The Asian EFL Journal Quarterly March 2014 Volume 16, Issue 1
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The Asian EFL Journal Quarterly March 2014 Volume 16, Issue 1 Senior Editors: Paul Robertson and Roger Nunn 1 Published by the Asian EFL Journal Press Asian EFL Journal Press A Division of Time Taylor International Ltd Time Taylor College Daen dong Busan, Korea http://www.asian-efl-journal.com ©Asian EFL Journal Press 2014 This book is in copyright. Subject to statutory exception no reproduction of any part may take place without the written permission of the Asian EFL Journal Press. No unauthorized photocopying All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the Asian EFL Journal. [email protected] Publisher: Dr. Paul Robertson Chief Editor: Dr. Roger Nunn Associate Production Editors: Allison Smith and David Litz Assistant Copy Editors: David Coventry, Catherine Carpenter, Patrice Crysler, Karen Dreste, Amina Hachemi, Barbara Reimer, Glenys Roberts, Stuart Sotozaki-Leech, and Breda O’Haris-Davies. ISSN 1738-1460 2 Table of Contents: Foreword AEFL Journal Production and Copy Editors….…………………..……………….. 6-10 Main Articles 1. Shaila Sultana………………………………………...……………….…........ 11-52 - English as a Medium of Instruction in Bangladesh’s Higher Education Empowering or Disadvantaging Students? 2. Yi-Huey Guo…………………………………………….…………………..… 53-88 - Asian Undergraduate Students' Apprenticeship in Research Paper Writing: Academic Interactions and Researchers' Responsibilities 3. Yumiko Yamaguchi and Satomi Kawaguchi…..…...……………….…....... 89-119 - Acquisition of English Morphology by a Japanese School-aged Child: A Longitudinal Study 4. Ying Zheng and Wei Wei……………..…………….……………….…........ 120-152 - Knowing the Test Takers: Investigating Chinese and Indian EFL/ESL Students’ Performance on PTE Academic 5. Lemei Zhang…………………………………...……………….……….…..... 153-188 - A Structural Equation Modeling Approach to Investigating Test Takers’ Strategy Use and Reading Test Performance 3 Table of Contents: 6. Barry Lee Reynolds…………..…………….……………………..…..….... 189-226 - An Applied Phenomenological Interview Approach to the Exploration of Taiwanese EFL Teachers’ Perspectives on Language Labs 7. Farzaneh Khodabandeh, Manochehre Jafarigohar, Hassan Soleimani, and Fatemah Hemmati ………….……..…..…............ 227-270 - Investigating Iranian EFL Writing Problems and Examining Back Transfer 8. Bin Li and Congchao Hua…………..…..….……………………..…..…... 271-295 - An Effects of Visual Cues on Perception of Non-native Consonant Contrasts by Chinese EFL Learners 9. Hui-Chuan Liao and Lina Hsu…………….……………………..…..…... 296-333 - Using an Analytical Rubric to Improve the Writing of EFL College Students 10. Kusumi Vasantha Dhanapala and Jun Yamada.…….……….…..….... 334-359 - Oral Reading Rate, Reading Comprehension, and Listening Comprehension in Learners of EFL 4 Table of Contents: Book Reviews 1. Applied Linguistics and Materials Development. Brian Tomlinson (Ed.), London/New York: Bloomsbury Publishing, 2013. Pp. ix + 272. Reviewed by Dario Luis Banegas ……………………………….………........ 360-363 2. The ELT Daily Journal: Learning to Teach ESL/EFL. Hall Houston, Anthimeria Press, 2013. Reviewed by Brian Wadman …………………………….………….......…… 364-367 3. Grammar and Beyond 2. Randi Reppen. Cambridge, NY: Cambridge University Press, 2012, Pp. ix + 399. Reviewed by Sarab Yousif Al-Akraa ……...………………….…...............… 368-370 4. English Through Climate Change. Walter Leal Filho and Evangelos Manolas (Eds.). Orestiada: Department of Forestry and Management of the Environment and Natural Resources, Democritus University of Thrace, 2012. Pp. 198. Reviewed by Eirene C. Katsarou …………………………….…….……........ 371-375 Erratum…………………………………………………………………………… 376 Asian EFL Journal Editorial Information………………………………..……. 377-380 Asian EFL Journal Submission Guidelines………….…………………............ 383-387 5 Foreword By Asian EFL Journal Associate Production and Copy Editors This particular edition of Asian EFL Journal touches upon a number of topics, which are relevant to the field of English language teaching and learning, and applied linguistics. With article topics ranging from language acquisition in children, self assessment with language learners, factors affecting test-takers, and advances in CALL to studies on the teaching and learning of writing, reading and listening comprehension, as well as the context of English in higher education in Bangladesh, this installment includes authors from a number of countries. We expect it will be of great interest to English language professionals across Asia and beyond. In English as a Medium of Instruction in Bangladesh’s Higher Education: Empowering or Disadvantaging Students, author Shaila Sultana explores the problems that first-year Bangladeshi students from public schools face when they enter English medium universities. The study used questionnaire and interviews to gage students’ perceptions of university life. Students from public schools felt that they were at a disadvantage because they had inferior language skills. This impacted their participation in class and made them feel inferior to those who attended private schools. This article would be of interest to researchers who are interested in the context of English, as well as instructors who teach English in non-native environments. In Asian Undergraduate Students' Apprenticeship in Research Paper Writing: Academic Interactions and Researchers' Responsibilities, Yi-Huey Guo discusses the 6 fact that although undergraduates are often required to submit research papers to their professors, there are many in the academic community who consider it unnecessary that under-graduates should have to write them at all, since they will never be published. The author suggests otherwise, stating that because under-graduates are often un-accustomed to writing such papers, they tend to fall back on previous essay writing techniques to compensate for their lack of experience. Because this happens, it is more important that these students learn to write research papers at under-graduate level, not less so, since if they master this skill early on in their academic career, they will not waste time struggling with the issue after they become graduate students. In Acquisition of English Morphology by a Japanese School-aged Child: A Longitudinal Study, Yumiko Yamaguchi and Satoni Kawaguchi explore the English second language acquisition of a five year old Japanese girl who had recently moved to Australia, over a period of two years. Their research begins when Kana was five years old and focuses on the sequential development of her verbal and nominal morphology in terms of both emergent production and levels of accuracy. Her spontaneous English speech elicited in a naturalistic setting through the use of games and storytelling was analyzed using the theoretical framework of Processability Theory heralded by Manfred Pienemann. Kana's language development was found to be compatible with its hierarchical stages. Consequently, the authors stress the need for second language teachers to be conversant with the natural acquisition path of second language learning so that their teaching and syllabi can be better calibrated to match learner readiness. They also call for further longitudinal research on this issue. In Knowing the Test Takers: Investigating Chinese and Indian EFL/ESL Students Performance on PTE Academic, Ying Zheng and Wei Wei investigate numerous affective factors, specifically motivation, anxiety and linguistic confidence, which 7 help explain differences in the results on standardized testing between students in Indian and China. The study showed that while the differences were smaller in a practice test, during the live test, Indian test takers outstripped Chinese test takers. A survey was also given to students to help understand the results. The results from the PTE tests can partially be explained by the context of the test takers (i.e., ESL vs. EFL) and the students’ perception of the test itself (diagnostic information from test vs. final score). As a result of the study, the authors suggest that more care needs to be taken to understand the test takers context when interpreting test scores and that similar attention needs to be used when developing second language curricula and teaching materials. Limei Zhang in A Structural Equation Modeling Approach to Investigating Test Takers’ Strategy Use and Reading Test Performance considers the impact of EFL learners reading strategies on their test results. Data was gathered from their performance on a College of English reading test and their answers to a reading strategies survey. Through analysis using structural equation modeling, it was concluded that it was metacognitive strategies that had the greatest positive impact on learners’ reading test success, while planning and support strategies influenced performance negatively. In An Applied Phenomenological Interview Approach to the Exploration of Taiwanese EFL Teachers’ Perspectives on Language Labs, Barry Lee Reynolds details a phenomenological investigation of teachers’ perceptions of two language labs at a national research university’s language center in Taiwan. The researcher focuses on finding out how a group of language teachers feel about the pedagogical set up and technologies employed in the laboratories; he uses a phenomenological approach through in-depth interviews. He contrasts his findings about how teachers 8 feel with his discussions