Intercultural Competence Activities development during their time in Australia and try to place themselves on the scale and post to the class blog. They could also discuss ways of developing progress along the scale. If time, this could also be done in class.
Volume 36 No 2 English Australia Journal 33 Critical reading skills in ESL students: Challenges and pedagogical recommendations
Nhung nguyen Monash College, Monash University
This research investigates critical thinking skills in reading comprehension of English as Second Language (ESL) students in an Australian context and proposes a number of pedagogical methods for ESL teachers and educators. The research has two aims: (1) to gain a thorough understanding of ESL students’ ability to read English critically in their transition time from high school to university study, and (2) to design engaging classroom activities to enhance ESL students’ critical thinking skills. Specifically, the study provides teachers with information about ESL students’ critical reading skills, which according to Freeley and Steinberg (2000) comprise learners' ability to understand arguments, critically evaluate arguments, and develop and defend their own arguments. Findings from 64 responses to a survey questionnaire showed that understanding authors’ arguments, text main ideas and text structures were learners’ main challenges. A list of critical reading questions is suggested based on Bloom’s Taxonomy (Bloom, 1956), the use of Socrative1 mind maps, and Socratic circles2 as effective ways to assist ESL teachers in teaching critical reading skills. After the researcher utilised these teaching tools to teach critical reading skills explicitly in reading classes, feedback from 12 participants in two focus group interviews revealed that they became more motivated and critical readers.
Introduction and context Observation from my teaching experience in an ELICOS (English Language Intensive Courses for Overseas Students) college (hereafter, the College), in Melbourne, in Australia, shows that a number of international students in the English language
1 Note: For those who are not familiar with Socrative, this video is helpful: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IH2wOE00p2s. 2 For those who are not familiar with Socratic circles, this video is helpful: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pyMuuSaMdz8
34 English Australia Journal Volume 36 No 2 courses tend to struggle with critical thinking in English, especially in reading. Often, students hesitate to collaborate with classmates, or struggle with articulating arguments and counter arguments in discussions before or after reading tasks. Even though students usually strive to grasp and comprehend language knowledge and new skills, it seems to be hard for many of them to apply what they have learned. It appears to be difficult for them to analyse, synthesise and evaluate their knowledge, and these are, according to Harmer, the key elements in the critical thinking process (Harmer, 2015). Therefore, in January 2017, I undertook an action research project into effective methods to enhance ESL students’ critical reading ability. As defined by Burns (2013), action research is classroom-based, and involves researcher-teachers investigating a classroom issue, and searching for solutions and recommendations to enhance teaching and learning. Action research comprises cycles of planning, acting, observing, and reflecting through which researcher-teachers are able to collect evidence to gain a better understanding of a certain issue in teaching and learning, and provide suggestions for improvements. In this project, I initiated and implemented the first cycle in 2017, and two more cycles were completed in 2018. As a full-time ESL teacher myself, I found action research the best approach to keep myself engaged with research, and thus to enhance my professional development and reflectiveness. In addition, the findings of this research could be integrated into the College’s curriculum and staff development planning. In this project, a varied set of class activities and exercises to enhance learners’ critical reading ability were designed. One of these activities used Socrative, which was selected as a solution to integrate critical thinking activities into chapter reading lessons in the 20-week English course. Chapter reading, which is one of many initiatives in the curriculum design at the College, aims to help students become familiar with reading in their later university study. Other methods, consisting of the use of a list of critical reading questions based on Bloom’s Taxonomy (1956), mind- maps, and Socratic circles were also utilised to help students become more critical in reading practices. These methods will be presented in more detail in the ‘Actions taken’ section of this paper.
Critical thinking and critical reading In the literature of the field, critical thinking is defined as the learner’s ability to ‘analyse, criticise, and advocate ideas; to reason inductively and deductively; and to reach realistic or judgmental conclusions based on sound inferences drawn from unambiguous statements of knowledge or belief’ (Freeley & Steinberg, 2000, p. 2). It is described as the learner’s internal dialogue in which the learned material is
Volume 36 No 2 English Australia Journal 35 dissected and analysed, and specific questions are devised and answered (Heiman & Slomianko, 1985). Meanwhile, as a manifestation of critical thinking, ‘critical reading involves readers’ active engagement to think deeply by applying various skills’ (Sultan et al., 2017, p. 160). Critical reading refers to the ability to draw inferences, reach conclusions, make decisions, solve problems, develop reasoning, compare ideas, formulate hypotheses and evaluate ideas (Collins, 1993). Similarly, Barnet and Bedau (2011) describe critical readers as those who have the ability to accurately summarise arguments, identify claims, discover stated or implied assumptions, analyse and evaluate the preciseness of the reasoning, and explain the purpose of the use of facts from a reading text. Previous research has shown that a large number of university students are not competent in reading critically, and in fact, it is difficult and time-consuming to master critical reading skills (Sultan et al., 2017). Wilson claims that ‘many EAP (English for Academic Purposes) students do not have a great deal of experience in critical reading and critical thinking – or at least of the kinds of critical thinking expected in tertiary education’ (2016, p. 257). In addition, findings in Zin et al.’s (2014) research reveal that many students are unable to identify the purpose of the author. In the same vein, students often find it far more difficult to evaluate and reflect on a text than to interpret the text (Puteh et al., 2016). In this article, critical reading activities are analysed and designed based on Flemming’s (2012) model, which involves predicting the purpose of a text, identifying the main ideas, analysing arguments, evaluating ideas, connecting information and drawing a conclusion.
Research questions and participants This research aims to gain a thorough understanding of ESL students’ ability to read English critically, to help ESL students improve their critical thinking skills, and to create engaging classroom activities. Therefore, the purpose of the project is to answer the following questions: 1. How well do ESL students critically read? 2. What should ESL teachers do to enhance their students’ critical reading? Sixty-four ESL students (out of 144 students) in an English course were involved in the research. These participants provided responses to the survey questionnaire. They were aged between 18 and 21 years old and were largely from China, Vietnam and Indonesia. The majority of these students achieved an overall band score of 5 in the International English Language Testing System (IELTS) test, and thus were enrolled into a 20-week English course. Despite the fact that many of them (69.84%)
36 English Australia Journal Volume 36 No 2 had learnt English for more than eight years in their home countries, one-third did not feel confident about their reading skills due to their limited use of vocabulary and complex sentence structures in English (Survey, 2017). These students joined the English program to develop their English and academic study skills to transit successfully into university study. In addition to these participants, 12 students in two ESL reading classes voluntarily participated in two focus group interviews in the last weeks of the course. These 12 students were aged 18–20, with a majority from China and two from Vietnam.
Data collection and analysis The data collection process for this study included two main stages. The first stage in this project was to form a foundation for the research with a brief overview of critical thinking in the literature, and of data collection of students’ critical reading ability. In relation to data collection, a survey questionnaire was designed with support from a colleague. The survey, comprising 15 questions related to critical reading and class activities, was delivered to the students in May 2017. Students showed their consent by agreeing to answer the questions, and 64 responses were recorded (refer to Appendix A for the survey questions). I also contacted the Assessment team of the College for an analysis of the latest reading test results. Subsequently, findings from the survey together with the data provided by the Assessment team gave guidance for the content as well as the focus of the reading tasks and activities that were subsequently designed to enhance students’ critical thinking ability. A list of critical reading questions was created to guide teachers in preparing questions and scaffolding students to make their own questions. Socrative quizzes, mind maps and Socratic circles were used to get students’ feedback and help students form a habit of revising and reflecting on what they had learned in class after each lesson; as discussed by Jitendra (2002), these are crucial steps for critical thinking. Some sample tasks will be presented in more detail in the ‘Actions taken’ section. In the second stage, evidence gathered from classroom observation and two focus group interviews reflected students’ feedback on the reading class activities. Classroom observations consisted mainly of self-observations, and one peer observation. An observation sheet was used to record levels of students’ engagement in each reading class. It included photos of group work in drawing a mind map and discussions in Socratic circles and records of Socrative quizzes. The two focus group interviews were conducted with two reading classes; each interview had six volunteer students from each class (refer to Appendix B for interview questions). The interview was semi-structured with an aim to generate richer information and in-depth responses about how students felt about reading
Volume 36 No 2 English Australia Journal 37 classes. Because of the uneven power relationship between teacher and students, it was essential to ensure that my status as their teacher did not affect the students’ responses. Thus, one of my colleagues who did not teach the participants led the interviews, and responses were audio-recorded for an accurate record of what the students said about the reading activities. The purpose of the interviews as well as what would be done with the information was clearly explained to the interviewees before each interview. Data generated from the survey were treated quantitatively and summarised in numerical form. Meanwhile, evidence collected from the observation and interviews was analysed qualitatively. Records of the two group interviews were listened to by the researcher, and short extracts that were noticeable, important, and illuminated students’ feedback on the reading class activities were transcribed. The main threads in the transcribed extracts were then grouped in themes.
Findings The test results revealed that the majority of students experienced difficulties in understanding the purpose of reading texts (80%), identifying authors’ arguments and main ideas (76.19%), matching headings (72.5%), and filling in missing information (74.5%). Complementing the data gathered by the Assessment team, the results of the survey indicated that the ESL students had trouble in understanding, evaluating, developing and defending their own arguments. The most challenging problems in understanding arguments included understanding authors’ opinions and main ideas. More than two- thirds of the participants claimed that they could not find the author’s ideas accurately, and a similar number found it hard to match headings and paragraphs correctly. Further, most of them wrote a summary of a reading text only when it was a compulsory task assigned by their teachers. One of the survey participants stated: ‘because I need to select the main idea and also paraphrase in shorter sentences than the article. If I meet some unknown words I even can't paraphrase clearly’ (Student survey). In addition, the majority of students (80%) were unable to gain a clear understanding of the text purpose and text structure. Their reasons were ‘sometimes fill [filling] the gap with the ‘wrong’ answer might make sense but appearing [show a] different meaning from the original text’, and ‘sometimes, I can hardly find out the relationships between sentences’ (Student survey). Further, nearly 40% of students claimed that it was hard to find implied meanings in a reading text, and one of their arguments was ‘Everyone have [has] their own ideas, so including do [does the] author. If the author don't [doesn’t] show it out, it's hard to say we are right’ (Student survey). Other findings reveal that a discussion before/after a reading task was useful for
38 English Australia Journal Volume 36 No 2 43.8%, while most of them preferred reading by themselves in silence in class reading activities (65.8%).
Actions taken The findings of the project have given rise to a number of pedagogical implications in teaching reading critically. Four main tools were designed with the teacher’s careful scaffolding and used in my reading classes to assist students to better understand reading text structure, main ideas, implied meaning, and then to scaffold students in summarising the main ideas, and developing and defending their own arguments. The first method selected was the use of a list of critical reading questions (refer to Table 1). The list was based on Benjamin Bloom's Taxonomy of Educational Objectives, herein referred to as Bloom's Taxonomy (1956). The Taxonomy proposes three main domains of learning comprising the cognitive, psychomotor, and affective (Nentl & Zietlow, 2008). The main area that was applied in this project is the cognitive domain with its six successive stages of learning: knowledge, comprehension, and application (considered as lower-order thinking skills); and of analysis, synthesis, and evaluation (higher-order thinking skills) (Nentl & Zietlow, 2008). The following table summarises the aims, achievement criteria, suggested verbs and questions for each stage that teachers can use to design specific questions for each reading task, and to scaffold students to design their own questions critically. Table 1 Six Stages of Critical Reading Stages Aims Achievement Verbs to ask Sample scaffolding criteria scaffolding questions questions 1. Knowledge Gathering Students can Recall, describe, Who, what, where, when, information recall the learned define, list, name, how? information. define, identify 2. Comprehension Showing basic Students can Paraphrase, What is the main idea? Can understanding comprehend, summarise, you summarise/write it in of the text organise and outline, explain, your own words . . . ?; Can select facts and classify you provide a definition ideas. for . . . ?; Is it true or false that . . . ? 3. Application Making use Students can Apply, conclude, How is . . . related to . . . ?; of knowledge, use facts, rules, relate, illustrate, Why is . . . important?; and applying and principles interpret, solve, Do you know of another knowledge to to complete a use, construct instance where . . . ?; What new situations problem or task. factor would you change if . . . ?
Volume 36 No 2 English Australia Journal 39 Stages Aims Achievement Verbs to ask Sample scaffolding criteria scaffolding questions questions 4. Analysis Separating a Students can see Analyse, What similarities and whole into patterns, and compare, differences exist component recognise hidden contrast, between . . . ?; Can you parts meanings. debate, deduct, outline . . .? How does . . . distinguish, compare and contrast examine, outline with . . . ?; What are the features of . . . ? 5. Synthesis Combining ideas Students can Propose, predict, What would you predict to form a new create new ideas plan, change, from . . . ?; What idea can proposal or plan based on the combine, you add to . . . ?; What learned ones, reorganise, solutions would you predict and draw create, design suggest for…? conclusions. 6. Evaluation Developing Students can Choose, decide, Do you agree that . . . ? opinions, assess value of evaluate, Explain your ideas; What do judgements or evidence, and conclude, rate, you think about . . . ?; What decisions make choices. value is the most important?; Do you think . . . is a good or bad idea?; Is there a better solution to . . . ?; What changes to . . . would you recommend?; What do you think about . . . ? Adapted from Bloom, 1956, and Nentl & Zietlow, 2008
Suggested questions in the list are helpful and convenient for reading class teachers to select and design specific questions for each reading text. Teachers can also post the questions in a Socrative quiz or a Socrative ‘space race’ before or after reading tasks in order to improve students’ ability in comprehending, applying, analysing, synthesising and evaluating the text critically. Socrative is an effective tool in teaching critical reading skills: its exercises and activities encourage students to respond to, transfer and interrogate the information from the reading text. Teachers can create online multiple-choice quizzes, open- ended quizzes and ‘exit ticket’ questions in their Socrative ‘rooms’ (Kaya & Balta, 2016, p. 5). The quizzes may ask students to describe learned information, express their own opinions and evaluation, and to connect reading texts with their own background knowledge. Consequently, Socrative allows teachers to design a variety of activities and exercises to get students actively and critically engaged with the reading text, and thus will foster a student-centred classroom where learners can develop critical reading and thinking skills (refer to the ‘Sample reading lesson’ for more details). Socrative also supports teachers to maximise learners’ individual work by encouraging students to work independently (Kaya & Balta, 2016).
40 English Australia Journal Volume 36 No 2 The third tool is the mind map, which helps students effectively find the text structure and main ideas of reading texts, and subsequently students can use their mind map in pair or group discussions or presentations. By definition, mind maps are visual tools or graphic organisers that help understand, organise, develop and process information effectively, and thus they are effective tools to develop language learners develop critical thinking skills (Dahbi, 2015). In a reading class, teachers can use mind maps to critically activate students’ previous knowledge, find patterns of information in a reading text, understand the structure of arguments, and establish a link between new concepts and existing knowledge. Another effective tool in this project is Socratic circles. This tool is especially useful in post-reading discussions or debates. Socratic circles are useful for students to discuss open-ended questions in a group discussion so that they can seek better comprehension of a text that they have critically read (Brown, 2016). For this activity, teachers can divide the class into two groups of eight or nine students. The two groups sit in two concentric circles. While the students in the inner circle examine and evaluate the text, those in the outer circle observe, and then provide feedback on the ideas and raise further questions. They can also provide feedback on pronunciation, turn-taking, manners, grammar, body language and discussion language to the inner circle discussants. The length of a Socratic circle discussion may vary depending on the pre-reading and reading tasks. However, Copeland (2005, cited in Brown, 2016) suggests a minimum of three to five minutes for one group to discuss one question. By participating in a Socratic circle discussion, students will be able to gain a thorough understanding of reading texts, critically discuss and analyse the topic from diverse perspectives, and actively share their opinions about the text with classmates.
Sample reading lesson The following sample reading lesson illustrates the use of the list of critical reading questions, Socrative quizzes, mind maps and Socratic circles to enhance students’ critical reading skills.
Stage 1: Knowledge The teacher first shows students the title of the reading: ‘Two views of the change process’ and two pictures, and asks students to guess the content of the text. Guiding questions in a Socrative quiz – ‘What do you think the text is about?’ and ‘What do you see in the two pictures?’ – help attract the students’ attention. Students post their answers, and then discuss in pairs what they expect to read in this text. This activity helps them anticipate the main idea and the structure of the text, and activates their prior knowledge and experiences of the topic of ‘change’. The use of a
Volume 36 No 2 English Australia Journal 41 Socrative quiz has two advantages: it allows students time to brainstorm ideas about the topic, and teachers can project the responses in class for students to discuss.
Stage 2: Comprehension After reading and answering questions on the text, students are encouraged to write two true and two false statements based on the text, and they can share their statements with classmates. Subsequently, students work in pairs to draw a mind map of the main ideas mentioned in the text.
Stage 3: Application In groups of four, students are directed to share their mind map, summarise the main ideas, and relate the ideas to their own personal situation by answering the question ‘How is the concept of change related to your life?’
Stage 4: Analysis In this stage, students start by reading the text more closely and write three questions to ask their classmates. Subsequently, they compare and contrast the two views of the change process. Again, teachers can pose prompt questions such as ‘What are similarities and differences between the two types of changes?’ in a Socrative quiz or space race. By answering these Socrative questions, students are able to understand more thoroughly the implied meanings ‘between the lines’ in the text. Such Socrative questions give the students more time to reflect on the reading, and get themselves ready for group or class debates in the post-reading session.
Stages 5 and 6: Synthesis and evaluation In these stages, teachers can use Socratic circles. Questions like ‘What should managers do to deal with changes in their companies?’, or ‘What are major changes in people’s lives? And what should we do to manage such changes?’ or ‘Do you agree with the author’s ideas? Why or why not?’, give hints to prompt students to develop their own arguments.
Impacts of the methods on ESL learners’ attitude and critical reading ability Observation in my reading class (both self- and peer-observations) showed that the students became more engaged and active in all class activities. Further, they showed higher confidence in finding main ideas and the author’s position, knew how to evaluate arguments, and did reflection after each reading lesson. Although some of them still found it hard to participate in a Socratic circle discussion after a reading task due to a lack of discussion skills, they were more capable of summarising the main ideas and developing their own opinions. In addition, Socrative quizzes and exit tickets were perceived by students as an effective tool to better understand the main ideas of a reading text, implied meaning and authors’ opinion because teachers could
42 English Australia Journal Volume 36 No 2 choose to enable student-paced, immediate, right/wrong feedback and explanations after students answered each question. In addition, students could learn from each other’s responses in open-ended questions where they had to evaluate arguments, and connect with learned knowledge and own experience via a live results table. Feedback from the students in the focus group interview showed three main threads. Some of them formed a new habit of critical reading by sharing and talking about the class reading with housemates, or setting a goal for themselves to read every day, or reading at least three long articles every week. In addition, many students developed a positive attitude towards reading classes. Some general comments from the focus group interviews included: ‘The chapter reading task is my favourite part in academic reading capabilities, that feeling is so good when I focus on study’; ‘Reading class has relax [relaxing] atmosphere, interesting methods, and encourage [encouraging to ] us’, ‘[the] teacher always make [makes] the reading task more active so that we feel interesting about [interested in] it.’ Finally, many students claimed that their reading skills improved significantly after the course because ‘the goal of reading is very clearly [clear]. We can gradually know the content about the reading by doing [answering] the question (on Socrative.com). Main idea is very easy to point out’ (focus group interview), and even for one student ‘some articles I think [are] hard to understand, but now I can identify the structure easy [easily]’ (focus group interview).
Discussion and recommendations This project is significant in the way that it equips ESL students with critical reading skills, which prepares them for university study. It also familiarises students with Socrative, which is commonly used at university (Kaya & Balta, 2016). The project follows a learner-centred approach, integrates technology, and enhances critical thinking and promotes independent study in English language teaching and learning. This research confirms that ESL students are often not competent in critical reading, which complements the findings by Zin et al. (2014) that students struggle with finding the main ideas and the purpose of a reading text. However, the project argues that if teachers apply effective teaching practices, it is possible to scaffold students in evaluating a reading text, and critically integrating the text in their own writing. Understanding the main ideas of a text is one of the most crucial steps towards critical reading. The use of a mind map together with proper scaffolding in class reading time would support students in finding the text structure and main ideas. Further, the list of critical reading steps and the other tools proposed in this paper would definitely assist students to engage actively in reading tasks, and subsequently enable them to evaluate the text critically.
Volume 36 No 2 English Australia Journal 43 It is highly recommended that teachers prepare reading lesson plans with a focus on specific reading and critical reading skills in each lesson. It is essential to teach the skills systematically from basic to advanced levels and from a lower to higher level of critical reading. In addition, it is necessary to provide scaffolding whenever necessary in relation to new vocabulary, concepts and ideas in reading texts. Teachers are encouraged to combine a variety of reading activities (including group, pair, and individual work), diverse reading modes (e.g., reading in silence, or reading aloud), and different reading approaches and reading skills (e.g., top-down, bottom-up, skimming and scanning). By applying the list of critical reading questions, and by using Socrative quizzes and space races, mind maps and Socratic circles, teachers are able to vary class activities, and thus motivate students to read and be more active and critical in class reading tasks.
Conclusion In conclusion, before the English course, most students claimed that they struggled with finding main ideas and the structure of a reading text, and they were not confident in a post-reading group discussion. After the course, these students became more confident in reading because they were able to locate and summarise the main ideas, discuss the text, and be more confident in presenting their own arguments. The research concludes that teachers should explicitly teach reading skills and critical reading skills concurrently to help students improve their reading skills, find interest in reading, actively answer and ask questions, engage in discussions, and thus become active and critical readers and learners.
References
Barnet, S. & Bedau, H. (2011). Critical thinking, reading, and writing. Boston & NewYork: Bedford/St. Martin’s. Bloom, B. (1956). Taxonomy of educational objectives: The classification of educational goals. New York: McKay. Brown, A. C. (2016). Classroom community and discourse: How argumentation emerges during a Socratic circle dialogic pedagogy. An International Online Journal, 4, 81-97. https://doi.org/10.5195/dpj.2016.160 Burns, A. (2013). Innovation through action research and teacher-initiated change. In K. Hyland, & L. L. C. Wong (Eds.), Innovation and change in English language education (pp. 90-105). Abingdon: Routledge.
44 English Australia Journal Volume 36 No 2 Collins, D. (1993). Teaching critical reading through literature. ERIC Clearinghouse on Reading, English, and Communication. Retrieved from https://eric. ed.gov/?id=ED363869 Dahbi, M. (2015). A picture is worth a thousand words approach to teaching English: Integrating mind maps in ELT. Arab World English Journal (AWEJ), 6(1), 415-519. https://doi.org/10.24093/awej/vol6no1.32 Flemming, L. (2012). Reading for thinking. Boston: Wadsworth. Freeley, A. J., & Steinberg, D. L. (2000). Argumentation and debate: Critical thinking for reasoned decision-making. Stamford: Wadsworth. Harmer, J. (2015). The practice of English language teaching (5th ed.). Harlow: Pearson. Heiman, M. & Slomianko, J. (1985). Critical thinking skills. Washington, DC: National Education Association. Jitendra, A. (2002). An exploratory study of schema-based word-problem-solving instruction for middle school students with learning disabilities: An emphasis on conceptual and procedural knowledge. The Journal of Special Education, 36(1), 23-38. https://doi.org/10.1177/00224669020360010301 Kaya, A., & Balta, N. (2016). Taking advantage of technologies: Using the Socrative in English language teaching classes. International Journal of Social Sciences & Educational Studies, 2(3), 4-12. Nentl, N. and Zietlow, R. (2008). Using Bloom's Taxonomy to teach critical thinking skills to Business students. College & Undergraduate Libraries, 15, 1-2. https://doi.org/10.1080/10691310802177135 Sultan, S., Rofiuddin, A., Nurhadi, & Tri Priyatni, E. (2017). The effect of the critical literacy approach on pre-service language teachers’ critical reading skills. Eurasian Journal of Educational Research, 71, 159-174. https://doi.org/10.14689/ejer.2017.71.9 Puteh, M., Zin, Z. M., & Ismail, I. (2016). Reading performance of Malaysian students across gender in PISA 2012. 3L: The Southeast Asian Journal of English Language Studies, 22(2), 109-121. https://doi.org/10.17576/3L-2016-2202-08 Wilson, K. (2016). Critical reading, critical thinking: Delicate scaffolding in English for academic purposes. Thinking Skills and Creativity, 22, 256-265. https://doi. org/10.1016/j.tsc.2016.10.002 Zin, M. Z., Eng, W. B., & Rafiek-Galea, S. (2014). Critical reading ability and its relation to L2 proficiency of Malaysian ESL learners. 3L: The Southeast Asian Journal of English Language Studies 20(2), 43-54. https://doi/org/10.17576/3L-2014-2002-04
Volume 36 No 2 English Australia Journal 45 Nhung Nguyen has been teaching English in Vietnam and Australia for more than 20 years. Her research interests include EFL/ESL learner motivation and autonomy, pedagogy, technology in teaching, and multilingualism education.
46 English Australia Journal Volume 36 No 2 APPENDIX A
SURVEY QUESTIONNAIRE
Thank you for taking part in this survey. This project aims to investigate the critical reading of English language students and to develop resources that are complementary to the reading program in the course. Participation in this study is entirely voluntary and you are under no obligation to take part. All data will be kept anonymous and confidential and used for research purposes only. Your consent to participate in this study will be implied by the completion and submission of the survey. This survey includes fifteen questions and will take you ten minutes to complete. Thank you. 1. How long have you been learning English? - 1-3 years - 3-5 years - 5-8 years - More than 8 years 2. Do you think that you are good at reading? - Yes, definitely - Yes - No - No, definitely not. Could you explain your answer? (Please specify) 3. When you are reading a text, it is necessary to know who the author is. Do you agree? - Yes - No - I have no idea Could you explain your answer? (Please specify)
Volume 36 No 2 English Australia Journal 47 4. When you are reading a text, do you often ask yourself what the purpose of the text is?
- Yes, always
- Sometimes
- Rarely
- Never Could you explain your answer? (Please specify) 5. It is difficult for me to understand the structure of the arguments in a text.
- True
- False
- No idea Could you explain your answer? (Please specify) 6. When you are reading a text, understanding the author’s opinions is… - always hard for me - sometimes hard for me - easy for me - very easy for me Could you explain your answer? (Please specify) 7. Do you think it is difficult to find implied meaning in a reading text?
- Yes
- No
- I do not know What is the reason? (Please specify) 8. How good are you at selecting sentences in a list to fill the gaps in a given text?
- Very good
- Good
48 English Australia Journal Volume 36 No 2 - Bad
- Very bad Do you know why you are good or not good at this task? (Please specify) 9. In your opinion, matching headings with paragraphs is….
- Very difficult
- Difficult
- Neither difficult nor easy
- Easy
- Very easy Could you explain why? (Please specify) 10. What do you often do if you encounter new vocabulary in a reading text? Please write at least three solutions in the provided space. 11. In the reading class, do you like reading…
- by yourself in silence
- aloud in pairs
- aloud and share ideas in a group
- Other (Please specify) 12. How often do you write a summary after reading a text?
- Very often
- Often
- Sometimes
- Rarely
- Never Could you explain your answer? 13. Do you find a discussion before or after reading a text is..
- Very useful
Volume 36 No 2 English Australia Journal 49 - Useful
- Ok
- Not useful
- A waste of time Could you explain your answer? 14. How often do you revise reading texts at home?
- Very often
- Often
- Sometimes
- Rarely
- Never Why? (Please specify) 15. Do you think summarising a reading text is….?
- very hard
- hard
- neither hard nor easy
- very easy Could you please explain why?
50 English Australia Journal Volume 36 No 2 APPENDIX B
FOCUS GROUP INTERVIEW
1. What do you find most interesting in the reading class? 2. What reading skills do you find most effective? 3. Do you feel confident in finding the main ideas? 4. What is your opinion about group discussions before and after reading a text? 5. What are the good and bad points of Socrative quizzes and exit tickets? 6. Do you think mind maps are useful or not?
Volume 36 No 2 English Australia Journal 51 52 English Australia Journal Volume 36 No 2 Write for a journal?
Writing for the English Australia Journal isn’t as hard as you think. With three key areas where you can contribute, why not pick up your pen?
Peer Reviewed Articles – Write your own theoretical discussion on innovative practice or put your expertise into effect as a peer reviewer. Research papers, masters’ theses or dissertations are all potential candidates for this section.
Classroom Talk – Expand on your classroom research or latest workshop – perfect for teachers who want to formally share their ideas. Inspire others to reflect on or experiment with their own classroom practices.
Reviews – Has your centre started using a new resource? Or is there a new resource you'd love to investigate? Pitch this and you could be invited to review it. Don't forget, resources can be in print or online.
englishaustralia.com.au
ad.indd 2 11/3/20 8:44 pm
Volume 36 No 2 English Australia Journal 53 BRIEF REPORT
ESL students transitioning from high school preparation to high school: Authorial voice in academic writing
Olga Mhilli The University of Sydney
Introduction This brief report presents the preliminary results of the textual data analysis within a qualitative longitudinal study that examines ESL adolescent writers’ voice in their academic writing as they transition from a High School Preparation (HSP) intensive English program to mainstream high schools (HS) in Sydney, Australia.
Background Recent research indicates that students in transition from one educational setting to another experience challenges on multiple levels, resulting in issues ranging from emotional insecurity to inability to demonstrate adequate skills in such essential areas as writing; however, research into writing in transition is scarce (Baker, 2013; Everitt-Raynolds et al., 2018; Fong, 2013; Hanna & Saidy, 2014; Yi, 2009). Within academic writing, the author’s voice and the students’ ability to use their voice effectively to their advantage cannot be overestimated. Internationally, secondary school curricula include authorial voice as a target construct for successful writing (Llosa et al., 2011; Matsuda & Jeffrey, 2012). In Australia, voice as a learning and teaching concept is mentioned repeatedly in the Australian National Curriculum (ACARA, 2019). However, in ESL writing, there has been a tendency to see authorial voice as a peripheral construct and exceedingly challenging for non-native speakers (Helms-Park & Stapleton, 2003; Stapleton, 2002). Nonetheless, more recent studies have demonstrated a correlation between essay quality and authorial presence or, more specifically, the use of markers of stance and engagement in ESL academic essays. Yoon (2017), Zhao (2017), and Hyland (2002), for example, argue that authorial voice should be explicitly taught in ESL classes to provide students with effective tools to realise their potential as academic writers in English. Thus, the ability of ESL students to express their authorial voice in academic writing in secondary school
54 English Australia Journal Volume 36 No 2 is important. However, research into authorial voice of ESL adolescent writers is scarce, while research into authorial voice of ESL writers moving from HSP to HS is non-existent. This study aims to redress this gap and look at how the students’ authorial voice changes as they move to a more challenging educational setting. Ontologically, the study takes a dialogic view of voice and recognises the inextricable connection between the writer’s individual voice and changes to the context in which writing takes place. It looks at voice as a living thing, a reflection of the writer’s identity in discourse, perpetually changing and developing within the personal environment of the author as well as wider sociocultural contexts (Matsuda, 2001, 2015; Matsuda & Tardy, 2007; Tardy, 2012).
Methods The six participants in this study each composed texts of around 1000 words as part of the usual assessment cycle in the HSP program and HS. This textual data comprises ‘expositions’ that can be categorised as ‘arguments’, and ‘interpretations’ and that fall under a broader category of ‘text responses’ in the Sydney School terms (Martin & Rose, 2008, pp. 93–94; Rose, 2012, p. 212). The first stage of textual data collection took place when the participants were still in HSP, where they composed ‘arguments’. The second stage of data collection happened one year later for two out of the six participants, when they were in Year 10 in their high schools and where they also composed ‘arguments.’ For four participants, the second data collection happened two years later, when they were in Term Four of Year 11 and where they composed ‘text responses’ in preparation for the Higher School Certificate Paper One, Language Study within an Area of Study, Section Two, Question Two (NESA, 2018). It is noteworthy that although ‘arguments’ and ‘text responses’ are different genres, they have important similarities when it comes to authorial voice: more specifically, affective stance and evaluative language. Indeed, according to the typology of genres developed by the Sydney School (Martin, 2000, 2006; Martin & Rose, 2005, 2008; Rose, 2012) for the Australian secondary school curriculum both of the genres fall under the same category of ‘evaluating’ texts where the writers mainly draw on ‘evaluative language resources’ to either ‘evaluate . . . opinions and issues’, in the case of ‘arguments’, or to ‘evaluate [prescribed] texts’, in the case of ‘text responses’ (Rose, 2012, pp. 211–212). Hyland’s (2005) interactional model of voice was used for the textual data analysis. After the essays were collected in both settings, each essay was coded manually to ensure accurate identification of the markers in the textual data. All frequencies were normed per 1000 words.
Volume 36 No 2 English Australia Journal 55 Hyland’s (2005) model distinguishes between the dimensions of stance and engagement. Stance, or writer-oriented features of interaction, includes the writer’s attitude and certainty and is realised through the categories of hedges, boosters, attitude markers and self-mention (See Table 1). Table 1 Markers of Stance
Linguistic Features Meaning, Purpose & Examples Hedges Devices like possible, might and perhaps, which indicate the writer’s decision to withhold complete commitment to a proposition Boosters Words like clearly, obviously and demonstrate, which allow writers to express their certainty in what they say and to mark involvement with the topic Attitude Markers Words or phrases which indicate the writer’s affective, rather than epistemic, attitude to propositions, conveying surprise (e.g., astonishing), agreement (e.g., disagree), importance (e.g., it’s important to . . . ) and frustration (e.g., unfortunately) Self-mention The presence or absence of explicit author reference like ‘I’ Based on Hyland, 2005, pp. 178-181
Engagement in Hyland’s (2005) model builds a connection between the writer and the readers, stressing solidarity with the readers, making predictions about what the readers are likely to think or how they are likely to react and explicitly guiding their actions or thinking. This orientation towards the readers is realised through features such as reader mention, directives, questions, reference to shared knowledge and personal asides (see Table 2). Table 2 Markers of Engagement Linguistic Feature Meaning, Purpose & Examples Reader Mention Second and plural first-person pronouns and possessives referring to the reader, e.g., you that entwine the conceivable reader’s perspective into the argument Directives Imperatives, e.g., consider, imagine; modals of obligation, e.g., must, should; predicative adjectives expressing the writer’s judgement of necessity/importance, e.g., ‘It is important to understand . . . ’ used to instruct the reader to perform an action or to see things in a certain way Questions Rhetorical questions used to involve the reader in a dialogue, ultimately leading to the writer’s viewpoint
56 English Australia Journal Volume 36 No 2 Linguistic Feature Meaning, Purpose & Examples Reference to Shared Knowledge Explicit calls asking readers to identify with particular views, e.g., of course, and obviously Personal Asides Insertions by the author that often appear in the middle of a statement as a personal comment or reflection to briefly interrupt the flow of the argument and to engage the reader, e.g. ‘ . . . (often, it is true, insufficiently thought out) . . . ’ Based on Hyland (2005, pp. 182–186)
Findings The results of the descriptive statistics analysis reveal the most and the least frequently used markers of voice in HSP and HP settings. The results also show the overall frequencies of voice markers, as well as the frequencies for stance and engagement for each participant in the two settings. Table 3 The Most and the Least Frequently Used Markers of Voice in HSP and HS
Markers of Voice & Category HSP HS Most frequently used: Attitude Markers (Stance) 20 10 Reader Mention (Engagement) 10 6 Least frequently used: Self-mention (Stance) 3.4 1 Reference to Shared Knowledge (Engagement) 2.7 1.4 Questions (Engagement) 0.4 0 Personal Asides (Engagement) 0 0 Table 3 shows that in both HSP and HS the participants relied mostly on attitude markers (20 per 1000 words in HSP and 10 in HS), followed by reader mention (12 in HSP and 6 in HS). The least frequently used were markers of engagement, reference to shared knowledge (2.7 in HSP and 1.4 in HS), questions (0.4 in HSP, and 0 in HS) and personal asides (not used in either setting). The least frequently used marker of stance was self-mention (3.4 in HSP and 1 in HS).
Volume 36 No 2 English Australia Journal 57 Table 4 Markers of Stance, Engagement and Total Voice Participants and Settings Categories of Daniel Aaron Leo Anthony Kate Felicity Voice HSP HS HSP HS HSP HS HSP HS HSP HS HSP HS (Y11) (Y10) (Y11) (Y10) (Y11) (Y11)
Stance 35.5 28.2 39.1 22 61 23.7 23.6 19.7 24.7 16.4 58.3 16.9 Engagement 31.7 13.2 27.6 0 26.7 2.9 5.2 2.5 5.4 20.5 16.3 10.3 Total Voice 67.2 41.4 66.7 22 87.7 26.6 28.8 22.2 30.1 36.9 74.6 27.2 Table 4 shows that for five out of six participants, there are fewer expressions of total voice (the sum of the markers of stance and engagement) in HS than in HSP. When looking separately at stance, it can be noted that all the participants used stance more often in HSP than in HS. When comparing the use of stance and engagement, it is clear that all six participants attempted to communicate their stance more often than they tried to engage their reader in both settings. While all the participants show similar patterns in the use of stance in the two settings, the use of engagement is similar for five participants but is different for Kate. Kate showed a noticeable increase in the frequency of the markers of engagement in HS which was counterbalanced by a drop in her use of the markers of stance in HS, resulting in only a slight rise in the total markers of authorial voice in HS compared to HSP.
Implications The results of the preliminary textual data analysis reveal a distinct downward trend in the use of the markers of voice, especially markers of authorial stance, in HS compared to HSP. Although it can be argued that this decrease is due to the differences in genres composed in HSP and HS, it should be noted that two of the six participants composed the same genre, exposition essays (or arguments), in HSP and HS. Thus, the decrease in the markers of authorial stance was evident in both interpretations (or text responses) and exposition essays (or arguments) in HS. In fact, previous studies on voice in academic writing emphasise the vulnerability of the individual authorial stance in novice and particularly beginning ESL and EFL writers in the context of rigid academic discourse. Indeed, academic writing courses and textbooks often discourage students from using the language features that reflect their personality or project their authorial stance (Delvin, 2016; Fallas Escobar & Fernandez, 2017; Santos & DaSilva, 2016). In addition, as novice ESL academic writers enter a new discourse community, their affiliations with their home countries and
58 English Australia Journal Volume 36 No 2 their authorial identity may become weaker, which can be subsequently reflected in their writing where they minimise their authorial presence, reducing the number of markers of stance such as self-mention (Hyland, 2002). However, the preliminary results of the current study indicate that it is not only self- mention but all markers of stance, including attitude markers, which are decreasing as the participants gain more experience in academic writing. Attitude markers are the indicators of affective authorial stance and are the evaluative language resources (see Martin & White, 2005) that writers are expected to draw upon not only when composing expositions but also when composing interpretations in HS. Indeed, the two main rhetorical stages of interpretations are ‘evaluation’ and ‘reaffirmation of evaluation’ (Martin & Rose, 2008, pp. 93–95; Rose, 2012, p. 221). The current research project aims to contribute to the understanding of the authorial voice of novice ESL academic writers and it is expected that further in-depth qualitative analysis of the textual and interview data will shed more light on the preliminary results presented in this brief report.
References
ACARA. (2019). Foundation to Year 10: Review of the Australian curriculum. Retrieved from http://www.acara.edu.au/curriculum/foundation_-_year_10.html Baker, S. (2013). Transitions and shifting understandings of writing: Building rich pictures of how moving from school to university is experienced through exploration of students’ discourses of writing. Journal of Academic Language and Learning, 7(2), A35-A49. Retrieved from http://journal.aall.org.au/index.php/jall/article/viewArticle/265 Devlin, K. (2016). Is the academic essay becoming a fossil through lack of authorial voice? The case for more stylish and exploratory writing. Spark: UAL Creative Teaching and Learning Journal, 1(1), 34-40. Retrieved from https://sparkjournal.arts.ac.uk/index.php/spark/article/view/4/3 Everitt-Raynolds, A., Maguire, M., & Delahunt, B. (2018). ‘They don’t want my opinion do they?’: Authorial identity and transitions into and within higher education. In K. S. Miller, & M. Stevenson (Eds.), Transitions in writing (pp. 143-169). Leiden: Brill. Fallas Escobar, C., & Chaves Fernández, L. (2017). EFL learners' development of voice in academic writing: Lexical bundles, boosters/hedges and stance-taking strategies. Gist Education and Learning Research Journal, 15, 96-124. https://doi.org/10.26817/16925777.392
Volume 36 No 2 English Australia Journal 59 Fong, L. L. (2013). Writing transition in postsecondary education: A case study. Procedia-Social and Behavioral Sciences, 90, 267-277. https://doi.org/10.1016/j. sbspro.2013.07.091 Hannah, M. A., & Saidy, C. (2014). Locating the terms of engagement: Shared language development in secondary to postsecondary writing transitions. College Composition and Communication, 66(1), 120-144. Helms-Park, R., & Stapleton, P. (2003). Questioning the importance of individualized voice in undergraduate L2 argumentative writing: An empirical study with pedagogical implications. Journal of Second Language Writing, 12, 245-265. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jslw.2003.08.001. Hyland, K. (2002). Authority and invisibility: Authorial identity in academic writing. Journal of Pragmatics 34(8), 1091-1112. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0378-2166(02)00035-8 Hyland, K. (2005). Stance and engagement: A model of interaction in academic discourse. Discourse Studies, 7(2), 173-192. https://doi.org/10.1177/1461445605050365 Llosa, L., Beck, S. W., & Zhao, C. D. (2011). An investigation of academic writing in secondary schools to inform the development of diagnostic classroom assessments. Assessing Writing, 16, 256-273. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.asw.2011.07.001 Martin, J. R. (2000). Grammar meets genre – Reflections on the ‘Sydney School’. Arts: The Journal of the Sydney University Arts Association, 22, 47–95. Martin, J. R. (2006). Metadiscourse: Designing interaction in genre-based literacy programs. In R. Whittaker, M. O’Donnell, & A. McCabe (Eds.), Language and literacy: Functional approaches. (pp. 95–122). London: Continuum Martin, J. R., & Rose, D. (2005). Designing literacy pedagogy: Scaffolding asymmetries. In R. Hasan, C. M. I. M. Matthiessen, & J. Webster (Eds.), Continuing discourse on language (pp. 251–280). London: Equinox. Martin, J. R., & Rose, D. (2008). Genre relations: Mapping culture. London: Equinox. Martin, J. R., & White, P. R. R (2005). The language of evaluation: Appraisal in English. Basingstoke, UK: Palgrave Macmillan. Matsuda, P. K. (2001). Voice in Japanese written discourse: Implications for second language writing. Journal of Second Language Writing, 10(1), 35-53. https://doi. org/10.1016/S1060-3743(00)00036-9 Matsuda, P. K. (2015). Identity in written discourse. Annual Review of Applied Linguistics, 35, 140-159. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0267190514000178
60 English Australia Journal Volume 36 No 2 Matsuda, P.K., & Jeffrey, J.V. (2012). Voice in student essays. In K. Hyland, & C. Sancho Guinda (Eds.), Stance and voice in written academic genres (pp.151-156). Basingstoke, UK: Palgrave Macmillan. Matsuda, P. K., & Tardy, C. M. (2007). Voice in academic writing: The rhetorical construction of author identity in blind manuscript review. English for Specific Purposes, 26(2), 235-249. http://doi.org/10.1016/j.esp.2006.10.001 NESA. (2018). Higher School Certificate Examination: English (ESL). Retrieved from https://educationstandards.nsw.edu.au/wps/wcm/connect/3287352f-b9a6-4658- 84ed-c2e8d3b87b8f/2018-hsc-english-esl-p1.pdf?MOD=AJPERES&CACHEID=ROOTWO RKSPACE-3287352f-b9a6-4658-84ed-c2e8d3b87b8f-mD.Awjz Rose, D. (2012). Genre in the Sydney school. In J. P. Gee, & M. Handford (Eds.), The Routledge handbook of discourse analysis (pp. 209-225). Abingdon-on-Thames, UK: Routledge. Santos, J. V., & Da Silva, P. N. (2016). Issues with publishing abstracts in English: Challenges for Portuguese linguists’ authorial voices. Publications, 4(2), 12. https:doi. org/ 10.3390/publications4020012 Stapleton, P. (2002). Critiquing voice as a viable pedagogical tool in L2 writing: Returning the spotlight to ideas. Journal of Second Language Writing 11(3), 177-190. https://doi.org/10.1016/S1060-3743(02)00070-X Tardy, C. M. (2012). Current conceptions of voice. In K. Hyland, & C. Guinda (Eds.), Stance and voice in written academic genres (pp. 34-48). London: Palgrave Macmillan. Yi, Y. (2010). Adolescent multilingual writers’ transitions across in-and out-of-school writing contexts. Journal of Second Language Writing, 19(1), 17-32. https://doi. org/10.1016/j.jslw.2009.10.001 Yoon, H. J. (2017). Textual voice elements and voice strength in EFL argumentative writing. Assessing Writing, 32, 72-84. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.asw.2017.02.002 Zhao, C. G. (2017). Voice in timed L2 argumentative essay writing. Assessing Writing, 31, 73-83. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.asw.2016.08.004
Olga Mhilli has taught English as a foreign and second language for over 20 years in Australia and overseas. She is an English teacher in a High School Preparation program and a PhD candidate at the University of Sydney School of Education and Social Work.
Volume 36 No 2 English Australia Journal 61 62 English Australia Journal Volume 36 No 2 CLASSROOM TALK
‘Classroom Talk’ is a space for teachers, trainers and managers to share new ideas, activities and tools. It aims to inspire readers to reflect on or experiment with their classroom practice. If you would like to contribute, please contact the Classroom Talk Editor: [email protected]
Developing students’ reading speed online
David Squires
Like many teachers around the world, I have been plunged into the world of online teaching. I’ve found some aspects of language easier to teach online than others. For instance, I found grammar input relatively easy to do online via Zoom lessons or recorded lessons. However, it was less clear to me how to develop students’ macro skills and, in particular, reading. Whereas in a physical classroom, I can monitor students when they are reading and enforce strict time limits by getting them to open or close their books, in an online classroom it is difficult to monitor whether a student is sneakily reading ahead or still reading a passage. This makes it challenging to control whether students are skimming, scanning or reading in detail to complete tasks. From my experience, EFL students are only too happy to try reading every passage excruciatingly slowly and in detail. Hence, I wanted to focus on developing reading speed as this would enhance students’ skimming and scanning skills. Reading speed is particularly important for students who are moving into higher education and carrying out research. Reading faster saves time, aids comprehension and is less physically and mentally tiring. Slower readers are more likely to become bored, lose concentration or drift away, which may lead to negative habits like back- skipping (skipping back a couple of words).
Volume 36 No 2 English Australia Journal 63 In this article I will share three ideas that helped my class develop faster reading speeds. The first lesson uses a tool, Spreeder, to develop students’ confidence reading at ‘uncomfortable’ speeds and increases awareness about chunk sizes. The next idea is a simple tweak to animation on a PowerPoint presentation which ensures students are reading quickly and prevents eyes from wandering back over the passage. The final suggestion is using a familiar tool, Quizlet, with a different purpose.
Focus 1: Increasing chunk size and increasing student confidence in reading at speed When we read, our eyes do not move smoothly. Proficient readers focus on chunks of four to five words together and then move their eyes to focus on the next chunk of four to five words. Larger chunks reduce ‘unproductive’ time when eyes move between chunks. Less proficient readers of English focus on one word, then skip to the next single word. This reduces speed and hinders comprehension. For instance, try reading these two passages and see which is easier to understand. Passage A The dog ate his bone happily.
Passage B The dog ate his bone happily. The only difference between the two passages is the word spacing. Passage A forces your eyes to only take in words individually, reducing reading speed and increasing the time it takes to read the sentence. For our second language learners this means they may struggle to recall the beginning of the sentence by the time they finish the sentence. This blocks comprehension. Spreeder (www.spreeder.com) is a useful tool to develop students’ beliefs that they are able to become faster readers and increases awareness of the importance of chunking words together. I used a test-teach-test method, following the steps below: 1. Calculate the students’ reading speed by giving them a simple text to read and timing them. 2. Set a few very simple gist comprehension questions. 3. Calculate and record students’ reading speed (number of words in the passage x 60 / number of seconds taken to read the passage) and the number of correct answers. 4. Open the free Spreeder tool at https://www.spreeder.com/app.php
64 English Australia Journal Volume 36 No 2 5. Paste in a second text and click on the ‘Spreed’ button. Click on settings and set the reading speed (words per minute) to one of the quicker student’s measured speed.
6. Play the Spreeder tool and check your students can pick out the main details. Assuming they can, challenge them and increase the speed. Keep on challenging them by increasing the speed until most of the class find it too difficult. 7. Lead a reflection with students and highlight that they could read much more rapidly than they initially believed. You can lead on from here into the importance of doing things we are uncomfortable with as part of a learning process or focus on habits which are unhelpful for reading at speed such as subvocalisation. 8. Reduce the speed a little and experiment with the ‘chunk size’ function, increasing it to three or four words followed by a reflection on why reading is faster with bigger chunks. 9. Increase the chunk size to seven or eight words and discuss why that is more difficult. 10. Reflect on how students can apply this to their future reading challenges.
Volume 36 No 2 English Australia Journal 65 Focus 2: Preventing back-skipping Another unhelpful reading habit when reading at speed is regression (re-reading a word, a line or even a sentence), if it is caused by low reading speed and a drifting mind. The desired outcome was to prevent students back- skipping and therefore increase their speed. A really simple animation tweak to a text on a PowerPoint slide achieved this and forced students to read at speed. The animation makes the whole text appear at the bottom of the slide and move upwards and off the slide just as though your students are reading a teleprompter. As the text disappears at a pre-set speed students are prevented from skipping back over words or letting their mind drift. You have complete control over the timing and can adapt this simply to suit your students. For the teacher, this means that all students start and finish simultaneously. I’ve used it successfully with gist reading and it could be used to practise scan reading skills too. To use this technique, prepare your PowerPoint slide with the text you want your students to read. Drag the whole text down so that only the part you want students to see at the beginning is visible – you may want none of the text to be visible or you may want the first line or two to be visible to allow a prediction task. After that, simply add the ‘fly out’ animation under ‘exit animations’ in PowerPoint. After adding the animation, you may need to open the animation pane and click on the ‘effect options’ to select the property ‘to top’. There are more detailed instructions in a video which you can view by scanning the QR code above.
66 English Australia Journal Volume 36 No 2
Focus 3: Getting students decoding quickly I am using decoding here to mean the recognition of words. Most EFL teachers are familiar with Quizlet (www.quizlet.com) and many exploit it for teaching vocabulary. However, I’m unconvinced of the effectiveness of teaching vocabulary using Quizlet because students are limited to seeing the lexis used in a single context. During Quizlet Live sessions in a physical class, I observed the students were so competitive that they were not reading the whole definition in English before typing the answer. It was quicker for them to just read the first couple of words of the definition and type the matching lexis. They were more motivated by winning the games or challenges than learning the vocabulary. Now, I still use Quizlet with my students but see it as a way to practise reading at speed while introducing vocabulary.
Volume 36 No 2 English Australia Journal 67 There are a couple of games which are great for this and available with a free Quizlet account – Quizlet Match and Quizlet Live. Quizlet Match challenges worked well for me when I gave students a set time to see who could match the words the quickest. It also had the benefit of giving me some much needed downtime during online sessions. Quizlet Live, which can be run in breakout rooms in Zoom, also has the benefit of teaching values which teachers may wish to highlight, such as teamwork, good communication and how failure is an opportunity to learn and succeed.
Conclusion There are some things to note with every tool here. Firstly, to improve students’ reading speed, ‘easy’ texts were selected to prevent struggles with new vocabulary which may have blocked comprehension. Secondly, any comprehension questions focused on understanding of main ideas. This is because reading at speed in real-life is often motivated by the need to just get the gist or general overview of the text. Lastly, it is important to follow up with students. It is very easy for them to slip back into old, ‘comfortable’, slower reading habits and we need to continually prompt students to apply what they have learned and acknowledge them when they do implement some of the skills learned. Although this certainly is not an exhaustive list, these are three activities which I have found useful to enhance my students’ reading speed even in an online classroom. If you try them out or have other suggestions, I would love to hear from you.
David Squires teaches at the British Council in Singapore and has embraced technology as a result of COVID-19. Previously he prepared students at Curtin Singapore for their degree programs. His interests include using online tools more effectively.
68 English Australia Journal Volume 36 No 2 Embracing the elephant in the room: Using L1 in the ELICOS classroom
Yulia Kharchenko & Phil Chappell
Introduction Have you ever tried explaining words like vinegar, military or instead to your English class and felt like you were failing miserably until, to everyone’s relief, a student whispered the translation? Did you feel both grateful for and guilty about such interjection? Discussions about whether to allow students’ first language (L1) in an English language classroom are not new and have moved past translating individual words. Bi- and multilingualism research on code-switching (Levine, 2014; López & González-Davies, 2016), translanguaging (Daniel et al., 2019; García & Li Wei, 2014) and language repertoire (Busch, 2012, 2017) has made inroads into ELT, and many concepts are applied in practice. Indeed, no research exists that demonstrates any positive benefits of banning L1, while there is sufficient evidence to conclude that prohibiting its use can have a negative impact on language learning (Lee, 2018). Yet, teachers’ positions vary from purposefully referring to students’ other languages to a total ban on L1, the latter for the most part remaining the elephant in the (class) room. While research and professional conversations acknowledge that creating an English-only environment in the class is neither achievable nor desirable, there is still uncertainty about how best to use students’ L1 knowledge, especially in a mixed-language ELICOS class. In this article, we propose five practical tips on how to do just that. None require knowledge of the students’ L1, while some address common concerns in ELT such as lack of student motivation or critical thinking skills.
Ideas for using L1 1. A sentence on the board Procedure: Write a sentence on the board (adjust the difficulty to suit the students’ level) and highlight parts of the sentence such as the subject, the verb, the object, and adverbs of place/time. Point out that typical word order in a declarative English sentence is subject-verb-object. Students write the same sentence below in their languages and compare the position of the sentence parts (Appendix A).
Volume 36 No 2 English Australia Journal 69 Benefits: Such contrastive analysis works particularly well with lower-level classes or at the start of a course. It introduces/revises grammatical terms in English and increases students’ language awareness. Explicit attention to differences between languages helps students notice grammatical patterns in English and understand some of the errors they may be making. At the same time, teachers identify the source of common errors within learner language groups and anticipate these.
2. Everyday expressions Procedure: As a class, brainstorm and learn greetings, leave-taking phrases and other everyday expressions such as How are you?, Good work, Thank you, Bless you!, You’re late, Work in pairs, or Have a nice weekend in the different languages of the classroom. These phrases are then used in future class interactions. Following the activity above, you may also want to learn linguistic terms such as noun, verb, clause and text in your students’ L1s. Benefits: Acknowledging the value of all languages in the classroom builds rapport with your students, eases the atmosphere on a first day and increases intercultural awareness among all present in the class. It might even give you, the teacher, an idea about what language to learn next.
3. Student teaching session Procedure: As an extension of the previous activity, allocate 10-15 minutes of your class (as a warmer or cooler) for a student to teach the rest of the group a sound, a tone, a word or a phrase that only exists in their language. Through English, the presenting student must teach pronunciation of the word/sound and provide a definition with examples. S/he can then ask the class to apply the new vocabulary to talk about their own living, working or studying situation and correct as necessary. Benefits: The ultimate bilingual exercise, this activity helps empower students by assigning to them the role of the classroom expert. It acknowledges their existing language knowledge while simultaneously obliging them to use English. Other benefits include appreciation for each other’s languages and possibly even for the role of the teacher.
4. Comparing news stories Procedure: Pick two contrasting newspaper articles in English on a controversial news topic such as climate change. Analyse them in terms of the agenda, bias and credibility of the writer, following the ‘ABC of Critical Thinking’ by Maria Calabro (2019). Explain that the coverage of a national or international event may differ depending on where the writer is based and in what language the news story is written. Choose another well-known current topic, discuss, pre-teach vocabulary,
70 English Australia Journal Volume 36 No 2 then ask the students (individually or in same-language groups) to read articles about it in their L1s. Following that, they write a summary of the article in English and share it with the rest of the class. Identify and discuss differences in how the topic is reported in the news in different countries and cultures, and why that may be so (Appendix B). Benefits: This activity will work best in higher-level classes focusing on current news and events or debates. We see it as a practical way to address the commonly lamented lack of critical thinking skills, as students come to appreciate access to information in more than one language and choose their own perspective on various issues. In addition, combining English language and other academic skills might be a novel and memorable way of learning for some students.
5. ‘English Language Use Target’ vs. ‘Actual English Language Use’ Procedure: This strategy is adapted from Rivers (2011) and can work well in a strict English-only environment. At the beginning of each lesson, after the teacher has explained the objectives, the students set an English Language Use Target (ELUT) for themselves, ranging from 0% to 100%. At the end of the class, they estimate their Actual English Language Usage (AELU) percentage. The two figures are compared, and the students are encouraged to consider factors responsible for any difference between their ELUT and AELU. Questions to ask may include: Why did you choose a specific ELUT for today’s lesson? What were the main reasons for your decision to speak your language? If you did not meet your ELUT, how did this make you feel? How can you try to meet your ELUT next time? Repeat this activity for a week or two, then encourage students to set and assess their goals individually. Benefits: Instead of imposing an English-only policy top-down, this reflective activity appeals to learner autonomy and independence and helps boost students’ intrinsic motivation. Allowing students to exercise more control over their learning helps avoid the negative effects of proscribing and policing language use that we have seen in our previous research (Kharchenko & Chappell, 2019b).
Conclusion The above activities are suitable for mixed-language classes and can be tailored to various levels of English proficiency. The teacher, of course, is the ultimate judge of how much L1 to use and when. However, there is a growing opinion within the ELT profession that students’ existing languages cannot be stored away or switched off when entering an ELICOS classroom. Therefore, it is time to acknowledge and to embrace the elephant in the room that is the students’ L1.
Volume 36 No 2 English Australia Journal 71 Note: Special thanks go to those who attended our workshop on L1 use in the ELICOS classroom at the 2019 English Australia Conference. The above ideas and a lot more stem from the robust discussion, summarised in the workshop slides which are linked to in the reference list below (Kharchenko & Chappell, 2019a). The article reports on the research conducted while holding the Research Training Program Scholarship Award provided by the Australian Government.
References
Brown, A. (2018). Using students’ first language in the multilingual classroom to build confidence and linguistic knowledge. Retrieved April 28, 2020, from English Australia website: https://www.englishaustralia.com.au/documents/item/308 Busch, B. (2012). The linguistic repertoire revisited. Applied Linguistics, 33(5), 503– 523. https://doi.org/10.1093/applin/ams05 Busch, B. (2017). Expanding the notion of the linguistic repertoire: On the concept of Spracherleben - The lived experience of language. Applied Linguistics, 38(3), 340–358. https://doi.org/doi:10.1093/applin/amv030 Calabro, M. (2019). The ABC of critical thinking: Helping students to think critically. Retrieved April 28, 2020, from English Australia website: https://www.englishaustralia. com.au/documents/item/735 Daniel, S. M., Jiménez, R. T., Pray, L., & Pacheco, M. B. (2019). Scaffolding to make translanguaging a classroom norm. TESOL Journal, 10(1), 1–14. https://doi. org/10.1002/tesj.361 García, O., & Li Wei. (2014). Translanguaging: Language, bilingualism and education. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan. https://doi.org/10.1057/9781137385765 Kharchenko, Y., & Chappell, P. (2019a). Do let them get away with it: Students’ first language use in multilingual ELICOS classrooms. Retrieved April 20, 2020, from English Australia website: https://www.englishaustralia.com.au/documents/item/759 Kharchenko, Y., & Chappell, P. (2019b). English-only policy in an ELICOS setting: Perspectives of teachers and students. English Australia Journal, 35(1), 18–41. ISSN: 1444-4496 Lee, H. (2018). Role of the first language. In J. I. Liontas (Ed.), The TESOL Encyclopedia of English Language Teaching (pp. 1–11). https://doi.org/10.1002/9781118784235. eelt0654 Levine, G. S. (2014). Principles for code choice in the foreign language classroom: A focus on grammaring. Language Teaching, 47(3), 332–348. https://doi.org/10.1017/ S0261444811000498
72 English Australia Journal Volume 36 No 2 López, C. C., & González-Davies, M. (2016). Switching codes in the plurilingual classroom. ELT Journal, 70(1), 67–77. https://doi.org/10.1093/elt/ccv056 Rivers, D. J. (2011). Strategies and struggles in the ELT classroom: Language policy, learner autonomy, and innovative practice. Language Awareness, 20(1), 31–43. https://doi.org/10.1080/09658416.2010.537343
Yulia Kharchenko has been an English language teacher in Russia, Ireland and Australia for over 10 years. She is currently a PhD candidate in Applied Linguistics at Macquarie University, where she also teaches on the Graduate Certificate of TESOL program. Her research interests include multilingual pedagogy and language policies in ELT.
Phil Chappell is Deputy Head, Learning and Teaching, of the Linguistics Department at Macquarie University. He also teaches in the Applied Linguistics and TESOL program and conducts research in a variety of areas of ELT. Phil supervises research students at Masters and PhD levels. Phil has taught and managed overseas and in Australia in a range of English language programs.
Twitter: @TESOLatMQ
Volume 36 No 2 English Australia Journal 73 APPENDIX A
A SENTENCE ON THE BOARD ACTIVITY
Example from Brown (2018, p. 15), republished with permission.
74 English Australia Journal Volume 36 No 2 APPENDIX B
NEWS REPORTS ACTIVITY
Aim: Compare and analyse headlines and news reports in different languages. Discussion: What does the language in the headline say about the author’s (or website’s) position on this topic? What is the focus of each news report? What is the agenda of the writer? In what way do you think these reports may be biased? Are the facts reliable? How credible is the website as a news source? What differences can you see in the reporting of the same event/topic by different language media? Extension: Students choose topics covered both in English language media and in their L1/home country mainstream media, then present their analysis to the class.
SAMPLE HEADLINES 1 German: Studie Zum Coronavirus: Diese Haustiere Können Sich Mit Covid-19 Infizieren *Coronavirus study: These pets can become infected with Covid-19 Source: t-online.de Russian: Домашние Собаки Стали Заражаться Коронавирусом *Household dogs are beginning to get coronavirus Source: Lenta.ru Turkish: Evcil Köpekte Korona Çıktı… *The corona appeared on the pet dog… Source: olay.com.tr English: Chapel Hill family’s dog Tests positive for virus that causes Covid-19; first known case in a dog In the US. Source: Wral.com
Volume 36 No 2 English Australia Journal 75 SAMPLE HEADLINES 2 Russian: СЕВЕРНЫЙ ЛЕДОВИТЫЙ ОКЕАН МОЖЕТ ПОЛНОСТЬЮ ЛИШИТЬСЯ ЛЬДА К 2050 ГОДУ. *Arctic Ocean may be completely ice-free by 2050 Source: xakac.info English: Arctic will see ice-free summers by 2050 as globe warms, study says. Source: USAtoday.com
76 English Australia Journal Volume 36 No 2 Mining a poem to boost vocabulary awareness
Brian Poole
Introduction Despite encouragement from authors such as Jones (2019), poems are rarely brought into ESL/EFL classes these days, but because poetic texts often condense meaning (saying a lot in just a few words) they can provide a rich context for vocabulary work that focuses on word meaning, differentiation of near-synonyms, and collocational behaviour. Specific lexical items play an important role in creating poetic effects (Goodarzi, 2003, p. 6) and therefore poems potentially provide a reason for focusing on the meaning of individual words in the target language. In this article ‘Evans’ by R.S. Thomas is used as an example of the kind of valuable work that can be done in class with a carefully selected poem. I have used this text in upper-intermediate or advanced ESL/EFL classes with students from many first language backgrounds and it is has always resulted in student engagement and learning. Let us begin with the poem itself (Thomas, 1986) – a rather depressing one, it’s true, but a text that has a lot of interesting linguistic features that can stimulate learning.
Evans Evans? Yes, many a time I came down his bare flight Of stairs into the gaunt kitchen With its wood fire, where crickets sang Accompaniment to the black kettle’s Whine, and so into the cold Dark to smother in the thick tide Of night that drifted about the walls Of his stark farm on the hill ridge.
It was not the dark filling my eyes And mouth appalled me; not even the drip Of rain like blood from the one tree Weather-tortured. It was the dark
Volume 36 No 2 English Australia Journal 77 Silting the veins of that sick man I left stranded upon the vast And lonely shore of his bleak bed.
Mining the text It is important, I think, to begin by giving the students a chance to form a general understanding of the poem, before they begin to look closely at its vocabulary. Hence, I might begin by asking questions along the following lines:
• Who is Evans? What is his job?
• Who is the ‘I’ in the poem? Why do you think he is visiting Evans?
• How would you describe the atmosphere/subject of the poem? R.S. Thomas is a male poet, so ‘he’ is appropriate for the ‘I’ figure. Indeed, a search via Google Images for ‘R.S. Thomas poet’ will yield photographs of him, mainly as an old man. I have sometimes used these in class, because some of them show him wearing a ‘dog collar’, revealing him to be a priest, and the facial photos can be used to illustrate the core meaning of the word gaunt. Returning to the questions above, students generally produce answers that help to clarify the poem’s overall meaning. Evans must be a farmer in an isolated place. The poem tells us that Evans is sick and it is implied that the prognosis is not good. Who would visit a sick man who might be dying? The ‘dog collar’ photos might help here if students are not able to answer. In most cultures it is normal for religious figures (such as priests) to visit the sick or bless the dying. Once the general scenario of the poem is clear to everyone, the class can be divided into groups of three or four and asked to complete the following tasks, which can be done with pen and paper or on a laptop or tablet computer. 1. Underline or highlight all the ‘content words’ in the poem. Content words are nouns, adjectives, main verbs and adverbs. Ignore all the ‘grammatical words’ such as articles, prepositions, pronouns and conjunctions. 2. Once you have underlined the content words, try to put them into groups (or clusters) of similar or related meaning. 3. Give a name/heading for each group/cluster that indicates the shared meaning. The teacher will undoubtedly need to circulate at this point, watch what is happening, and provide help where needed. With the exception perhaps of words like ‘many’ that some students may hesitate about, the first task tends to be done quite quickly.
78 English Australia Journal Volume 36 No 2 Tasks 2 and 3, on the other hand, can only be completed by doing some dictionary work, or searching online, or discussing with other students, or asking the teacher. They will take longer. Here is a possible outcome of Tasks 2 and 3:
Table 1 Possible Lexical Clusters in the Poem Cluster Possible theme dark (3 times); night; black fear, death
eyes; mouth; veins; blood body (illness?)
left stranded; lonely; bleak; stark; bare; gaunt fear, isolation (illness?)
sick, weather-tortured; gaunt (again) illness, pain
smother; blood (again); tortured (again) discomfort, death
Of course, there is no ideal solution to this task. Furthermore, as shown here, groups/ clusters may overlap. Some content words like stairs, wood or farm may not seem to contribute much to the atmosphere or resonance of the poem. Some students group them under headings like ‘objects’ or ‘neutral’ – or omit them altogether. It is likely, however, that bleak, stark, bare and gaunt will be placed in the same group by students. This leads us to the next question that can be investigated. 4. What are the similarities and differences betweenbleak, stark, bare and gaunt in terms of their meaning and use? This question can be investigated through dictionary work or through an online corpus such as the British National Corpus (https://www.english-corpora.org/bnc/). The teacher can provide concordances for each of the four words on paper and/or display BNC searches via her/his PC and a ceiling-mounted projector. Here are just a few of the shorter sentences that BNC data provide for the search term bleak:
To this bleak peninsula the Spartans came as refugees. There are many more airfields where the future looks bleak. The situation was so bleak in 1980 that Sir John came out of retirement to replace his second son Peter. The bleak shores of the lake remain uninhabited. Things are looking fairly bleak for pensions. As part of this exercise, students can be asked to look out for nouns that co-occur (‘collocate’) with bleak. A possible outcome of the exercise is that the groups notice from the BNC data that all four adjectives can be used to describe landscapes or the
Volume 36 No 2 English Australia Journal 79 countryside, but in addition have distinctive collocational behaviour and meaning. For example, bleak collocates quite often with the noun future, whereas gaunt and bare do not, and stark tends to be used to describe choices or alternatives, while gaunt and bare do not.
Table 2 Output From Group Work on Four Adjectives
face landscape alternative / future building others choice
bleak ü ? ü prospect(s) gaunt ü ü ü ruin, castle stark ü ü ü + naked bare ü ü hands, feet
The Oxford Dictionary website Lexico (www.lexico.com) specifically states that gaunt is used to describe people and means ‘lean and haggard, especially because of suffering, hunger, or age’. Although the focus of the class is vocabulary learning, this may stimulate brief discussion about why the poet has described the kitchen as gaunt (an unusual collocation).
What next? It might be argued that words such as the four adjectives in Table 2 are of limited use to students. However, if they are learning English because they are going to study in higher education, these are words that the students may encounter again. I have often moved on from the poem exercise to a text about politics or economics in which the adjectives bleak and stark appear. This makes for a neat segue from one activity to the next, but also gives students a chance to consolidate what they have just learned from the poem. Here is an extract from an appropriate text in The Times:
Bundesbank in bleak warning on economy
A stark warning over Germany’s rapidly worsening economic performance was issued yesterday by the country’s own central bank. In one of its bleakest assessments of German economic conditions, the Bundesbank said that it feared grave implications if action was not taken to rekindle sustained growth. Duncan (2003, March 18)
80 English Australia Journal Volume 36 No 2 Conclusion Because poems feature infrequently in the EFL/ESL/EAP classroom, their occasional use can provide variety and interest for students. A useful overview of ways in which literary texts can be used in class is provided by Paran’s (2008, p. 466) quite well-known quadrant diagram which depicts four different emphases for learning activities. An hour or so spent working on specific lexical items in a poem can boost learners’ vocabulary and enhance their lexical awareness (word meaning, collocation). I have taken this poem into classrooms in various countries and always found that the session went well. The class can have a tripartite structure a little like that of task-based learning. In this case, the first phase focuses on forming a general understanding of the poem; the second phase involves the dictionary and/ or corpus-related work; and the final phase might concern checking whether phase two has changed or deepened understanding of the poem. As indicated above, the next activity (after a break or in the next class) might involve a text about economics, in which words such as bleak and stark occur in a different context.
References Duncan, G. (2003, March 18). Bundesbank in bleak warning on economy. The Times. Retrieved 6 Aug 2020 from thetimes.co.uk/article/Bundesbank-in-bleak-warning- on-economy-cgt556lw0gz Goodarzi, Z. (2003). Lexical patterning in poetic text: Analyzing literary style. Translation Journal, 6(2), 1-19. Jones, C. (Ed.) (2019). Literature, spoken language and speaking skills in second language learning. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Paran, A. (2008). The role of literature in instructed foreign language learning and teaching: An evidence-based survey. Language Teaching, 41, 465-496. https://doi.org/10.1017/S026144480800520X Thomas, R. S. (1986). Selected poems 1946-1968. UK: Bloodaxe books.
Brian Poole is the Associate Dean responsible for teaching standards at Majan University College, Muscat, Oman.
Volume 36 No 2 English Australia Journal 81 TEN 10QUESTIONS Qs f there’s one thing the events of recent months have thrown into the spotlight, it’s the critical importance of understanding, supporting and prioritising wellbeing – for students, for Iteachers, for managers, and everyone just trying to get by in these incredibly challenging times. So for this issue’s Ten Questions we took the opportunity to catch up with Sarah Mercer, whose recent webinar on teacher wellbeing was one of English Australia’s most popular this year. Sarah’s extensive research, writing and public speaking centres around topics at the intersection of psychology and language teaching, and she is also co-author of two much- anticipated books this year – Teacher Wellbeing with Tammy Gregersen and Engaging Learners in Contemporary for Classrooms with Zoltán Dörnyei. In this interview she shares her experiences, reflections and future directions and we hope you will find in it insights and Sarah inspiration not only for yourselves as practitioners but also as individuals Mercer and members of the wider school and language teaching community.
82 English Australia Journal Volume 36 No 2 1. You are Head of ELT methodology now at the University of Graz — but how did you start out as a language teacher? I originally did a BA in European studies which for me was a mixture of French, German, and politics. As part of the degree, I had to spend a year abroad and so worked as an assistant teacher at a pretty tough school in Germany for one year. I loved it and learned Q1an enormous amount during that time, working with some inspirational teachers. When I returned to finish my degree, I was still uncertain which direction to take and not yet convinced education was for me. After graduating, I decided to do a Trinity certificate in TESOL and went to work in two different Austrian schools as an assistant teacher for two years. It then became clear that I was absolutely loving teaching and that my future did indeed lie in language education. I applied for a job teaching English at the local university and for many years taught language classes alongside doing further qualifications including my MA in TEFL and then my PhD. In recent years, since taking up a professorship, my work has gradually moved almost entirely into language teacher education.
2. Tell us a bit about your current work and how you spend your time. Do you still teach? As I explained, my professorship changed my work format and the focus became much more about teacher education than language teaching. I have a full teaching load of eight hours per week and I have a very large number of PhD students. These Q2two aspects of my work are probably some of the most rewarding – I learn a lot from my students and love watching them teach. I also manage a number of research projects (small-scale as well as large, international funded studies), and these also enable me to continue to develop professionally daily. Indeed, I think this is one of the best things about working in education – that we all continue to learn and to grow throughout our careers. I have also come to love writing – I used to hate it! But now having a book project on the go is like having a hobby! It tends to be a fun, challenging, complementary alternative to my other work commitments.
3. You recently published a book with Zoltán Dörnyei, Engaging Learners in Contemporary Classrooms. Why is this topic close to your heart? In my work with teachers, I found that discussing motivation was not quite hitting the mark. Motivation is a kind of prerequisite for learning, but it is no guarantee that learners will actually engage with learning opportunities provided. Teachers already Q3recognised that we needed to be looking at how to convert good intentions into actual action. This caused Zoltán and I to reflect on the topic of engagement, which has been explored widely in general education but not so much in our field. It has become increasingly challenging to get learners to actively engage with tasks
Volume 36 No 2 English Australia Journal 83 in class and of course, now, online. Understanding the psychology of engagement is critical to helping teachers get their learners’ attention and keep them positively on task. In writing the book, I learned a lot for my own teaching and was reminded again perhaps of things I had lost sight of after 20 years of teaching. There are no magic recipes, as any teacher knows, but teaching more consciously with an understanding of learner engagement in mind has helped me to better reach my own learners.
4. In a recent talk you pointed out several times that our principles around learner engagement should equally apply to teacher engagement – but do they? What should institutions be doing to foster meaningful teacher engagement? Great question – it is amazing we have no research in our field on teacher engagement. Yet it is defining for wellbeing and is connected tightly with learner engagement – if Q4teachers are engaged, then their learners are more likely to be engaged and vice versa. The problem with engagement with respect to teachers is that it can be taken too far and lead to burnout and perfectionism. As such, there are some critical differences with regard to teacher engagement but also some commonalities such as the importance of positive emotions, being able to exercise autonomy, finding positive connection with colleagues and learners, drawing a sense of meaning and purpose from the work, and continuing to grow and learn, among others.
5. Teacher wellbeing has been a major strand of your research and writing. It does seem to be a more visible concept these days — but it still doesn’t seem much catered for in support and training programs. Why should this be a concern for school leaders? This is a huge problem in my view. It has been a slow and gradual process to even Q5raise awareness of teacher wellbeing. Although good progress is being made and even more attention has been directed to its importance during the COVID crisis, it is not nearly enough yet. We have merely scratched the surface. For example, in fields like social work, it is typically recognised that a key part of the pre-service training programs is dedicated to self-care, given that this profession, too, has high rates of burnout. I am not aware of many (or any) language teacher education programs, which include compulsory core modules on professional self-care. That would be a hugely important systemic step towards recognising the issue of teacher stress and burnout and preparing early-career stage teachers for a long, sustainable and happy career. However, a related problem is the over-emphasis on self-care without any commensurate developments at the systemic level. Naturally, we have individual agency to affect our own wellbeing and there remains a strong individual dimension to how we experience things. As such, it is indeed important to look at self-care strategies and it would be naïve and counter-productive to ignore the kind of strategies which can
84 English Australia Journal Volume 36 No 2 “It is not sufficient to leave the onus for support teachers in helping teacher wellbeing on individual teachers themselves immediately. However, it is not sufficient . . . Taking teacher wellbeing seriously to leave the onus for teacher at the policy and institutional levels wellbeing on individual is reflected and communicated teachers. It is equally a collective in how teachers are addressed, responsibility. There needs to be listened to, involved in democratic serious systemic change at policy processes, given autonomy, and institutional levels for long- recognised as professionals, term progress. Offering a single webinar or yoga class is not a consistent and respected as individuals.” message or policy respectful of teacher wellbeing in an institution. Taking teacher wellbeing seriously at the policy and institutional levels is reflected and communicated in how teachers are addressed, listened to, involved in democratic processes, given autonomy, recognised as professionals, and respected as individuals. Every one of us can engage in various types of advocacy work to raise awareness of the valuable work done by teachers and the importance of attending to their wellbeing to ensure they can flourish in their professional roles.
6. In the workplace now, we face job insecurity, the exhaustion of constantly adjusting to shifting virus measures, and an uncertain future for our whole sector. There are no easy answers, but what can individuals do to help themselves cope and stay positive? This is very individual and personal, and there are no one-size-fits all answers to this. Plus I am wary of not wanting to sound trite. When a teacher is facing existential Q6worries, looking for the positives in daily life can seem rather facile, as there are basic needs to be met first. Yet, some individual strategies can be valuable for some people such as seeking to find things we are happy about or grateful for so as to not feel overwhelmed with the negatives, connecting with others and reaching out for social support, focusing our energy on things we can control and plan for, and making sure we set time aside to engage in non-work activities that energise us. Wellbeing fluctuates and sometimes requires us to make more of a conscious effort than at other times. We should not be afraid to reach out when we need help. If you feel you are struggling with your mental health, please do seek out professional support.
7. What has been one of the surprising positives of your experience over the months of COVID-19? Q7A positive for me has been the chance to take stock of how I was living my life Volume 36 No 2 English Australia Journal 85 and my priorities. Even though I have “It is amazing we have no somehow been busier than ever during research in our field on lockdown and online teaching, I have also, paradoxically, had more space and time teacher engagement. Yet to reflect on bigger issues such as my own it is defining for wellbeing values, priorities, and direction. Sometimes and is connected tightly we are so busy ‘doing’ that we do not take with learner engagement time to think and reflect deeply on things that – if teachers are engaged, matter. Despite all the trauma that this time has brought with it, it has also been a chance t h e n t h e i r l e a r n e r s to pause and consider what we wish our own are more likely to be personal ‘new normal’ to look like in the future. engaged and vice versa.” 8. You are prolific in your research, writing and public speaking, and in your talks you always seem so genuine and enthusiastic! What is it that keeps you so engaged and motivated? What a lovely comment and question – thanks! It is easy in that I truly love what I do. I get great pleasure out of teaching and learning. I am especially passionate about working with and learning from teachers. Don’t get me wrong – I have phases where Q8my motivation dips too and this period of online teaching has been challenging for me as well. I miss greatly the personal interaction. In working with learners and teachers in online formats, it risks becoming very ‘transmission’ with me doing all the talking (not good!) and not being able to interact in the same way as we can at live events. At regular conferences or in-class teaching, I enjoy being able to attend talks by other people, chat with people in the breaks, and interact more during my own workshops or teaching so that the whole thing is more co-constructed. Somehow that is just not possible in quite the same way online. I imagine we will all appreciate those f2f events when they can happen again even more than ever before.
9. What are you excited about in terms of current research? This is a really difficult one for me as I can get excited by all kinds of things – pretty much every journal issue I open, I can find a couple of articles I want to read and learn more about and bookshops are a captivating treasure trove. As I explained, I am reading a lot at the moment about compassion, I still work very strongly with Q9complexity theory or ecological perspectives which I find enlightening, and I am looking forward to the new work on global citizenship. I think perhaps what is also important for my own learning is to keep reading and reading widely in a range of fields. There is so much to learn and so many things relevant to our field. I guess a curious mind and a reading addiction is typical for many of us working in education!
86 English Australia Journal Volume 36 No 2 10. Are you working on any special projects at the moment? At the moment, I am enjoying reflecting on the topic of compassion in language education – compassion within teaching and also teaching for compassion. We will see where this work, reading, and writing will take me! In more concrete terms, my colleagues and I have just received a large European grant to look at teaching global Q10citizenship skills alongside an awareness of plurilingualism in every subject. Our notion of global citizenship includes a strong element of social activism and a sense of collective responsibility. We will be developing online professional development materials for teachers working in all subjects, not just those in language teaching. These materials will all be available online and open source, which I am delighted about. It promises to be an exciting new line of research and writing. I would love to hear from anyone who already teaches their subject or language with an explicit focus on global citizenship – so do please get in touch!
Sarah Mercer is Professor of Foreign Language Teaching and Head of ELT at the University of Graz. She is the author, co-author and co-editor of several books in the field of language learning psychology. She is currently vice- president of the International Association for the Psychology of Language Learning (IAPLL).
If you would like to write an article in Classroom Talk for the English Australia Journal, please contact: [email protected]
Volume 36 No 2 English Australia Journal 87 88 English Australia Journal Volume 36 No 2 Keep in touch with ELICOS PD news & opportunities
Want to keep in touch with ELICOS professional development news and opportunities?
If you work for an English Australia member college and have an institutional email address, sign up for regular English Australia ‘PD Updates’.
If you work elsewhere, join English Australia as a Professional Affiliate to receive the ‘PD Updates’ plus an annual subscription to the English Australia Journal.
Please visit www.englishaustralia.com.au/professional-affiliate-program or contact [email protected] for more information.
Volume 36 No 2 English Australia Journal 89 REVIEWS
Etpedia Management 500 Ideas For Managing An English Language School
Fiona Dunlop, Keith Harding & Robert Mclarty
Pavilion, 2019
Reviewed by Jakki Postlethwaite
For many academic managers, making the transition from the classroom to management is a challenging conversion to navigate. Understanding new management concepts and developing new skill sets requires a lot of hard work, and there are other factors to deal with, such as how staff perceive managers. Having access to expert advice and guidance at such a time would certainly ease the process and give confidence when facing those difficult moments. Well, it’s here! A practical resource for ELT managers to help with those adjustments necessitated by making the change from teacher to manager. New and experienced ELT managers can benefit from this collection of pragmatic and ELT-specific resources all available in one place. ETpedia Management provides a wealth of ideas and materials that allow for self-reflection, collaboration and real-life application to a language school context. This 200-page book follows the content design of other books in the ETpedia series and is effectively organised for ease of navigation. It begins with an introduction to the authors and is followed by the recommended ‘whys’ and ‘how tos’ of using the book for its target audience, predominantly teachers and managers. Depending on which stage of your management career you are at, the book has different purposes and uses. For quick reference, it is divided into eight themed sections covering the main areas
90 English Australia Journal Volume 36 No 2 of management, for example: ‘Human resources, administration and recruitment’, ‘Marketing and finance’, ‘Professional development’ and ‘Positive working environments’. This permits the reader to focus on a key area of management as required. Scattered throughout the book are quotes on different topics from a collection of managers in various schools across the globe. They are certainly interesting to read, and although I understand their purpose is to promote currency and relevance and to offer further ideas on particular points, what they actually add to the book’s efficacy is not so transparent. Regarding layout, I believe it would have also been useful for the body of the book to contain a separate opening page for each section to clearly define their starting point. Each of the eight sections is then further separated into various units (50 in total) that contain 10 key points. Each unit has an introductory paragraph that serves to provide background and a rationale for the unit ahead. The points within commonly begin with ‘10 reasons why . . . ’, ‘10 tips for . . . ’, ‘10 steps to . . . ’ or ‘10 ways of . . . ’ and it is these points that essentially give the book its applied uses and help to achieve its aim of ‘providing guidance, advice and ideas for running an English language school or department’ (back cover). However, there is the sense that at times, too much is being packed into one section. For example, under the ‘Human resources, administration and recruitment’ section is Unit 13, ‘10 reasons why change may fail’. Given the prevalence of change in most language schools (and this has never been more evident than in recent circumstances where external causes necessitated transformational change for many institutions), I feel that the area of change management deserves its own section. Additionally, organisational change is one of the most challenging processes to manage, with a myriad of factors that need to be considered for successful implementation and ultimate adoption, and I believe this is further justification for its own dedicated unit. Other observations are that while the authors acknowledge that they ‘believe that knowing 10 skills that are transferrable from a teaching role into management will
Volume 36 No 2 English Australia Journal 91 be enough to help . . . make the move into management’ (p. 7), this does limit the amount of information that can be conveyed and the reader may need to consult other sources for more comprehensive coverage of the relevant topic. Also, more experienced managers may view some of the tips as obvious, but their value is not to be underestimated, as it can provide affirmation of current practices/methods as well as a fresh perspective on a situation or problem. Complacency can be silent and dangerous in any organisation, stunting the growth of not only the business, but also employee performance and morale. So, having ETpedia Management on hand to refer to can help mitigate against this by providing, at the very least, the springboard for reflection, review, and discussion. Complementing the units is the Appendix, which contains photocopiable materials signalled by a small icon within the text, next to the corresponding tip number. These resources can be used independently by a manager, such as ‘10 steps for successful recruitment’. At the fifth tip here, ‘Questions’, the Appendix suggests a variety of interview questions to ask a potential employee. The questions are arranged under 10 different headings, ranging from general background questions, to teaching experience and linguistic knowledge. Personally, I found them very pertinent, not only for their specific application to language teaching, but also because I can find it difficult to ensure the right questions are asked in an interview. Moreover, at times, finding a teacher can be a matter of urgency, and having a set of fundamental questions readily available is very convenient. Even if the exact questions are not used, they can be tailored to specific ELT contexts and/or jobs. ETpedia Management also provides materials for staff development. A common goal for all academic managers is to enhance teacher performance as it ‘impacts the learner’s experience and the school’s success academically’ (p. 119). It is undeniable that well-trained staff increase levels of employee satisfaction and productivity, which in turn raises standards of service. It is this ultimate elevation in product delivery that enhances customer satisfaction and loyalty, stimulating repeat business and ensuring longevity. According to ETpedia Management, ‘this will keep you ahead of your competitors and allow you to deliver the best service to your students’ (p. 117). Unit 37 focuses on ‘10 ways of improving the quality of teaching’ and one of the tips is to foster in staff the sense of ownership of their own professional development. To accompany this, the Appendix provides a form with directions which could be used/developed internally for staff to record their own CPD, or for the manager to document any PD undertaken by staff. Another icon at the end of a unit indicates an activity or a reflective task that can be done individually or as a group. These activities are aimed at developing managerial culture and style. They encourage self-reflection, assessment of current school
92 English Australia Journal Volume 36 No 2 practices and procedures, collaboration and a bottom-up approach. As a manager, I found them to be thought-provoking and I think their sheer inclusion impels the reader to begin that process of reflection, review, assessment, and open dialogue. All are necessary ingredients for continued growth and development at all levels of the school. For example, the final tip at the end of ‘10 ways to ensure professional development achieves something’ (Unit 42 in the ‘Professional development’ section) is to ‘plan PD sessions together’ and it lists eight very pertinent questions to be collaboratively discussed during this planning session with teachers. I was very excited about reviewing ETpedia Management, mostly because I was looking forward to a book that explicitly related to ELT and provided real-life ideas, solutions and materials to its intended audience without me having to wade through too much text. It did not disappoint.
Jakki Postlethwaite is Academic Manager at Explore English, Melbourne, and has almost 18 years’ experience in the ELICOS industry, having taught and managed in Australia and overseas during this time. Her professional interests include CPD and workplace culture.
Volume 36 No 2 English Australia Journal 93 Developing Expertise Through Experience
Alan Maley (ed.) British Council, 2019
Reviewed by Angela Snelgrove
In this online collection of essays, Developing Expertise Through Experience (2019), editor Alan Maley invites 20 well-known English language teachers, policy makers and academics from around the world to reflect on how the notion of ‘plausibility’ has influenced their careers. Maley takes the notion from Prabhu (1987), who found that intuitions about learning arise not just from experience but also from our personal histories, personalities and theories of teaching. Maley explains that although it can be interpreted in different ways, he chose this concept as a point of reflection, as it leads to an exploration of how teachers develop professionally and personally by ‘building a personal theory of teaching action based upon . . . experience’ (p. 8). The invited professionals, including Jane Spiro, John Fanselow, Thomas Farrell, Tessa Woodward, Péter Medgyes, Adrian Underhill and others, were given a free hand in how to organise and write their reflections. As a result, the approach varies: some authors chose to use a semi-autobiographical style, weaving through decades of teaching and highlighting key moments when their sense of plausibility changed; others opted for humorous headings which reflected their ‘journeys’; and yet others clarified key beliefs and theories using simple bullet points. All were encouraged to reflect on places, personalities, ideas and publications to show how this process led to their theory of teaching. The collection is freely available online via the British Council Teach English website (www.teachingenglish.org.uk/sites/teacheng/files/K033 _Developing_Expertise_Experience_Web_0.pdf) and is presented in an easy-to- navigate online book format with an interactive contents page that navigates immediately to the individual chapters. There is an interesting foreword by Prabhu on the value of shared experiences, and a poem and introduction by Maley. The essays
94 English Australia Journal Volume 36 No 2 are divided into 20 chapters and there is a full reference list and writer biographies at the end of the book. In his foreword, Prabhu writes that in education, to believe that something is plausible is preferable to being certain, as the pursuit of knowledge in teaching and learning is ongoing, and plausibility is a ‘stage in understanding that can change and develop indefinitely’ (p. 6). He says that a sense of plausibility occurs when teaching routines are put aside and teachers develop a ‘rapport, or mental bridge’ with learners. This awareness and understanding, he says, eventually begins to ‘coalesce into a fuller perception of learning’ (p. 6). Christine Goh’s essay (p. 59) describes years of teaching and research in her pursuit of a more complete understanding of how we learn. In reflecting on her varied career in ELT, Goh concludes that a teacher’s identity is constantly changing as we move through phases of growth and experiences, but only by pausing and reflecting can this change be understood. She describes the importance of reading and research and the critical moment when she discovered Andrew Wilkinson’s concept of ‘oracy’ which shaped the way she taught and which influenced her research, resulting in several successful books on teaching. More recently, she has drawn on research by Douglas Barnes and Neil Mercer, whose work on ‘interthinking’ reflects her interest in how people think together through talking. Goh finds that her ‘sense of plausibility’ is the result of ‘interlocking layers of learning.’ Yueguo Gu (p. 69) writes that his perception of plausibility in teaching has changed as culture, ideologies and approaches to learning which have shaped our era have changed. Gu describes his initial teacher identity as being based on traditional teaching methods in China. This identity later changed after he applied for a postgraduate research degree in the UK, where it became clear to him that he had not been taught how to reflect critically in his previous studies, and that therefore he could not be considered a ‘professional’ teacher. He aspired to learn more but again felt unsure about his plausibility when asked to produce a teaching certificate while
Volume 36 No 2 English Australia Journal 95 heading up an English department, and after negative feedback on his teaching style from a group of trainee teachers. He continued to adapt and change in his pursuit of ‘professionalism’, even creating a ‘chess-master model’ teaching method. In his fourth decade of teaching Gu now has a leadership role within an online education institute in Beijing, where he continues to reassess his identity as face-to-face teaching moves online. Plausibility for South African-born Jennifer Joy Joshua (p. 79) is partly drawn from her childhood in Durban. She describes early childhood years living in poverty, where she and her seven siblings were encouraged to read the magazines and books thrown into the stairwell by a refuse truck driver. She credits her mother’s nurturing of her children through creating ‘talk rituals’ based on stories in their ‘print-rich’ home as the foundation for her later career in teaching, policy making and teacher training in South Africa. Perhaps of particular interest to ESL teachers working for organisations such as the British Council are comments by Claudia Monica Ferradas (p. 49). Ferradas reflects on the importance of ‘telling our stories’ and by drawing on this as a resource, describes how she maintains plausibility. She writes that John McRae’s work on using ‘literariness’ to empower students to communicate messages which ‘involve’ rather than ‘inform’ confirmed her view that students learned best when they could express meanings relevant to their own lives. This view has led her to challenge the relevance of material used in international ELT programs which purport to use ‘contextualised approaches’ but ignore valuable local resources. Ferradas argues that by integrating more of these local materials, teachers could become true ‘intercultural mediators’. This somewhat vague term appears more frequently now as many researchers point out that despite large numbers of international students in higher education in countries like Australia, lecturers and tutors often insist on teaching only from a ‘Western perspective’ or referring to local or Western examples. If more of us drew on examples which were global or relevant to the cultures of international cohorts, would we be on the way to becoming ‘intercultural mediators’? Initially I was unsure of how the notion of ‘plausibility’ could be used as a basis for reflection, as it seemed to suggest avoiding ‘imposter syndrome’ and striving for credibility as a language teacher – a feeling not uncommon to many ESL teachers, particularly those who lack a degree in education. But these interesting essays probe more deeply and draw on long careers in which these writers have learned much about themselves and the social, political and cultural context in which they teach English. Common themes include the importance of identifying and reflecting on key experiences and the importance of continuous learning and discussion with peers. The authors suggest that this opportunity to write about their teaching careers from
96 English Australia Journal Volume 36 No 2 the perspective of ‘plausibility’ is another learning opportunity for them and that more ESL teachers should be encouraged to reflect on and discuss how and why they teach. Although some of the essays are quite long, with writers clearly relishing the opportunity to write at length about their teaching careers, this is an excellent online resource which is easy to download from the British Council website. Australian ESL teachers in particular might be reminded, as they read, of the many and varied global contexts of teaching English. With so many of us now involved in teaching English for Academic Purposes, it is easy to forget that millions of people around the world learn English for other reasons, including experiencing a real pleasure in learning and appreciating what Christine Goh calls the ‘beauty’ of language (p. 66). The essays suggest that during the last few decades, when ‘knowing’ English has become a crucial economic and social asset in the lives of people all over the world, those with the motivation to seize opportunities, involve themselves deeply with educating others and engage with the theories and ideas around ESL, have enriched the lives of many people and added greatly to the standards of professionalism and research-based knowledge we take for granted in TESOL today. As Maley points out, our reflections on how we perceive plausibility may be just as valid as more widely accepted evidence-based theories and teaching paradigms, and therefore should be more highly valued.
Angela Snelgrove is an English for Academic Purposes teacher and has worked as a teacher and teacher trainer in Australia, the UK and China. For more than a decade she was the Australian correspondent for the EL Gazette, and she continues to be interested in how our lived experiences influence us as teachers and learners.
Volume 36 No 2 English Australia Journal 97 The Digital Teacher https://thedigitalteacher.com/ Cambridge Assessment English
Reviewed by Lucija Medojevic
The COVID-19 pandemic has rapidly forced educational institutions to harness the technological tools needed to create content for remote learning for students, which has therefore meant that for the past few months, many of us have been busy moving our face-to-face lessons online. This pandemic has swiftly changed students’ study modes as well as the expectations of how we teachers teach and enable student learning. So how do we prepare and future-proof our skills for this ever-changing educational landscape? An English language teacher’s role is to enable inclusive learning and teaching where pedagogy, curricula and assessments are designed, combined and delivered in a manner that engages students. Our challenge is to design environments, tools and activities that allow the learner to construct knowledge. With such a rapidly changing landscape, we are experiencing the possibility of doing things differently and with greater flexibility than ever before, and in order for us to properly offer our students choice(s), a teacher’s own hands-on experience and expertise with technology for language teaching is paramount. The Digital Teacher is a free professional development website created by Cambridge English, and is suitable for English language teachers in Australia. It aims to help you find your learning path in the use of technology for language teaching, and build your confidence in doing so. This professional development tool is based on the Digital Teacher Framework – a capability framework designed to help teachers innovate and orchestrate digitally enabled learning solutions to meet the needs of 21st-century learners. It assumes the notion of ‘pedagogy before technology’ and emphasises the importance of building and maintaining one’s digital capabilities. The materials on the website have been crafted in consultation with practising language teachers, and provide both theoretical and technical training aspects.
98 English Australia Journal Volume 36 No 2 The Digital Teacher website offers a holistic approach to developing teachers’ digital capabilities and learning design skills. The website is a one-stop shop for your learning. Firstly, it provides a specially designated area for training, where you can watch a video or read introductory material, followed by a lesson plan for you to try out. This is a great way for the tech-averse to develop new skills and learn how to use technology in a way that supports learning. Secondly, the website provides reviews of various digital tools you can explore for your context. Each tech tool has a list of recommendations or a lesson plan that you can download. Ideal for those who like to keep an eye on the ever-evolving edtech landscape! The Digital Teacher framework is thematically divided into two parts. The first looks at understanding the overall impact teachers have on the way that learners work and learn in the digital world. Teachers can gain an understanding of digital citizenship, and awareness of the underlying theories and methodologies needed for effective use of tech in language teaching. The second part focuses on the skills a teacher needs in order to harness technology to improve language proficiency in students, that is, a digitally competent English teacher should be able to design learning adequately, deliver learning efficiently and evaluate the learning practice using a variety of tech tools. A strength of this resource is the ‘Test My Digital Skills’ self-evaluation tool. It is designed to help teachers reflect on their digital capabilities and identify current strengths and areas for development. It is generally accepted that reflective skills are key in enabling teachers to evaluate their teaching and identify areas for improvement (Richards & Farrell, 2005). The self-assessment tool is ideal for tracking your progress and evaluating your professional development over time. I have personally used this website for teacher training, and often revisit the self-assessment tool to reflect on my own practice in higher education, as the self-evaluation record stays on your profile until you undertake the self-evaluation process again. It is important to note that no one will have mastered all the capabilities included in their profile: the intention is to demonstrate how new areas of practice are emerging and how individuals might develop their digital skills in different areas. Teachers might use the tool to review their own professional development needs while teaching, and curriculum teams might use it to assess their collective strengths and weaknesses and identify areas for improvement. Eventually, a more confident digital teacher may transition into designing engaging virtual learning spaces and may display a range of attributes related to confidence, willingness to explore and
Volume 36 No 2 English Australia Journal 99 resilience to failure. These attributes characterise a confident digital practitioner (Bennett & Folley, 2015). In summary, unless English language teachers take up skills for teaching effectively with technology, I believe they may find it increasingly challenging to find employment in the ELT sector or fulfil the requirements of their current roles (Hockley & Dudeney, 2018). Fortunately, this tool is highly suited for those ELT professionals who are less confident with technology use. For any readers who want to explore a more detailed description of expected digital capabilities for teachers, look up the JISC Teacher Profile which describes the six elements of digital capabilities relevant to skills and attitudes that a teacher needs if they are to thrive in today’s world. It is fair to say that technology will not replace the teacher – but it will offer many new exciting opportunities to raise learners’ digital and self-employability skills. Because digital technologies offer an array of opportunities, ‘it is imperative that teachers put themselves in a position where they are able to master the use of them, to harness their power, and put them to the proper service of education’ (Laurillard, 2012, p. 2). This free and open-access resource will undoubtedly help you confidently build your digital capability as an English language teacher.
References
Bennett, E. & Folley, S. (2015). D4 strategic project: Developing staff digital literacies. Internal scoping report. Huddersfield, UK: University of Huddersfield. Retrieved from http://eprints.hud.ac.uk/id/eprint/26266/ Hockly, N., & Dudeney, G. (2018). Current and future digital trends in ELT. RELC Journal, 49(2), 164-178. https://doi.org/10.1177/0033688218777318 Laurillard, D. (2012). Teaching as a design science: Building pedagogical patterns for learning and technology. London: Routledge. Richards, J. and Farrell, T. (2005). Professional development for language teachers. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Dr Lucija Medojevic is an applied linguist, focusing on the provision of professional development, training and support to Navitas English teachers (Government Services) in English language delivery mediated through technology. Currently working as Senior Learning Designer within Learning & Teaching Services at Navitas University Partnerships Australasia, Lucija’s interests include academic development and innovative pedagogy to enhance the student learning experience.
100 English Australia Journal Volume 36 No 2 Teaching Boldly Using Edtech For Social Good
Jennifer Williams
International Society for Technology in Education, 2019
Reviewed by Henno Kotzé
One cannot expect positive results from an educational or political action program which fails to respect the particular view of the world held by the people. Paulo Freire (1970/2005)
Now, more than ever, education needs to move away from dehumanising contemporary educational approaches and take responsibility for its catalysing role ‘as an instrument for liberation’, as Freire puts it (2005, p. 7). Through this lens, educators are considered vehicles for change and key agents in the production of knowledge, not through teacher-centred approaches, but as influential facilitators in students’ abilities to develop ‘rationality, autonomy, empowerment, creativity, affections and a concern for humanity’, and thus the ability to self-actualise (Veugelers, 2011, p. 1). It is this humanistic tradition of education that Teach Boldly follows, attempting to spark action with practical and implementable ideas that have positive repercussions beyond the four walls of the classroom. Part guidebook, part toolkit, and part reflective journal, Teach Boldly explores the boundaries of how education can and should be approached. As a guide, it offers practical ways in which educators can promote ‘social good’ and positive change in the classroom. This is done through providing examples of the innovative and thoughtful integration of educational technology (edtech) and decisive, inquiry-driven teaching and learning practices for social good, all of which are just as relevant in the language learning classroom as in mainstream education. The author, Jennifer Williams, identifies three key areas as the conceptual model of social good: ‘environmental justice and sustainability’, ‘social inclusion’, and ‘peace,
Volume 36 No 2 English Australia Journal 101 harmony and collaboration’ (p. 5). The book is anchored in these themes (which include actions such as advocacy and campaigning), as well as in the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) (2020). It is from this social developmental perspective that Teach Boldly sets out to provide teachers with inspirational ideas and activities for teaching social good in their classrooms and connecting their students with some of the larger world issues. The author is well placed to lead this discussion, as she is not only a professor, literacy specialist, and K-12 classroom teacher, but also a leading advocate in the #TeachSDGs movement, and the co-founder of the Take Action Global not-for-profit that builds schools in underprivileged areas and establishes school programs to empower learners and educators to move towards action on social good. Williams is also a well-established voice in using technology in education, ranked #13 in Onalytica’s list of top female edtech influencers in 2017. Consequently, throughout its six chapters, Teach Boldly is infused with numerous innovative applications of edtech for social good. For example, in a chapter on digital citizenship and purpose-driven projects, including the Goals Project (goalsproject.com), the author describes the importance of ideation and visualisation as the starting point for students interested in launching a social good project. For collaborative ideation, such as the Global Oneness Project (globalonenessproject. org), she suggests ‘affinity mapping’ and recommends stickies.io and padlet.com as effective methods of recording and sharing ideas (2019, p. 21). In English language teaching (ELT), it is not difficult to see how task-based language teaching (TBLT) and social good projects are connected. In Michael Long’s view, TBLT is ‘the real-world communicative uses to which learners will put the L2 beyond the classroom – the things they will do in and through the L2’ (2016, p. 5). It follows that, if we approach our language teaching with this focus on providing relevant and real- world task-based opportunities for learners to ‘do good’, as set out in Teach Boldly, while learning English, perhaps we will see improved language learning outcomes. The third chapter of Teach Boldly revolves around the application of design thinking and human-centred design in lesson planning and learning spaces. Williams describes
102 English Australia Journal Volume 36 No 2 the importance of fostering students’ abilities to develop ‘creative confidence, create with empathy and optimism, and embrace ambiguity’, i.e., risk-taking (p. 18). Drawing on these instructional design principles and through the careful design of learning spaces (considering the user experience and putting learners at the centre of the design), teachers can emphasise accessibility and collaboration. Much can be gained from viewing ELT from this learning design perspective, especially given the recent pivot to emergency remote teaching (ERT), the need for more sustainable online learning following this shift, and also a consequent return to face-to-face teaching (Hodges et al., 2020). Teach Boldly emphasises the importance of teachers connecting deeply with their students and similarly underscores the need for students to connect with other students as well as with issues beyond their own local environment. Taking time to establish the classroom culture is a clear example of this; for instance, the My Name, My Identity pledge (mynamemyidentity.org) is one way educators can show respect for their students. By signing the pledge, educators promise to respect students’ names and pronounce them correctly. Drawing clear lines between students and their passions and also making their ideas visible are other key ways to foster a stronger connection in the classroom and beyond, and again, edtech can be utilised to achieve this more effectively. Williams shows how connecting with other learners across the globe can be achieved through various video conferencing tools and via the Empatico virtual exchange platform (empatico.org). From a motivational theory perspective, it is easy to identify the pedagogical value of this focus on real-world issues in education. Self-determination theory has shown that if work and activities are relevant to the learner, tap into their competencies, and offer opportunities for autonomy, they will foster high levels of motivation and improve learner performance (Deci & Ryan, 2000). It follows that, in the ELT context, giving learners the ability to engage in projects and learning that can have positive, real-world outcomes can also positively affect their language development. Apart from the very relevant (and needed) focus on educating for social good, one of the greatest strengths of Teach Boldly is its abundance of tools, projects, and design ideas, with real-world examples. From an ELT perspective, all of these projects can easily be applied either directly or with minimal adaptation. From the human-centred design of Google’s Next Lab to leveraging Adobe Spark and Weebly for digital storytelling, the book is imbued with inspirational profiles and examples of educators and students who are deeply involved in doing good while teaching and learning well. In fact, each of the book’s six chapters includes four such elements: ‘Inspirational Stories’, showing real-life examples from Williams’ experience, or others’; ‘Take ACTION’, providing actionable ideas for educators to implement in
Volume 36 No 2 English Australia Journal 103 their own teaching; ‘Bold Invitation’, offering big ideas for educators to ‘dream big, and do big’; and the ‘PeaceMAKER Profile’, for educators to document their own learning, and as a space for self-reflection and journaling. Overall, this book is a very welcome addition to the International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE) suite of professional learning resources, and would be a very worthwhile addition to any ELT practitioner’s bookshelf or language centre’s PD library. ISTE is renowned amongst edtech enthusiasts for its principled student- and educator-focused frameworks and learning standards, and Teach Boldly will surely emerge as a prized publication, flying the flag for social good in education. As Williams (p. xxviii) puts it: ‘With Innovation and Technology supporting us as we go, it is our time to lay out paths for people and the planet with our students’ – a sentiment that Paulo Freire would be proud of, were he still around today.
References
Deci, E. L., & Ryan, R. M. (2000). Self-determination theory and the facilitation of intrinsic motivation, social development, and well-being. American Psychologist, 55(1), 68-78. https://doi.org/10.1037//0003-066x.55.1.68 Freire, P. Pedagogy of the Oppressed (1970/2005). New York: The Continuum International Publishing Group Inc. Hodges, C., Moore, S., Lockee, B., Trust, T., & Bond, A. (2020). The difference between emergency remote teaching and online learning. EDUCAUSE Review. Retrieved from https://er.educause.edu/articles/2020/3/the-difference-between-emergency-remote- teaching-and-online-learning Long, M. (2016). In defense of tasks and TBLT: Nonissues and real issues. Annual Review of Applied Linguistics (36), 5-33. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0267190515000057 United Nations (2020). About the Sustainable Development Goals. United Nations. Retrieved from https://www.un.org/sustainabledevelopment/sustainable- development-goals/ Veugelers, W. (2011). Education and humanism: Linking autonomy and humanity. Rotterdam: Sense Publishers.
Henno Kotzé is Senior Teacher for Edtech at ICTE (University of Queensland) and a convenor of the English Australia Ed-Tech Special Interest Group.
Twitter @hennok
104 English Australia Journal Volume 36 No 2 Scott Thornbury’s 101 Grammar Questions Scott Thornbury Cambridge University Press, 2019
Reviewed by Vanessa Todd
Scott Thornbury’s 101 In the age of the search engine and the mobile Grammar Questions Scott Thornbury’s Scott Thornbury’s phone, why would you need a book about Drawing on his extensive knowledge and experience, Scott Thornbury addresses many grammar? For that matter, given the number K
Y of the questions about grammar that English language teachers 101 regularly ask. of books devoted to the grammar of English,
Grammar Questions Accessible answers linked to classroom practice are supported by authentic examples of everyday grammar use. is there anything new to say on the topic? An essential aid for teachers of all levels of experience, 101 Grammar Questions is also a fascinating read for 101 anyone interested in (and occasionally Scott Thornbury’s 101 Grammar Questions puzzled by) English grammar. Grammar Questions Scott teaching in Alexandria in 1981. is a title in the Cambridge Handbooks for Language Teachers series (Pocket Editions). About Language About About Language Scott Thornbury is a well-respected Alan Maley’s 50 Creative Activities Alan Maley’sSecond Edition Tasks for teachers of English Alan Maley’s An engaging and practical book teacher and teacher educator. Scott for anyone interested in the role Teachers of English need to have a good productive command of creativity in language teaching of the language. However, this alone is not enough; they also and learning. need to know how the language works. About Language
50 K Second Edition Second Y Second Edition asks: ‘What is it that a teacher needs to This book is based on the belief that fostering creativity leads to the Creative Activities know about English in order to teach it effectively?’ The book development of more critical and develops teachers’ language awareness through a wide range of tasks, which involve them in analysing English to discover its teaches on the MATESOL program exploratory mind-sets. It contains an About extensive range of activities, from underlying systems. playing with language to working with music and sound. Drawing on the work This second edition has been fully revised and updated, done in creativity studies, Alan Maley 50incorporating recent developments in language description, Language The mantra of the series is ‘ . . . deeper considers how new ideas are generated whilst keeping the organisation and structure of the successful and makes a distinction between the first edition. It consists of 31 units, with new material focusing processes which stimulate creativity and Creative Activities at The New School in New York. He Alan Maley working with teachers on a creative on varieties of English, models of grammar, spoken grammar, creative products. writing workshop in Vietnam, 2000. and phraseology. Each unit contains up to 12 tasks and the Second Edition language is illustrated with authentic sources, from corpora and websites to novels and newspapers.
About Language Second Edition is ideal for teachers on Tasks for
Alan Maley has a wealth of experience pre-service or in-service training courses, and will also appeal Scot has authored several award-winning in the eld of ELT, working in a wide to academics, teachers and other English language teaching teachers of English range of countries. He is a Past professionals who are interested in how language works. There t Thornbury President of IATEFL and has authored is a full key and commentary, making the book just as suitable numerous books for teachers, including for self-study as it is for training courses. the hugely popular Drama Techniques in Language Learning (co-authored with Alan Duff). In 2012, Alan received the books for teachers on language and 9781108457767 • Scott Thornbury • 50 Creative Activities C M Thornbury • 50 Creative • Scott 9781108457767 9781316507285 9780521601191 ELTons Lifetime Achievement Award.
Other titles of interest: K Grammar for English Language Teachers Parrott Y is our simple approach A Course in English Language Teaching
Better Learning M Cambridge HandbooksGrammar for for Language Teachers C A completely revised and updated edition of English Language TeachersA completely revised and updated edition of A Course in Language Teaching A Course in Language Teaching Grammar for English Language Teachers provides ‘ Some of the explanations are invaluable support to teachers in training and those the most accurate and easy to A Course in in Course A This book provides a comprehensive introduction to English with more experience. As well as clearly explaining and understand I have ever seen in language teaching, and is suitable for teachers in a variety of illustrating the grammar, it examines diffi culties learners any grammar book.’ Grammar for educational settings, including compulsory education. It has been often encounter, and provides help and advice in planning The TEFL Farm completely revised and updated to cover essential new topics for lessons. It explores the complexity of grammatical choices where help shape the modern English language teacher. These include: deeper insights richer in an accessible way, and raises awareness of how these A‘ An idealCourse introduction to Englishin English Language Teachers Pocket editions• English as an international language Teaching Language English differ from the ‘rules of thumb’ often presented to learners. grammar for the new teacher.’ C M Y K • Language acquisition theories and teaching methodologies Bell International Teacher This edition contains new material which refl ects the • Using digital supplementary materials latest developments in linguistics and language teaching, • Content and Language Integrated Learning (CLIL) English‘ For prospective and practising With exercises and a key including a chapter on ‘Combining words’, informed by teachers and teacher trainers, I A Course in English Language Teaching is ideal for use in initial lexico-grammar. It also includes insights and examples of teacher training and as a reference guide for practising teachers. It consider the book an invaluable Second edition language use from the Cambridge International Corpus. covers the core principles of teaching English, taking into account bank of ideas, tasks and the specific needs of younger, teenage and adult learners. It also Increased cross-referencing and an extended index mean inspiration.’ prepares teachers for common teaching challenges, such as mixed that the book can be easily used as a quick referenceLanguage tool, Teacher Trainer as well as to explore major topics in depth. methodology, and is Series Editor content that drives stronger results. ability classes, classroom discipline, and assessment and testing. The book combines theory and practice, with each unit containing Exercises using a range of authentic materials enable tasks that encourage reflection and discussion, plus action tasks • you to test grammar rules against real language use. such as classroom observation and practice. Teachers can check Teaching their progress using the review sections and explore the topics in Analysis of real learner errors from the Cambridge insights • more depth using the suggestions for further reading. Learner Corpus develops your ability to deal with Penny Ur is a teacher and teacher-trainer, with extensive experience common mistakes. of training teachers in mainstream education. She is the author of • A section on researching language helps you to Second edition help shape richer content . . .’ (back several successful books in the Cambridge Handbooks for Language evaluate the way grammar is treated in published Teachers series: Discussions that Work, Five-Minute Activities (with materials. Andrew Wright), Grammar Practice Activities, Teaching Listening The Cambridge International Corpus (CIC) is a collection of over 1 billion words Comprehension and Vocabulary Activities. Chapter-by-chapter extension exercises to accompany of real spoken and written English. The • texts are stored in a database that can be the book appear at www.cambridge.org/elt/gelt. searched to see how English is used. The CIC also 50Penny Ur includes the Cambridge Learner Corpus, a unique collection of over 30 million words taken from student exam papers from Cambridge ESOL. It shows real Also available: mistakes students make and highlights the parts of Series Teaching Language A Course in English Ur, 9781 1 076 8467 6 Penny Editor: Scott ThornburyEnglish which cause problems for students. Grammar Practice Activities www.cambridge.org/corpus Cambridge Grammar of English K Grammar for English Language Teachers Parrott Y Thaine
M Grammar for C English Language Teachers Teacher Training Essentials Workshops for professional development Grammar for English Language Teachers provides ‘ Some of the explanations are Teacher Training Classroom invaluable support to teachers in training and those the most accurate and easy to K
with more experience. As well as clearly explaining and understand I have ever seen in Y Cambridge illustrating the grammar, it examines diffi culties learners any grammar book.’ GrammarM for Craig Thaine Handbooks Management C Essentials for Language often encounter, and provides help and advice in planning The TEFL Farm lessons. It explores the complexity of grammatical choices Teachers in an accessible way, and raises awareness of how these ‘ An ideal introduction to English English Language Teachers Series Editor Techniques differ from the ‘rules of thumb’ often presented to learners. grammar for the new teacher.’ Workshops for professional development
Teacher Training Essentials Scott Thornbury The essential resource for new and experienced Bell International Teacher This edition contains new material which refl ects the teacher trainers. Martin Parrott latest developments in linguistics and language teaching, ‘ For prospective and practising With exercises Thisand book a of keyready-to-use teacher training workshops is designed to including a chapter on ‘Combining words’, informed by teachers and teacher trainers, I provide you with a bank of perfectly planned and structured sessions lexico-grammar. It also includes insights and examples of consider the book an invaluable Second edition with accompanying photocopiable worksheets. The sessions develop language use from the Cambridge International Corpus. bank of ideas, tasks and teachers’ knowledge of three key areas: methodology, language and Increased cross-referencing and an extended index mean theory. They also encourage teachers to actively reflect on their own inspiration.’ prior learning and experience. These workshops are ideal for in-house that the book can be easily used as a quick reference tool, Teacher Trainer and in-service teacher training as well as preparation courses for as well as to explore major topics in depth. awards such as CELTA, CertTESOL, DELTA and DipTESOL.
• Exercises using a range of authentic materials enable Teacher Training Essentials is divided into three distinct you to test grammar rules against real language use. • sections for ease of use: Classroom methodology, Developing language awareness and Background to teaching. • Analysis of real learner errors from the Cambridge Learner Corpus develops your ability to deal with • Each teacher training workshop consists of two to three common mistakes. photocopiable worksheets accompanied by comprehensive trainer’s notes. A section on researching language helps you to Secondedition • The workshops are suitable for a range of teaching experience: evaluate the way grammar is treated in published • pre-service, new in-service and experienced teachers. materials. • Teachers will benefit from learning about teaching methodology in • Chapter-by-chapter extension exercises to accompany training sessions which are models of good teaching practice. the book appear at www.cambridge.org/elt/gelt.
Also available: Grammar Practice Activities Discover more: Cambridge Grammar of English
978 0 521 172240 TRAINING ESSENTIALS TEACHER THAINE: CCC: CVR Penny Ur Martin Parrott Craig Thaine
Jim Scrivener 978 0 521 71204 0 Parrott Grammar for English Language Teachers Second Edition Cover. Edition Second Teachers Language English for 0 Grammar Parrott 521 71204 978 0 ISBN 978 0 521 73232 1 ISBN 978 0 521 58846 1 ISBN 978 0 521 71204 0 ISBN 978 0 521 17224 0 ISBN 978 0 521 74185 9
978 0 521 71204 0 Parrott Grammar for English Language Teachers Second Edition Cover. Teachers 978 0 521 71204 Parrott Grammar for English Language Scott Thornbury cambridge.org/betterlearning ISBN 978 1 107 68467 6 ISBN 978 0 521 71204 0 ISBN 978 0 521 17224 0 for the Cambridge Handbooks for 9781108457767 9781107667198 Language Teachers. 9781108701457 • Scott Thornbury’s • 101 Grammar Questions C M Thornbury’s • Scott 9781108701457 cover, italics mine) and this book provides Better Learning is our simple approach 101Cambridge Handbooks for Language Teachers where deeper insights help shape richer Pocket editions explanations (meanings, patterns, exceptions) content that drives stronger results. ISBN: 978-1-108-70145-7 Series Editor: Scott Thornbury drawn from traditional grammar, as well as Discover more:
cambridge.org/betterlearning 9 7 8 1 1 0 8 7 0 1 4 5 7 > additional – and useful – explanation from Thornbury. What questions made it into the book? Thornbury searched online forums, invited teachers to submit questions, and drew on his own experience to create a playlist of recurring queries. Grouped into topics, questions range from overarching ideas about language and acquisition (Section A), to fine-grained distinctions between related tenses (Section D) and commonly confused words (Section G) My favourite was F: Syntax, as I found it most applicable to my teaching. There’s also a concise glossary at the end, making the book really helpful for anyone whose grammar is a little rusty (lexical aspect, anyone?). You might be best to take a dip-in-dip-out approach, as the wealth of detail and changes of focus can be a little overwhelming to read straight through. Explanations
Volume 36 No 2 English Australia Journal 105 also cover varietal differences (American vs. British), mode (spoken vs. written), historical change (to explain seemingly random grammatical patterns) and comparison of English grammar with the grammars of classical and modern languages. As always, explaining language through language can be challenging; as a result, some might find some explanations difficult to follow. In addition, although framed in terms of teachers’ questions, this book is a pedagogical grammar offering insights into language, rather than a pedagogical guide to teaching grammar. So, is Scott Thornbury’s 101 Grammar Questions worth getting? This small volume contains a surprising amount of detail and may become your first port of call when checking grammatical points. If you lack confidence with English grammar, if you’re learning another language, if you’re off the grid with no access to the internet, or if you simply enjoy Scott Thornbury’s approach, you might find the compact Scott Thornbury’s 101 Grammar Questions a worthwhile buy.
Vanessa Todd is a Learning Adviser at Macquarie University Library in Sydney, and helps students to develop academic and digital literacies. She collaborates with colleagues to design, develop and deliver a variety of resources: stand-alone and embedded; online and face-to-face. With a background in EAP, academic literacy and language testing, Vanessa is interested in learning design, user experience design, visualisation and games for learning in higher education.
If you would like to write a review for the English Australia Journal, please contact the Reviews Editor: [email protected]
106 English Australia Journal Volume 36 No 2 Reflective Practice In ELT
Thomas S. C. Farrell
Equinox Publishing, 2019
Reviewed by Jennifer Wallace
As a learner or teacher, you have doubtless encountered lesson activities that include elements of reflection, perhaps in the form of questions or a journal. But was the activity you undertook really reflection? This is the question Thomas Farrell poses in the opening to his book, Reflective Practice in ELT. With the rising popularity of reflective practice (RP) in language teaching and the proliferation of approaches to reflection, how can and should RP in Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL) be characterised? Farrell’s proposal is a multi-layered, holistic conception of RP, encompassing a discussion of the breadth of previous RP research, a proposed RP typology, ‘reflective break’ questions for teacher training, and how his ideas can be applied. Farrell’s book presents a compelling case for refining understanding of RP in TESOL. Drawing from the field of education research generally, the first chapter, ‘What is reflective practice?’, provides definitions of RP from 22 salient studies. Despite a number of publications on the topic of RP in TESOL, few attempt to define RP in this context, and this leads Farrell to the overall purpose of this chapter: his working definition of RP in TESOL. Chapter 2, ‘Typologies of reflective practice’, explores existing key typologies of RP in general education. These, with the working definition, laid the groundwork for Farrell’s ‘Framework for Reflecting on Practice’ (2015). According to Farrell’s framework, RP for a teacher comprises five ‘stages/ levels of reflection’ (p. 51): philosophy (self-knowledge shaped by background and experience); principles (underlying beliefs about the profession); theory (the reasons behind working choices); practice (observable actions in the classroom); and beyond practice (consideration of broader moral and affective issues).
Volume 36 No 2 English Australia Journal 107 Chapter 3, ‘Six principles of reflective practice’, proposes that for a teacher to truly practise reflection, their engagement with the stages of RP must be underpinned by holding a set of principles of RP. RP is holistic, is evidence based, involves dialogue, bridges principles and practices, requires an inquiring disposition, and is a way of life (p. 58). It is difficult to argue with Farrell’s choices, as most, if not all, these principles are those that many teachers aspire to or claim to teach by. Each principle is described in theory and practice. For example, Farrell argues that establishing a critical friendship could engender the ‘involves dialogue’ principle of RP. However, even with the examples, the reader is left at the end of Chapter 3 with many questions about how to operationalise the framework and principles in tandem. Chapters 4, 5 and 6 attempt to answer those questions by laying out concrete tools for and methods of RP through practical examples. Chapter 4, ‘Tools of reflective practice’, is similar in structure to research methods sections of teacher training books. Farrell discusses eight familiar methods of data collection. Each description outlines different techniques teachers can try, along with the benefits and challenges inherent in using each tool. For teachers accustomed to reading about the benefits of, for example, peer observation, but coming up against the personal or institutional barriers to using such a tool, this inclusion is reassuring because it shows that Farrell practises principles of RP in his own work. An illustrative case study in Chapter 5, ‘One teacher’s reflective journey’, contextualises the RP framework, principles and tools. For a teacher reader, this kind of exemplification of the principles is engaging because the case study teacher’s personal and professional experiences, conveyed through analysis of interviews, classroom recordings and written reflections, are relatable. The participant’s experience highlights that, while a teacher’s disposition is integral to fostering a reflective approach, the institution in which the teacher works is also responsible for cultivating a ‘climate of reflection’ (p. 125). Chapter 6, ‘Cultivating reflective practice’, draws on John Dewey in outlining three ‘attitudes’ (p. 128) which are key to promoting a reflective disposition in individual teachers: open-mindedness, responsibility, and whole-heartedness. Farrell details approaches and techniques schools can implement to develop a culture of collaboration and reflection, such as teacher evaluation and mentoring. The message is that more supportive institutions lead to more reflective teachers, and an overall better learner experience. Drawing to the end of the book in Chapter 7, ‘Ten questions for reflection’, Farrell attempts to address remaining questions the reader might have related to the ‘ambiguity of the concept of RP’ (p. 145) and its application. Among them, the most provocative for me is ‘Can reflection be faked?’ Farrell’s answer reveals an unpalatable truth in TESOL, which is that the reflective hurdle components of many courses often
108 English Australia Journal Volume 36 No 2 lead to rote reflections. This is a reminder to the reader that the complex framework Farrell outlines in the book is complex for a reason: ‘recipe-following checklists’ for RP (p. 154) will not lead to productive reflection. Farrell ends by looking to the future of RP and summarising a forthcoming series of books on the subject. There might be more literature review in this book than a busy teacher is looking for, but it is well worth the read for its overview of the tools of reflection and its acknowledgement of the affective and ethical dimensions of RP. Curriculum writers can derive much from its warning against how a ‘discourse of reflection’ (p. 155) could lead to less-than-honest reflections in language courses. Teacher trainers will appreciate the pedagogical nature of the book, with its inclusion of reflective breaks. The attitudes of open-mindedness, responsibility and whole-heartedness that Farrell argues are essential to cultivating RP are in fact central to the experience of reading this book. They are exemplified by the writer’s persistent questioning of both his own ideas and those of the reader, and his willingness to confront the ambiguity in the field. I suggest that this book is needed now for the reminder it provides that, despite recent seismic shifts in the logistics of our profession, we still reflect and teach with our whole selves.
References
Farrell, T. S. C. (2015). Promoting teacher reflection in second language education: A framework for TESOL professionals. New York: Routledge.
Jennifer Wallace is an EAP teacher at UTS Insearch, Sydney. Her research interests include teacher beliefs, attitudes and cognition. She is also passionate about supporting academic English students to develop critical thinking skills.
Volume 36 No 2 English Australia Journal 109 ETpedia Teacher Training 500 Ideas For Teacher Training In English Language Teaching
Beth Melia-Leigh & Nicholas Northall
Pavilion, 2020
Reviewed by Rufus James
ETpedia Teacher Training is a practical spiral-bound resource book designed to provide novice teacher trainers and more experienced practising teacher trainers with support, inspiration and extension. The book is divided up into eight sections with tips, suggestions and general overviews of the specified areas (pp. 1–166) and photocopiable resources (pp. 168–265). There are far too few commercially produced resources for the new or experienced teacher trainer, so this book is a welcome addition to the meagre pile adorning my bookshelf, and I was excited to dive into and be inspired by it. It sits alongside other books available in the series, including ETpedia Vocabulary, ETpedia Young Learners, ETpedia Business English and ETpedia Management. This book was published in 2020 immediately prior to the ‘great online Zoom frenzy’, as history may well refer to the recent shift to online teaching. As a result of it being a pre-COVID-19 publication, only one unit is dedicated to online teaching. One imagines that future editions of this resource will include ideas, techniques and tools for transferring these practical, face-to-face, focused resources to an online platform. Perhaps this is a possible way for those teachers recently thrown in the deep end to contribute their experience and learnings. Out of both a necessity and a desire to trial and evaluate this resource, I have recently started using some of these ideas and techniques in my vastly different roles as an online CELTA trainer with pre-service teachers, and as an Education Officer providing basic teacher training support to incarcerated peer tutors in a high security prison, and the resources are appropriate and easily adaptable for both these contexts. Transferability, thy name is ETpedia! Much like a recipe book, the ETpedia books are designed to be dipped into rather than read cover to cover, flicked through for stimulus or to meet an immediate need. This is good because teachers will certainly come to this book with different levels of experience and expectations, and quite probably with limited time at their
110 English Australia Journal Volume 36 No 2 disposal. The photocopiable resources can be used without too much amendment or preparation time required; on the other hand, if time is less of a pressing issue, the materials could be adapted to better suit the specific context. The book starts with an introductory unit followed by comprehensive sections on getting started, input sessions, teaching practice and lesson planning, lesson observations, the feedback stage, assignments and written tasks, different types of training contexts, ending a course, and further development. It’s a logical and detailed book; the split between the different sections works well as it’s easy for readers to immediately find what is applicable or relevant. The familiar format of 10 tips may seem a little tedious (or provide comfort, depending on your perspective!) but in this way, you certainly know what to expect. So, in keeping with the format of the book, here are:
10 things I loved about the book: 1. It’s applicable and accessible for new, inexperienced teacher trainers, and it’s supportive and focused, encouraging self-awareness and reflection for those moving from teacher to teacher trainer. 2. This focus on self-reflection and evaluation is a strength, encouraging new teachers to reflect on previous experience and how it makes them suitable (or not) for moving into teacher training. 3. Whilst some centres have established systems in place and support for new/ experienced teacher trainers, this is not always the case. This book would provide new teachers with a structured focus of things to consider before, during and after a teacher training course if no mentoring by their workplace was provided, and help them assess a potential new workplace. 4. Equally, this resource could help a centre set up an online teacher training course. Some courses have stringent requirements for the selection, induction and mentoring of teacher-trainers, including pre-approval assessments and
Volume 36 No 2 English Australia Journal 111 shadowing, but if the centre is starting from scratch, this book provides invaluable focus. 5. The inclusion of quotes by ‘real’ teacher trainers adds personality and credibility. 6. Often, observation tasks are marginalised. Here, there are whole units and photocopiables devoted to them. 7. It’s reasonably priced and therefore accessible for the individual. 8. You get a lot of ideas/support for the cost of one book. The authors are clearly experts in their field and have covered issues from considering to planning to running to evaluating a teacher training course. 9. It’s durable and designed for heavy use. This is a book that will stand up to photocopying and being referred to frequently. These little things are important! 10. Whilst it’s written with teacher trainers in mind, there isn’t a reliance on metalanguage or terminology which can be off-putting for people outside the ‘in the know’ circle. The language and terms are clear and inclusive.
10 things I would change: 1. Sufficient detail, support and links to relevant tools for online teacher training, especially for those thrown in the deep end (as Shakespeare might have said if he’d been more relevant: ‘some are born teaching online, others achieve teaching online while most of us have online teaching thrust upon us’). 2. Some of the concepts would benefit from more detail. I found that some things I identify as being quite important were glossed over a little. 3. Information on which teacher training courses are accepted or recognised in different countries would support those wanting to utilise their skills in a variety of different countries and contexts, as would information on which bodies assess/accept qualifications. This, in turn, would inform teachers when considering which initial or further professional development courses to engage in. 4. Whilst I personally found it cumbersome to flick from one end to the other to find the photocopiable resource referenced in the tips units, that’s not to say it doesn’t work well. 5. There is some focus on flipping the classroom, although more would be good. 6. Inclusion of colour - it’s very monochrome (although this supports photocopying). 7. I have run out of things I’d like to change . . . what do I wish were different?
112 English Australia Journal Volume 36 No 2 8. I wish there was more equality/less prejudice in the world. 9. I wish Norwich City weren’t about to be relegated. 10. I wish there were more books like this available for teacher trainers. Overall, this book has accessible and immediately applicable resources, ‘top tips’ and ideas for using in a wide range of contexts, and is a refreshingly easy yet informative and practical read. The fully photocopiable resources are well selected, professional looking, and deal with a wide range of areas. There’s even a section at the back for you to write your own Top 10 Tips . . . so you can feel like you’re a published author!
Rufus James is currently an Education Officer at Wacol Correctional Centre. She is also a NEAS Quality Assurance Assessor and CELTA Trainer. She has taught teachers and students in the UK, Pakistan and Australia, and is passionate about leadership, diversity and using education as a rehabilitation tool to empower students and teachers.
Volume 36 No 2 English Australia Journal 113 ELT Training Library https://www.elttraininglibrary.com/
Language Fuel
Reviewed by Clare McGrath
The ELT Training Library is an online collection of short, self-paced professional development (PD) courses for English language teachers. Reviewing a ‘library’ is an interesting challenge, considering the ‘building’ as well as the contents, all with variations in format, length, and sometimes depth. Headlined by the legendary Jill Hadfield, the contributors are very experienced teachers, authors and presenters. The majority of the current 16 are women; all have an impressive diversity of linguistic and cultural origins and experience round the globe. It is great to see a resource like this from our part of the world, responding particularly to the needs of those who do not have PD provided, for example part- time or volunteer teachers. Judging from endorsements on the site, the library is well aligned with general needs in New Zealand, but I think you will agree is also relevant elsewhere. The ‘building’ itself is well designed and easy to navigate. Courses are clearly described and have attractive visuals. Their unfussy design, blue and grey themes, the Open Sans font, and the way each chunk fits neatly on your screen makes it quite relaxing as you scroll down through the ‘chapters’ – no need to move to a new ‘page’ or open a new tab. The library houses 45 courses at present, with the majority aimed more at English language teachers starting out, those needing a refresher, or those filling gaps in training and PD. Emphatically practical – there is no noticeable reference to theory or evidence – the courses help develop an understanding of basic guidelines as well as of students. They also supply a number of immediately useful materials, and they build confidence. There is a very short introductory course showing how the overall library works. Though this could be free, and more activity here would spice it up – a video, or perhaps starting your map of courses of interest – it was an easy win at 13 minutes.
114 English Australia Journal Volume 36 No 2 However, the library is simple to access without this, just through having a poke around. Plus, the support page is refreshingly clear. The scope is broad, meeting a range of needs for teachers of young learners to adults, and is organised in categories such as Contexts, Literacy, Community, Classroom Management, Reading, Pronunciation, and so on. As with any library, there is no overarching teaching / learning philosophy, and each author has their own take on the topic of their course(s). To get more information about which courses to choose, search the catalog using the ‘column’ layout to see the titles and the overviews – for example, you can see what is housed under ‘Language Awareness’ versus under ‘Verb Forms’. Some of the current categories have more choices, for example, at the time of writing, there are five courses under ‘Reading’ (an introduction to extensive reading, three on using graded readers, and one on using picture books) versus one under ‘Speaking’ (on teaching teenagers verbal communication skills). That said, some categories cover a lot of ground, for example the one course under ‘Listening’ examines macro- and micro-skills as well as listening for language. Each of the actual courses is snack-sized, with at least three and generally five to seven sections or chapters, though you will find that the meatier ones may take a little longer than the general 20 minutes advertised. This does not really factor in time for making notes (I used Word, screenshots and recordings of me thinking aloud), or time for newbies needing to look up any unfamiliar terminology encountered. A free glossary would be a helpful addition, or a task to create your own could be given. A typical format, once past the concise overview and list of chapters, is a short one- or two-minute introductory video with a reflection from the author, or a cartoon showing a teacher or a class and illustrating a problem or need. The scenarios and characters, representing a wide range of ages and cultures, as well as the fairly untechnical approach, make it inviting and accessible. Instructions for the course tasks which follow are simple and generally clear, and there is an enticing range of activities in these. Most of these are interactive: you tick, flip tiles, drag-and-drop or match, do multiple-choice quizzes, click on hot spots, and so on. Others simply require you to think and write if you wish. Many courses come with PDF downloads, and are mostly versions of key information presented, or generic templates to print out. Some are activities described for students, and more downloads like this would be welcome. Often there are questions
Volume 36 No 2 English Australia Journal 115 at different points prompting reflection on your experience or learning, sometimes a space to record these, and/or a final reflection task on the site or via a download. These are not daunting, and many could also prove stimulating in discussions with colleagues. It would be great to see more consistent provision of these reflection tasks throughout the site, as well as one or two references for further exploration at the end of each course. Other than occasional sources of quotes, definitions or citations, I only came across one reference at the end, which was to another writer’s books to purchase. I should emphasise that I had a thorough look at 18 courses and a browse through others, totalling just under half of the courses currently available. Feedback on tasks is not individual, so those with fixed responses are automatically marked, and some include brief further clarification (of which it would be good to see more, particularly with more difficult content). Free responses are not actually checked – in fact, you can skip writing anything for these – though on clicking ‘submit’, you can compare yours with the author’s. I liked the fact that you can ‘try again’ if you made a mistake (I am nothing if not thorough). It is also possible to send a message to the ‘instructor’; email responses to my questions and comments were clear and friendly, though (understandably) somewhat delayed. After subscribing, you access your online account (supported on common browsers with cookies enabled, and also accessible via mobile and a free app), though some items require web access. It is easy to view courses completed and started, ditto to resume later. You can also revisit completed courses to check something. While certificates are not issued, there is a downloadable infographic showing the number of courses done, time spent or the dates of access. For actual names of courses completed, see the Excel spreadsheet, or copy and paste from your ‘information’. Try it out yourself with a free trial. Subscriptions thereafter are billed monthly, unless you cancel in that first free month. Fees are AUD$24.50/NZD$34.50 per course, with a different free course each month. Managers can negotiate a subscription for an organisation according to numbers. These groups can have discussions and message each other on the site. Courses can also be hosted on your LMS. In the current range, you will notice some gaps on the shelves; for example, nothing yet on coursebooks, tasks and projects, academic English, or reflecting on your teaching (as opposed to what you learn here). However, this cornucopia is tipping over from the ‘minimal viable product stage’, with new courses being added and some being ‘retired’, and a specialist editor on board (who will no doubt edit the odd typo). In the pipeline are the following: ‘exploiting the textbook’ (tick!); phrasal verbs; conference presentation skills; and more on teaching one-to-one. The library is also very open to suggestions for other topics.
116 English Australia Journal Volume 36 No 2 Language Fuel is in fact more than this ELT Training Library product. Visit their Facebook page to watch many of the introductory videos used in courses, meet the authors, and receive downloads via email; check it out on their YouTube channel, Instagram and Twitter; or select from their fifty-plus podcasts. To me the ELT Training Library is quite unique, meeting different needs to others out there such as Jo Gakonga’s similarly named ELT Training site (www.elt-training. com), which is focused more narrowly on CELTA graduates rather than say also community language teachers. It is a resource worth considering. Keep an eye on it as it continues evolving.
Clare McGrath is a CELTA trainer, an EA PD consultant, and a PD provider in non-ELT disciplines in higher education in Australia and New Zealand. She is also closely involved with the #AusELT online community and is an admin on their Facebook page.
Volume 36 No 2 English Australia Journal 117 Roadmap Student’s Book B2+
Jonathan Bygrave, Hugh Dellar & Andrew Walkley
Pearson, 2020
Reviewed by Sandra Pitronaci
Roadmap is a new, eight-level coursebook series offered by Pearson, based on the Global Scale of English (GSE) learning objectives, and aimed at adult English language learners. The Roadmap series claims to enable learners to build speaking confidence and develop strategies for improving all skills, while recognising that all language classes and all learners are unique. The series also claims to offer teachers a basis from which to easily prepare and teach successful and fun lessons, and effectively adapt the provided materials according to learner needs. This review undertakes to critique the B2+ level of Roadmap, which is aligned to approximately 60-75 on the GSE scale and B2+ on the CEFR. The back-cover blurb states that the coursebook offers students relevant content and extensive support, and at first glance, this seems to be the case. The unit themes, such as ‘Kind acts’, ‘Regeneration’, ‘All the rage’ or ‘In the wild’, spark immediate interest, and the readings and photographs that accompany them continue to draw the reader’s attention. Even the more typical topics found in most coursebooks offer a certain level of depth and sophistication, and would serve as an excellent springboard for more in-depth classroom discussions. The Roadmap webpage offers teachers support and guidance through a set of publicly available webinars, which are presented by the authors themselves. It also offers a range of digital resources, including printable and photocopiable worksheets, audio and video files, answer keys and an assessment package. The digital resources for students include a mobile Pearson app, which is initially easily downloadable but slightly clunky in terms of direct navigation to the relevant Roadmap series/level/ specific activity, and a workbook with online portal including audio and video material,
118 English Australia Journal Volume 36 No 2 which can either be viewed online or downloaded for later practice. The video presenter/journalist is energetic and confident, and thankfully the audio dialogues lack the stiltedness often found in listening recordings. Surprisingly, though, most of the audio files I accessed in the B2+ level were in what I perceived to be Standard Southern English, and I only detected a narrow range of other English varieties included in the recordings. Looking at Roadmap in more detail, my first question would once again be why grammar must take pride of place as the first skill covered in most coursebook contents pages. My intention here is not to disregard or discount grammar, but instead reflects a strong desire to see the communicative functions highlighted as the aim for each unit. Having said that, the goals for each unit, albeit pushed to the far right of the Contents pages, are excellent, and certainly reflect the ‘relevance’ that the coursebook intends to offer learners. The first set of goals is labelled ‘Speaking Goals’ (p. 2, p. 4), and these include a realistic and useful mix of objectives such as persuading people to try different activities, talking about annoying incidents, discussing legal cases and consequences, talking about the impact of news stories and events, reporting on and discussing books, and telling jokes. Alongside the Speaking Goals are the more generically labelled ‘Goals’ which cover other skills, such as understanding intended meaning in a blog, writing an email to build rapport, understanding a podcast, writing an academic essay, understanding public address announcements, and comparing a text and its summary. The grammar and vocabulary covered support the above communicative goals, but interestingly, while grammar, vocabulary, reading, listening and speaking are all highlighted by means of subheadings which appear throughout the units, pronunciation appears explicitly in the Contents page but is then visually diminished within each unit – one has to search through the unit to find the pronunciation exercise in amongst all the others. Whether this was an intentionally subtle and implicit approach is not stated, but my feeling is that learners focus on what is highlighted, and just as it seems a pity to place grammar as the guiding content,
Volume 36 No 2 English Australia Journal 119 it seems likewise a pity to lose the focus on pronunciation in the busy-ness of the page layout. Each unit, divided into subsections A, B, C and D, is presented in a fairly systematic manner, yet there are plenty of audio files interspersed throughout, along with links to the app for more information and practice. Also included are brief, highlighted blocks labelled ‘Useful phrases’, and the formulaic language covered in these is again quite valuable and applicable, such as acknowledgements, signposts, fillers, opening gambits, hedged disagreements, conversation starters and subject changers. Each unit subsection is linked to a ‘Develop your reading’, ‘Develop your listening’, or ‘Develop your writing’ section, all of which appear in an independent section towards the back of the book. These provide excellent further development of the topics and text types, and once again, the language covered is highly useful and relevant. After every two units there is a ‘Check and reflect’ section, which includes both individual and pair tasks, and a brief reflective section on confidence felt in having achieved the various learning objectives. The book also includes the ubiquitous yet handy grammar bank, albeit labelled ‘Language bank’, but besides the regular focus on conditionals, prepositions, noun phrases etc., it also includes some excellent language points such as cleft sentences, exaggeration and puns. A ‘Vocabulary bank’ and a ‘Communication bank’ with several pair tasks as related unit extension also appear. We must of course include a critique of the visual content and the thematic content in order to better understand the stance of the coursebook. Overall diversity and inclusivity rank fair but not high from my perspective. People of all colours and ages are represented, yet, in the B2+ level at least, most are quite able and heteronormative in representation. There is an elderly man in a wheelchair, and another sleeping rough and seeking employment, but a range of abilities or socioeconomic backgrounds, other than in the ‘A good cause’ section, is not more generally and normatively represented. There are female/male couples, including a wedding shot and a young couple with a baby, but no obvious representations of LGBTQIA+ people or diverse families, and a rainbow artwork of cargo containers is specifically included in the ‘Is it news?’ section, thereby implying the topic somehow sits outside the norm and within the controversial. A final bugbear of mine – representation of women’s sport – is explicitly included, which is positive, but now that it’s 2020, I would prefer we took a more nonchalantly understated approach to inclusiveness in the first place. From an intercultural competence lens (referring back to Bodis’ peer-reviewed article on intercultural competence in English Australia Journal Volume 36.1, and Caon-Parsons and Dimmell’s article in this issue), beyond the overall inclusiveness quotient I have described above, I feel it is fair to say that this coursebook does not aim to ‘integrate’ students into a particular target culture, nor does it refer back
120 English Australia Journal Volume 36 No 2 to them or seek to elicit from them as though they were stereotypes of their own culture, with fixed identities and no intra-cultural differences. When the questions refer to a student’s country, they are quite generic, such as ‘Who are the most famous sportswomen in your country?’ (p. 26) (although this could have said ‘community’ rather than ‘country’), or ‘Did you enjoy studying science at school?’ (p. 78). Most of the questions it poses to students, especially in pair work, do not proffer cultural stereotypes, and instead ask students to discuss their personal experiences and opinions on the themes offered, without making any assumptions about who the students are or what they believe, other than their being second language learners. Some themes, questions and visuals relate to scenarios that may be less common in developing nations, but they still feel generic enough to be relatable to some degree to most students. While intercultural competence is not explicitly addressed as a skill by the B2+ book, information and visuals from cultures other than anglophone are presented with dignity and respect. Overall, while the coursebook takes a very ‘safe’ approach to a full representation of the human experience, possibly so that it can appeal to more conservative audiences across the globe, the focus is at least on captivating and substantial topics, with quirky and rhetorical language thrown in for good measure. The coursebook comes across as solid, and I feel it would be suitable for English language learners in Australia and beyond; however, I would hope for the teacher to supplement the course with added diversity and inclusivity of people, themes and lived experiences.
Sandra Pitronaci has been on the ELICOS scene for over 13 years as a teacher, teacher trainer and academic manager, and is currently Director of Studies at ILSC Sydney. She is an avid supporter of ELT communities of practice such as NSW AMSIG, IATEFL LAMSIG and #AusELT, and is Reviews Editor of the English Australia Journal.
Volume 36 No 2 English Australia Journal 121 General Information
The English Australia Journal is published twice each year, in April and September. It welcomes contributions from those involved in TESOL teaching, training and research. Currently, it is released only as an open-access, downloadable digital magazine.
Guidelines for contributors General information and detailed guidelines for contributors may be found on the English Australia website, https://www.englishaustralia.com.au/professional- development/journal (scan the QR code at the bottom of this page to go there directly). Contributors are asked to refer to these and observe them closely, as submissions that do not meet requirements may not be accepted. Please direct any queries to the Editor before submitting. Important note: • all articles are subject to a revision process. If an article cannot be revised in time for a print deadline, it will be carried over to a subsequent issue. • accepted articles are the property of the English Australia Journal and may be republished only with permission. • English Australia reserves the right to reject submissions or withdraw articles from publication.
122 English Australia Journal Volume 36 No 2 Advertising The English Australia Journal is read by professionals involved in TESOL throughout Australia and, increasingly, overseas. Advertising for relevant courses, publications, computer software, hardware or any other products is welcome. Details of rates are to be found at the end of this issue.
Contact For further information please contact English Australia or the relevant editor, using the contact details below:
English Australia PO Box 1437 Darlinghurst NSW 1300 Australia Telephone: (02) 9264 4700
General email: [email protected] Executive Editor: [email protected] Classroom Talk Editor: [email protected] Reviews Editor: [email protected]
The English Australia Journal is published by English Australia Ltd.
Volume 36 No 2 English Australia Journal 123 English Australia Member Colleges
August 2020
Australian Capital Territory (ACT) ANU College UC College English Language Centre (UCCELC) New South Wales (NSW) Ability English - Sydney Academy of Commerce Academy of English - Sydney ACU English Language Centre - North Sydney Australian Institute of Professional Education Australian Pacific College - Sydney (Clarence Street) Australian Pacific College - Sydney (Kent Street) Centre for English Teaching, The University of Sydney CQUniversity English Language Centre - Sydney EF International Language Schools ELS Universal English College ELSIS Sydney Embassy English - Sydney English Language Company Greenwich English College ILSC Australia - Sydney International House - Sydney Kaplan International College - Sydney City Kaplan International College - Sydney - Manly Macquarie University English Language Centre Navitas English - Manly Navitas English - Sydney North Coast Institute English Language Centre - Kingscliff NSW English Language Centre TAFE Hunter Institute - Newcastle Specialty Language Centre and Oxford College of English
124 English Australia Journal Volume 36 No 2 TAFE English Language Centre (TELC) - Meadowbank TAFE International Education Centre (TIEC) - Liverpool TAFE NSW Sydney Institute English Centre (SITEC) Torrens University Language Centre University of New England English Language Centre University of Newcastle Language Centre - Newcastle University of Newcastle Language Centre - Sydney UNSW Global Pty Ltd T/A Institute of Languages UOW College UTS:INSEARCH Western Sydney University, The College Wollongong English Language & Cultural Centre, TAFE Illawarra Institute Northern Territory (NT) Navitas English - Darwin Queensland (QLD) ACU English Language Centre - Brisbane Bond University English Language Institute CQUniversity English Language Centre - Brisbane CQUniversity English Language Centre - Rockhampton Embassy English - Brisbane Embassy English - Surfers Paradise English Unlimited Griffith English Language Institute - Brisbane Griffith English Language Institute - Gold Coast ILSC Australia – Brisbane Impact English Brisbane Inforum Education Australia Institute of Continuing & TESOL Education, The University of Queensland (ICTE-UQ) Kaplan International College - Brisbane Kaplan International College - Cairns Lexis English - Brisbane Lexis English - Noosa Lexis English - Sunshine Coast Navitas English - Brisbane
Volume 36 No 2 English Australia Journal 125 QUT International College Sarina Russo Institute Shafston International College - Brisbane Shafston International College - Gold Coast Southbank Institute Language Centre Union Institute of Language YouSTUDY International College South Australia (SA) Centre for English Language in the University of South Australia (CELUSA) Eynesbury College Academy of English Intensive English Language Institute Kaplan International College - Adelaide South Australian College of English TAFE SA Adelaide English Language Centre University of Adelaide College University of Adelaide Tasmania (TAS) University of Tasmania English Language Centre - Launceston University of Tasmania English Language Centre - Hobart Victoria (VIC) Ability English - Melbourne Academia International ACU English Language Centre - Melbourne Chambers Institute CQUniversity English Language Centre - Melbourne Deakin University English Language Institute Discover English ELSIS Melbourne Embassy English - Melbourne Federation Technology Institute Greenwich English College Hawthorn-Melbourne Holmes English Language Centre Holmesglen Institute
126 English Australia Journal Volume 36 No 2 Impact English College INUS Australia – Education & Training JCU College Kangan Institute Kaplan International College - Melbourne La Trobe Melbourne Monash College Pty Ltd Ozford English Language Centre RMIT English Worldwide Swinburne University English Language Centre VU English Western Australia (WA) ASC Language School Australian English Language Centre Centre for English Language Teaching, The University of Western Australia Curtin English Edith Cowan College Kaplan International College - Perth Language Links Lexis English - Perth Milner International College of English Murdoch Language Centre, Murdoch Institute of Technology Navitas English - Perth Perth International College of English Phoenix Academy TAFE Western Australia - Perth Campus
Volume 36 No 2 English Australia Journal 127 English Australia Journal Subscriptions
Annual (two issues) Amount AU$ • Australia $50* • New Zealand $60** • Outside Australasia $75** Two years (four issues) Amount AU$ • Australia $90* • New Zealand $110** • Outside Australasia $140** Individual copies Issue Amount AU$ • Australia $30* • New Zealand $35** • Outside Australasia $40**
*incl. postage & GST **incl. postage
Name:
Postal address:
Postcode:
Amount enclosed: AU$
Signature: EFT payment may be made within Australia: BSB: 082 057 (NAB) Account number: 79 919 2081 Account name: English Australia Limited Please email or fax a remittance advice to the English Australia Secretariat if you use EFT. Please post cheques or money orders, payable in Australian dollars, made out to English Australia Limited, to: English Australia, PO Box 1437 Darlinghurst NSW 1300 Australia
128 English Australia Journal Volume 36 No 2 English Australia Journal Advertising
The English Australia Journal, featuring peer-reviewed and teacher-prepared articles, as well as reviews of recent ELT resources, is published twice a year, in April and in September. Copies of the English Australia Journal are sent to every English Australia member college, professional affiliate member and an increasing number of independent subscribers. Each issue of the English Australia Journal is also promptly posted, in full colour, on the English Australia website. Advertisements are submitted in full colour and are published in greyscale in the hard copy of the English Australia Journal, and in full colour in the online version. Advertising rates include publication in both hard copy and online:
TYPE OF AD WIDTH DEPTH COST (GST included) FULL PAGE 129mm 203mm $550.00 1/2 PAGE 129mm 100mm $330.00
Please note 1 These rates are for advertising space ONLY. 2 Copy must be submitted in the correct size (i.e., be able to fit WITHIN an area of the above dimensions) as a digital file. 3 The preferred format for files to be supplied is a high resolution PDF (include trim marks). 4 A design service is available at extra cost. Advertisers wishing to make use of this service should contact the English Australia Secretariat. 5 An invoice will be forwarded on acceptance of the advertisement.
Contact the English Australia Secretariat ([email protected] or phone (02) 9264 4700 to discuss your advertisement in the next English Australia Journal.
Volume 36 No 2 English Australia Journal 129