Practice and Theory for Materials Development in L2 Learning [1 ed.] 9781443878098, 9781443899871

Citation preview

Practice and Theory for Materials Development in L2 Learning

Practice and Theory for Materials Development in L2 Learning Edited by

Hitomi Masuhara, Freda Mishan and Brian Tomlinson

Practice and Theory for Materials Development in L2 Learning Edited by Hitomi Masuhara, Freda Mishan and Brian Tomlinson This book first published 2017 Cambridge Scholars Publishing Lady Stephenson Library, Newcastle upon Tyne, NE6 2PA, UK British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library Copyright © 2017 by Hitomi Masuhara, Freda Mishan, Brian Tomlinson and contributors All rights for this book 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, recording or otherwise, without the prior permission of the copyright owner. ISBN (10): 1-4438-9987-9 ISBN (13): 978-1-4438-9987-1

TABLE OF CONTENTS

List of Contributors .................................................................................. viii Preface ......................................................................................................... x Section 1 Meeting Different Learner Needs Chapter One ................................................................................................. 2 EAP Learners’ Structured Reflections on Self-Development Strategies: The Design, Implementation and Evaluation of a Task for EAL University Students Ben Fenton Smith Chapter Two .............................................................................................. 19 ‘Self-Access English Language Learning Materials for International Health Science in an Irish University Setting’: Discussion on a Pilot Program Helen Kelly and John Baird Chapter Three ............................................................................................ 52 Intercultural Communication Teaching: Language or Lecture Course? Olga Bondarenko Chapter Four .............................................................................................. 66 The Evaluation and Development of Materials for Fire Science English Courses in Vietnam C˱ͥng Hͷu Hoàng Chapter Five .............................................................................................. 94 Not in Front of the Children: Diversity and Inclusion in UK-published English Language Teaching Course-books for Young Learners David Brining Comments on Section 1 ........................................................................... 105 Brian Tomlinson

vi

Table of Contents

Section 2 Methodology and Approaches Chapter Six .............................................................................................. 110 Investigating Task Repetition with Feedback as a Package for Materials Aiming Towards L2 Oral Fluency Development: The Case of Primary EFL Classrooms in Cyprus Maria Vrikki Chapter Seven.......................................................................................... 131 Helping Learners Learn: Exploring Strategy Instruction in Language Learning Textbooks David Wray and Anas Hajar Chapter Eight ........................................................................................... 149 Short Stories and Task-Based Materials: The Case of ‘The Bet’ Sasan Baleghizadeh Chapter Nine............................................................................................ 164 How to Evaluate Curriculum Fitness of ELT Textbooks: A Hong Kong Case Study Lawrence Pak-wing Wong Chapter Ten ............................................................................................. 188 ESOL Pedagogy: Voices from the Classroom Naeema Hann Chapter Eleven ........................................................................................ 211 They Do Talk – When There’s Something Worth Talking About: The Curious Case of Language Class Discourse Irma-Kaarina Ghosn Comments on Section 2 ........................................................................... 230 Hitomi Masuhara Section 3 Materials in Diverse Contexts Chapter Twelve ....................................................................................... 236 Putting Theory into Practice: A Framework for a CLIL Course in Linguistics in a Blended Learning Environment Maria De Santo, Elisa Pellegrino, Luisa Salvati and Giuseppina Vitale

Practice and Theory for Materials Development in L2 Learning

vii

Chapter Thirteen ...................................................................................... 254 Learning Italian as a Foreign Language: A Look at the Online Course Italian Language @ Culture Luisa Salvati, Maria De Santo and Elisa Pellegrino Chapter Fourteen ..................................................................................... 275 Teaching Grammar Using Inductive and Communicative Materials: Exploring Egyptian EFL Teachers’ Practices and Beliefs Muhammad M. Abdel Latif Chapter Fifteen ........................................................................................ 290 How Teachers Use the Global ELT Coursebook Michael Tasseron Chapter Sixteen ....................................................................................... 312 Investigations into Interlinguistic Transfer: The Role of Reading Assessment Techniques Giuseppina Vitale and Elisa Pellegrino Comments on Section 3 ........................................................................... 334 Freda Mishan Conclusion ............................................................................................... 338 Hitomi Masuhara

LIST OF CONTRIBUTORS

Muhammad M. Abdel Latif Cairo University, Egypt John Baird RCSI Lecturer in Communications, Ireland Sasan Baleghizadeh Shahid Beheshti University, Islamic Republic of Iran Olga Bondarenko Moscow State Institute Of Tourism Industry, Russia David Brining University of York, United Kingdom Maria De Santo University of Naples ‘L’Orientale’, Italy Ben Fenton-Smith Griffith University, Australia Irma K. Ghosn Lebanese American University, Lebanon Anas Hajar Warwick University, United Kingdom Naeema Hann Leeds Beckett University, United Kingdom Cѭӡng Hӳu Hoàng University of Auckland, New Zealand Helen Kelly RCSI Lecturer in Communications, Ireland

Practice and Theory for Materials Development in L2 Learning

Elisa Pellegrino University of Naples ‘L’Orientale’, Italy Luisa Salvati University for Foreigners of Siena, Italy Michael Tasseron University of Oman, the Sultanate of Oman Giuseppina Vitale University of Naples ‘L’Orientale’, Italy Maria Vrikki University of Oxford, United Kingdom Lawrence P. W. Wong Wah Yan College, Hong Kong David Wray Warwick University, United Kingdom

ix

PREFACE HITOMI MASUHARA, BRIAN TOMLINSON AND FREDA MISHAN

Gone are the days, it seems, when ‘materials writing’ – the predecessor of materials development in the 1970’s - was considered as an extension of methodology and at times undervalued as atheoretical and unworthy of serious attention. There seems to be growing awareness of the significant role that materials play in language learning and teaching and of the importance of research in materials development (see Tomlinson & Masuhara, 2017 for a comprehensive review of how the field started and is developing; Tomlinson, 2012 for an extensive review of the literature on materials development). As Richards (2010, ix) puts it: …whereas materials design may seem an eminently practical activity, sound instructional materials cannot be created in a theoretical vacuum. They draw on a wide variety of theoretical foundations, since they reflect particular assumptions about the nature of language, of second language learning, and of second language teaching. They should hence be informed by research and current knowledge drawn from relevant domains of applied linguistics, including corpus linguistics, discourse analysis, genre analysis, pragmatics and sociocultural theory.

From our experience of leading various textbook projects in more than 29 countries, stakeholders at institutional/national levels seem to be aware of the fact that improving materials may be the fastest and most costeffective way of facilitating teacher development as well as improving language learning provision. These sponsors and decision-makers expect accountability and validity in materials development and strict evaluation of the projects by measuring if the new materials are in fact facilitating effective and successful language learning (Al-Busaidi & Tindle, 2010). Publishers would testify to the fact that coursebook production is a risky and costly business that requires careful research (Amrani, 2011; Singapore Wala, 2013). The kinds of materials available are changing as

Practice and Theory for Materials Development in L2 Learning

xi

delivery modes are diversifying e.g. blended learning, M-learning (Kern, 2013; Mishan, 2013; Tomlinson and Whittaker, 2013). Such changes add to the increasing calls for principles and procedures for sound materials development (McDonough, Shaw & Masuhara, 2013; Mishan & Timmis, 2015; Tomlinson, 2011; Tomlinson, 2013b). The number of hits for online encyclopaedia may provide further evidence of an increasing demand for materials development. The Encyclopaedia of Applied Linguistics by Wiley, for example, offers 1,100 entries written by an international team of scholars from over 40 countries, covering the highly diverse field of applied linguistics such as Language Learning and Teaching, Bilingual and Multilingual Education, Assessment and Testing, Corpus Linguistics, Conversation Analysis, Discourse, Cognitive Second Language Acquisition, Language Policy and Planning, Literacy, and Technology and Language. By far the highest hit was recorded in 2014 for materials development. It is no wonder then that we are seeing more and more material development modules and courses, a dramatic growth in the number of PhD and EdD students researching materials development and a rapid expansion of the literature on materials development (Harwood, 2014; McDonough et al, 2013; McGrath, 2014; Mishan and Timmis, 2015; Tomlinson, 2013a; Tomlinson, 2013b; Tomlinson and Masuhara, 2010; Tomlinson & Masuhara, 2017 forthcoming). This book claims a unique position in a sense that in the book practitioners evaluate theories, as the title of the book indicates. It presents 16 studies from 12 countries across the globe (Australia, Cyprus, Egypt, Hong Kong, Iran, Ireland, Italy, Lebanon, Oman, Russia, U.K., Viet Nam) involving materials development for diverse learners and contexts. These reports provide snapshots of the complex and dynamic nature of how materials are used and their effects on language learning. This book is divided into three parts: Part 1 Meeting Different Learner Needs, Part 2 Methodology and Approaches and Part 3 Materials in Diverse Contexts. Each chapter surveys the relevant literature, describes a specific research project, reports the results of the project and discusses the implication of these results both for the development of materials for the local context and for the development of materials in general. After each section there are editorial comments highlighting the relevance of the research findings and there is a Conclusion which connects the findings of the different chapters and makes suggestions both for future research and for the principled development of materials for L2 learners.

xii

Preface

The Editors believe that such research reports will contribute to the field of materials development as it faces the challenges of catering for the recent diversification of needs and contexts. Furthermore we are hoping that this book will provide ideas and stimulus for practitioners’ own research within their specific contexts. The book has global appeal because the contributors are from all areas of the world. And yet, the findings of the research reported in the book are of value to materials developers and researchers in specific countries and in all countries too, as there are underlying universal issues which the Editors highlight in their comments’ sections. Lastly we are pleased to be able to announce that this book is another fruition of the endeavours of MATSDA (The Materials Development Association), an international charitable organisation founded in 1993 by Brian Tomlinson for the development of quality materials for learners of second/foreign/additional languages. MATSDA aims to bring together teachers, researchers, materials writers and publishers so they can stimulate innovative and principled research and materials development through collaboration. MATSDA organises annual conference(s), publishes Folio - a journal dedicated to materials development, runs workshops, provides consultants and publishes books such as Materials Development in Language Teaching (1998; 2nd edn. 2011), Developing Materials for Language Teaching (2003; 2nd edn. 2013), Research for Materials Development in Language Learning (2010) and this book in 2017. MATSDA welcomes contributions from anyone interested in materials development to our journal Folio, to our conferences and to our workshops. We have jointly organised successful conferences not only in the U.K. but also in many countries around the globe e.g. Argentina, Australia, Belgium, China, Columbia, Germany, Ireland, Japan, Portugal, South Africa, Spain, U.S.A., Viet Nam and more and we are always looking out for future partners. MATSDA’s website is www.matsda.org. Anybody who is interested in joining MATSDA should contact the membership secretary matsda [email protected] and anybody who would like more information about MATSDA should contact Brian Tomlinson brianjohn [email protected]

Practice and Theory for Materials Development in L2 Learning

xiii

Hope we’ll be working together in the future. Hitomi Masuhara, the founding and continuing MATSDA Secretary Brian Tomlinson, the Founder and current President of MATSDA Freda Mishan, present Editor of the MATSDA journal, Folio.

References Al-Busaidi, S., & Tindle, K. (2010), ‘Evaluating the impact of in-house materials on language learning’, in B. Tomlinson, & H. Masuhara (eds.), Research for Materials Development for Language Learning Evidence for Best Practice. London: Continuum, pp. 137-149. Amrani, F. (2011), ‘The process of evaluation: A publisher's view’, in B. Tomlinson (ed.), Materials Development in language Teaching (2nd ed.). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, pp. 267-295. Harwood, N. (ed.). (2010), English Language Teaching Materials Theory and Practice. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Harwood, N. (ed.). (2014), English Language Teaching Textbooks Content, Consumption, Production. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan. Kern, N. (2013), ‘Blended learning: Podcasts for taxi drivers’, in B. Tomlinson & C. Whittaker (eds.), Blended Learning in English Language Teaching: Course Design and Implementation. London: The British Council, pp. 131-139. Retrieved from www.britishcouncil.org McDonough, J., Shaw, C., & Masuhara, H. (2013), Materials and Methods in ELT (3rd ed.). Chichester: Wiley. McGrath, I. (2014), Materials Evaluation and Design for Language Teaching (2nd ed.). Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press. Mishan, F. (2013), ‘Demystifying blended learning’, in B. Tomlinson (ed.), Developing Materials for Language Teaching. London: Bloomsbury, pp. 207-224. Mishan, F., & Timmis, I. (2015), Materials Development for TESOL. Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press. Richards, J., C. (2010), ‘Series editor's preface’, in N. Harwood (ed.), English Language Teaching Materials - Theory and Practice. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, pp. ix-xi. Singapore Wala, D. A. (2013), ‘Publishing a coursebook: The role of feedback’, in B. Tomlinson (ed.), Developing Materials for Language Teaching (2nd ed.). London: Bloomsbury, pp. 63-87. Tomlinson, B. (ed.), (2011). Materials Development in Language Teaching (2nd ed.). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

xiv

Preface

Tomlinson, B. (2012), ‘Materials development for language learning and teaching’. Language Teaching, 45 (2), 143-179. Tomlinson, B. (ed.). (2013a), Developing Materials for Language Teaching (2nd ed.). London: Bloomsbury. Tomlinson, B. (ed.). (2013b), Applied Linguistics and Materials Development. London: Bloomsbury. Tomlinson, B., & Masuhara, H. (eds.). (2010), Research for Materials Development in Language Learning: Evidence for Best Practice. London: Continuum International Publishing Group. Tomlinson, B. & Masuhara, H. (2017 forthcoming), A Complete Guide to the Theory and Practice of Materials Development for Language Learning. Chichester: Wiley. Tomlinson, B. & Whittaker, C. (eds.). (2013), Blended Learning in English Language Teaching: Course Design and Implementation. London: British Council.

SECTION 1 MEETING DIFFERENT LEARNER NEEDS

CHAPTER ONE EAP LEARNERS’ STRUCTURED REFLECTIONS ON SELF-DEVELOPMENT STRATEGIES: THE DESIGN, IMPLEMENTATION AND EVALUATION OF A TASK FOR EAL UNIVERSITY STUDENTS BEN FENTON-SMITH

Introduction More than most areas of language teaching, materials development in EAP/ESP is beholden to context. This is sometimes a criticism, as DudleyEvans (2001, p. x) notes: ‘it has been suggested that EAP too easily adopts the role of just fitting students into the mainstream activity of their department and into subordinate roles in the academic world’. The art of good materials development in EAP/ESP lies in satisfying the demands of external constraints while maintaining the pedagogical and theoretical integrity of the materials. This chapter describes an attempt to achieve that balance within an EAP program at a major metropolitan Australian university with large numbers of EAL (English as an Additional Language) students. The project described here was a response to the formal expression by government of expectations for self-directed learning by EAL university students. A major contextual issue that frames the project is the growth in international student (IS) numbers at Australian universities. Over one in five students are ISs (ABS, 2011), and nine of the top ten source countries are Asian, with the tenth being Saudi Arabia (AEI, 2011). More than a quarter of these students come from China. Some experts have questioned whether many of these students have sufficient academic language and learning competency to study in English at the tertiary level. The demographer Birrell (2006, p. 53) caused widespread concern when he

EAP Learners’ Structured Reflections on Self-Development Strategies

3

examined IS enrolments and asked ‘how overseas students with poor English gained entry to Australian university courses in the first place’ and how they ‘manage[d] to complete their university courses satisfactorily’. The general public were alerted to these issues by negative national press coverage (e.g. Ewart, 2007; Healy and Trounson, 2010). However, these concerns have been weighed against commercial realities: international education activity generated AUS$16.3 billion in export income for the Australian economy in 2010-11, making it the nation’s largest services export industry (AEI, 2011). The federal education authority made its stance clear in the (2009) report Good Practice Principles for English Language Proficiency for International Students in Australian Universities. This is a statement of expectations to Australian universities about sound pedagogical practice for enhancing ISs’ language ability. Amongst other things, the report stipulates that the following principle be promoted within academic programs: Students have responsibilities for further developing their English language proficiency during their study at university and are advised of these responsibilities prior to enrolment. (DEEWR, 2009, Document 1, p. 3)

The principle contains a call to action for two parties: (a) ISs, who are expected to take responsibility for their own learning, and (b) the universities themselves, who are expected to inform the students of this responsibility. Most universities already provide many opportunities for students to develop their language proficiency. Typical services include one-to-one language consultations and academic skills workshops. However these services are often underutilized, as suggested in a report from the Australian Learning and Teaching Council: ‘Despite the time and effort that has been invested in language and learning support for international students in Australian universities [...] it seems that, for a number of reasons, many students avoid or are unable to use such services’ (Rochecouste, Oliver, Mulligan and Davies, 2010, p. 20). One likely reason for this is that students do not perceive a need for extracurricular assistance. Having met or exceeded the requirements for university entry, it would be natural to assume that one is ready and able to study at that university (and suitably proficient in English to do). The likely focus of a fresh-faced Taiwanese aviation student is aeronautical science, not report writing workshops. Of course, some students may simply be reticent to

4

Chapter One

seek help, or not know how to do so, or lack the time to do it. Often, the students taking advantage of learning services are the motivated and successful ones who least need it. The task that is profiled in this chapter was developed to address this issue of underutilization within the policy climate of the Good Practice Principles.

Pedagogical context The setting is Griffith University, a network of five campuses across south-east Queensland, Australia. It has the fifth-highest number of ISs of all Australian universities, with 11,000, or 26.2% of the student body (ABS, 2011). Recognising this, the university implemented a program of English Language Enhancement Courses (ELECs), credit-bearing subjects aligned with each of the university’s major academic groupings and mandatory for first-year EAL students (unless exempted by certain criteria, such as scores on IELTS or time spent studying in an Englishspeaking country): x English Language and Communication for Business and Commerce x English Language and Communication for Health x English Language and Communication for Science, Environment, Engineering and Technology x English Language and Communication for Arts and Social Sciences The ELECs’ objectives are to boost language proficiency and equip students with the strategies and skills for managing a university degree within the western academic tradition. Each course runs for one 13-week term, with a 2-hour lecture and a 2-hour tutorial per week.

The learner development task To encourage students to take responsibility for their learning, the ELEC curriculum planners created an assessment item titled the ‘University Service Reflection Task’ (USRT). To complete it, students investigated the range of learning opportunities available at the university, then accessed at least one, and submitted a written reflection on the experience. The assignment was designed to fulfil several functions: 1. Ensure that EAL students received an orientation to support services at the beginning of their degree.

EAP Learners’ Structured Reflections on Self-Development Strategies

5

2. Ensure that EAL students accessed and reflected on at least one service offered outside of compulsory coursework. 3. Provide knowledge and experience that could facilitate EAL students' ongoing self-development. Students received a three-part handout. The first section contained instructions for attending a learning support service: x Attend one of the services below and write a reflection on your experience. x Note that some services are offered during certain weeks in the semester, and that almost all of them require advanced bookings to attend. It is your responsibility to make arrangements to attend the service of choice as early as possible. Refer to the relevant website below for further information. x The service must be conducted in English and must not have been specifically created for members of your nationality to meet. The second section contained instructions for writing a reflection on the experience: x The reflection is to be 250 words (+/- 10%), typed. x Submit it with your portfolio in the final week of term. If this task is not submitted, 10% will be deducted from the final portfolio score. x The reflection should include the following parts: - Introduction - This includes your academic situation, the service chosen, and your reason for choosing this particular service. - Body - This includes a description of the service (e.g. where, when, who, and what was involved) and a review of the service (e.g. what was useful for you, how you intend to apply the knowledge learned, and what areas were not satisfied by the service). - Conclusion - This includes your overall appraisal of the service and suggestions for future personal development in this area. The third section contained a list of services and accompanying websites: x Library Learning Services (academic, computing, and library research skills): - http://www.griffith.edu.au/library/workshops-training

6

Chapter One

x Student Linx (social networking): - http://www.griffith.edu.au/studentlinx x English HELP (English language support): - http://www.griffith.edu.au/englishhelp x Find Your Voice (intercultural communication workshops): - http://www.griffith.edu.au/englishhelp x Careers and Employment (job search seminars and career counselling): - https://intranet.secure.griffith.edu.au/community-welfarerecreation/careers-employment/assistance-with-job-search/jobsearch-seminars - https://intranet.secure.griffith.edu.au/community-welfarerecreation/find-career-direction/?a=78458 x Griffith University Clubs (professional, political, recreational, social, religious, sporting etc.): - http://www.griffith.edu.au/clubs/clubs-a-to-z

Application of theory to task design A theoretical tension underlying the task is the conflict between mandated and self-directed learner actions. It is a compulsory assignment in a compulsory course, but claims to promote self-directed learning. However, while it may seem contradictory to ‘teach’ students to be autonomous, Nunan (1997, p. 202-3) suggests that several assumptions can be made when designing materials to encourage learner autonomy: x Few individuals come to the task of language learning as autonomous learners; x Developing some degree of autonomy is essential if learners are to become effective language learners; x The ability to direct one’s own learning can be developed through pedagogical intervention; x There are degrees of autonomy [...] The design of the USRT was based on a similar set of assumptions, i.e.: x Most students do not enter university with all the necessary knowledge and skills to exploit the range of learning opportunities available to them; x Students need to develop some degree of learner autonomy to succeed at university; and

EAP Learners’ Structured Reflections on Self-Development Strategies

7

x Pedagogical intervention can aid in developing self-directed learning. Nunan’s fourth point, that there are degrees of autonomy, was also crucial to the task design. The USRT exemplifies the second of Nunan’s (1997, p. 195) five-stage hierarchy of autonomy, namely ‘involvement’, whereby ‘[l]earners are involved in selecting their own goals from a range of alternatives on offer’ and ‘make choices among a range of options’. A second point about the task design is the fact that it offers students several services not directly concerned with language proficiency, such as Library Learning Services (academic skills, computer literacy), Student Linx (structured socializing for international and domestic students) and Careers and Employment (helping students organize their professional futures), all of which may turn out to be powerful facilitators of language acquisition and development. An underlying assumption is that EAL students need holistic support to perform well in second language tertiary environments, not just a focus on improving their L2 output. Hyland (2006, p. 17-8), for example, refers to the ‘study skills approach to EAP’ which holds that ‘students need more than linguistic knowledge to be successful in their studies’, a view emerging ‘from a perceived overemphasis on linguistic forms in early register-based materials’. The academic skills workshops offered by Library Learning Services were therefore included in the USRT to avoid a narrow conceptualization of language support. Another issue is socialization: the notion that students perform better academically, and advance faster linguistically, if integrated into the local community (Prebble et al., 2004; Walsh, 2010; Gersham and Clayton, 2011). Research indicates that international students in Australia seek better integration into the campus and/or wider community (AEI, 2010a; Marginson et al., 2010). The task therefore offered social engagement opportunities through Student Linx and university clubs. Finally, the issue of language proficiency cannot be divorced from that of employability: 69% of Australian employers are ‘concerned about the standard of written and spoken English of Australian educated international graduates’ (AEI, 2010b, p. 16). The Careers and Employment service was therefore also included in the task. The USRT is also informed by research on the efficacy of reflection in learning. The link between deep reflection and experiences ‘out of the norm’ is a common theme in the literature, going back to Dewey (1910). Rogers (2001) conducted a concept analysis of reflection in higher education, and noted that most authors posit ‘an event or situation beyond

8

Chapter One

the individual’s typical experience’ (2001, p. 42) as a necessary antecedent to reflection. In the case of the USRT, attending a university service represents this experience, while the written response formalizes and structures the reflective process. The literature also points to several pitfalls for designers of reflective tasks. First, Macfarlane and Gourlay (2009, p. 457) warn that ‘behavioural conformism’ can result: i.e. students write whatever (they perceive) their markers want to hear. Because some students may be reluctant to express negative views about university services, the USRT explicitly directs them to state ‘what areas were not satisfied by the service’. A second pitfall is that students can be unsure of what to do, since ‘reflection’ is such an open-ended, and at times unfocussed, concept (Hatton and Smith, 1995; Stewart and Richardson, 2000). Clear directions provide a scaffold within which deep reflection can occur (Moon, 2006; Dyment and O’Connell, 2011). For this reason, the USRT instructions are prescriptive, providing students with an introduction/body/conclusion framework, and guidelines for completing each section (see above). A third pitfall is assessment. Many researchers point out that summative assessment is problematic in reflective writing, since it is so difficult (and possibly unethical) to make objective judgements about good and bad reflection (Sumsion and Fleet, 1996; Ixer, 1999; Stewart and Richardson, 2000; Rogers, 2001; Bell et al., 2011; Clarkeburn and Kettula, 2011; Smith, 2011). Therefore a numerical grade is not awarded for the reflective essay. Instead, a formative comment is provided by the tutor, and marks for the course are reduced only in the case of non-submission. This gives students the licence to reflect frankly on their service experience.

Method of evaluating the task 73 samples of students’ writing were collected from a random sample of tutorial groups within the business and health strands of the ELECs (with ethical consent). The texts were analysed for recurrent themes using NVivo 9 software. In the reporting of results, these themes were quantified in two ways: by the number of texts they appeared in, and by the amount of text they covered in the corpus, referred to as ‘text coverage’. (Where text coverage percentages are reported, percentages do not necessarily total 100 because it is possible for one piece of text to contain multiple themes.) The purpose of the analysis was twofold:

EAP Learners’ Structured Reflections on Self-Development Strategies

9

1. To evaluate the effectiveness of the task design through analysis of task output. 2. To gauge student views on the worth (or otherwise) of the task through analysis of their reflective comments.

Findings and discussion The sample of student essays indicated the relative popularity of services (see Table 1.1). By some margin, the most attractive were English HELP (one-to-one language consultation) and Library Learning Services (academic skills, computer and information literacy). This suggests that the primary focus of the students was passing courses, since they accessed services to improve the use of English in assignments or to improve study skills. Few students attended university clubs or Student Linx, which focussed on socialisation. A likely reason was that these services required more active emotional investment from participants and were therefore intimidating to newcomers. Table 1 Services that students wrote about. Service English HELP Library Learning Services Find Your Voice Clubs Library Student Linx Counselling service Online writing advice Course discussion time Total

Number of texts 33 28 5 3 2 1 1 1 1 75

The results shed light on ambiguities in the task instructions. Two students wrote about multiple services (which explains why 75 services were written about in 73 texts) and some attended services (counselling, online writing advice, course discussion time) that were not on the prescribed list. These are not necessarily problems. Comparing multiple services could be better that reflecting on one. Attending non-sanctioned services could be seen as students exercising initiative and autonomy, which was the point of the exercise (although reflecting on counselling sessions raises ethical issues). Two students wrote about the library’s book collection, probably

Chapter One

10

thinking this is what ‘Library Learning Services’ meant, which indicates clearer instructions are needed. Turning to the issue of how students wrote about the services, the analysis revealed five main types of writing: describing the experience, evaluating the experience, stating learning gains, explaining reason(s) for choosing the service, and asserting personal identity. Table 1.2 provides data on the prevalence of each type in the corpus. Table 1.2. How students wrote about the services. Type of writing Description of the service experience Evaluation of the service experience Statements about learning gains Explanation of reason(s) for choosing the service Statements of personal identity

Number of texts 73

Text coverage % 38.5

73

36.9

72 73

31.7 17.6

57

8.7

Note: ‘Texts’ refers to the number of reflective essays in which the types of writing appeared; ‘text coverage’ indicates how much of the total corpus was devoted to each type.)

The fact that description was the predominant form of writing does not mean that the task failed to engender reflection. Students were instructed to provide ‘a description of the service (e.g. where, when, who, and what was involved)’. Indeed previous research suggests that significant amounts of simple description are to be expected in reflective writing (Hatton and Smith 1995; Kember et al. 2008; Bell et al. 2011). Reflective tasks require the descriptive step, since this provides the ‘stuff’ on which to reflect. In the words of Boud et al. (1985, p. 27), when ‘we witness the events again they become available for us to reconsider and examine afresh’. For the USRT, students provided three main types of description. All but two texts contained description of service content, that is, a recounting of events in the service experience. For example: First, the teacher introduced the main structures of report and essay to me that I can distinguish them. Then, she told me the overall structure problem of my essay because I used the headings for the essay. After that, she read my essay literally and helps me to line out the problems of my essay.

EAP Learners’ Structured Reflections on Self-Development Strategies

11

The second type, found in 88% of essays, was procedure description, in which students provided details about how to attend the service. For example: I called English HELP and made a booking which was from 11am to 11:45am on 24th of September 2010. I was told by email that I needed to go to G02. I have arrived there on time and met a teacher named Royce.

The third type was purpose description, evident in one-third of texts. Students described why the service exists—its rationale. For example: This service provides an opportunity for student to communicate with people from different countries.

Evaluation was the second most common form of writing (36.9% text coverage). Students used explicitly evaluative language to say something positive or negative (as indicated in Table 1.3) about the service. Table 1.3 How the services were evaluated. Type of evaluation Positive Negative

Number of texts 73 40

Number of comments 247 67

Text coverage % 28.8% 8.0%

Positive comments were large in number: 247 overall, and present in all texts at an average of 3.38 per essay. These included general praise (e.g. ‘this service it’s very convenient and useful for me’); commendations of staff (e.g. ‘Kevin is a very nice teacher who used simple examples and language to help me to understand and inspired me to think’); and promotion of service benefits (e.g. ‘It can improve the students’ English and get better grades’). Negative comments were much fewer by comparison, and even those were often ‘backhanded compliments’ such as: I think 45 minutes for each student per week is not enough for both speaking, listening, especially writing problems. The service should consider online consultations to be more flexible and help more students.

These comments, while negative, suggest students would like to attend services more often and for longer. Although it is possible that students wrote what they believed their instructors wanted to hear (Macfarlane and

12

Chapter One

Gourlay, 2009), the task instructions gave them licence to criticize and the assignment received no numerical grade, so students knew that whatever they wrote, they did not lose any assessment points. On balance, these results suggest that the task succeeded in engaging the students. Approximately one third (31.7%) of text coverage was constituted by statements of learning gains, in line with task instructions to write about ‘what was useful for you’ and ‘how you intend to apply the knowledge learned’. The types of gains could be classified into four categories: linguistic, scholastic, personal and professional. However, there were very few examples of the latter two, reflecting the fact that few students attended either the socially-oriented services (e.g. clubs) or the professionally-oriented service (careers guidance). The most commonly reported type of learning gain was linguistic: i.e. students felt that the service improved their use of English in some way. For example: The knowledge I learned from this, was how to divide a long sentence into several more logical shorter sentences, in order to make the reader easier to understand.

The other significant type was the scholastic: i.e. benefits derived from the service in relation to broader, non-language-specific educational advancement. In the following example a student refers to enhanced computer skills: The last thing I learnt was locking and unlocking documents. It will be very useful when you use your essay or report in University. It will protect your work so no one plagiarizes your own work.

In line with task instructions to state ‘your reason for choosing this particular service’, every text included some statement of purpose, accounting for 17.6% of text coverage. Most students identified a personal deficit or aspiration which they hoped the service could address. For example: In order to improve my English communication skills and make many foreign friends, I joined Find Your Voice.

The fact that most students identified a personal weakness of some kind suggested that the task did foster reflective thought about individual needs and how services could meet them. However, this may be another example of Macfarlane and Gourlay’s (2009) ‘penitent self’ syndrome.

EAP Learners’ Structured Reflections on Self-Development Strategies

13

Statements of personal identity covered only 8.7% of total text, but were present in 78% of essays, typically in the first 1-2 sentences. Students expressed affiliation across three demographic categories, often connecting their biographical data with their service need. For example: Academic discipline and service need: As an accounting student, computing skill is considered as an essential skill, since most works are done in Excel. However, due to the lack of practice, my computing skill needs to be improved. International student status and service need: Since it was my first time studying in an English speaking country, I had a lot of difficulties understanding my lectures and tutorials. New student status and service need: However, this is the first semester I spend in Griffith University, I am not familiar with the library search system, so I asked library academic services for help.

These statements reflect the task instruction to write about both ‘your academic situation’ and ‘your reason for choosing this particular service’, although it was the students’ initiative to posit the former as the reason for the latter. These connections bring to mind Smith’s (2011, p. 213) view that reflection can be particularly meaningful when [I]t allows us to examine the uniqueness of our individual ‘positionality’ within social systems… This could mean looking at how we align ourselves with particular identities (mother, father, doctor, nurse, patient, etc.) or how these identities encourage us to act in certain ways.

In defining themselves as young academics, cultural outsiders and/or higher education beginners, the students adopted meta-perspectives on their place in the university system and considered how the services might address their needs.

Conclusions Taken as a whole, the texts displayed an even distribution of different types of writing, in line with the task instructions. A typical reflection was one-third description of the service, one-third evaluation, and one-third exposition of knowledge and skills gained (although the categories overlap). In addition, authors articulated reasons for choosing services, and

14

Chapter One

many linked these reasons to aspects of personal identity. The only task instruction that was poorly represented in the output was the directive to provide ‘suggestions for future personal development in this area’. It may be that this instruction lacked sufficient focus to elicit useful ideas. An alternative wording could be more specific, such as ‘explain whether you intend to return to this service’ and/or ‘comment on whether there are any other services that could address the learning needs discussed in your reflection’. Findings in relation to the task instructions support Dyment and O’Connell’s (2011, p. 94) contention that ‘educators need to provide very clear directions to students to invite deep reflection’. With regard to student views on the utility of the task, analysis of evaluative comments in the texts suggests that the USRT was a constructive exercise. The vast majority of comments were positive, and even the negative ones tended to be inverse compliments—e.g. requesting that learning sessions be extended. However, designers of reflective tasks need to inoculate against the so-called ‘reflection game’ (Macfarlane and Gourley, 2009, p. 455-6), whereby students ‘eat humble pie’ before affecting ‘revelation’ and finally ‘conversion’ to whatever conventional wisdom is espoused by instructors. Two ways to avoid this are to (a) reduce the incentive by providing formative assessment only, and (b) clearly inform learners that the purpose of the assignment is to give vent to honest thoughts and feelings. In relation to (a), the USRT instructions state that ‘[i]f this task is not submitted, 10% will be deducted from the final portfolio score’. The 10% penalty guards against the downside to formative assessment: that some students do not value assignments that receive no grade. However, to determine whether students are being overly positive in their evaluative comments to please teachers, the instructions could be elaborated to make the formative assessment process more transparent: e.g. ‘You do not receive a grade for this assignment, but your tutor will provide feedback on your reflections. You will only be penalized if you do not submit the assignment (10% will be deducted from the final portfolio score).’ To address issue (b), an additional instruction could be added, such as, ‘You are encouraged to reflect deeply and personally on the experience. There is no right, wrong or expected answer. If you have an unsatisfactory service experience, explain why!’. Future iterations of the task could tap into the knowledge and perspectives of those students who regularly use support services, perhaps reproducing their impressions in handouts or on video, as material for class discussion. Such resources could also incorporate brief, punchy specifications of

EAP Learners’ Structured Reflections on Self-Development Strategies

15

potential benefits in order to promote the underutilized services, such as Student Linx, university clubs, and careers guidance. This project was a valuable experiment in addressing a common problem: the mismatch between the number of learning opportunities available at universities and the under-utilization of them by EAL students. The findings presented in this chapter have focused on the success/failure of the task from a materials development perspective, looking at whether the intentions of the task are realized in the actions and output of the learners. A broader evaluation would attempt to measure longer-term effects of the task in regards to student autonomy and, ideally, language development. The number of confounding variables at play makes this difficult, however various sections of the university that oversee services offered in this task report impressive gains in the years since the task commenced. For example, the number of international students voluntarily booking one-toone English language consultations has nearly doubled, and the number of international and local students mixing through Student Linx has nearly quadrupled (although a variety of factors in addition to the task would account for these figures). The development of materials that promote out-of-class academic language and learning opportunities is likely to increase, given trends in higher education worldwide of (a) massification (making in-class tasks less feasible); (b) online learning (necessitating independent tasks); and (c) increasing numbers of EAL learners (making EAP central to pedagogical practice across the disciplines). As the Good Practice Principles document suggests, students will experience an increased responsibility for selfdirected learning, but at the same time universities will be expected to scaffold such learning behaviours. A large slice of this challenge will fall to EAP materials designers.

Acknowledgements The USRT was jointly designed by Griffith University’s ELEC management team: Ben Fenton-Smith, Pamela Humphreys, Ana Lobo, Rowan Michael, John Smith and Ian Walkinshaw. This research was made possible by a grant from the office of Griffith University Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Academic).

16

Chapter One

References ABS (Australian Bureau of Statistics) (2011), ‘Australian social trends December 2011: International students’. Accessed at: http://www.abs.gov.au/AUSSTATS/[email protected]/Lookup/4102.0Main+Fe atures20Dec+2011#INTRODUCTION [3 August 2012]. AEI (Australian Education International). (2010a), ‘International student survey 2010: Overview report’. Accessed at: https://aei.gov.au/research/Publications/Documents/2010_International _Student_Report.pdf [20 May 2012] AEI (Australian Education International) (2010b), ‘International graduate outcomes and employer perceptions’. Accessed at: https://www.aei.gov.au/research/Publications/Documents/2010_Interna tional_Graduate_Outcomes.pdf [20 May 2012]. AEI (Australian Education International) (2011), ‘Research snapshot: Export income to Australia from education services in 2010-11’. Accessed at: https://www.aei.gov.au/research/Research-Snapshots/Docu ments/Export%20Income%202010-11.pdf [27 July 2012]. Bell, A., Kelton, J., McDonagh, N., Mladenovic, R. and Morrison, K. (2011), ‘A critical evaluation of the usefulness of a coding scheme to categorise levels of reflective thinking’. Assessment & Evaluation in Higher Education, 36, 797-815. Birrell, B. (2006), ‘Implications of low English standards among overseas students at Australian universities’. People and Place,14, (4), 53-64. Boud, D., Keogh, R., and Walker, D. (1985), ‘Promoting reflection in learning: a model’, in D. Boud, R. Keogh and D. Walker (eds), Reflection: Turning Experience into Learning. London: Kogan Lane, pp. 18-40. Clarkeburn, H., and Kettula, K. (2011), ‘Fairness and using reflective journals in assessment’. Teaching in Higher Education, 17, 439-52. Department of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations (DEEWR) (2009), Good Practice Principles for English Language Proficiency for International Students in Australian Universities. Canberra: DEEWR. Accessed at: http://www.deewr.gov.au/highereducation/publications/pages/goodpra cticeprinciples.aspx [22 December 2010]. Dewey, J. (1910), How We Think. Boston: D.C. Heath. Dudley-Evans, T. (2001), ‘Foreword’, in S. Benesch, Critical English for Academic Purposes: Theory, Politics and Practice. New York: Routledge, pp. ix-xiii.

EAP Learners’ Structured Reflections on Self-Development Strategies

17

Dyment, J.E., and O'Connell, T.S. (2011), ‘Assessing the quality of reflection in student journals: A review of the research’. Teaching in Higher Education,16, 81-97. Ewart, H. (2007), ‘Unis “demanding” foreign students be passed’, ABC Television 7.30 Report. Accessed at: February 20. http://www.abc.net.au/7.30/content/2007/s1852629.htm [20 May 2012]. Gersham, R. and Clayton, V. (2011), ‘Community connections: a programme to enhance domestic and international students' educational experience’. Journal of Higher Education Policy Management, 33, 363-74. Hatton, N. and Smith, D. (1995), ‘Reflection in teacher education: towards definition and implementation’. Teaching and Teacher Education,11, 33-49. Healy, G. and Trounson, A. (2010), ‘Universities told to boost English programs’, The Australian, 10 February. Accessed at: http://www.theaustralian.com.au/higher-education/universities-told-toboost-english-programs/story-e6frgcjx-1225828473695 [20 May 2012]. Hyland, K. (2006), English for Academic Purposes. London: Routledge. Ixer, G. (1999), ‘There's no such thing as reflection’. British Journal of Social Work, 29, 513-27. Kember, D., McKay, J., Sinclair, K. and Wong, F.K.Y. (2008), ‘A fourǦ category scheme for coding and assessing the level of reflection in written work’. Assessment & Evaluation in Higher Education, 33, 36979. Macfarlane, B., and Gourlay, L. (2009), ‘The reflection game: Enacting the penitent self’. Teaching in Higher Education, 14, 455-9. Marginson, S., Nyland, C., Sawir, E. and Forbes-Mewett, H. (2010), International Student Security. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Moon, J. (2006), Learning Journals: A Handbook for Reflective Practice and Professional Development. London: Routledge. Nunan, D. (1997), ‘Designing and adapting materials to encourage learner autonomy’, in P. Benson and P. Voller (eds), Autonomy and Independence in Language Learning. London: Longman, pp. 192-203. Prebble, T., Hargraves, H., Leach, L., Naidoo, K., Suddaby, G. and Zepke, N. (2004), Impact of student support services and academic development programmes on student outcomes in undergraduate tertiary study: A synthesis of the research. New Zealand: Ministry of Education. Accessed at: http://www.educationcounts.govt.nz/__data/assets/pdf_file/0013/7321/ ugradstudentoutcomes.pdf [20 May 2012].

18

Chapter One

Rochecouste, J., Oliver, R., Mulligan, D., and Davies, M. (2010), Addressing the Ongoing English Language Growth of International Students. Strawberry Hills: Australian Learning and Teaching Council. Accessed at: http://www.altc.edu.au/project-addressing-ongoing-englishmonash-2007 [10 June 2011]. Rogers, R. (2001), ‘Reflection in higher education: A concept analysis’. Innovative Higher Education, 26, 37-57. Smith, E. (2011), ‘Teaching critical reflection’. Teaching in Higher Education,16, 211-23. Stewart, S. and Richardson, B. (2000), ‘Reflection and its place in the curriculum on an undergraduate course: Should it be assessed?’. Assessment & Evaluation in Higher Education, 25, 369-80. Sumsion, J. and Fleet, A. (1996), ‘Reflection: can we assess it? Should we assess it?’. Assessment & Evaluation in Higher Education, 21, 121-30. Walsh, E. (2010), ‘A model of research group microclimate: environmental and cultural factors affecting the experiences of overseas research students in the UK’. Studies in Higher Education, 35, 545-60.

CHAPTER TWO ‘SELF-ACCESS ENGLISH LANGUAGE LEARNING MATERIALS FOR INTERNATIONAL HEALTH SCIENCE IN AN IRISH UNIVERSITY SETTING’: DISCUSSION ON A PILOT PROGRAM HELEN KELLY AND JOHN BAIRD

Introduction The general context for this paper is the challenge of designing course materials for what is a growing international student population studying through English as their second language at Irish university level in the linguistically challenging and specialized areas of medicine and health sciences (pharmacy and physiotherapy). Non-native English speaking learners often enter these programs with minimum general language proficiency requirements in English, which necessitates further development in order for them to be able to participate fairly and effectively with their native speaking classmates in the learning and training environment. This paper explores issues related to curricula and materials design in this context and reports on the findings of a pilot digital self-access language learning program designed as a learning support tool for English language learners studying Medicine at undergraduate level. The discussion looks at approaches to materials development as part of an approach to pedagogy and curriculum design, examining how these approaches can be effective in supporting these learners. This discussion may also have relevance to a broader discussion on materials development for EAP learner contexts. The paper is divided into three broad sections. The first section presents a very brief summary of the main directions of research in approaches to teaching and learning which promote learner autonomy and how this

20

Chapter Two

translates into considerations for materials that mediate such an approach. The next section describes the learning context and the structure and design of the self-access pilot program which was run in RCSI Dublin for 24 medical undergraduate students in their pre-medicine year (a foundation year prior to starting year 1 of a medical degree). The selfaccess language pilot program was part of a year-long accredited English language and communications module run during the academic year 2010/11. Finally the last section reports the results from this pilot program and discusses the main findings, reflecting on successes and challenges for this program and its implications for future program design.

A brief overview of research related to socio-cultural views of language learning and its implications for learning materials development Approaches to teaching and learning In sociocultural views of learning, learning takes place through social interaction. Applied to the field of L2 (second language) pedagogy, this theory translates into an approach in a classroom context where the target language is the medium of instruction and learning. As learners attempt to communicate with teachers and other learners through the target language, this communication contributes to their L2 knowledge and competence. Sociocultural theory ‘specifically connects the role of language as a mediating tool between social interaction and the development of higher order mental processes’ (Boxer 2004, p.11). According to Bandura (1986) social cognitive learning theory involves people learning through observation and interaction, in a relationship between individuals and their environment that is reciprocal. Researchers like Swain and Lapkin (1998) argue that interaction in language not only provides opportunities for learning, but interaction itself is learning. Swain and Lapkin argue that learners jointly construct knowledge during their dialogue. The findings of their studies could be seen to support the claim that interaction which involves some type of scaffolding (guiding, simplifying, or modelling a task for a learner) can be a source of linguistic development, in that the learner can learn more in collaboration with others than on their own (Swain and Lapkin, 1998). Sociocultural theory then sees language as a tool and suggests that how precisely we influence or interact with the world around us is through mediation which involves the use of psychological tools, and language is one such tool. As Vygotsky (1978, p.26) puts it, ‘children solve practical tasks with the help of their speech as

Discussion on a Pilot Program

21

well as with their eyes and hands’. This sociocultural view of language learning then sees the role of language in learning as a tool with which the learning process is shaped and knowledge is mediated. If this is the case then communication through analysing tasks may be a desirable approach to use. In addition, reflection is believed to play an important role as it helps learners to engage with the content and the processes of their learning (Bruner, 1986, p. 129). As Bruner points out, language education must leave space for reflection, which permits the learner to reach higher ground. Collaboration in tasks is one way to promote this kind of reflection (Little 2007, p. 23). As Little highlights (2007, p. 23), reflection helps learners to engage reflectively with the process and content of learning and using the target language, not only as input in tasks but as the medium of metacognition and metalinguistic awareness.

Learner motivation and learner autonomy Other points to consider for our specific group of learners are those related to motivation and autonomy and their implications for our approach to teaching. Lack of motivation is cited as one of the main barriers to a learners’ progress. Indeed motivation has long been considered an important factor in language teaching (Ellis, 1994; Van Lier, 1996). Studies on learner motivation in language learning contexts discuss the importance of motivation that comes from within, known as intrinsic motivation. This refers specifically to motivation which involves doing something as an end in itself, for example for enjoyment, interest, challenge, or skill and knowledge development. Intrinsic motivation is contrasted with extrinsic motivation, which refers to doing something as a means to some external outcome, such as gaining a qualification, getting a job, pleasing the teacher, or avoiding punishment (Ryan and Deci, 2000). More recent work in the area of the positive effects of intrinsic motivation highlights the importance of the motivational force on the success of learning (Deci and Ryan, 1985; Ushioda, 1996). It is this concern for lack of motivation in learners that lies behind the suggestion of making education more learner-centered (Tudor, 1996). If what goes on in the classroom or learning environment has no connection to the learner’s life, needs or goals outside it, it will have no meaning for the learner (Barnes, 1976). In relation to learner autonomy, then, perhaps the same could be said of adult learners in a third level context in relation to the importance of intrinsic motivation for learning success. Learners take their first steps toward autonomy when they accept responsibility for their learning, and to

22

Chapter Two

do this they must understand the why, what and, if possible, the how of learning (Little, 2000, p. 7). Little (2000, p. 7) suggests that learners should then be involved in all aspects of learning, including negotiation of what needs to be learned and how. If we want our learners to be able to solve problems and take responsibility for their actions rather than follow custom, then a passive view of learning will not do (Barnes, 1976, p.149). Goals of learner motivation and learner autonomy could then be seen as relevant to this group of learners in this research study. As non-native speakers of English who are required to take their primary medical degree through English and develop their English language proficiency to a very high level, not only as part of their studies and but also as part of a commitment to their long-term careers; then being concerned with learner motivation and promoting learner autonomy through the program design and learning tools and materials seems relevant in this context. Another important point in relation to autonomy is that it often requires a conscious effort on the part of the teacher and the system supporting the teacher. As Little emphasises, ‘the majority of learners must be led towards autonomy by their teacher, through processes of discussion and negotiation that involve them directly in the planning, organisation and evaluation of learning procedures’ (Little, 2000, p.7). The learning embarked upon in the case of our learners here would then need to be ongoing and learners would need to adopt a life-long learning attitude as it would be unrealistic to expect them to learn all they need from a single course, teacher or language programme. In this light we can begin to see how all of the points touched on here will be necessary to consider in producing learning tools and materials that help learners on the path to becoming independent and confident English speakers. The provision of a self-access program could serve not only as an additional language learning support tool for the students in this study, but may also promote the kind of learning we have been discussing here which may not only motivate students in their learning but encourage the development of language learner autonomy.

Learner autonomy and learning materials and tools Much modern language curricula design research now discusses the value of language learning materials or learning tools which involve processes such as needs analysis, goal and objective setting by learners and teachers jointly, negotiation of course content and preferred methodology (Little et al., 2003; Wolff, 2003). Using material and learning activities that interest and motivate the learners, and sharing of ideas on assessment and self-

Discussion on a Pilot Program

23

assessment procedures, are seen as important aspects of planning a language program (Little et al., 2003; Wolff, 2003). Tomlinson (2003) also emphasises this point in relation to materials for language learning, asking us to reflect on what should drive the materials. He suggests some obvious answers might be the needs and the wants of the learners but points to other considerations such as teachers’ needs and goals, required standards and desired learning outcomes.

Self-access and learner autonomy in language learning There has been a tendency in the past to treat ‘self-access’ and ‘autonomy’ as interchangeable concepts. For this reason, it is important to point out the interpretation being used here and furthermore the part it has to play in promoting learner autonomy. Self-access centers can, broadly speaking, facilitate a sliding scale from situations where learners work together with teachers, to situations that provide some support, to some instances where students work largely on their own, and when learners work without a teacher they are often assumed to be autonomous (Little, 1997). For Holec and for Little a definition of an autonomous learner is someone who is capable of managing, monitoring and evaluating their own learning. This, according to Little, is something that learners are guided to over time in a purposeful way by the teacher and, as discussed earlier (Little, 1997; Holec, 1981), through the approaches and materials used. The discussion so far has therefore several recommendations for selfaccess learning systems and materials. First, learners who have been involved in learning that promotes and encourages the development of learner autonomy are best placed to take advantage of the learning opportunities offered by such systems since they know what it is to be responsible for their own learning. Secondly, self-access systems must themselves help learners to become self-managing and self-regulating (Little, 2001). One way of doing this, according to Little, is not only through the design of the program as mentioned earlier but in providing some form of guidance, frame, scaffold, or advisory service as part of a self-access program (Little, 2001). The program itself should be part of a larger picture of learning and support, embedded as part of a taught course (Karlsson et al., 1997).

24

Chapter Two

Moodle and networked learning for language A virtual learning environment (VLE) is ‘a combination of context, activities and actors, woven together in functionally and conceptually appropriate ways.’ (Canter, 1977 in Kalay, 2004). The Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland (RCSI) employs the virtual learning environment Moodle, which was developed from a socio-constructivist pedagogical perspective and thus supports such an approach to education through its design and features (Robb, 2004). This means its goal is to provide a set of tools that support an inquiry and discovery-based approach to online learning. Furthermore, it purports to create an environment that allows for collaborative interaction among students as a standalone or in addition to conventional classroom instruction (Brandl, 2005). In addition, Moodle has been recognized for its ability to act as a ‘stand alone e-learning Platform’ (Brandl, 2005, p. 16) and is a powerful tool for developing an environment which allows easy access to and ease of integration of global resources via the web, promotes high degrees of interactivity between users and learning materials, provides flexibility for learners to choose where, when, for how long and, crucially, at what pace they learn, heightens learners’ sense of autonomy through its promotion of active engagement with both the learning process and the materials, and promotes reflectivity through the facility to store learner generated material (Goodyear et al., 2000, p. 14-16). Furthermore, Moodle allows the tracking of student engagement through its automatic recording of all user interactions with the interface. In relation to the pedagogical approaches being discussed here, and in consideration of this particular group of learners’ needs, a platform such as Moodle seems an appropriate choice of learning platform from which to work towards the development of the kind of language learning support tools needed in this context.

Description of language laboratory and pilot program Learning context and learner profile RCSI’s undergraduate language modules are credit-bearing, targeted language programs that aim to develop high level communication skills in a time frame which is limited due to the nature of health sciences degree programs. Health science degree programs are typically divided between the pre-clinical years (referring usually to the first three years of the degree program), which focus on academic learning in the main, and the latter half of the program, which have a more clinical applied focus and are

Discussion on a Pilot Program

25

largely hospital-based. Over the course of intensive degree programs such as these, time for language learning in a classroom context is limited and additionally students find it challenging to focus on language proficiency development while studying their core medical academic subjects. Therefore our programs aim to be relevant to the students’ needs, tailored to their learning context, are highly motivational and place a strong emphasis on promoting learner autonomy in language learning. These language programs are also flexible year-on-year as learner needs and demographics change. They must also promote maturity, responsibility, cultural understanding, and life-long learning skills and use effective forms of assessment. This is folded into the design of the programs and the materials used as we will demonstrate later in our discussion of the materials designed for the self-access component of these language programs. The self-access English language pilot program took place during the academic year 2010/11. 24 undergraduate medical students from the premedical year commenced the self-access program and 23 completed it. The 24th learner was withdrawn as a result of taking a leave of absence from the College. All learners were from the Middle East or South East Asia, and their L1s were Arabic or Malay.

Language laboratory design and configuration The lab has a physical component and a virtual component. The physical component comprises five workstations located in a dedicated space in the College’s library building. Each workstation is equipped with dual monitors, pilot headsets and a camera. Each workstation is loaded with the commercially available language learning software Tensebuster, GramEx and GramDef, which provide form-focused grammar instruction and practice; DIALANG, a digital self-assessment tool developed in adherence to the Common European Framework of Reference (CEFR), which allows users to assess their reading, writing, listening, grammar and vocabulary competence; and the digital production software Camtasia Studio, Audacity, Jing and Microsoft Office suite. The individual workstations are connected to the RCSI network and, consequently, the College’s VLE Moodle. The virtual part of the lab, which hosts the bulk of the materials and resources, is hosted on Moodle (see Figures 2.1 and 2.2).

26 Figure 2.1

Chapter Two

D Discussion on a Pilot P Program

27

Figure 2.2

The learningg resources on o Moodle arre a combinattion of web-b based and hybrid resouurces. Web-baased resourcess are external resources, acccessed by linking direcctly to them. A hybrid reso ource is one thhat incorporattes two or more elemennts. Four resoources of this kind were deesigned speciffically for our cohort oof learners. Thhese are the TE EDTalks resoource, the Casee-Reports Resource, thhe Task-Based resource, an nd the Sentennce Structure resource. They are, byy and large, task-based t maaterials built around authentic texts accessed onnline. We wiill turn briefl fly now to thhe considerattions that informed thee design of these materials before lookinng at an examp ple of this material in ggreater detail.

Materrials design consideratioons Willis defines a task as ann activity in which w ‘the targget language is used by the learner for a commuunicative purp pose (task) inn order to acchieve an outcome’ (W Willis, 1996, p. 23). Mateerials designedd to be used within a

28

Chapter Two

task-based approach aim ‘to provide learners with approximations and simulations of the kinds of tasks that they are supposed to be able to perform outside the classroom and learn about relevant forms of language while trying to understand and produce the language that these communicative tasks involve’ (Van den Branden, 2012, p. 132). Task-based materials design is challenging on two fronts: first, learners possess varying degrees of proficiency. Secondly, generalized tasks cannot predict all of the challenges that different learners will encounter while working through the task (Prahbu, 1987, p. 89 cited in Ellis, 2003, p. 220). In addition, there are a myriad of factors which affect a learner’s ability to perform a task, ranging from individual factors such as learning style, through factors such as planning time, which influence the task burden, to factors which specifically impact on the language inputted and the task outcomes (Ellis, 2003, p. 221-27). In the context of our institution and cohort of learners, our key considerations in developing materials were: 1. Tasks and texts had to be as contextualized, meaningful, authentic and comprehensible as possible (Felix 2003, Tomlinson 2010). Exposure to meaningful, comprehensible and rich language input has long been recognised as vital to language acquisition (Krashen 1981; Long 1985). 2. In order to acquire the ability to use the language effectively the learners need a lot of experience of the language being used in a variety of different ways for a variety of purposes. They need to be able to understand enough of this input to gain positive access to it and it needs to be meaningful to them. (Tomlinson 2010a, p.73) As all of our learners were operating within an immersive, academic and practical medico-scientific context, to which in future years would be added a clinical context, it was decided that texts and tasks had to be appropriate to our learners’ context. Therefore, the tasks had to be made meaningful in that they were meaning- rather than form-focused, and have genuine relevance, application, and authenticity within this context. An authentic text is one that has been produced within a language community for a non-language learning, ‘social’, purpose (Little et al., 1988, p. 27). In the case of tasks, their authenticity lies in how effectively they elicit the language behaviour inherent in both the types of activities we perform in the real world and also the type of communicative

Discussion on a Pilot Program

29

behaviour we engage in (Ellis, 2003, p. 6). The materials we designed therefore required students to engage with authentic texts and tasks that would push them to perform the type of communicative acts that were required by the context they were or would be working in. Examples include recording details of a patient history, explaining a patient history to a layperson, note-taking from a short lecture, preparing and delivering spoken summaries of information, preparing and delivering presentations, etc. The materials: 1 Were to be as multimedia as possible, that is, containing multiple media integrated into an interactive whole [Rockwell and Mactavish, 2004), thereby enhancing text comprehensibility as well as catering for different learning styles. 2 Aimed to be skills-integrated, offering opportunities for learners to use their reading, writing, speaking and listening competencies within a unified communicative context. In this regard, the materials were designed to move from receptive (listening and reading) to productive (speaking and writing) (Davies et al., 2005). 3 Had to be engaging, both affectively and cognitively, as well as motivating in order to drive learner engagement, interaction and learning (Tomlinson, 2010). 4 Provided as much feedback as possible to the learners (Davies et al., 2005, Tomlinson 2010). In order for the materials and the overall environment within which they were designed to be effective, learners required training, guidance and support. Three steps were taken in this regard: a. User guides: Davies et al. (2005, p.4) stress that clear training in how to use resources is imperative if this type of learning environment is to be effective. To this end we created a series of “GUIDE TOs”, consisting of narrated screen recordings that guide the learner through the resources and the tools needed to produce the digital artefacts required by different tasks. b. ‘Satellite tools’ (Davies et al., 2005, p. 95): tools such as grammar references, online dictionaries, and pronunciation guides etc. act as forms of guidance to the learner. These tools are available to learners as and when required during task performance. c. Default routes: A default route is ‘a route through the material that the author believes is optimal’ (Laurillard, 1993, p. 2 cited in Davies, 1997, p. 43). Learners are free to deviate from the route but

Chapter Two

30

it is there for them to follow as desired. The provision of a default route has been shown to reduce learner anxiety regarding what exactly to do. (Laurillard, 1993, p. 2)

Sample materials The task-based activity We created four categories of resources for our cohort of learners. These are the TEDTalks resource, the Case-Reports Resource, the Task-Based resource and the Sentence Structure resource. The resources were tailored to be contextualized, to be authentic, to promote autonomy and to integrate a variety of inputs (receptive) with several opportunities for output (productive), thereby reflecting real-world communicative processes (Guariento and Morley, 2001, p. 352). By way of illustration, what follows is a description of one of these resources: the task-based resource. The resource was conceived to be flexible, multi-purpose and multi-faceted, and it comprises a combination of tasks and activities with multiple textual inputs and multiple possible outcomes/outputs. Learners can choose from 15 different topics (see Figure 2.3). The topic of each folder is based on a core reading text (approximately 500 words). For reasons of learner engagement and motivation, we used medico-scientific texts almost exclusively and permission was obtained from the RCSI Student Medical Journal and the Trinity College Dublin Student Medical Journal to use appropriate texts from these sources. Each topic folder contains several components that are thematically linked and offer multiple opportunities for skills development as well as introducing new language connected to that topic. Specifically, each folder contains a PDF of the entire article, a MASTER document containing the core text (the abstract or the introduction to the article was chosen to provide learners with a stand-alone, unified piece of text) and an embedded audio recording of the text being read. The recordings feature male and female native speakers and a variety of accents. Finally, there are a series of linked exercises to be completed as part of the language focus stage (see Figure 4).

Discussion on a Pilot P Program Figure 2.3

31

Chapter Two

32 Figure 2.4

A default rooute through thhe material is offered as fol lows: 1. Activvation/warm-uup task 2. Langguage focus staage 3. Extennsion task (4) In organisinng the default route, we aim med in stage 1 to introduce the topic and activatee prior studentt knowledge through t askingg students to complete a short taskk. Stage 2 com mprises langu uage-focussedd exercises baased on a written textt and aims too further expose students to knowledg ge of and language reelated to the topic, particcularly vocabbulary. Stage 3 offers several taskks where the student has the opportunnity to incorp porate the rolled-over llearning from m the previous stages. It is im mportant to emphasise e that learnerss may choosee to use this resource r as aand how best fits their purpose andd the route desscribed is mereely a guide.

D Discussion on a Pilot P Program

33

Stage 1 Figure 2.5 iss an example of o the task asssociated with tthis stage: Figure 2.5

Stage 2 These exercises in this staage are all bassed on the shoort text contain ned in the MASTER ddocument. Alll of the exerrcises have bbeen created using u the authoring ssoftware Hott Potatoes (freely availaable to dow wnload at http://hotpott.uvic.ca/). The advantagees of this appplication are that it facilitates thhe design of a large bank off materials as well as provid ding both support to llearners via thhe ‘Hint’ function in certaain exercise ty ypes (see Figures 2.6 and 2.8) as well w as instan nt feedback vvia the ‘Check k button’. The exercisse in Figure 2.8 also con ntains an ‘U Undo’ button allowing learners a hiigher degree of o control and engagement w with the exerccise. The exercisees in this secttion focus on various languuage building activities e.g. vocabuulary building and consolid dation, colloccations, anaph horic and cataphoric reeference.

34 Figure 2.6

Chapter Two

Discussion on a Pilot P Program Figure 2.7

35

36 Figure 2.8

Chapter Two

Discussion on a Pilot P Program Figure 2.9

37

38

Chapter Two

Stage 3 This task buuilds on the topic/theme t of the resourcee and offers learners l a choice of 2--3 different tasks. Each requires the learnner to access an online text(s), to reesearch and too produce eith her a written aand spoken (C Camtasia) or spoken au audio recordinng presentation n based on w what they havee learned. An examplee of this is giveen in Figure 2.10. 2 Figure 2.10

D Discussion on a Pilot P Program

39

Pilot self-access progra am course sstructure The needs oof this cohort of learners were w elaborateed from the ex xperience of deliveringg classroom based commun nication and laanguage progrrams over the precedinng five years to t a similar prrofile of learneers as well as feedback received from them on thhose programs. Broadly spe aking, the coh hort of 24 who particippated in this pilot p program comprised leaarners on the threshold of C1 on thhe Common European E Fram mework of R Reference (CE EFR) who were assesseed as requiring a degree of intervention tto prepare theem for the language annd communicaation demandss of the pre-m med (Foundatiion Year) program as well as helpp them develo op the degreee of languagee learning autonomy too assist them m in meeting the languagge and comm munication challenges of future years. y Key needs n identiffied were vo ocabulary developmentt, extensive reeading and exttensive listeniing skills deveelopment, note-taking, and preseentation skillls with part rticular emph hasis on summarisingg and paraphrrasing skills. The T objectivees of the progrram were for learners to increase their t awareneess of themseelves as learn ners, their strengths annd their weaknnesses, in tandem with devveloping theirr capacity to be autonnomous learnners. Improv vements in E English langu uage and communicattion proficienncy were selff-assessed by learners to encourage e them to trackk and take ressponsibility fo or their own leearning. The self-acccess program ran r across two o semesters w with the course structure as follows: Figure 2.11

40

Chapter Two

In semester 1, students were asked to begin by self-assessing using DIALANG and to save their results to their workspace on Moodle. DIALANG is a digital self-assessment tool developed in adherence with the Common European Framework of Reference (CEFR). Following this, learners were asked to choose from one of the four resources designed inhouse specifically for our cohort of learners. Learners could choose from the TEDTalks resource, the Case-Reports Resource, the Task-based resource, or the Sentence Structure resource. Learners were asked to familiarise themselves with the different resources by watching the ‘GUIDE TO’ that resource before confirming their choice. If a learner decided to use, for example, the TEDTalks resource, they had a choice of 10 topics such as ‘How bacteria talk’ and ‘The bio-future of joint replacement’ to choose from. The learner then chose their desired topic and completed the associated tasks and activities. Learners were next asked to select another, different, resource to work with. Again, they were asked to watch the ‘GUIDE TO’, select a topic that interested them and complete the associated tasks and activities. Upon completion of these 3 stages (DIALANG, Task 1, Task 2), learners were asked to produce a short reflection on their learning experience. The reflection encouraged learners to discuss what they had learned about their language skills and how this would assist them in achieving future goals. Learners were asked to include strategies for further improving strengths and overcoming weaknesses. Adjustments were made to the semester 2 program based on feedback gathered and observation of learner engagement in semester 1. Greater support was deemed necessary to assist learners in understanding the concept of the program and so to that end learners attended two further workshops on self-access/independent learning, a feedback workshop in semester one, and a one-hour face-to-face orientation session in the lab. Adjustments were also made to what resources the learners were asked to work with in order to maximise returns to them. In semester two learners were first required to re-self-assess using DIALANG. Next, they were instructed to work with the Task-Based resource. Subsequently, based on their experience of working with the Task-Based resource they were asked to identify a grammatical area in which they felt they needed improvement and to find an appropriate unit within the Tensebuster program to satisfy that need. Tensebuster is a piece of commercially available language learning software that provides form-focused grammar instruction and practice. Finally, learners were asked to choose a second resource of their choice to work with before, once again, completing a short self-reflection.

Discussion on a Pilot Program

41

Results of pilot Feedback Subjective learner feedback was gathered on the program as a whole, including its structure, via an anonymous online survey tool (www.surveymonkey.com). In addition we attempted to collect data in as combined an approach as possible as this ‘seems most promising for providing a full picture of language learning in an online environment’ (Stickler and Hampel, 2007, p. 1). Therefore, each time a learner used the TEDTalks, Task-based, Case Report or Sentence Structure materials, they were asked to complete a separate survey to provide specific feedback on that resource. By way of example, the Listening – TEDTalks survey gathers the following information and feedback: x Year of study. x TEDTalk chosen. x Whether the instructions were clear and easy to follow. If a learner answers 'No' to this question, they are asked to indicate in a comment box located below the item what was unclear and/or difficult to follow. x How the learner approached the task and the different steps they took in completing it. e.g. ‘I read the questions to make sure I have an idea of what the task is asking me to do. 2- I watched the talk without subtitles. 3- I watched the talk again , this time taking my own notes 4- I watched the talk for a third time this time comparing my notes with the subtitles, for spelling and words. 5- I answered the questions, and finally I put the answers in a summary form. x The usefulness of the NOTES document in helping the student to follow and understand their chosen TEDTalk. This item also gathered suggestions for changes to the layout of the NOTES document. x How difficult the learner thought their chosen TEDTalk was. x The learner’s feelings about this activity (interesting, motivating, relevant to my studies/career, a topic I would like to learn more about). Learners could tick as many boxes as they liked and also had a comment box in which to express any other thoughts. x Any difficulties experienced uploading any of their work to Moodle. x An overall rating out of 10 for this task.

42

Chapter Two

x Other TEDTalks and topics that they would like to see used as part of this task. x Any additional comments on the task and/or resource. Moodle also facilitates the tracking of learner participation through recording the number of times individual learners access, or ‘click’, on individual resources. This objective data was collated with regard to all of the resources available in the lab as well as the aforementioned materials. The end of course feedback survey ran from 15 April to 11 May 2011. 14 of the 23 participants responded giving a response rate of 61%. Key findings in relation to the course were as follows:

My language proficiency improved My confidence has increased The program has helped me to see the importance of good language and communication skills as part of my studies. The program made me think more about my language level and how I could improve it The program helped me to identify my strengths and weaknesses.

SELF-ACCESS PROGRAM

64.3 85.7

92.9

85.7

39.1

52.2

56.5

52.2

8.7

4.3

4.3

17.4

8.7

Percent

Valid percent 78.6

Percent

47.8

NEUTRAL

POSITIVE

Table 2.1 Student feedback on the pilot program.

Program and Materials

Discussion on a Pilot Program

14.3

7.1

7.1

28.6

Valid percent 14.3

0

0

4.3

4.3

4.3

Percent

NEGATIVE

0

0

7.1

7.1

Valid percent 7.1

43

The topics and materials were interesting and engaging (5) The program is welldesigned and gives good coverage of all key language skills The activities and tasks are helpful in improving my weak areas

I know what my language weaknesses are. I know what to do to improve my weaknesses. I am now able to set realistic learning goals and targets MATERIALS

44

71.4

43.5

78.6

71.4

47.8

43.5

52.2

Valid percent 85.7

78.6

47.8

POSITIVE Percent

78.6

47.8

8.7

8.7

8.7

NEUTRAL Percent

8.7

8.7

8.7

Chapter Two

14.3

14.3

Valid percent 14.3

14.3

14.3

14.3

8.7

4.3

0

NEGATIVE Percent

8.7

4.3

4.3

14.3

7.1

Valid percent 0

14.3

7.1

7.1

Discussion on a Pilot Program

45

In addition, learners were asked about continuing in the program in the coming academic year. Table 2.2 Student replies when asked about continuing in the program in the coming academic year. YES Percent I would choose to continue in the program next year

47.8

Valid percent 78.6

NO Percent 13.0

Valid percent 21.4

10 of the 14 respondents gave reasons for wishing to continue or not in the program. Reasons given for wanting to continue fell generally under three headings: To improve proficiency -

‘The program helps me with my language skills.’ ‘I would want to continue in the self access program only to improve my english level and my communication skills as i would need it in medicince and every day life.’

Improved learner awareness/autonomy -

‘I would still like to improve and I understand that I am not good enough.’ ‘I might discover other weaknesses that i 'm not aware of’ ‘I think it’s suitable for my language level and focuses on the learner’s weaknesses.

Resources & Materials -

‘I have benefitted a lot from doing all the assignments in the language lab’ ‘So as to make use of the software and learning activities associated with the self-access program’

Chapter Two

46

Reasons for not wishing to continue or an indication of reluctance to continue fell under two general headings: Time constraints of a medical program: -

‘This sem was very hectic to me and yet we got loads of assignments to do for the self-access programme. I found that very irritating.’ ‘I am not aware of what the study format of JC1 (3) will be like, and i wouldn't want the self access to take a lot of time if the course was too compact and condensed’

Student perception of needs: -

‘Because it is a waste of time. I can look up all those material online and work on my language by my own. I do not need anyone to tell me do this and that! I am able to decide what is good for me……..I know you put lots of efforts to design this programme, but I think it is not in the right place. It would help a language school instead of a medical one!’

Specific materials Learners were also asked to rate out of ten, in terms of difficulty and overall satisfaction, the materials they had used: Table 2.3 Student responses when asked to rate the materials used out of ten in terms of difficulty and overall satisfaction. Difficulty TED Talks (n=9)

4.3

Overall Satisfaction 7.2

Sentence Structure (n=31)

4.4

7.4

Learner Comments ‘[The ‘Notes’ document] is excellent, it really helped, and made the task easier.’ ‘[The Notes document was] very useful but not necessary. They made the activity too easy rendering it almost useless.’ ‘I would like to say that the activity was more than good and I got many benefits from it, such as: learning new vocabulary, gaining my reading speed and answering the questions faster than I thought.’ ‘It was too easy.’

Discussion on a Pilot Program Case Report (n=6) Task-based (n=20)

5.8

7.7

4.3

8.3

47

‘This activity is very beneficial to medical learner.’ ‘It is very time consuming !!’ ‘I enjoyed doing the gab fills the most.’

Learner engagement and participation Table 2.4 Moodle record of levels of learner access of materials. Total clicks Average per learner Lowest number of learner clicks Highest number of learner clicks Mid-range

2436 106

Resource TEDTalks

Total clicks 196

31

Sentence Structure

539

212

Task-based

840

121.5

Case Report

200

Closing comments Felix (2008, p. 156) acknowledges a substantial body of data that indicates that student perceptions of CALL are on the whole positive, provided technologies are stable and well-supported. We feel that the results we have reported in this chapter reflect this. Reinders (2004) suggests that a self-access facility’s greatest contribution may actually be in fostering in learners an awareness of language learning. Our learners, in their reported improvements in their ability to self-assess and their growing awareness of themselves as language learners, indicate that our initial goals in designing the program are meeting with some success. However, in relation to this pilot and its effectiveness in achieving our original learning goals as set,

48

Chapter Two

there are some areas that we feel are worth highlighting both in the context of this conversation and as part of our own reflection on the program.

Comments on course-design and structure In relation to course design we feel there are two main interconnected areas for improvement in the structure of the program. First, we feel there is a need to find further solutions to the challenge of providing feedback to learners on their performance in tasks where it is required or relevant. This is a key challenge to us and we hope to add further feedback channels to these materials in future, as well as creating inter-resource learning routes. We feel this would provide a more holistic and scaffolded experience for learners. Secondly, while this self-access facility was initially designed to be part of the wider taught language programs, which themselves are interactive and task-based in design, the self-access facility is in itself somewhat lacking both in teacher support and interactivity between teacher/learner and learner/learner. Learners had limited opportunities to interact with a teacher as part of this pilot. The instructional on-line guides were the primary source of teacher input provided and we feel this is a weakness of the program. Additionally, many of the tasks, while adaptable, were designed to be used by learners primarily as individuals thereby reducing somewhat opportunities for learner-to-learner interaction. On reflection, this has since been taken account of in subsequent programs being run for other groups of learners using the lab in pairs or groups for example. This ongoing development and fine-tuning of materials and resources highlights the challenge that exists around the design of self-access centers which necessitate an approach that not only facilitates learner involvement, reflection, self-assessment and motivation through materials design and use, but also one that tries to incorporate interaction and feedback where appropriate to the context. Overall, we feel that the approach taken here to designing both the selfaccess program and its materials, which holds as its central goal the promotion of learner autonomy as outlined in this discussion, has yielded a generally successful and positive experience in a limited context and time frame for this cohort of learners. Finally, on the basis of our pilot program discussed here we feel that locally produced materials such as those outlined in this pilot program perhaps serve our students best in the particular and challenging context in which they are learning for the reasons outlined in this discussion. We also feel that digitally designed and

Discussion on a Pilot Program

49

delivered materials such as those samples shown here have a particular value in this context in relation to accessibility and the time constraints of demanding degree programs such as medicine.

References Bandura, A. (1986), Social Foundations of Thought and Action: Social Cognitive Theory.Englewood Cliffs, N.J: Prentice-Hall. Barnes, D. (1976), From Communication to Curriculum. Harmondsworth: Penguin. Boxer, D. and Cohen, A.D. (2004), Studying Speaking to Inform Second Language Learning. Avon: Multilingual Matters. Brandl, K. (2005), ‘Are you ready to Moodle?’. Language Learning & Technology, 9, 2, 16-23. Canter, D. (1977), The Psychology of Place. New York: St. Martin Press. Davies, G. (1997), ‘Lessons from the past, lessons for the future: 20 years of CALL’, in K. Korsvold and B. Rüschoff (eds), New Technologies in Language Learning and Teaching. Strasbourg: Council of Europe, pp. 27-51. Davies, G., Bangs, P., Frisby, R. and Walton, E. (2005), ‘Setting up effective digital language laboratories and multimedia ICT suites for MFL’, London: The National Centre for Languages. Accessed at: http://www.camsoftpartners.co.uk/docs/CILT_Digital_Labs.htm [28 September 2012]. Deci, E. and Ryan, R.M. (1985), Intrinsic Motivation and SelfDetermination in Human Behaviour. New York: Plenum. Ellis, R. (1994), The Study of Second Language Acquisition. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Ellis, R (2003), Task-based Language Learning and Teaching. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Felix, U. (2003), ‘Teaching languages online: deconstructing the myths’. Australian Journal of Educational Technology, 19, (1), 118-38. Accessed at: http://www.ascilite.org.au/ajet/ajet19/felix.html Felix, U. (2008), ‘The unreasonable effectiveness of CALL: what have we learned in two decades of research?’. ReCALL, 20, (2), 141-61. Guariento, W. and Morley, J. (2001), ‘Text and task authenticity in the EFL classroom’. ELT Journal, 55, (4), 347-53. Goodyear P., Jones, C., Asensio, M., Hodgson, V. and Steeples, C. (2000), ‘Effective networked learning in higher education: notes and guidelines. Lancaster: Centre for Studies in Advanced Learning Technology, Lancaster University.

50

Chapter Two

Holec, H. (1981), Autonomy in Foreign Language Learning. Oxford: Pergamon. Kalay, Y.E. (2004),’ Virtual learning environments’. ITcon, 9, 195-207. Accessed at: http://www.itcon.org/2004/13 [24 September 2012] Karlsson, L., Kjisik, F. and Nordlund, J. (1997), From Here to Autonomy. University of Helsinki: Language Centre. Krashen, S. D. (1981), Principles and Practice in Second Language Acquisition. English Language Teaching series. London: Prentice-Hall. Laurillard, D. (1993), Program Design Principles. Hull: The TELL Consortium, University of Hull. Also published as ‘Annex 1: Program design principles’ in Laurillard (1996). Laurillard, D. (1996), ‘Formative Evaluation Report: The TELL Consortium’, Hull: The TELL Consortium, University of Hull. Little, D., Devitt, S. and Singleton, D. (1988), Authentic Texts in Foreign Language Teaching: Theory and Practice. Dublin: Authentik. Little, D. (1997), ‘Responding authentically to authentic texts’, in P. Benson and P. Voller, P. (eds), Autonomy and Independence in Language Learning. London: Longman, pp. 225-48. Little, D. (2000), ‘Meeting the language needs of refugees in Ireland’. Refugee Language Support Unit Occasional Papers No.1. Dublin: Trinity College. Little, D. (2001), ‘Learner autonomy and the challenge of tandem language learning via the internet’, in A. Chambers and G. Davies (eds), ICT and Language Learning: a European Perspective, Lisse, Swets & Zeitlinger, 2001, pp. 29-38. Little, D. G., Ridley, J. and Ushioda, E. (eds.) (2003), Learner Autonomy in the Foreign Language Classroom: Teacher, Learner, Curriculum and Assessment. Dublin: Authentik. Long, M. (1985). ‘Input and second language acquisition theory’, in S. Gass and C. Madden (eds), Input in Second Language Acquisition. Rowley, MA: Newbury House Prahbu, N.S. (1987), Second Language Pedagogy. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Reinders, H. (2004), ‘Self-access centres: teaching language and teaching learning’. The Language Teacher, 28, (6), June 2004. Accessed at: http://jalt-publications.org/tlt/departments/tlt-wired/articles/709-selfaccess-centres-teaching-language-and-teaching-learning [12 September 2012]. Robb, T. (2004). ‘Moodle: A virtual learning environment for the rest of us’. TESL-EJ, 8, (2). Accessed at: http://www.tesl-ej.org/ej30/m2.html [8 October 2012].

Discussion on a Pilot Program

51

Rockwell, G. and Mactavish, A. (2004), ‘Multimedia’, in R. Siemens, S. Schriebman and J. Unsworth (eds.), A Companion to Digital Humanities London: Blackwell. Ryan, R.M. and Deci, E.L. (2000), ‘Intrinsic and extrinsic motivations: classic definitions and new directions’. Contemporary Educational Psychology, 25, 54–67. Stickler, U. and Hampel, H. (2007), ‘“What I think works well….”: learners’ evaluation and actual usage of online tools’. Proceedings of the ICL2007 conference, September 26 -28, 2007, Villach, Austria. Swain, M. and Lapkin, S. (1998), ‘Interaction and second language learning: two adolescent French immersion learners working together’. Modern Language Journal, 82, 320-37. Tudor, I. (1996), Learner-Centeredness as Language Education. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Tomlinson B. (ed), (2003), Developing Materials for Language Teaching. London. Continuum. Tomlinson, B. (2010), ‘Principles and procedures for self-access materials’. Studies in Self-Access Learning Journal, 1, (2), 72-86. Ushioda, E. (1996), ‘Developing a dynamic concept of motivation’, in T. Hickey and J. Williams (eds), Language, Education and Society in a Changing World. Clevedon: Multilingual Matters. Van den Branden, K. (2012), ‘Task-based language education’, in A. Burns and J. C. Richards (eds), Pedagogy and Practice in Second Language Teaching, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, pp. 13248. Van Lier, L. (1996), Interaction in the Language Curriculum: Awareness, Autonomy and Authenticity. Harlow: Longman. Vygotsky, L.S. (1978), Mind in Society. The Development of Higher Psychological Processes. Cambridge: Harvard University Press. Willis, J. (1996), A Framework for Task-based Learning. London: Longman Addison Wesley. Wolff, D. (2003), ‘Content and language integrated learning: a framework for the development of learner autonomy’, in D. Little, J. Ridley and E. Ushioda (eds), Learner Autonomy in the Foreign Language Classroom: Teacher, Learner, Curriculum and Assessment. Dublin: Authentik, pp. 198-210.

CHAPTER THREE INTERCULTURAL COMMUNICATION TEACHING: LANGUAGE OR LECTURE COURSE? OLGA BONDARENKO

Introduction This chapter deals with the problem of content selection for intercultural communication (IC) courses intended for pre-career training for tourism and hospitality (T & H). It suggests that one of the solutions to the course content design may be a ‘matrix’ approach. The matrix is understood as a structured system of closely knit elements (communication-related culture dimensions) represented as a grid. The study of foreign cultures, especially for certain professional areas, is undoubtedly important but is complicated by a number of factors: 1. English is a means of communication for travelers and a working language in the tourism industry globally, which is why students of tourism learn English. However, they have to communicate professionally not only—and probably not so much—with AngloSaxon native speakers (whose cultures they get to know at university), but with all sorts of clients and business associates from various cultural backgrounds, whose languages and cultures cannot be learned within a university course of study. 2. There are no ready-made comprehensive and well-structured descriptions of cultural peculiarities relating to particular professional spheres, although there is a lot of valuable information available. There is a danger that a student may get drowned in the ocean of material. 3. Although IC courses are in great demand, the time budget for such an all-embracing subject is limited to a mere 30-40 hours and

Intercultural Communication Teaching: Language or Lecture Course?

53

lecturers often fill in this time according to their vision of priorities and their erudition, which does not mean, however, that there are no materials or syllabus. But it is felt that there should be some IC course content frame to model such courses on and make them more comprehensive. 4. Experts in intercultural studies have spoken out differently as to what to teach and how to teach it. Some mention ‘teaching lingua culture’ by taking ‘discourse as the integrating moment where culture is viewed’ (Kramsch, 1991, p. 237). Others draw our attention to ‘key words’, which are especially significant and important for understanding particular cultures (ȼɟɠɛɢɰɤɚ, 2001, p. 35). Byram speaks in favor of ‘the integrated relationship between language and culture’ and a ‘methodology which offers pupils structured knowledge rather than items of information’ (Byram and Esarte-Sarries, 1991, p. 171). I share the latter idea of structured knowledge and argue that training in intercultural communication can be realistic within a limited time budget if it is carried out by two parallel or staggered courses; a target language course and a lecture course featuring professionally important aspects of multi-vector intercultural communication. Multi-vector ICC means professionally necessitated intercommunication with representatives of diverse cultures simultaneously or in succession, when one has to switch over from one cultural ‘register’ to another within the same situation or a limited time period. In order to design an IC course that would meet the above requirement of structured adequacy, a research study was undertaken.

Objectives of the Research The research was preceded by setting the following objectives: x What are the main types of cross-cultural differences that impair intercommunication? x How can the basic IC needs of T & H professional staff be outlined? x How can multiculturalism be interwoven into the course study of would-be T & H staff?

54

Chapter Three

Methods The fulfillment of the research demanded the application of the following methods and procedures: a) Studying of theoretical and hands-on publications on cross-cultural communication in search of intercommunication-relevant cultural dimensions; b) Searching for and selecting professionally relevant data pertaining to particular cultures obtained from various resources and previous studies; c) Observation and participating personal observation by the author on the job of a tour guide, working in Moscow with American, British, Chinese, Maltese, Vietnamese, Indian and other tourists, and observations made during tourist and business trips to Germany, Britain, Hungary, Bulgaria, Turkey and other countries.

Conducting the research The first stage of the research focused on highlighting the main intercultural dimensions and their manifestations. Their knowledge and practical application in reception and production would underpin the IC competence (ICC). However, structuring dimensions is good for gathering cultural data but it is not enough for teaching communication across cultures. The scope and depth of ICC taught may be different depending on the students’ needs, their would-be professional status and their specializations. That means that the cultural dimensions data are to be dovetailed with the levels of cross-cultural competence required. Hence the next step in the research was to pinpoint the cultural dimensions relevant to intercommunication in the T & H sphere and to grade them according to the needed cross-cultural competence level. To carry out this task, cultural dimensions were superposed onto the frames of professional communication including the main T & H jobs, typical situations of intercommunication, dominant purposes and kinds of interaction (superficial or in-depth, algorithm-like or creative). Finally the needed skills were inferred. The fulfillment of this task involved the following methods: a) Probing into tourism and hospitality standards and qualifications;

Intercultural Communication Teaching: Language or Lecture Course?

55

b) Analysis of typical professional situations, job descriptions and job requirements in the tourism and hospitality business; c) Talks with professionals and discussion of their unhappy encounters with foreign customers or business associates to consider possible cross-cultural implications for them. To reduce the data the following selection criteria were used: -

Professional relevance (theme reference, situational necessity, etc.). Communicative destruction potential (the extent to which ignorance of this or that ICC component can be fatal to intercommunication).

Thus, the third stage of the research focused on working out the matrix of T & H ICC course content (see Appendix). The matrix is a grid of culture-rooted communication dimensions arranged from cognitive to performative horizontally, which are to be filled with the content relevant to the culture, and vertically representing professional frames of intercommunication in tourism and hospitality. These frames focus on the key T & H jobs and vary in purposes of intercommunication and in depth and degree of cultural awareness required. There are three conventional levels of cross-cultural communication competence based on the amount of cross-cultural expertise required from the staff in these positions: the minimum level (for the jobs of lift attendants, bellboys etc.), the medium level required for the majority of the T & H staff (receptionists, travel agents, animators, head waiters etc.) and the high level of ICC vitally important for T & H managerial staff working across cultures. Each level embraces communicators requiring approximately similar depth of crosscultural knowledge and interaction skills to fulfill their professional intercommunication successfully. For instance, knowledge in the customer’s language of ‘yes’ and ‘no’, greetings and thanks, small talk etiquette and expression of agreement and disagreement would be important for most of the front office staff (and even bar tenders and hotel bellboys), whereas phone etiquette and prosodic competence, especially concerning foreign English accents comprehension, is vitally important mainly for hotel switchboard operators, and receptionists etc. Moreover, competent culture-tailored speech tactics and strategies, target cultureshaped presentations and competence in other oral and written speech genres are needed by T & H managerial staff and sales and marketing staff. The implication is that within their scope the T &H staff should at least exclude taboos from their communication and at most they should try to follow the cultural norms of the customers they deal with.

56

Chapter Three

The intersections of the horizontal and vertical axes of the matrix would provide leads to the IC competences to be taught. Thus the repertoire of IC competences to include in the course would vary in quantity and quality for different professional spheres. The matrix can be disintegrated vertically or horizontally for the sake of focused investigation or teaching. For example, researchers engaged in cognitive linguistics and interested in extending their studies to the sphere of T & H may find a short outline of cognitive issues, particularly important for this sphere, in the 2nd column of the matrix. Similarly, teachers in charge of IC or ESP courses for any professions mentioned in the matrix, will benefit from using it as a road map to select content for their course. They can, at the same time, choose the order and combination of content items and teaching focuses according to the correlations between IC dimensions in the matrix, the level of students and their target priorities. Thus, students working for a high-level IC competence usually have an excellent command of English and may or may not be taught linguistic components of IC competence as they can learn them on their own (if provided with effective materials). Apart from that, knowledge of target culture cognitive styles (2nd column) can be correlated with culturally preferred ways of presenting information (4th column) in discourse and can be taught simultaneously with it. On the contrary, culturally acceptable communication strategies (4th column) should be mastered before learning negotiations ritual and practices (5th column) because the former pave the way for the latter.

Discussion of Findings According to experts in cross-cultural management, the pattern of cultural contacts has changed, today it is ‘more varied and fragmented than it was, it is simultaneous rather than sequential’, it means that there is a necessity to deal with multiple cultures and it demands ‘ability to think multidimensionally’ (Schneider and Barsoux, 1997, p.168-9, emphasis added). In other words the one-language-one-culture teaching paradigm is no longer suitable for training business professionals as they have to deal with individuals from various cultural backgrounds every day throughout their careers. That is why ‘rather than a thorough knowledge of one particular culture, international managers need to be aware of the cues signaling culture differences’; they need to identify ‘which dimensions of culture may be relevant’ for multicultural communication (Schneider and Barsoux, 1997, p.169, emphasis added). In other words, teaching

Intercultural Communication Teaching: Language or Lecture Course?

57

multicultural communication should be based not on isolated facts of cross-cultural differences, but on a systematic multidimensional approach aimed at building a configuration of multicultural competences for professional needs. Consequently, a guiding set of cultural dimensions to be aware of had to be elaborated. It could be a road map for selecting and gathering examples of cross-cultural differences and for teaching skills for facilitating intercommunication with people from other cultural backgrounds. The following communicatively relevant cultural dimensions were earmarked: 1) The first group comprised cognitive cultural dimensions. Since cognitive patterns are at the bottom of all cross-cultural similarities and differences ‘the development of conceptual thinking may be the most important’ (Lantolf, 1999, p. 31) for culture-2 acquisition and proficiency. Cognitive cultural dimensions have embraced differing: x Cognitive styles (holistic as in Japanese culture or particular as in German or Scottish culture, etc.) x Notions of time, space and other concepts culturally interpreted (monoactive and polyactive cultures have different concepts of punctuality; identity and similarity of a place, such as a hotel room, depends on ethnic orientation systems; preference of open working space by Americans is not shared by Germans, etc.) x Systems of values (face saving, patriotism, teamship/individualism, unanimity/plurality, etc.) x Cultural stereotypes of other nations and self-stereotypes x Classification patterns (e.g. Atabaskans–by shape, Americans–by color) x Cultural ethics and morality (attitude towards copyright, privacy, commitments and word-keeping, etc.). Cognitive intercultural discrepancies concern all multicultural professional interactions and are to be familiar to T & H staff. As this content has little to do with the EFL subject, it was included in the IC lecture course. It was an interactive lecture course with video and audio illustrations for students to notice ‘foreignness’ of communication behavior, compare it with their native Russian culture and interpret the difference. Besides, students were given mini research home tasks and creative tasks to apply their newly acquired knowledge. In other words the lecture course was designed to

58

Chapter Three

develop students’ knowledge of non-target-language cultures, plus awareness and basic understanding of them. 2) The second group of dimensions embraced culture-bound linguistic dimensions. These are deeply rooted in cognitive concepts and are the result of language systems asymmetry. On the other hand, they impact on intercultural discourse, materializing in oral or written communication. Linguistic dimensions of culture may concern pronunciation, grammar or lexical lacunas, that is, language elements endemic in one particular language or kindred languages only, i.e. unique sounds or grammar categories and structures, unique vocabulary. Such units as ‘jet lag’, ‘selfcatering’, ‘travel arrangements’ are not perceived by Russians as discreet entities and thus are hard for Russian students to memorize and use. Socalled ‘key words’, relating to the quintessence of culture, are overgrown with collocations and synonyms and need special attention by teachers and learners. For example, there are a number of English concepts important for T & H studies: travel - trip, journey, tour, jaunt, outing, voyage, excursion etc.; house - house swap, house porter, house doctor, house phone, something from the house (free from the facility), housekeeping, housecraft etc.; courtesy - courtesy tray, courtesy phone, courtesy bus or car or coach, by courtesy of the management etc. The list can be extended. All these key words have a wide set of synonyms to discriminate from and a range of collocations and meanings that do not always correspond to Russian usage and which consequently call for special attention by the teacher and learner. Since it is most likely that multicultural communication in the T & H sphere is normally in English, the above mentioned linguistic dimensions suggest studying discrepancies between Russian, the mother tongue of the learners, and English, foreign language number one in tourism. One of the possible formats for that was incorporating cross-cultural linguistic aspects into the EFL course. 3) The third group included pragmatic or culture-bound discourse dimensions. They materialize in the manner of narration and interaction, including paralinguistic aspects of discourse. Thus, interaction styles can be democratic or hierarchical, group-oriented or individual-oriented, cooperative or competitive, etc.

Intercultural Communication Teaching: Language or Lecture Course?

59

These aspects of discourse cultural dimensions are characterized by special language tools, etiquette rules and speech strategies, hence they need special teaching and learning effort. That is why the part of the ICC dealing with discourse discrepancies between home communication and Anglo World communication also became part of the EFL course. 4) The fourth group included culture-bound general interaction behavioral (performative) dimensions. Hymes pointed out that communicative competence includes both speaking and behavioral competence (Hymes, 1972, p. 64). It would be logical to extrapolate the idea of intracultural behavioral competence to intercommunication. Thus, behavior dimensions of culture include culture-pregnant patterns of interaction beyond discourse. They may be illustrated with a few examples of everyday social and professional behavior patterns: x Everyday routines (manner of taking a bath, manner of entering the boss’s office, etc.). x Etiquettes (rules of gift-giving, tipping, etc.). Table etiquette and ethnic meal patterns are also an important performative cultural dimension of intercommunication. Participants in multicultural communication should be alert to such aspects as the content of the meal, the meal patterns, table service, local rules of accepting or refusing dishes. ‘If you happen to be the guest of honour at a banquet in the Middle East, it is possible you will be served the delicacy of the menu: sheep’s eyeballs… and you are expected to eat them’ (Axtell, 1994, p. 91). x Professional behavior models, or repertoires of roles expected from professionals in certain positions which are culture-bound. Thus Russian cultural expectations of a ‘good guide’ have traditionally implied such performance features as being helpful and friendly, making cohesive and informative talk without long pauses, entertaining guests wherever appropriate, demonstrating personal lyrical digressions without obtrusive advertising of outlets and services etc. These behavior patterns may not necessarily be shared and observed in other cultures. x Culturally preferred kinds of leisure pursuits are important to know for T & H professionals. Singing karaoke might be an acceptable leisure activity with Japanese people or Koreans, but Germans may prefer beer drinking, which might not arouse enthusiasm from Americans, who might prefer a barbecue or a potluck party. x Work practices are a numerous and complex group of cultural behaviors that have an impact on business intercultural

60

Chapter Three

communication. Business rituals are customary algorithms of certain functions that vary from culture to culture. They may be exemplified by exchange of business cards, patterns of decisionmaking, habitual ways of resolving conflicts and so on. Taking quick decisions is not universally admired, but ‘can be regarded as a sign of immaturity, irresponsibility or even stupidity in Asia or in the Middle East’ (Schneider and Barsoux, 1997, p. 99). These beyond-discourse-macro-communication behaviors became part and parcel of the IC lecture course as they range over the EFL discipline. The above survey gives an idea of the main types of cultural dimensions relevant to intercommunication in T & H and thus included in the matrix. The above mentioned findings led to the design of two courses: a) An EFL course enriched with an IC component and targeted at shaping target-language communicative competence; b) An IC lecture course in English aimed at developing multicultural cognitive and behavioral knowledge of the chosen non-targetlanguage cultures. Both courses were offered to undergraduate T & H students. The courses familiarized the students with the main types of world cultures and viewed professionally relevant communication frames in the cultures frequently contacted by Russian T & H staff. Teaching the culture of EL native speakers included all the four dimensions and combined a lecture course with an EFL course, but teaching non-native speakers’ cultures (in our case cultures other than Anglo-Saxon) was reduced to a lecture course only, focusing on the cognitive and behavioral dimensions. Our experience showed that an IC lecture course in English allowed us to introduce not only the native speakers’ culture, but also non-Anglo-Saxon cultures within a limited time budget and launched the students’ further autonomous cross-cultural study. It turned out to be a shortcut to the students’ future multicultural professional interactions.

Conclusions 1. Teaching the culture of FL native speakers within a language course is beneficial if it is combined with a lecture course in the FL and if it focuses on all the four culture dimensions. But teaching non-native speakers’ multi-cultures can be launched by a well-structured lecture course in

Intercultural Communication Teaching: Language or Lecture Course?

61

World English (Brutt-Griffler, 2002, p. 110), concentrating on cognitive and behavioral dimensions only. 2. The matrix is an attempt to approach structuring an IC course, specifying it for special professional purposes and making it teacherindependent and more comprehensive. It is by no means a final product and could be built up vertically with new communication purposes or extended horizontally by means of further itemizing dimensions or adding totally new types. The matrix suggests areas of pedagogical alert and effort and provides guidelines for formulating IC competences and putting together proper portfolios of ICC for T & H students. It may also serve as a guideline for gathering information about multicultural communication. 3. Similar matrices could be designed for professional intercommunication in spheres other than tourism and hospitality.

References Axtell, R. E. and Healy, J. P. (1994), Do’s and Taboos of Preparing for Your Trip Abroad. New York: John Wiley & Sons. Brutt-Griffler, J. (2002), World English. Clevedon: Multilingual Matters. Byram, M. and Esarte-Sarries, V. (1991), Investigating Cultural Studies in Foreign Language Teaching. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Hymes, D. (1972), ‘Models of the interaction of language and social life’, in J. Gumperz and D. Hymes (eds), Directions in Sociolinguistics: the Ethnography of Communication. New York: Holt, Rinehart and Winston, pp. 35-71. Kramsch, C. (1991), ‘Culture in language learning: a view from the United States’, in R. Kees de Bot, B. Ginsberg and C. Kramsch (eds), Foreign Language Research in Cross-Cultural Perspective . Amsterdam, PA: John Benjamins, pp. 217-40. Lantolf, J. P. (1999), ‘Second culture acquisition’, in E. Hinkel (ed.), Culture in Second Language Teaching and Learning. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, pp. 28-46. Schneider, S. C. and Barsoux, J.-L. (1997), Managing across Cultures. London: Prentice Hall. ȼɟɠɛɢɰɤɚ, Ⱥ. (2001) ɉɨɧɢɦɚɧɢɟ ɤɭɥɶɬɭɪ ɱɟɪɟɡ ɩɨɫɪɟɞɫɬɜɨ ɤɥɸɱɟɜɵɯ ɫɥɨɜ. Moscow: əɡɵɤɢ ɫɥɚɜɹɧɫɤɨɣ ɤɭɥɶɬɭɪɵ.

Appendix

Chapter Three

Cultural dimensions Crosscultural competence level Minimum level cross-cultural competence: Bar tenders Cabin attendants Lift attendants Porters Room service attendants Waiters

Linguistic dimension

* Current professional conventions. *'Yes’ and ‘No’, ‘please’, ‘thank you’ in the target culture language. *Repair language techniques.

Cognitive dimension

* Cultural ethics within professional scope

* Etiquette formulas of : greeting, leave-taking, thanking, apologizing, requesting, offering, recommending, agreement. * Culturally acceptable and polite forms of negation, refusal and disagreement. * Deictic markers of addressee’s and addresser’s status (Sir, Madam, etc). * Correct interpretation of ‘yes’ and ‘no’ in target culture.

Discourse dimension

Intercultural Communication Matrix for Tourism and Hospitality.

62

* Target culture behaviour taboos and their avoidance. * Target culture expectations of professional behaviour . *Target culture assumptions of workrelated practices (rules of tipping, etc.). * Target culture attitude toward natural noises and behaviours (belching, sneezing, hiccupping, etc.).

General behavioural dimension (macro communication dimension)

Medium level crosscultural competence: Accontants Animators Banqueting managers Concieges Conference coordinators Hostesses Hotel butlers Hotel receptionists Instructors Marketing managers Sales managers Tour operators Tourist information officers Travel agents Trek leaders

The above plus: * Target culture basic concepts of : ‘hospitality’ ‘good service’, ‘privacy’, etc. * Foreign stereotypes of Russians and Russian culture. *Russian stereotypes and images of important and regular foreign customers. * Symbolic meanings of numbers, colours, images in target cultures. * Target culture attitude toward rules, time, space, etc. The above plus: * ‘Key words’ of target culture pertaining to: profession. * Professional idioms and phraseology. * Profession-related realia. * International homonyms that sound indecent in the target language (to be excluded). * False cognates within professional scope (to be compared with mother tongue counterparts and discriminated in meaning). The above plus: * Business communication etiquette, oral and written (etiquette of introduction, phone etiquette; layout and style peculiarities of genres: reports, memos, adverts, presentations, budget sheets etc.). *Professionally sufficient repertoires of business oral and written genres. * Culturally preferred genres of humour (for animators). * Culturally acceptable ways of establishing rapport (topics and forms of phatic communion). * Culturally acceptable ways to avoid or resolve conflicts. * Target culture dominant communication styles and strategies (addressed manner of speech, formal/informal, direct/indirect, democratic/hierarchi-cal, optional/obligatory support of one’s opinion, implicit/explicit proposition, etc.).

Intercultural Communication Teaching: Language or Lecture Course? The above plus: * Target culture behaviour patterns (task-oriented/ relationship-oriented, direct business contacts/via gobetweens, etc.). * Etiquette of exchanging business cards. * Etiquette of gift-giving. * Table etiquette in target culture. * Food and beverage preferences, meal patterns and cooking preferences. * Event rituals in target culture (weddings, etc.). * Emotion culture (what emotions can be shown in target culture and to what extent). * Bargaining practices in target culture. * Target culture ways of socializing.

63

High level crosscultural competence: Business travel consultants. Cross-cultural communication Consultants. Guides. Managers of crosscultural teams. Managers of transnational chains. Personal assistants. PROs.

64

The above plus: * Target culture cognitive style (detailminded/holis-tic etc.) * Target culture and home culture sets of values. * Target culture self-image and self stereotypes.

The above plus: * Unique phonological and grammar relevant peculiarities. * Target culture and home culture workrelated realia, lexical lacunas, idioms. * Target culture figures of speech and metaphors. * Connotation discrepancies of correlated words within professional scope. The above plus: * Titles and forms of addressing in target culture (customers, colleagues, business associates, etc.). *Culturally preferred manner of presenting information (inductive/deductive, personal/impersonal, monoactive/interactive, literary/colloquial, axiological/factual, profuse/laconic, simple/flowery, explicit or low-context/ implicit or highcontext, etc.).

* Extent of face-saving. * Acceptability of interruptions, their frequency and polite forms. * Body language, eye contact and space taboos in target culture (to exclude). * Grasp of ethnic accents of English (German, French, Arab, Chinese).

Chapter Three

The above plus: * Target culture notion of successful behaviour and criteria of success (loyalty to organization, group or person, competence or connections, perfor-mance or seniority). * Specific features of universal character traits and behaviours (punctuality, hard work, discipline, politeness, good manners, greediness, flexibility, intelligence, tact, commitment, etc.).

* Common professional abbreviations.

* Target culture dominant interaction styles (monopartner/ multi-partner, cooperative/competitive, grouporiented/individual-oriented, etc.). * Culturally acceptable communication strategies: ways of persuasion, conflictresolving, compromising, etc. * Chronemic peculiarities: length and frequency of pauses, turn-taking, feedback noises and their frequency, etc. * Optimal loudness and tempo of speech in target culture. * Eye contact rules. * Communication space rules. *Body language peculiarities (for understanding).

Intercultural Communication Teaching: Language or Lecture Course? * Culturally preferred kinds of leisure and pastime. * Attitude toward information (processing, access and distribution). * Target culture work practices: gender constraints, methods of decision making, customary work schedules and meal break patterns. *Negotiation ritual (team composition, seating arrangement, phatic preamble, discussion formats etc.). * Culturally preferred models of strategic management.

65

CHAPTER FOUR THE EVALUATION AND DEVELOPMENT OF MATERIALS FOR FIRE SCIENCE ENGLISH COURSES IN VIETNAM CѬӠNG HӲU HOÀNG

Introduction Fire prevention and fighting in Vietnam Vietnam is the 13th biggest country in the world in terms of population (87.84 million) and the 32nd most densely populated (Worldatlas, 2010). Vietnam’s economic growth has been one of the fastest in the world since 2000 (Horsley, 2004). However, the development of a modern industrialized Vietnam has been accompanied by a dramatic increase in hazardous fires, which may happen at any time and cause significant loss of life and property. These fires have damaged the local economy and raised concerns about the effectiveness of fire protection systems, fire brigades and the qualifications of fire engineers who are in charge of the design, installation, and management of fire systems. In recent years, Vietnam’s government has paid significant attention to fire protection (Prime Minister’s Instruction, 2010; Nhan, 2012). However, as the speed of Vietnam’s development accelerates the demand for professional fire engineers increases. This is especially so in large cities such as Hanoi or Ho Chi Minh, each of which has a population of around eight million, but with infrastructure systems that are currently of poor quality. One proposed solution to the increase of serious fires has been to set up new fire systems, and to train qualified fire engineers. Modern fire systems and equipment are sourced from North America, Australia, Japan, and European countries; Vietnamese fire engineers are usually trained locally, or in Russia. English is a major barrier for them to be able to apply new fire protection systems. Thus, there is a growing demand for chartered fire

Materials for Fire Science English Courses in Vietnam

67

engineers and professional fire fighters with high English proficiency and a good knowledge of FSE.

The English language needs of fire service personnel The firefighting and prevention services in Vietnam are operated by fire fighters and fire engineers. Fire fighters are those who have finished the technical secondary course from UFFP and are conscript fire fighters, while those who have tertiary degrees from UFFP are fire engineers. The need for an English textbook for fire engineers in Vietnam who are responsible for the design, installation, supervision and management of fire protection systems has become more urgent with the increase in the amount of information about new fire protection systems, equipment instructions, and safety instructions, all of which are written in English. Students’ limited proficiency in general English and FSE therefore makes it difficult for them to understand key documents and to take up professional development opportunities (in-service courses or workshops) organized by foreign companies in Vietnam or internationally. As UFFP is the only university for the training of fire fighters and fire engineers, the English Department of UFFP is in charge of helping students to achieve a standard of proficiency in English good enough to cope with any developments and with new technologies in fire science.

Instruction in Fire Science English at UFFP UFFP, the only institution in Vietnam to train personnel in firefighting and rescue services, was founded in 1976 and conducts training for three main majors: fire prevention, firefighting and rescue services. The college currently trains fire service personnel through three pathways: tertiary programmes (four years), technical secondary (two years), and professional intensive courses (from three to nine months). Each year approximately 1200 students graduate from the school. At UFFP, tertiary students, aged from 18-40, either have finished seven years of learning English, from secondary schools (grades 6 to 9) to high schools (grades 10 to 12), or used to be conscript fire fighters who decided to pursue a degree in FS. Due to the poor quality of teaching English at secondary schools and high schools in Vietnam, after seven years of learning English continuously, students are considered to be at an ‘elementary’ level of proficiency by Vietnam’s Ministry of Education. Students’ English proficiency is usually inadequate for a difficult FSE course. Instructional

68

Chapter Four

materials that meet the language and learning needs of the students would be of great benefit in the education of FS personnel. English language is the only compulsory subject which is not delivered in Vietnamese at UFFP for all freshmen and sophomores. Students have to take a general English course before beginning the FSE course. Since FSE is a small branch of English for Engineering, no official textbook for FSE has ever been specified. Current materials were developed by teachers from the English Department in 2007 from a collection of authentic materials from Internet sources and books on FS. The materials are for fire engineer students to develop their English language knowledge in fire areas, focusing on reading and communication skills. The course syllabus includes ten units which are used to teach 60 45-minute classes over 15 weeks. A unit usually consists of a long reading comprehension text, a set of relevant exercises, and some extra readings or translation tasks. Sections of vocabulary and grammar appear at the end of each lesson. The focus is on reading, translation and vocabulary, with little attention to listening, writing and speaking skills. Content topics include fire in a building or the forest, fire engines, fire detectors, fire extinguishers, fire sprinkler systems, fire cause investigation and fire safety control. Due to the intensiveness of the course, the focus of the materials is comparatively narrow and no consideration has been given to widen the topics and to open up students’ minds. The current materials were developed within tight time constraints, without referring to much literature on materials development, and have not undergone evaluation. Additionally, the workload of the teaching staff, the limitations of resources and facilities, lack of financial support, the teacher’s lack of expert knowledge and the absence of close expert collaboration have all compromised the quality of the current materials. In other words, the materials in current use are not really well-developed and can still be improved through rigorous revision. Overall, the study indicates the urgent need for more advanced proficiency in FSE among fire engineers in Vietnam and hence there is a need for appropriate and quality materials to assist in the instruction of FSE to help fire students to reach this required level. As an English teacher from UFFP, I recognized the need to evaluate and develop quality materials for fire service personnel, and therefore devised these research questions: 1. What criteria are appropriate for evaluating materials for an FSE course in Vietnam?

Materials for Fire Science English Courses in Vietnam

69

2. To what extent do the materials in current use in UFFP meet those criteria? 3. To what extent do new materials developed by the researcher for use in UFFP meet those criteria?

Evaluating the materials With growing globalization, the demand for ESP courses ‘continues to increase and expand throughout the world’ (Johns and Dudley-Evans, 1991, p.115), particularly in countries where English is taught as a foreign language. This also means that many English teachers who may not be experts in designing materials have involvement in designing ESP courses and hence it is necessary that ESP materials are evaluated. Evaluation is an integral part of developing ESP materials, providing necessary information for improving them. Evaluation can be defined as the systematic collection and analysis of information on the effectiveness and efficiency of the materials and the stakeholders’ perceptions towards them (Brown, 1989). This process normally involves obtaining feedback from stakeholders such as students, teachers, and other materials developers (Hutchinson and Waters, 1987). Robinson (1991) lists a number of instruments used to carry out evaluations: questionnaires, checklists, rating scales, interviews, observation, and records. Analysis of the information collected using these instruments uses both qualitative and quantitative methods. Students’ and teachers’ perceptions are the two most invaluable sources of information for evaluating materials. Teachers know clearly what is suitable for teaching purposes, while students know whether the courses are helpful for them in their future careers (McGrath, 2002). ESP materials can be evaluated by outsiders such as experts or lecturers from this field. Materials can also be evaluated by comparing them with a set of criteria or an evaluative framework developed by referring to a wide range of relevant research (Chan, 2009). Although materials evaluation is basically a subjective activity (Sheldon, 1988), the use of an evaluative checklist will definitely make it more coherent and useful. Finally, evaluation of materials can also benefit from a comparison between student performance on a placement test and eventual performance on an achievement test (Atherton, 2006; Harding, 2007).

70

Chapter Four

Criteria for evaluating FSE materials An important issue in this study is how to develop a checklist for evaluating FSE materials and how to guarantee the validity, reliability and practicability of this checklist. Generally, there are a variety of criteria which are used and emphasized in materials evaluation. Mukundan and Ahour (2011, p. 347) carried out a review of material evaluation checklists across four decades (1970-2008) and found that various criteria have been used in evaluation checklists but ‘no specific preference or pattern for the arrangement of the criteria’ has been found. In other words, checklists vary according to contexts. Additionally, although a great number of checklists have been developed to evaluate general English textbooks which can be used to evaluate many textbooks at the same time, there is a very limited amount of research done on evaluating ESP materials. Since each field in ESP has its own criteria, the evaluation process needs to take into account the appropriateness of the materials to students’ needs, rather than referring to a particular checklist for a general English course (Basturkmen, 2010). Dudley-Evans and St John (1998) stress that there is a tendency to use many different approaches in types of materials and methodologies in ESP. Thus, an ESP evaluation checklist is expected to be contextualized and to consider all possible approaches and methodologies to assess ESP materials thoroughly. Since FSE is a branch of ESP, a number of common questions arise before designing the evaluation checklist. The most important ones are what criteria to include and how a checklist for FSE is different from checklists for evaluating EGP course books. Due to their characteristics, FSE materials share some common criteria with other ESP or general English courses and have their own specialized areas. For instance, some criteria such as cultural bias, availability, price and accessories will receive less attention as opposed to criteria such as meeting students’ needs, authenticity or learner autonomy in order to increase the suitability and therefore the validity of the checklist. The following is a list of important features mentioned in the literature which are suitable for evaluating FSE materials. ™ The suitability of content to students’ needs: Materials are most effective when they are in harmony with learners’ needs (Basturkmen, 2010; Belcher, 2009; Byrd, 2001; Cunningsworth, 1995; Gatehouse, 2001; Hutchinson and Waters, 1987; Kuo, 1992; Nunan, 1988a; Skierso, 1991; Tomlinson, 2003, 2013).

Materials for Fire Science English Courses in Vietnam

71

™ Variety of tasks and task demands: Materials should encourage learners’ creative and higher-level thinking, involve them emotionally and intellectually through various activities that stimulate different learning styles and give enough room to learners to make discoveries about the language (Dudley-Evans and St John, 1998; McGrath, 2002; Mukundan and Ahour, 2011; Tomlinson, 1998, 2003, 2013). ™ Linguistic issues: Materials should attempt to provide an appropriate balance of the four language skills, present and practice new items and consider the functional load of vocabulary and its recycling (Cunningsworth, 1995; Dudley-Evans and St John, 1998; Nunan, 1988b). ™ Authenticity: ESP materials need to include a range of authentic materials from the workplace and provide different models of target language in authentic use. (Basturkmen, 2010; Nunan, 1988a, b; Peacock, 1997; Senior, 2006; Tomlinson, 1998, 2003,2013; Waters, 2009). Widdowson (1983) indicates that authenticity lies in the nature of the interaction between the reader and the text. In ESP, language authenticity (authenticity of texts), task authenticity and commutative situated authenticity (authenticity of purposes) are also very important in designing courses. ™ General issues in relation to course objective, subject matter, skills and strategies: Materials should match specific course requirements including objectives, subject matter, skills and strategies (Cunningsworth, 1995; Sheldon, 1998; Tomlinson, 1998, 2003, 2013). ™ Format of the materials: Materials should be self-explanatory, clearly set out and maximize face validity of the text through attractive layout (pictures, illustrations, color, and ‘white space’) (McGrath, 2002; Tomlinson, 2003, 2013). A detailed table of contents and clear instructions are very helpful for independent learners (Dudley-Evans and St John, 1998; Hutchinson and Waters, 1987; Litz, 2006). ™ Learner autonomy: Materials should provide students with opportunities for further practice, encourage learners to discover knowledge themselves and foster independent learning (Cunningsworth, 1995; Nunan, 1988a; Rubdy, 2003; Sheldon, 1988; Tomlinson, 1998, 2011). ™ Methodology: Materials should provide effective and flexible teaching methods and embrace various methodologies in ELT to meet the different learning styles of students and hence maximize

Chapter Four

72

the learning process (Brown, 1995; Cunningsworth, 1995; Sheldon, 1998). Besides, depending on the specific context, consideration could also be paid to the suitability of other pedagogical approaches such as text-driven and task-based approaches (Tomlinson (2013). ™

Research methodology Research design Since this study aimed at evaluating and revising FSE materials, it investigated participants’ views of suitability of the materials, the way they would like to revise them, and their evaluation of the revised materials. It used both qualitative and quantitative methods. A mixed methods design was selected in order to increase its strengths while minimizing the weaknesses of each individual method, providing a multilevel analysis of the topic and increasing the research validity (Dörnyei, 2007). However, since the number of participants was small and the research aim was mainly to investigate the participants’ perceptions, qualitative methods prevailed over quantitative ones. Additionally, the study shares some characteristics of action research approaches. According to Burns (2010, p. 2), action research involves ‘taking a self-reflective, critical and systematic approach to exploring your own teaching contexts’. In the context of action research, the teacher can be considered as an investigator or explorer of his own teaching context. Moreover, action research aims to bring about improvements to the context (Burns, 2005a; Dörnyei, 2007). Kemmis and McTaggart (1988 cited in Burns, 2010) points out that action research is iterative or recursive in nature and that it involves four broad phases; namely planning, action, observation and reflection. For this study, I was a teacher at UFFP and noticed that improvements were needed in the current FSE materials. After I identified certain areas needing development I sought further information from my colleagues. Based on their feedback and my own understanding of the literature, I proposed some changes for the materials. The procedure I followed can be described as repeated cycles until satisfactory improvements in practice are achieved. Broadly speaking, my study can be considered as action research in its approach.

Materials for Fire Science English Courses in Vietnam

73

[B] Context and participants This study evaluated and revised FSE materials which were developed and used by English teachers from the English Department of UFFP to teach the second year students who were enrolled in classes of twenty-five to fifty students in the 60-period FSE course at UFFP. The three English teachers at UFFP who participated in the research and contributed to the materials all had experience in teaching FSE. Participant information is presented in Table 4.1 below. Table 4.1 Vietnamese participants. Teachers

Qualifications

Anh

MA in Language Teaching MA in Language Teaching MA in Language Teaching

Bich Cuc

Years of ELT teaching 12

Years of FSE teaching 10

6

2

8

4

Two postgraduates from the University of Auckland who have experience in teaching and developing ESP materials were invited to give comments on the materials using the given criteria as well as their own impressionistic evaluation. These participants were chosen on the basic of their relevant experience in ESP. See Table 4.2 below. Table 4.2 New Zealander participants. Scholars

Qualifications

Scholar 1 Scholar 2

Doctor of Philosophy MA in Professional Studies

Years of teaching ELT 12

Years of teaching ESP 5

20

2

Instruments The study gathered data using two sets of questionnaires. The Likert scale evaluation questionnaire used in this study included 30 statements and was developed using the criteria for evaluating FSE described in Section 2. It was used to evaluate the materials in general, and covered these broad

74

Chapter Four

areas: the suitability of content (needs analysis); variety of tasks (activities) and task demands; linguistic issues; authenticity; general issues in relation to course objectives, subject matter, skills and strategies; format of the materials; and learners’ autonomy. For instance, statement 5: The materials meet the learning needs of FSE students (students’ needs) or statement 21: The exercises and activities mirror real-life fire engineering situations (authentic vs. simplified materials). The Likert scale questionnaire was supported by five open-ended questions. These questions were used to elicit the participants’ perceptions on three chosen units in terms of suitability for teaching, problems they had experienced in teaching, and ways they would like to change or adapt and improve the chosen units and other comments. In the second stage of the research, another four open-ended questions were used to evaluate the revised materials, and the extent to which they met the criteria for FSE materials. In summary, a quantitative Likert rating scale questionnaire was used to obtain a more objective evaluation of the materials, while the qualitative open-ended questionnaires elicited subjective information on the quality of materials. Mukundan, Hajimohammadi and Nimehchisalem (2011, p. 21) report that by using these two types of instruments, ‘a more sophisticated evaluation of the textbook in reference to a set of generalizable evaluative criteria’ can be gained.

Data collection procedures The research was carried out in eight stages. A timeline of the study is presented in Figure 4.1.

Materials for Fire F Science En nglish Courses iin Vietnam

75

Figure 4.1 A timeline of the study.

Data analysis Likert scalee questionnaiire Data gatherred from thiss questionnairre were analyyzed quantitaatively in three main groups (authenticity and suitability; s acctivities, exerccises and linguistic isssues; formatt, general isssues and learrner autonom my). This information was used nott only to answ wer the first annd the second d research questions onn the extent too which the cu urrent materiaals meet the crriteria for FSE materiaals but also to provide guidaance for revisiion of the matterials. Open-ended d questions Data from tthe open-endeed questions for the first aand the secon nd stages were treatedd qualitativelyy. Participantss’ responses w were read carrefully to search out valuable infoormation and common theemes for reviising and improving tthe materials. Although thee revision waas mainly baseed on the questionnairre data, durinng the revisiing process, I also comp pared the

Chapter Four

76

materials with other FSE materials such as books, articles and Internet resources and existing materials for ESP from different fields.

Results Questionnaire Results Likert scale responses These responses revealed that although the participants were on the whole reasonably happy with the materials, they also expressed some dissatisfaction. Their views were elicited with regard to three main themes: the extent to which materials met learners’ needs and authenticity of the materials (10 questionnaire items); linguistic features and activities (8 items); and general features (12 items). Authenticity and suitability Participants’ views about whether the materials meet learners’ needs and their authenticity are presented in Table 3. The views of each participant are recorded: SA (Strongly Agree), A (Agree), N (Neutral), D (Disagree), SD (Strongly Disagree). In general, all teachers agreed that the materials provide the English knowledge and skills that FS students need and these are transferable for use in their future job (Items 1, 3, and 5). However, two teachers disagreed with the statement that the materials are compatible with students’ level of proficiency and interest (Item 4). Two teachers were neutral on the issue of whether the materials cover the features of written English relevant to fire instruction and manuals and whether they develop students’ ability to read and translate technical FS texts (Items 2 and 6). With regard to authenticity, all teachers agreed or strongly agreed that the materials develop students’ ability to comprehend authentic FS texts (Item 20). Also, two of them either agreed or strongly agreed on the authenticity of language used and the relevance of grammar and vocabulary items to FS, while one teacher was neutral for both statements (Items 18 and 19). However, two teachers chose neutral when asked whether the exercises and activities mirror real-life fire engineering situations (Item 21).

Materials for Fire Science English Courses in Vietnam

77

Figure 4.2 Participants’ views on learners’ needs and authenticity.

These evaluative comments led me to simplify the contents of units to make them more appropriate for the proficiency level of FSE students. Also, I revised the units so that the focus on reading was stronger. However, further investigation would be needed to obtain the information on creating exercises and activities that mirror real-life fire engineering tasks and translation skills. The rest of the questionnaire items were grouped and analyzed as in the first group authenticity and suitability. Because of the space constraints of this chapter, the details are not presented here but only important findings are summarized. In summary, quantitative analysis of questionnaire responses revealed that participants effectively appropriated the materials but certain aspects of the materials would benefit from revisions. The responses identified the need for these specific changes: x Making the linguistic components (vocabulary and grammatical structures) less demanding while ensuring sufficient input of fire science languages x Directing the materials more to reading and translation skills

78

Chapter Four

x Making the materials’ layout and design more coherent x Adding more motivating activities x Balancing the emphasis on controlled practice and communicative activities (ensuring that both types of activities are given equal attention) x Adding a section on learning strategies for each unit Open-ended question responses Open-ended questions were included to elicit participants’ views on the three chosen units. The questions focused on the suitability of the units, adaptations teachers made during teaching, students’ feedback during instruction and changes that the teachers would like to see made to these units. In response to the question about the extent to which the unit is suitable for teaching FSE, teachers generally expressed their satisfaction with the materials and the units they were asked to comment on. However, they also reported some problematic aspects of all three selected units. For instance, teacher Anh commented that Unit 4 was suitable for teaching FSE because it provided students with authentic materials and relevant language focus. The grammar was appropriate and commonly used in technical materials in general and in FS specifically. However, Anh suggested simplifying the Unit because it seemed to be difficult for students in term of vocabulary and structures. This suggestion should be considered carefully since it would make the materials no longer linguistically authentic. In my own interpretation, the reviser should protect the purpose authenticity and technical vocabulary authenticity while simplifying the parts that do not relate directly to fire science English. When being asked about the adaptations or omissions they made during teaching, the teachers revealed that they had done quite a lot of adaptation and addition to the materials. For instance, teacher Bich stated that the fire vehicle described in Unit 5 is just a ‘general fire engine’ and hence she provided more information on other kinds of fire engines with different features. Reporting on feedback received from students during teaching, three teachers mentioned the difficulty of vocabulary and new language items that ‘students moan about’ (teacher Anh). Teacher Cuc reported that the difficulty of technical words often required her to offer lengthy explanations of their meanings for students.

Materials for Fire Science English Courses in Vietnam

79

In response to these comments, I decided to simplify the units by adding new instructions, omitting or replacing some difficult words and phrases with respect to authenticity and to add some new materials and exercises related to vocabulary learning. I also added more relevant warm-up activities before each reading paragraph, divided long reading texts into smaller sections, and added more activities (e.g. writing a description task for Unit 4, an information exchange task for Unit 5, and a gap-filling activity for Unit 7) to make use of the reading text. These adaptations were also guided by my own experience of seeing how students struggle with lengthy and difficult readings. In fact, the materials were compiled within the time constraint and the limited sources and hence all the reading texts were extracted from long academic articles. In real life, the fire engineers do not only have to deal with very long difficult texts but also with short texts from catalogues and instructions for fire equipment.

Materials revision As indicated in Section 4.1, participants suggested that certain changes to the materials would be beneficial. In response to these suggestions, and drawing on my own experience of teaching FSE and my knowledge of the literature on teaching materials for ESP, a number of changes were made. Vocabulary With regard to participants’ perceptions about the difficulty of the materials, especially in terms of vocabulary, and the argument that the materials need to be appropriate for students’ level of proficiency as well as taking the functional load of vocabulary into consideration (DudleyEvans and St John, 1998), I decided to simplify or replace less common words (not related to FS) with more frequent ones from the 2500 frequency word list (Nation, 2001), making sure they were contextually appropriate (e.g. conventional ĺ normal; liable ĺ likely; encounter ĺ meet; as a rule of thumb ĺ normally). A total of 114 words and phrases were replaced in the three units. Although Nation argues that ESP students should know the words not in the 2,500 list to apprehend the authentic texts in their subjects, I did replace 114 unrelated words in order to draw students’ attention to technical words in their subject. In addition, a number of long, complex sentences were divided in two or replaced with more straightforward sentence structures. Dudley-Evans and St John (1998) point out that the significance of vocabulary in ESP is now commonly accepted and it is ESP teachers’

80

Chapter Four

responsibility to facilitate learning of new technical vocabulary. They also suggest that ESP materials should help students deduce the meaning of vocabulary from the context and learn how to store and retrieve vocabulary for production purposes. Therefore, after replacing the infrequent words with frequent ones and dividing or rephrasing long sentences, I inserted additional vocabulary activities. Figure 4.3 Examples of added vocabulary activities for Unit 5.

Materials for Fire Science English Courses in Vietnam

81

Unit 5 serves as an example of how vocabulary activities were supplemented in the revised materials. Activity c required students to recall words related to the parts of a ladder truck illustrated in the reading to help them notice the words and learn to retrieve them. Activity d raises students’ awareness of parts of speech and word parts. It is worth noting these activities were followed by a task to encourage students to use the given vocabulary in writing. A further revision to materials had the aim of teaching students to learn vocabulary effectively through a number of learning strategy activities. This will be discussed and illustrated with details in ‘Skills’ below. Reading As reported in the questionnaire results, reading is a very important skill for FS students. It also received the most attention from course designers. In fact, in the original materials, all ten units were organized around this skill. However, the questionnaires revealed that reading is the most challenging skill for students to master and for teachers to teach successfully because of the texts’ length and difficulty. Taking account of these issues, I simplified the main texts in each unit in a number of ways to make them more accessible. This was done by adding more warm-up activities for these texts. For instance, in Unit 4 more accessible questions were added to the pre-reading phase to activate students’ previous knowledge of the topic and to arouse interest. The same types of changes were made for Unit 7 and Unit 5. Secondly, the order of the tasks was changed (from the general understanding of main ideas to specific details) with the aim of making the materials less of a challenge for students. Thirdly, since the reading texts were often unmotivatingly long, I divided them into smaller sections, each with its own activities (Unit 5 and Unit 7 Reading). After being subdivided the skill of reading was then integrated with writing and speaking activities as in Unit 5 and Unit 7. One example can be seen in Figure 4.5.

82

Chapter Four

Figure 4.4 Example of the revised warm-up activity for Unit 4.

Figure 4.5 Example of the added activity for Unit 7, Reading b.

Materials for Fire Science English Courses in Vietnam

83

In Figure 4.5, the additional activity guides the students’ reading as well as preparing them for the discussion section. By doing this, the reading texts become less daunting. The revisions to the reading texts follow DudleyEvans and St John’s (1998) argument that materials should employ the reading text efficiently by encouraging learners’ creative and higher-level thinking, and by involving them emotionally and intellectually through various activities. Learning Strategies Since the participants all mentioned that the original materials lacked advice on learning strategies and failed to encourage learners’ autonomy in learning, learning strategy sections were added to the end of each selected unit. Each section comprised an awareness-raising component, which was accompanied by examples and activities. For instance, in Unit 4, first students were advised on how to learn new words, and an example was given. They were then given a quiz to find the hidden new words and make the same notes as in the given example (see Figure 4.6). Skills Dudley-Evans and St John (1998) point out that ESP materials still have to take the balance of four English skills into consideration. Also, Tomlinson (2011) suggests that materials should provide opportunities for student interactions. Moreover, when being asked about whether the original materials did this, all three teachers reported that they were not at all balanced, and the materials focused almost exclusively on developing reading skills. This was clearly evident in the three selected units. Therefore, in the revision I tried to create more opportunities for learners to use other skills to practice what they have learned: to use language in writing, in speaking and especially in integrated skills: reading, notetaking and exchanging information. In Unit 5, for example, students are now asked to work in groups, to make notes of their reading and then exchange the information. By doing this, students can not only read less text at a time but also practice making notes on significant information and then report to friends in a spoken form. This makes the reading text manageable for students since they are required to read less and their reading is facilitated by the guiding form.

84

Chapter Four

Figure 4.6 Example of the learning strategy section in Unit 4.

Materials for Fire Science English Courses in Vietnam

85

Figure 4.7 Integrated task in Unit 5.

In response to the participants’ and the scholars’ suggestions on format and layout, variety of activities and exercises and tasks, other changes were also made to the materials. After all the revisions were finished, the materials were sent back to the teacher participants in Vietnam for comment. Two scholars from the University of Auckland also commented on the revised materials in the second stage of this action research study.

Results for the second stage In the second stage of the study, teacher participants in Vietnam and scholar participants from The University of Auckland were asked to comment on the revised materials by answering four questions relating to changes made to the original materials, as follows: 1. To what extent are the revised materials appropriate for a specialized course in Vietnam in FSE for Intermediate level learners? 2. To what extent are the revised materials based on accepted principles of second language learning and teaching you are familiar with? 3. In what way have the revised materials improved in comparison with the original materials? 4. Have you got any other suggestions that would improve these units? Question 1 & 3 In response to the question about the extent to which the revised materials were appropriate for the FSE course in Vietnam, all five participants expressed positive attitudes towards the revised materials. Participants

86

Chapter Four

appreciated the less technical replacements of difficult vocabulary, the lexical changes, the division of long reading texts into small sections together with the attached exercises, and the integration of skills as well as the addition of learning strategy sections. For instance, teacher Bich commented that the revised materials reduced the number of words and divided the long reading texts into short sections, and thought that in doing so they would meet the students’ feedback about the high level of difficulty of the materials. Scholar Andy stated that ‘the revised choices of words do much to reduce the linguistic demands placed on the intermediate learners’. Since the students’ levels of proficiency are far less than the language requirement of the text and the fact that in reality fire engineers might not always deal with academic texts but short and concise ones, the reduction of words is a good attempt. Specifically, for Unit 4, changes enabled the pre-reading task to elicit more discussion and more effectively activate topic vocabulary. Changes also made the post task in Unit 4 a more appropriate practice task (teacher Anh). In all units, the participants highly appreciated the addition of learning strategy sections which, according to scholar Andy, ‘help learners develop autonomy and become independent’ and also ‘teach them the skills that are transferable across disciplines’. Questions 2 & 4 Question 2 probed the principles of second language learning that the participants were familiar with. Since the researcher did not indicate clearly which principles, the participants were expected to judge the changes with their own interpretation. The majority of participants agreed on the match of the changes with the accepted principles of second language learning and teaching, especially with regard to the additional activities such as the integrated tasks and pair and group work activities. Overall, the participants expressed positive attitudes towards all the changes. They also commented that there was still room for further revisions. The revised materials encouraged them to think about other ways to improve the materials. The last item in the questionnaire for the second stage asked participants to give further suggestions about how to improve the revised units and the materials in general. It was found that as external observers, the Auckland scholars proposed a number of new ideas to improve the materials. With regard to reading and integrated skills, they suggested considering the logical sequencing of reading tasks and the variety of different reading skills involved. The two scholars believed that the length of the reading

Materials for Fire Science English Courses in Vietnam

87

texts needed further reduction to suit the students’ level of proficiency. From their own experience, they argued that a two to three page length text with difficult words discouraged students at pre-intermediate level of proficiency. At the UFFP, students normally study English for Fire Engineers and other general subjects before taking their subject papers at third and fourth years. This means that students do not normally need to understand long difficult texts for Fire Science in English. Hence, participants suggested segmenting texts into smaller units with each unit preceded by lead-in text activation tasks, followed by logically ordered reading tasks (i.e. general to specific or gist to detail) and then communicative discussion tasks. In terms of vocabulary, one scholar suggested that the lead-in activities should consider including vocabulary tasks in which essential technical words and terminology are presented before the reading text. This scholar also suggested that the FSE materials should consider pre-teaching keywords so as to prepare learners for the long reading and ‘lighten the cognitive load placed on them’ and should also number the lines of the reading texts. Although this seems to be sound advice, letting students investigate new words from the text themselves can bring many more learning opportunities for students.

Discussion and Conclusions Study findings and the research questions The purpose of this action research study was three-fold. First, it aimed to find a suitable set of criteria for evaluating the FSE materials and to use these to evaluate the current materials used at UFFP. Secondly, based on these criteria and evaluative comments from teacher participants in Vietnam, the materials were revised. Lastly, the revised materials were evaluated by teachers in Vietnam and Auckland for their suitability for the teaching context. Research question 1 To find out what criteria were appropriate for evaluating FSE materials in Vietnam, the researcher first studied relevant literature about evaluating EGP and ESP materials. The set of criteria were from prominent scholars, chosen with regard to the setting of the study, transferred into a Likert scale for evaluation purposes with the contextual information embedded and supplemented by open-ended questions asking teachers to evaluate three specific units. The researcher used these criteria to evaluate thoroughly the FSE materials in UFFP. This set of criteria is different from

88

Chapter Four

those of Sheldon (1998) or Cunningsworth (1995) in the sense that specificity and authenticity of the materials received more attention. The questionnaire focused on the suitability of materials for FS students’ needs and the authenticity of the input, activities and tasks in replicating the English used in FS. Although these criteria are specialized for this study and should only be used for evaluating FSE, they can provide suggestions for other ESP material evaluations. Research question 2 According to McGrath (2002) and Cunningsworth (1995), the best way to evaluate teaching materials is to use them with students equivalent to those they are intended for and then get feedback from teachers and students about the materials. Therefore, in this study, teachers who had years of experience in using the existing materials were involved in reporting their own perceptions of the materials and students’ feedback during learning. The findings from the questionnaire indicated that participants were generally satisfied with the materials with regard to the criteria. The results of the questionnaire illustrated an agreement by the participants about the suitability of current materials in teaching FSE while also reporting some weaknesses of the materials and ways to improve them. However, the agreement should be interpreted cautiously since the participants were also involved in compiling the materials. The lack of students’ direct participation in the research might also limit the objectiveness of this result. Overall though, the information on weaknesses and suggestions to minimize these weaknesses provided the background for the second stage of the research. Research question 3 Since the materials were revised according to the participants’ suggestions and the results of the questionnaires, the revised materials were supposed to comply with those criteria. The second-stage questionnaire revealed that the participants appreciated all the changes made. They also reported that these changes met the students’ feedback about the weaknesses of the materials and were in line with accepted principles in second language learning and teaching. However, to fully answer research question 3 as to the extent to which the revised materials meet the set criteria more evidence from teaching needs to be collected. The participants’ suggestions should also be interpreted carefully since they might not always be appropriate. Cuc’s suggestion that the grammar should be organized in a sequence of difficulty might not work in these materials

Materials for Fire Science English Courses in Vietnam

89

because the grammar parts need to be in accordance with the given texts. Andy’s idea of pre-teaching vocabulary might prevent students from learning new vocabulary themselves. The list of criteria used for this small context might also provoke controversy since it has not been possible to cover different pedagogic approaches in second language teaching and learning such as text-driven and task-based approaches or factors likely to facilitate language acquisition and development. Although not being the initial purpose of the study, it has nevertheless illustrated ways of developing criteria for evaluating ESP and how these criteria can be different from those for evaluating EGP materials, as well as how to apply action research in revising ESP materials. Although evaluation of EGP materials is a common topic in applied linguistics, the evaluation of ESP materials has not received enough attention from the academic community. Therefore, this study provides an example of ESP material evaluation, suggesting a certain degree of flexibility as a prerequisite. Researchers should not only be flexible in choosing the criteria but also in eliciting the data or exploiting all possible resources. The study suggests that criteria for evaluating ESP materials often focus on some specific features (e.g. authenticity and specificity) and pay more attention to contextual factors (learners’ needs, specialist discourse). The study serves as an example to illustrate the process of ‘the teacher as researcher’ (Crookes, 1993, p. 133) applying action research in evaluating and revising ESP materials. In this research, the teacher participants played the role of agents of knowledge who suggested the way to improve and contribute to the material improvement. This study developed not only the researcher’s but also the participants’ insight into the topic with regard to the specific social context (Burns, 2005b). It is expected that future changes to the materials will proceed in the same cyclic way. Moreover, although the participants were asked to comment on the revised materials as a part of the questionnaire, the ideas in the revised materials helped the participants think better in commenting about the other changes in the future. In other words, the revised materials might be considered as catalysts for further improvement. Through emails, the participants have asked for permission to use these activities in their teaching.

Limitations and suggestions This study has a number of limitations. Although all the staff of the English Department in UFFP participated in the study and the researcher tried to involve scholars from outside, the total number of participants was small. Moreover, scholars (Basturkmen, 2010; McGrath, 2002) emphasize

90

Chapter Four

that student evaluation is a vital source of information. Due to the scope of the study, the fact that learners did not participate directly and had no opportunity to comment on the materials from their perspective could be considered as a shortcoming since the ultimate goal was for learners. The use of only one research instrument might not bring about a comprehensive picture. The limits of the researcher’s specialized knowledge about the FS field prevented him from probing more deeply into the topic. Finally, revising materials is a long-term task (Basturkmen, 2010) or ‘a cyclical process’ (McGrath, 2002, p. 14) rather than being subject to the time constraints of this study. For future research, beside the participants’ recommendations in Section 4.3, future studies could benefit from genre analysis. Genre analysis could be applied to the structures of the fire equipment instructions to find out the moves and sub-moves of this type of document, for instance. Moreover, since listening skills have not been covered, the reviser could find authentic materials from training videos and fire conferences. DudleyEvans and St John (1998) suggest that listening skills can also be supplemented by asking a native speaker from the field to record a short talk on related topics, recording radio and television programs. The students’ need for translation skills also requires more attention especially after the specialist discourse is investigated thoroughly.

Note All participants’ names are pseudonyms.

Acknowledgements I am very grateful to Dr. Rosemary Wette and Professor Brian Tomlinson for reading and commenting on a draft of this chapter.

References Atherton, B. (2006), ‘Balancing needs: How successful can a pre-sessional course be?’, in A. Gillett and L. Wray (eds), Assessing the Effectiveness of EAP Programmes. London: British Association of Lecturers in English for Academic Purposes (BALEAP), pp. 75-96. Basturkmen, H. (2010), Developing Courses in English for Specific Purposes. Houndsmills: Palgrave Macmillan.

Materials for Fire Science English Courses in Vietnam

91

Belcher, D. D. (2009), English for Specific Purposes in Theory and Practice. Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press. Brown, J. D. (1989), ‘Language program evaluation: a synthesis of existing possibilities’, in R. K. Johnson (ed.), The Second Language Curriculum. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, pp. 222-41. Burns, A. (2005a), ‘Action research’, in E. Hinkel (ed.), Handbook of Research in Second Language Teaching and Learning. New Jersey: Erlbaum, pp.241-56. Burns, A. (2005b), ‘Action research: an evolving paradigm?’. Language Teaching, 38, (2), 57-74. Burns, A. (2010), Doing Action Research in English Language Teaching: A Guide for Practitioners. New York: Routledge. Byrd, P. (2001), ‘Textbooks: Evaluation for selection and analysis for implementation’, in M. Celce-Murcia, Teaching English as a Second or Foreign Language (3rd edn). Boston, MA: Heinle and Heinle, pp. 415-27. Chan, C. S. C. (2009), ‘Forging a link between research and pedagogy: a holistic framework for evaluating business English materials’. English for Specific Purposes, 28, (2), 125-36. Crookes, G. (1993), ‘Action research for second language teachers: going beyond teacher research’. Applied Linguistics, 14, (2), 130-44. Cunningsworth, A. (1995), Choosing Your Coursebook. Heinemann: Oxford. Dörnyei, Z. (2007), Research Methods in Applied Linguistics. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Dudley-Evans, T. and St. John, M. J. (1998), Developments in ESP: A Multi-disciplinary Approach. Cambridge : Cambridge University Press. Gatehouse, K. (2001), ‘Key issues in English for specific purposes curriculum development’. The Internet TESL Journal, 7, (10), 1-10. Harding, K. (2007), English for Specific Purposes. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Horsley, W. (2004), ‘Vietnam's new-look economy’. Accessed at: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/3752682.stm [11 May 2012]. Hutchinson, T. and Waters, A. (1987), English for Specific Purposes: A Learning-centred Approach. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Johns, A. M. And Dudley-Evans, T. (1991), ‘English for specific purposes: international in scope, specific in purpose’. TESOL Quarterly, 25, (2), 297-314. Kuo, C. H. (1992), ‘Problematic issues in EST materials development’. English for Specific Purposes, 12 (2), 171-81.

92

Chapter Four

Litz, D. R. A. (2006), ‘Textbook evaluation and ELT management: a South Korean case study’. Asian EFL Journal, 1-53. Accessed at: http://www.asian-efl-journal.com/Litz_thesis.pdf. [10 May 2012] McGrath, I. (2002), Materials Evaluation and Design for Language Teaching. Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press. Mukundan, J. and Ahour, T. (2011), ‘A review of textbook evaluation checklists across four decades (1970–2008)’, in Tomlinson, B., and Masuhara, H. (eds), Research for Materials Development in Language Learning: Evidence for Best Practice. London: Continuum, pp. 33652. Mukundan, J., Hajimohammadi, R. and Nimehchisalem, V. (2011), ‘Developing an English language textbook evaluation checklist’. Contemporary Issues in Education Research (CIER), 4, (6), 21-28. Nation, I. S. P. (2001), Learning Vocabulary in Another Language. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Nhan, N. (2012), ‘Development of a modern fire brigade’. Accessed at: http://www.baomoi.com/Home/ThoiSu/www.nhandan.org.vn/Xaydung-luc-luong-phong-chay-chua-chay-chinh-quy-hiendai/7686743.epi [11 May 2012]. Nunan, D. (1988a), The Learner-centered Curriculum. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Nunan, D. (1988b), ‘Principles for designing languages teaching materials’. Guidelines, 10, (2), 1-24. Peacock, M. (1997), ‘The effect of authentic materials on the motivation of EFL learners’. ELT Journal, 51, (2), 144-56. Prime Minister’s Instruction (2010), ‘Prime Minister’s instruction in solving urgent issues in firefighting and prevention’. Accessed at: http://thuvienphapluat.vn/archive/Chi-thi/Chi-thi-1634-CT-TTg-tangcuong-chi-dao-thuc-hien-mot-so-nhiem-vu-cap-bach-vb111017t1.aspx [11 May 2012]. Robinson, P. C. (1991), ESP Today: A Practitioner's Guide. London: Prentice Hall. Rubdy, R. (2003), ‘Selection of materials’, in B. Tomlinson (ed.), Developing Materials for Language Teaching. London: Continuum, pp. 37-57. Senior, R. M. (2006), The Experience of Language Teaching. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Sheldon, L. E. (1988), ‘Evaluating ELT textbooks and materials’. ELT Journal, 42, (4), 237-46.

Materials for Fire Science English Courses in Vietnam

93

Skierso, A. (1991), ‘Textbook selection and evaluation’, in M. CelceMurcia, Teaching English as a Second or Foreign Language (3rd edn). Boston, MA: Heinle and Heinle, pp. 432-53. Tomlinson, B. (1998), Materials Development in Language Teaching. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Tomlinson, B. (2003), Developing Materials for Language Teaching. London: Continuum. Tomlinson, B. (2011), Materials Development in Language Teaching (2nd edn). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Tomlinson, B. (2013), Developing Materials for Language Teaching (2nd edn). London: Continuum. Waters, A. (2009), ‘Advances in materials design’, in M. H. Long and C. J. Doughty (eds), The Handbook of Language Teaching. Oxford: Wiley-Blackwell, pp. 311–326. Worldatlas (2010), ‘Countries of the world’. Accessed at: http://www.worldatlas.com/aatlas/populations/ctypopls.htm [11 May 2012].

CHAPTER FIVE NOT IN FRONT OF THE CHILDREN: DIVERSITY AND INCLUSION IN UK-PUBLISHED ENGLISH LANGUAGE TEACHING COURSE-BOOKS FOR YOUNG LEARNERS DAVID BRINING

Introduction This chapter considers some issues of diversity, inclusion and exclusion in English Language Teaching (ELT) course-books produced by UK-based publishers for the global young learner (YL) market. The discussion arises from a critical examination of the world presented by two contemporary YL course-books and suggests that, while the real world is multicultural, pluralistic, diverse and varied, the English Language Learning (ELL) course-book world is bland, predictable, safe and rather boring—so safe, in fact, that anything perceived as ‘risky’, including the portrayal of minorities, the disabled and the elderly, is excluded. The chapter explores three YL course-books in an attempt to identify the underlying world-view of each. It lists some of the topics labelled taboo by ELT publishers and considers the inconsistency in having exclusion lists alongside inclusionlists (e.g. for the positive portrayal of women), despite the possibility of offending the cultures excluded. Finally the chapter suggests some ways in which diversity might be addressed in course-books and a more authentic depiction of the contemporary world achieved.

Selected Texts This writer examined three course-books written in the UK for young English language learners around the world and used by him as coursebooks in a private language school in Cairo, Egypt, in 2007-8. These were Longman’s Energy 4 (Elsworth and Rose, 2005) and Oxford University

Not in Front of the Children

95

Press’ Happy Street 1 and 2 (Maidment and Roberts, 2000) and they were selected for use because they met key criteria set down by the center manager: i.e. recently published, age-appropriate, portraying the UK as a dynamic, modern country and not used anywhere else in Egypt at the time. Happy Street was used with the 7 to 10 junior classes and the Energy series across the range of the 14 to 16 Teens classes with Energy 4, the highest-level book available and used with the top class. For the purposes of this research, the two Happy Street books were surveyed together since they feature the same characters and the same setting and Book Two seems almost a sequel to Book One. Energy 4, on the other hand, seems more distant from its series. While it features some characters from previous books, there is a new theme and setting and it feels more selfcontained, in that the stories do not continue. The books for lower-level students centre on forming a rock band (Energy 1), going to drama school (Energy 2) and helping on a holiday adventure camp (Energy 3), while Energy 4 is about preparing for end-of-school examinations. Happy Street features three children, blond twins Jack and Polly, and Greg, their next-door neighbour. Jack and Polly’s baby sister, Daisy, Flossie the Dog and Otto the Cat also make frequent appearances Each unit is set in a different location, for example the school, the shop, the park or the playground. The lexical sets include toys, food, sports and clothes. It is aimed at children who are ‘ready for early reading and writing’ (Happy Street 1, 2000, rear cover). Each unit begins with a cartoon story which introduces key vocabulary, usually six words, often supported by a song or a chant. In addition, there is a range of supporting activities such as ‘listen and colour’, and each unit finishes with an episode from Colin in Computerland, an adventure cartoon that runs throughout the book. There is a comic-strip look to the graphics, the characters are developed and there is some use of humour. For example, in Book Two, Jack switches his grandparents’ anniversary presents so Grandma gets a tie and Grandpa gets some earrings. From a teacher’s perspective, this writer found these books easy to use and a lot of fun. The Energy series was brand-new, less than a year since publication, and unknown in Egypt. It therefore seemed to satisfy the criteria. It was modern, up-to-date, set in the UK, aimed at teenagers, had four levels from false beginner to upper intermediate and was also linked to the Common European Framework. Energy 4’s ten units are organised around the lives and relationships of several teenage college students in Cardiff. However, this writer found Energy difficult to use, for reasons outlined in Section Four below.

Chapter Five

96

Happy Street Hereafter, Happy Street 1 will be referred to as HS1 and Happy Street 2 as HS2. On page 21 of HS1, there is a song about jobs. It contains the lines: I want to be famous, Rich and clever too, I want to be a pop star, What about you? (HS1, 2000, p. 21).

This seems to endorse a celebrity culture that many ten year olds across the world cannot, and maybe should not, aspire to. The other jobs in the song are footballer and film star. Eight other jobs are mentioned in the same unit on HS1, page 21: Table 5.1 Job roles, Happy Street 1, 2000, p. 21. Male role

Astronaut

Singer

Female role

Doctor

Teacher

Racing driver Dancer

Vet Nurse

The named female roles appear predominantly nurturing and the named male roles appear predominantly adventuring and more glamorous. For example, racing drivers exist in a world of fast cars and big money and Formula One seems to be an increasingly popular sport world-wide with Grand Prix races now held in countries such as Bahrain, China, Malaysia and Singapore. In addition, in the fancy dress party on HS1 page 54, the pirate and the clown are boys, the cat and princess are girls. Yet before Happy Street is labelled as hopelessly sexist, it should be noted that it is Clara, the female sidekick in Colin in Computerland, who takes the initiative in most of the stories. For example it is Clara who pulls the lever to open the escape route on HS1 page 27 whilst Colin sits on the straw shaking his head (a fairly common situation), and Polly likes playing football. There is also a female mechanic on page 43 in HS2’s jobs unit, although the only other female is again a nurse whilst the male roles are fire-fighter, teacher, baker and office-worker. This seems a missed opportunity to suggest to girls that they could possibly aspire to be in professions other than traditionally female care-giving ones. In the birthday letter on page 60 of the same book, the female writer tells us that her brother is scared of the Big Wheel but she goes on it three

Not in Front of the Children

97

times. In addition, Polly and Jack’s father is shown on HS1 (p. 50) making a salad while Mum is talking on the phone. Throughout the books Dad is portrayed as somewhat foolish. He has already dropped his mobile phone in the swimming pool in HS1, page 57, and in HS2 gets injured playing sports so has to lie on the sofa and be waited upon by his daughter (HS2, p. 36). He also mistakes his own mirrored reflection for a ghost (HS2, p. 56). Dad seems vulnerable, not always in control and needing support from his family, in line with some publishers’ policies (see Section Five below). Yet Happy Street appears to try to portray a diverse world. Greg’s Mum is a black, single mother. There are several black children in Greg’s class (HS2, p. 11) and a brown girl features in the story on HS1 page 29. She has a football, Greg, Jack and Polly do not, and they invite her to play with them. And then there is Uncle Mark in Polly’s family tree on HS2 page 9. Uncle Mark is unmarried. Is he a bachelor, or is he a ‘bachelor’? In the world of Happy Street, the children are presented as bright, inclusive and smarter than their parents. Happy Street itself is a nice place. It has a park. It has a shop with a somewhat dim-witted shop assistant called Jason. It has nice people, lots of cats and dogs, lots of smiley faces—it is Happy Street. However, there are no disabled people, poor people or old people, except Jack and Polly’s grandparents in Happy Street 2. It is overwhelmingly white but it seems a pleasant, safe place to aspire to live, and maybe there is nothing wrong with that. Perhaps this is a reflection of the contemporary UK from some children’s perspectives. For example, the year of celebrations in Book Two are traditionally English, (HS2, pp. 20-21): Table 5.2 A year of celebrations, Happy Street Two, 2000, p. 20-21. January February March April May June

New Year Valentine’s Day Pancake Day Easter May Day (maypole) birthday

July August September October November

Carnival Summer holiday Harvest Festival Hallowe’en Bonfire Night

December

Christmas

Such celebrations might allow students to develop something similar about their own countries but perhaps, to be more representative of the contemporary UK, some other festivals might be included, for example

98

Chapter Five

Diwali and Eid Al-Fitr. Perhaps Happy Street School should have notices in Punjabi, Urdu and Polish. Perhaps Jason’s Shop should have a ramp for wheelchair-user access. But then a book for eight year olds may not need to address issues of diversity and inclusivity at all. It might be acceptable to present engaging characters in an idealized context. It is, after all, not a political manifesto but an English language course-book for children. However, if younger learners’ language acquisition is aided by relevant and engaging materials, it may be that presenting a world that is noticeably different from theirs may fail to engage and thus impede acquisition. Happy Street may be so far removed from reality, though, that it may work in an international context more effectively than those embedded in an ‘authentic’ context, if that is not actually authentic, such as that presented in Energy.

Energy 4 Energy appears to strive for modernity, to try to reflect its time, and therefore seems to date itself quickly. It is aimed at teenagers and ought, perhaps, to be more clearly engaged with the real world that teenagers live in, if they are to see the language and texts as relevant and meaningful. It is, in fact, safer, blander and less diverse as a result, for the world of Energy 4 is defined as much by what is included, for example a focus on celebrity-driven pop and fashion culture, as well as by what is excluded, for instance disability, relationship issues and ethnic minorities. Energy 4 also seems to engage in cultural stereotyping and the promotion of celebrity, particularly Western pop culture, that might be seen as patronising its teenage audience. The listening task on page 69 is called ‘What can you not live without?’ The options are: ‘mobile, car, computer, music, and stereo’. These suggestions may seem superficial and banal when many people across the world are suffering from hunger and poverty. Some readers might even find them offensive. Energy 4 is set in Cardiff, Wales, which is introduced through a half-page tourist guide on page 9. It opens with ‘Welcome to Wales – the Land of Song’ and a list of rock bands: ‘In recent years a lot of bands and stars have come from Wales. In the music world, Catatonia, the Manic Street Preachers, Super Furry Animals and the Stereophonics all come from Wales. Older people will remember Tom Jones and Shirley Bassey’. Older people?

Not in Front of the Children

99

This focus on pop music performers seems narrow. The global profile of the stars listed may also be quite limited. Certainly none of them were known to the students this writer taught in Egypt. There is no mention of film or sports stars from Wales. Admittedly Anthony Hopkins and Ryan Giggs may also have a limited global profile, but at least their inclusion would acknowledge that Wales has more to offer than pop bands, but pop bands is where Energy 4 places its focus. This begins on page 6 with the introduction of Macy, a DJ who also works in a record shop. It continues with an advert for a DJ-ing competition (p. 20) which says, ‘Be a great DJ like Paul Okenfold, Pete Tong, Fatboy Slim and Judge Jules’. Again, the global profile of these people might be questioned. There is a reading text on the next page about Eminem and a two-page text about Fatboy Slim (pp. 26-27). The Unit is titled ‘Being a DJ’. In the next unit, titled ‘Campaign’, there is a two-page reading text (pp. 36-37) about Pink. There is a passing reference to Ronan Keating on page 33 and a story involving Kylie Minogue on page 39. The girl discussing her work experience on page 39 works at a recording studio and wants to ‘get into the music business’. Even the suggested conversation prompts, two from eight, on page 31 include ‘going to rock concerts’ and ‘listening to loud music’. Page 70 has a reading text on Destiny’s Child. Pages 72 and 73 have a design-a-board-game project where the example is becoming a star in the music business. It is not just celebrity that Energy 4 focuses on but a particularly narrow Pop Idol type of celebrity, assuming, perhaps, that this theme might engage teenage language-learners across the world. To pursue this assumption, there is a magazine-style quiz on pages 44 and 45 in which students have to identify the lips, ears or eyes of ten celebrities. They are Julia Roberts, Brad Pitt, Missy Elliot, Elvis Presley, Johnny Depp, Beyoncé, John Travolta, Eddie Murphy, Marilyn Monroe, Tom Cruise. This list raises three concerns. First, they are all Americans. Secondly, they are all able-bodied and, at least publicly, heterosexual. Thirdly, they are all film or pop stars. There are no sports stars. There are no political leaders. There are no scientists, inventors or business leaders, no writers, artists or philanthropists. It suggests that the publishers believe teenagers have no interest in such people, and that popular culture, specifically and exclusively American, is the only one of interest. Just two of the ten are black. Two of them are dead. They have been dead for years, long before the target-readers were born. Today’s global teens are perhaps not particularly interested in dead, white, American celebrities from a distant generation. In addition, the socio-cultural context in which such

100

Chapter Five

celebrities achieved their iconic status is not necessarily one with which today’s teenagers can identify. At this point one begins to wonder which teenagers this book is aimed at, what market research was carried out and what the piloting of the material revealed, for the focus on celebrity and the seeming promotion of mainly American pop culture ultimately bored this writer's Egyptian students who did not aspire to become pop stars, had never heard of many of the celebrities anyway and were wary of what they perceived as the Americanisation of their culture. The narrowness of the content failed to engage with those students and the series was replaced the following year. The issue of language acquisition may need addressing again. If teenagers need materials that motivate and engage them, in order to aid the learning and acquisition process, the content, topics and language of Energy 4 may in fact prove rather less motivating than materials that reflect the reality of learners’ lives.

Discussion Superficially narrow content may be inevitable given that many coursebook publishers seem to have decided to avoid topics perceived as potentially offensive or controversial in some parts of the world. According to Gray (2002, p. 159) the following topics, or PARSNIPS, are deemed taboo by a number of publishers: Politics – Alcohol – Religion – Sex – Narcotics – Isms – Pork Whilst it may look innocuous enough, this list is problematic. First, it discriminates against large numbers of people who are not offended by such topics. Secondly, it changes the real world and real lives of those people who do eat pork and drink alcohol, i.e. most of Europe, the Americas, Australasia and parts of Asia. Thirdly, the world of the coursebook becomes narrowly circumscribed and unreflective of the whole diverse, pluralistic, multicultural, international reality. Gray reports that: One publisher’s list contained thirty items to be avoided…. [including] alcohol, anarchy, AIDS, Israel and six-pointed stars, politics, religion, racism, sex, science when it involves altering nature , (e.g. genetic engineering), terrorism and violence. (2002, p. 159)

This means any attempts to educate students about some of the most important issues of the day, issues that may impact on their lives, cannot

Not in Front of the Children

101

be done using ELT course-books. Anyone who has worked with teenagers will know how passionately they can feel about issues such as fairness, equality, racism, animal testing and global warming. To avoid the very topics that teenagers feel strongly—topics that might affect their real lives—seems irresponsible. In addition, this denies the course-books both authority and authenticity because the contexts, contents and communities are artificial and inauthentic, with whole groups of people being excluded. ‘The course-book gays and lesbians [for example]…are still firmly in the course-book closet’ (Thornbury, 1999, p. 15). ‘Course-book people,’ Thornbury continues, ‘are never gay. They are either married or studiously single. There are no same-sex couples in EFL course-books’ (Thornbury, 1999, p. 15). But just as there are women teachers in ELT so there are gay teachers, black teachers, and disabled teachers, and gay, black and disabled students, all using materials that seem to exclude them from the English Language Learning world for reasons of commercial market-share. As Gray puts it, ‘Inclusivity is undermined by a commercially motivated exclusivity which neutralises the material’ (2002, p. 159). In addition, ‘UK EFL writers’ topic choice and treatment is powerfully ideological, precisely because of its avoidance of any specific ideological statement’ (Rinvolucri, 1999, p. 3). Texts about an elderly entrepreneur, a Paralympic athlete or a gay actor might be powerful statements of the ideology of inclusion and a reflection of the diversity of the world. This writer wonders just how threatening a positive portrayal of, for example, the elderly or the disabled really would be to the profits and market share of UK-based publishers. Energy 4 has a piece about teenager stress on pages 46 and 47 but the magazine-style quiz is headlined ‘Personality Check’. First, this implies that stress is personality- rather than context-dependent, which some readers may dispute. Secondly, the example situations are exams, homework, going to school, going on holiday, visiting a friend, tidying your bedroom, shopping for clothes. It might be suggested that some of these are not inherently stressful when compared to war or famine or caring for a sick parent but of course such situations do not exist in the ELL world which ‘avoids the shadow-side of life [presenting instead]…a soft, fudgy, sub-journalistic, woman’s magaziney world’ (Rinvolucri, 1999, p. 3) of horoscopes, celebrity gossip, travel tips and quizzes on fashion. ELL course-books transpose ‘the shallow preoccupations of British and American popular culture on to the world-stage’ (Wallace, 2002, p. 111) and avoid anything that might be controversial, or liberating. ‘In attempting to cater for all students at a particular age and level, [and all

102

Chapter Five

cultures], global course-books often end up not meeting the needs and wants of any.’ (Tomlinson, 2012, p. 158) Worse, they may be damaging both students and teachers by making them feel excluded, invisible and discriminated against, living on the ‘shadow-side’. But does it matter? Tomlinson (2012, pp. 157-8) reports that a 2008 British Council survey ‘revealed that 65% of the teachers they polled always or frequently used a course-book.’ This suggests that, because of their dominance on the classroom, the quality and content of the materials should matter. However, if ‘[textbooks] are [only] the jumping-off point for teacher and class […] the prop or framework within which [learning] occurs’ (O’Neill, 1982, p. 110), the world-view conveyed might not be important. If the book is merely a ‘prop’, women might be safely portrayed as ‘traditional’ housewives. But no. It appears that some publishers have check-lists which regulate how women are presented in their course-books. ‘The checklist is provided so that […] authors can make sure their materials show women being assertive, using their initiative, demonstrating selfcontrol, and men being vulnerable, displaying emotion, and needing reassurance’ (Gray, 2002, p. 158). The portrayal of the father in Happy Street outlined in Section Three above exemplifies this last point. There are also lists of language items and actual words to be avoided, for instance ‘girl’ (‘young woman’ to be used instead) and ‘mankind’ (‘people’). Apparently, ‘one publisher’s in-house list runs to over thirty terms to avoid’ (Gray, 2002, p. 158). So course-books must avoid offending women even at the risk of offending cultures where assertive women are discouraged and women are not allowed to drive let alone run businesses. And yet the very same books must avoid mentioning, among other subjects, homosexuality, disability, pork or alcohol. It is unclear why the cause of gender equality is one ELT publishers have embraced while other causes have been avoided, even proscribed. The existence of an inclusion list for one group and exclusion lists for others seems inconsistent. It could be suggested that it is because around fifty per cent of the population identify as ‘female’ but diversity and inclusivity should perhaps be about more than statistics. Possibly the actively positive portrayal of women in course-books is because ‘the vast majority of teachers and directors of studies [...] happen to be women’ (Thornbury, 1999, p. 16, my italics) and choose the course-books their learners use. Gray (2000, p. 279) describes a survey of teachers in Barcelona in 1999 which showed their principal concerns were ‘stereotypical representations,

Not in Front of the Children

103

mainly of Britain, followed by irrelevant, outdated, and sexist content […] combined with a wish not to offend students’ cultural sensibilities’. In order to achieve consistency of treatment and inclusion, publishers might consider developing checklists for the positive presentation of minority groups. It is surely not too difficult to profile Paralympian (and female) athletes like Tanni Grey-Thompson or Ellie Simmonds instead of popstars like Pink.

Conclusions ‘The global course-book can become a useful instrument for provoking cultural debate and […] a genuine educational tool’ (Gray, 2000, p. 281), but that may depend on the purpose of education. ‘At one level it is ‘functional’ or ‘communicative’: […] students are acquiring [skills] they can use outside the classroom. At another level […] we teach people […] to broaden their horizons’ (Cook, 1983, p. 230). As Gray points out, ‘personalisation activities [in course-books] take two forms, those which require students to speak as individuals […] and those which ask them to speak as informants about uncontroversial aspects of their own country’, for example the weather, tourism or leisure activities, but, he says, they are never asked about their own real, ‘classed, raced and gendered identities’ (2010, p. 69). There could be an opportunity, if publishers wish to take it, to ‘broaden young learners’ horizons’ by including groups and topics that reflect realworld diversity, to contribute to personal growth, personal development and global understanding, and to do for other groups what it has done for the presentation of women. YL course-books such as Happy Street attempt to present a diverse community, although it might do more. Energy 4 avoids both the challenge and the opportunity by focusing instead on a superficial celebrity culture. A move towards content that is more varied, by including disabled or gay characters for instance and addressing concerns such as racism and other forms of discrimination, might engage teenage learners more effectively because they are ‘real-life’ concerns. In addition, some of the blacklisted topics outlined in Section Five above might be of interest to teenage learners. After all, such topics may be what many of them tweet, chat and Facebook about in their free-time. Thornbury made similar suggestions in 1999 (p. 17) but little seems to have changed. Despite what these earlier writers said, inclusion, diversity

104

Chapter Five

and ‘real-world’ topics are still absent from our course-books, especially those aimed at young learners. We are still waiting for a publisher to be brave enough to break the mould and grasp the opportunity to present the world that learners, and teachers, actually live in rather than one they do not. This writer fears we may be waiting a while longer.

References Cook, V. (1983), ‘What should language teaching be about?’. English Language Teaching Journal, 37, (3), 229-34. Elsworth, S. and Rose J. (2005), Energy 4. Harlow: Pearson. Gray, J. (2000), ‘The ELT course-book as cultural artefact: how teachers censor and adapt’. English Language Teaching Journal, 54, (3), 27483. Gray, J. (2002), ‘The global course-book in English Language Teaching’, in D. Block and D. Cameron (eds), Globalisation and Language Teaching. London: Routledge, pp. 151-67. Maidment, S. and Roberts L. (2000), Happy Street 1 and 2. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Gray, J. (2010), The Construction of English: Culture, Consumerism and Promotion in the ELT Global Coursebook. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan. O’Neill, R. (1982), ‘Why use text-books?’. English Language Teaching Journal, 36, (2), 104-111. Rinvolucri, M. (1999), ‘The UK, EFLese Sub-Culture and Dialect’. Accessed at: http://www.teflfarm.com/teachers/articles/eflese.htm [4 June 2012]. Thornbury, S. (1999), ‘Window-dressing vs cross-dressing in the EFL sub-culture’. Folio, 5, (2), 15-7. Tomlinson, B. (2012), ‘Materials development for language and learning’. Language Teaching, 45, (2), 143-79. Accessed at: http://journals.cambridge.org [21 April 2012]. Wallace, C. (2002), ‘Local literacies and global literacy’, in D. Block and D. Cameron (eds), Globalisation and Language Teaching. London: Routledge, pp. 101-14.

COMMENTS ON SECTION 1 MEETING DIFFERENT LEARNER NEEDS BRIAN TOMLINSON

The chapters in this section all focus on the need to develop materials which match the requirements of the specific target learners. Each chapter specifies a distinct learning context which cannot be catered for by global course-book materials. The students described in each context differ from those in the other contexts in age, level, background, culture, language learning experience, expectations of the course, time available and purposes for learning English. The students in each context ideally need materials specifically designed to cater for them. These sets of materials will inevitably differ from each other in language and topic content and to some extent in pedagogical approach. However it is very important that the teachers and materials developers in these and in other distinct contexts do not focus only on local determiners but also keep in mind that the main principles of language acquisition are universal (Tomlinson, 2013a). Whether you are a General English learner in Egypt, a medical student in Ireland, a firefighter in Vietnam, a science student in Australia or a tourism student in Russia you need a rich exposure to the language in use, you need to be affectively and cognitively engaged by your learning materials and you need opportunities to use the language for communication if your aim is to develop communicative competence in English. It is also arguable that, regardless of your preferred learning style or your educational culture, you need to be helped to pay attention to English in use and to make discoveries about how it is used to achieve effective communication (Ellis, 2011; Tomlinson, 2013a). In my experience many materials developed for learners of English for Specific Purposes (ESP) and, in particular, English for Academic Purposes (EAP) make the mistake of being narrowly focused on catering for the obvious local needs of the target learners. They focus on the topics, genres and language salient in the learners’ specialisation and assume that the learners will have sufficient extrinsic motivation to learn what they are taught. They make little attempt to use stimulating texts or purposeful

106

Comments on Section 1

tasks to engage the learners affectively or cognitively and they neglect to cater for the leisure, social or intellectual needs of the learners. One way of avoiding such narrowing when designing materials for specific target learners is to start by developing criteria which can be used both for developing and for evaluating the materials. (Tomlinson, 2013b). These criteria should initially focus on universal criteria which could be used for any learner anywhere and then pay attention to local criteria specific to the context of learning of the target learners. That way the needs of the learners as human beings and as language learners will be catered for as well as the needs of the learners as agricultural students or airline pilots (Tomlinson 2013a, 2013c). Examples of universal criteria could be: x To what extent are the texts likely to provide a rich exposure to English in authentic use? x To what extent are the listening tasks likely to engage the learners cognitively? x To what extent are the writing tasks likely to provide opportunities for using English to achieve communicative purposes? Examples of local criteria could be: x To what extent are the texts likely to provide sufficient information about how to use English to communicate with the flight tower at take off and landing? x To what extent are the listening tasks likely to replicate those the students will experience at an agricultural college in Mali? x To what extent are the writing tasks likely to replicate those that an agricultural expert in Kenya will need to perform in English. Fortunately the authors of the chapters in Section 1 are sufficiently aware of the need to engage the learners affectively and cognitively and to help them to relate what they do on their English course to what they do and have done in their lives. I would personally though prefer to see a wider variety of genres and tasks made use of in their courses. At one time in my early career I was responsible at a language college in England for both a course for airline pilots from Saudi Arabia and a course for diplomats from Iraq. I was approached separately by the leaders of these courses but both made the same point and the same suggestions. They told me they were happy with the teaching and the way that their course was relevant to their occupations but that they were getting bored with only focusing on what they did every day in their jobs. They wanted poetry and stories as well as professionally appropriate texts. They wanted to use English to talk and

Section 1 Meeting Different Learner Needs

107

write about interesting non-professional topics and not just to do in the classroom what they did in their L1 in their jobs every day. At around the same time in the same college I was responsible for a group of post-PhD science scholars from China who were going on to work in laboratories at The University of Cambridge. When I contacted the University later in the year they told me that the students were adept at communicating in English in the laboratory but that they struggled in social communication at lunch and in the coffee bar. Unfortunately much of the communication about their research occurred informally rather than in the laboratory. I have now learned my lesson and I made sure, for example, that my EAP students at a university in Oman talked about football, solved mysteries and acted out scenes from stories as well as learning how to write academic essays in English. In addition to the sort of case study research conducted so effectively by the authors in this chapter I would like to see research conducted by postgraduate students, by academic researchers and especially by publishers which aims to find out the actual effects of materials on students’ proficiency in English. Especially informative would be comparisons between the effects on performance of materials which are especially designed to meet the human and contextual needs of specific target students and the effects for the same students of materials developed for the global market.

References Ellis, R. (2011), ‘Macro- and micro-evaluation of task-based teaching’, in B. Tomlinson (ed.), Materials Development in Language Teaching (2nd edn). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, pp. 212-235. Tomlinson, B. (2013a), ‘Second language acquisition and materials development’, in B. Tomlinson (ed.), Applied Linguistics and materials Development. London: Bloomsbury, pp. 11-30. Tomlinson, B. (2013b), ‘Materials evaluation’, in B. Tomlinson (ed.), Developing Materials for Language Teaching. London: Bloomsbury, pp. 21-48. Tomlinson, B. (2013c), ‘Humanizing the Coursebook’, in B. Tomlinson (ed.), Developing Materials for Language Teaching. London: Bloomsbury, pp. 139-156. Williams, J. (2005), ‘Form-focused instruction’, in E. Hinkel (ed.), Handbook of Research in Second Language Teaching and Learning. Mawah: NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum, pp. 671-691.

SECTION 2 METHODOLOGY AND APPROACHES

CHAPTER SIX INVESTIGATING TASK REPETITION WITH FEEDBACK AS A PACKAGE FOR MATERIALS AIMING TOWARDS L2 ORAL FLUENCY DEVELOPMENT: THE CASE OF PRIMARY EFL CLASSROOMS IN CYPRUS MARIA VRIKKI

Research Background For years, codeswitching, or the use of the first language (L1), in foreign language (FL) classrooms has been frowned upon (Macaro, 2005). Teachers would refrain from using it and students would be forbidden to use it, as it was considered to hinder second language (L2) learning. This negative connotation attached to codeswitching stems from the early years of language teaching methodology (e.g. in the Berlitz schools 1990s (Berlitz, 2012); in the Direct method) which rejected the use of the L1 altogether. Similarly, the issue of classroom codeswitching was the centre of debate in second language acquisition (SLA) research. Some researchers found some pedagogical value in the use of the L1 (e.g. Macaro, 2005), while others stressed the importance of being exposed to target language (TL) input (e.g. Atkinson, 1993). One of the main reasons researchers opposed the L1 was because of the influence of SLA theories that placed emphasis on TL input (e.g. Krashen’s (1982) Comprehensible Input Hypothesis). Despite this fierce debate, a growing number of empirical studies conducted in different parts of the world revealed that the L1 not only existed in FL classrooms, but it served a number of different purposes

Investigating Task Repetition with Feedback

111

during a lesson (e.g. Duff and Polio, 1990; Rolin-Ianziti and Brownie, 2002). This evidence prompted the conduct of more experimental studies that revealed a positive relationship between codeswitching and one aspect of language learning, namely vocabulary acquisition (e.g. Tian, 2009; Lee, 2010). The fact that no papers supporting the use of TL exclusivity have recently been published may imply that some pedagogical values of using L1 are now recognized. Textbooks and policymakers, however, still seem to promote TL exclusivity. For example, Lee (2010), who investigated the effects of teacher codeswitching on vocabulary acquisition in the South Korean context, argued that the notion of teaching English in English, which is English-only instruction, is strongly supported by the Korean Ministry of Education, although teachers find it difficult to follow this recommendation. Similarly, in the case of the present study, the teacher’s book, which has been prepared by the Ministry of Education and Culture of Cyprus, states the following when referring to speaking activities: ‘The mother tongue should not be used in the classroom, otherwise it will interfere in the learning process. Only in exceptional cases the use of the mother tongue is recommended’ (Georgiou, Kitromilides and Englezaki, 2007, p. 9). The use of codeswitching, therefore, is clearly discouraged, without a valid justification. This reluctance on the part of policymakers, and thus textbook writers, to act upon the latest advances of research on codeswitching partly stems from the fact that research has not pinpointed exactly when codeswitching should be used in the classrooms in order to benefit language learning. And since this has not been established yet, policymakers cannot recommend codeswitching as this could lead to uncontrollable L1 use. For this reason, studies that attempt to examine certain occasions when the use of the L1 can be beneficial are particularly important, not only for language teachers but for material developers as well. The present study attempts to redress this gap between research and practice by examining a way in which the learners’ L1 use during task completion can be used to contribute to L2 learning. Based on research evidence and theories from existing literature, a hypothesis is developed that predicts a relationship between codeswitching and L2 oral fluency development. The following section describes the rationale behind this relationship by briefly reviewing the relevant literature.

112

Chapter Six

Literature Review Four research areas will be reviewed here: task-based learning, classroom codeswitching, oral fluency and willingness to communicate.

Task-based learning Task-based learning refers to a type of instruction that emerged with the rise of Communicative Language Teaching and involves teaching ‘based entirely on tasks’ (Ellis, 2003, p. 351). Although various definitions of tasks exist, researchers seem to have reached consensus on certain criteria that an activity should meet in order to be called a task. These include focusing on meaning (Skehan, 1998; Ellis, 2009); having some kind of gap of information that learners should try to fill in by communicating (Ellis, 2009); having a clearly defined outcome other than the use of language (Ellis, 2009); and prompting the production of authentic language that resembles language encountered outside the classroom (Skehan, 1998; Ellis, 2003). Research on task repetition is of particular importance to the present study. In order to determine what task repetition actually means, the definition given by Bygate and Samuda (2005, p. 43) is borrowed: ‘repetition of the same or slightly altered task—whether the whole task, or parts of a task’. According to Bygate (2001), when speakers first complete a task, their main concern is ‘to find appropriate formulations and articulate them’ (Bygate, 2001, p. 26). On the second occasion however, they draw on these formulations, allowing for their attentional resources to focus on other aspects of oral production, such as accuracy, complexity and fluency. In Bygate’s (2001) opinion, the minimum that can happen with task repetition is an increase of fluency. The few studies that have investigated the effects of task repetition on oral production (e.g. Gass et al., 1999; Bygate, 2001; Ahmadian, 2011) offer tentative evidence which is not very conclusive. For this reason, I propose the examination of task repetition plus feedback (TR+) as a more viable way to move forward in this research area. The idea of providing feedback before repeating a task was examined by only one study I know of in the past conducted by Baleghizadeh and Derakhshesh (2012). In this study, it was found that the four participating Iranian learners of English produced more accurate oral performances when presenting a book after receiving feedback. In addition, providing feedback before repeating a task would be more acceptable in real classroom contexts both pedagogically, as well as

Investigating Task Repetition with Feedback

113

practically, as students and teachers would have a valid reason for justifying task repetition.

Codeswitching Studies on learner codeswitching, which analyze task language within Vygotsky’s (1986) sociocultural theory (SCT) framework, seem to agree that the L1 can be a useful social and cognitive tool when working in pairs. Such studies have shown that learners mainly use their L1 for metalanguage, that is, the type of language used in order to talk about the task or about the language required for completing the task; in other words, a type of ‘off-the-record’ language. Examples of metalanguage would include the following: We should start by assigning roles. Who do you want to be? Do you know what the word for ‘animal’ is in Spanish?

Utterances such as the above are critical for the completion of a task and they are very much likely to occur in the L1. Due to this role of the L1, the pioneer study of Brooks and Donato (1994, p. 266; p. 268) established the L1 as an important tool for ‘initiating and sustaining further discourse’ and characterized its use as ‘a normal psychological process that facilitates L2 production’. With further studies arriving at similar conclusions (e.g. Antón and DiCamilla, 1999; Alley, 2005; Storch and Aldosari, 2010), this area of research accepts and establishes the L1 as a useful pedagogical tool that facilitates learner communication when working in pairs for tasks. However, the conclusions of these studies seem to be one-sided, as they do not examine the role of the L2 at all. The functions and the role found for the L1 therefore cannot be attributed solely to the L1 simply because the functions and the role of the L2 were not examined. Only a recent study by DiCamilla and Antón (2012) explored the role of both the L1 and the L2 during task completion and found that the functions served by the L1 in beginner learners’ interactions, were served by the L2 in more advanced learners’ interactions. Thus, as proficiency increased, the functions served by the L1 appeared to be served by the L2. This suggests that a language does not serve certain functions exclusively. Based on the above, it seems safe to argue that metalanguage may not only occur in the L1, as suggested by learner codeswitching studies, but it could serve the same purposes through the L2. Research, therefore, should propose ways in which teachers and material developers can help learners

114

Chapter Six

transform their L1 use into the L2. The present study proposes and examines one way of achieving that: providing students with the translations of the L1 metalanguage they use. These translations can be called feedback on metalanguage. By incorporating this kind of feedback in their work, learners will gradually recycle the L1 into the L2 (examples of this process are provided later on in the chapter). This process helps teachers take advantage of their learners’ L1 use, rather than simply accepting it, and transforms the L1 tool from facilitator to contributor to language learning.

Oral fluency As research has suggested that fluency can be enhanced with task repetition, I decided to examine oral fluency as a potential benefiter of TR+. Oral fluency is defined here as the part of oral production that has to do with ‘smoothness of performance’ (Segalowitz, 2007, p. 181). But how exactly does fluency develop? This question is addressed in Towell, Hawkins and Bazergui’s work (1996), which used two frameworks for fluency development. The first was Levelt’s (1989) Model of Speech Production, which has three components: the conceptualizer, where the intended message is encoded; the formulator, where the message acquires linguistic structure (i.e. syntax, morphology); and the articulator, in which the message becomes speech production. In order for this process to meet the speed requirements of fluent encounters, declarative knowledge, which is our knowledge of the world, has to be converted into proceduralized knowledge, which is a more automatic kind of knowledge. According to Anderson’s (1983) Adaptive Control of Thought model, which represents the architecture of the human cognition, this conversion takes place with practice. This was also confirmed by Towell et al. (1996, p. 98) who concluded that ‘as exposure to and practice of L2 increases so does fluency’. Overall, therefore, the literature seems to suggest that increased practice is what leads to proceduralization.

Willingness to communicate (WTC) Another important concept in the present study is that of willingness to communicate (WTC), which accounts for the probability of someone speaking ‘when free to do so’ (MacIntyre, 2007, p. 564). According to this concept, the speaker makes a conscious decision whether to speak or not

Investigating Task Repetition with Feedback

115

based on stable influences (e.g. speakers’ personality) and situationspecific influences (e.g. the desire to speak to the interlocutor).

Hypothesis The above discussion led to the formulation of a hypothesis, for which a graphical representation is shown in Figure 6.1. The hypothesis predicts that by allowing students to codeswitch while completing tasks, two developments are expected to take place. First, their WTC will be enhanced, as they will feel more confident with speaking in the L2, when knowing that they can rely on their L1 in case of a communication breakdown. Second, their use of metalanguage, which, as discussed earlier, typically occurs in the L1, will be increased. This is where feedback on L1 metalanguage comes into place, as without it students would uncontrollably communicate in the L1. As noted previously, this feedback would come in the form of L2 translations of the L1 metalanguage used by the students (examples below). By incorporating these translations when the task is repeated, students will undergo a language recycling process from L1 metalanguage to L2 metalanguage. Figure 6.1 Graphic representation of hypothesis.

116

Chapter Six

With increased WTC and L2 metalanguage, extensive L2 practice is expected to occur, and, according to Anderson’s ACT model, this is what is required for proceduralization processes to take place. As a result, fluency will be developed.

The Study1 Research questions The hypothesis led to the formation of two research questions. The questions aimed to examine the effects of the TR+ package, as well as the effects on WTC, and consequently on fluency, that the two types of this package have. The first type of the TR+ package tests the hypothesis and involves codeswitching with feedback on L1 metalanguage (i.e. translations) and task repetition (examples to follow). The second type of the TR+ package was added in order to ensure that the potential fluency development of the first package does not lead to detrimental effects on accuracy. This package involves English-only conditions with feedback on accuracy and task repetition. The research questions are the following: 1. a) Does task repetition plus feedback lead to more WTC than no task repetition? b) Does task repetition with codeswitching plus lead to more WTC than task repetition with English-only plus? 2. a) Does task repetition plus feedback lead to more fluency than no task repetition? b) Does task repetition with codeswitching plus lead to more fluency than task repetition with English-only plus, with no detrimental effects on accuracy?

Research design Having adopted a quasi-experimental design, intact classes with a total of 75 sixth-grade students (11 to 12-year-olds) participated in the study. These classes came from three different primary schools, each representing a different condition of the intervention. Two of the schools acted as two different experimental groups, while the third school acted as the comparison group. In order to make the groups more comparable, the 1

An earlier version of this paper was presented at the 45th Annual Meeting of the British Association for Applied Linguistics and it is included in the conference proceedings: Multilingual Theory and Practice in Applied Linguistics, pp. 255-58.

Investigating Task Repetition with Feedback

117

students were matched based on their proficiency (C-test scores), their productive vocabulary (translation test), their socio-economic status (parents questionnaire) and their prior contact with the L2 (students questionnaire).

The intervention The intervention, which lasted for eight weeks, was administered by myself and it took place during the normal classroom time of English as Foreign Language (EFL) lessons of the classes participating; twice per week (per class). During the intervention, the English teachers of these classes taught the lesson as normal. As two of the participating schools shared the same teacher for English, a total of two teachers were involved in the study. In order to ensure that the teacher variable would not affect the intervention, twelve lessons were observed and audio-recorded. Having analyzed the recordings, I found that less than 8% of both teachers’ talk was in the L1 and that their switches served some kind of purpose (e.g. vocabulary translations, encouragement, drawing attention). For the purposes of the study, the students of all three groups completed the same tasks in pairs during the last ten minutes of each lesson. For each week of the intervention, a task was designed by me (a total of 8 tasks) based on the unit of the book that they were working on at the time. Different types of tasks were designed including role-play tasks, information-gap tasks and narrative tasks. An example of an information gap task is presented in Figure 6.2. What differed between the groups were the conditions under which they completed these tasks. The first experimental group, the codeswitching group (CS group), tested the hypothesis of the study. On the first occasion of completing the tasks, my instructions to the students stated that they were allowed to switch to the L1 whenever they felt that they needed to, while being audio-recorded. Based on these recordings, the most frequently occurring L1 metalanguage phrases were translated into the L2 and a handout was prepared with their translations. An example of this handout distributed in Week 5 is presented in Figure 6.3 below. Having gone through the handout, the students were instructed to repeat the task and they were encouraged to use the newly introduced L2 metalanguage when necessary.

118

Chapter Six

Figure 6.2 Information gap task (Week 8).

Investigating Task Repetition with Feedback

119

120

Chapter Six

Figure 6.3 Handout with feedback on metalanguage: CS group Week 5.

The second experimental group, the English-only group (EO group), completed the tasks under English-only conditions. By recording their interactions, I was able to collect the most frequently occurring errors and prepare a handout with the correct versions. On the second lesson of each week, this group went through the handout and repeated the same task. Figure 6.4 shows an example of this handout.

Investigating Task Repetition with Feedback

121

Figure 6.4 Handout with feedback on accuracy: EO group Week 6.

Finally, the comparison group (COM group) completed the tasks only once per week and received no language instructions. This group was added in order to compare the benefits of TR+ to no task repetition. In order to measure the effect of the intervention, a pre-test, a post-test and a delayed post-test were conducted. These were oral production tests, which adopted the structure of the oral test used in the International English Language Testing System (IELTS). The tests, which lasted for approximately ten minutes per student, consisted of two parts: the Question/Answer part, which asked the students to answer a series of questions on a familiar topic, and the Presentation part, which asked students to prepare a short presentation, again on a familiar topic. While the structure of the three tests was the same, these differed in terms of topic, with all topics being familiar to the students (e.g. favourite hobbies, favourite singer or group). Figure 6.5 presents the topics of the first posttest.

122

Chapter Six

Figure 6.5 Post-test 1.

Results Research question 1 In order to provide a response to the first research question which enquired about the effects of the intervention on WTC, the oral production tests were analyzed quantitatively in terms of two variables: speaking time, which is the total number of seconds the student spent speaking in each test, and L2 syllables, which is the total number of syllables the student used in each test. As no significant differences were found for speaking time, the discussion here focuses on L2 syllables. Figure 6.6 presents how the three groups progressed in terms of the amount of L2 syllables they used in the three oral production tests.

Investigating Task Repetition with Feedback

123

Figure 6.6 Results for L2 syllables.

As there was a significant difference between the CS and the COM groups at pre-test, F (2, 74) = 3.11, p = .051, r = .28, a statistical test that accounts for such prior differences, namely the ANCOVA, was selected for comparing the performance of the groups after the intervention. It was found that at post-test 1 the CS group produced significantly more words than the other two groups (p < .05). This improvement of the CS group is evident in the oral production test of Mary, one of the students in the group, shown in the excerpt reproduced in Figure 6.7. It is clear from the excerpt that by the end of the intervention Mary tends to produce a lot more output and to elaborate on the topic. This is an indication that her WTC is increased as, in comparison to the pre-test, she seems a lot more willing to talk. As no clear difference was detected between both experimental groups (representing TR+) and the COM group (representing no task repetition), no conclusions can be drawn for the first inquiry of the first research question, which inquired about the effects of TR+ on WTC in relation to no task repetition. In terms of the second inquiry of the research question examining whether task repetition with CS plus leads to more WTC than task repetition with EO plus, the results are more conclusive. Since the CS group produced significantly more syllables than the EO group, it can be argued that task repetition with CS plus leads to more WTC than task repetition with EO plus.

124

Chapter Six

Figure 6.7 Mary’s presentation part at pre-test and post-test 1. Pre-test topic: Favourite singer My favourite singer is Selena Gomez and she is very famous. She is from America and she is not too tall. Her hair is long and brown. She is very cute. She is smiling all the time. She is thin. She is about eighteen or nineteen years old. I like very much her song em “Naturally”. I sing it all the time. She is em she is an actor too. She is she is playing in serials in Disney Channel and I like it very much. I watch it almost I watch every time and I like her. Post-test 1 topic: Your best friend My best friend is Alexandra. Ee she is thirteen years old. Em she is from Cyprus but she…her mother is also from em Moldova. And she is a tall girl with ee long legs. Ee she has brown hair ee brown long hair and ee she has brown eyes she em she has got long legs and long arms. Sh...her nose is ee is ee small. Her her mouth is ee it’s norm-al and it’s a bit p ee pink. Em we met first time when I was four years old at a theatre and my mum my mother was a director of the film so we met there. She was wolf and I was a bunny. It was a Russian theatre. Em she likes ee reading. She likes doing yoga. She likes riding he on her bike. She likes playing on the computer, watching TV. She likes going for shop for shopping. Em We see each other every every week every Saturday because we go to a ee Latin dance lesson together and then after the lesson we go to my house or to her house. Em we usually go for shopping together, watch cinema em playing ee playing games outside with the ball and we like watching movies scary movies. Ee She is my best friend because we love each other very much and she very nice and polite ee we like a lot of do a lot of things together and we like each other we are very good friends.

Research question 2 The second research question enquired about the effects of TR+, as well as the two types of TR+, on fluency, assuming that there would be no detrimental effects on accuracy. To investigate these enquiries, the oral production tests were analyzed in terms of three variable constructs: fluency variables, accuracy variables and content variables.

Investigating Task Repetition with Feedback

125

Looking at fluency first, three variables were employed. Speech rate tested speed of speech and it was measured with syllables per second. Mean length of runs (MLR) measured the average length of runs occurring between short pauses. Pause rate was measured by the percentage of speaking time in seconds spent in filled and unfilled pauses in the presentation part of the test. From these three variables, only the MLR measure showed significant results. Figure 6.8 shows the progress of the three groups across time in terms of MLR. Figure 6.8 Results for MLR.

As significant differences were found between the groups at pre-test, two ANCOVAs were conducted for each post-test. For post-test 1, the ANCOVA (along with pairwise comparisons) revealed a significant difference between the EO and the COM group (p < .05), while the difference between the CS and the COM group was approaching significance (p = .063). For post-test 2, a significant difference was found between the experimental groups and the comparison group (p < .05). Therefore, based on MLR only, it can be concluded that the experimental groups, who represented TR+, did significantly better in terms of MLR than the comparison group, who represented no task repetition. Fluency, thus, seems to improve with TR+. In order to ensure that any increase of fluency would not affect the quality of content, three content measures were examined, namely verb ratio (range of verb use), L1 syllables and idea units (number of main ideas). While no significant differences were found for these three variables, this was considered to be an interesting result for L1 syllables. It meant that the

126

Chapter Six

CS group, who practiced switching to the L1 whenever necessary during the intervention, did not end up using significantly more L1 syllables than the other two groups, F (4, 140) = 1.85, p > .05. The incorporation of the L1 therefore does not necessarily lead to excessive L1 use. Finally, the accuracy variables were added in order to ensure that accuracy did not deteriorate in case of fluency development. Accuracy was measured with the percentage of error-free clauses and the percentage of correct verb use. Looking at the percentage of error-free clauses (Figure 6.9), a significant difference was found between the experimental groups and the comparison group (p < .01) at both post-tests. Figure 6.9 Results for the percentage of error-free clauses.

Similarly, a significant difference was found between the experimental groups and the comparison group (p < .05) for the percentage of correct verb use at both post-tests (Figure 6.10). The results of both accuracy variables therefore suggest that the experimental groups had a significantly higher level of accuracy than the comparison group after the intervention. So in response to the second research question, the answer would be that TR+ does not undermine accuracy. When comparing the two types of TR+ however, no claims can be made as no significant differences in accuracy were found between the two experimental groups. The overall response to the second research question, therefore, would be that TR+ seems to be leading to greater fluency (based on MLR only)

Investigating Task Repetition with Feedback

127

without undermining accuracy, in relation to no task repetition. In terms of the two types of TR+, no conclusions can be drawn. Figure 6.10 Results for percentage of correct verb use.

Conclusions – Implications The investigation for the first research question determined that the incorporation of codeswitching and its recycling into the L2 can increase WTC. In addition, the investigation for the second research question determined that the TR+ package, which enables language recycling, can have positive effects on fluency without undermining accuracy. Although a direct relationship between codeswitching and fluency development was not strongly established by the results, there is every indication that a larger or longer intervention could have established this relationship. It is possible that students of this age need more time to go through all the processes predicted by the hypothesis. Based on these conclusions, it seems fair to argue that task-based learning materials should aim to develop this skill of language recycling from the L1 to the L2. As it is almost always the case that young learners use their L1 for metalanguage when completing tasks in pairs or groups, we should try to take advantage of this L1 use and turn it into something that may contribute to language learning, rather than simply letting it happen and hoping that it will be minimal. One way of taking advantage of this L1 use is by encouraging its recycling into the L2, which can be achieved through relevant materials. Examples of such materials could include tasks for students, along with handouts included in the teachers’ book with the

128

Chapter Six

translations of metalanguage utterances that the students are likely to use while completing that specific task. Such activities are likely to encourage the recycling of the L1 and eventually help develop fluency. The present study is considered to have made an original contribution to the field as it is the only one to date that has tested a way in which the L1 can be used as a tool for fluency development and not just as a tool for facilitating communication. For this reason, similar future studies with larger and longer interventions can perhaps provide more evidence supporting these conclusions and more insights regarding this matter. Relevant materials that facilitate language recycling can then be considered and developed.

References Ahmadian, M. J. (2011), ‘The effect of ‘massed’ task repetitions on complexity, accuracy and fluency: does it transfer to a new task?’. The Language Learning Journal, 39, (3), 269-80. Alley, D. (2005), ‘A study of Spanish II high school students’ discourse during group work’. Foreign Language Annals. 38 (2), 250-57. Anderson, J. R. (1983), The Architecture of Cognition. Cambridge: Harvard University Press. Antón, M. and DiCamilla, F.J. (1999), ‘Socio-cognitive functions of L1 collaborative interaction in L2 classroom’. The Modern Language Journal, 83, (2), 233-47. Atkinson, D. (1987), ‘The mother tongue in the classroom: a neglected resource?’. ELT Journal, 41, (4), 241-47. Baleghizadeh, S. and Derakhshesh, A. (2012), ‘The effect of task repetition and noticing on EFL learners’ oral output’. International Journal of Instruction, 5, (1), 141-52. Brooks, F. B. and Donato, R. (1994), ‘Vygotskyan approaches to understanding foreign language learner discourse during communicative tasks’. Hispania, 77, 262-74. Bygate, M. (2001), ‘Effects of task repetition on the structure and control of oral language’, in M. Bygate, P. Skehan and M. Swain (eds), Researching Pedagogic Tasks: Second Language Learning, Teaching and Testing. London: Longman, pp. 23-48. Bygate, M. and Samuda, V. (2005), ‘Integrative planning through the use of task repetition’, in R. Ellis (ed.), Planning and Task Performance in a Second Language. Amsterdam: John Benjamins, pp. 37–74.

Investigating Task Repetition with Feedback

129

DiCamilla, F. J. and Antón, M. (2012), ‘Functions of L1 in the collaborative interaction of beginner and advanced second language learners’. International Journal of Applied Linguistics, 22, (2), 160-88. Duff, P. A. and Polio, C. G. (1990), ‘How much foreign language is there in the foreign language classroom?’. The Modern Language Journal, 74, (2), 154-66. Ellis, R. (2003), Task-based Language Learning and Teaching. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Ellis, R. (2009), ‘Task-based language teaching: sorting out the misunderstandings’. International Journal of Applied Linguistics, 19, (3), 221-46. Gass, S., Mackey, A., Fernandez, M. and Alvarez-Torres, M. (1999), ‘The effects of task repetition on linguistic output’. Language Learning, 49, 549-80. Georgiou, M., Kitromilides, L. and Englezaki, A. (2007), English for Communication 3: World Surprises (Teacher’s book). Nicosia: Ministry of Education and Culture, Department of Primary Education Curriculum Development Unit. Krashen, S. (1982), Principles and Practice in Second Language Acquisition. Oxford: Pergamon. Levelt, W. (1989), Speaking with Intention to Articulation. Cambridge: MIT Press. Lee, J. H. (2010), ‘The differential effects of teacher code-switching on the vocabulary acquisition of adult and young EFL learners: a study in the Korean context’. Doctoral dissertation, University of Oxford. Macaro, E. (2005), ‘Codeswitching in the L2 classroom: a communication and learning strategy’, in E. Lurda (ed.), Non-native Language Teachers: Perceptions, Challenges, and Contributions to the Profession. Boston, MA: Springer, pp.63-84. MacIntryre, P. D. (2007), ‘Willingness to communicate in the second language: understanding the decision to speak as a volition process’. The Modern Language Journal, 91, 564-76. Rolin-Ianziti, J. and Varshney, R. (2008), ‘Students’ views regarding the use of the first language: an exploratory study in a tertiary context maximizing target language use.’ The Canadian Modern Language Review, 65, (2), 249-73. Segalowitz, N. (2007), ‘Access fluidity, attention control, and the acquisition of fluency in a second language’. TESOL Quarterly, 41, (1), 181-86. Skehan, P. (1998), A Cognitive Approach to Language Learning. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

130

Chapter Six

Storch, N. and Aldosari, A. (2010), ‘Learners’ use of first language (Arabic) in pair work in an EFL class’. Language Teaching Research, 14, (4), 355-75. Tian, L. (2009), ‘Teacher codeswitching in a communicative EFL context: measuring the effects on vocabulary learning’. Doctoral dissertation, University of Oxford. Towell, R., Hawkins, R. and Bazergui, N. (1996), ‘The development of fluency in advanced learners of French’. Applied Linguistics, 17, (1), 84-119. Vygotsky, L. (1986), Thought and Language. Cambridge: MIT Press.

CHAPTER SEVEN HELPING LEARNERS LEARN: EXPLORING STRATEGY INSTRUCTION IN LANGUAGE LEARNING TEXTBOOKS DAVID WRAY AND ANAS HAJAR

1. Introduction The incorporation of language learning strategies (LLSs) into language learning materials, such as LLSs in cognitive, metacognitive, affective and social categories which will be discussed in this paper, can have a focal role to play in creating thinking language learners who are capable of directing the processes of their own L2 learning and achieving their desired goals in today’s complex communicative world. An example is the Tapestry Series (e.g. Fellag, 2004; Fragiadakis and Maurer, 2000; Oxford, 2005), designed for adult English language learners, which has integrated LLSs as an essential feature of the materials for specific uses, such as listening and reading comprehension, writing, speaking, and cultural understanding. This chapter investigates the arguments surrounding the feasibility of including LLSs into English learning textbooks, given that textbooks are still the most convenient form of providing the learner with ‘security, system, progress and revision’ (Tomlinson, 2012, p.158). More precisely, the debate between the cognitive psychology and sociocultural perspectives in relation to the issue of strategy-based instruction into language learning textbooks is examined. The chapter concludes by attempting to suggest a compromise between the two divergent perspectives through highlighting the need to design ‘strategy-rich L2 textbooks’ by local course writers, who are most familiar with local expectations regarding the linguistic difficulties that language learners encounter studying in a specific situated learning context.

132

Chapter Seven

2. Background of Strategy-based Instruction into Language Learning Materials Unsatisfactory results from a focus on the methods and products of language teaching encouraged some language learning researchers in the 1970s (e.g. Cohen, 1977; Naiman et al., 1978; Reiss, 1981; Rubin, 1975; Stern, 1975) to explore the characteristics of the ‘good language learner’ (GLL) (Griffiths, 2008, 2013; White, 2008). The early GLL studies, as reported by Parks and Raymond (2004, p.375), suggested that success at language learning is primarily ‘a matter of individual initiative, notably in terms of strategy use and personal motivation’. To put it another way, GLLs do not simply have motivation to learn the target language, but they tend to employ a larger repertoire of LLSs than the less successful learners. Bearing this in mind, these early studies on the GLL (e.g. Naiman et al., 1978; Rubin, 1981; Reiss, 1981) are pedagogically-oriented because it is believed that LLSs are ‘teachable’ (Oxford and Nyikos, 1989, p. 291, authors’ emphasis), and that learners can benefit from coaching in LLSs to find their own means to success (Chamot, 2009; Rubin, 2013). Nevertheless, teaching the less successful learners only a specific set of LLSs often deployed by some GLLs might disparage learners’ individual variation and their agency; i.e. ‘the human capacity to act on informed choices’ (Benson and Cooker, 2013, p. 7) simply because ‘what works for one learner may not work for another’ (Grenfell, 2000, p. 14). In response to the criticism of studying merely the characteristics of GLLs, some language learning researchers in the late 1980s (e.g. Porte, 1988; Oxford and Nyikos, 1989; Vann and Abraham, 1990) conducted empirical studies, comparing the LLSs used by GLLs with those employed by less successful learners. The findings of these studies showed that the main weakness of the latter was a result of their lack of appropriateness and flexibility in using LLSs in the given contexts rather than the quantity and variety of the LLSs they used (Dörnyei, 2005; Gu, 1996). For example, Maria, a less successful Italian adult learner in Porte’s (1988) study, used to deploy a specific set of LLSs when she was studying at an Italian school, such as using a bilingual dictionary and giving the translated equivalent. Although these strategies worked well for Maria in Italy, she later discovered that her past LLSs were no longer valid in the new learning situation in London, where a learner-centred approach was followed.

Helping Learners Learn

133

Commenting on the empirical studies that investigated how less successful learners approached their language learning, both Anderson (2012) and Griffiths (2004) postulated that language learners need to develop some degree of metacognition in order to help them think about their own thinking and choose the appropriate strategy required for a specific learning task. Metacognition is often considered to be ‘the highest level of mental activity, involving knowledge, awareness, and control of one’s lower level cognitive skills, operations and strategies’ (Kozulin, 2005, p. 2). To this end, the potential of the incorporation of strategy training activities into language programmes and to a lesser extent in language learning materials (e.g. Chamot et al., 1999; Ellis and Sinclair, 1989; Grenfell and Harris, 1999; Macaro, 2001) has been emphasized since the end of the 1980s (Chamot, 2009; Littlejohn, 2008). Both Gu (2012) and Murphy (2008) also contend that the the viability of integrating or nonintegrating strategy instruction into regular language instruction and language learning textbooks has been maximized after identifying various taxonomies and inventories of LLSs by some language learning researchers (e.g. Cohen, 2011; Dörnyei, 2005; O’Malley and Chamot, 1990; Oxford, 1990). Addressing this point, Gao (2010, p. 12) argues that categorising the LLSs which assist effective language learning can help ‘establish relationships between learners’ strategy use and their learning success’. Oxford (1990), for instance, produces ‘the most comprehensive, detailed and systematic taxonomy of strategies’ (Radwan, 2011, p. 119), through drawing a distinction between direct and indirect LLSs, which are further subdivided into six subcategories, illustrated in Table 7.1. Table 7.1 Oxford’s (1990, p. 18-21) framework for ‘strategy inventory for language learning. Direct strategies Memory strategies are used for remembering and retrieving information (e.g., applying images and sounds, creating mental linkages) Cognitive strategies are employed for understanding and producing the language such as use (e.g., summarising, analysing, notetaking, listening to radio/CDs)

Indirect strategies Metacognitive strategies are used to control one’s own cognition (e.g., coordinating the planning, organising, and evaluation of the learning process.) Affective strategies refer to the methods that help learners regulate their feelings and learning circumstances (e.g., reducing anxiety, encouraging one’s self)

134

Chapter Seven

Compensation strategies are used for overcoming deficiencies in knowledge of the language (e.g., using gestures and synonyms to convey meaning, guessing meanings from context)

Social strategies include interaction with others through the target language (e.g., asking questions, cooperating with native speakers, learning about social or cultural norms)

3. The Need for Integrating Strategy Instruction into Language Textbooks The term ‘strategy instruction’ has been used interchangeably with other terms such as ‘strategy training’ and ‘learner training’ (Perez-Cavana, 2012, p. 151). For the purpose of this paper, Cohen’s (2008) definition of the term ‘strategy instruction’ is adopted. According to Cohen (2008, p. 46), ‘strategy instruction’ signifies ‘any efforts by teachers, textbooks, or websites’ in the process of helping learners gain a greater awareness of their LLS repertoire and then develop this repertoire to accomplish their learning goals. As regards the types of strategy instruction, Oxford (2011, p. 174-75) principally differentiates between ‘direct, teacher-led strategy instruction’ and ‘strategy-rich L2 textbooks’. The former, which is associated with the view that the teacher directly teaches LLSs to a group of learners in a specific learning setting, is more common in the literature on LLS (Oxford, 2011). Nunan (1996, p. 41), in effect, gives a good rationale for the salience of direct strategy instruction by teachers through suggesting that language teachers should have ‘a dual focus, not only teaching language content but also on developing learning processes as well’. In this sense, language learners need to be encouraged to diagnose their own language difficulties, and manage and deploy effectively their repertoire of LLSs. This would attest to paying more heed to the potential of metacognitive strategies, with the purpose of allowing learners to plan, monitor, and evaluate their performance, in addition to practising the transfer of LLSs to new learning settings. ‘Direct, teacher-led strategy instruction’ can be presented either in separate learning-to-learn courses or programmes (e.g. Cohen and Weaver, 2006; Flaitz and Feyten, 1996; Rubin, 1996) or interwoven into an ordinary language class (e.g. Chamot, 2004; Grenfell and Harris, 1999; Lee, 2007). McDonough (2005, p. 156) points out that both forms of this kind of

Helping Learners Learn

135

strategy instruction underpinning by different LLS researchers have shared a major instructional framework, which consists of four stages: x Identify learners’ current repertoire of LLSs through asking them to complete some learning tasks, which are provided by their teachers; x Present new strategies by naming them and explaining why and when to use them; x Model the new strategies and encourage learners to practice these strategies; x Develop learners’ ability to evaluate their strategy use and encourage them to transfer the strategies which they learned within a language class to new tasks. Although providing strategy instruction as part of separately-taught training courses or embedding it into regular language instruction, as argued by both Cohen (2011) and Oxford (2011), can minimize the amount of time required for acquiring high levels of target language proficiency, sceptics warn against investing too much effort in this kind of strategy instruction. Both Murphy (2008) and Plonsky (2011), for instance, have criticized ‘direct, teacher-led strategy instruction’ because it is overly teacher-centred. This criticism is based on the premise that teachers in this strategy instruction are responsible for choosing and modelling the LLSs, and consequently implement the practice, evaluation and transferral of these LLSs in their learners. In addition, the findings of Nyikos’ (1996) study of the nature of learner-centred classrooms affirmed that some teachers themselves were in need of orientation regarding strategy instruction in order to be able to introduce their learning materials to bolster learners’ awareness of LLSs. Therefore, Cohen (2011, p. 137) suggests that the integration of strategy instruction into language classrooms should be predominantly accompanied by ‘in-service L2 teacher development programs’, designed to raise teachers’ understanding of the value and applications of LLSs in their classes. With this in mind and based on the assumption that language instruction has shifted in numerous learning settings to one which is ‘more interactive and communicative, and less static and teacher-centered’ (Cohen, 2011, p. 117), some LLS researchers (e.g. Bastanfar, 2010; Cohen, 2011; Hajer et al., 1996; Murphy, 2008; Oxford, 2011, 2012; Reinders, 2011) have recently pinpointed a commensurate need for including explicit coverage of certain LLSs in language textbooks. Both Oxford (2011) and Murphy (2008), for instance, have reported that ‘strategy-rich L2 textbooks’ can give learners a chance to be self-centred and have some control over their

136

Chapter Seven

learning through empowering them to practice and evaluate LLSs as well as to decide which to use. Likewise, Cohen (2011, p. 137) states that using textbooks which have strategy-embedded activities and explicit explanations of the advantages and applications of a variety of strategies can reinforce learners’ autonomy because these learners no longer need ‘extracurricular instruction’. Hajer et al. (1996, p. 122-23), in turn, go further and argue that textbooks with explicit strategy instruction can be a means of facilitating teachers’ deep understanding of the applications of LLSs, given that average or beginning learners may need some help from their teachers in relation to the worth of strategy use and how they can transfer some LLSs to similar tasks. As a result, ‘strategy-rich L2 textbooks’ can both foster learners’ independence and creativity and reduce teachers’ professional overload. It is noteworthy that there is hitherto a lack of communication between researchers in the field of LLS and those working on the relatively new field of materials development for language learning and teaching. More precisely, very few researchers in the field of materials design and development (e.g. Littlejohn, 2008; Tomlinson, 2003), as Littlejohn (2008, p. 11) argues, have addressed the issue of the viability of embedding LLSs into language textbooks. There is also less agreement between LLS researchers utilising cognitive psychology approaches and sociocultural approaches about the possibilities for effectively introducing LLSs into language textbooks. This point will be further discussed in the following sections.

4. Cognitive Psychology vs. Sociocultural Perspectives about Strategy Instruction in Language Textbooks 4.1 Strategy Instruction in Language Textbooks from a Cognitive Psychology Perspective on Learning An overwhelming amount of existing LLS research has hinged upon a cognitive psychology framework, which is largely based on the theory of human information processing (Gao and Lamb, 2011, p. 25). The main aim of cognitive information processing is to transform conscious, declarative knowledge to automatic, procedural knowledge (Atkinson, 2011; Benson and Cooker, 2013). In this sense, LLS presupposes a certain degree of consciousness that needs to be practiced extensively in order to become ‘proceduralised’ (Takaü, 2008, p. 35). In other words, learners’ strategy use from a cognitive psychology standpoint is often associated

Helping Learners Learn

137

with learners’ exercising of their mental mechanisms, with drawing special attention to metacognitive strategies to manage, direct, regulate and guide learners’ language learning. Emphasising that ‘there is little or no variation in the use of metacognitive strategies by GLLs’ (Rubin, 2005, p. 53), some LLS cognitive psychology researchers discussing the effectiveness of strategy instruction in language learning (e.g. Cohen, 2011; Macaro, 2001; Murphy, 2008; Oxford, 2011) have supported the explicit insertion of LLSs into language textbooks. As Cohen (2011, p. 150) aptly puts it, ‘the more explicit the strategy instruction is, the more likely the strategy tips will be retained and transferred to new L2 learning and use situations’. Addressing the value of including explicit strategy instruction into textbooks, Murphy (2008, p. 316-17), for instance, presents the Rundblick Series, as an excellent example of language learning textbooks. This series, designed for English speakers who are interested in learning German, has included LLSs as a primary feature of the materials since its inception. Although the writers of this series (Open University Module Team) decided to use English for explaining the LLSs, learners need to put the LLSs into practice in target language activities. One of the activities of Rundblick, book 1 on page 117 explains how the LLSs were incorporated explicitly in the activities of this textbook to learn and restore new vocabulary. That is, the course writers in that activity introduced many LLSs to help learners restore the vocabulary that they learned in the previous book units such as ‘organizing vocabulary according to the topic area’, ‘recording new vocabulary on cards and going through them every week’, ‘organizing their cards according to how well they know the word’, ‘drawing mind maps’ and ‘keeping a spoken diary’. After that, the learners have to choose one or more of these LLSs and try them out. Consequently, learners can develop their LLS repertoire while learning the target language simultaneously. Likewise, Oxford (2011, p. 192) highly values the Tapestry series (see, e.g. Fragiadakis and Maurer, 2000; Oxford, 2005), which includes explicit strategy instruction. This series is essentially designed for English learning among adult university learners in North America, Asia and the Middle East. One of the fundamental benefits of using this series, as Oxford (2011) notes, is that it has strategy-embedded activities as well as explicit explanations of the advantages and applications of the different LLSs that they address. In Tapestry Reading, level 3 (Middle East Edition), the textbook writer, Rebecca Oxford (2005, pp. 66-67), presented a learning

138

Chapter Seven

activity accompanied by explicit strategy instruction in order to raise the language learners’ awareness of the importance of utilising ‘visual features in a reading’ to identify, repeat or summarize significant information. First, Oxford (2005, p. 67) outlined the different kinds of visual features usually found in language textbooks such as ‘photos or illustrations’, ‘charts, graphs, or tables’, ‘headings or titles of sections’, ‘margin notes and important facts’, ‘guiding questions at the beginning and end of chapters’ and ‘summaries of key points at the end of sections’. After that, the textbook writer explained the advantages of using these visual features through stating that these features ‘help you remember key points and give you clues about what to study’ (Oxford, 2005). At the end, the learners are asked to apply this strategy through working in pairs to discuss where and why the writer uses the visual features in one of the reading texts found in that textbook. The aforementioned example can testify that the integration of LLSs into language learning textbooks can play a crucial role in helping language learners manage and deploy effectively their repertoire of strategies. However, Murphy (2008) notes that the task design in most ‘strategy-rich L2 textbooks’ is to present a specific set of LLSs and to ask learners to practice these LLSs. More specifically, this design of language learning tasks ‘does not constitute a natural opportunity for the learner to choose and use strategies which they feel are most appropriate for the task in hand or to reflect on their choice’ (Murphy, 2008, p. 313-14). For this reason, both Gu (1996) and Rees-Miller (1993) contend that devoting class time in overt language work might be more profitable than teaching learners specific LLSs or even incorporating them into language textbooks. Both Gao (2010) and Rose (2012), in turn, note that most LLS researchers have undertaken a cognitive psychology standpoint, which draws scant attention to the role of contextualized and situated experiences of language learners from this perspective. That is, cognitive psychology theories treat context as a variable that refers to the ‘generalized environment (foreign vs. second language environment), and a modifier of learners’ mental activities, without considering sufficiently the importance of social, political, and cultural processes in mediating learners’ cognitive and metacognitive processes (Oxford, 2003, p. 78). To put it more clearly, most language learning materials writers are not fully familiar with the linguistic constraints that often face the addressed learners or even the manner in which English is used in a given context. Consequently, some language learning researchers endorsing socially oriented theoretical perspectives (e.g. Coyle, 2007; Donato and McCormick, 1994; Gao, 2010;

Helping Learners Learn

139

Norton and Toohey, 2001), have responded differently towards the worth of strategy instruction.

4.2 Strategy Instruction into Language Textbooks from a Sociocultural Perspective on Learning With the so-called ‘social turn’ in education (Atkinson, 2011; Block, 2003), the landscape of language learning research has challenged the domination of cognitive approaches to language learning through arguing that ‘language learning takes place not just in individual learners’ minds but also in society’ (Gao, 2010, p. 18). In another vein, contextual realities, consisting of societal learning discourses, various social agents and cultural artefacts, are fundamental to learning. According to Palfreyman (2003, p. 245), the ‘social turn’ in education offers ‘a new dimension to the study of learning strategies’ through advancing sociocultural theory as a useful lens through which to explore LLS use. Both Donato and McCormick (1994, p. 462) note that the sociocultural framework represents ‘a robust framework for investigating and explaining the development and use of strategies’. From this perspective, LLSs emerge from the meditational processes of particular learning communities along with learners’ agency, which is intimately related to the significance that language study has for their lives and their sociocultural historical backgrounds (Lantolf and Pavlenko, 2001). Therefore, learners’ motivations, beliefs and strategy use in language learning from a sociocultural viewpoint are often seen as the outcome of a complex ongoing interaction between shifting contextual conditions and learners themselves, underlying their past English learning experiences. Given that LLS studies undertaken from a sociocultural language learning research perspective are ‘still relatively rare’ (Mason, 2010, p. 647), considering the feasibility of learning strategy instruction from this perspective, especially in relation to incorporating LLSs into language textbooks has not received much attention. Nonetheless, a few researchers taking a sociocultural LLS stance (e.g. Donato and McCormick, 1994; Gillette, 1994; Lantolf and Pavlenko, 2001) have addressed this issue through indicating that strategy instruction in all its types is unlikely to bring out any substantive change. Drawing on a sociocultural perspective arising from one of the tenets of Vygotsky’s (1978) activity theory that the initial motive for an activity determines the outcome of that activity, Gillette (1994), for instance, carried out a longitudinal study of three successful and three less

140

Chapter Seven

successful language adult learners enrolled in a French course in a United States university. Through extensive interviews, class notes and diaries, Gillette (1994) found that the personal histories of the participants constituted a crucial role in formulating their different motives and goals for studying a foreign language (e.g. to learn the language or to fulfil the language requirement), which in turn influenced the kinds of LLSs that the participants deployed. For example, one of Gillette’s (1994, p. 197) less successful learners, J, regarded learning foreign languages as ‘useless baggage’ because he had never travelled out of his hometown. Since learning foreign languages had little meaning in his life, J employed less effective LLSs such as translation and rote learning in order to complete the course requirement. Consequently, the value of teaching LLSs or inserting them into language textbooks was debatable to Gillette (1994, p. 212) because language learners use only the LLSs that are linked to the significance which languages and language study have for their own individual sociocultural histories, not the ones presented by their own teachers or incorporated into language textbooks. In line with Gillette (1994), both Lantolf and Pavlenko (2001) have challenged the belief implicit in much of literature on LLSs based on cognitive theories (e.g. Chamot, 2004; Macaro, 2010; Oxford, 2011, among others) that strategy instruction should be integrated into language textbooks and course materials to bolster the language achievement and self-regulation of language learners. To support this argument, Lantolf and Pavlenko (2001, p. 148) point out that although individual learners might apparently be doing the same learning task, they are not often engaged cognitively in the same activity because each learner has specific motives and goals for learning the target language. Therefore, the activity and its ‘significance’ to learners are formed by their motivations, and accordingly language learners tend to experience the same language tasks in very different ways (Lantolf and Pavlenko, 2001). For example, a learner may review a specific vocabulary task from a textbook to increase their vocabulary repertoire while another learner may be involved in the same task to improve their speaking proficiency and a third learner to develop their writing skill. Accordingly, Lantolf and Pavlenko (2001) concluded that the integration of explicit strategy instruction into language textbooks might not yield productive results. Further doubts from a sociocultural viewpoint about the effectiveness of teaching LLSs or embedding them into the tasks in the language textbooks

Helping Learners Learn

141

have been voiced by Donato and McCormick (1994) in their seminal paper. Based on analysis of the portfolios of ten American female undergraduate learners of French, one of the outstanding findings of Donato and McCormick’s (1994, p. 454) study was that individual learners were socialized into developing their own LLSs through using a working portfolio. Therefore, it might seem unprofitable to teach LLSs through separate, explicit instruction or to embed them into textbooks because learners’ strategy use is a by-product of meditational processes and social activity in a specific situated setting of learning. The diagram in Figure 7.1 summarizes the major discrepancies between the cognitive psychology and sociocultural approaches in relation to the concept of the integration of strategy instruction into language textbooks: Figure 7.1 A comparison between cognitive and sociocultural viewpoints concerning the integration of strategy instruction into language textbooks.

5. Localising and Embedding Explicit Strategy Instruction into Language Learning Textbooks As already mentioned, there is a dearth of research in the field of materials design and development that has discussed the issue of strategy instruction in the process of developing the quality of language learning textbooks.

142

Chapter Seven

However, Littlejohn (2008), a leading expert in materials development, has implicitly described the debate between the cognitive psychology and sociocultural approaches about the practicability of embedding strategy instruction into textbooks. As Littlejohn (2008) notes, it is often argued that using ‘strategy-rich L2 textbooks’ can reinforce learners’ autonomy and meta-awareness about their own ways of learning. However, Littlejohn (2008, p. 78) suggests that if language learners have no ‘disposition’ or readiness to learn and apply new LLSs, then strategy instruction in all its types might not lead to a crucial change into a learner’s language level, given that strategy use is ‘significantly curtailed by the prior experience of the students, by their disposition’. In order to support his point, Littlejohn (2008) points out that most research in reading showed that the extent to which a child used to read in their early years is one of the main indicators for later success in reading. In response to this argument, Murphy (2008, p. 316-317) illustrates the prominence of embedding strategy instructions into the tasks of language textbooks and offering explicit descriptions of the common applications of the LLSs presented. For example, materials writers should not only include the use of monolingual dictionaries as one of the possible strategies that learners can take up while reading a specific text. They also need to remind their textbook users that relying heavily on a dictionary might prevent the latter from attempting to realize what they do understand first. And they need to check and look up mainly the occasional vocabulary which they think might be important. Murphy (2008, p. 318) goes further and postulates that the writers of ‘strategy-rich L2 textbooks’ should provide the addressed language learners with sufficient chances to decide which LLSs to use and to suggest the LLSs that reflect their own past language learning experiences. To exemplify this point, one of the reading activities of Rundblick, book 1 (p. 38) presents a set of LLSs to help learners extract information from a given reading text such as ‘looking up some words in the dictionary’, ‘picking out all the words I know’, ‘looking at the format of the text’, ‘looking at the heading first’ and so on. After that, learners are asked to opt for the LLSs that meet their preferred learning styles allowing them to add any other LLSs that they think useful to adopt. With this in mind, McKay (2012, p. 74-75) highlights that the taught language textbooks should be also locally developed by a group of course writers who are aware of the social, political, and cultural conditions of the situated learning context, and the language difficulties that the learners often encounter in that learning context.

Helping Learners Learn

143

There are, in effect, some local projects that have been based on localizing English language teaching textbooks such as in Vietnam (Dat, 2003) and Malaysia (Chandran, 2003). In order to localize the textbooks, these course writers, for instance, attempted to present reading texts relevant to the traditions and norms of the addressed learners’ culture. However, most of these localized versions of language textbooks, as Tomlinson (2003, p. 171) argues, ‘don’t generate as much profit as global coursebooks’ (i.e. textbooks which come from British or American roots). More specifically, the lack of strategy-embedded activities and explicit explanations of the use of different strategies in these localized language textbooks can be seen as one of their weaknesses. Accordingly, it seems to be essential to design language textbooks that are rich in explicit strategy instruction and developed by local textbook writers, in order to both strengthen learners’ metacognitive capabilities of their language learning and to create the sense that the LLSs integrated into textbooks are relevant to learners’ preferred learning styles.

6. Conclusion Very little of the existing literature on materials development tells us much about the actual effect of introducing strategy instruction into language learning textbooks. This might be ascribed to the lack of dialogue between researchers working in the field of materials design and evaluation and that of LLS. This, in turn, leads to contrasting views between cognitive and sociocultural approaches about the feasibility of strategy instruction in general, and integrating it into language textbooks in particular. To create a compromise between these contrasting standpoints, we have stressed in this paper the need for designing language textbooks by local materials writers, and combining explicit strategy instruction in these textbooks with giving a language learner multiple chances to suggest their own LLSs to foster both their meta-awareness and self-centeredness in the light of the past language learning experiences of these learners. This is the gap which we would hope to see filled in the near future.

References Anderson, N. (2012), ‘Metacognition: awareness of language learning’, in S. Mercer, S. Ryan and M. Williams (eds.), Psychology for Language Learning: Insights from Research, Theory and Practice. London: Palgrave Macmillan, pp. 169-88.

144

Chapter Seven

Atkinson, D. (2011), Alternative Approaches to Second Language Acquisition. London: Routledge. Bastanfar, A. (2010), ‘Vocabulary learning strategies and ELT materials: a study of the extent to which VLS research informs local coursebooks in Iran’. International Education Studies, 3, (3), 158-66. Benson, P. and Cooker, L. (eds.). (2013), The Applied Linguistic Individual: Sociocultural Approaches to Identity, Agency and Autonomy. Lancaster: Equinox. Block, D. (2003), The Social Turn in Second Language Acquisition. Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press. Chandran, S. (2003), ‘Where are the ELT textbooks?’, in W. A. Renandya (ed.), Methodology and Materials Design in Language Teaching: Current Perceptions and Practises and Their Implications. Singapore: RELC, pp.161-69. Chamot, A.U. (2004), ‘Issues in language learning strategy research and teaching’. Electronic Journal of Foreign Language Teaching, 1, (1), 14-26. Chamot, A.U. (2005), ‘Language learning strategy instruction: current issues and research’. Annual Review of Applied Linguistics, 25, 11230. Chamot, A. U. (2009), The CALLA Handbook: Implementing the Cognitive Academic Language Learning Approach (2nd ed.). White Plains, NY: Pearson Education/Longman. Chamot, A. U., Barnhardt, S., El-Dinary, P. B. and Robbins, J. (1999), The Learning Strategies Handbook. White Plains, NY: Addison Wesley Longman. Cohen, A. (1977), ‘Successful second-language speakers: a review of research literature’. Balshanut Shimushit, 1, (1), 3-23. Cohen, A. (2008), ‘Strategy instruction of Japanese: how do you do it and what’s in it for them?’, in Y. A. Hatasa (ed.), Gaikokugo to Shito No Nhongo Kyooiku: Takakutei Shiya Ni Motozuku Kokoromi/ Japanese as a Foreign Language Education: Multiple Perspectives. Tokyo: Kurosio Shuppan, pp. 45-60. Cohen, A. (2011), Strategies in Learning and Using a Second Language (2nd edn). London: Longman. Cohen, A. D. and Weaver, S. J. (2006), Styles and Strategies Based Instruction: A Teachers’ Guide. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota, The Center for Advanced Research on Language Acquisition. Coyle, D. (2007), ‘Strategic classrooms: learning communities which nurture the development of learners’ strategies’. Language Learning Journal, 35, (1), 67-79.

Helping Learners Learn

145

Dat, B. (2003), ‘Localising ELT materials in Vietnam: a case study’, in W. A. Renandya (ed.), Methodology and Materials Design in Language Teaching: Current Perceptions and Practises and their Implications. Singapore: RELC, pp. 170-91. Donato, R. and McCormick, D. (1994), ‘A sociocultural perspective on language learning strategies: the role of mediation’. The Modern Language Journal, 78, 453-64. Dörnyei, Z. (2005), The Psychology of the Language Learner: Individual Differences in Second Language Acquisition. Mahwah, NJ: L. Erlbaum Associates. Ellis, G. and Sinclair, B. (1989), Learning to Learn English: A Course in Learner Training. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Fellag, L.R. (2004), Tapestry Reading, Level 3, Middle East Edition. Boston: Cengage. Feyten, C. and Flaitz, J. (1996), International Teaching Assistants Intensive Training Program: Assessment Report. Tampa: University of South Florida, College of Arts and Sciences. Fragiadakis, H. and Maurer, V. (2000), Tapestry Listening and Speaking, Level 4. Boston: Heinle and Heinle/Cengage. Gao, X. (2010), Strategic Language Learning: The Roles of Agency and Context. Bristol: Mul. Gillette, B. (1994), ‘The role of learner goals in L2 success’, in P. Lantolf and G. Appel (eds.), Vygotskian Approaches to Second Language Research. Norwood, NJ: Ablex, pp. 195-213. Grenfell, M. (2000), ‘Learning and teaching strategies’, in S. Green (ed.), New Perspectives on Teaching and Learning Modern Languages. Clevedon: Multilingual Matters, pp. 1-23. Grenfell, M. and Harris, V. (1999), Modern Languages and Learning Strategies: In Theory and Practice. London: Routledge. Griffiths, C. (2004), ‘Language learning strategies: theory and research’. Occasional paper presented at the School of Foundations Studies, Auckland Institute of Studies at St Helens. Griffiths, C. (ed.) (2008), Lessons from Good Language Learners. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Griffiths, C. (ed.) (2013), The Strategy Factor in Successful Language Learning. London: Multilingual Matters. Gu, P. (1996), ‘Robin Hood in SLA: what has the learning strategy researcher taught us?’, Asian Journal of English Language Teaching, 6, (1), 1-29. Gu, P. (2012), ‘Learning strategies: prototypical core and dimensions of variation’. Self-Access Learning Journal, 3, (4), 330-56.

146

Chapter Seven

Hajer, M., Meestringa, T., Park, Y. Y., and Oxford, R. L. (1996), ‘How print materials provide strategy instruction’, in R. L. Oxford (ed.), Language Learning Strategies Around the World: Cross Cultural Perspectives. Honolulu: University of Hawai’i, Second Language Teaching and Curriculum Center, pp.119-40. Kozulin, A. (2005), ‘Who needs meta-cognition more: students or teachers?’. Paper presented at the Annual Meeting of American Educational Research Association, Canada. Lantolf, J. P. and A. Pavlenko. (2001), ‘(S)econd (L)anguage (A)activity. Understanding second language learners as people’, in M. Breen (ed.), Learner Contributions to Language Learning: New Directions in Research. London: Longman, pp. 141-59. Lee, K. R. (2007), Strategy Awareness-Raising for Success: Reading Strategy Instruction in the EFL Context. Unpublished doctoral dissertation, University of Maryland, College Park, MD, USA. Littlejohn, A. (2008), ‘Digging deeper: learners’ disposition and strategy use’, in G. Cane (ed.), Strategies in Language Learning and Teaching. Singapore: RELC, pp. 68-81. Macaro, E. (2001), Learning Strategies in Foreign and Second Language Classrooms. London: Continuum. Macaro, E. (ed.) (2010), Continuum Companion to Second Language Acquisition. London: Continuum. Graham, S. (2010) ‘Book review: Strategic Language Learning: The Roles of Agency and Context, Xuesong (Andy) Gao. Bristol: Multilingual Matters (2010), 192 pp’. System, 38, 647-8. McKay, S. L. (2012), ‘Teaching materials for English as an international language’, in A. Matsuda (ed.), Principles and Practices of Teaching English as an International Language. London: Multilingual Matters, pp. 70-84. McDonough, S. (2005), ‘Training language learning expertise’, in K. Johnson (ed.), Expertise in Second Language Learning and Teaching. Basingstoke: Palgrave, pp. 150-64. Murphy, L. (2008), ‘Learning logs and strategy development for distance and other independent language learners’, in S. Hurd and T. Lewis (eds), Language Learning Strategies in Independent Settings. Second Language Acquisition. Bristol: Multilingual Matters, pp. 199-217. Naiman, N., Fröhlich, M., Stern, H. H. and Todesco, A. (1978), The Good Language Learner. Clevedon: Multilingual Matters. Norton, B. and Toohey, K. (2001), ‘Changing perspectives on good language learners’. TESOL Quarterly, 35, 307-21.

Helping Learners Learn

147

Nunan, D. (1996), ‘Learner strategy training in the classroom: an action research study’. TESOL Journal, 6, (1), 35-41. Nyikos, M. (1996), ‘The conceptual shift to learner-centered classrooms: increasing teacher and students strategic awareness’, in R. Oxford (ed.), Language Learning Strategies Around the World: CrossCultural Perspectives. Honolulu: University of Hawaii, Second Language Teaching & Curriculum Center, pp. 109-17. O'Malley, J. M. and Chamot, A. U. (1990) Learning Strategies in Second Language Acquisition. New York: Cambridge University Press. Oxford, R. (1990), Language Learning Strategies: What Every Teacher Should Know. New York: Newbury House/Harper and Row. Oxford, R. (2003), ‘Towards a more systematic model of L2 learner autonomy’, in D. Palfreyman and R.C. Smith (eds), Learner Autonomy Across Cultures: Language Education Perspectives. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan, pp. 75-92 Oxford, R. (2005), Tapestry Reading, Level 3, Middle East Edition. Boston: Heinle and Heinle/Cengage. Oxford, R. (2011), Teaching and Researching Language Learning Strategies. Harlow, UK: Longman/Pearson Education. Oxford, R. (2012), ‘Learning strategies’, in P. Robinson (ed.), Routledge Encyclopaedia of Second Language Acquisition (2nd edn). London: Routledge, pp. 337-38. Oxford, R. and Nyikos, M. (1989), ‘Variables affecting choice of language learning strategies by university students’. The Modern Language Journal, 73, (3), 291-300. Palfreyman, D. (2003), ‘Expanding the discourse on learner development: a reply to Anita Wenden’. Applied Linguistics, 24, (2), 243-48. Parks, S. and Raymond, P.M. (2004), ‘Strategy use by non-native English speaking students in an MBA program: not business as usual’. The Modern Language Journal, 88, (3), 374-89. Perez Cavana, M. (2012), ‘Fostering strategic, self-regulated learning: the case for a “soft” ELP’, in K. Bärbel and P. Maria (eds), Perspectives from the European Language Portfolio: Learner Autonomy and SelfAssessment. Oxford: Routledge, pp. 143-58. Plonsky, L. (2011), ‘The effectiveness of second language instruction: A meta-analysis’. Language Learning, 61, (4), pp. 993-1038. Porte, G. (1988), ‘Poor language learners and their strategies for dealing with new vocabulary’. ELT Journal, 42 (3), 167-72. Radwan, A. (2011), ‘Effect of L2 proficiency and gender on choice of language learning strategies by university students majoring English’. The Asian EFL Journal Quarterly, 13, (1), 114-62.

148

Chapter Seven

Reiss, M. A. (1981), ‘Helping the unsuccessful language learner’. Modern Language Journal, 65, (2), 121-28. Rees-Miller, J. (1993), ‘A critical appraisal of learner training: theoretical bases and teaching implications’. TESOL Quarterly, 27, 679-89. Rose, H. (2012), ‘Language learning strategy research: where do we go from here?’. Studies in Self-Access Learning Journal, 3, (2), 137-48. Rubin, J. (1975), ‘What the ‘good language learner’ can teach us’. TESOL Quarterly, 9, (1), 41-51. Rubin, J. (1981), ‘Study of cognitive processes in second language learning’. Applied Linguistics, 11, 117-31. Rubin, J. (1996), ‘Using multimedia for learner strategy instruction’, in R. Oxford (ed.), Language Learning Strategies Around the World: CrossCultural Perspectives. Honolulu: University of Hawaii Press, pp. 15157. Rubin, J. (2005), ‘The expert language: a review of good language’, in K. Johnson (ed.), Expertise in Second Language Learning and Teaching. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan, pp. 37-63. Rubin, J. (2013), ‘Teaching language-learning strategies’, in C. Chapelle (ed.), The Encyclopedia of Applied Linguistics, London: WileyBlackwell, pp. 1022-26. Stern, H.H. (1975), ‘What can we learn from the good language learner?’. Canadian Modern Language Review, 3, (1), 304-18. Takaü, V.P. (2008), Vocabulary Learning Strategies and Foreign Language Acquisition. Clevedon: Multilingual Matters. The Open University. (2003), Rundblick. Milton Keynes: The Open University. Tomlinson, B. (ed.) (2003), Developing Materials for Language Teaching. London: Continuum. Tomlinson, B. (2012), ‘Materials development for language learning and teaching’. Language Teaching, 45, (2), 143-79. Vann, R. and Abraham, R. (1990), ‘Strategies of unsuccessful language learners’. TESOL Quarterly, 24, (2), 177-98. Vygotsky, L. S. (1978), Mind in society: The Development of Higher Psychological Processes. Cambridge: Harvard University Press. White, C. (2008), ‘Language learning strategies in independent language learning: an overview’, in S. Hurd and T. Lewis (eds), Language Learning Strategies in Independent Settings. Clevedon: Multilingual Matters, pp. 3-25.

CHAPTER EIGHT SHORT STORIES AND TASK-BASED MATERIALS: THE CASE OF ‘THE BET’ SASAN BALEGHIZADEH

Introduction There is little doubt that literature is an inspiring and motivating source for language learning. As stated by Holten (1997, p. 377), literature used to be ‘the quintessential content in language classrooms’ and the ultimate goal of foreign language instruction in traditional approaches such as the Grammar-Translation Method. However, from the 1940s to the 1960s, literature was given a peripheral role and an incidental place in the language curriculum due to the emergence of more functional models of learning, which laid emphasis on the transactional requirements of communication (Carter, 2007). Literature was regarded as ‘extraneous to everyday communicative needs and as something of an elitist pursuit’ (Carter, 2007, p. 6). In addition, there were other voices heard against using literature in L2 classes, which are echoed and responded to in McKay (1982). The critics argued that literature (a) plays a minimal role in developing L2 learners’ grammar, (b) contributes very little to meeting learners’ academic and/ or occupational goals, and (c) is difficult for learners because it reflects a particular cultural perspective. However, as McKay (1982) contends, modern literary texts provide a basis not only for extending language usage but also for fostering an awareness of language use. Many modern literary texts are abundant in particular grammatical features which are salient in the text and hence could be ideally used for input enhancement goals (Sharwood Smith, 1993). McKay (1982) further adds that literature presents language in discourse which illustrates a particular register embedded in a social context, and hence provides an ideal basis for analyzing the use of certain forms. In reaction to the second criticism, McKay (1982) argues that emphasis on using literary texts in L2

150

Chapter Eight

classes does not necessarily mean that other types of texts are discarded. Moreover, studying literature fosters reading proficiency, which in turn contributes to academic and occupational goals. As for the third criticism, namely that literary texts are difficult to understand because they reflect a particular cultural perspective, McKay (1982, 2001) maintains that this might pose a problem, yet one should think of the benefits that can be gained through understanding cultural differences. This is particularly important in the present era, when learners use English to communicate with both native and non-native speakers around the globe. Thus, the particular cultural perspective that literature provides should be seen as a help rather than a hindrance in that it helps ‘learners see their culture in relation to others as to promote cross-cultural understanding’ (McKay, 2001, p. 329). In the 1970s and the 1980s, there was a shift towards the importance of literature in L2 learning. This was due to the advent of the communicative approach to language pedagogy, which stressed the importance of authentic materials and authentic interaction in L2 classes. As Kramsch and Kramsch (2000, p. 567) argued, in this period literary texts were considered to be authentic texts and a potentially important source ‘for vocabulary acquisition, the development of reading strategies, and the training of critical thinking, that is, reasoning skills’. In the same vein, Collie and Slater (1987, p. 3) argue that literature is authentic material because ‘most works of literature are not fashioned for the specific purpose of teaching a language’. They believe that literary texts expose learners to language intended for native speakers and help them become familiar with linguistic cues and conventions of written language such as irony, exposition, narration, etc. Apart from the ‘cross-cultural understanding’ and ‘authenticity’ arguments advanced above, the use of literature in L2 classes is supported for at least two more reasons. According to Holten (1997), literature provides motivating content for L2 learners inasmuch as it is about universal human experiences and fundamental human concerns. Holten further argues that the subject matter of literature is intrinsically motivating because it is about all of us. Unlike a text written on sociology or philosophy, it requires very little expertise or specialized knowledge for understanding and this is what makes it fascinating for people in general and motivating for students in particular. In addition to the motivation issue, literature provides a special depth for language learning (Newton, 1985, cited in Stern, 1991). This dimension is the learner’s mental involvement in what s/he is hearing or saying, which results in a specific kind of communication

Short Stories and Task-Based Materials: The Case of ‘The Bet’

151

which goes beyond the currently-understood concepts of communication or communicative competence. Thus, literature is a potential source of bringing this kind of depth to language learning. This chapter reports on a small-scale research project which describes my experimentation with and evaluation of a number of short stories which I used as a set of materials in a university course in Iran. The course materials were developed based on the methodological trends in taskbased language teaching (TBLT) following Willis’ (1996) framework. However, before reporting on the experiment and discussing its implications, it is necessary to briefly review a number of basic concepts regarding TBLT.

Task-based language teaching In recent years, TBLT has attracted the attention of theoreticians as well as practitioners in L2 pedagogy. This is attested by the huge body of literature published as books and journal articles examining various dimensions of TBLT. There are numerous definitions for the term ‘task’ offered by well-known scholars in the field. Despite this diversity, there is a consensus among most researchers that a task is a piece of classroom work in which (a) meaning is primary, (b) there is a communicative goal, (c) there is a real-world relationship, and (d) one or more language skills are involved (Ellis, 2003; Nunan, 2004; Skehan, 1998). Thus, TBLT is an exciting approach to language teaching which encourages learners to learn an L2 through genuine communication driven by meaning-focused activities. Pedagogic tasks have a number of intrinsic features which render them desirable for constituting a task-based course. These features, according to Van den Branden, (2012) are as follows: x x x x x

Tasks are relevant to learners’ needs Tasks are motivating Tasks are challenging Task performance elicits action and interaction Task performance involves communicative language use and metalinguistic reflection

A very practical methodology for implementation of tasks is that of Willis (1996). This three-phase task cycle, as briefly summarized by Willis (1996, 2004), is as follows:

152

Chapter Eight

x A pre-task phase, where teachers introduce the task, activate learners’ schemata, and clarify the intended outcome; x The task itself, where learners either on their own or in pairs/small groups work to achieve the task outcome. The primary focus at this stage is on meaning and working with a peer provides learners with a stress-free situation to freely speak and experiment with new forms they have not mastered well; x A post-task phase, where learners draft, finalize, and present the outcome of the task to the others. Besides, this is the stage where learners focus on form through analysis, where they examine certain features of the text they have read or listened to and practice, phrases, and patterns they have already analyzed. What I am trying to argue and report on in this chapter is the feasibility and desirability of teaching literature through TBLT. The literary form focused on is the short story because it provides the most suitable form of fiction to use in L2 classes. As Taylor (1981, p. 1) rightly observes, ‘Short stories, on account of their structure and comparative brevity, often provide a more fruitful basis for language study and discussion than any other form of fiction’. Moreover, when presented as tasks, they meet many of the features mentioned earlier in that they have the potential to be both motivating and challenging, and could therefore promote meaningful communication and interaction. The rest of the chapter will focus on the research project along with the implications obtained from it.

The Research Project As mentioned previously, this small-scale study was an attempt to present a number of short stories following Willis’ task-based framework and evaluate them from both learners’ and teachers’ perspectives.

Participants and setting The participants for this study were 32 sophomore Iranian undergraduate students (7 males and 25 females) majoring in English Language and Literature at Shahid Beheshti University in Tehran, Iran. The participants were all young people with an average age of 20 and had enrolled for the third semester of their BA program at the time of the experiment. Students at this level usually take a course called Oral Reproduction of Short Stories in which they are responsible for orally presenting the plot of a short story they have previously prepared to the rest of the class. This is

Short Stories and Task-Based Materials: The Case of ‘The Bet’

153

often followed by a period of discussion of the most important elements of the presented short story, such as the point of view, conflicts, character types, etc., in which the rest of the students participate. I had had considerable and lengthy previous experience of teaching this course, however I decided to experiment with TBLT by presenting the short stories often offered in this course through a TBLT framework. This arose from my curiosity as to whether it would be possible to integrate the principles and practice of task-based instruction into short stories.

Materials and procedures The materials used were 12 short stories followed by a number of tasks. The selection of the stories as well the development of the pertinent accompanying tasks was guided by both my prior experience and a number of established principles in materials development, particularly the following by Tomlinson (2010, p. 83), who argues that materials should: x Expose the learners to language in authentic use x Help learners to pay attention to features of authentic input x Provide the learners with opportunities to use the target language to achieve communicative purposes x Provide opportunities for outcome feedback x Achieve impact in the sense that they arouse and sustain the learners’ curiosity and attention x Stimulate intellectual, aesthetic, and emotional involvement The selected short stories were written by famous authors and covered a variety of themes. The list of the short stories in order of presentation is as follows: ‘The Chaser’ by John Collier, ‘The Enchanted Doll’ by Paul Gallico, ‘The Bet’ by Anton Chekov, ‘War’ by Luigi Pirandello, ‘An Old Man’ by Guy de Maupassant, ‘The Story of an Hour’ by Kate Chopin, ‘A Secret for Two’ by Quentin Reynolds, ‘The Third Wish’ by Joan Aiken, ‘All the Years of Her Life’ by Morley Callaghan, ‘The Tell-tale Heart’ by Edgar Allan Poe, ‘The Doll’s House’ by Katherine Mansfield, and ‘Tears, Idle Tears’ by Elizabeth Bowen. Two stories were covered in each session. The first story was presented in the conventional way in that one of the students would prepare a story of his or her own choice in advance and then present it orally. The second was one of the short stories from the list above wherein students would read one of them silently in the class and then do the related tasks. Based on a survey conducted at the end of the semester, the majority of the

154

Chapter Eight

students showed their preference for ‘The Bet’ by Anton Chekov as the best story covered in the course. ‘The Bet’ is a relatively simple story to understand at first reading because it does not employ complicated techniques of narration. Moreover, it is not a culture-bound story as it deals with a universal human experience, which makes it ideal for L2 teaching. These are the reasons why I have selected this story to illustrate typical activities used in the course materials.

Sample lesson Before describing a sample of the activities based on this story that the students carried out, it would be a good idea to present a synopsis of the story in as few words as possible for the sake of the readers who are not familiar with it. At a party held in a rich banker’s house on a cold autumn night, there is an argument among the guests regarding whether capital punishment is a more humane form of punishment than life imprisonment. The banker argues that capital punishment is more moral because it kills instantly and not by degrees. Among the guests, there is a young lawyer who challenges this view and talks in favor of life imprisonment by arguing that if forced to choose, he would certainly advocate life imprisonment because it still offers a chance to live. Hence, they make a bet according to which the banker makes himself responsible for paying two million to the lawyer provided he spends 15 years of his life in solitary confinement in a garden wing of the banker’s house. The rest of the story traces the psychological development that the lawyer undergoes during the 15 years of selfimposed imprisonment. At the end of this period, the lawyer is a totally different man. The books that he reads during this time, along with the long hours of solitary meditation, change him so deeply that he pours scorn on worldly life and materialistic values. The banker, on the other hand, gradually loses his financial prosperity and being bankrupt, paying the two million becomes a nightmare for him. Therefore, on the last night of the lawyer’s imprisonment, the banker decides to kill him. He finds the lawyer asleep at his table with a letter beside him. Before he fulfils his evil intention, he reads the letter in which the lawyer admits that winning the two million has no value for him. In order to prove this, he asks the banker to leave the door open so that he can escape and thus violate the conditions of the bet five minutes before the stipulated term. The banker does so and thus the lawyer runs away. The banker records the lawyer’s escape in the presence of his servants as the witnesses of this event and hides the letter in his safe.

Short Stories and Task-Based Materials: The Case of ‘The Bet’

155

Now follows an examination of the lesson that was developed on the basis of this short story. Table 8.1 The Bet Anton Chekov Before you read: Work in pairs. Read the following statements about capital punishment, namely execution, and life imprisonment as two forms of punishment and decide whether you agree (A) or disagree (D). A 1. Life imprisonment is worse than capital punishment because it kills little by little. 2. Capital punishment is not severe enough for some criminals. 3. Life imprisonment is costly and imposes a lot of money on the state. 4. Capital punishment has a greater deterrent effect than life imprisonment. 5. A criminal who is in prison is likely to escape and commit more crimes. Capital punishment, however, guarantees that s/he will commit no more crimes.

D





















Now tell the class which form of punishment is more humane. Read the story and then do the activities that follow. A. Put A next to the things the lawyer was allowed to do and NA next to the things he was not allowed to do when he was in prison. No 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8

A/NA

Activities Listening to music Writing letters Hearing human voices Playing music Receiving letters Smoking Learning foreign languages Writing letters

Chapter Eight

156

B. Complete the following table by filling in the spaces with the activities that the lawyer did during the 15 years of his self-imposed imprisonment. The first has been done for you. First year Second year Sixth year Tenth year Fourteenth year Fifteenth year

Reading books of light character

C. Who made the statements below? Write B for the banker and L for the lawyer. No

Banker or Lawyer

1 2 3 4 5 6

Statements It’s better to live somehow than not to live at all. Capital punishment is more moral and more humane than life imprisonment. You are mad and gone the wrong way. Why did I make this bet? What’s the good? The only escape from bankruptcy and disgrace is that the man should die. Everything is void, frail, visionary and delusive as a mirage.

D. For discussion 1. How does the lawyer change during these 15 years? What kind of wisdom does he gain? 2. Is the lawyer’s decision at the end of the story plausible? Please argue why. 3. In your opinion, is the banker’s sorrow after reading the letter a temporary emotional reaction, or a deep, long-lasting one? How do you know? 4. What do you think the lawyer is going to do with the rest of his life? Make several suggestions and fully support your answer.

Short Stories and Task-Based Materials: The Case of ‘The Bet’

157

Language analysis and practice E. The words in column A are formal vocabulary. Match them with more common synonyms in column B. A 1. barter 2. weep 3. ensue 4. minute 5. rapture 6. erudite 7. obsolete 8. suffuse

B a. cry b. refuse c. happiness d. cover e. small f. exchange g. follow h. scholarly i. out of date

F. Study the following sentences: x If the banker had not gone bankrupt, he would not have decided to kill the lawyer. x If the banker had been younger, he would not have made such a bet. x If the lawyer had not reflected on the meaning of life for such a long time, he would not have come to this decision. The above examples are all conditional sentences Type III, which show an unreal situation in the past. Pay attention to how they are made analyzing the phrases in bold. Now imagine that you were the lawyer and you obtained all the money. Make three sentences to show what you would have done with it. If I had obtained the money, a. b. c.

I ……………………………………………………… I ………………………………………………………. I ……………………………………………………….

Results and Discussion At the end of the semester, a survey was conducted to evaluate the materials from both the students’ and a group of university lecturers’ perspectives. The students were asked to write whatever comments they

158

Chapter Eight

had about the presented materials. I read their comments carefully and analyzed them in terms of certain key words which appeared in each. Of the 32 students who had taken the course, 29 reported that they liked this form of presentation. The analysis of the students’ comments revealed that they (a) found the ‘before you read section’ very useful, (b) favored the comprehension tasks which were different from the traditional ‘answer the following questions’ activity type, and (c) were interested in the vocabulary activity in the post-task phase. Below are some of the students’ comments. Note that all the names are pseudonyms. I think it is a good idea to present stories like this. It examines the comprehension of the audience (readers) in all aspects. They would be more engaged with the story and that makes the story more interesting for them. The ‘before you read’ part, in my opinion, is really good because it makes the reader think about the theme of the story more carefully. (Maryam, aged 22) I think this is very useful. Students can practice different language skills as well as reading the stories. They have to pay enough attention to the details in the story to do the comprehension section. They would learn the new words. They can practice grammar as well, so they wouldn’t forget the grammar rules they learned in previous terms. I think it is a very good idea. (Zahra, aged 21)

However, there were a few students who did not favor the grammar activity that followed at the post-task phase because they believed it is not necessary for this kind of course. I think this is a good idea because this can serve as a guideline for how you can approach the story and shows you what you need to pay attention to and analyze in order to comprehend a story. These questions make you pay attention to every detail in the story. But the grammar exercises are boring and non-relevant. (Amir, aged 21)

In addition to the data collected from the students’ comments, I asked three colleagues, all of whom are university lecturers and have prior experience of teaching this course, to independently evaluate the materials following Tomlinson’s (2013) criteria. These criteria draw on second language acquisition (SLA) theories and seek to investigate whether SLA findings have had any application in ELT materials. Thus, according to the given questionnaire, the three university lecturers were asked to rate the materials from zero to five based on 10 criteria. There was also a pre-

Short Stories and Task-Based Materials: The Case of ‘The Bet’

159

evaluation and a post-evaluation meeting with the raters in which I explained both the goal of the study and the assessment criteria and sought further comments from them. The criteria, along with the obtained mean scores, appear in Table 8.2. Table 8.2 The evaluation criteria and the raters’ scores. Criteria Mean 1. Rich and meaningful exposure 2. Affective engagement 3. Cognitive engagement 4. Utilization of the resources of the brain 5. Noticing 6. Opportunities for use 7. Opportunities for interaction 8. Making use of non-linguistic communication 9. Catering for the individual 10. Focus on meaning

R1

R2

R3

4 2 3 1 3 5 5

5 2 4 1 3 5 5

5 3 4 1 3 5 5

4.6 2.3 3.6 1 3 5 5

1 1 4

1 1 5

1 1 5

1 1 4.6

The figures in Table 8.2 indicate that the mean scores of six items are three or above three, suggesting a high degree of overlap between the target materials and SLA findings. The mean score of the first item (4.6) suggests that the materials offered a rich source of meaningful exposure to language use. This is little wonder because in the post-evaluation conference held with the raters, they all mentioned that the selected short stories were suitable in terms of the difficulty level and hence matched Krashen’s (1985) concept of comprehensible input. One surprising finding of the story is related to the second item. The rather low mean score (2.3) obtained from this item suggests that the raters did not think the materials were sufficiently affectively engaging. They commented that the selected stories were serious in tone and lacked the element of humor. They particularly referred to stories like ‘War’ by Luigi Pirandello and ‘The Doll’s House’ by Katherine Mansfield, which had rather sad themes. This was an invaluable comment which drew my attention to incorporation of more entertaining and humorous stories for subsequent revision of the materials. The mean score for the third item (3.6), namely cognitive engagement, suggests that the raters were moderately satisfied with the cognitive challenge of the materials, though they suggested that the tasks which followed each story could have been more challenging by further

160

Chapter Eight

involving the students in processes such as making inferences and undertaking evaluation. The low mean score for the fourth item (1) shows that the materials did not require the students to use the mental resources (e.g. their inner voice) that they typically use for communication in their mother tongue. As for the fifth item, the moderate mean score (3) indicates that the raters were of the opinion that the materials were partially effective in calling the students’ attention to linguistic features. While the raters were particularly interested in the language analysis section of the post-task phase, they had their reservations about its usefulness because of the main objective of this particular course which is to have students orally reproduce stories. The raters were strongly of the conviction that the materials were successful in promoting purposeful communication and real-life interaction, as attested by the obtained mean score (5) for items six and seven. Regarding the eighth item, the materials were evaluated as making very little use of non-linguistic communication. As pointed out by one of the raters, this would have been improved had the materials been accompanied by related pictures which could guide the students to reflect on certain aspects of the stories such as their themes. The raters also believed that the materials left very little room for individual differences between the students and they made no specific comments as to how this could have been catered for. Finally, the high mean score (4.6) for the last item suggests that the materials had a strong focus on meaning, which comes as no surprise because they were all stories that were supposed to be read for meaning rather than form.

Conclusion and Implications This chapter was an attempt to report on a small-scale materials development project which examined the application of findings from applied linguistics (principles of task-based instruction) in developing materials for a group of English as a foreign language (EFL) university students. The materials were a number of short stories presented through Willis’ (1996) framework for TBLT. The materials were evaluated from both the students’ and three university lecturers’ perspectives. The results showed that, overall, the students were happy with task-based presentation of the stories. Besides, the result of the thee university lecturers’ evaluations based on Tomlinson’s (2013) criteria revealed that the materials, to a large extent, were consistent with SLA findings in that they (a) offered the students meaningful input, (b) helped them notice certain linguistic features, (c) provided them with ample opportunity for purposeful communication and authentic interaction, (d) had a strong

Short Stories and Task-Based Materials: The Case of ‘The Bet’

161

focus on meaning, and (e) were moderately cognitively engaging. Nevertheless, there was a call for incorporation of affective and nonlinguistic elements in the materials. The findings of this study have a number of pedagogical implications for both local and global contexts. As outlined previously, this study was conducted with a group of Iranian university students taking a course named Oral Reproduction of Short Stories wherein students normally prepare a story in advance and orally present it to the rest of the class. After this experience, I am now convinced that students can do a lot more with short stories than simply present them orally for class discussion. My experience shows that involving students through the model presented in this chapter maximizes their involvement and makes the discussions lengthier and livelier because it makes students more prepared for reading the stories. On a global scale, my recommendation is that materials writers should not ignore literature and literary texts and should make more use of this ‘quintessential content’ (Holten, 1997) in textbooks. Despite the vast array of excellent lesson plans and lesson ideas for the use of literature in L2 classes (see Collie and Slater, 1987; Lazar, 1993; Maley and Duff, 2007; Snow, 1991), there are very few, if any, units in textbooks that present literary texts through a task-based design. Although some researchers (e.g. Brown, 2009) have recently argued that extensive reading could be and should be integrated into textbooks, literary texts, particularly novels and short stories, are often used as a source of extensive reading to be undertaken for pleasure outside the class. Nevertheless, the results of this experiment suggest that short stories have the potential to be incorporated into textbooks and be used as a source of intensive reading as well. McKay (2001) also argues that one of the most important advantages of using literature in L2 classes is that it provides fertile ground for the integration of all language skills. The findings of this experiment suggest that presenting short stories through a task-based framework results in integration of various language skills and components such as reading, speaking, writing, grammar, and vocabulary. In sum, presenting short stories through the task-based framework is an exciting experience in both materials development and putting the developed materials into practice. It is hoped that the results of this small experiment will be used as an impetus for textbook writers to further employ short stories as a source of developing innovative materials.

162

Chapter Eight

References Brown, D. (2009), ‘Why and how textbooks should encourage extensive reading’. ELT Journal, 63, 238-45. Carter, R. (2007), ‘Literature and language teaching 1986–2006: a review’. International Journal of Applied Linguistics, 17, 3-13. Collie, J. and Slater, S. (1987), Literature in the Language Classroom: a Resource Book of Ideas and Activities. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Ellis, R. (2003), Task-Based Language Learning and Teaching. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Holten, C. (1997), ‘Literature: a quintessential content’, in M. A. Snow and D. M. Brinton (eds), The Content-Based Classroom .White Plains, NY: Longman, pp. 377-88. Kramsch, C. and Kramsch, O. (2000), ‘The avatars of literature in language study’. The Modern Language Journal, 84, 553-73. Krashen, S. (1985), The Input Hypothesis. London: Longman. Lazar, G. (1993), Literature and Language Teaching: A Guide for Teachers and Trainers. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Maley, A. and Duff, A. (2007), Literature (2nd edn). Oxford: Oxford University Press. McKay, S. L. (1982), ‘Literature in the ESL classroom’. TESOL Quarterly, 16, 529-36. McKay, S. L. (2001), ‘Literature as content for ESL/EFL’, in M. CelceMurcia (ed.), Teaching English as a Second or Foreign Language (3rd edn). Boston, MA: Heinle and Heinle, pp. 319-32. Nunan, D. (2004), Task-Based Language Teaching. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Sharwood Smith, M. (1993), ‘Input enhancement in instructed SLA: theoretical bases’. Studies in Second Language Acquisition, 15, (2), 165-79. Skehan, P. (1998), ‘Task-based instruction.’ Annual Review of Applied Linguistics,18, 268-86. Stern, S. L. (1991), ‘An integrated approach to literature in EFL/EFL’, in M. Celce-Murcia (ed.), Teaching English as a Second or Foreign Language (2nd edn). Boston, MA: Heinle and Heinle, pp. 328-46. Taylor, P. (1981), More Modern Short Stories for Students of English. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Tomlinson, B. (2010), ‘Principles of effective materials development’, in N. Harwood (ed.), English Language Teaching Materials: Theory and Practice. New York: Cambridge University Press, pp. 81-108.

Short Stories and Task-Based Materials: The Case of ‘The Bet’

163

Tomlinson, B. (2013), ‘Second language acquisition and materials development’, in B. Tomlinson (ed.), Applied Linguistics and Materials Development. London: Bloomsbury, pp. 11-29. Van den Branden, K. (2012), ‘Task-based language education’, in A. Burns and J.C. Richards (eds), The Cambridge Guide to Pedagogy and Practice in Second Language Teaching. New York: Cambridge University Press, pp. 132-39. Willis, J. (1996), A Framework for Task-Based Learning. Harlow: Longman. Willis, J. (2004), ‘Perspectives on task-based instruction: understanding our practices, acknowledging different practitioners’, in B. L. Leaver and J. Willis (eds), Task-Based Instruction in Foreign Language Education: Practices and Programs. Washington, DC: Georgetown University Press, pp. 3-44.

CHAPTER NINE HOW TO EVALUATE CURRICULUM FITNESS OF ELT TEXTBOOKS: A HONG KONG CASE STUDY LAWRENCE PAK-WING WONG

Introduction Within the area of ELT textbook evaluation, a large number of research studies (Byrd , 2001; Cunningsworth, 1979, 1984, 1995; Daoud and Celce-Murcia, 1979; Ellis, 1997; Harmer, 1991, 2001; McDonough and Shaw, 1993; Sheldon, 1988; Skierso, 1991; Tomlinson, 2003, 2008; Ur, 1996; Williams,1983) have focused on developing evaluation schemes, most of the time a checklist, to assess the pedagogical value of a textbook in promoting the development of the four skills. Very few of these studies, however, seem to have discussed how the fitness of a textbook’s content with a particular curriculum can be assessed. This claim can be supported by the work of Mukundan and Ahour (2010). In their study, a total of 48 textbook evaluation checklists found in the relevant literature from 1970 to 2008 were reviewed. It was found that only Byrd’s (2001) framework has paid attention to the importance of evaluation of curriculum fitness. In her recent revision (Byrd and Schuemann, 2014) of the same checklist, the evaluation of curriculum fitness has been given greater attention. The number of evaluation criteria relating to evaluation of curriculum fitness has increased from one to five in the most recent checklist when compared to its earlier version (Byrd, 2001). Still, it seems that when it comes to the evaluation of curriculum fitness, more refined and specific evaluation criteria should be used, as measuring curriculum fitness is a sophisticated matter that has immense implications for teaching and learning. This chapter documents an empirical study that has attempted to demonstrate how curriculum fitness of textbooks can be evaluated. The

How to Evaluate Curriculum Fitness of ELT Textbooks

165

theoretical framework is then empirically tested by engaging in a post-use textbook evaluation with local teachers within the Hong Kong ELT environment. Research participants have suggested that the framework is generally a useful invention. It is hoped that the theoretical approach proposed in this study can serve as a reference showing how curriculum fitness can be evaluated in a contextualized and specific manner. In the first part of this chapter, I will describe the use of the textbook within the ELT context in Hong Kong. Then, I will explore the reasons that have led to the development of teachers’ reliance on the use of textbooks. In the second part, relevant literature will be reviewed to show why evaluation of curriculum fitness of textbooks has become an urgent issue in Hong Kong. I will also discuss the results and implications in piloting the proposed textbook evaluation framework in the later parts of this chapter.

A brief introduction to the textbook situation in Hong Kong Textbook selection can have a massive impact on the teaching and learning process, as teachers often make considerable use of the textbook (Cunningsworth, 1995; Harmer, 1991; McGrath, 2002) or even design their entire syllabus around it (Garinger, 2002; Harmer, 1991). In that sense, it is crucial for the teacher to conduct textbook evaluation, as the quality of a textbook can determine the success or failure of an ELT course (Green, 1926; Mukundan, 2007). This proposition is backed up by a number of research studies. When referring to the current ELT situation in Hong Kong, citing the work of Reynolds (1974), Fu (1975) suggested most of the textbook writers in Hong Kong did not have full familiarity with the indigenous Cantonese language as well as expertise in English language and teaching; ‘Textbooks are apparently written in the abstract and are basically unrelated to the needs and requirements of Hong Kong learners and society’ (Fu, 1975, p. 89). To make the issue more complicated, a number of research studies in Hong Kong have found that local secondary school English teachers tend to display a strong reliance on textbooks. In a survey conducted by Richards, Tung and Ng (1992) with 149 local secondary school English teachers, it was reported that textbooks were one of the primary sources of teaching materials. Only 28% of the total respondents claimed that they have made significant use of self-developed teaching materials. McGrath’s

166

Chapter Nine

(2006) Hong Kong study revealed a similar trend. The study involved 75 teachers of English, mainly English teachers of secondary schools, and several hundred secondary school students. It was found that teachers mostly think that the use of textbooks is important (McGrath, 2006). Reynolds (1974) further suggested that reliance on textbooks can also help to suggest that local teachers are generally inadequate in their English language proficiency, as competent teachers would break away from the use of textbooks. His claim, even though it was made in 1974, can still be supported by evidence from later studies. Coniam’s (1998) study cited in Man (2000), for example, reported that only 14.2% of local language teachers were both subject and professionally trained. Teacher and student attitudes towards language learning can also be a very influential factor leading to a heavy reliance on textbooks. The mindsets of many local teachers in Hong Kong are very much influenced by the Chinese culture of Confucian principles (Carless, 1999). One special feature of the Confucian view towards learning is the importance of ‘jiao shu’ (teaching the book) (Wette and Barkhuizen, 2009). The speed and the ability to cover a textbook are often used as yardsticks to measure a teacher’s performance (McCelland, 1992; Reynolds, 1974). This has led to the creation of a ‘scholastic approach’ to language learning and teaching in which the objective of English lessons is to learn the grammar of the language (Carless, 2007; Shih, 1999; Sawir, 2005) rather than to use the language for communicative purposes (Reynolds, 1974; Sawir, 2005, p. 567). Many local textbooks, therefore, are found to be promoting this unhelpful view of English language learning and teaching (Reynolds, 1974).

Why the evaluation of curriculum fitness is important When evaluating a textbook, the first area that should be assessed is its fitness with the curriculum (Byrd, 2001). This is because the curriculum is an embodiment of society values in relation to what students should do and learn in school (Print, 1993). In times of curriculum change, as in the case of Hong Kong’s introduction of the New Senior Secondary Curriculum in 2009, it is extremely important for us to check whether textbooks can help to deliver the new curriculum objectives as the selection and preparation of new teaching materials is an integral part of the implementation of a curriculum (Richards, 2001). It is important to evaluate the textbook’s fitness with the curriculum as textbooks can also directly affect the teaching and learning process which in turn, affects classroom instruction (Johnson, 1989).

How to Evaluate Curriculum Fitness of ELT Textbooks

167

In reality, financial success has become the primary goal of textbook publishing (Sheldon, 1988; Tomlinson, 2003, p. 3). It is sad to see that a number of studies have shown that most current global and local ELT textbooks are developed for commercial purposes but are not based on principles of language acquisition and development recommended by scholars and educators (Reynolds, 1974; Tomlinson, 2003, 2008, 2010). In order to boost sales, textbooks are often written according to the preference of teachers, parents and administrators (Tomlinson, 2008). Instead of facilitating language acquisition, many textbooks are in fact leading to learning failure. In extreme cases, textbooks can even contain serious pedagogical flaws (Tomlinson, 2008, p. 3).

Problems with using existing evaluation schemes for evaluation of curriculum fitness It seems that many evaluation schemes found in the relevant literature are placing relatively little attention on the evaluation of curriculum fitness. In addition, these evaluation schemes are using evaluation criteria that seem to be too generic to allow for deep and rigorous evaluation of textbooks. Their evaluation criteria can either be unspecific and too general, or too abstract and complex, making it very difficult to apply them to actual evaluation (McGrath, 2002; Sheldon, 1988). In Skierso’s (1991) checklist, for example, Mukundan (2007) suggests that some evaluation criteria would very likely be unrealistic and very difficult to respond to, such as: To what extent are new structures controlled to be presented and explained before they appear in drills, dialogues or reading material. Mukundan and Ahour (2010, p. 339) compared Williams’ (1983) and Rivers’ (1981) studies. It was found that although both checklist authors think that it is important for textbooks to bear some degree of ‘authenticity’, a detailed examination of the checklists revealed that the two authors actually held different views regarding the necessity of authenticity in language teaching. As every teaching situation is unique, textbook evaluation scheme developers therefore should never think alike (Mukundan and Ahour. 2010, p. 338); they should develop their own schemes tailored to their specific ELT environments (Cunningsworth, 1995, p. 2; Mukundan, 2007).

168

Chapter Nine

The Present Study At the time this study is being conducted, relevant literature about the New Secondary School (NSS) English curriculum, because of its fairly recent introduction, is scarce and not extensive.

Background In 2009, Hong Kong underwent a massive curriculum change. The Curriculum Development Council (CDC), which is an advisory body to the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) government on all curriculum development issues relating to the local schooling system, introduced the New Secondary School (NSS) Curriculum. The introduction of the NSS curriculum brings the local ELT curriculum in line with modern ELT teaching approaches, such as the use of taskbased teaching and learning approaches (Wong, 2009). As a number of research studies have already shown that many local teachers tend to rely heavily on textbooks, evaluation of curriculum fitness of textbooks published for the new curriculum has become an issue of immediate concern because the degree of curriculum fitness of textbooks can become a significant factor in determining the success of curriculum change.

Research Questions This study proposes a self-constructed checklist tailor-made to the ELT teaching and learning situation in Hong Kong. The focus of the evaluation framework is to attempt to provide a suggestive framework as to how a textbook’s fitness with the curriculum can be evaluated in detail using the checklist approach. To this end, a checklist (see Appendix 1) was constructed on the basis of chapter four (CDC, 2007, p. 73-98) of the Curriculum and Assessment Guide of the NSS English Curriculum (C&A Guide), which is the key chapter stipulating the recommended teaching approaches and learning objectives of the NSS English Curriculum. For the purposes of textbook evaluation, the recommended approaches are transformed into statements so that the subjects can express their opinions on the five-point Likert scale. The wordings and terminologies are strictly referenced and followed during the transformation process so as to preserve the originality of the C&A Guide.

How to Evaluate Curriculum Fitness of ELT Textbooks

169

The evaluation framework can provide answers to two research questions: (1) How well does the framework function as an evaluation device? (2) How can the evaluation framework be further improved?

Methodology In order to answer the first research question, it is important to ensure the pedagogical validity and the practical applicability of the evaluation framework at the outset. Such trialing of the self-constructed checklist is very important so as to ‘ensure that the criteria are sufficient, answerable, reliable and useful’ (Tomlinson, 2003, p. 32). The checklist is, therefore, first piloted with two current in-service NSS English teachers. Empirical data is then collected by using the self-constructed localized checklist as the evaluation instrument to conduct a post-use evaluation on a NSS textbook used by the two teachers. Post-use evaluation was chosen because it can provide the most valuable form of data (Tomlinson, 2003; Ellis, 1998, p. 222) as the data can show both short-term and long-term effects of the materials on the learners (Tomlinson, 2003, p. 25). Two separate structured interviews were then conducted with the teachers to collect qualitative data to: 1) obtain verbal explanation and further elaboration of the evaluation results to answer research question number one; and 2) to invite teachers’ comments regarding the construction of the self-constructed checklist so as to answer the second research question. Each of the subjects was interviewed respectively at a different time, with each session lasting for about two hours. The interviews were tape recorded and supplemented with extensive notes taken by the author during the interviews. During the interview, they were first invited to elaborate on their respective evaluation results and also to provide comments and recommendations about the extent to which it can help teachers to deliver the recommended approaches of the new curriculum. To answer the second research question, a different set of questions was asked of the teachers. These questions focused on eliciting the teachers’ perception as to how the checklist can be improved. The teachers were encouraged to share their problems and difficulties while using the checklist. Prior to the interview, the subjects were given time to complete the evaluation using the self-constructed checklist. The main reason for such planning was to allow time for deeper reflection on the experience of using the target textbook. Interview questions were adopted and modified

170

Chapter Nine

from the following sources: Cunningsworth (1979, 1984, 1995), Ellis (1997, 1998), McGrath (2002) and Tomlinson (2003).

Subjects and Data Collection The target textbook under evaluation is the ‘Theme Book’ of the NSS ELECT series published by Pearson Longman. The ELECT series is a collection of textbooks designed for the NSS curriculum. Similar to the structure of the curriculum, the ELECT series textbooks are divided into sub-series catering to the ‘core’ and ‘elective’ part of the curriculum. The Theme book is one of the textbooks in the series specially designed for teaching the ‘core’ part of the curriculum. The textbook is recommended by the Education Bureau, the local government educational authority, implying that it has strictly followed the recommended approaches of the NSS curriculum; a high frequency of ‘strongly agree’ to ‘agree’ evaluation responses are therefore expected. Two current in-service NSS English language subject coordinators (subject A and B) from a band one (there are three bandings in Hong Kong with band one being the best out of the three in terms of academic ability) local secondary school were invited to participate in this study. The two subjects were chosen as convenient samples because their school is currently using the target textbook for teaching the NSS curriculum. They are both qualified teachers who majored in English and are currently teaching the NSS curriculum.

Results of the evaluation of curriculum fitness of the target textbook. Design features that show a high level of curriculum fitness Promotion of the adoption of the Task-based approach to learning and teaching The teachers suggested that the textbook is very effective in meeting the curriculum initiative of using a task-based approach to teaching and learning. Although there has been much debate on what exactly task-based teaching and learning constitutes, the CDC has provided a definition to avoid confusion: x The tasks have a purpose; x The tasks have a context from which the purpose for using

How to Evaluate Curriculum Fitness of ELT Textbooks

171

language emerges; x The tasks can involve learners in a mode of thinking and doing; x The tasks are purposeful activities in which the carrying out of a task should lead towards a product; x The tasks require the learners to draw upon their framework of knowledge and skills and should also enable them to strengthen or extend this. (CDC, 2007, p. 75) The subjects suggested that the textbook tasks can generally meet the first three criteria. The tasks and activities can help students to elicit different linguistic features of different text types. Clear instructions are provided to assist students to master different skills for the purpose of writing, and the target audience is clearly specified in the task. Promotion of independent and creative language learning The textbook is also effective in satisfying the curriculum requirement of helping students to become autonomous learners. This is achieved by providing self-assessment activities at the end of each textbook chapter. Suggestive answers, skills and progress checklists are provided so that students can monitor their own learning progress. No standard answers are provided so as to stimulate learners’ creativity. The multimedia resources provided along with the textbook package are also prepared according to curriculum requirements. The CD-Rom, which contained the electronic version of the textbook, is an extremely useful tool for arousing learning interest and helps students to develop familiarity with a reading text. For example, in a teaching text about the hunting of bear bile, the students were sympathetic to the pain the bears had to endure after having watched the embedded video clip. Providing a wide variety of authentic texts of different topics and genre The importance of using authentic texts to promote language learning has been stressed repeatedly in the curriculum. The authentic texts can effectively expose learners to appropriate language use and style in different real life contexts. Unit 2 ‘Communication in the workplace’ is a good example of introducing language usage styles in the workplace. The subjects do think that the listening texts are also very authentic as they have strong relevance with a variety of real life contexts. For example, students found one of the listening texts about interviewing students of a fashion school highly interesting.

172

Chapter Nine

Promoting a good balance between language arts and non-language arts materials According to the curriculum (the C&A Guide), teachers are encouraged to use different texts such as poems, novels, short stories, dramas, films, advertisements to teach language arts. These texts are collectively referred to as ‘Imaginative text’ (CDC, 2007, p. 87). The teachers are generally happy with the variety of imaginative texts. Many of the texts are able to arouse the student’s learning interest and can help to develop students’ critical thinking skills. The density and level of the language are also appropriate to the learners. Design features that show a low level of curriculum fitness The ‘lack of language input’ ‘Language input’ is referred by the teachers as the necessary language knowledge and guidance needed to be provided to students in order to achieve the intended learning objectives. An insufficient amount of language input may limit students’ ability to achieve the intended learning objectives. The teachers have suggested that the language input provided to students is insufficient in speaking, reading, and writing tasks. The teachers suggested that the amount of input in reading and speaking tasks is insufficient to enhance students' understanding. The ‘lack of language input’ problem is particularly serious for writing tasks. One teacher gave an example in which the students are to write a formal reply to a complaint letter. Even though the design of writing tasks has adhered to the recommended process approach to teaching writing, little input has been provided to facilitate the implementation of the approach. The teachers were surprised that conventional expressions such as ‘I am writing in regard to’ had not been provided for students' reference. Lack of orientation with public-examination requirements The orientation with public examination requirements has not been properly addressed across the training of the 4-skills. Most speaking tasks are not in alignment with the public examination requirements. The speaking tasks tend to restrict the responses that students can give. In the public exam, however, students are required to produce spontaneous responses and provide justifications for the points they raise (CDC, 2007, p. 118).

How to Evaluate Curriculum Fitness of ELT Textbooks

173

Listening tasks are also generally not prescribed for the pubic examination format. The teachers suggested that in the public examination students are required to respond to a series of integrated skills questions. As no practice of this kind is provided in the textbook, the teachers therefore concluded that the listening tasks are not aligned with public examination requirements. The teachers posited that the publisher is deliberately providing students with less exam support in the ‘Theme’ book so as to boost the sales of the ‘Skills Books’ series, a sub-series of the ELECT series which contain examination practice drills and exercises.

Results of the Piloting of the Checklist: User Feedbacks Strengths The teachers generally think that the checklist is a useful and handy device in helping them to familiarize themselves with the new curriculum needs. The point form presentation has helped to clearly highlight different aspects of the curriculum requirements. As the NSS curriculum has only been implemented recently (September 2009), teachers may still have to familiarize themselves with the new curriculum requirements. The checklist is also of appropriate length and coverage. With regard to using the recommended approaches as listed in chapter four of the C&A Guide as the primary reference for construction of evaluation criteria, the teachers recommended that such a choice is very appropriate as it is essential to evaluate a textbook’s fitness with the curriculum’s recommended instructional approaches. It is necessary for a textbook to be prepared according to these different curriculum initiatives so that it can contribute positively towards the realization of NSS curriculum’s teaching and learning objectives. Similar to the views of Johnson (1989), one teacher suggested that it is good to have focused on chapter four, as other parts of the C&A Guide policy statements tend to be too theoretical and ‘utopian’, thereby lacking focus in explaining the new expectations in relation to the appropriate instructional strategies. The teachers also reported that the checklist is very flexible to use as it is designed not to be used in its entirety. Teachers can easily delete or add in new evaluation items according to individual needs, making the checklist useful even for experienced teachers who tend to evaluate textbooks on an impressionistic basis without using a checklist.

174

Chapter Nine

Weaknesses The teachers have pointed out several weaknesses. First, the checklist contained a number of ‘double-barreled’ questions, where the teachers were asked to evaluate more than one item at the same time. As the checklist items were strictly referenced from the C&A Guide during the construction of the checklist, the author feels that if the terminologies are separated, the original meaning of the evaluation item will be obscured. The double-barreled evaluation items have been hence retained. Similar concerns have also been raised regarding some of the terminologies used in the evaluation items. For example it is found that the term ‘aesthetic sensitivity’ (CDC, 2007, p. 74) is ambiguous and difficult to understand. Such weaknesses are inherited from the original C&A Guide while constructing the evaluation criteria, since the identical terminologies are used to preserve the C&A Guide’s originality. The teachers have therefore recommended that one effective way to tackle the problem of both inherited weaknesses and ‘double-barreled’ evaluation questions is to offer detailed illustration within the checklist to help teachers visualize some of the abstract concepts that the C&A Guide’s philosophies. In light of this, the author would like to bring to the attention of the policy making authorities that it is highly possible that many other local teachers may share the same problem. It would seem that more teachers would benefit from curriculum training. In addition, curriculum documents can provide clearer articulation by including explanatory notes to explain potentially ambiguous terms. Another improvement the teachers would like to make is that an option ‘not applicable’ or ‘NA’ should be added to the five-point Likert scale, so that during an evaluation the teachers can quickly identify the relevant evaluation criteria, making the entire evaluation process more efficient.

Summary of findings So far, we can see that the piloting of the checklist has demonstrated that the evaluation framework is a useful and effective tool to help elicit the extent the curriculum fitness of the target textbook with the NSS curriculum. Two research questions were asked in order to find out: 1) How well does the framework works as an effective evaluation tool? and 2) How can the evaluation framework be further improved?

How to Evaluate Curriculum Fitness of ELT Textbooks

175

To answer the first research question, we can see that the checklist proposed in this study is a valued evaluation tool as it has effectively elicited the pedagogical value of the textbook. It is able to show that the textbook bears strong adherence to the recommended approaches stated in the curriculum in a number of areas. Evaluation results have shown that the textbook adopts the task-based approach to teaching and learning. It also contains a balanced selection of authentic language arts and nonlanguage arts materials. The teaching texts are also interesting and can foster autonomous learning as learners are supplied with supporting multimedia learning materials. The textbook design, however, is not perfect. The teachers suggested that although learning tasks are largely designed according to principles stated in the curriculum, there is insufficient language input and too few examples provided in the textbook to facilitate task completion. Another problem is that some learning tasks (speaking and listening tasks in particular) are not designed according to the public examination format. The teachers have raised serious doubts as to how the target textbook can serve as an effective device in helping students to perform in future local high-stake public examinations. The second research question seeks to investigate whether the selfconstructed checklist needs to be further improved by inviting in-service teachers to provide feedback on the strength and weaknesses of the checklist. The teachers have found the checklist user friendly as it allows for expression of opinion on a five-point Likert scale and that evaluation criteria are grouped under different sections. It is also appropriate to have constructed the evaluation criteria based on the instructional part of the curriculum as it is most relevant to daily teaching. The checklist has done a good job in materializing abstract curriculum concepts for ease of reference and, in addition, it can be used as a tool to familiarize new teachers with the requirements of the new curriculum. The teachers recommended that some minor design issues have to be addressed so as to further improve the practicability of the checklist.

Conclusion This chapter has briefly reported the details of a case study that investigated the piloting of an evaluation framework that focused on the evaluation of curriculum fitness of an ELT textbook in Hong Kong. The evaluation framework proposed in the case study was found to be largely effective in terms of evaluating curriculum fitness. The framework, however, is not without its limitations. First, the problem of ‘double-

176

Chapter Nine

barreled’ questions and ambiguous technical terms contained in the evaluation criteria needs to be addressed. More curriculum training for teachers provided by the policy-making authorities would seem appropriate to help clarify any misunderstandings. It is also appropriate to have the wordings of the checklist rewritten in order to ensure the validity, reliability and ease of use of the checklist. The design of the checklist can also be improved. For example, an option of ‘not applicable’ or ‘NA’ should be added to the checklist in order to facilitate quick processing of the evaluation procedures. Also, the length of the checklist can be shortened by including only important evaluation questions relating to the perceived effectiveness of the textbook. In terms of research design, it is necessary to include a larger sample size in the future to yield conclusive results. Despite these shortcomings, this case study has helped to achieve the following research significance: x Contribute to the literature by conducting a post-use evaluation empirical study, which, to date, is heavily under researched (Ellis, 1998; Mukundan and Ahour, 2010). x Add to the existing literature on textbook evaluation by introducing a framework as to how the pedagogical fitness of textbook content with prescribed curriculum requirements can be examined systematically. x Provide an evaluation framework allowing for timely, collaborative and systematic elicitation of strengths and weaknesses of a textbook, thereby fostering efficient decision making regarding the use and choice of teaching materials. x Expand the range of users of post-use textbook evaluation frameworks from teachers to official policy-makers and curriculum developers. x Expand the function of textbook evaluation frameworks in order to devise teacher development strategies. It is hoped that the design philosophy adopted by the framework proposed in this study would be used by ELT professionals worldwide to create evaluation frameworks tailored to their local needs. With regard to the ELT situation in Hong Kong, I sincerely hope that the proposed framework can contribute to successful curriculum implementation benefiting each and every student in Hong Kong.

How to Evaluate Curriculum Fitness of ELT Textbooks

177

Textbook Evaluated Potter, J., Rigby, S. and Wong, K. (2009), Longman Elect New Senior Secondary: Theme Book. Hong Kong: Longman.

References Byrd, P. (2001), ‘Textbooks: evaluation for selection and analysis for implementation’, in M. Celce-Murcia (ed.), Teaching English as a Second or Foreign Language (3rd edn). Boston, MA: Heinle and Heinle, pp. 415-27. Byrd, P. and Schuemann, C. (2014), ‘English as a second/foreign language textbooks: how to choose them, how to use them’, in M. Celce-Murcia, D.M. Brinton, and M.A. Snow (eds), Teaching English as a Second or Foreign Language (4th edn). Boston: National Geographic Learning, pp. 380-93. Carless, D. (1999), ‘Catering for individual learner differences: primary school teachers’ voices’. Hong Kong Journal of Applied Linguistics, 4, (2), 15-39. Carless, D. (2007), ‘The suitability of task-based approaches for secondary schools: perspectives from Hong Kong’. System, 35, 595-608. Coniam, D. (1998), ‘Establishing minimum-standard qualifications in Hong Kong for English language teachers’ in Asker, B. (ed.), Teaching Language and Culture: Building Hong Kong on Education. Hong Kong: Addison Wesley Longman, pp. 193-205. Cunningsworth, A. (1979), ‘Evaluating course materials’, in S. Holden (eds.), Teacher Training. Hong Kong: Modern English Publications Limited, pp. 31-3. Cunningsworth, A. (1984), Evaluating and Selecting EFL Teaching Materials. London: Heinemann Educational Books. Cunningsworth, A. (1995), Choosing Your Coursebook. London: Heinemann English Language Teaching. Curriculum Development Council. (2007), English Language Education Key Learning Area: English Language Curriculum and Assessment Guide (Secondary 4-6). Hong Kong: CDC Publication. Accessed at: http://www.edb.gov.hk/attachment/en/curriculumdevelopment/kla/eng-edu/eng_lang_final.pdf Daoud, A.M. and Celce-Murcia, M. (1979), ‘Selecting and evaluating textbooks’, in M. Celce-Murcia and L. Mc-Intosh (eds.), Teaching English as a Second or Foreign Language. New York: Newbury House, pp. 302-07.

178

Chapter Nine

Ellis, R. (1997), ‘The empirical evaluation of language teaching materials’. ELT Journal, 51, (1), 36-42. Ellis, R. (1998), ‘The evaluation of communicative tasks’, in B. Tomlinson (ed.), Materials Development in Language Teaching. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, pp. 217-38. Fu, G.B.A. (1975), ‘A Hong Kong perspective: English language learning and the Chinese students’. Doctoral dissertation, University of Michigan. Garinger, D. (2002). ‘Textbook selection for the ESL classroom’. Eric Digest, no volume and page numbers given. Accessed at: http://www.cal.org/resources/digest/digest_pdfs/0210garinger.pdf Green, A. (1926), ‘The measurement of modern language books’. The Modern Language Journal, 10, (5), 259-69. Harmer, J. (1991), The Practice of English Language Teaching. New York: Longman Publishing. Harmer, J. (2001), The Practice of English Language Teaching (3rd edn). New York: Longman Publishing. Johnson, K. (1989), The Second Language Curriculum. Cambridge: University of Cambridge. Man, E. (2000). ‘New professionalism and old practices: voices of language teachers’ in D.C.S. Li., A. Lin and W.K. Tsang (eds.), Language and Education in Postcolonial Hong Kong. Hong Kong: Linguistic Society of Hong Kong, pp. 239-62. McClelland, J. A. G. (1992), ‘Within-school barriers to school-based curriculum development: the Hong Kong experience’. British Journal of In-service Education,18, (1), 29-34. McDonough, J and Shaw, C. (1993), Materials and Methods in ELT: A Teacher’s Guide. Oxford: Blackwell. McGrath, I. (2002), Materials Evaluation and Design for Language Teaching. Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press. McGrath, I. (2006), ‘Teachers’ and learners’ images for coursebooks’. ELT Journal 60, (2), 171-80. Mukundan, J. (2007), ‘Evaluation of English language textbooks: some important issues for consideration’. Journal of NELTA, 12, 80-4. Mukundan, J. and Ahour, T. (2010), ‘A review of textbook evaluation checklists across four decades (1970-2008)’, in B. Tomlinson and H. Masuhara (eds.), Research for Materials Development in Language Learning: Evidence for Best Practice. London: Continuum, pp. 33652. Print, M. (1993), Curriculum Development and Design (2nd ed). St. Leonards, Australia: Allen and Unwin.

How to Evaluate Curriculum Fitness of ELT Textbooks

179

Reynolds, P.D. (1974), English Language Teaching and Textbooks in Hong Kong. Hong Kong: Research Unit, Department of Education, University of Hong Kong. Richards, J.C. (2001), Curriculum Development in Language Teaching. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Richards, J.C., Tung, P. and Ng, P. (1992), ‘The culture of the English language teacher: a Hong Kong example’. RELC Journal, 23, (1), 81103. Rivers, W. M. (1981), Teaching Foreign-Language Skills. Chicago: University of Chicago Press. Sawir, E. (2005). ‘Language difficulties of international students in Australia: the effects of prior learning experience’. International Education Journal, 6, (5), 567-80. Sheldon, L. (1988). ‘Evaluating ELT textbooks and materials’. ELT Journal, 42, (4), 237-46. Shih, M. (1999), ‘More than practicing language: communicative reading and writing for Asian settings’. TESOL Journal, 8, (4), 20-25. Skierso, A. (1991), ‘Textbook selection and evaluation’, in M. CelceMurcia (ed.), Teaching English as a Second or Foreign Language (2nd edn). Boston, MA: Heinle and Heinle, pp. 432-53. Tomlinson, B. (ed.) (2003), Developing Materials for Language Teaching. London: Continuum. Tomlinson, B. (ed.) (2008), English Language Learning Materials: A Critical Review. London: Continuum. Tomlinson, B. (2010), ‘Principles of effective materials development’, in N. Harwood (ed.), English Language Teaching Materials: Theory and Practice. New York: Cambridge University Press, pp. 81-108. Ur, P. (1996), A Course in Language Teaching: Practice and Theory. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Wette, R. and Barkhuizen, G. (2009), ‘Teaching the book and educating the person: challenges for university English language teachers in China’. Asia Pacific Journal of Education, 29, (2), 195-212. Williams, D. (1983), ‘Developing criteria for textbook evaluation’. ELT Journal, 37, (3), 251-55. Wong, M. L. Y. (2009), ‘Perspectives on the English language education of Hong Kong’s senior secondary (NSS) curriculum’. Asian EFL Journal, 35, no page numbers. Accessed at: http://www.asian-efljournal.com/pta_April_2009.pdf

180

Chapter Nine

Appendix 1 The Self-Constructed Checklist (Modified Version) This checklist serves as an aid to help teachers of the English language subject of the New Senior Secondary (NSS) curriculum to identify how far a NSS English textbook has helped the fulfilment of the recommended teaching strategies and approaches in sections 4.3.1(p. 73) to 4.3.6 (p. 98) of the English Language Curriculum and Assessment Guide (2007) issued by the Curriculum development council (CDC). This checklist is not designed for evaluation of the teacher’s edition of a textbook. One textbook sould be evaluated at a time using this checklist. This checklist is designed to be comprehensive but not exhaustive. Users are recommended to adapt this checklist to different situational needs and consider the appropriateness regarding the use of this checklist in its entirety. Please read each of the following statements and choose the best answer which is closest to your opinion by ticking (¥) in the box which corresponds to your choice.

181

The task activities of the textbook have the following five features which satisfy the definition of a task (items 1-5): 1.The tasks have a purpose. 2.The tasks have a context from which the purpose for using language emerges 3.The tasks can involve learners in a mode of thinking and doing 4. The tasks are purposeful activities in which the carrying out of a task should lead towards a product. 5. The tasks require learner to draw upon their framework of knowledge and skills and should also enable them to strengthen or extend this. Tasks can stimulate learner’s imagination and sharpen their aesthetic sensitivity The task can give opportunities for students to give their own ideas Tasks have clear and appropriate targets and objectives Tasks have a balanced progression and comprehensive coverage of learning targets

Strongly Agree

Agree

Neutral

Disagree

Strongly Disagree

Not Applicable

Table 9.1 Recommendation section 4.3.1: use of task-based approach* teaching and learning strategies (CDC, 2007, p. 73).

How to Evaluate Curriculum Fitness of ELT Textbooks

Chapter Nine

Tasks can introduce students to a variety of different text-types (eg. Informational , persuasive) Tasks can enhance learner’s communicative competence through realistic contexts Language support is given to learners to carry out different tasks Exercises can help students to see the connection between forms and functions Exercises are devoted to different stages of a task (Pre-task, while-task and post-task) * Tasks are activities in which learners are required to draw together and further develop their knowledge and skills. They are characterized by an emphasis on activity, participation and communication among participants through a variety of modes and media. (CDC, 2007, p. 75)

182

183

Activities encourage learners to learn and exercise integrated use of skills for authentic purposeful communication The textbook materials offered a broad range of listening texts Listening materials have used authentic (real life) English language The activities can help students to develop different listening skills (eg. Skills of anticipation, understanding instructions or an idea ). Textbook activities can help learners to acquire a range of speaking skills. These include (items 1-6): 1.Accuracy: the skill of using pronunciation, grammar and vocabulary to correctly communicate ideas 2. Fluency: the skill of linking what one says together and producing it at a reasonable “normal” speed 3. Appropriateness: the skill of using the right language to suit particular situations 4. Cohesion: the skill of producing utterances which “hang together” grammatically

Table 9.2 Recommendation section 4.3.2: integrated skills: listening, speaking, reading and writing (CDC, 2007, p. 77).

How to Evaluate Curriculum Fitness of ELT Textbooks

5. Coherence: the skill of producing spoken utterances that “hang together” semantically and logically 6. Interaction strategies: strategies such as asking for clarification, seeking further information Pre-reading, While-reading and Post-reading activities are provided to help learners to become effective readers There is a wide range of different reading texts with different subject content Reading materials help learners to relate English Language learning to daily life. Activities can help to develop skills at various stages of the writing process (eg. Idea generation, planning, drafting and revising) Activities can help students to apply the whole process when they have gained mastery of all strategies Activities can help students to identify writing purpose and audience of different text types Activities can develop skills in effective beginning and ending of different text-types Guidance is given in the textbook to guide learners through the review process

184

Chapter Nine

185

Imaginative texts provided are suitable for the language classroom in terms of (items 1-8): 1. Appropriateness of content 2. Likelihood of interest to the readers 3. Amount of cultural knowledge required 4. Density, pace, level and clarity of language 5. How the materials are related to the learning objectives, themes of the learning units and students learning in other areas 6. Degree of visual support (in a film/documentary) 7. Clarity of sound and picture (in a film/documentary) 8. The techniques employed (in a film/documentary) * The term ‘Imaginative text’ has been frequently used in the C&A guide. Examples of imaginative texts are films, songs, lyrics, movies, dramas, novels and short stories.

Table 9.3 Recommendation section 4.3.3: the teaching of language arts* (CDC, 2007, p. 87-88).

How to Evaluate Curriculum Fitness of ELT Textbooks

Chapter Nine

Self Access Language Learning materials supplied with the textbook (items 1-9): 1.helps to cater for learner diversity 2.can motivate learners to take more responsibility for their learning 3.can giver learners wide exposure to English 4.are relevant and interesting to learners 5.are categorized carefully and systematically 6.are graded and arranged from easy to difficult 7.contain instructions on how to use the learning materials 8.all have built-in assessment tools 9.have transcripts included

Table 9.4 Recommendation section 4.3.4: promoting independent language learning (CDC, 2007, p. 93).

186

How to Evaluate Curriculum Fitness of ELT Textbooks

187

Table 9.5 Recommendation section 4.3.5: information technology for interactive learning (CDC, 2007, p. 97). Students find the technological learning aids interesting The textbook and supporting learning materials encourage the use of technology in learning English Table 9.6 Recommendation section 4.3.6: life-wide learning (CDC, 2007, p. 98). The textbook provide students wide exposure of authentic (real life) English Table 9.7 Overall fitness with the recommended approaches and strategies. The textbook can deliver the recommended approaches and strategies without much need of adaptation of new materials In sum, I think this textbook has fully satisfied the approaches and strategies recommended by the NSS English Curriculum and I would like to use this textbook again (Please circle)

Yes No If no, state your reason(s): __________________________________ __________________________________ __________________________________

CHAPTER TEN ESOL PEDAGOGY: VOICES FROM THE CLASSROOM NAEEMA HANN

Inviting us to take a fresh look at whether ‘explicit teaching of language items facilitates the acquisition of communicative competence’, Tomlinson (2013, p. 44) suggests that research to date is inconclusive. So what works in an English as a second or other language (ESOL) classroom? To answer this question, it would be useful to consider pedagogic approaches associated with success in L2 learning as reported by ESOL learners. This chapter explores findings from a recent research project which investigated English language learning by immigrants in the UK. The chapter begins with a brief description of adult second language learners, highlighting the diversity within this category of language learners. The next few sections discuss influences on pedagogy in instructed settings for second language learning. This is followed by a discussion of ESOL pedagogic practices as represented in the literature. The next section reports data from adult ESOL learners in Yorkshire, UK. This data describes what these learners wanted from their classrooms and also which experiences contributed to successful learning. The final sections suggest implications for the classroom and teacher training. Effective classroom practices and approaches to teaching are influenced by a number of factors, first and foremost are the learners in terms of their needs, wants, economic and social contexts. Where the language instruction takes place, who pays for it and the teachers themselves are equally influential factors. Therefore, the next few sections give a brief overview of who ESOL learners are and the ESOL classes they attend. At this stage it would be useful to explain that ESOL is a term used to describe adult learners of English who have come to an English speaking country with a view to settlement (Pitt, 2005). ESL is understood to describe a similar category of English language learners, but includes children and teenagers as well.

ESOL Pedagogy: Voices from the Classroom

189

Adult ESOL Learners in the UK As stated above, a major influence on choice of pedagogic approaches ought to be learners, i.e. their language needs and learning histories as well as contexts of learning and language use. The overview given here of characteristics of English as a second or other language (ESOL) learners and where they learn English establishes the typicality of the respondents whose data is reported in this chapter. Almost half the respondents (47.92%) for the study being reported here were from Pakistan, the rest came from India, Bangladesh, Poland, Latvia, Iraq and Panama, and most (86.21%) were female. Their time in the UK ranged from one to two years (10.34%) to 13 to 14 years (20.69%). Almost a quarter of the respondents had some experience of tertiary education in their country and another third (eight out of 26) had schooling up to secondary level. Apart from two respondents who were bilingual and biliterate, all respondents were at least trilingual and biliterate to varying degrees. A quarter of the respondents (26.67%) reported being in paid employment at the time of the post-course interview (Hann, 2012a). The ‘bewildering’ diversity and ‘superdiversity’ of Adult ESOL learners in Britain (Khanna et al., 1998, p. 118; Vertovec 2006, p. 2) and elsewhere is well established. Typical classroom groups of ESOL learners present with a number of first and other languages, with educational backgrounds varying from no formal schooling to postgraduates and those with professional qualifications. A small number may not be literate at all. Educational and employment goals and aspirations along with wider needs for skills such as IT and study skills also vary within one classroom group. Choice of pedagogical approaches in a language classroom needs to take into consideration immigrants’ language learning needs and opportunities which in turn are influenced by their employment status and exposure to English outside the class. This exposure could be in a multilingual or English-only workplace, in a social setting within a multilingual community, or in a family setting, as English is often the language of communication among transnational families (Bryceson and Vuorela, 2002; Hann 2012). It would be too simplistic to sum up a typical ESOL learner in an ESOL class for adults as likely to be female, aged between 25 and 34 and from the subcontinent or Eastern Europe; the reality in ESOL classrooms is far more complex, as can be seen from the many characteristics of learners which contribute to their rich diversity.

190

Chapter Ten

The Provision: ESOL settings and contexts In addition to learner needs and backgrounds, a key influence on pedagogical choices is where the teaching takes place. ESOL classes take place in a range of settings, including ‘colleges of further education (FE); private training providers; sixth form centres in schools; adult educations centres run by Local Authorities (LAs); voluntary and charity organisations; JobCentre Plus; the Army; offenders’ institutions and employers’ (Baynham et al., 2007, p. 15). In the UK, until recently, ESOL classes were largely funded by the government. However, government-funded classes place constraints on choice of pedagogy as the funding almost dictates a basic-skills-based approach, i.e. an emphasis on basic literacy skills such as learning to read and write whereas learners and their contexts demand a holistic approach. ESOL learners’ immediate needs are to be able to communicate with people around them on a day to day basis and with immigration, health and education services. As Kegan et al. (2001) suggest, the nature of language learning is social and we need to consider cognition and context. While pedagogical approaches can be constrained by context, e.g. where the class takes place, quality and availability of resources, contexts can also provide opportunities for language learning and pedagogy needs to anticipate and respond to these opportunities. Here it would be useful to briefly examine the contexts of ESOL learners and opportunities for language learning latent in these contexts. It is now accepted that ESOL learners exist in a social context. That context could be family, wider society (such as neighbours who are native speakers of English), work or leisure. Figure 10.1 illustrates the contexts in which ESOL learners are likely to use English. It would be useful to bear in mind that the approach to ESOL research in UK has been holistic and has dwelled much on the context of these learners as immigrants and their (low) positioning in society as a result.

ESOL Pedagogy: Voices from the Classroom

191

Figure 10.1 Social and cultural contexts: an ESOL learner’s landscape. Based on discussions in publications by Khanna et al. (1998); Barton and Pitt (2003); Rosenberg (2007); Ward (2007); DIUS (2008).

ESOL Pedagogy: contexts and practices Having broadly considered major influences on choice of pedagogy in ESOL classrooms, it would be useful to turn to the main focus of this chapter: pedagogic approaches in adult ESOL. As can be expected, findings from SLA research are reflected in changes in teaching approaches. The last 30 years in particular have seen a shift from a focus on cognitive processes to social aspects of language learning. A volume of work, which takes into account contexts of learning and use, is now available to draw on when considering pedagogy for second or foreign language learning. For instance, Ellis, Basturkmen et al. (2001) report that ESOL classrooms use meaning-focused tasks and Breen (2001a) suggests that social relationships provide opportunities for learning. On the other hand, Allwright (1996) notes ‘unpedagogic’ behavior in the classroom, suggesting that social norms and demands can override pedagogic ones to the detriment of language learning.

192

Chapter Ten

It is well established that in an ESOL class, the subject is the medium of communication (Baynham et al., 2007; Schellekens 2007); ‘Language teaching to migrants and refugees differs in one […] aspect from any other classroom situation: the subject matter and the medium of communication are the same’ (Schellekens, 2007, p.80). However, this could be said of EFL classes as well where the students tend to be international students rather than migrants and, as Baynham et al. (2007, p. 10) note, ‘The pedagogic distinction between EFL and ESOL has increasingly less credibility’. Indeed, the oral and situational approaches described by Richards and Rodgers (2003) are also documented by Rosenberg (2007) as being in use in the 1950s and 1960s to teach adult migrants English.

Pedagogic Practices: voices from literature Having considered pedagogical contexts for ESOL learners, let us turn to pedagogical practices in instructed settings for adult learners of a second or other language. This section refers to five sources for descriptions of pedagogical practices in ESOL classes in the UK. The first source, Effective Teaching and Learning in ESOL (Baynham et al., 2007) reports on teaching practices in use in 40 ESOL classrooms in the UK. The authors drew on Condelli’s scale of teaching strategies (2003), to put together a scale of 26 practices which they looked for in classroom observations. The term ‘teaching strategy’ comes from the North American term instructional strategies (Condelli, 2008). The authors observed lessons by 40 ESOL teachers and found what they called general (GTS) and specific strategies (STS) as well as strategies for learner involvement (SLI) used by the teachers. The most frequently used strategies are reported below in a table. So it can be said that the ESOL teachers who participated in this study did not use a particular ELT methodology in the observed classes. Indeed, the section on methodologies and materials mostly discusses materials and the researchers say that ‘the most experienced and effective teachers seem to use what might be called a ‘principled eclecticism’ (Baynham et al., 2007, p.39). In the same study, general teaching strategies (GTS) and strategies for learner involvement (SLI) were grouped into four categories and correlated with student assessment scores. These four categories were:

ESOL Pedagogy: Voices from the Classroom

x x x x

193

Balance and variety Planning and explicitness Creating a collaborative learning environment Connecting classroom with learners’ outside lives (Baynham et al., 2007, pp.45-6).

Table 10.1 Most frequently used general teaching strategies, specific teaching strategies and strategies for learner involvement in ESOL Classrooms (Baynham, et al., 2007). Most frequently used GTS (from 26)

Most frequently used STS (from 30):

Most frequently used SLI (from 10):

- ‘created a safe, supportive environment for learning encouragement, humour, equal opportunities - ‘engaged in direct teaching (e.g. when a point was unclear, a pattern or point needed to be highlighted) - ‘provided opportunities for focus on accuracy - ‘used gesture, eye contact, visual aids and so on to help learners understand - ‘supported learning through modelling and repeating’ (Baynham et al, 2007, p.43).

- ‘responding to teacher’s questions and elicitation - ‘completing exercises to practise grammatical structure - ‘active listening to tapes, videos, the teacher, each other - ‘activities which highlight accurate output - ‘practising planned communicative exchanges’ (Baynham et al, 2007, p. 49).

- ‘Spend sufficient time on a task and sustain concentration and focus while carrying it out - ‘Learn with and from each other either using English and/or their L1 - ‘Elaborate and extend output beyond single utterances - ‘Contribute ideas based on their experience and knowledge - ‘Initiate exchanges during the lesson, either by asking questions, making statements or introducing topic shifts’ (Baynham, et al 2007, p.44)

194

Chapter Ten

They found a positive ‘correlation between balance and variety in lesson planning and student progress’ (Baynham et al., 2007, p.47). To explain the context and significance of this finding, the authors note that ‘balance and variety strategies represent a kind of core of pedagogical activity that can transform everyday activities such as chatting and sharing experiences in to activities that will support and promote language learning’ (pp. 51-2). The report concluded that ‘[ESOL teachers] are eclectic in using and developing materials and activities to be highly learner-responsive’ (Baynham et al., 2007, p.8). ESOL: A Critical Guide (Cooke and Simpson, 2008) draws on interview and classroom data from a number of national ESOL research projects. Cooke and Simpson (2008) suggest that most ESOL teachers are influenced, to varying degrees, by a teaching approach that broadly resembles CLT. They suggest a group learning approach with its opportunities for practice and negotiation of meaning rather than complete focus on form, as advantageous for the ESOL classroom. Cooke and Simpson (2008), along with Pennycook (1994) and Holliday (2004b) raise questions about adopting CLT in ESOL classrooms without any reservations. The reservations they suggest are cultural (in)appropriacy of CLT for some ESOL learners, a focus on communication without sufficient attention to form and quality, possible inequalities in power and the right to speak among the learners which may mean that some speak more than others. They also acknowledge that many ESOL teachers ‘lack access to the relevant knowledge about pedagogy, methods and language in general’, (Cooke and Simpson 2008, p. 46) and suggest that ESOL teacher training as well as continuing professional development need to address this gap. The third source I am going to refer to is Teachers’ Notes, which accompany government-sponsored ESOL materials in the UK. In government-funded ESOL provision in the UK, ESOL teachers are directed to Skills For Life Learner Materials for ESOL (DFES, 2003a) produced by the government. Teachers’ notes for these materials do not refer to a particular ELT teaching approach such as audio-lingual or a set of strategies which could be grouped together such as CLT. The section ‘Approaches to teaching and learning’ (DFES, 2003b, p. vii) lists a number of strategies which are broadly communicative in nature, for example, ‘incorporate communicative activities’ (DFES, 2003b, p. vii) but also suggest choral practice and drilling, the development of study skills as well as practices from basic literacy such as differentiation. So, it could be suggested that DfES ESOL materials present as a mixture of teaching

ESOL Pedagogy: Voices from the Classroom

195

strategies where underpinning by theories from SLA or sociolinguistics has not been made explicit. In the Oxford ESOL Handbook, Schellekens (2007) describes the pedagogic stages or processes in a single session as demonstration of the target language by the teacher, practice by learners with feedback as the practice continues and a review at the end of the session. This corresponds to the first two stages of the PPP model which became popular in the 1970s. She goes on to suggest that oral communication needs to occur frequently in the language classroom via activities such as presentations, pair work and group work. The tasks could be brainstorming for vocabulary, a personality test and working on everyday language. So again, this approach has aspects of CLT, creating opportunities for communication. Text frameworks, such as spider-grams (a diagram to organize text or model CVs), help the learners to organize their thoughts before they engage in speaking (Schellekens, 2007). The research report Adult ESOL Pedagogy (Barton and Pitt, 2003) was a useful addition to the field of ESOL. The report acknowledges, ‘a broadening of focus in the past twenty years as research has shifted from concentrating on cognitive processes to including social aspects of learning’ (Barton and Pitt, 2003, p.7). Barton and Pitt (2003) talk about (ESOL) classes based on ‘meaning-focused’ tasks such as the broadly communicative approach reported by Baynham et al. (2007), Cooke and Simpson (2008) as well as Teachers’ Notes that accompany ESOL learner materials (DFES, 2003b). The authors also acknowledge Breen’s (2001) work on social relationships in the classroom and the role of these in ‘orchestrating opportunities for learning’. Historically, British Council policy also played a role in pedagogic directions for ESOL. The British Council felt that: The nature of the task […] is not merely to teach a few foreigners a little English, but to take the whole body of foreigners and ‘relate them to British Life and British hospitality and […] give them the instruments (language […] and other facilities) (Rosenberg, 2007, p. 65).

The above quote from the 1950s acknowledges links between second language learning and positive contact with native speakers in the host country. Similarly, Naiman et al. (1978) in Canada found interaction with native speakers in the host country to be a predictor of success in acquiring English. Norton and Toohey, also in Canada, suggested a relationship,

196

Chapter Ten

albeit a complex one, between learning in and out of the classroom (Norton 2000; Norton and Toohey 2001). Table 10.2 summarises how ESOL pedagogy is described in the five sources referred to in this section. Later sections in this chapter discuss findings for a recent study (Hann, 2012a) with reference to existing literature about ESOL pedagogy.

ESOL Pedagogy: voices from the classroom So what works in an ESOL classroom? It would be useful to consider pedagogic approaches associated with success in L2 learning, as reported by ESOL learners. This section reports findings from a study which collected data from thirty three learners in Yorkshire, from here on referred to as the Yorkshire study. The study investigated factors supporting ESOL learners’ progress with improving their speaking skills (Hann, 2012a). In response to the research question ‘What supports progress of ESOL learners, in their speaking skills?’, the data revealed teaching approaches and strategies respondents found helpful and some which were not. In this mixed method, longitudinal study data was collected from the same respondents over two years using three research tools: a Brainstorm and Ranking activity (Barton and Hodge, 2007), a brief questionnaire and interviews. Thirty-three learners participated in the Brainstorm and Ranking activity (BS&R) and twenty eight of these continued with the interviews. Data from this study presents evidence of ‘bringing the outside in’ (Baynham et al., 2007, p. 44). Respondents reported how they brought language they came across outside the classroom, into the classroom to seek clarification and or to expand their opportunity to practice and use these chunks of language. They also reported how they transported the language they were presented with in the classroom, to situations outside the classroom.

Effective Teaching and Learning, ESOL (Baynham et al, 2007) Most frequently used GTS were - ‘created a safe, supportive environment for learning encouragement, humour, equal opportunities - ‘engaged in direct teaching (e.g. when a point was unclear, a pattern or point needed to be highlighted) - ‘provided opportunities for focus on accuracy - ‘used gesture, eye contact, visual aids and so on to help learners understand - ‘supported learning through modelling and repeating’ (Baynham et al. 2007 p.43).

ESOL: A Critical Guide (Cooke and Simpson, 2008) Draws on data from a number of studies including Effective Teaching and Learning, ESOL. Overall approach described as Communicative Language Teaching, foregrounds developing communicative competence, contextualised to learners. Includes taskbased learning and group work. Teachers constrained by constrained by impact of policy changes on course content and targets as well as resources.

Teachers’ Notes ESOL (DFES 2003b) lists a number of strategies - broadly communicative. Suggests, choral practice and drilling, developing study skills and practices from basic literacy such as differentiation.

Oxford ESOL Handbook (Schellekens, 2007) Skills based approach, underpinned by an understanding of language systems and lexis, contextualised to the learners’ contexts. PPP approach.

Table 10.2 Summary of literature about ESOL pedagogy.

ESOL Pedagogy: Voices from the Classroom

Adult ESOL Pedagogy (Barton and Pitt, 2003) Reports shift from cognitive social aspects of learning e.g. role of classroom relationships in ‘orchestrating opportunities for learning’. Suggest meaning-focused tasks.

197

198

Chapter Ten

The ESOL classroom Respondents reported positive experiences from their ESOL classes and said the work they did in class helped them mine non-classroom environments for noticing language they had learnt in class. One of the respondents, Feroz, explained how he improved his English: ‘Sometime we learn ….. class …. take idea and I also am going … look in the people in the park or on the way’. They also reported on the positive contribution of work done in class to their placement/job/next course. For instance, Feroz talked about feeling nervous on his first day in a new job at the till at Marks and Spencer and then within hours feeling confident as he realized that the language he could hear around him was what he had encountered in his ESOL class: ‘This is normal [……….] this is my English class talking’. Data from this study suggests that while respondents felt the language they were presented with in the classroom was useful for them at work, those with more previous education wanted to be challenged more, tested more often and get explicit and critical feedback. Those at a higher level within their class were not happy with mixed level classes and some respondents wanted to extend their classroom time to outside the class by going over work done in class. These findings are discussed below and illustrated with data extracts. In the interviews, respondents with more previous education suggested that more mock tests and explicit feedback about their mistakes, particularly grammar-related ones, would be useful. Semyon, a PE teacher trained in Romania said: [We] write and … teacher can fix it, after this you will see your grammar mistakes … but if you don’t write and … nobody fix it, it’s just … will be much better if on course … we take more … look like exam, more listening ….

Further evidence of the nature of support and scaffolding respondents appreciated comes from learners with a higher proficiency in English. Momina (Int4) talks about her vocational course: [S]ometimes when you’re saying something they don’t stop you but they correct you by saying the same phrases again [……..] they correct you but in a way that you understand … sometimes we say something with a grammatical mistake … they repeat the phrase but in a proper way which is very good so you know. They don’t tell you off or anything, they don’t

ESOL Peedagogy: Voicess from the Classsroom

199

make youu … but they coorrect it in a waay that you feel , you feel much h more appreciateed, just having a go at it other than just not tryying.

Respondentss were particcularly criticaal of mixed level classess: ‘if for example, tenn people on onne course … er more than hhalf of them have h very poor languaage …….. annd if you worrk same groupp, you can’t improve’ (Semyon). A Another obserrvation about the classroom m which emeerged was the respondeents’ liking of o group work k (Figure 10.22). This seemss to be in contrast to tthe difficultiess with group work w reportedd by students in higher education annd on EFL couurses. Figure 10.2 ‘W What did you liike most about the course?’.

A final and important finnding related to the classro room was thatt learners with a highher proficienccy in English h referred too the classroo om more often—seveen to ten timees more (Figu ure 10.3)—thaan those with h a lower proficiency in English, most m of whom referred r to thee classroom th hree times (Figure 10.44). This suggests that recentt suggestions bby the UK government to de-professionalize the teaching t of En nglish to imm migrants by leaaving it to untrained voolunteers in sccattered neigh hbourhood claasses is not an effective policy.

200

Chapterr Ten

Factors supportting progress reeported by highh proficiency reespondents Figure 10.3 F in the categorry of environmeent.

Figure 10.4 F Factors supportting progress reeported by low w proficiency reespondents in the categorry of environmeent.

ESOL Pedagogy: Voices from the Classroom

201

This suggests that more proficient users of English consider the classroom to be important, even in an English speaking environment which indicates the importance of effective pedagogic approaches. While it is important to consider pedagogic approaches for the classroom, for ESOL learners, the classroom is not the only site of learning. Therefore any pedagogic approaches need to equip learners with skills and agency or learner capital for them to continue learning outside the classroom. The symbiotic relationship between second language learning in and outside the classroom is noted by Barton and Pitt (2003, pp. 10-11). Commenting on Norton’s study of female immigrant learners of English, they state: By the end of the year the learners considered that the six month intensive ESOL class had helped them learn the basics of English, but that it was through everyday conversation outside the classroom that they became more fluent (Barton and Pitt, 2003, pp. 10-11).

This raises the question: which pedagogic approaches could give learners agency? Data from the study reported here suggests one which helps them experience successful interactions. This is supported by Dörnyei (2009) and Eldred (2002). Successful pedagogy is one which enables learners to succeed in their communication aims.

Experience of success Dörnyei (2009), Eldred (2002) and Eldred et al. (2006) suggest that success feeds language learning behaviour and practice. Naina, one of the respondents (Hann, 2012a) talked about how examination success gave her the confidence to join a (higher level) vocational course and also to take on another risk/challenge—that of taking up driving lessons. Other respondents also described how having a successful interaction or task/examination success gave them the courage and confidence to expose themselves to further L2 use situations. These respondents were learning English in a potentially input-rich environment where they had access to English-speaking interlocutors on a daily basis outside the classroom. They describe experiencing success as interaction where they were understood by the interlocutor who could be a family member, friend or a colleague. Respondents reported experiences of communicating successfully in English, in situations where they could not communicate earlier, 85 times

202

Chapterr Ten

across 43 ennd-of-course and a post-courrse interviewss. This was th he highest number of rreferences to one o theme fro om the themess which emerrged from the interview w data. Of thhese 85 references to succeess, 83 reportss were of respondents communicatiing successfu ully in Englishh outside the class, in non-academ mic contexts, as can be seen from the resppondent quotess above. The growthh in confideence and success is echhoed in resu ults from questionnairres completedd by learners and a tutors at the beginning g and end of their couurse. Three quuestions weree to do with change in th he learner inside and ooutside the class as well as any changges in the cou urse. The highest num mber of commeents for all three questions about changee reported increased coonfidence andd fluency in the learners. This can bee seen in Figures 10.5, 10.6 and 10.7. In Fig gure 10.5, thhe highest nu umber of comments iss about increaase in confidence and fluenncy. In Figure 10.6, the highest num mbers of comm ments is aboutt ‘more confiddence’. In Fig gure 10.7, the highest number of comments c is about more cconfidence to work in (subject) areea and improvved group dynamics. Figure 10.5 ‘Has anythingg changed for the learner sinnce the coursee began?’: learner, ESOL L and vocationaal tutor responsses.

ESOL Peedagogy: Voicess from the Classsroom

203

Figure 10.6 C Comments on changes c in perfformance: learnner, ESOL and vocational tutor responsees.

Figure 10.7 C Comments on changes c in courrse: learner, ES SOL and vocational tutor responses.

It can be seen from thee figures abov ve that, overaall, confidencce to use English hadd improved annd interview data d showed tthat this was related r to more successsful encounteers in English.

204

Chapter Ten

On further analyzes, data showed that those with a higher proficiency talked about having a level of competence which resulted in successful encounters more often—three to ten times—than those with a lower proficiency—three to four times—during the interviews. Implications for pedagogy are to build on opportunities for successful interactions and to set tasks for interaction outside the classroom. When asked directly what they found useful in the classroom, the learners described a constructivist approach: ‘Class personalise i.e. use the structures in pair activities/group discussions; tutor explains and gives examples; Learners bring new concepts/word structures to the class’ (Hann, 2008).

Discussion: Pedagogic strategies and learner success The data shows that respondents reported enjoying group work in class and felt that group work scaffolded and facilitated learning. They also valued language they could use outside the classroom, e.g. at work. However, the group work and language for use outside the classroom, valued by ESOL learners (Figure 10.2) did not seem to be in evidence in classrooms observed in the Baynham study. From their observation of 40 ESOL classrooms in the UK, Baynham et al. (2007, p.9) found that strategies ‘that promoted balance and variety and planning and explicitness were more in evidence than those promoting a collaborative learning environment and connecting the classroom with learners’ outside lives’. The same study (Baynham et al., 2007) found that for their participants, ‘there were modest but significant correlations between strategies promoting balance and variety in the classrooms and gains on test scores’ (Baynham et al., 2007, p.9). Here, balance and variety would include explicit teaching of grammar and vocabulary, similar to what DeKeyser calls procedural knowledge. However, respondents for the Yorkshire study (Hann, 2012a) considered interaction to be a major contributory factor in their progress in speaking skills. Of the thirteen top ranking factors reported during the brainstorm and ranking activity, only three were related to input; the rest were related to interaction. Only one factor was related to the classroom. It is interesting to note that practice and structured opportunities to gain procedural knowledge, considered important for second language acquisition (DeKeyser, 2007), are missing from the top ranking factors reported by respondents for the Yorkshire study.

ESOL Pedagogy: Voices from the Classroom

205

A comparison of the General Teaching Strategies (GTS) described by Baynham et al. (2007) with data from the Yorkshire study shows (Appendix 1) that of the 26 GTS listed, Yorkshire study respondents’ comments corresponded to eight of the GTS. Teachers may well have used a number or the full range of GTS which may not have been noticeable to the respondents in their position as learners. Baynham et al. (2007) found that General Teaching Strategies (GTS) and Strategies for Learner Involvement (SLI) on their own did not explain learner progress, however, when the relationship between GTS and SLI was examined, it was found to be ‘positive and quite strong’ (Baynham et al., 2007, pp. 44-5). These findings reinforce the notion of a partnership between teacher and learner and the value of teaching strategies and learner strategies working together.

Implications for learning in and outside the classroom It is important to continue with balance and variety as suggested by the ESOL Effective Practice Study (Baynham et al., 2007) as well as provide increased opportunities for group work and collaboration inside and outside the classroom. Recent discussions on e-teaching blogs (WizIQ, 2011) and email lists (Rodgers, 2011) for English language teachers suggests ‘flipped classrooms’ where learners are set tasks for outside the classroom which they then talk about in the classroom, increasing opportunities for ‘bringing the outside in’ (Baynham et al., 2007, p. 44) and reflection on language and learning, both associated with progress and proficiency. The tasks for outside the classroom could include group tasks.

Implications for teacher training When it comes to teacher training, teachers need to develop ‘the flexibility of turning talk into learning’ (Baynham et al., 2007, p. 70). Here, an awareness of GTS and SLI (Baynham et al., 2007) would be useful to inform ESOL classroom practice. Teacher training also needs to include familiarity with a wide range of ELT materials and not just state-produced ESOL ones in order to expose learners to a range of language. Training in the adaptation and use of sources of authentic language would be useful. Since learners valued group work and learning language they could use outside the classroom, teacher training needs to develop competence in setting up group work effectively. This group work could include tasks for outside the classroom.

206

Chapter Ten

If we now return to the question raised by Tomlinson (2013, p. 44): ‘[does] explicit teaching of language items facilitate the acquisition of communicative competence?’. Findings reported in this chapter seem to suggest that a combination of explicit teaching and language in use approaches contribute to a higher proficiency in the target language.

References ALI (2003), Literacy, Numeracy and English for Speakers of Other Languages: A Survey of Current Practice in Post-16 and Adult Provision. Ofsted Office for Standards in Education: 21. Allwright, D. (1996), ‘Social and pedagogic pressures in the language classroom: The role of socialisation’, in H. Coleman (ed.), Society and the Language Classroom. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Barton, D. and Pitt, K. (2003), Adult ESOL Pedagogy: A review of Research, An Annotated Bibliography and Recommendations for Future Research. London: NRDC. Barton, D. and Hodge, R. (2007), ‘Progression: what are the issues? Lives and learning over time’. Paper presented at Skills for Life Regional Achievement Dialogue, Preston, UK. Baynham, M., Roberts, C., Cooke, M., Simpson, J., Ananiadou, K., Callaghan, J., McGoldrick, J. and Wallace, C. (2007), Effective Teaching and Learning, ESOL. London: NRDC. Bishop, H. (1989), ‘Contradictions in provision for bilingual students aged 15-19’. Language Issues, 3, (2), 2-14. Breen, M. (2001), ‘The social context for language learning: a neglected situation’, in C. Candlin and N. Mercer (eds.), English Language Teaching in its Social Context. London: Routledge, pp.122-46. Breen, M. (2001a), ‘Overt participation and covert acquisition in the language classroom’, in M. Breen (ed.), Learner Contributions to Language Learning: New directions in Research. Harlow: Pearson Education. Bryceson, ,D. and Vuorela, U. (eds.) (2002), The Transnational Family: New European Frontiers and Global Networks. Berg: NewYork. Condelli, L., Wrigley, H. S. and Yoon K., Seburn, M. and Cronen, S. (2003), What Works Study for Adult ESL Literacy Students. Washington, DC: US Department of Education. Condelli, L., Wrigley, H. S., and Yoon, K. (2008), “What works’ for adult literacy students of English as a second language’, in S. Reder and J. Bynner (eds.), Tracking Adult Literacy and Numeracy Skills: Findings from Longitudinal Research. London: Routledge, pp.132-59.

ESOL Pedagogy: Voices from the Classroom

207

Cooke, M. and Simpson, J. (2008), ESOL: A Critical Guide. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Department for Education and Skills (2003a), Skills For Life Learner Materials Pack ESOL. London: DfES Publications. Department for Education and Skills (2003b), Teachers’ Notes ESOL Entry 2. London: DfES Publications. Department for Innovation Universities and Skills (2008), Focusing English For Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) on Community Cohesion. London: DIUS. Dörnyei, Z. (2001), Motivational Strategies in the Classroom. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Dörnyei, Z. (2005), The Psychology of the Language Learner: Individual differences in Second Language Acquisition. New Jersey: Laurence Earlbaum. Dörnyei, Z. (2009), ‘The L2 motivational self system’, in Z. Dörnyei and E. Ushioda (eds.), Motivation, Language Identity and the L2 Self. Bristol: Multilingual Matters, pp. 9-39. Ellis R., Basturkmen,H. and Loewen, N. (2001), ‘Pre-emptive focus on form in the ESL classroom’. TESOL Quarterly, 35, (3), 407-32. Hann, N. B. (2008), ‘‘Hard is okay but not impossible’: factors supporting success Of ESOL learners on vocational courses’. Paper presented at the University of Leeds. Hann, N.B. (2012), ‘The role of family in adult learners’ language learning’. Paper presented at the Annual Bloomsbury Round Table on Communication, Cognition and Culture, University of London. Hann, N. B. (2012a), ‘Factors Supporting Progress of ESOL Learners in Speaking Skills’. Doctoral dissertation, Leeds Metropolitan University. Hann, N.B. (2013), ‘Mining the L2 Environment: ESOL learners and strategies outside the classroom’, in B. Tomlinson (ed.), Developing Materials for Language Teaching (2nd edn). London: Bloomsbury, pp. 309-332. Hymes, D. (1972), ‘On communicative competence’, in J. Pride and J. Holmes (eds.), Sociolinguistics. Harmondsworth: Penguin, pp. 269-93. Kachru, B. (ed.) (1982), The Other Tongue: English Across Cultures. Urbana: University of Illinois Press. Kachru, B. B. (1985), ‘Standards, codification and sociolinguistic realism: the English language in the outer circle’, in R. Quirk and H. G. Widdowson (eds.), English in the World: Teaching and Learning the Language and Literatures. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press for The British Council.

208

Chapter Ten

Kegan, R., Broderick, M., Drago-Severson, E., Helsing, D., Popp, N. and Portnow, K. (2001), Toward a New Pluralism in ABE/ESOL Classrooms: Teaching to Multiple ‘Cultures of Mind’. Boston: National Centre for the Study of Adult Learning and Literacy. Khanna, A .L., Verma, M. K., Agnihotri, R. K. and Sinha, S. K. (1998), Adult ESOL Learners in Britain: A Cross-Cultural Study. Clevedon, Multilingual Matters. Macaro, E. (2003), Teaching and Learning a Second Language. London: Continuum. Naiman, N., Fröhlich, Stern H. H. and Todesco, A. (1978), The Good Language Learner. Toronto: Ontario Institute for Studies in Education. NIACE (2006), More than a language. Leicester: National Institute for Adult and Community Education. Norton, B. (2000), Identity and Language Learning: Gender, Ethnicity and Educational Change. New York: Longman. Norton, B. and Toohey, K. (2001), ‘Changing perspectives on good language learners’. TESOL Quarterly, 35, (2), 307-22. Pitt, K. (2005), Debates in ESOL Teaching and Learning. Oxon: Routledge. Richards, J. and Rodgers, T. (2000), Approaches and Methods in Language Teaching. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Roberts, C., Baynham, M., Shrubshall, P., Barton, D., Priti, C., Cooke, M., Hodge, R., Pitt, K., Schellekens, P., Wallace, C. and Whitfield, S. (2004), English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL): Case Studies of Provision, Learners’ Needs and Resources. London: NRDC. Rosenberg, S. (2007), A Critical History of ESOL in the UK, 1870-2006. Leicester: National Institute of Adult and Continuing Education. Schellekens, P. (2007), The Oxford ESOL Handbook. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Thompson, J. (1994), ‘Developing an English for academic and professional purposes programme for refugees/asylum seekers’. Language Issues , 16, (2), 29-32. Tomlinson, B. (ed.) 2013, ‘Classroom research of language classes’, in B. Tomlinson (ed.), Applied Linguistics and Materials Development. London: Bloomsbury, pp. 43-60. Vertoveç, S. (2006), ‘The emergence of superdiversity in Britain’. Working paper presented at the Centre on Migration, Policy and Society, University of Oxford. Ward, J. (2007), ESOL: The Context for the UK Today. Leicester: National Institute for Adult and Continuing Education.

ESOL Pedagogy: Voices from the Classroom

209

Appendix 1 Use of the general teaching strategies across classes from Baynham et al. (2007, p. 43) also reported by respondents for the current study. The tutor Created a safe, supportive environment for learning, e.g. through praise and encouragement, humour, equal opportunities

Engaged in direct teaching (e.g. when a point was unclear, a pattern or point needed to be highlighted) Provided opportunities for focus on accuracy

Used gesture, eye contact, visual aids and so on to help learners understand Supported learning through modelling and repeating Linked lesson to previous or forthcoming lessons Provided a range of activities that kept learners involved and engaged Provided feedback in class to learners on their work and understanding of what was taught Integrated reading, writing, speaking, listening Created an overall balance and cohesion in the lesson between different stages and activities Generated and exploited illustrative contextualised examples

Supported learning through rephrasing

Reported by respondents in my study Teacher created a safe, supportive environment for learning through praise and encouragement - ‘feel appreciated’ (Momina Int4) Engaged in direct teaching (e.g. when a point was unclear, a pattern or point needed to be highlighted) Provided opportunities for focus on accuracy, ‘corrected us’ (Naina Int3) us’ Not reported Not reported Not reported Not reported Provided feedback in class (Romana Int3) Not reported Not reported

Provided examples of workplace language – ‘this is our English class talking’ (Feroz Int4) Supported learning through modelling and repeating ‘said things back properly’ (Shamaila Int3)

210

Chapter Ten

Was flexible and responded to learners’ concerns as they arose, went with the ‘teachable moment’ Shared the overall goal for the lesson as well as individual activities; brought the lesson back to the overall point or theme Provided a variety of materials Provided opportunities to work together, do projects, jointly solve problems, read and write collaboratively Provided opportunities for fluency practice Offered opportunities for extended learner output (e.g. by asking open-ended and exploratory questions, encouraging learner input on classroom topics) Offered end-of-class summaries or highlights of teaching points from the lesson Supported authentic, spontaneous communication about outside topics Linked what was learned to life outside the classroom Encouraged independent learning Provided materials from authentic sources Supported use of learners’ L1 as a strategy for making meaning and understanding tasks Brought ‘outside’ into the classroom, e.g. field trips, guest speakers, realia Encouraged learners to evaluate/be critical and reflect upon their learning, experiences and knowledge

Not reported

Not reported

Teachers used cassette players, videos Respondents liked working in groups, implying there were opportunities for group work Not reported Not reported

Not reported Not reported What respondents learned in class was useful for next course, placements and job Not reported Not reported Not reported Not reported Not reported

It should be noted this study does not suggest that the GTS which were not reported by respondents for the current study were not taking place in the classrooms attended by these respondents. Rather, being learners, they may not have noticed the full range of GTS employed by their tutors.

CHAPTER ELEVEN THEY DO TALK – WHEN THERE’S SOMETHING WORTH TALKING ABOUT: THE CURIOUS CASE OF LANGUAGE CLASS DISCOURSE IRMA-KAARINA GHOSN

Introduction Practice of formulaic chunks of language, role-play, and dialogue exercises are typical in primary school English language teaching (ELT) coursebooks. However, the content of these activities often presupposes a shared reality with the learners that would make the language practice meaningful. Such a shared reality, however, may be absent when the coursebook is used in a cultural context different from the one assumed by the authors, resulting in interactions possibly quite different from those intended. As Richards (2001) has also noted, commercial language teaching materials may not always be culturally appropriate in terms of their content. Moreover, many language practice activities call for studentstudent interaction rather than teacher-student exchanges. In formal, hierarchical cultures, it may not be easy for teachers to divest themselves from the authority role and become observers of student-student interactions. In contrast, children’s stories, even when dealing with culturally unfamiliar concepts, enable the teacher and learners to remain in their own culturally appropriate roles while tackling the topic. Since classrooms are microcosms of the cultures within which they are situated, classroom practices can be expected to differ, to a greater or lesser extent, from practices typical in the Anglo cultures where most ELT coursebooks are developed. Therefore, many ‘innovative pedagogies used with learners from the mainstream majority culture’ (Faltis and Hudelson, 1994, p. 643), despite their success in the native culture, may not be the most appropriate in different cultural contexts

212

Chapter Eleven

While the central role of the coursebook has been documented, for example, by Martin (1999), Peacock (1995), and Ghosn (2001), how teachers and students actually use the language teaching coursebook has not been much investigated (Tomlinson, 1998; Ellis, 1998). This chapter provides views into real classrooms that reveal the significantly different nature of discourse around the typical language teaching activities and when teachers and students are working on a story. In this chapter, we look into real classrooms to witness how language teaching activities do— or do not—transfer across boundaries of culture and how that influences classroom interactions.

Classroom Interactions Extensive research from English-dominant countries suggests that interactions play an importance role in language learning. Second language acquisition research points to negotiated interactions as a key to successful language learning (e.g. Gass, 1997), and interactions are argued to be particularly important for students who need to learn academic subject matter in L2 (Tharp and Gallimore, 1991). A rich body of literature now exists on classroom interactions (see Lightbown and Spada, 1994; Tsui, 1995; Hall and Verplaetse, 2000) and academic second language literacy (e.g. Goldenberg and Gallimore, 1992; Thomas and Collier, 1997; Zamel and Spack, 1998). Classroom interactions typically happen within the well-known sequence: teacher asks a question, student responds, and teacher evaluates the response through feedback (Sinclair and Coulthard, 1975; Cazden, 1988). In a language class, teacher questions usually aim at eliciting learner output (Van Lier, 1988), which the teacher then evaluates. Teacher questions control, to a certain extent, the output learners can be expected to produce. Open, or divergent, questions appear to produce longer and syntactically more complex responses than closed, or convergent, questions (Brock, 1986; Kubota, 1989; Ghosn, 2003). Teacher feedback determines, to a great extent, the course of the lesson (Brown and Wragg, 1993) and can be either accepting or rejecting in nature. It may also involve negotiation, which occurs when the teacher signals to the learner that their output is not clear or comprehensible. As Van Lier (1988) has pointed out, teacher feedback does not only function as evaluation of learner responses but also has a psychological function. Ghosn’s (2001) study suggests that while positive feedback appears to reinforce and encourage further participation, rejecting feedback, especially

They Do Talk – When There’s Something Worth Talking About

213

if frequent, may discourage communication attempts. Teacher negotiation, although perhaps more neutral in terms of reinforcement, is argued to facilitate comprehension (Ellis et al., 1994; Gass and Varonis 1994; Pica et al., 1987) and may, therefore, provide some positive reinforcement for further communication attempts.

Conversation as Scaffolding Drawing on Vygotsky’s (1978) socio-cultural learning theory, Tharp and Gallimore (1991, p. 3) have suggested that, although a variety of classroom strategies can promote learning, dialogue, ‘the questioning and sharing of ideas and knowledge that happen in conversation’, is critical for development of thinking skills required for academic L2 literacy. The social interaction of dialogue provides learners with scaffolding, which is assistance that enables them to ‘concentrate on the difficult skill [they are] in the process of acquiring’ (Bruner, 1978, p. 19). Arguably, scaffolding is an ambiguous construct to operationalize, and to know what might count as scaffolding is not straightforward. In order to determine that scaffolding has, in fact, been provided, one must have some evidence of ‘the learner successfully accomplishing the task with the teacher’s help’ or achieving ‘some greater level of independent competence as a result of the scaffolding experience’ (Maybin et al., 1992, p. 188). One way teachers can provide scaffolding is by incorporating, or ‘appropriating’ (Newman et al., 1989, p. 62) learners’ response or ideas into their feedback, thus enabling the learner to construct new understandings. Teacher appropriation includes paraphrasing and recapping student utterances (Mercer, 1994) and strategies similar to negotiation. Vygotsky’s socio-cultural perspective to learning views all learning as inherently social and asserts that, in order to understand individual learners one must understand their social world. As with all human interactions, classroom interactions are influenced by the culture—the social world— within which they occur. Whereas the North American Anglo culture is informal and egalitarian, Middle Eastern culture—the context of the observations reported in this chapter—tends more toward the formal and hierarchical (e.g. Stewart and Bennett, 1991), with high power distance between individuals of different social statuses (Hofstede, 1980). The high power distance and the hierarchical, formal orientation to authority usually translate into teacher-centered and teacher-directed classrooms, where the teacher initiation—student response—teacher evaluation sequence is the norm and where little or no student-student interaction is expected (Wurzel and Fischman, 1995). Hierarchical cultures also often place a high value

214

Chapter Eleven

on the authority of books, with students being evaluated based on how closely they can ‘recall and repeat the words of the teacher and the words of the book’ (Wurzel and Fischman, 1995, p. 44). In addition, Middle Eastern cultures are relatively uncomfortable with uncertainty or ambiguity, especially when compared to the United States or Great Britain (Hofstede, 1980). This implies strict rules that govern human interactions, which, in the classroom, may be reflected in fixed, rigid instructional routines, with the textbook providing not only structure but also certainty, with all participants knowing what to expect. To sum up, while providing structure, language teaching textbooks are culturally loaded, both in terms of content and approach to instruction (Damen, 1987). Although the question-response-evaluation sequence in the primary school classroom may be orchestrated by the teacher, ‘the unique social environment of the classroom is jointly constructed by the teacher, students and the texts’ (Martin, 1999, p. 41). A mismatch between teachers’ (and students’) perceptions about appropriate teacher and pupil behaviors and those presupposed by the coursebook may result in inefficient instruction (Gregory, 1979).

Context In Lebanon, the cultural context of the present chapter, the children’s mother tongue is Arabic, which serves as the instructional language for the first few years of school and is gradually replaced by a foreign language, either English or French, in most subject matter classes. Even initial literacy instruction very often happens in a foreign language. English is the language of instruction in about 40% of the schools and the majority of universities in Lebanon, and a language many people use at work. However, Arabic and French are the principal languages spoken at home and in the community. English-medium schools typically begin English as the first foreign language (EFL1) instruction in Kindergarten and teach number concepts and sciences in English from the onset of schooling. French-medium schools have been teaching English as a second foreign language (EFL2) from grade 7, but with an increasing number of Englishmedium universities, many now introduce EFL2 in lower primary grades with 2-3 weekly hours. The two primary sources of English language input for young Lebanese learners are the teacher—most often a native speaker of Arabic—and the language teaching coursebook. In the Lebanese English language classroom, the textbook, in fact, functions much as a syllabus, with

They Do Talk – When There’s Something Worth Talking About

215

teachers covering the book, page by page. This is not surprising, as coursebooks provide structure and help standardize the instructional program, as Richards (2001) notes. The classroom observation data reported here were collected from Lebanese EFL1 and EFL2 school classrooms in grades KG-6. The purpose was to identify and analyze interactions in classrooms in an effort to understand the role coursebook activities play in the process. The main question investigated was what kind of interactions can be observed in classrooms using coursebooks and texts imported from another culture.

A Look into the Classroom Teacher and Coursebook in Control Some of the observations reveal that the textbook, indeed, is a key participant in the classroom interactions, with most teachers following the coursebook and its accompanying teacher’s guide quite closely. The control and authority delegated to the textbook was further reflected in some teachers’ frequent, rather curious, use of the personal pronoun ‘they’ when initiating activities specified in the textbook:

Teacher 1: Let’s see what they want us to do here. Teacher 2: They want us to circle the answers here. Teacher 3: They always give us problems to solve. Teacher 4: They want us to practice conversation here. (Ghosn, 2003, p. 293) There is a strong sense that the textbook is firmly in control of what is permissible and what needs to be accomplished.

Categories of Classroom Talk Three distinct categories of lesson-related talk emerge from the transcript data (talk around discipline issues and procedures unrelated to the lesson was excluded): a. Basic exchanges (BE) consisting of an initiation, a response, and a feedback move (feedback not necessarily verbalized);

Chapter Eleven

216

b. Negotiated exchanges (NE) consisting of an initiation, one or more negotiation/ response moves, and a feedback move; c. Direct teaching (DT) of teacher explanations and instruction. Three types of negotiated exchanges were found identified in previous negotiation research: negotiation of meaning (Swain, 1995; Lyster and Ranta, 1997), topic (identified as ‘content’ by Rulon and McCreary, 1986), and form (Swain, 1995), here as NEm, NEt, NEf. Both exchanges and direct teaching were found sometimes to contain scaffolding, particularly in classes where children worked on stories. Below are examples of the exchanges. Example 1. T: BE T:

S:

T: NEm S: T: S: NEt S:

Tony, where’s Andres? [referring to the textbook exercise] I can see her. She is under the table. Very good. Very good, Hala. That story was The Wind Blew, and it was also by Pat Hutchins. Now, grade one, look at the< Miss, who made the pictures? Oh, you mean who illustrated the story^ Yes, Miss.

NEm S: T:

Miss, how can they bring him back to life [referring to a legend about the mistletoe] This is a legend. I’m telling you that Now a legend first, a legend is a story that is told from before. And it’s not true. Like fantasyˆ It’s like fantasy, yes. They use magic.

S: NEf T: S:

I take an egg, salad eggs. salad eggs^ Egg salad

T: S:

Analysis of the transcript data revealed distinctly different discourse patterns between dialogue practice and story-talk. Discourse around language practice contained very few NEm or NEt exchanges, but plenty of teacher NEfs, with teacher focus on form. Discourse around stories, in contrast, contained many NEm and NEt exchanges, with teacher focus primarily on meaning.

They Do Talk – When There’s Something Worth Talking About

217

What is There to Talk About? Discourse around language practice activities was characterized by brief BEs, which contained little explicit teaching or scaffolding. Teacher focus was primarily on accuracy of student utterances, which were brief and text- or teacher-prompted, as the following three examples illustrate. In the first example, 10-year-old students are expected to talk about their freetime activities. The coursebook presents a question and answer sample, and a number of response options: What do you do in your free time? I collect coins; read; listen to music; garden; care for pets; paint; play soccer; play music; cook; bowl; play video games; collect coins; watch TV (Herrera and Zanatta, 1996, p. 15).

This is how the task was realized in the classroom (see transcription conventions in the Appendix): Example 2. Episode 1 1 S1: 2 T: 3 S2: 4 T: 5 S1: 6 T: 7 S1: 8 T: 9 S3: 10 S4: 11 T: 12 S3: 13 T: 14 S3: 15 T: 16: S3: 17 T:

What do you do in your free time? [reading from the book] Now you answer him. I watch TV. Next. Now you will tell us about her activities. She watch< She^ >She watches TV Now you. What do you do in your free time? I play video games. Now you tell us about his activities. He play the Nintendo. He play^ He play video games. He play^, play^ .. or he playz? He plays. OK. Next.

The activity continued until all 28 students in class had had their turn. Lines 6, 13 and 15 show teacher attention to be on accuracy rather than on students’ free time activities. Note how student 3 (line 12) deviates from the text, but, apparently misunderstanding the teacher’s prompt, corrects his output to conform to the text. The activity, as it played out in this

Chapter Eleven

218

classroom, was far from genuine communication, as the video shows student pairs standing at their desks, reading the phrases in the book. In another class, students were practicing language associated with the four seasons. The textbook provides models accompanied by colorful illustrations: What’s your favorite season? My favorite season is winter. Why? I like cold, snowy weather. What do you do in the winter? I go sledding and ice skating. My favorite season is summer. I like hot, sunny weather. I go swimming and sailing. My favorite season is fall. I like cool, windy weather. I go bike riding. I play in the leaves. My favorite seasons is spring. I like warm, rainy days. I plant flowers in my yard. (Walker, 1996: 113)

The students’ task is to create new, similar conversations among themselves, selecting expressions from the data bank. This is the shape ‘conversations’ took in the classroom: Example 3. Episode 2 1 S1: 2 S2: 3 T: 4 S2: 5 T: 6 S3: 7 S4: 8 T: 9 S4: 10 S3: 11 S4: 12 S5: 13 S6: 14 S5: 15 S6: 16 T:

What do you do in the fall? Fall I go bike Bike riding I play in the leaves. Okay. Rami and Boutros. Please do the conversation. What is your favorite season? My favorite< [pronounced as fa’vrit] My, Rami, my favorite My favorite season is spring. Why? I like warm, rainy days. What’s your favorite season? (xxx) Why? I want< Hady, when he asks you why, you will answer by ‘because’, ‘because’.

They Do Talk – When There’s Something Worth Talking About 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32

S6: T: S6: T: S9: T: S10: T: S10: T: S10: T: S11: T: S12: T:

219

Because to swimming. Because I go I go to swim. I go swimming. What’s your favorite season? OK. Now Rania, you answer him. My favorite season is winter. Why do you like winter? Because it’s cold. Because it’s cold or because you like to play in the snow? I like to play in the snow. Now Hani and Zeina, you do the conversation. What’s your favorite season? [to S12] And don’t say winter! [no response] What is your favorite season?

As in the first episode, students are producing text- and teacher-prompted language rather than communicating with each other. The teacher is clearly more concerned about the accuracy of form than the ideas communicated. When students attempt to use their own words (lines 2 and 19), the teacher corrects them, which prompts students to return to the text. In line 27, the teacher questions the student’s reason and offers an alternative, possibly to get the students to use the ‘play in’ from the data bank. When the teacher forbids the use of winter (line 30), the student does not respond despite two further teacher prompts. In both of the above episodes, which reflect discourse observed in the majority of classes where such dialogues were practiced, the expected student output is on word and phrase level, and the discourse can best be classified as ‘pseudo-communication’ (Ghosn, 2001, p. 152), where no real meaningful information is exchanged. Episode 3 further emphasizes the outcomes of language practice when the content is not relevant to learners. Grade 4 students (age 9) are working on an ‘ask and answer’ activity presented in their lesson, where two children, Rick and Lisa, are talking about pocket money: “My dad gives me pocket money. He gives me three pounds every week. I buy books, comics, and sweets. Sometimes, I save my money and buy a computer game.”

Chapter Eleven

220

“My mum gives me pocket money. She also gives me three pounds every week.” (Holt, 2005, p. 34)

Example 4. Episode 3 S1: Do your parents give you pocket money? S2: My dad gives me pocket money. S1: How much do they< T: He said his dad gives him S1: How much he< T: How much does he S1: How much does he give you? S2: He gives me three pounds. T: Don’t read what Rick’s dad gives him! Say how much your dad gives you. S2: ((I don’t get pocket money)) T: Oh, OK. Pretend that he gives you, say, three thousand Lebanese pounds [about two US dollars] S2: He gives me three thousand pounds. T: Good. Now, Ramzi, you continue and ask him what he does with the money. S3: What you buy? T: What do you buy? S2: I buy, I buy books, comics, and sweets. S4: [laughing] ((All that with three thousand!))

In addition to the limited and controlled output, the above examples reveal a concern about the culturally situated context of the exercise. For example, the only activities children picked from the coursebook list in Episode 1 classroom were ‘play video games’ and ‘watch TV’, with one student picking ‘play soccer’. This is not surprising as coin collecting, caring for pets, and bowling are not familiar among average Lebanese children, and ‘soccer’ is known as ‘football’. Even the seemingly unproblematic ‘garden’ can be confusing, as children are familiar with the word as a noun rather than a verb. Secondly, although gardening may well be very familiar to British and American children living in suburbs, it is much less familiar to children living in apartment buildings in Beirut or other cities. Even in Lebanese villages, children rarely participate in gardening tasks, which are often carried out by migrant laborers. Since children did not have vocabulary related to their own favorite activities, they were left with very few options. It would have been interesting to see

They Do Talk – When There’s Something Worth Talking About

221

how the teacher would have reacted had students offered vocabulary outside the book. The seasonal descriptions and activities in Episode 2 can also be problematic. While British and North American children can well identify the four seasons and activities associated with them, they may not be so obvious elsewhere. A colleague from India pointed out that it would be rather difficult for her students to relate to the four seasons and some of the activities mentioned. The same could be said about many parts of the Middle East and Africa. In Lebanon, although in some parts of the country trees shed their leaves—not in fall but in summer—playing in the dry leaves is not customary. Unless children have vocabulary related to their personal interests and activities, exercises like those above are likely to remain artificial and personally meaningless drills. The contents of the exercises reflect what Phillipson (1992, p. 61-63) calls ‘educational imperialism’. Although children in the developing world may share many experiences with children in the Western world, many coursebook activities do not always mirror their daily experiences. Even within a Western cultural context, children in impoverished and underprivileged areas, or in some ethnic immigrant communities, may not readily relate to them. Such exercises are reminiscent of the old ‘Dick and Jane’ readers, where everybody was white, middle class and comfortable, and where all children had two parents, a nice house and time to play with toys and engage in fun activities.

We Have Something to Talk About! Needless to say, learning a foreign language also implies culture learning. Yet, activities such as those described above are not the best approach to learning about culture. A more interesting approach, and one that not only promotes more natural discourse but also provides opportunities for culture learning, is to use children’s stories. The following episodes illustrate this very clearly. In contrast to the disconnected exchanges during ‘conversations’, the discourse around stories is characterized by connected, interactive discourse consisting of NEm and NEt exchanges, as shown in Episodes 4, 5 and 6 below. In the first episode, 10-year-old students are reading about the legend of mistletoe.

Chapter Eleven

222

Example 5. Episode 4 1 T: 2 S1: 3 S2: 4 T: 5 S2: 6 7

T:

8 9

T: S3:

10 11 12 13 14 15

T: S4: T: S5:

16 17

T:

18 19 20 21 22

S3: S7: T: S7: T:

23 24 25

S7: T:

OK. It’s Sarah’s turn. The plant to have in your home is mistletoes. [raises his hand] Yes, Rami. New year and Christmas was here [stops reading and looks up] Miss, here they wrote ‘is mistletoes’. They have to write ‘is a mistletoe.’ No, mistletoes can be, is like uncountable, so mistletoes is OK. Nehmet. In the story, a boy was killed by an arrow made from mistletoes. Now the mother, her son died, how did the mother feel? He’s dead. Her son was killed so how’s the mother feel? The goddess was furious. Furious, yes. Because the boy was dead. The gods talked among themselves and decided (xxx). The happy couple agreed that this boy should see a land of peace and (xx) and people who meet under it should exchange kisses. [. . . ] Now they tell us here, where did they get this habit from? They say here that in Norse legends. Miss Yes, Maher. Miss how can they bring him back to life? This is a legend. I’m telling you that. Now a legend first, a legend is a story that is told from before. And it’s not true. Like fantasy^ It’s like fantasy, yes. They use magic.

The discourse is clearly very different from that observed in the earlier episodes. Note the NEt exchange in lines 21-25. Line 6 can be considered a NEf move initiated by the student. Another example from a 2nd grade class shows a similar level of interactive discourse. Here the teacher is preparing to share with her 7-year-old students a simplified version of Andersen’s classic, The Ugly Duckling:

They Do Talk – When There’s Something Worth Talking About

223

Example 6. Episode 5 1 T: 2 3

S1: T:

4 5 6 7

S2: S3: T:

8 9 10

S2: T:

12 13

S2: T:

14

S1:

15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23

S3: T: Ss: S2: T: S4: S2: T:

Let’s take a look at the title of our story. Who would like to read it? The ugly duck..duck..ling Very good. The ugly duckling. Let’s look at the picture on the cover here. What do you see? A bird A bird ((and a rock)) Yes, there is a bird [points], and there is something behind the bird. Jesse said it’s a rock. No, the bird it come from the egg. Ah! You think that this [points] is an egg and that this bird came out of the 11 egg. What makes you think that? There [points] it is break. Yes, it looks like the egg is broken, like there’s a crack here [points] Miss, the Pokemon it [makes a smashing sound and hits one fist with another.] Miss, the bird it it is ugly^ What do you think? Is it an ugly bird? No! Miss, the bird it [makes a sad face] You think the bird is sad^ Sad Yes, Miss. Let’s read to find out why the story is called The Ugly Duckling. OK.

Note the student initiations on lines 6, 9, 14, 16 and 19. Observations reveal that students make many more initiations around story discourse than around dialogue practice. In fact, in 40 lesson periods in different schools, lesson-related student initiations were observed only during one language practice lesson by two students. Episode 6 illustrates how teachers can use even very simple storylines to generate connected discourse. Students are talking about a brief, highly simplified excerpt from Moby Dick, which is actually presented as part of the assessment unit in the book. The teacher has students comparing their answers to questions about Captain Ahab’s mission.

Chapter Eleven

224

Example 7. Episode 6 1 T: 2 3 4

S1:

5 6

T:

7 8 9 10 11 12

Ss: T: S2:

13 14

T:

15 16 17

S3: T: S4:

18 19

T:

20 21

Ss:

Please, the others are going to listen and see now if the answers are similar or not similar. Who can tell what happened? Did the sailors succeed? They did not succeed, they did not succeed because the whale didn’t give them a chance because shoke, he shake the boat with his mouth. So he didn’t give them a chance. You mean that he didn’t give them a a chance [writes the answer on the board] In other words, the whale, or Moby Dick was^ Surprise! A surprise, excellent. He surprised them. Fadia ((go ahead)) They didn’t succeed because the whale surprised them and he he take took and he take the small boat and swam away. Aha, he moved the small boat. You mean that he shook the boat^ [NEm] He pushed the boat. OK, thank you [writes the answer on the board] (xxx) Moby Dick is like the answer of Ninar but some words were different. Were a little different, a little different, OK. She said here that the whale shook the boat. Wait, do you think they are the same, the same answers? [NEt] No!

The discourse is interactive and connected, and students are clearly actively listening to each other’s responses. The level of student enthusiasm is evident in the videotape, which shows students eagerly bidding for turns.

Discussion An explanation for the differing discourse can be found in the ‘content-incontext’ of some of the tasks in these episodes. Exchanging information about favorite activities, for example, may be meaningful when students

They Do Talk – When There’s Something Worth Talking About

225

have sufficient language to express their personal ideas. However, the task becomes artificial when their responses are limited to the language provided in the book. Because the output in such activities is textprompted, teacher attention is drawn to the expected form, which results in frequent feedback rejection and student repair attempts, and, consequently, in disconnected and artificial discourse. Role playing different expressions is also meaningful only when students are in a situation they can identify with. Yet many ELT course tasks expect learners to situate themselves in contexts that are culturally unfamiliar and to use new vocabulary or structures to role-play communication about topics that are also unfamiliar, as in Episode 1.What might seem as a straightforward task becomes problematic because the absence of the author-assumed ‘shared reality’ reduces the contextual support (Cummins, 1984, p. 12). When the context and situations are both unfamiliar, interactions take on an artificial nature. It must be noted that while much of the content in children’s stories is also culturally situated, there is a critical difference in the way the content is approached. While the ‘conversation’ practice put the learner in a culturally unfamiliar context to role-play and shared presumably personally relevant ideas in the new language, in discussions about stories (or other texts), learners are not required to take on a new identity or role, but are rather asked to express their understanding of the content or ideas presented. During the course of the sharing of ideas, language is activated, but the starting point is the learners’ own interlanguage, not a ready prepared script. The discussion provides the teacher with material for recasting and elaboration. Finally, in hierarchical cultures, many teachers may find it necessary to lead the ‘conversation’ practice and ensure that students adhere to the script in the coursebook. In contrast, during story work, the teachers’ attention is drawn to the meaning, the essence of the story, which results in very different discourse.

Conclusion The episodes cited above suggest that it is ‘possible to turn L2 classrooms into whole-person events, where body and soul, intellect and feeling, head, hand and heart converge in action’, about which Legutke and Thomas (1991, p. 7) wonder. The episodes suggest that this is possible through the use of children’s literature, apparently even when the literature used is

226

Chapter Eleven

simplified. Thirty years of research in diverse cultural contexts points to the beneficial influence of story-based instruction (see Ghosn, 2013). When this research is taken together with the examples cited above, there is reason to believe that one key to the positive influence may well be found in the interactions stories can generate. Talking about stories provides a meaningful and personally relevant context to interaction in the new language. Carefully selected readings can maintain motivation while providing an appropriate level of challenge, particularly if the teacher provides scaffolding feedback and keeps the focus on meaning. This is not to say that accuracy need not be addressed. The question is more about the approach. While young learner courses still often begin with accuracy practice and gradually move to reading comprehension, the reverse may, in fact, be more appropriate. In other words, a story provides a beginning point to generate discussion and links the content to the learners’ experiences. Follow-up activities, such as dialogues, dramatizations, literary journals, letters to the characters, and so on, can be used for accuracy practice (see Ghosn, 2013 and Whiteson, 1996 for suggestions.) If children are given a choice in such activities, the activities can also be meaningful and relevant.

References Brock, C.A. (1986), ‘The effects of referential questions on ESL classroom discourse’. TESOL Quarterly 20, (1), 47-59. Brown, G. and Wagg, E.C. (1993), Questioning. London: Routledge. Bruner, J. (1978), ‘The role of dialogue in language acquisition’, in A. Sinclair, R. Jarvella, and W.J.M. Levelt (eds.), The Child’s Conception of Language. New York: Springer-Verlag. Cazden, C. (1988), Classroom Discourse. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann. Cummins, J. (1984), ‘Wanted: a theoretical framework for relating language proficiency to academic achievement among bilingual students’, in C. Rivera, (ed.) Language Proficiency and Academic Achievement. Clevedon: Multilingual Matters, pp. 2-17. Damen, L. (1987), Culture Learning: The Fifth Dimension in the Language Classroom. Boston, MA: Addison-Wesley Longman. Ellis, R. (1998), ‘The evaluation of communicative tasks’, in B. Tomlinson, B. (ed.), Materials Development in Language Teaching. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, pp. 217-38.

They Do Talk – When There’s Something Worth Talking About

227

Ellis, R., Tanaka, Y. and Yamazaki, A. (1994), ‘Classroom interaction, comprehension, and the acquisition of L2 word meanings’. Language Learning, 44, (3), 449-91. Gass, S. (1997), Input, Interaction, and the Second Language Acquisition. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Earlbaum Associates. Gass, S. and Varonis, E. (1994), ‘Input, interaction, and second language production’. Studies in Second Language Acquisition ,16, 283-302. Ghosn, I-K. (2001), ‘Teachers and children interacting around the textbook: an exploratory study of children developing academic second language literacy in primary school English language classes in Lebanon’. Doctoral dissertation, University of Leicester. UMI Dissertation Abstracts 3049590. DAI-A 63/04. Ghosn, I.-K. (2003), ‘Talking like texts and talking about texts: How some primary school coursebook tasks are realized in the classroom’, in B. Tomlinson (ed.), Developing Materials for Language Teaching. London: Continuum, pp. 291-305. Ghosn, I.-K. (2013), Storybridge to Second Language Literacy. The Theory, Research and Practice of Teaching English with Children’s Literature. Charlotte, NC: IAP. Gregory, E. (1996), Making Sense of a New World; Learning to Read in a Second Language. London: Paul Chapman Publications. Hall, J. K. and Verplaetse, L. (2000), ‘The development of second and foreign language learning through classroom interaction’, in J. K. Hall and L. S. Verplaetse (eds.), Second and Foreign Language Learning Through Classroom Interaction. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Earlbaum Associates, p. 1-22. Herrera, M. S. and Zanatta, T. (1996), Parade 5. Glenview, IL: Scott Foresman. Hofstede, G. (1980), Culture’s Consequences: International Differences in Work-Related Values. London: Sage. Holt, R. (2005), Blue skies 4. Harlow: Pearson Education. Kubota, M. (1989), Question-Answering Behavior in ESL and EFL Classrooms. ERIC Document Reproduction Service No. ED313913. Lightbown, P. M. and Spada, N. (2006), How Languages are Learned (3rd edn). Oxford: Oxford University Press. Lyster R. and Ranta, L. (1997), ‘Corrective feedback and learner uptake: negotiation of form in communicative classrooms’. Studies in Second Language Acquisition, 19, 37-66. Martin, P. (1999), ‘Bilingual unpacking of monolingual texts in two primary classrooms in Brunei Darrussalam’. Language and Education, 13, (1), 38-58.

228

Chapter Eleven

Maybin, J., Mercer, N. and Stierer, B. (1992), ‘Scaffolding’ learning in the classroom’, in K. Norman (ed.), Thinking Voices. London: Hodder and Stoughton, pp. 186-95. Mercer, N. (1994), ‘Neo-Vygotskian theory and classroom education’, in B. Stierer and J. N. Maybin (eds.), Language, Literacy and Learning in Educational Practice. Clevedon: Multilingual Matters, pp. 186-95. Newman, D., Griffin, P. and Cole, M. (1989), The Construction Zone. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Peacock, A. (1995), ‘An agenda for research on text material in primary science for second languages learners of English in developing countries’. Journal of Multilingual and Multicultural Development, 16, (5), 389-401. Phillipson, R. (1992), Linguistic Imperialism. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Pica. T., Young, R. and Doughty, C. (1987), ‘The impact of interaction on comprehension’. TESOL Quarterly, 21, 737-58. Richards, J. (2001), Curriculum Development in Language Education. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Rulon, K. and McCreary, J. (1986), ‘Negotiation of content: Teacherfronted and small-group interaction’, in R. Day (ed.), Talking to Learn: Conversation in Second Language Acquisition. Rowley, MA: Newbury House, pp. 182-99. Sinclair, J. McH. and Coulthard, R. M. (1975), Towards an Analysis of Discourse. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Stewart, E. and Bennett, M. (1991), American Cultural Patterns: A CrossCultural Perspective. Pittsburgh, PA: Regional Council for Intercultural Education. Swain, M. and Lapkin, S. (1995), ‘Problems in output and the cognitive processes they generate’. Applied Linguistics, 16, (3), 371-91. Tharp, R. and Gallimore, R. (1991), The Instructional Conversation: Teaching and Learning in Social Activity. Accessed at: http://www.ncbe.gwu.edu/miscpubs/ncrcdsll/rr2htm Thomas, W. P. and Collier, V. (1997), School Effectiveness for Language Minority Students. Washington, DC: National Clearinghouse for Bilingual Education. Tomlinson, B. (1998), Materials Development in Language Teaching. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Tsui, A. B. M (1995), Introducing Classroom Interaction. London: Penguin.

They Do Talk – When There’s Something Worth Talking About

229

Van Lier, L. (1988), The Classroom and the Language Learner. Ethnography & Second Language Classroom Research. London: Longman. Vygotsky, L. (1978), Mind and Society: The Development of Higher Cognitive Processes. Cole, M., John-Steiner, V., Scribner, S. and Souberman, E. (eds.). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Walker, M. (1996), Amazing English, C. Boston, MA: Addison-Wesley Publishing. Whiteson, V. (1996), New Ways of Using Drama and Literature in Language Teaching. Alexandria, VA: TESOL. Wurzel, J. S. and Fischman, N. K. (1995) A Different Place: The Intercultural Classroom. Newtonville, MA: Intercultural Resource Corporation. Zamel, V. and Spack, R. (1998), Negotiating Academic Literacies: Teaching and Learning Across Languages and Cultures. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Earlbaum Associates.

COMMENTS ON SECTION 2 METHODOLOGY AND APPROACHES HITOMI MASUHARA

The chapters in Section 2 all explore how methodology and approaches might be best employed for different learners and contexts. Each chapter focuses on current methodologies and approaches, such as task-based, strategy instruction, extensive reading and code-switching in L2 learning. As in Section 1 Meeting Different Learner Needs, the chapters in this section also involve a diversity of learners and contexts. The learners include ESOL adult immigrants, as well as EFL students from primary to tertiary in different contexts in Cyprus, Hong Kong, Iran, Lebanon, Malaysia and the U.K. The chapters in Section 2 seem to provide evidence for two of the emerging phenomena in terms of methodology and approaches. The first phenomenon is that ‘a pre-packaged teaching material that fits all’ no longer, if ever, is appropriate. In Chapter 9, the report from Hong Kong discusses how critical evaluation of coursebooks is necessary and should be carried out to check the relevance and validity of textbook against the curriculum. Chapter 10 reports how ESOL learners in the U.K. have diverse needs and wants. Chapters 6, 8 and 11 report attempts in Cyprus, Iran and Lebanon to establish principled methodology and approaches that seem to take into account task-based or extensive reading approaches in order to cater for local learners and contexts. A voice from Malaysia in Chapter 7 calls for ‘strategy-rich L2 textbooks’ by local course writers. What comes through is the fact that such a diversity of learners and contexts seems to be the global norm rather than the exception. Furthermore, this diversity of learners and contexts is not static and is likely to evolve as the role of English changes from a global perspective. Current coursebooks seem to respond by offering multi-component syllabuses, consisting of everything (e.g. language, skills, culture, tasks) through various means (e.g. CD, web pages with resources, interactive tests authoring programmes) for the users to choose from. This, however,

Section 2 Methodology and Approaches

231

seems to often result in a lack of coherence for the course (Tomlinson and Masuhara, 2013). The other noteworthy phenomenon is that arguments about so-called ‘methodological imperialism’ do not seem to feature in any of the chapters in this section, though Ghosn is critical of the cultural inappropriacy of the content of young learner coursebooks in Chapter 11. It was not long ago when the Communicative Approaches, originally developed in Western Europe under the initiative of the Council of Europe, received criticism for causing intercultural conflict during their implementation in many parts of the world, especially those in Asia where traditionally a teacher-led mode was said to prevail (see Hiep, 2007 and McDonough et al., 2013 for a recent review and discussion). Likewise, Ellis (2009) explores the recent criticisms and resistance against Task Based Language Teaching (TBLT) approaches. The simplistic distinction between the ‘source culture’ and ‘adopters’ cultures’, however, seems to be becoming less obvious as ‘adopters’ are becoming more and more aware of their own diverse needs and wants and are becoming wary of importing pre-packaged methodology and approaches. Instead they are searching for more principled materials which incorporate current methodological thinking but are applicable to their learners and contexts. What is interesting is that the independent studies done by the different authors in this section all seem to point to the importance of local realization of the principles of methodology and approaches. I believe that making such attempts to reinterpret and to realise the principles of methodology and approaches within dynamic and global contexts is a promising way forward in appropriating the methodology and approaches for our diverse target learners and contexts. The most crucial question now is how we may be able to ‘localize methodology and approaches’ without losing sight of the principles of, for example, Task Based Language Teaching Approaches. Zheng and Borg (2014) report how some aspects of the principles of Task-Based Language Teaching have been received differently during the various stages of adoption and implementation in China. Ellis (2009, p.221) emphasizes, ‘… there is no single “task-based teaching” approach’. Just like the Communicative Language Teaching Approaches, TBLT is founded upon basic principles and therefore multiple versions exist. What should be the guiding principles in evaluation, selection, adaptation and development of materials in TBLT approaches (see Masuhara, 2015 for discussion)?

232

Comments on Section 2

Tomlinson in his Comments on Section 1 in this book argues for the vital importance of adhering to the main universal principles of language acquisition (Tomlinson, 2011) before writers consider localization (Tomlinson, 2013). When we consider the fact that ultimately it is the brain which acquires language, it seems reasonable to assume universality of learning mechanisms (Masuhara, 2016). It is encouraging that the authors in Section 2 have conducted empirical studies and are careful in evaluating the implications of their findings. It is also noteworthy that some authors in Section 2 have combined different methodologies and approaches. For example, in Chapter 6, the effect of code-switching during a task repetition sequence was investigated. In Chapter 8, a combination of reading stories with tasks has been tried out. The power of compelling texts and its effect on richer classroom interactions is reported in Chapter 11. I would welcome more such case studies and attempts to identify overall principles and procedures that facilitate effective second language acquisition through localization and realization of methodologies and approaches.

References Ellis, R. (2009). Task-based language teaching: Sorting out the misunderstandings. International Journal of Applied Linguistics, 19 (3), 221-246. Hiep, P. H. (2007), Communicative language teaching: Unity within diversity. ELT Journal, 61 (3), 193-201. Masuhara, H. (2015). ‘Anything goes’ in task-based language teaching materials? – the need for principled materials evaluation, adaptation and development. The European Journal of Applied Linguistics and TEFL, (2), 113-127. Masuhara, H. (2016) ‘Brain studies and second language acquisition’, in B. Tomlinson (ed.), Second Language Acquisition and Materials Development. New York: Routledge. McDonough, J., Shaw, C., & Masuhara, H. (2013). Materials and Methods in ELT (3rd ed.). Chichester: Wiley. Tomlinson, B. (2011). ‘Introduction: Principles and procedures of materials development’, in B. Tomlinson (ed.), Materials Development in Language Teaching (2nd ed.), pp. 1-31. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

Section 2 Methodology and Approaches

233

Tomlinson, B. (2013), ‘Materials evaluation’, in B. Tomlinson (ed.), Developing Materials for Language Teaching. London: Bloomsbury, pp. 21-48. Tomlinson, B. & Masuhara, H. (2013). ‘Adult coursebooks’. ELT Journal, 67(2), 233-249. Zheng, X. & Borg, S. (2014). ‘Task-based learning and teaching in China: Secondary school teachers’ beliefs and practices’. Language Teaching Research, 18 (2), 205-221.

SECTION 3 MATERIALS IN DIVERSE CONTEXTS

CHAPTER TWELVE PUTTING THEORY INTO PRACTICE: A FRAMEWORK FOR A CLIL COURSE IN LINGUISTICS IN A BLENDED LEARNING ENVIRONMENT MARIA DE SANTO, ELISA PELLEGRINO, LUISA SALVATI AND GIUSEPPINA VITALE

Introduction In this chapter we present a Content and Language Integrated Learning (CLIL) program developed for Chinese university students of L2 Italian to support their study of linguistics. The modules are part of a blended course delivered both face-to-face and at a distance with a dual focus: learning content (linguistics) through a foreign language (Italian) in an integrated dimension. The aim of this project was to investigate to what degree a CLIL approach in a virtual environment could enhance the learning of academic disciplines through a foreign language. [A] Rationale of the course The Language Centre of the University of Naples L’Orientale (CILA) has had much experience in the development of Italian language and culture courses for international exchange students, particularly Chinese students. In order to support such students attending academic courses in Italian, the Language Centre has gradually encompassed the study of Italian for Academic Purposes and oriented its methodology towards Content and Language Integrated Learning (CLIL). CLIL programs are today being included in all sectors of education in Italy, but above all at tertiary level. The growing interest in this methodology results from the need to increase multilingualism and intercultural competence in Europe and to implement

Putting Theory into Practice

237

innovative and more effective methods of foreign/second language teaching and learning. Before describing in detail the architecture, techniques and materials of the blended course, it is useful to provide some brief background on CLIL and the other approaches to language learning and teaching which represent the theoretical foundation of our CLIL courses. Grounded in Canadian and North-American immersion and content-based language teaching programs, CLIL has developed as a dual-focused methodology: it promotes the simultaneous learning of both content and language through the teaching of curricular subjects in a foreign language (Serraggiotto, 2003). Indeed, it is considered an innovative fusion of both language education and subject education (Coyle, Hood and Marsh, 2010). The innovative aspect of this methodology lies in the concept of integration. In the CLIL approach both the aims of the learning and teaching process have the same importance, though the focus of the attention might shift from subject to language according to the objectives, the phase of the lesson and the learning context. According to the European Commission,1 the CLIL approach can offer a variety of benefits such as: x Building intercultural knowledge, understanding and communication skills; x Providing opportunities to study content through different perspectives; x Allowing learners more contact with the target language; x Increasing learners' motivation and confidence in both the language and the subject being taught; x Diversifying methods and forms of classroom practice. (See: http://ec.europa.eu/languages/language-teaching/content-andlanguage-integrated-learning_en.htm) In light of these considerations, in our CLIL courses we have tried to offer the same benefits to foreign students attending some of our university subject courses. In particular, as regards the diversification of methods and classroom practice, the CLIL courses developed in our Language Centre are built on a common theoretical foundation which results from the integration of some recent successful language learning and teaching methodologies. Indeed, inspired by constructivist and learner-centered

238

Chapter Twelve

approaches, our CLIL courses integrate the basic principles of 1) Jonassen Howland, Marra and Crismond’s theory of meaningful learning (see below) 2) the task-based learning approach 3) blended learning and 4) autonomous learning. According to Jonassen et al. (2008 p. 2); ‘in order for meaningful learning to occur, the task that students pursue should engage active, constructive, intentional, authentic, and cooperative activities’. As we describe later, each activity provides for students’ active participation since they can interact with and manipulate the learning resources available, constructing their knowledge through a process of reflection. Furthermore, each activity is goal-oriented, based on authentic materials and carried out in a learning community, promoting the development of pro-social behaviours and abilities, such as positive interdependence, individual and group responsibilities (Johnson, Johnson and Holube, 1996; Kagan, 2000). Since the theory of meaningful learning (Jonassen et al., 2008) has its core in the idea of the task, the CLIL courses are based on a common core of communicative and collaborative task-based activities that are accessible in an e-learning environment where students are not directed but oriented by the e-teacher in their learning process (Varani, 2006). These task-based activities have been planned according to Nunan’s (1989, p. 10) definition of task: ‘a piece of classroom work which involves learners in comprehending, manipulating, producing or interacting in the target language while their attention is principally focused on meaning rather than form’. Task-based learning enables students to focus on subject content while using the foreign language to perform the task (Ellis, 2003). In doing so, students are required to use higher-order thinking skills and to bridge the gap between Basic Interpersonal Communicative Skills (BICS) and Cognitive Academic Language Competence (CALP) (Cummins, 1979). In line with European Commission guidelines mentioned above, the diversification of methods and types of classrooms is not only pursued integrating various approaches to language learning and teaching but also using different techniques and resources, thus exposing students to different kinds of learning environment (face-to-face, blended learning). Traditional face-to-face classroom instruction, where instructors and learners are in the same place, is accompanied by technology-mediated instruction, where the learning experience and interactions between learners and teachers are mediated by information and communication technologies.

Putting Theory into Practice

239

This blended learning environment offers students the opportunity to practice both content and language in a flexible way, at their own rhythm and in their own time (Graham, 2006). In addition, it helps students develop forms of autonomous learning, taking charge of their own learning (Holec, 1981) outside as well as within the classroom while developing study strategies useful in future learning contexts.

The blended course In this section, we will present in detail the University of Naples Language Centre’s CLIL modules integrating face-to-face classroom instruction and on-line learning and those addressed to Chinese students of the University of Xi’an attending the second year of Italian Studies at CILA. The course of study lasts 175 hours and consists of a number of steps: - A 100-hour intermediate level Italian language and culture course, preparatory to the university Linguistics course; - A 75-hour blended course. This blended course, in turn, is articulated in: - A 50-hour Linguistics course (delivered in the classroom) for both Italian and Chinese students of Italian Studies; - A 25-hour online course developed using a CLIL methodology. The 50-hour Linguistics course is based on five 10-hour modules dealing with the fundamentals of General Linguistics and consisting of the following areas: Phonetics and Phonology, Morphology, Syntax, Linguistic Typology and Pragmatics. Every module delivered face-to-face is accompanied by a 5-hour online module. The module dedicated to Phonetics and Phonology is accompanied by an online module dealing with the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA) and with phonetic transcription. Word formation processes (such as compounding and derivation) and immediate constituent analysis are the foci of the supplementary modules dedicated to Morphology and Syntax, while the typological classifications of world languages and speech acts are linked, respectively, to the Language Typology and Pragmatics modules (Table 12.1).

240

Chapter Twelve

Table 12.1 The blended course structure. Face-to-face modules 1. Phonetics and Phonology (10 hours) 2. Morphology (10 hours) 3. Syntax (10 hours) 4. Language typology (10 hours) 5. Pragmatics (10 hours)

Online modules A. International Phonetic Alphabet (5 hours) B. Word formation (5 hours) C. Word order (5 hours) D. Classification of world languages (5 hours) E. Speech acts (5 hours)

The virtual classroom The virtual classroom has been developed through the resources available on the Moodle platform of the university, MoUVE, and other open source software: eXeLearning, Hot Potatoes, Skype and SurveyMonkey. The virtual classroom is structured around three main areas: thematic, social and linguistic. The thematic area is designed to develop the content of the course from a contrastive perspective: it is aimed at underlining the phonetic, morpho-syntactic, typological and pragmatic differences and similarities between Italian and Chinese languages. The content is presented through a video lesson with a series of interactive multimedia activities that students are asked to perform before, during and after the viewing of the video. The social area, developed through the synchronous and asynchronous communication tools available both in and outside the platform (chat, forums, wiki, Skype), aims at promoting interaction between teacher, students and the language counselor who has the specific role of designing a learning path in accordance with each student’s educational needs. The forums, in particular, are where students perform the tasks. The language area is designed to give learners more opportunities to focus their learning on language. It offers guided activities intended to enhance language abilities and to improve specific vocabulary. The language area is also connected to the online Self-Access Centre (see section below Promoting autonomy and awareness in a CLIL context), where students can improve their competence in the foreign language working autonomously.

Putting Theory into Practice

241

The online modules The online modules are designed to enable the students to learn a subject (linguistics), to become proficient in Italian and to develop the listening and reading skills necessary to comprehend academic texts. Each module is based on a series of learning units designed with the aim of integrating the three main areas of the course: content, language and communication. Each learning unit is constructed around a variety of taskbased activities, with a balanced focus on both content and language. These activities, as stated before (see Rationale for the project, above), are conceived in the light of Nunan’s (1989) concept of task, and offer students the opportunity to interact actively with and through the target language while performing the activity. The task types are graded according to the linguistic skills involved and the outcome expected. Activities range from simple listening exercises, such as filling in a table or making notes on specific information, to more structured communicative and collaborative tasks in the online course forum, such as webquests, internet- based research activities performed in groups. To design effective tasks we selected a variety of authentic materials in Italian, drawn mainly from textbooks and websites, providing a solid but at the same time user-friendly introduction to the essential topics in language study. Students were also provided with videos showing opening lectures or plenary session presentations on the fundamentals of linguistics given by leading Italian scholars. The study materials were not simplified but were carefully selected according to the students’ level of linguistic competence and their prior knowledge of the subject. However, to make the input comprehensible, the e-teacher offered the students support on both language and content, helping them understand the topic in the L2 with mind maps, diagrams, visual aids and multimedia materials. On the platform there were also links to online Italian encyclopedias, multilingual dictionaries of linguistic metalanguage and free linguistics courses. Moreover, since all the learning resources were to be used autonomously and online, tasks were designed according to some basic principles: tasks had to be guided and with clear instructions, provide students with feedback, and be performed in groups (Doughty and Long, 2003). Additionally, being in a CLIL context, they had to focus both on content and language.

242

Chapter Twelve

The module on Classification of world languages To give an example of the structure of the online modules, we shall focus our attention on the fourth module ‘Classification of world languages’ linked to the face-to-face module: ‘Language Typology’ (see Table 12.1). The online module consists of two units. The first deals with isolating, agglutinating and inflecting linguistic types, paying specific attention to the differences between Italian and Chinese. The second unit focuses on basic word order and on how it may vary in Italian according to the speaker’s communicative intentions. Table 12.2 The structure of the module ‘Classification of world languages’. FACE-TO-FACE

ONLINE

4. Language typology (10 hours)

D. Classification of world languages (5 hours)

Unit 1: Morphological types (2 hours) Unit 2: Word order in Italian (3 hours)

In line with the theoretical foundation of the course (see Rationale of the course, above), each unit presents a series of task-based activities designed to respond to some of the features of the communicative task as described by Nunan (1991, p.279): interaction in the target language, introduction of authentic texts in the learning situation, and provision of opportunities for learners to focus on the learning process as well. Each of these units is structured in three phases: pre-task, task cycle and language focus, according to Willis’ task based learning framework (1996). The pre-task phase is aimed at activating prior knowledge and students’ expectations about the theme of the module: classification of the world’s languages. This preliminary phase consists of a forum and a matching exercise. In the forum, following the thread started by the teacher, the students discuss and collect ideas about the topic of the unit. The matching exercise gives them the opportunity to recollect their previous knowledge of language groups, in terms of both content and language. During this phase, the students are also given support in performing the task. To this

Putting Theory into Practice

243

end, different resources and suggestions are made available to them: vocabulary and grammar explanations, texts and references about the theme of the task, links to online language tools such as dictionaries, grammars and websites related to the theme of the unit. .

The central phase of the task cycle starts with a video lesson and is followed by a series of activities intended to improve listening skills and lexical competence. The video lesson was recorded during a face-to-face lesson delivered by one of the teachers of the course. After watching this video, the students are offered different kinds of interactive and sometimes multimedia exercises created with the authoring tools provided by MoUVE. These exercises are of different kinds: multiple choice, true/false, cloze and matching. Each activity provides the students with feedback and with a link to online resources useful for further readings. Central to the task cycle stage is a forum where the students perform communicative and collaborative task-based activities, designed on the basis of the concept of meaningful learning (Jonassen et al., 2008, see Rationale of the course, above). In one of the tasks, the Chinese students are asked to conduct a research study on language classification interacting in Italian and using online authentic resources. They are given selected websites to search for information about language families and they are invited to work in groups to classify languages according to three different criteria: genealogical, syntactical and morphological. The outcomes are both a written product, posted in the forum, and a group discussion about the content they have been learning. In this way a task was designed that had: ‘(a) an objective obtainable only by the interaction among participants, (b) a mechanism for structuring and sequencing interaction, and (c) a focus on meaning exchange’ (Lee 2000, p. 32). In line with the theories of Jonassen et al., 2008 and Willis, 1996 (see Rationale of the course above), the task-based activities provide opportunities for the activation of higher-level reasoning strategies, such as manipulating knowledge, linking new information to prior knowledge, sharing ideas with other groups and getting feedback from them, predicting and finding solutions. In the language focus phase the exercises were designed to have students work with vocabulary and grammar. As regards vocabulary, matching activities were created to practice synonyms (such as nominative/subject)

244

Chapter Twelve

and antonyms (such as transitive/intransitive). Other activities are provided to help Chinese learners identify the literal and metaphorical sense of terms that are important for understanding the criteria for world language classifications. By means of word sense disambiguation tasks, in a given set of sentences, for example, students are asked to choose if the underlined words are used with a literal (L) or metaphorical (M) sense: Ex. 1 Nelle lingue agglutinanti la struttura delle parole è più complessa, ma più trasparente di quella delle lingue flessive M; (transl. In agglutinating languages the structure of the word is more complex but more transparent than in inflectional languages) Ex. 2 L’acqua è un liquido trasparente, inodore e incolore L; (transl. Water is a transparent, odorless, tasteless liquid). In another exercise students are required to explain and instantiate the meaning of the underlined noun phrase: Ex: 1 Nelle lingue agglutinanti i suffissi hanno un valore univoco (transl. In agglutinating languages, suffixes have a unique meaning) As regards grammar, the fourth module focuses on the comparatives. Given the video lesson on the criteria of world language classification, students are invited to fix and repeat the patterns for regular and irregular comparative building (più … di; più… che; meno… di …; meno … che; maggiore, minore) by means of exercises designed with gap filling (GF), multiple choice (MC), ordering (OR), error detection (ED) techniques. Ex. 1 GF La struttura della parola cinese è … complessa … quella giapponese. (transl. The structure of Italian word is… complex… than in Japanese) Ex. 2 MC Il numero di morfemi lessicali presenti nelle parole groenlandesi è … che in italiano. A. maggiore B. minore (transl. Greenlandic words are composed of … lexical morphemes than Italian words. A. more B. fewer)

Putting Theory into Practice

245

Ex. 3 ORD più L’ delle in è parole variabile italiano che in ordine inglese (transl. more The of is words variable Italian than in order English) Ex. 4 ED Il grado di sintesi del turco è superiore a quello che il vietnamita. (transl. The degree of synthesis in Turkish is higher than Vietnamese) With the aim of having students use the target vocabulary and comparatives more creatively, students are asked to compare the word structure and the basic word order of Chinese and Italian. In the language focus phase, language and vocabulary activities are integrated with a repertoire of resources available in the section dedicated to autonomous learning: the online Self-Access Centre described below.

Promoting autonomy and awareness in a CLIL context Since one of the aims of the course is the promotion of autonomy in language learning, we dedicated an area of the virtual classroom to independent study. This area is called the online Self-Access Centre (SAC). Here students can choose from a variety of language learning pathways and multimedia resources previously selected by the language counselor, to enhance their competence in Italian. This area is designed to offer an autonomous learning environment within a CLIL course, where students can practice the language used to deliver subject courses and reflect on their learning process. Indeed, students use a wide range of resources to develop both their learning plan and the awareness of their learning process; learning diaries and organisers, self-assessment tools, such as the Common European Framework of Reference (CEFR), selfevaluation grids or online placement tests, questionnaires and grids to help them analyse their needs and objectives, learning styles and strategies. This kind of meta-cognitive reflection is also carried out through a set of end-of-unit questionnaires, prepared by teachers to promote students’ meta-cognitive reflection on the learning outcomes and on the learning process itself. As regards learning outcomes, being in a CLIL context, it was decided to enable students to self-evaluate both content and language. In the

246

Chapter Twelve

evaluation of content, there were questions checking whether, having done the unit, students felt they were able to select the distinctive features of language families and to classify languages according to their morphology and syntax. As for the evaluation of language learning, they were asked which skill or linguistic aspect may have caused them more difficulties; listening, reading, writing, speaking, vocabulary or grammar. With reference to meta-cognitive reflection on the learning process, questionnaires were designed to investigate students’ use of language learning strategies and how these had been useful in their learning process.

The role of the teacher: tutoring and scaffolding in the blended learning environment In this online collaborative classroom, particular attention is paid to the role of the teachers who mediate learning through dialogue and collaboration. According to Tinzmann, Jones, Fennimore, Bakker, Fine and Pierce (1990), mediation implies facilitating, modeling and coaching. The teachers act as facilitators, favoring high quality group interactions (Figure 12.1). Additionally, they offer the students a multiplicity of authentic learning tasks and provide them with resources of different genres and perspectives activating high-level thought processes. At the same time they act as models or as coaches, depending on the students’ experience with the learning content and with the problem-solving strategies necessary to perform the task. For example, students with little experience are shown how to proceed before they engage in the learning task. They receive hints, cues and feedback to redirect their efforts and help them use the most suitable strategy for the tasks. Experienced students are instead asked to model how they solved the problem. All these actions that sustain the learning process and give learners increasing accountability for the task itself, are defined by Wood, Bruner and Ross (1976) as ‘scaffolding’. They take place in what Vygotsky (1978, p. 86) called the Zone of Proximal Development, that is ‘the distance between the actual developmental level as determined by independent problem solving and the level of potential development as determined through problem solving under adult guidance, or in collaboration with more capable peers’. Working in the Zone of Proximal Development leads learners to reach beyond what they could have achieved alone, and gives them the opportunity to participate in new situations and deal with new tasks (Gibbons, 2002).

P Putting Theory into Practice

247

Figure 12.1 T Teacher-studentt interaction - co ollaborative andd communicativ ve tasks in the forum.

248

Chapter Twelve

Results and further developments The students’ participation in the learning pathway was assessed both quantitatively and qualitatively. Querying the Participation Report of the on-line course for Module (The Classification of World languages), Activity (Log-in, Forum, Message, Quiz), Participant (Students) and Action (Reading and Writing) it is possible to obtain the quantitative evidence on the students’ participation in the course (Figure 12.2). Figure 12.2 Quantitative evaluation of student participation in the course.

On the basis of a) the high number of logins the users had reached for the 5-hour module (minimum 48, maximum 93), b) the number of posts they had submitted to the forum to have their tasks revised by the e-teachers

P Putting Theory into Practice

249

(minimum 224, maximum 28), c) the nu umber of messsages they haad sent to the e-teacheer to receive further explanations on the criteria for f world language claassification (m minimum 3, maximum m 6), and d) the number n of times they hhad performedd the Quiz co oncerning lingguistics and th he Italian language (m minimum 8, maaximum 13), we w have goodd evidence thaat Chinese learners aree actively engaged and motivated m to study online contentlinguistics thhrough a foreiign language - Italian. The effectivveness of thee course arch hitecture and the usefulnesss of the materials prrovided in thee platform in helping our C Chinese learn ners study linguistics iis also demoonstrated by the t positive results of the end of module asseessment (Figurre 12.3). Figure 12.3 E End of module assessment. a

As shown iin Figure 12..3, not only did all the sttudents pass the final examinationn (‘ideoneo’), but they also o scored a veery high perceentage of correct answers (90-1000%) showing g that they had reached d a very satisfactory knowledge of o the target notions n conceerning world language classificationn. Other evidennce supporting the validity of the CLIL aapproach can be found by comparinng the grades obtained in th he university llinguistics exaamination by the Chinnese learners who studied d linguistics th through the trraditional approach inn the academicc year 2010-2 2011 (hencefoorth pre-blend ded CLIL group) with the grades obbtained by tho ose who attennded the blend ded CLIL

250

Chapter Twelve

course in 2011-2012 (henceforth post-blended CLIL group). The number and type of learners, mean age, country of origin, age on arrival in Italy, quality and quantity of exposure to Italian being equal (Table 12.3), the blended CLIL approach to the study of linguistics has determined an increase in the average score between the pre- and post-blended CLIL group. Table 12.3 Data comparison between Pre- and Post-Blended CLIL groups.

Academic Year Students Mean Age Gender Type of learners Year of study of Italian Country Of Origin Score Average

Pre-Blended CLIL group 2010-11

Post-Blended CLIL group 2011-12

22 22 18 F - 4 M Late bilinguals 2

22 23 20 F - 2 M Late bilinguals 2

China 23,7

China 25,8

In view of the academic grading system in Italy,2 the post-blended CLIL group achieve an average score of 25.8/30 compared to 23.2/30 of the preblended CLIL group (Figure 12.4). This two-point increase is significant also because it marks the passage of students’ performance from the achievement band ’adequate’ to that of ‘satisfactory’. Thanks to this learning/teaching experience, being more flexible in time and in space than face-to-face traditional instruction, and being specifically designed for Chinese learners, it was possible to test the effectiveness of a CLIL teaching and learning methodology. Though based on a relatively small number of students, this study has highlighted that in a CLIL course, face-to-face traditional instruction enriched with an online learning experience gives students more opportunity of learning both content and language in meaningful and effective ways. The positive results obtained by the Chinese students attending this blended CLIL course encouraged us to share the theoretical and practical framework designed for the development of CLIL activities

P Putting Theory into Practice

251

and resourcees with the brroader community, and to use it as the basis for the developpment of futuure courses tailored t to thhe needs of users of different moother tongues and levels of linguistic l com mpetence. Figure 12.4 A Average scores obtained o by Pree and Post-blennded CLIL grou ups.

Refereences Comoglio, M M. and Carddoso, M.A. (1996), Insegnnare e Appreendere in Gruppo. Rome: LAS. Coonan, C.M M. (2008), CL LIL e L'apprendimento dellle Lingue. Le Sfide del Nuovo A Ambiente di Appprendimento. Venice: Cafo foscarina. Coyle, D., H Hood, P. and Marsh, D. (2 2010), CLIL C Content and Language L Integrateed Learning. Cambridge: C Cambridge C Uniiversity Press. Cummins, JJ. (1979), ‘Cognitive/academ mic language proficiency, linguistic interdepeendence, the optimal age question andd some otherr matter’. Workingg Papers on Biilingualism, 19, 197-205. Dodge, B. ((1995), ‘WebQ Quests: A technique for Innternet-based learning’. l Distancee Educator, 1, (2), 10-13. Doughty, C.. and Long, M. M (2003), ‘Op ptimal psychoolinguistic env vironment for distaance foreign laanguage learn ning’, in K. V Van Den Brand den (ed.), Task-bassed Languagge Educatio on: From T Theory to Practice. Cambriddge: Cambridgge University Press. Ellis, R. (20003), Task-baased Languag ge Learning aand Teaching. Oxford: Oxford U University Preess.

252

Chapter Twelve

European Commission Official Website. Accessed at: http://ec.europa.eu/languages/language-teaching/content-and-languageintegrated-learning_en.htm Gibbons, C. (2002), Scaffolding Language, Scaffolding Learning: Teaching Second Language Learners in the Mainstream Classroom. Portsmouth: Heinemann. Graham, C. R. (2006), ‘Blended learning systems: definition, current trends, and future directions’, in C. J. Bonk and C. R. Graham (eds), Handbook of Blended Learning: Global Perspectives, Local Designs, San Francisco: Pfeiffer Publishing. Holec, H. (1981), Autonomy in Language Learning, Oxford: Pergamon Press. Johnson D., Johnson R. and Holubec E. (1996), Apprendimento Cooperativo in Classe. Trento: Erickson. Jonassen, D., Howland, J., Marra, R. and Crismond, D. (2008), Meaningful Learning with Technology. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Education. Kagan S. (2000), L’apprendimento Cooperativo: L’approccio Strutturale, Rome: Edizioni Lavoro. Kervin, L. and Derewianka, B. (2001), ‘New technologies to support language learning’, in B. Tomlinson (ed.), Materials Development in Language Teaching. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Lee, J. (2000), Tasks and Communicating in Language Classrooms. Boston: McGraw-Hill. Nunan, D. (1989), Designing Tasks for the Communicative Classroom. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Nunan, D. (1991), ‘Communicative tasks and the language curriculum’. TESOL Quarterly, 25, (2), 279-95. Nunan, D. (2004), Task-based Language Teaching. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Oxford, R. L. (1997). ‘Cooperative learning, collaborative learning, and interaction: three communicative strands in the language classroom’. The Modern Language Journal, 81, (4), 443-56. Oxford, R.L. (1990), Language Learning Strategies: What Every Teacher Should Know. New York: Newbury House Publishers. Serragiotto, G. (2003), CLIL. Apprendere Insieme una Lingua e Contenuti non Linguistici. Perugia: Guerra-Soleil. Tinzmann, M. B. Jones, B. F., Fennimore, T. F. Bakker, Fine, J. C. and Pierce, J. (1990), What is the collaborative classroom?. Oak Brook: North Central Regional Educational Laboratory Accessed at: http://www.ncrel.org/sdrs/areas/rpl_esys/thinking.htm

Putting Theory into Practice

253

Tomlinson, B. (2011), Materials Development in Language Teaching. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Van Den Branden, K. (2006), Task-based Language Education: From Theory to Practice. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Varani, A. (2006), Cercare e Cercarsi, vol. 3. Trento: Erickson. Vygotsky, L. S. (1978), Mind in Society: the Development of Higher Psychological Processes. Cambridge: Harvard University Press. White, C. (2003), Language Learning in Distance Education. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Willis, J. (1996), A Framework for Task-based Learning. London: Longman. Wood, D. Bruner, J. and Ross, G. (1976), ‘The role of tutoring in problem solving’, Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 76, (17), 89100.

Notes 1

http://ec.europa.eu/languages/language-teaching/content-and-languageintegrated-learning_en.htm (accessed 6 October 2013). 2 The academic grading system in Italy is based on a 30-point scale, with 18/30 being the minimum pass mark and 30/30 the maximum. A special distinction is marked with the addition of ‘cum laude’ to the highest grade (‘30 e lode’). Minimum pass grade: 18. Grade bands: Adequate: 19 to 23; Satisfactory: 24 to 26; Good: 27 to 28; Very good: 29 to 30; Outstanding: 30 cum laude.

CHAPTER THIRTEEN LEARNING ITALIAN AS A FOREIGN LANGUAGE: A LOOK AT THE ONLINE COURSE ITALIAN LANGUAGE @ CULTURE LUISA SALVATI, MARIA DE SANTO AND ELISA PELLEGRINO

Introduction This chapter is intended to describe the way that Italian language and culture can be taught to foreign students in distance learning modality. Particularly, it focuses on the innovative materials, techniques and resources adopted in the blended learning course Italian Language @ Culture which has been offered by the Language Centre of the University of Naples L’Orientale since 2008. The course combines on-line learning and face-to-face classroom instruction. The distance course includes both traditional teaching resources like grammar, vocabulary, comprehension and production task-based activities as well as synchronous, asynchronous communication tools and video-conferencing software. The students’ participation in the activities of both blended and face-to-face course, their results in the final Proficiency Test and their knowledge and openmindedness to Italian and Neapolitan traditions shown when they were attending the course in Naples, seem to indicate the pedagogical effectiveness of combining face-to-face classroom instruction and distance education in promoting motivation for L2 learning and developing communicative, pragmatic and intercultural competence. In light of these considerations, the course Italian Language @ Culture represents a successful framework for blended language learning that has among its main advantages the potential for adaptation for the teaching and learning of other foreign languages.

Learning Italian as a Foreign Language

255

Theoretical foundation and course structure Theoretical foundation For years, the University of Naples L’Orientale Language Centre (henceforth CILA) has been supporting foreign language learning and providing a wide range of multimedia resources to overcome textbook limitations, recover the complex variability of verbal communication and develop a pragmatic and sociolinguistic competence in L2. The course Italian Language @ Culture was born thanks to an international agreement between the University of Naples L’Orientale and the University of Silesia, Katowice. The agreement and the course itself mirrors the University L’Orientale commitment to promote the study of Italian language and culture abroad, in accordance with EU directives anticipating a productive linguistic and cultural integration among European countries. The course intended to foster an intercultural debate among Polish learners of Italian and Italian students of Polish and sought to promote collaborative learning among participants through distance education (Elia and De Santo, 2011). The course Italian Language @ Culture was a blended learning project, combining face-to-face classroom instruction and online learning. Blended learning is ‘a combination of technology and classroom instruction in a flexible approach to learning that recognises the benefits of delivering some training and assessment online but also uses other modes to make up a complete training programme’ (Banados, 2006, p. 534). In light of Whittaker’s (2013, p. 12) interpretation of these other modes, we designed our blended course integrating face-to-face, computer-delivered instruction and online self-study. This framework enabled students to learn and interact in the classroom with the teacher and to implement the competences acquired face-to-face in a virtual environment where they could use other learning resources and interact with teachers, tutors and other learners. It is important to emphasize that in this virtual environment students also had the opportunity of studying autonomously. Indeed, the virtual classroom had been designed to create a student-centered environment where students could act as producers rather than only as consumers of their learning (Holec, 1987). They were enabled to participate actively in the learning process, choosing the most appropriate resources according to their preferences, needs and objectives (Holec, 1987).

256

Chapter Thirteen

These learning resources were structured around a set of Learning Objects (henceforth LO). Although according to Churchill (2007, p. 479) ‘a learning object remains an ill-defined concept, despite numerous and extensive discussion in the literature’, from our viewpoint the LO is conceived as any digital or non-digital instructional component that meets the following criteria: it has to be small, multimedia and reusable in different technology-supported learning contexts. Moreover, our LOs were interactive since they provided immediate feedback, and purposeful since they were based on different tasks.1 In our course, LOs were developed with the software eXeLearning and structured to have students interact with all the various multimedia elements of the course to manipulate and work with the language. Additionally, LOs were designed in the light of the task-based learning (TBL) approach (Ellis, 2003) that provides students with the opportunity of practicing the language while performing goal-oriented activities based on authentic resources and context (Italian culture and society). The activities were graded according to a progression from the simplest to the most complex task. Simple tasks ranged for example from listening or reading activities to writing exercises, while complex tasks were based on more active, collaborative and independent activities such as: 1) Webquest (Internet-based inquiry-oriented activities guided by the teacher), 2) written interaction in the Forum of the course and 3) video chat performed through Skype on the basis of the content of the lessons. Central to the design of the course structure was also the notion of teaching unit (henceforth TU), namely ‘a complex linguistic communicative tranche, realized by bringing together cultural models, communicative acts, language expressions and language structures, all linked by a situational context’ (Balboni, 2007, p. 41). Among the various approaches presented in literature on foreign language teaching/learning and in particular of L2 Italian, we adopted the paradigm by Balboni (1994). If compared to other approaches that involve a more rigid content distribution in five or six phases (see Freddi, 1994; Porcelli 1994),2 Balboni’s approach has the advantage of providing a more flexible teaching organization in three main phases (Introductory, Net of Learning Units and Conclusive (Figure 13.1)), that better suits the structures, resources and materials of our distance course.

Learning Italian as a Foreign Language

257

Figure 13.1 Balboni’s model of teaching unit.

The introductory phase, roughly corresponding to motivation of Freddi’s and Porcelli’s models, is intended to motivate students, to present the content of TU in relation to the students’ previous knowledge and to give specific operative instructions for the activities of the unit. In the following phase, ‘net of Learning Units’, students are gradually invited to analyze the text structure (title, subtitle, images), to have them infer information on the context, the characters and their relationships. The focus is also on the analysis, synthesis and reflection on the phonological, morpho-syntactic, functional and cultural contents of the unit itself. The third phase ‘Conclusion’ includes the testing of the objectives set at the beginning of TU, remedial work for students with medium-low results and activities of further studies for those who score medium-high results. An interlude phase where students can observe and reflect on their own learning serves as a possible connection between the Teaching Unit and the following session.

Course structure and resources The distance course started after Polish students had attended a threemonth elementary course of Italian in Katowice (CEFR level A2). They then started the distance learning component of the course, at the end of which they attained an intermediate level (B1+).

258

Chapter Thirteen

Using the e-learning platform Moodle and Web 2.0 communication resources, the course offered multimedia materials and interactive activities together with synchronous and asynchronous communication tools. Table 13.1 Multimedia resources per phase of TU. Phases in the course of Italian Language @ Culture

Multimedia resources

ƒ Introduction ƒ Warm up ƒ Lets read; Lets watch the video ƒ Lets practice grammar and vocabulary

ƒ Lets write and speak

ƒ Self evaluation

ƒ Learning Object: video files, interactive listening, reading, grammar and vocabulary exercises developed with ExElearning and Hotpotatoes; links websites external to the platform.

ƒ Asynchronous communication tools: e-mail and forum available on the Moodle platform. ƒ Synchronous communication tools: chat available on the Moodle platform and videoconferencing software (Skype). ƒ Online questionnaires developed with Survey Monkey.

Additionally, the course was linked to social networks such as Facebook to create a sense of community and to allow students to extend language learning in an informal environment beyond the boundaries of the classroom. It was also linked to video-conferencing software such as Skype to enable students to practice speaking.

Learning Italian as a Foreign Language

259

Additionally, to overcome the constraints reported in distance learning courses such as reduced opportunities for immediate support, guidance, interactivity, feedback and incidental learning (White, 2003), the course had a learner-friendly interface with easily accessible resources, clear instructions, online help, vocal guides and vademecum.3 Figure 13.2 Course interface.

As for the course structure, it was divided into 5 thematic modules, each focusing on a specific aspect of Italian society and culture: ‘Living in society’, ‘Italian politics’, ‘How to get on in Italy’, ‘Fashion and way of life’ and ‘Italian economy’.

260

Chapter Thirteen

Figure 13.3 The structure of the course.

Table 13.2 Comparison between Phases of TU of distance course and Balboni’s model. Phases in the course of Italian Language @ Culture

Phases in Balboni model

ƒ Introduction ƒ Introductory ƒ Warm up ƒ Let’s read; Lets watch the video ƒ Let’s practice grammar and vocabulary

ƒ Net of learning unit

ƒ Let’s write and speak ƒ Conclusive ƒ Self-evaluation

ƒ Interlude phase

Learning Italian as a Foreign Language

261

Each module was composed of 4 units, and each unit, in turn, was organized in different sections responding to the model of learning unit proposed by Balboni (2007) (see paragraph ‘Theoretical Foundations’). ƒ ‘Introduction’ provided information about the multimedia learning objects of the unit. ƒ ‘Warm up’ was based on pictures or videos that were followed by questions intended to motivate students and generate ideas on the topic of the unit. ƒ ‘Let’s read or ‘Let’s watch the video’: in this section students could practice reading or listening. The comprehension of the written and audio/audio-visual texts was tested by means of different interactive exercises: multiple choice, true/false test, gap filling, cloze developed with the software Hotpotatoes and ExELearning. ƒ ‘Let’s practice grammar and vocabulary’. In this phase students reused the grammar and the vocabulary provided in the unit by means of different kinds of activities: ordering, multiple choice, gap filling with synonyms, crosswords and matching developed with the above mentioned software. ƒ ‘Let’s write and speak’. In this phase students practiced their productive skills. The section was linked to a thematic forum and to Skype. The former was a sort of discussion forum specifically designed to share ideas, thoughts, experiences, and opinions about the topic of the unit. Here, learners could improve their writing and reading skills since they had to leave and see e-tutors and peers responses to messages they had left (see section Asynchronous communication below). On a weekly basis, students used Skype to discuss with peer tutors and the e-tutor the strengths and weaknesses of their posts in the thematic forum and receive suggestions on the learning path (see section Synchronous communication below). At the end of the unit, students self-evaluated their progress in learning Italian and received feedback from the other course participants through forums and online questionnaires in a constructive and collaborative dimension (see below). Thus, learners, peer-tutors and e-tutors interacted to meet the same objective: learning/helping to learn Italian language and culture.

262

Chapter Thirteen

Learning by communicating To favour the interaction among Polish students, Italian e-tutor and peer tutors, the learning units were linked to synchronous and asynchronous communicative tools.

Asynchronous communication Asynchronous interaction among the participants was carried out through three forums. The first forum, called ‘News from your e-tutor’ was intended exclusively for e-tutor/student communication. In this kind of forum the e-tutors played different strategic roles, such as that of ‘facilitator’ and of ‘instructor’ (Holec, 1987; Little, 1990; Rivoltella, 2006). As facilitators, they had to contribute to create a learner-friendly environment, sending a welcome message to the students and introducing themselves. As instructors, they informed learners about the duration of the learning units, the deadline to complete their activities and gave the learners feedback. Additionally, since among the competencies required by distance language teachers, White (2003) quotes the ability to support students at a distance in taking responsibility for their learning, the e-tutors used to provide explanations and to suggest the most appropriate learning methods and strategies. The second forum, named ‘Let’s communicate in the class’ was specifically designed to improve the interaction among foreign students and Italian peer-tutors. Here, students were invited to introduce themselves to their course mates, to meet other participants, to ask them for their help and to exchange new ideas and opinions about the course. Besides the communicative forums, the course was linked to a thematic one, labelled ‘Task’. Here students expressed their point of view about the topic of the unit, posted their task-based activities and received corrective feedback from their e-tutor. Following the classification of corrective feedback proposed by Long (1996), in the forum, the e-tutor provided negative evidence, that is, direct or indirect information about what was unacceptable.4 In case of recurrent and common errors, the e-tutor provided some metalinguistic information and short grammatical explanations in the forum so that every course participant could reflect upon them.

Learning Italian as a Foreign Language

263

Figure 13.4 Corrective feedback from the e-tutor.

Translation of the tutor’s reply: “Dear Alexandra, Im very sorry for your eye problems. Nothing serious I hope Your task is very well done. Attention! I was nervous. They were proud. To talk about feelings in the past, you should use the tense “imperfetto” (I was nervous, the teacher was nice …) and not passato prossimo (I have been nervous). See you soon Elisa

Synchronous communication In every unit, synchronous interaction among participants was carried out through the chat ‘Students meet their e-tutor’, an online counselling session, where students asked questions, discussed their problems with their e-tutor and received extra materials for further studies. For example, during the chat sessions the tutors used to send their interlocutors web links to exercises focusing on specific aspects of grammar or lexicon they required.

264

Chapter Thirteen T

Figure 13.5 E Example of chatt session.

The chat seession was alsso an opportu unity to do innternet-based activities guided by thhe e-tutors annd designed to have studennts reflect upon crosscultural tradditions and devvelop interculltural competeence. Both viaa email or in the chat ssession itself, for example, e-tutors provvided links to websites presenting Italian histoory, geograph hy, society and culture (family, education ssystem, food,, festivals). Students S werre asked to read the materials provided and annalyze similarrities and diffeerences betweeen Polish and Italian hhabits and cusstoms. At Christmas, for exxample, Polish h students and their e-ttutor used to compare c natio onal religious or lay traditio ons (such as how andd when gifts are given) and a food preeferences. In order to facilitate thee comprehenssion of the voccabulary relatted to specificc national cooking traaditions and, as a conseq quence, to fooster the inteercultural exchange, leearners and thhe e-tutor reliied on ‘Googlle Images’ to illustrate the ingrediennts of traditionnal meals.

Learniing Italian as a Foreign Languaage

265

Figure 13.6 E Example of inteercultural exchange between IItalian e-tutor and a Polish students.

Additionallyy, e-tutors puut up on thee platform w weblinks to videos v on YouTube, ddictionaries annd encycloped dias, and exerrcises to help p students improve theeir morpho-ssyntatic, lexiccal and praggmatic compeetence in Italian. Likewise, inn the forum ‘News from the e-tutor’, the e-tutors provided corrective ffeedback to the t students also when chhatting with students. Nevertheless, given the sppecificity of th he communiccation environ nment, the e-tutor adoppted in the chat what Schachter (11991) called ‘implicit correction’ such as repettitions, recastss, clarificationn requests or rewriting the correct fform, rather thhan explicit neegative evidennce.

Promoting the stu udents’ awa areness and d responsib bility The promottion of learneer awareness and autonom my, as a ‘cap pacity for detachment,, critical refleection, decisio on making, annd independen nt action’ (Little, 19900), was anotheer objective off the course. Indeed, in adddition to the units of the course, studentts were invited d to work independenttly focusing on the skills an nd the aspectss of the target language they wantedd to deepen. To T this purposee, on the hom me page of the course, a specific areaa presented a selected and annotated weebliography, offering o a

266

Chapter Thirteen

great variety of resources dedicated to the Italian language and culture. This webliography was a sort of web-guide including short descriptions of the activities available to students and a list of links to websites, selected and classified by level, skill and subject. In this virtual environment, the e-tutors and the language counsellor aimed at fostering learner awareness and reflection through a set of online resources proposed in the various sections of the course. The course also offered students the possibility of self-evaluating their competencies and of self-monitoring their study. This was achieved through three end-of-unit questionnaires created with the online software SurveyMonkey. They were addressed to the Polish students and to the Italian peer-tutors to help them both reflect upon their learning process and tutoring activities. The first form ‘What did you learn?’ was addressed only to the Polish students and consisted of specific questions focused on verifying the real achievement of the initial targets of each learning unit. Figure 13.7 Survey: ‘What did you learn?’. 5

Translation of the survey: 1. At the end of this unit, can you speak about the different types of family? 2. Can you use some specific terms of law and statistics semantic fields? Can you compare some Italian traditions with Polish ones?

Learning Italian as a Foreign Language

267

The second form, ‘What about peer tutoring?’, had two different versions, one for the Polish students, the other for the Italian peer tutors (both the forms were in Italian). The questions, aimed at monitoring practical, organizational and cognitive aspects regarded the duration and frequency of on-line meeting, the communicative tools they had used during guided conversation activities at the end of each unit, the type of help needed by students, and the degree of student satisfaction with the tutoring program. These online questionnaires were designed with the aim of allowing students to become aware of their learning process also reflecting on the learning strategies used when learning the language and interacting orally with their peer-tutor. Based on Oxford’s taxonomy of language learning strategies (1990), the items of the questionnaires asked students which kind of cognitive, compensation and social strategies they used. Among the strategies students were required to reflect upon, we listed the followings categories: creating mental linkages and applying images and sounds; guessing intelligently and overcoming limitations in speaking and writing; asking questions, cooperating with others and empathising with others (see Appendix). Moreover, on the basis of the results of the questionnaires, e-tutors could intervene with extra activities and suggestions to facilitate language learning.

Conclusions and further developments In the course Italian Language @ Culture, traditional language teaching techniques and innovative computer applications for distance education merged together. The use of a wide range of multimedia materials and communication tools which learners use in everyday exchanges with their peers is more appropriate to their learning styles than traditional language classes which rely on textbooks and the figure of teacher, thus motivating language learning. As stated in the Introduction, the results attained at the end-of-course achievement test induce us to believe that the combination between face-to-face instruction and distance education is a winning strategy to teach and learn a second language. Moreover, the collection of materials produced by the students—both oral and written—can represent a significant corpus both for e-tutors, who can constantly monitor students’ progress, and for second language acquisition researchers who might use these materials to analyse errors, understand reasons for successful acquisition or fossilization, and infer acquisition strategies depending on the different learning styles.

268

Chapter Thirteen

Despite its small scale, the positive results of this study lead us to share with other researchers and practitioners the guiding principles that shaped this course with the hope of providing a framework that can be adapted according to particular teaching and learning contexts.

References Balboni, P. E. (2007), Operational Model for Language Education. Perugia: Guerra Edizioni. Banados, E. (2006), ‘A blended learning pedagogical model for teaching and learning EFL successfully through an online interactive multimedia environment’. CALICO Journal, 23, (3), p. 533-50. Benson, P. and Voller, P. (eds.) (1997), Autonomy and Independence in Language Learning. London: Longman. Churchill, D. (2007), ‘Towards a useful classification of learning objects’, Educational Technology Research and Development, 55 (5), 479-97. Common European Framework of Reference for Languages. Accessed at: http://www.coe.int/t/dg4/linguistics/CADRE_EN.asp [March 2012]. Elia, A. and De Santo, M. (2011), ‘Moodle & didattica dellitaliano L2: un percorso di lingua e Cultur@ Italiana online’, in M. Baldoni, C. Baroglio, S. Coriasco, M. Marchisio and S. Rabellino (eds), ELearning con Moodle in Italia: Una sfida tra Passato, Presente e Futuro. Turin: Seneca Edizioni. Ellis, R. (2003), Task-based Language Learning and Teaching. Oxford: Oxford Applied Linguistics. Fratter, I. (2004), Tecnologie per Linsegnamento delle Lingue. Rome: Carocci. Gordon, E. E. (2005), Peer Tutoring. A Teacher’s Resource Guide. Oxford: Scarecrow Education. Gruba, P. and Hinkelman, D. (eds.) (2012), Blending Technologies in Second Language Classrooms. Palgrave: Macmillan. Herring, S. (ed.) (1996), Computer-Mediated Communication: Linguistic, Social and Cross-Cultural Perspectives. Amsterdam, PA: John Benjamins. Freddi G. (1994), Glottodidattica. Fondamenti, Metodi, Tecniche. Turin: UTET. Holec, H. (1981), Autonomy and Foreign Language Learning. Oxford: Pergamon. Holec, H. (1987), ‘The learner as manager: managing learning or managing to learn?’, in A. Wenden and J. Rubin (eds), Learner Strategies In Language Learning. London: Prentice-Hall International.

Learning Italian as a Foreign Language

269

Jonassen, D. Howland, J., Marra, R. M. and Crismond, D. P. (2008), Meaningful Learning with Technology (3rd edn). New Jersey: Pearson. Krashen, S. (1982), Principles and Practice in Second Language Acquisition. London: Pergamon. Little, D. (1990), ‘Autonomy in language learning’, in I. Gathercole (ed.), Autonomy in Language Learning. London: CILT. LOM (2000), LOM working draft v4.1 Accessed at: http://ltsc.ieee.org/doc/wg12/LOMv4.1.htm Long, M. (1996), ‘The role of linguistic environment in second language acquisition’, in W. C. Ritchie and B. K. Bahtia (eds), Handbook of Second Language Acquisition. New York: Academic Press, pp. 41368. Nunan, D. (1988), The Learner Centred Curriculum. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Oxford, R. L. (1990), Language Learning Strategies: What Every Teacher Should Know. New York: Newbury House Publishers. Porcelli, G. (1994). Principi di glottodidattica. Brescia: La Scuola. Rivoltella, P.C. (ed.) (2006), E-tutor. Profili, Metodi, Strumenti. Rome: Carocci. Schachter, J. (1991), ‘Corrective feedback in historical perspective’. Second Language Research, 7, 89-102. Tyler, T. R. (2002), ‘Is the internet changing social life? It seems the more things change, the more say the same’. Journal of Social Issues, 58, (1), 195-205. Warschauer, M. and Kern, R. (eds.) (2002), Network-based Language Teaching: Concepts and Practice. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. White, C. (2003), Language Learning in Distance Education. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Whittaker, C. (2013), ‘Introduction’, in B. Tomlinson and C. Whittaker (eds), Blended Learning in English Language Teaching: Course Design and Implementation, London: British Council, pp. 11-23.

270

Chapter Thirteen T

Appen ndix Figure 13.8 H How about peer tutoring.

Learning Italian as a Foreign Language

271

Translation of Figure 13.8: Survey questions common to Polish students and Italian Peer-Tutors Answer the questions of this survey please. Your answers will help us monitor your peer-tutoring experience. Thank you for your collaboration and see you next session. *1. What is your name? * 2. Number and duration of meetings How often have you met your partner in this unit? How long was every meeting? * 3. During your Skype conference, have you used any online resources to perform the activities of the unit? No – Yes, dictionaries – Yes, automatic translator – Yes, grammars – Yes, other websites – Yes, other * 4. During this unit, which kind of help have you given/have you asked to your partner? * 5. Were you able to help your partner? Has your partner been able to help you? * 7. Have you had any difficulties? If so, tell us why, otherwise write no difficulties *8. Have you found it hard to communicate with your partner? If so, why? Otherwise write ‘no difficulties’. *9. Describe, using adjectives, your peer tutoring experience during this unit. *10. Asses your peer tutoring experience on a five-point scale (0 min – 5 max)

272 Strategies Figure 13.9 S

Chapter Thirteen T

Learning Italian as a Foreign Language

273

What kind of strategies have you used/have you suggested to your partner to complete the activities of the unit? Mnemonic strategies: Contextualize vocabulary; Use images; Use Keywords Cognitive strategies: Repeat; Analyze sentences; Take notice; Translate. Compensative strategies: Use L1; Use gestures and mimics; Use periphrases and synonyms Metacognitive strategies: Revise and relate contents to previous knowledge; Understand the purpose of the exercise; Self-evaluate. Affective strategies: Reduce anxiety; Encourage oneself; Measure/Control own emotions, Social strategies: Ask for further clarification and evaluations; Ask for corrections; Cooperate with fluent speaker of L2; Develop intercultural competence.

Notes 1

Examples of technology-supported learning include computer-based training systems, interactive learning environments, intelligent computer-aided instruction systems, distance learning systems, and collaborative learning environments. Examples of Learning Objects include multimedia content, instructional content, learning objectives, instructional software and software tools, and persons, organizations, or events referenced during technology supported learning. (LOM, 2004). For a classification of Learning Objects see Churchill, 2007. 2 Freddi (1994) proposed a model of TU characterized by five phases: motivation, globalizing, analyzing, synthesizing, testing and evaluation. This model was further developed by Porcelli (1994), who articulated the third phase ‘synthesizing’ in two sub-phases analyzing and synthesizing. 3 Moodle vademecum served as a practical guide for students and peer tutors to the use of platform and the tools available for online learning. Strategies for using these tools were also suggested. 4 According to Long (1996, p. 413) the information provided through negative evidence can be either explicit or implicit. Explicit negative evidence consists of grammatical explanations or overt error corrections. Implicit negative evidence instantiated, for example, by failure to understand, includes incidental error correction in a response, such as a confirmation check, which reformulates the learner’s utterance without interrupting the flow of the conversation.

274

5

Chapter Thirteen

Translation of the survey: 1. At the end of this unit, can you speak about the different types of family? 2. Can you use some specific terms in the fields of law and statistics? 3. Can you compare some Italian traditions with Polish ones?

CHAPTER FOURTEEN TEACHING GRAMMAR USING INDUCTIVE AND COMMUNICATIVE MATERIALS: EXPLORING EGYPTIAN EFL TEACHERS’ PRACTICES AND BELIEFS MUHAMMAD M. ABDEL LATIF

Regardless of the debate about whether it should be a main focus of language teaching or eliminated entirely (see Nassaji and Fotos, 2004), grammar is believed to provide the basis for mastering the four language skills and vocabulary (Widodo, 2006). That is why particular attention is always paid to teaching it despite the growing emphasis on making language instruction more communicative. Specifically, grammar has a prominent place in learning settings where English is taught as a foreign (EFL) or second language (ESL). What matters for many teachers working in EFL/ESL settings is not ‘to teach or not to teach grammar’ but how to provide students with effective grammar instruction. It is a generally accepted paradigm that grammar can be taught explicitly, directing learners’ attention to target forms by providing them with information, rules, etc., or implicitly, raising learners’ awareness of language forms. Explicit grammar instruction can be done either deductively, presenting grammatical rules and examples and asking learners to practice and apply the taught rules, or inductively, asking learners to observe language and infer rules from examples. In other words, deductive teaching gets learners to reason from general to specific grammatical rules (rule-driven learning), while inductive teaching gets them to attend to specific grammatical examples and infer general rules (rule-discovery learning). Implicit grammar teaching does not involve learners in studying grammatical forms directly. Instead, it attracts learners’ attention to target forms by presenting grammar in meaningful communication-oriented activities without explanations of grammatical

276

Chapter Fourteen

rules. It focuses mainly on the meaning of the text rather than the grammatical form. Following exposure to grammar in such a meaningful way, learners may infer forms from examples, and in turn acquire these forms as naturally as possible (for detailed descriptions of these grammar instruction types, see Andrews, 2007; Ellis, 2010; Scott, 1990; Widodo, 2006). There has been much debate on which grammar teaching technique is more effective than the other. Explicit grammar teaching has been viewed as hindering learners’ communicative ability (Green and Hecht, 1990; Housen and Pierrard 2006). Specifically, the deductive technique has been criticized for encouraging a teacher-dominated information-transmission pedagogical style and hindering learners’ immediate involvement and interaction (Widodo, 2006). With these criticisms in mind, there is a growing trend among mainstream EFL textbook writers to design grammar teaching materials which depend on the inductive technique and—to a lesser degree—on oral communicative teaching (Cullen and Kuo, 2007; Millard, 2000). For example, the new Hello! English for Secondary Schools textbook series (Haines and Dallas, 2008) that has been introduced to secondary stage students in Egypt since 2008, integrates such a mixed inductive-communicative approach to teaching grammar. Though much research has been conducted on teachers’ pedagogical knowledge about grammar (e.g. Borg, 2003; Farrell and Particia, 2005; Nassaji and Fotos, 2004), little attention has been given to investigating their beliefs and practices in relation to grammar teaching materials. Studies on grammar teaching materials such as Cullen and Kuo (2007), Fernández (2011) and Millard (2000) were interested in examining the characteristics of these materials rather than investigating how teachers use them and what rationalizes their practices. Addressing this perceived research gap, the study reported in this chapter explored Egyptian EFL teachers’ classroom practices in relation to using grammar instruction materials, and their beliefs about these materials. The first section provides a description of the grammar teaching materials in the Hello! English for Secondary Schools textbook series which is currently taught to secondary stage students in Egypt.

Grammar teaching materials in the Hello! textbook series The Hello! English for Secondary Schools textbook series uses the communicative language teaching approach. The series aims at assisting students in the process of reaching certain proficiency and behavioral

Teaching Grammar Using Inductive and Communicative Materials

277

goals in English and in the day-to-day interactions they encounter throughout their lives. In each textbook, there are 18 units arranged into groups of three units, with a review unit at the end of each group, making a total of 24 units. Each main unit consists of five pages and five lessons (listening, language focus, reading, critical thinking, and communication), and is complemented by a four-page unit in the workbook which aims at reinforcing the language and grammatical structures students have already met. (Examples of student’s book and workbook activities can be seen at: http://www.longmansec.com.eg/) The series develops and extends the language structures students acquired through the primary and preparatory stages. The language focus lesson in each unit presents the grammatical content. The textbooks also include a brief supplementary grammar review which highlights key structures introduced and serves as an aid to revision. The individual sections of the grammar review are referred to in the unit to show the correlation between what is being studied and the relevant section in the review. Each language focus lesson in the student’s book includes three or four grammar activities, some of which are integrated with listening or dictionary use. The key activity type the grammar lesson starts with acts as the presentation activity of the grammatical rule. This activity type is based on explicit inductive teaching, and gets students to cooperatively observe a grammatical rule and answer the questions raised about it, that is, it encourages their active participation and pair or group work. Figure 14.1 is an example of an explicit inductive grammar teaching activity from the series. Figure 14.1 An example of main inductive activities (Unit 8- year 2 textbook: used to).

Study these sentences from the listening text and do the following. 1. In those days, he used to enjoy fishing. 2. He used to go canoeing on the river on Sundays. 3. He left in 1870, joined the army and fought for France in a war against Prussia. 4. He used to spend all his free time writing. 5. Maupassant died in 1893. a- Underline all the verbs which refer to the past. b- Which of the underlined verbs refer to things which happened once? c- Which of the underlined verbs refer to things that happened more than once, but do not happen now?

278

Chapter Fourteen

d- How are the past verbs in the sentences below different from the past verbs in sentences 1, 2 and 4 above? 1 Did he use to do anything else as well as writing? 2 He didn’t use to enjoy staying at home. In nearly half of the units in each textbook, an additional activity is used to supplement the main inductive activity with which the grammar lesson starts. These supplementary activities provide a more challenging opportunity for discussing grammatical rules. Figure 14.2 is an example of these supplementary inductive activities. Figure 14.2 An example of supplementary inductive activities (Unit 13- year one textbook: using articles with singular nouns).

What is the difference in meaning between these pairs of sentences? a -We’re meeting my brother at the airport. We’re meeting my brother at an airport. b- I lent her a CD last week. She gave me the CD yesterday. I lent her a CD last week. She gave me a CD yesterday. c- Would you like to see a film tomorrow? Would you like to see the film tomorrow? The series also includes communicative grammar activities designed for getting students to use the grammatical structure in oral communicative dialogues. Figure 14.3 contains two examples of these communicative activities which are included in the vast majority of grammar lessons. Figure 14.3 Examples of oral communicative grammar activities.

Example 1: (Unit 3- year two textbook: revision of past tenses) In pairs, tell each other about the following. a- Things you thought or believed when you were 7 years old. b- Things you had done by the age of 12. c- Things you have never done, but would like to do in the future. d- Things you were doing at this time yesterday. Example 2: (Unit 3- year one textbook: Zero, first and second conditionals)

Teaching Grammar Using Inductive and Communicative Materials

279

Discuss these questions in pairs. a- What do you do if you can’t sleep at night? b- What will you do if you have some free time this evening? c- What would you do if you lost the key to your flat or house? The last type of grammar activities included in the textbook series is written controlled practice activities. All grammar lessons in the student’s book main units include one or two written controlled practice activities, while the grammar activities in the workbook and review units are all of this type. In controlled practice activities, one sample question is answered for the students. Below are examples of the headings of these activities: Student’s Book main unit examples: - Complete these sentences with - an extremely - a very, or - quite a. (Unit 5- year one textbook). - Complete with a reflexive pronoun and the correct form of these verbs. (Unit 12- year two textbook). - Complete these sentences with the correct past form of the verbs in brackets (active or passive). (Unit 4- year three textbook). Student’s Book review unit examples: - Choose the correct verbs in these conditional sentences. - Complete the conversation with the correct prepositions. - Change these sentences into the passive. (Review unit E- year two textbook). Workbook examples: - Use the verbs in brackets to write passive sentences. - Change these active sentences into the passive. - Make passive sentences using these newspaper headlines and the expressions below. (Unit 5- third year textbook) As can be noted from the brief review above, the grammar lessons in the series textbooks include four types of grammar activities: main inductive grammar rule presentation activities, supplementary inductive consciousness-raising activities, oral communicative activities, and written controlled practice activities. A brief review of the grammatical rules studied is also appended at the end of each textbook. The research question addressed in the study reported in this chapter is: how are these grammar teaching materials used in the classroom and what are teachers’

280

Chapter Fourteen

beliefs rationalizing such use? The study sought to answer this question by exploring teachers’ use of materials in the classroom, the types of material teachers focus on more or less, and by interviewing teachers about their beliefs about these materials. The importance of this study lies in the insights it can provide into teachers’ attitudes towards and views on grammar teaching materials.

Study methodology The study depended on two data sources: classroom observation and semistructured interviews. Twelve teachers were observed in their grammar classes (two of each teacher’s classes). These twelve teachers were interviewed about their views on the grammar teaching materials described above. The author observed and interviewed a group of secondary school Egyptian female (n = 5) and male teachers (n = 7). They were all working in six general secondary schools in Greater Cairo at the time of collecting the data. All the teachers agreed to take part in the study on a voluntary basis, and institutional consent was obtained prior to collecting the data from them. All the teachers were native Arabic speakers, and they had varied teaching experiences, ranging from 10 to 30 years. The majority of the participants were teaching students in the three grades, and some of them were teaching students in two grades only. As for their first higher education qualification, all the teachers had a BA degree in either English language teaching or English literature and linguistics. The data collection procedures started with observing each teacher in their grammar classes. The study used naturalistic observation in which ‘the researcher makes no effort whatsoever to manipulate the variables or to control the activities of individuals, but simply observes and records what happens as things naturally occur’ (Fraenkel and Wallen, 2003, p. 451). Audio-recording of the observed classes was preferred to video-recording which, it was felt, would be more likely to change teachers’ behaviour. It was also felt that most teachers would be more resistant to the researcher’s use of video-recording devices in their classes. The notes taken by the researcher while observing each class helped him to interpret the gathered data. The second stage in the data collection procedure was interviewing the observed teachers about their views on the grammar teaching materials included in the textbook series, and about their beliefs about using these types of materials in their classes. These interviews were semi-structured ones in which the author used guiding questions and raised some other

Teaching Grammar Using Inductive and Communicative Materials

281

follow-up questions depending on the teachers’ answers. The interviews focused on exploring the teachers’ views on the materials, their attitudes towards teaching each type of activity described above, the rationale for their beliefs and attitudes and for grammar teaching practices, and their conceptions of good grammar teaching materials. The classroom observation data was analyzed in terms of the time the teachers allocated to teaching grammar using the textbook materials and the frequencies of the textbook grammar activity types they taught. The analysis of the interviews consisted of thematic analysis by which the transcripts of the interviews were read several times to identify the emerging themes or categories. These emerging themes were subjected to further cycles of analysis so that tentative interview analysis findings could be ‘substantiated, revised, and reconfigured’ (Merriam, 1998, p. 181). Analyzing the interviews in such a way helped to identify specific themes related to teachers’ views on the textbook grammar teaching materials and the beliefs justifying their selection of the grammar activities to teach/not to teach.

Results of the study The results of the study are given below in three subsections: the first two deal with the classroom observational data and the third is based on interview data. Teaching grammar with or without the textbook materials The analysis of the observational data revealed two main striking results about the twelve teachers’ grammar instructional practices. The first of these is related to the time allocated to teaching grammar using textbook materials versus the time allocated to teaching grammar without using these materials. The twelve teachers were found to start their grammar lessons by providing explanations of grammatical rules using the board, and rarely to use the textbook explicit inductive activity given at the beginning of each grammar lesson. The teachers’ grammar explanations on the board took much longer than the time taken working with the textbook grammar activities. Excluding the time devoted to classroom management from the instructional time distribution analysis, it was found that 68.3 % of the time of the observed classes was spent on teaching grammar explicitly using the board, and 31.7 % of it was spent on teaching grammar using textbook materials. This strongly suggests that the twelve

282

Chapter Fourteen

teachers preferred to teach grammar using their own instructional scenarios and self-designed activities rather than using textbook materials. Frequencies of the textbook grammar activities taught Another notable dimension of grammar teaching practices in the observed classes is the frequencies of the textbook grammar activities taught. The frequencies of the grammar activity types taught are given in Table 14.1. As the table shows, 97 grammar activities were taught in the 24 classes observed. Given that 168-192 grammar activities were supposed to be taught in these classes (i.e. seven to eight student’s book and workbook grammar activities in each lesson), this means that the twelve teachers omitted nearly half of the textbook grammar activities. In other words, on average, the teachers only taught four out of the seven to eight student’s book and workbook activities in each grammar lesson. Table 14.1 Frequencies of the grammar activity types taught in the observed classes. Activity type

Raw frequencies

Main inductive activities Supplementary inductive activities Oral communicative activities Written controlled practice activities Total

7 8

Percent frequencies 7.2 % 8.2 %

3 79

3.1 % 81.5 %

97

100 %

The table shows that written controlled practice activities were much more frequently taught (81.5%) than supplementary inductive (8.2%), main inductive (7.2%), and oral communicative (3.1%) activities, respectively. The higher frequency of written controlled practice activities is generally consistent with their frequency in textbook grammar lessons (four to six activities in each lesson), and suggests that the teachers dealt with this type of activity by selecting the most important ones to teach. The frequency of teaching supplementary inductive activities roughly matches their frequency in textbook grammar lessons, given that every two lessons—on average—include one activity of this type. On the other hand, the low raw frequencies of main inductive activities (7) and communicative activities (3) indicate that they were relatively neglected. Classroom observation also showed that the twelve teachers made no use of the supplementary

Teaching Grammar Using Inductive and Communicative Materials

283

grammar review given at the end of each textbook, and did not integrate— as was intended—listening or dictionary use with some grammar activities. For the purposes of this study, it was necessary to find out the reasons why the teachers tended to neglect main inductive and communicative activities, and why they chose to explain grammatical rules mainly by depending on their own instructional scenarios and selfdesigned activities rather than textbook materials. The next section presents the rationale for teachers’ use of grammar teaching materials. Teachers’ beliefs about grammar teaching materials The interviews revealed two main factors rationalizing teachers’ grammar teaching practices and acting as barriers to their use of inductive and communicative activities in grammar classes. These factors are firstly, conceptions of good grammar instruction materials and secondly, washback—in simple terms, teaching to the examination. The latter also accounted for the selective attitude adopted in teaching written controlled practice activities. Conceptions of good grammar teaching materials The interviews showed that the twelve teachers were not satisfied with the textbook grammar materials. The reasons found to account for teachers’ dissatisfaction with the materials are: inadequacy of grammatical explanations, the way the materials are organized, the little contribution the materials make to enhancing students’ grammar knowledge, and negligence of the teacher’s active role. In fact, these perceived shortcomings sum up the interviewed teachers’ views on what characterizes good grammar teaching materials: they should be wellorganized and present grammar deductively, add concretely to students’ grammar knowledge, and foster the teacher’s active role. The teachers agreed that the grammatical explanations in the materials are too brief and do not meet students’ grammar knowledge needs. Due to this, the teachers and students alike resorted to using other grammar materials: Teacher 8: The grammar part is generally poor in the textbook series. If you look at this unit, it deals with the passive; the first activity highlights key structures in given examples but these structures are not wellexplained in the grammar review part. Likewise, if you look at this other unit, five main ways are given for expressing the future (will, going to, present simple etc.), and each way has different uses, but these uses are

284

Chapter Fourteen superficially explained in the textbook. Therefore, I present the rules in a way that matches students’ understanding. Teacher 5: The grammatical rules in the textbook series are not wellpresented. I mean they are not explained in detail. In order to teach these rules in a better way, I have to use my own ideas and materials. I take these teaching ideas from well-known grammar reference books. Students do not depend on the textbook in studying grammar either, they use commercial study guides for studying grammar.

With regard to the reference books that some interviewed teachers reported depending on in their preparation for grammar lessons, these are all based on the explicit deductive approach to teaching grammar, e.g. Murphy's (2004) English Grammar in Use, Thomson and Martinet's (1986) Practical English Grammar, and Eckersley and Eckersley's (1960) Comprehensive English Grammar. Some teachers’ dissatisfaction with textbook grammar materials also stemmed from the way they are organized, i.e. integrating the inductive presentation of materials in the main unit lessons while giving deductive presentation materials at the end of the book. The following interview extract summarizes this: Teacher 2: The main problem in this textbook series is the way it deals with grammar. It distracts students’ attention by giving them the grammatical activities in one lesson in the main units and referring them to the grammatical explanation in an appendix. Of course I realize this is intended to enhance students’ conversational skills, but it marginalizes grammar. Because I don’t have appropriate grammar teaching materials, I have to use my own ideas for explaining grammatical rules well using the board; otherwise students won’t be able to understand them from the textbook.

A third perceived shortcoming of these grammar materials is the little contribution they add to students’ grammar knowledge. According to the teachers interviewed, the content of these materials is repetitive and does not add much to students’ grammar knowledge, i.e. it does not provide a high level of challenge for students, and it underestimates their grammar knowledge levels. This is what these two teachers explain: Teacher 2: I think that the grammar content in this textbook series adds little to the grammar knowledge students has learned in previous study years.

Teaching Grammar Using Inductive and Communicative Materials

285

Teacher 11: The grammatical rules in this series do not differ much from what students have previously studied. I mean they are not challenging to their abilities.

It can be argued that the reason why supplementary inductive activities— albeit much fewer in number—were used in the observed classes rather than the main inductive ones may lie in the more challenging grammar learning opportunity the former activity type provides. A final perceived shortcoming that interprets the above-mentioned low frequency of communicative and inductive grammar activities is the teachers’ view that the materials neglect their own active role in grammar instruction. Most interviewees considered that good teaching materials should enable themselves as teachers to play an active role in grammar instruction. This issue in particular seems to be related to the culture of teaching in the Egyptian context in which language instruction is expected to be more teacher-centered than learner-centered. As one teacher explained: Teacher 9: Here, students like grammar lessons particularly because they expect them to be mainly dependent on the teacher’s explanation. In other words, students regard themselves as information recipients who are not required to make much effort in these lessons.

With this teaching culture, teachers are more enthusiastic for the materials enabling them to play a more active role in the classroom: Teacher 3: Textbook grammar lessons are good for students because most activities are student-centered. As always explained in the teacher’s guide instructions, ‘students read, students answer, etc.’. Indeed, this is great for students, but as a teacher, it inhibits me from playing an active role, and from providing students with detailed grammatical rules.

As can be seen, the conceptions held by teachers about the characteristics of good grammar materials have influenced their attitudes to teaching inductive and oral communicative activities negatively. With regard to actual classroom practices, these teachers opted to replace inductive and oral communicative materials with their own ideas and scenarios for teaching grammar deductively. This grammar teaching approach enables them to provide students with detailed grammar explanations and more challenging learning experiences, and to have a more active role in students’ learning, and allows them to organize the materials in the way they prefer.

Chapter Fourteen

286

Washback The interviews revealed that teaching to the examination, that is, washback, has also negatively influenced teachers’ use of communicative activities. With an examination system that does not include an oral component, teachers were not inclined to teach oral communicative activities: Teacher 7: I only focus on the parts in which students are tested […] The exam doesn’t include an oral section. It should include an oral section because in this case only we’ll be interested in teaching communicative activities.

What fosters teachers’ avoidance of communicative activities is the difficulties they encounter in implementing them in the classroom, including students’ poor oral performance and lack of the time needed for correcting students’ oral errors. As one teacher explained: Teacher 12: It is difficult to teach pair work communicative activities because there are differences in students’ speaking abilities. For example, if I need to teach a pair work activity, this will require finding 15 pairs of students in a 30-student class. But I’ll be lucky enough to find 4 pairs of students to take part in these activities […] Simply, students are not used to communicative activities.

Not only did washback lead teachers to neglect communicative grammar activities, but it also made them focus on some written controlled practice activities more than others. Many interviewees reported that they focus mainly on the controlled practice activities matching the examination paper specifications. This explains why the teachers neglected many activities of this type. The teachers particularly consider that the grammar controlled practice activities in the workbook match the examination specifications more than those in the student’s book: Teacher 10: I mainly teach the grammar activities similar to the questions students have to answer in final year exams. The grammar activities included in the student’s book are not adequate, but the workbook activities are more used for preparing students for final year exam questions. Teacher 4: I usually quit the grammar activities that do not match the exam questions. For example, the activities starting with (rewrite the following sentences using the words in brackets) are very important ones because they develop students’ ability to write grammatically-correct

Teaching Grammar Using Inductive and Communicative Materials

287

sentences, but unfortunately students do not have to answer similar question in the exam. That is why they are rarely taught.

According to the above, washback was very influential in teachers’ neglect of communicative grammar activities, and in their decisions about which controlled practice activities to focus on more or less.

Discussion and Conclusion The results of the study reported in this chapter clearly indicate that teachers’ instructional attitudes and classroom practices may go against language teaching material designers’ expectations. As the study shows, more than two thirds of classroom time (68.3 %) was allocated to teaching grammar without textbook materials. All the twelve teachers made very little use of the inductive materials in presenting grammatical structures, and instead they depended basically on their own pure deductive grammatical explanations. When using textbook materials, the teachers mainly focused on written controlled practice activities, paid little attention to inductive activities, and neglected oral communicative activities. The teachers’ conceptions of good grammar instruction materials acted as an attitudinal obstacle to their teaching of inductive and communicative grammar textbook activities. By depending on their own ideas and scenarios for teaching grammar deductively, the teachers were able to provide students with detailed grammatical explanations and more challenging learning experiences, and to play a more active role in students’ grammar learning. Teachers’ use of textbook grammar materials was also influenced by washback which fostered their avoidance of communicative grammar activities, and led them to teach some written controlled practice activities more frequently than others. The attitudinal obstacles and beliefs which prevented the teachers from adapting their grammar instructional practices to match material designers’ expectations can be mainly ascribed to the long experiences they have had in teaching deductive grammar materials. As has been mentioned above, their experience in teaching English range from 10 to 30 years. Not only have these teachers taught deductive materials for a long time, but they also use it for their own study of grammar. With this long experience in using deductive English grammar materials, adequate training was necessary to bring about a real change in these teachers’ attitudes and practices. However, the only training program the interviewed teachers reported having, lasted for two weeks prior to introducing the Hello!

288

Chapter Fourteen

textbook series in 2008, and focused on using the whole series, i.e. it was not directly related to teaching grammar. This study showed a case in which language teachers and language material designers worked in two different worlds. It would seem that the designers developed the materials without adequate identification of teachers’ backgrounds, beliefs and training needs (but see Masuhara 2011 on reflecting teachers’ needs and wants in materials), and without considering that training might be necessary to modify their pedagogical knowledge. This has resulted in teachers’ failure to use the materials as expected. Thus, partnership between language material designers and teachers is of the utmost importance as it can help designers realistically identify what teachers can and cannot do when using new language materials, and provide them with the optimal training for such use (see Tomlinson and Masuhara 2010 for descriptions of some attempts at such collaboration). Equally important is changing the examination system in the target context in order to match the communicative nature of the coursebook series being used in general, and its communicative grammar activities in particular. When assessment is used as a vehicle for driving instructional practices, teaching and testing become essentially synonymous (Menken, 2008). Including an oral communication part in the examination would, I would suggest, result in getting teachers to pay more attention to implementing communicative grammar activities in the classroom.

References Andrews, K. N. Z. (2007), ‘The effects of implicit and explicit instruction on simple and complex grammatical structures for adult English language learners’. TESL-EJ, 11, (2), no page numbers. Borg, S. (2003), ‘Teacher cognition in grammar teaching: a literature review’. Language Awareness, 12, (2), 96-108. Cullen, R. and Kuo, I. C. V. (2007), ‘Spoken grammar and ELT course materials: a missing link?’. TESOL Quarterly, 41, 361-86. Ellis, R. (2010), ‘Does explicit grammar instruction work?’. NINJAL Project Review, 2, 3-22. Eckersley, C. E., and Eckersley, J. M. (1960), A Comprehensive English Grammar for Foreign Students. London: Longman. Farrell, T. S. and Particia, L. C. (2005), ‘Conceptions of grammar teaching: a case study of teachers' beliefs and classroom practices’. TESL-EJ, 9, (2), no page numbers.

Teaching Grammar Using Inductive and Communicative Materials

289

Fernández, C. (2011), ‘Approaches to grammar instruction in teaching materials: a study in current L2 beginning-level Spanish textbooks’. Hispania, 94, (1), 155-70. Fraenkel, J. R. and Wallen, N.E. (2003), How to Design and Evaluate Research in Education. New York: McGraw Hill Higher Education. Green, P. and Hecht, K. (1992), ‘Implicit and explicit grammar: an empirical study’. Applied Linguistics, 13, (2), 168-84. Haines, S. and Dallas, D. (2008), Hello! English for Secondary Schools. Cairo: The Egyptian International Publishing Company/Longman. Housen, A. and Pierrard, M. (2006), ‘Investigating instructed second language acquisition’, in A. Housen and M. Pierrard (eds), Investigations in Instructed Second Language Acquisition. Berlin: Mouton de Gruyter, pp. 1-27. Masuhara, H. (2011), ‘What do teacher really want from coursebooks?’, in B. Tomlinson (ed.), Materials Development in Language Teaching (2nd edn). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, pp. 236-66. Menken, K. (2008), English Learners Left Behind: Standardized Testing as Language Policy. Clevedon: Multilingual Matters. Merriam, S. B. (1998), Qualitative Research and Case Study Applications in Education. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass. Millard, D. J. (2000), ‘Form-focused instruction in communicative language teaching: implications for grammar textbooks’. TESL Canada Journal, 18, 47-57. Murphy, R. (2004), English Grammar in Use: A Self-study Reference and Practice Book for Intermediate Students of English. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Nassaji, H. and Fotos, S. (2004), ‘Current developments in research on the teaching of grammar’. Annual Review of Applied Linguistics, 24, 12645. Scott, V. (1990), ‘Explicit and implicit grammar teaching strategies: new empirical data’. The French Review, 63, (5), 779-89. Thomson, J. A. and Martinet A.V. (1986).,Practical English Grammar. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Tomlinson, B. and Masuhara, H. (eds) (2010), Research for Materials Development in Language Learning: Evidence for Best Practice. London: Continuum International. Widodo, H. P. (2006), ‘Approaches and procedures for teaching grammar’. English Teaching: Practice and Critique, 5, (1), 122-41.

CHAPTER FIFTEEN HOW TEACHERS USE THE GLOBAL ELT COURSEBOOK MICHAEL TASSERON

Introduction The increasing importance attributed to learning English in the age of globalization has resulted in the proliferation of English language teaching coursebooks and other pedagogical materials worldwide. This, in turn, has contributed to the rise of what has become known as the global English Language Teaching (ELT) coursebook. This is essentially a coursebook published for use in a wide variety of contexts (Tomlinson, 2011a). The global ELT coursebook has considerable resources dedicated to its production and marketing. Yet, surprisingly, until recently, there was little available published literature about how it and other pedagogical materials are used (Rossner, 1988; Hutchinson and Torres, 1994; Tomlinson, 2012; Tomlinson, 2013a). Fortunately, however, this trend is changing with several recent publications detailing different aspects of coursebook and materials use (see, for example, Lee and Bathmaker, 2007; Ravelonanahary, 2007; Yan, 2007; Shawer, Gilmore and Banks-Joseph, 2008). In order to provide further insight into this, this chapter reports on a smallscale study into the use of one of these global coursebook series in a particular teaching context. The study took place at a college in the Sultanate of Oman and investigated how a number of the components in two global coursebooks were used. The books were New Cutting Edge Elementary (Cunningham and Moor, 2005) and New Cutting Edge PreIntermediate (Cunningham and Moor, 2005). This chapter describes the study and discusses the key finding that most teachers used the components consistently and adhered closely to the coursebook script in their lessons. The implications for the respective parties involved in the production and use of such coursebooks are then discussed. Of particular relevance are the concerns raised about the mismatch between the

How Teachers Use the Global ELT Coursebook

291

coursebook methodology, second language acquisition research and teaching practices. A recommendation in the conclusion in this regard is that institutions need to implement training programmes for teachers to provide them with effective ways in which to use coursebooks in order to facilitate learning. Simply adhering to the coursebook script by routinely proceeding through the assigned activities from the start to the end of each unit, it is concluded, is unlikely to do so.

The Role and Function of a Coursebook The coursebook fulfils roles for both the learner and the teacher. For the learner the coursebook’s most prominent role is to promote language learning. It also provides materials for teachers, which alleviates the need for them to dedicate hours of their time to producing their own (Bell and Gower, 2011). Aziz (2003) believes that the coursebook should be seen as something which attempts to address not only the needs of learners and teachers, but also the institutional requirements where the book is used, as well as the needs of the writer and publisher. In order to further understand its role, it is first necessary to take into account what has been said about the coursebook and enter the debate about some of its benefits and drawbacks, which are of relevance to this discussion.

Advantages of Coursebooks Structure and Support The coursebook provides structure, which is a vital requirement of the learning process, according to Hutchinson and Torres (1994). Mares (2003) believes that coursebooks are designed to offer support and the opportunity for exposure to and practice of the different language structures presented by the book. Another benefit of the coursebook mentioned by Bell and Gower (2011) is that it provides teachers and learners with the opportunity to expand the learning process beyond what is dealt with in the text, and return to it when needed. As the number of institutions offering English education worldwide continues to increase, a benefit of increasing relevance in contemporary language classrooms is the supportive role which coursebooks provide to non-native teachers of English, as well as to teachers unaccustomed to ‘communicative’ language teaching (Mares, 2003). This is particularly

292

Chapter Fifteen

true in countries in the Arabian Gulf, where teachers from Egypt, Palestine, Jordan, Iraq, India and Pakistan constitute a significant portion of the staff of many schools, colleges and universities, compared with teachers from countries where English is spoken as a first language (Syed, 2003). In the college in Oman where the study was conducted, only approximately 10% of the ninety five teachers of English are native English speakers, and many of the teachers do not have a background in ‘communicative’ language teaching.

Disadvantages of Coursebooks Context In any teaching institution there are bound to be discussions about the coursebooks in use, and these often veer toward criticism, particularly about a coursebook’s unsuitability for a particular context. This argument has featured recurrently in ELT literature for some time. Sheldon (1988) claims that ELT coursebook publishers tend to overlook cultural considerations in different contexts, and Block (1991, p. 213) writes: ‘Here I shall refer to the contexts provided which are not immediately relevant to students and which, in many cases, are frankly boring’. Wallace (1997) is critical of the Western-style pedagogical approaches of many ELT coursebooks, which he argues are often not congruent with the diverse ELT environments throughout the world. This argument is supported by Masuhara (2011, p. 236), who claims that in her thirty years of teaching in a number of countries, she has found much of the coursebook content ‘too alien’ for her lessons. Claims such as these undoubtedly resonate through staff rooms the world over. The argument about context and suitability has its merits. However, taking cognizance of the monumental changes that have shaped global politics and economics in recent times, it might be argued that it has become rather tenuous. The reality of ELT coursebooks sold by major publishers is that they are aimed at a global audience, and as a consequence, localized content has to a large extent been sidelined (Pulverness, 2003; Gray, 2010a). This is not to say that this situation is favourable, indeed a strong argument exists for localized materials (Tomlinson, 2003; Bolitho, 2008; Tomlinson, 2008; Jolly and Bolitho, 2011), but it is a reality for a large number of teaching contexts.

How Teachers Use the Global ELT Coursebook

293

Over-reliance The question of whether teachers tend to rely too much on coursebooks is also a source of some debate. It has been claimed that teachers’ overreliance on coursebooks is thought to reduce their role to a passive one, devoid of responsibility and decision-making pertaining to the pedagogical choices made in lessons (Hutchinson and Torres, 1994). Richards and Mahoney (1996, p. 42) comment on the danger of ‘reification’ of the coursebook if teachers ascribe too much importance to it. The issue of the restrictive nature of the coursebook is also raised by Rubdy (2003). However, what has been found in studies about coursebook use in ELT and in other subjects, is that the manner in which teachers use their coursebooks differs significantly (Stodolsky, 1989; Richards and Mahoney, 1996). After a review of several studies which focused on coursebook use, McGrath (2013) reaches the same conclusion, and states that teachers match their learners in terms of individuality, and the diverse manner in which they use pedagogical materials reflects this. Furthermore, Tomlinson states that teachers ‘systematically’ adapt teaching materials (2012, p. 151), a view also shared by Hutchinson and Torres (1994). McDonough, Shaw and Masuhara (2013) note that adapting the coursebook is common practice among teachers, in order to suit the particular learning environment they are in. Islam and Mares (2003) regard adaptation as something done out of necessity, due to the teacher’s familiarity with his or her learners.

Content and Second Language Acquisition The third criticism of coursebooks relevant to this discussion relates to second language acquisition (SLA) theory and coursebook methodology. A problem with many pedagogical materials and coursebooks is that the approaches they recommend do not typically embrace what is known about the language learning process (Saraceni, 2003; Bell and Gower, 2011; McGrath, 2013; Tomlinson, 2013b). This is despite claims by publishers that their products are based on up-to-date research (Richards and Mahoney, 1996). Mares (2003) states that the practice activities used in widely-published coursebooks are restrictive, and typically consist of controlled practice drills of the particular language structure which is taught. Additionally, he claims that the focus is on immediate productive use of the target language as opposed to comprehension. This, he believes, contradicts what has been

294

Chapter Fifteen

proposed by a number of SLA theorists, who argue the case for a period of latency before productive use. The view that the methodology in many coursebooks tends to be outdated is reaffirmed by Tomlinson (2012), who states that the methodology used in coursebooks over the past four decades has remained relatively unchanged. He notes that the presentationpractice-production (PPP) approach is still widely used, despite concerns about its effectiveness. Tomlinson (2008) argues further that the emphasis on linguistic form in many coursebooks may ultimately be responsible for many learners failing in their efforts to acquire the skills needed to communicate in English. Tomlinson (2011b) also questions the manner in which many coursebooks view learners as all embodying the same studial learning style, and thereby the assumption that they will all benefit from it. He states further that this particular learning style is favoured by a minority of learners, and thus coursebooks using such methodology give these learners an advantage over learners with different learning styles. This concern is also shared by Islam (2003). Therefore, in terms of addressing the needs of learners, the global coursebook does not appear to take into account the diversity of learners and learning styles. When attempts are made, they tend to resort to what Masuhara (2011, p. 262) describes as a ‘take what you want’ approach, not guided by up-to-date research, thereby raising further concerns.

What Is Known About Coursebook Use Prior to commencing with the study, the relevant literature about coursebook use was consulted as described above. Discussions were held with prospective participants in order to determine which factors were believed to be the most salient for the context in question. The decision was then made to focus on the four factors listed below (albeit acknowledging other factors in addition to these which may influence how coursebooks are used): 1. Teacher beliefs about pedagogy appear to play a role in usage. 2. Coursebook use is influenced by the teaching context and institutional requirements. 3. Learner expectations impact the choices teachers make. 4. Teachers adapt their coursebooks.

How Teachers Use the Global ELT Coursebook

295

Teacher Beliefs This discussion will adopt the definition of pedagogical beliefs provided by Tsui (2003, p. 61) as ‘teachers’ conceptions of teaching and learning’. The procedures teachers use in the classroom are impacted by their beliefs about teaching and learning aims, according to Katz (1996). Thus, it could also be argued that a relationship exists between these beliefs and the use of pedagogical materials. This is also the position adopted by Lee and Bathmaker (2007). They contend further that teachers select materials based on their pedagogical beliefs, and that these exert a stronger influence than the dictates of the coursebook. A similar argument is presented by Zacharias (2005) who states that the choices teachers make when using materials may reflect their beliefs, and where teachers are permitted flexibility in the classroom, a correlation between teaching beliefs and practices may be found to exist. Some insight into the relationship between teaching beliefs, practices and teaching materials is provided by Katz (1996). In a study which investigated the relationship between the teaching styles and practices of a group of ESL teachers at an American university, it was found that although the teachers taught the same writing course using the same coursebook, the methods they employed to teach the course differed in a number of respects. Of relevance to this discussion is how the prescribed texts were used, and it was observed that the teachers in question differed in how much time they allocated to coursebook use, the extent to which they referred explicitly to the coursebook in their lessons and the use of supplementary materials. Taking cognisance of what has been discussed above, it could be argued that teacher beliefs are a significant determiner of how materials are selected and used in lessons. Furthermore, the decisions made in the classroom based on these beliefs also appear to take precedence over the coursebook script. The implications of this for classroom practice are worth considering. For instance, a particular teacher may hold the belief that an approach focusing on discrete forms is what his/her learners require, and will therefore teach lessons accordingly using the specified coursebook. However, such an approach will contrast markedly to that used by a teacher favoring a more experiential approach. Learners may respond positively to the use of a variety of approaches, however, problems are likely to arise if they do not. This in turn may impact learner engagement with the materials and ultimately the learning process. Thus, despite the diverse ways in which teachers teach the coursebook, the

296

Chapter Fifteen

importance of standardization in its use should not be underestimated (McGrath, 2013). This is of particular relevance with respect to learner expectations in different contexts.

Institutional Requirements and Context It could be expected that coursebook use is influenced by a number of contextual factors (Zacharias, 2005; McGrath, 2013). These include factors such as the course syllabus, socio-cultural considerations and learner expectations. The syllabus of a teaching institution is believed to influence teaching practices (Katz, 1996), and thus it could be argued, coursebook use. Institutional practices vary, but when teachers are assigned a coursebook they can be expected to teach it in its entirety, or sections thereof. The duration in which they do so is also dependent on the respective institutional requirements. These requirements may be reasonable where the majority of learners are at an even proficiency level, and where teachers are provided with sufficient time to teach what they need to. However, this is rarely the case, and institutions often impose unrealistic expectations on both teachers and learners. Teachers are therefore under pressure to cover the course content within the required time frame, and being aware that this is frequently inadequate, they may opt to teach only what they regard as important from the coursebook they are using. The impact of such factors on teaching was observed in a study in Singapore by Lee and Bathmaker (2007). They found that due to institutional pressures, particularly related to examination preparation, coursebooks were often being omitted entirely in favour of exam-related materials. At the Omani college described in this study, teachers face similar challenges, which may therefore impact on the manner in which they use their coursebooks.

Learner Expectations With regard to learner expectations in Oman and in other Arab countries in the Middle East, communicative teaching has not been embraced as it has in many other contexts. Rote learning is common and there is often little or no correlation between what is studied and how this translates into use outside of the classroom (Syed, 2003). This has, however, been changing with institutions using more up to date methodology (Smith, 2001). Despite the communicative nature of certain EFL coursebooks, they are

How Teachers Use the Global ELT Coursebook

297

often not exploited by teachers with communicative approaches in mind (Bacha, Ghosn and McBeath, 2008). Lessons frequently entail memorization of the taught content, and high value is placed on grammar by learners (Bacha, Ghosn and McBeath, 2008). Evidence of the importance attributed to grammar in pedagogical materials in this context is mentioned in a study by Al-Busaidi and Tindle (2010). The study took place at a university in Oman, where a decision was made to produce inhouse materials due to the dissatisfaction with the materials in use at the time. A guided discovery approach was used for the new materials with less of an emphasis on grammatical form; an approach which differed radically from the approach being used at the time. An initial survey conducted on learners after using the new materials for several months reported a number of positive responses to aspects of the new approach and materials. However, the majority of learners did not find the new approach to presenting grammar particularly effective, and they also voiced their concerns about what they perceived as insufficient attention to grammar in the new materials.

Adaptation For the purposes of this discussion, the term adaptation will adopt the definition provided by Tomlinson (2011a, p. xiv), who states that adaptation can include ‘reducing, adding, omitting, modifying and supplementing’. The reasons teachers adapt and supplement coursebooks are primarily related to the perceived shortcomings of the coursebook in use for the needs of a particular group of learners (Islam and Mares, 2003; McDonough, Shaw and Masuhara, 2013). However, adaptation does not only occur as a result of the perceived deficiencies of the coursebook. According to Hutchinson and Torres (1994) teachers modify the activities and the manner in which they teach their coursebooks as a matter of routine. McGrath (2002) states that teachers tend to adapt the materials they are using in order to suit their teaching styles, or simply because they favour variety. A common criticism of many coursebooks is that they are often not relevant to the contexts where they are used, hence the need for teachers to adapt them. This criticism could apply to the Cutting Edge coursebooks analyzed in this study, which contain themes about leisure activities such as skiing vacations, night clubbing and British television shows. Many of these themes may therefore be regarded as irrelevant to the learners at the Omani college in question. Of additional significance is the extent to which teachers adapt the content of coursebooks due to cultural

298

Chapter Fifteen

sensitivities. According to Gray (2000), based on his conclusions from a small-scale study conducted on teachers in Spain, several teachers commented that they adapted or omitted content they believed was unsuitable for their learners. Going further, Jolly and Bolitho (2011) cite a teacher in the Ivory Coast who said that out of respect for Islamic traditions, content related to alcohol and marijuana in the coursebook would need to be avoided. Therefore, in a conservative Muslim country such as Oman, teachers might be also be expected to adapt their coursebooks due to cultural concerns.

The Study The study reported in this chapter followed the procedure of a research project conducted by Richards and Mahoney (1996), with some exceptions. The aim of their study was to examine the practices of teachers focusing on coursebook use at a general level, as well as teacher perceptions of these coursebooks. This study differed and was primarily concerned with how lecturers made use of the coursebook at a detailed level. This involved analyzing how the different components in the coursebook units were used, such as those for presenting grammatical structures, as well as the associated practice activities. Attention was also paid to the use of the review modules and the supplementary workbook.

The Setting The study took place in a college in Oman, which is a conservative Muslim country in the Arabian Gulf, and religious considerations are paramount in all aspects of life. The college has approximately 3000 learners and approximately 95 lecturers of English. In the Arabian Gulf, schools and colleges are commonly staffed by expatriate teachers. This is also the case in Oman, however, the number of Omani teachers has been increasing in recent years as a result of government efforts to replace expatriate teachers with Omanis (Al Bandary, 2005). New learners at the college are enrolled in a foundation year general English programme which comprises three trimesters. The age of the learners in the foundation programme is typically between eighteen and twenty years. After successfully completing the foundation year, learners proceed to certificate and diploma courses offered in business studies and engineering. They typically complete their studies in three to four years. The study was limited to the foundation level programme. Learners

How Teachers Use the Global ELT Coursebook

299

receive approximately fifteen hours of English instruction per week and are taught grammar, writing, reading, speaking and listening. Separate coursebooks are used for teaching the different skills, except for the listening and speaking course where one book is used.

The Coursebooks For the study, two of the Cutting Edge coursebooks were analyzed: Cutting Edge Elementary (Cunningham and Moor, 2005) and Cutting Edge Pre-intermediate (Cunningham and Moor, 2005). The decision to use these two books was taken because they both follow a similar format with regard to the layout and structure of the different modules. Although the Cutting Edge books follow a task- based approach and incorporate a comprehensive range of activities aimed at developing all four skills, they are used for teaching the grammar component of the course at the college. Cutting Edge will be used to refer to both the New Cutting Edge Elementary and New Cutting Edge Pre-Intermediate coursebooks, unless specified. Both Cutting Edge coursebooks contain fifteen regular modules and three ‘Consolidation Modules’. The final page of most of the regular modules is titled ‘Practise...’, and contains a series of review activities related to the module. Supplementary student exercise books titled New Cutting Edge Elementary Workbook (Cunningham and Moor, 2005) and New Cutting Edge Pre-Intermediate Workbook (Cunningham and Moor, 2005) accompany both coursebooks. A typical module in the coursebook begins with an introduction of the module theme and vocabulary. The first grammatical structure of the module is then presented as ‘Language Focus 1’, and contains a number of activities using questions and statements aimed at orientating learners to this structure. More detailed explanations of the grammar are then given in the ‘Grammar’ box. A number of exercises aimed at giving learners practice of the grammatical forms they have studied are then provided, and are placed in a section titled ‘Practise’. The cycle is then repeated with the introduction of the second grammatical structure, titled ‘Language Focus 2’, a second ‘Grammar’ box and a ‘Practise’ section. The ‘Language Focus’, the ‘Grammar’ boxes and the ‘Practise’ activities may therefore be regarded as the core components of the coursebook for the teaching of the module grammar.

300

Chapter Fifteen

The study focused on the use of the ‘Language Focus’, the ‘Grammar’ boxes and the ‘Practise’ components. Questions were also included about the workbook , the ‘Consolidation Modules’ and the ‘Practise...’ pages.

The Participants The participants in the study were members of the English department at the college, which comprises lecturers from Oman, several Middle Eastern countries, India, Pakistan, the Philippines, the United Kingdom, Canada, South Africa and the United States.

Research Methods and Instruments A mixed methods research model was employed using a convenience sample, comprising quantitative and qualitative data. The initial part of the study involved the researcher administering a 44-item questionnaire to the 95 lecturers in the English department of the college. Respondents were asked about how they made use of the components of the Cutting Edge coursebooks. They were then asked to indicate their levels of agreement with a number of statements relating the above-mentioned coursebook components. Data was obtained from a 5-point Likert scale, with 5 expressing strong agreement and 1 strong disagreement. An extract from the questionnaire is provided in Appendix 1. Thirty one completed questionnaires were received (a response rate of 32 per cent). This was followed by observation by the researcher of six lecturers’ classes and semi-structured interviews with five of the six, which were recorded and transcribed. The interview questions are provided in Appendix 2. It was known beforehand that by observing the respective lecturers once, only a snapshot of classroom practices relating to coursebook use would be provided. In order to compensate for this, during the interviews the lecturers were also asked about two modules they had taught previously, and referred to their lesson plans and notes when answering the questions about them. They were asked to describe how they taught these modules with particular attention to the components relevant to this study, namely the ‘Language Focus’, the ‘Grammar’ boxes, the ‘Practise’ activities, and the use of supplementary materials.

How Teachers Use the Global ELT Coursebook

301

The Findings General Findings The findings demonstrated that the use of Cutting Edge at the college supports what was has been written about certain aspects of coursebook use. A drawback of the global coursebook mentioned previously is that it often does not cater for the contexts in which it is used (Block, 1991; Masuhara, 2011). This has also been cited as a factor which influences coursebook use, as argued by Zacharias (2005). Teachers may remedy this by substituting certain parts of the coursebook with material they believe to be more suitable, or omitting coursebook activities altogether (Zacharias, 2005). It was found in the present study that contextual considerations such as culture, influenced coursebook use. However, this was found to have a relatively minor impact on the content which lecturers used from the coursebook. This is despite Oman being a conservative Muslim country, and teachers working at the college are advised to exercise particular caution when dealing with subject matter which may be deemed inappropriate. This was based upon the correlation of responses to the statements in the questionnaire and in the interviews about the suitability of certain cultural content in the coursebooks for the Omani learners. For instance, when lecturers were asked in the interviews whether they avoided certain cultural content, their responses differed significantly. L1 (lecturers were assigned different codes) commented that he preferred to engage learners with ‘taboo’ topics they encountered in the coursebook: ‘I don’t avoid anything, because culturally speaking, if they are learning a language that is from the West, they need to know the good things and the bad things about the West’. L3 expressed a similar opinion: ‘Cultural reasons, not really, no, not really. But in fact we don’t teach everything in the module because of constraints of time; not because of cultural problems’. L6 said that she rarely excluded content for cultural reasons. L2 responded that he avoided themes and visuals if he regarded them as inappropriate: ‘Yeah, this one I did avoid [points to an illustration], the way they dress, the way they model these things. So I did write an outside thing (supplementary worksheet). This is one of the reasons I made this thing. I didn’t go through this (module) because of this picture’. L5 said she made use of similar practices. Another disadvantage of the global coursebook which has been discussed is that of excessive reliance on it by teachers (Hutchinson and Torres,

302

Chapter Fifteen

1994; Richards and Mahoney, 1996; Rubdy, 2003). The argument presented in this study found this concern to be unwarranted, particularly in relation to what has been stated about teaching practices in general, which is that teachers adapt and supplement the coursebooks and materials they use as a matter of routine (Tomlinson, 2012; Hutchinson and Torres, 1994; McDonough, Shaw and Masuhara, 2013). Despite a close adherence to the coursebook script, lecturers made consistent use of additional materials such as worksheets they had prepared and grammar practice activities in conjunction with the coursebook. The reasons for the use of supplementary activities were related to factors such as lecturers wanting to provide their learners with additional opportunities to practice what had been taught, adding variation to the lessons and providing content more relevant to the Omani context. This corresponds to what has been stated previously about why teachers use supplementary activities (Islam and Mares, 2003; McDonough, Shaw and Masuhara, 2013; Gray, 2000).

Coursebook Component Use It was found that lecturers followed the Cutting Edge coursebook script relatively closely, and made consistent use of the components under analysis in the study, namely the ‘Language Focus’, the ‘Grammar’ boxes and the ‘Practise’ activities. The reasons for this were attributed to a number of factors related to the coursebook, as well as certain external factors. These include the appropriacy of the presentation of the components within the modules, and the provision of clear explanations of the respective grammatical forms. As mentioned previously, the syllabus requires Cutting Edge to be used for the teaching of grammar, which might be interpreted by teachers as requiring them to adhere closely to traditional form-focused methods of grammar teaching. The methodology used in a number of global coursebooks favours this type of approach (Tomlinson, 2012), with Cutting Edge being no exception. Yet concerns about the effectiveness of this methodology have also been raised (Mares, 2003; Tomlinson, 2008; Tomlinson, 2012). The findings from the study also agree with what has been stated about learner expectations in the Middle East, where traditional teaching methodologies with attention to grammatical form are ascribed a high degree of importance (Smith, 2001; Bacha, Ghosn and McBeath, 2008). It may therefore be inferred that lecturers at the college are using the coursebook in a manner which is congruent with this type of approach in order to accommodate the expectations of their learners.

How Teachers Use the Global ELT Coursebook

303

It was also found that lecturers made use of the additional components in Cutting Edge for review purposes, such as the ‘Consolidation Modules’, the ‘Practise...’ pages and the workbook, and regarded these as beneficial to their lessons.

Implications of the findings The Publisher Based on the high level of use of the analyzed components in the Cutting Edge coursebooks, it might be argued that in certain respects the coursebook fulfils its role in providing lecturers and learners with content that they can make use of. A role which, for the grammar course taught at the college, appears to be predominantly form-focused teaching and the practising of different grammatical structures. If this is the role the global coursebook aspires to, then Cutting Edge appears to be suited to the context in which the study took place. However, contemporary global coursebooks typically promote themselves as embodying ‘communicative’ teaching. Despite this, Cutting Edge focuses on attention to form and largely ignores what has been said about SLA research and the shortcomings of this methodology, as noted by Tomlinson (2012; 2013b). As such, the consistent use of the components in the coursebook by lecturers adhering to what is presented in the coursebook, raises questions about whether or not this facilitates language learning. McGrath (2013) and Tomlinson (2013b) make the recommendation that publishers attempt to incorporate methodology in future editions of their coursebooks guided by more up to date research. The findings from this study would support this with regard to Cutting Edge.

Institutions and Teachers In its defence, a coursebook can never fully satisfy the pedagogical requirements of the institution where it is used, nor the needs of the teachers and learners who make use of it (McGrath, 2002; Bell and Gower, 2011). It was stated above that at the college in question, the approaches in use are believed to be influenced by certain institutional considerations and learner expectations. Nonetheless, these considerations guide, they do not dictate pedagogy. As such, just as there is an argument for the publisher to make use of more accepted methodology in its coursebooks (McGrath, 2013; Tomlinson, 2013b), so too do institutions and lecturers have responsibilities.

304

Chapter Fifteen

Institutions need to make use of coursebooks and pedagogical materials which take SLA theory into account. This is however is not a simple task as many global ELT coursebooks currently do not do so (McGrath, 2013; Tomlinson, 2013b). Tomlinson (2008) believes that a means to address this is through non-commercial texts produced by writers which take local considerations as well as SLA theory into account. Thus, a possible way forward may be for institutions such as the one in question to collaborate on coursebook writing projects similar to that detailed by Al-Busaidi and Tindle (2010), discussed above. Institutions also need to implement teacher training and development programmes which focus on using teaching materials in a manner which facilitates learning. Such initiatives should be spearheaded by teachers who make regular use of these texts. Establishing such programmes would aid in attaining conformity in relation to how a specific coursebook should be used, and would ultimately better serve the pedagogical aims of the particular institution and its learners. Additionally, it is important for teachers to be encouraged to regard the coursebook as a resource and not what Bell and Gower (2011, p. 138) refer to as a ‘straitjacket’. It should also be seen as a teaching aid which can be modified as necessary, as proposed by Gray (2010b). The findings from this study show that the use of supplementary activities and materials is regular practice among the lecturers at the college using the Cutting Edge coursebooks, which can be viewed as a positive aspect of the way in which the coursebook is used.

Concluding Remarks and Recommendations for Further Research Research into the use of coursebooks has been attracting more attention from researchers and scholars in recent years. However, there remains much to be learned about how teachers use coursebooks and the reasons for the choices they make when using them. This study, although of a limited scope, revealed a number of important insights into coursebook use. Calls have been made for further research into this area of study (McGrath, 2013; Tomlinson, 2011c; Tomlinson, 2013a), and these should be supported. Of particular importance in this regard is investigating how coursebook methodology impacts second or foreign language acquisition. A position among a number of experts is that the global coursebook has not kept abreast of developments in SLA research, and tends to rely on outdated methodology (Tomlinson, 2012; Tomlinson, 2013b, McGrath, 2013). This in turn may be adversely impacting the language learning process. If regular studies are conducted into coursebook use, the findings

How Teachers Use the Global ELT Coursebook

305

may aid publishers in producing texts which make use of up-to-date and valid methodology, and these in turn would better serve the teachers and learners who use them. Such studies could also assist educational institutions in designing materials which are more suited to their particular needs, should publishers not be willing to do so.

References Al Bandary, M.S. (2005), ‘Meeting the challenges: the development of quality assurance in Oman’s colleges of education’. Higher Education, 50, (2), 181-95. Al-Busaidi, S. and Tindle, K. (2010), ‘Evaluating the impact of in-house materials on language learning’, in B. Tomlinson and H. Masuhara (eds), Research for Materials Development in Language Learning. London: Continuum, pp. 136-49. Aziz, D. (2003), ‘A coursebook is what it is because of what it has to do: an editor’s perspective’, in B. Tomlinson (ed.), Developing Materials for Language Teaching. London: Continuum, pp. 59-71. Bacha, N., Ghosn, I. and McBeath, N. (2008), ‘The textbook, the teacher and the learner: a Middle East perspective’, in B. Tomlinson (ed.), English Language Learning Materials: A Critical Review. London: Continuum, pp. 281-99. Bell, J and Gower, R. (2011), ‘Writing course materials for the world: a great compromise’, in B. Tomlinson (ed.) Materials Development in Language Teaching (2nd edn). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, pp. 135-50. Block, D. (1991), ‘Some thoughts on DIY materials design’, ELT Journal, 45, (3), 211-17. Bolitho, R. (2008), ‘Materials used in Central and Eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union’, in B. Tomlinson (ed.), English Language Learning Materials: A Critical Review. London: Continuum, pp. 21322. Cunningham, S. and Moor, P. (2005), New Cutting Edge: Elementary. Harlow: Pearson. Cunningham, S. and Moor, P. (2005), New Cutting Edge: Elementary Workbook. Harlow: Pearson. Cunningham, S. and Moor, P. (2005), New Cutting Edge: PreIntermediate. Harlow: Pearson. Cunningham, S. and Moor, P. (2005), New Cutting Edge: PreIntermediate Workbook. Harlow: Pearson.

306

Chapter Fifteen

Gray, J. (2000), ‘The ELT coursebook as cultural artefact: how teachers censor and adapt’. ELT Journal, 54, (3), 274-83. Gray, J. (2010a), ‘The branding of English and the culture of the new capitalism: representations of the world of work in English language textbooks’. Applied Linguistics, 31, (5), 714-33. Gray, J. (2010b), The Construction of English: Culture, Consumerism and Promotion in the ELT Global Coursebook. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan. Hutchinson, T. and Torres, E. (1994), ‘The textbook as agent of change’. ELT Journal, 48, (4), 315-28. Islam, C. (2003), ‘Materials for beginners’, in B. Tomlinson (ed.), Developing Materials for Language Teaching. London: Continuum, pp. 256-74. Islam, C. and Mares, C. (2003), ‘Adapting classroom materials’, in B. Tomlinson (ed.), Developing Materials for Language Teaching. London: Continuum, pp. 86-100. Jolly, D. and Bolitho, R. (2011), ‘A framework for materials writing’, in B. Tomlinson (ed.), Materials Development in Language Teaching (2nd edn). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, pp. 107-34. Katz, A. (1996), ‘Teaching style: a way to understand instruction in language classrooms’, in K. Bailey and D. Nunan (eds), Voices from the Language Classroom. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, pp. 57-87. Lee, R. and Bathmaker, A. (2007), ‘The use of English textbooks for teaching English to 'vocational' students in Singapore secondary schools: a survey of teachers' beliefs’. RELC Journal, 36, (3), 350-74. Mares, C. (2003), ‘Writing a Coursebook’, in B. Tomlinson (ed.), Developing Materials for Language Teaching. London: Continuum, pp. 130-40. Masuhara, H. (2011), ‘What do teachers really want from coursebooks?’, in B. Tomlinson (ed.), Materials Development in Language Teaching (2nd edn). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, pp. 236-66. McDonough, J., Shaw, C. and Masuhara, H. (2013), Materials and Methods in ELT: A Teacher’s Guide (3rd edn). Oxford: WileyBlackwell. McGrath, I. (2002), Materials Evaluation and Design for Language Teaching. Edinburg: Edinburgh University Press. McGrath, I. (2013), Teaching Materials and the Roles of EFL/ESL Teachers: Practice and Theory. London: Bloomsbury.

How Teachers Use the Global ELT Coursebook

307

Pulverness, A. (2003), ‘Materials for cultural awareness’, in B. Tomlinson (ed.), Developing Materials for Language Teaching. London: Continuum, pp. 426-38. Ravelonanahary, M. (2007), ‘The use of textbooks and educational media: The Malagasy experience’, in M. Horsley and J. McCall (eds), Peace, Democratization and Reconciliation in Textbooks and Educational Media: Ninth International Conference on Research on Textbooks and Educational Media. September, 2007, Tonsberg, Norway, pp. 166-75. Accessed at: http://www.iartem.no/documents/9thIARTEMConferenceVolume.pdf [30 August 2013] Richards, J. and Mahoney, D. (1996), ‘Teachers and textbooks: a survey of beliefs and practices’. Perspectives, 8, (1), 40-63. Rubdy, R. (2003), ‘Selection of materials’, in B. Tomlinson (ed.), Developing Materials for Language Teaching. London: Continuum, pp. 37-57. Rossner, R. (1988), ‘Materials for communicative language teaching and learning’. Annual Review of Applied Linguistics, 8, 140-63. Saraceni, C. (2003), ‘Adapting courses: a critical view’, in B. Tomlinson (ed.), Developing Materials for Language Teaching. London: Continuum, pp. 72-85. Shawer, S., Gilmore, D and Banks-Joseph, S. (2008), ‘Student cognitive and affective development in the context of classroom-level curriculum development’. Journal of the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning, 8, (1), 1-28. Sheldon, L. (1988), ‘Evaluating ELT textbooks and materials’, ELT Journal, 42, (4), 237-46. Smith, B. (2001), ‘Arabic speakers’, in M. Swan and B. Smith (eds), Learner English (2nd edn). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, pp. 195-213. Stodolsky, S. (1989), ‘Is teaching really by the book?’, in P. W. Jackson and S. Haroutunian-Gordon (eds), From Socrates to Software: The Teacher as Text and The Text as Teacher. Eighty Ninth Yearbook of the National Society for the Study of Education, Part 1. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, pp. 159-84. Syed, Z. (2003), ‘The sociocultural context of English language teaching in the Gulf’. TESOL Quarterly, 37, (2), 337-41. Tomlinson, B. (2003), ‘Comments on part A’, in B. Tomlinson (ed.), Developing Materials for Language Teaching. London: Continuum, pp. 101-03.

308

Chapter Fifteen

Tomlinson, B. (2008), ‘Language acquisition and language learning materials’, in B. Tomlinson (ed.), English Language Learning Materials: A Critical Review. London: Continuum, pp. 3-13. Tomlinson, B. (2011a), ‘Glossary of basic terms for materials development in language teaching’, in B. Tomlinson (ed.), Materials Development in Language Teaching (2nd edn). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, pp. ix-xviii. Tomlinson, B. (2011b), ‘Introduction: principles and procedures of materials development’, in B. Tomlinson (ed.), Materials Development in Language Teaching (2nd edn). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, pp. 1-31. Tomlinson, B. (2011c), ‘Conclusions’, in B. Tomlinson (ed.), Materials Development in Language Teaching (2nd edn). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, pp. 437-42. Tomlinson, B. (2012), ‘Materials development for language learning and teaching’. Language Teaching, 45, (2), 143-79. Tomlinson, B. (2013a), ‘Classroom research of language classes’, in B. Tomlinson (ed.), Applied Linguistics and Materials Development. London: Bloomsbury, pp. 43-59. Tomlinson, B. (2013b), ‘Second language acquisition and materials development’, in B. Tomlinson (ed.), Applied Linguistics and Materials Development. London: Bloomsbury, pp. 11-29. Tsui, B. (2003), Understanding Expertise in Teaching: Case Studies of Second Language Teachers. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Wallace, C. (1997), ‘IELTS: global implications of curriculum and materials design’. ELT Journal, 51, (4), 370-73. Yan, C. (2007), ‘Investigating English teachers’ materials adaptation’. Humanising Language Teaching, 9, (4), no page numbers. Accessed at: http://www.hltmag.co.uk/jul07/mart01.htm [30 August 2013]. Zacharias, N.T. (2005), ‘Teachers’ beliefs about internationally-published materials: a survey of tertiary English teachers in Indonesia’. RELC Journal, 36, (1), 23-37.

How Teachers Use the Global ELT Coursebook

309

Appendix 1 15. Which option best describes how you use the 'Language Focus' activities? I use the 'Language Focus' activities as they are. ___ I use supplementary activities instead of the 'Language Focus' activities. ___ I use the 'Language Focus' activities and supplementary activities. ___ I don't use the 'Language Focus' activities. ___ 16. The 'Language Focus' activities are useful to help me teach the module grammar points. ___ Strongly agree ___ Agree͒ ___ Undecided ___ Disagree͒ ___ Strongly disagree 17. The 'Language Focus' activities are useful to help me identify the module grammar points. ___ Strongly agree͒ ___ Agree͒ ___ Undecided ___ Disagree͒ ___ Strongly disagree 18. The 'Language Focus' activities are clearly related to the module grammar points. ___ Strongly agree͒ ___ Agree͒

310

Chapter Fifteen

___ Undecided ___ Disagree͒ ___ Strongly disagree 19. The 'Language Focus' activities help students to understand the module grammar points. ___ Strongly agree͒ ___ Agree͒ ___ Undecided ___ Disagree͒ ___ Strongly disagree 20. The 'Language Focus' activities are easy for students to understand. ___ Strongly agree͒ ___ Agree͒ ___ Undecided ___ Disagree͒ ___ Strongly disagree 21. The 'Language Focus' activities are suited to the proficiency levels of my students. ___ Strongly agree͒ ___ Agree͒ ___ Undecided ___ Disagree͒ ___ Strongly disagree

How Teachers Use the Global ELT Coursebook

311

Appendix 2 1. How clear is the college delivery plan about what you are supposed to teach in Cutting Edge? 2. Do you think teachers at the college understand what they are supposed to teach from Cutting Edge? 3. Do you teach vocabulary from Cutting Edge? 4. What parts of the Cutting Edge modules do you think are important to teach in this context? 5. Do you follow the same procedure for every module when you teach Cutting Edge? 6. Are there any factors that affect how you teach the different modules of Cutting Edge? 7. Do you use supplementary materials in your lessons?͒ 8. How relevant is the overall content of Cutting Edge to the students at this college? 9. How culturally appropriate is the content of Cutting Edge to the students at this college? 10. Are there times when you avoid parts of the modules due to cultural concerns?

CHAPTER SIXTEEN INVESTIGATIONS INTO INTERLINGUISTIC TRANSFER: THE ROLE OF READING ASSESSMENT TECHNIQUES GIUSEPPINA VITALE AND ELISA PELLEGRINO

Introduction In the early nineteen eighties, Cummins presented the theory of Linguistic Interdependence, according to which the literacy-related skills acquired in the first language (L1) are assumed to transfer to academic abilities in the second language (L2), thereby facilitating the acquisition of academic and linguistic skills in L2 (see, for example, Cummins 1980, 1981). In this chapter we present a research study in which we examine the effects of interlinguistic transfer from L1 to L2 on foreign-born and partially foreign-educated immigrant children. At the conclusion of the study, a context-reduced and cognitively-demanding reading test was administered to the subjects, Italian native speaking and non-native speaking Middle and High School students. Thanks to its specific architecture, which included both discrete points and integrative techniques, the test proved an effective way to confirm the positive effects of interlinguistic transfer from L1 to L2 on the school progress of bilinguals.

Theoretical Framework Several studies in psycholinguistics have demonstrated that the intellectual development of bilingual students is assisted by their literacy abilities in ways that are not readily available to monolinguals (Dworin, 2003). Additionally, literacy-related skills in the L1 have been proved to enhance the development of literacy skills in learners who arrived in the host country at around puberty (Chamot, 1994; Collier, 1987; Cummins, 2008).

Investigations into Interlinguistic Transfer

313

Indeed, there is evidence that their competence in the first language provides this group of L2 learners with transferable literacy skills, knowledge of literacy practices (interlingual transfer) and with transferable skills from reading and writing activities (intralingual input) (Carson, Carrell, Silberstein, Kroll and Kuehn, 1990). In the early eighties, Cummins’ theory of Linguistic Interdependence (1981) made the strongest case for interlingual transfer of literacy skills from the L1 to the L2. Despite the cross-language differences in superficial aspects such as phonetics, lexicon and morpho-syntax, Cummins claimed that there is an underlying cognitive/academic proficiency that is common to all languages. In his view, the Common Underlying Proficiency (CUP) provides the basis for the development of both first and second language and allows for the transfer of cognitive/academic skills from one language to another, facilitating the acquisition of CALP1 abilities in a second language (Cummins, 1984). Bilingual proficiency is therefore similar to a dual iceberg in which common cross-lingual proficiencies underlie the obviously different surface manifestations of each language (Figure 16.1). Figure 16.1 The ‘dual iceberg’ representation of bilingual proficiency.

As a consequence, according to Cummins, any expansion of CUP that takes place in one language will have a beneficial effect on the other language(s), given adequate motivation and exposure to both languages either in school or in the wider environment. Nevertheless, in Cummins’ hypothesis a language competence threshold is a prerequisite condition to permit cognitively demanding language use. As also claimed by Clarke (1978) and Alderson (1984), L2 learners can fully benefit from instruction

314

Chapter Sixteen

in L1only if they have already attained a certain level in linguistic and cognitive development in L1 and L2.

Studies supporting the CUP principle Cummins’ principle of CUP has been validated by experiences with bilinguals (Macnamara, 1970) and by many experimental studies dealing with bilingual information processing. A research study conducted by Langer, Bartolome, Vasquez and Lucas (1990) on the knowledge sources and strategies adopted by Mexican-American students to construct meanings when reading English and Spanish school materials, for example, found that the understanding of English texts was heavily supported by the students’ knowledge of Spanish. These results were also confirmed by a subsequent study by Jiménez, Garcîa and Pearson (1996) on the reading strategies of Spanish-English bilinguals (whom they termed bilingual ‘Latino/a’ children). The low level of difficulty experienced by successful ‘Latino/a’ students in reading L2 and managing unknown vocabulary showed that they ‘possess a qualitatively unique fund of strategic reading knowledge’ (Jiménez et al., 1996, p.91). Another line of evidence supporting the CUP principle has been the relationship between bilingual language use and academic achievement. For example, Toukomaa and Skutnabb-Kangas (1976), studying the school progress of Finnish immigrant students who were either born in Sweden or had immigrated at pre-school age, noted a mismatch between the level of conversational fluency and the literacy development in the second language. The authors found that although their subjects were able to converse in peer-appropriate ways in everyday communicative exchange in both their first and second language, the degree of literacy development in Finnish and Swedish was very much below age-appropriate levels in both languages. Cummins’ linguistic interdependence hypothesis has also been validated by studies on the influence of proficiency in L1 reading on the development of L2 reading ability and by investigations into the relationship between age on arrival and literacy development. As regards the first branch of studies, it is worth mentioning the research carried out by Chuang, Joshi and Dixon (2012) on the reading scores in Mandarin Chinese (L1) and in English (L2) for Taiwanese 9th-grade students. Their findings proved that students with higher Mandarin Chinese reading ability did tend to acquire good English (L2) reading ability. As for the other research area providing empirical evidence in favor of the CUP

Investigations into Interlinguistic Transfer

315

principle, a study by Collier (1987) on the influence of age on arrival and educational background on the rate of acquisition of second language for academic purposes is also noteworthy. The author found that students entering ESL program at ages eight to 11 and having a minimum of two years of continuing cognitive academic development in L1 acquired English for academic purposes more rapidly than the students entered the program at ages five to seven.

The study Objectives The objective of the study reported in this chapter was to investigate the possibility of testing the effectiveness of Cummins’ theory of Linguistic Interdependence. In particular, it aimed to evaluate the role played by reading assessment techniques in shedding light on whether CALP abilities transfer to academic skills in L2, thereby facilitating reading proficiency in L2. In the context of the large number of studies supporting the concept of the Common Underlying Proficiency (see section Studies supporting the CUP principle, above), this research tested the principle in foreign-born and partially foreign-educated immigrant children. Our participants differed from the traditional subjects found in relevant literature in that they moved into a country, Italy, where the condition of bilingualism is not officially recognized.2 As a consequence, unlike the countries where these studies have been traditionally conducted, in Italy there are no specific national educational support measures enabling immigrant pupils to learn or maintain their mother tongue. Although the welcome and integration of foreign children and the communication between schools and immigrant families are put into the hands of linguistic and cultural mediators (Ministerial Circular, 2006), in Italy, as in Spain, Hungary, Slovakia and Iceland, the provision of mother tongue tuition is provided by school and local authorities and is dependent on availability of material and human resources (EACEA P9 Eurydice, 2009).

Participants In this study, two age groups of participants were involved. Each group was composed of 22 non-native speaker (NNS) students and 20 Italian native speakers (NSs). One group included Middle School (MS) students,

316

Chapter Sixteen

aged between 11 and 13. The other group comprised High School (HS) students, ranging in age from 14 to 15. The two groups of NNSs belonged to different nationalities (see Figure 16.2). Figure 16.2 Participant country of origin.

As Figure 16.2 shows, the highest represented nationalities were Pakistani, Ukrainian and Moroccan. Five students were from China and Bangladesh. A small number of participants came from India, the Russian Federation, Eastern Europe (Poland, Lithuania), Libya and West Africa (Ivory Coast, Burkina Faso and Nigeria). The NNS students differed from one another also as regards their age on arrival in Italy (see Figure 16.3). Figure 16.3 Age on arrival.

Investigations into Interlinguistic Transfer

317

Figure 16.3 shows that of the NNSs, 25 students out of 44 had arrived in Italy when they were over ten years old. Nineteen students had arrived in the host country aged between five and nine. Despite the differences in country of origin and age on arrival in Italy, the bilingual participants fulfilled the requirements established by Cummins (2000), and so could be expected to benefit from CALP transfer. According to the theory of Linguistic Interdependence, the literacy-related skills acquired in L1 are assumed to transfer to academic abilities in L2 only if students have already studied it in their home countries (see Figure 16.4 and Figure 16.5) and once abroad if they maintain a high level of mother tongue vitality in their linguistic repertoire, studying it and using it outside school (see Figure 16.6 and Figure 16.7). Figure 16.4 Elementary School.

318

Chapter Sixteen

Figure 16.5 Middle School.

As for the first condition for CALP transfer, Figure 16.4 shows that the majority of Middle and High School students (MS-HS) attended elementary education in their home countries. The only exceptions were eight Middle School students and two High School students who completed this cycle in Italy. As for the country where they attended Middle School, from Figure 16.5 it is possible to see that most of the NNSs attended this in Italy. A small percentage started this level of schooling in their country of origin and then completed it in Italy. Only three out of 22 High School students attended the first year of Middle School in both countries. This is affected by the fact that in Italy the grade placement of students transferring from another country is not only regulated by a standard criterion (age), but is also determined by the headmaster of the receiving school. Students who do not demonstrate sufficient competence in Italian to achieve the minimum proficiency standards in school subjects are likely to be enrolled in the last grade attended in their home country. The second condition for CALP transfer is mother tongue maintenance.

Investigations into Interlinguistic Transfer

319

Figure 16.6 Who do bilinguals speak their L1 with?

Figure 16.7 Frequency of L1 learning.

Figures 16.6 and 16.7 show that the bilingual subjects were maintaining their L1 in their linguistic repertoire, continuing to study and use it outside the school context. In fact, they declared that they used their L1 not only in their daily communication with family and peers but also when interacting about increasingly complex topics going beyond household matters. Additionally, in order to develop further reading and writing skills, they had ongoing formal instruction in their first languages at home with relatives or under the guidance of a native teacher in migrant associations. On the basis of these characteristics, the bilingual subjects could be fully included in what Rumbaut (1997) labelled the ‘1.5 Generation’. As a

Chapter Sixteen

320

matter of fact, they were immigrant children who had socialized and begun their primary schooling abroad but had immigrated before puberty and then completed their education in the destination country. It follows that they had already developed CALP abilities in their L1. According to CUP, these skills can transfer to literacy-related skills in L2, thus facilitating reading proficiency in L2 and supporting the development of both communicative and academic skills in the second language.

Materials and Methods The questionnaires The role of CALP transfer from L1 to L2 in our subjects was tested with two questionnaires, each consisting of a sociolinguistic survey and a reading test. The sociolinguistic survey was submitted only to bilinguals; the reading test, on the other hand, was administered both to Italian monolinguals and to non-native participants. The sociolinguistic questionnaire was divided into three main parts: -

-

-

Demographic characteristics - with questions on students’ and parents’ age, country of birth, national origin, length of residence in Italy. Education - with a specific focus on the grades of school attended in the country of origin and in Italy, literacy skills developed in L1 and L2, school subjects studied in both educational contexts. Languages - with questions on L1, foreign languages, languages spoken at home, contexts of L1 use, mother tongue maintenance, reading skills self-evaluation in L1 and L2.

The reading test consisted of two main parts, a test of Italian and a discipline-based test. The input texts and the study subjects varied according to the students’ level of schooling. Each input text was accompanied by comprehension questions (see section below, Brief description of the techniques for testing reading). For the Italian input text, Middle School students were presented with an excerpt from a fairy tale by the writer Italo Calvino. High School students were given an article about text messaging spelling drawn from an Italian daily newspaper.

Investigations into Interlinguistic Transfer

321

For the discipline-based test, Middle School students read an expository science text about the states of matter while High School students were presented with a diagram illustrating the state of coal production in Germany. The science text was drawn from a Middle School textbook, designed for first-years, while the coal production diagram was selected from a High School Geography coursebook for first and second year students. The choice of a reading test as a hypothesis-testing procedure was in line with Cummins’ assumption that subject matter knowledge, higher-order thinking skills, reading strategies and writing composition skills develop through the medium of L1 transfer or become available to L2 given sufficient exposure and motivation (Cummins, 1984). The reading test was therefore an appropriate task to activate CALP abilities which are expected to transfer from L1 to L2. The students were instructed to read the input texts intensively and to return their answer sheets after completion (time limit: two hours). Each student’s completion time was recorded. After completing the reading test, students were asked to indicate the number of times they had read the texts, the reasons for text re-reading and how they felt about the text experience. Brief description of the techniques for testing reading Reading comprehension involves a wide range of skills (see, for example, Royce Adams and Patterson, 2008) and it is widely acknowledged that there is no single test method that can fulfill all the varied purposes for which one might test (Alderson, 2005). In order to have participants practice some of the high-order skills involved in reading, and following Ur’s suggestions about how to create an interesting and motivating reading test (Ur, 1996), the reading test consisted of discrete points and integrative techniques. Following principles of language testing, we chose reliable and valid testing procedures (Shohamy, 1982) that were familiar to the students (both NNSs and NSs) and were specifically designed for students to activate CALP transfer from L1 to L2. Table 16.1 summarizes the techniques used for testing reading.

Chapter Sixteen

322

Table 16.1 Reading comprehension testing techniques.

Middle School

High School

Italian

Science

Fairy tale Naso d’Argento from Fiabe italiane by I. Calvino

Expository text ‘La materia si presenta in tre stati principali: solido, liquido e gassoso’ (T/F) Gap Filling (GF)

True/False (T/F) Ordering (ORD) Newspaper article ‘“6 proprio 3mendo”: dalla lettera ai messaggini in codice’ Multiple Choice (M-C); GF

Geography

Diagram ‘Produzione di carbone nel bacino della Ruhr (18301987) in migliaia di tonnellate’ (T/F) Transcoding (TRANSC)

These reading comprehension techniques were useful in assessing students’ ability to 1) select relevant points from the text 2) understand relationships between parts of a text through grammatical and lexicon cohesion devices 3) understand information explicitly or not explicitly stated 4) draw inferences, and 5) transpose diagrammatic information in written form (See Figure 16.9). T/F and M-C techniques were chosen to focus on one aspect of reading ability, that is, the students’ comprehension of single portions of the text. Additionally, these two techniques together with GF required the activation of inferential processes. Thus, these activities were based on material that was in the text but not explicitly stated. Therefore, to provide a correct answer, students had to combine their understanding of the text with their lexical knowledge and intuitions. The ordering tasks (ORD) demonstrated the students’ ability to handle the text. The aim was the comparison of monolinguals’ and bilinguals’ ability

Investigations into Interlinguistic Transfer

323

to detect cohesion, overall text organization or complex grammar. For a more objective assessment of these skills, the text was constructed in such a way as to make only one order possible. In addition, each paragraph was provided with specific discourse markers, anaphoric reference and logical and temporal connectors that expressed a particular relationship (sequential, adversative, condition) among the text paragraphs. Figure 16.8 Ordering.

In transcoding (TRANSC), the student’s task was to transpose in a written form the visual cues encoded in the diagram representing the coal production in Germany. This highly demanding activity allowed for the evaluation of higher-level reading and writing skills. It entailed firstly the interpretation of factual or quantitative information presented in nonverbal texts such as illustrations, graphs, tables, or diagrams and then their verbal transposition. Due to the high level of cognitive involvement required by the task, transcoding was required only of High School students.

324

Chapter Sixteen

Figure 16.9 Transcoding.

With reference to the framework elaborated by Cummins to distinguish the range of cognitive demands and contextual support involved in particular language tasks or activities (Figure 16.10), the reading test can be classified as an example of B and D quadrant skills, that is, cognitivelydemanding and context-reduced. Figure 16.10 Range of contextual support and degree of cognitive involvement in language tasks and activities (Cummins, 1984, p.139).

Unlike context-embedded and cognitively-undemanding activities in which language is supported by a wide range of paralinguistic and situational cues, the reading test used in this research was elaborated so

Investigations into Interlinguistic Transfer

325

that it required a high level of cognitive involvement and the participants had to rely primarily on the linguistic cues and on the knowledge of the language itself for a successful interpretation of the texts.

Results The analysis of the test results revealed some expected and some unexpected differences between the performance of the NSs and that of the NNSs. First of all, the NSs outdid the NNSs in test-completion speed. Regardless of the age group, the Italian monolinguals were among the first to finish (after 30 minutes); the NNSs were the last (after one hour). Nevertheless, as reported by Bridges (1985), completion speed does not relate to test performance. Indeed the ‘slower’ bilingual subjects scored either as accurately as the Italian NSs or even better. Figure 16.11 shows the test results on a scale of the increasing gap in correct answers between NSs and NNSs. Figure 16.11 Test results.

As shown in Figure 16.11, M-C (It-MC-HS) is the technique that least differentiates the level of performance between monolingual and bilingual High School students. In this exercise, indeed, both groups achieved about

326

Chapter Sixteen

70% of correct answers, by a majority of 2% for the bilinguals. However, if the score obtained by High School bilinguals in M-C is compared with the results achieved by the same group in the other reading comprehension activities, it is possible to deduce that M-C, as expected, is more difficult than GF and T/F. ORD (It-Or-MS) was used only in the test of Italian addressed to Middle School students. It shows the gap between monolinguals and bilinguals, with the percentage of correct answers ranging from 2 to 11%. The difference increases to over 10% with GF regardless of the school subject under test and the level of schooling. Both in the Science test (Sc-GF-MS) and in that of Italian (It-GF-HS), bilingual Middle and High School students scored 90% of the correct answers; the positive results of their native counterparts, by contrast, amounted to only 78 and 76%. The cross-group difference is even more evident with the T/F test. This technique was adopted to test Middle School students’ comprehension of Italian and Science texts (It-TF-MS; Sc-TF-MS). Additionally, it was used to assess High School students’ ability to interpret information encoded in the Geography diagram (Geo-TF-HS). Bilingual Middle and High School students surpassed their native Italian-speaking peers respectively by more than 20 and 30% of correct answers. Nevertheless, the results of this exercise mark a decline in performance among the youngest groups with respect to GF. The decrease amounts to 10% for Middle School bilinguals and to more than 20% for their Italian speaking peers. The NNSs did better than the NSs also when they were asked to transpose verbally the visual cues provided in the diagram. For this exercise, they received a qualitative rather than a quantitative evaluation that was aimed to assess the students’ performance in different domains: information completeness, communicative effectiveness, lexical adequacy, grammar, spelling and punctuation accuracy. The level of their written performance was rated on a six-point scale from ‘poor’ to ‘excellent’. As shown in Figure 16.12, most of the NNSs scored between ‘poor’ and ‘excellent’, whereas the evaluation given to the majority of Italian students ranged between ‘poor’ and ‘average’. NNSs tried their best to describe the coal production in Germany and their written compositions were accurate in terms of quantity and quality of the provided information. The lower rates given to some of them were due primarily to the occurrence of grammar and spelling mistakes. By contrast, the performance of the native

Investigations into Interlinguistic Transfer

327

Italian speaking peers was weakest primarily on the side of information completion and lexical adequacy. The NSs omitted a lot of information inferable from the visual cues and did not use the vocabulary and the style appropriate to the context. Figure 16.12 Results of Transcoding.

Discussion The discrepancies between the good performance of the NNSs and the poorer results of the NSs lead us to reflect on the reasons for cross group differences. From data analysis it is possible to infer that the greater accuracy of the NNSs does not seem school-grade-dependent, but rather attributable to the techniques used to test reading proficiency. Regardless of the participants’ level of schooling, there were some activities (M-C) where the percentage of correct answers between the NSs and NNSs was very similar, and some reading activities (ORD, GF, T/F and TRANSC) where the NNSs scored particularly higher than their native Italianspeaking school mates. These findings are in line with Cummins’ theory of interlinguistic transfer: unlike NSs, our bilinguals have the advantage of being able to rely on reading skills developed in L1 to comprehend texts in L2. However, the intergroup differences in terms of correct answers can be also imputable to the reading strategies adopted. NSs read the text quickly to get a general idea of what it is about and the sense of main ideas (i.e. they use skimming strategies) and at the same time they try to find the answers to the questions posed in the test. The NNSs on the other hand

328

Chapter Sixteen

scanned the text to look out for particular information (scanning strategies) and re-read the texts after the first reading.3 Another point to emphasize is that the techniques adopted to test reading comprehension did not entail the same cognitive load for NSs and NNSs. With the exception of GF which was the exercise best performed by both Italians and NNSs, regardless of the level of schooling and of the subject matter, the most problematic exercises for Italian monolinguals were transcoding and the T/F questions that are supposed to entail high cognitive involvement and less linguistic processing. By contrast, bilingual High School students found it hard to answer the M-C exercise; it could be surmised that this was because of the higher language processing load.

Conclusions The purpose of this research was to investigate the possibility of testing the effects of interlinguistic transfer from L1 to L2 on NNSs of Italian belonging to Generation 1.5, by means of a context- reduced and cognitively-demanding reading test. The comparison of the test results achieved by the monolinguals and by the bilingual students have shown that bilingual subjects, with prior educational experience and with a high level of mother tongue vitality in their daily communication and learning, perform either as accurately as Italians or even better than them. The most appropriate reading comprehension techniques to test the beneficial effects of CALP transfer from L1 to L2 are GF, T/F, ORD and TRANSC when involving inferencing and high-order thinking skills. However it is important to underline that other components may have positively influenced the test results of the NNSs. The successful performances of bilingual participants can be interpreted also in the light of the external factors that were involved in their test taking. Examining the answers given to the last part of the questionnaire, where students were invited to indicate the number of times they had read the texts, the reasons for text re-reading and how they had felt about the text experience (see section on the questionnaire above), we found that more than 80% of MS and HS NNSs had re-read the text twice (MS 87%; HS 81%), the remaining 20%, more than twice. Among the most common reasons for text re-reading, the students explained, was that they wanted to understand

Investigations into Interlinguistic Transfer

329

the meaning of the text better and to be as accurate as possible in their answers. By contrast, only a small percentage of NSs answered positively to the questions about text re-reading (MS 13%; HS 21%) and they did not explain why. As for the comments on how they felt about the text experience, NNSs thought the test would be a good opportunity to use the language. They perceived it not as ‘just a test’, but as an opportunity to demonstrate that they were as competent in Italian as their native counterpart. NSs, on the other hand, preferred not to leave any comments in this section of the questionnaires. To sum up, the positive results obtained by the NNSs and the poorer performance of the NSs suggest that the condition of bilingualism and biliteracy really does enable NNSs to be successful at school and amplify their resources for thinking and learning (Moll and Dworin, 1996). Not only does maintenance of L1 help students communicate with their family and increase the collective linguistic competence of the NNSs’ L1 language community, it also enhances their intellectual and academic resources (Cummins, 2000). Additionally more attentiveness and competiveness with the NSs—very strong instrumental and integrative motivation—may have led the NNSs to score better than the NSs. On the other hand, the NSs’ indifference towards the task and their haste to finish it may have affected their performance.

References Carson, J. E., Carrell, P. L., Silberstein, S., Kroll, B. and Kuehn, P. A. (1990), ‘Reading-writing relationships in first and second language’. TESOL Quarterly, 24, (2), 245-66. Alderson, J. C. (1984), ‘Reading in a foreign language: a reading problem or a language problem?’, in J. C. Alderson and A. H. Urquhart (eds), Reading in a Foreign Language. New York: Longman, pp. 1-27. Alderson, J. C. (2005), Assessing Reading. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Baker, K. A. and De Kanter A. A. (1981), Effectiveness of Bilingual Education: A Review of Literature. Washington, DC: Office of Planning, Budget and Evaluation, US Department of Education. Bernhard, E. B. (2011), Understanding Advanced Second-Language Reading. New York, Abingdon: Routledge. Bridges, K. (1985), ‘Test-completion speed: its relationship to performance on three course-based objective examinations’. Educational and Psychological Measurement, 45, (1), 29-35.

330

Chapter Sixteen

Casacchia, O. Natale, L. Paterno and A. Terzeria, L. (2008), Studiare Insieme, Crescere Insieme? Un’indagine sulle Seconde Generazioni in Dieci Regioni Italiane. Milan: Franco Angeli. Chamot, A. U. and O’Malley, J. M. (1998), The CALLA handbook: Implementing the cognitive academic language learning approach. Reading, MA: Addison-Wesley. Chuang, H. K, Joshi R. M. and Quentin Dixon, L. (2012), ‘Cross-language transfer of reading ability: evidence from taiwanese ninth-grade adolescents’. Journal of Literacy Research, 44, (1) 97-119. Clarke, M. (1978), ‘Reading in Spanish and English: Evidence from adult ESL students’. Language Learning, 29, (1), 121-50. Collier, V. P. (1987), ‘Age and rate of acquisition of second language for academic purposes’. TESOL Quarterly, 21, 617-41. Cummins, J. (1979), ‘Cognitive/academic language proficiency, linguistic interdependence, the optimum age question and some other matters’. Working Papers on Bilingualism, 19, 121-29. Cummins, J. (1980), ‘The entry and exit fallacy of bilingual education’. NABE Journal, 4, 25-60. Cummins, J. (1981), ‘Age on arrival and immigrant second language learning in Canada: A reassessment’. Applied Linguistics, 1, 132-49. Cummins, J. (1983), Heritage Language Education: A Literature Review. Toronto: Allyn & Bacon. Cummins, J. (1984), Bilingualism and Special Education: Issues in Assessment and Pedagogy. Clevedon: Multilingual Matters. Cummins, J. (2000), Language, Power, and Pedagogy: Bilingual Children in the Crossfire. Clevedon: Multilingual Matters. Cummins, J. (2008), ‘BICS and CALP: Empirical and Theoretical Status of the Distinction’, in B. Street, and N. H. Hornberger (eds), Encyclopedia of Language and Education (2nd edn), vol. 2: Literacy. New York: Springer Science & Business Media, pp. 71-83. Dworin, J. E. (2003), ‘Insights into biliteracy development: toward a bidirectional theory of bilingual pedagogy’. Journal of Hispanic Higher Education, 2, (2), 171-86. Grellet, F. (1981), Developing Reading Skills: A Practical Guide to Reading Comprehension Exercises. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Hornberger, N. H. (2003), Continua of Biliteracy. An Ecological Framework for Educational Policy, Research, and Practice in Multilingual Settings. Clevedon: Multilingual Matters. ‘Integrating Immigrant Children into Schools in Europe. Measures to foster: – Communication with immigrant families – Heritage language

Investigations into Interlinguistic Transfer

331

teaching for immigrant children’. April 2009. Eurydice Network. Brussels: Education, Audiovisual and Culture Executive Agency (EACEA P9 Eurydice). Accessed at: http://eacea.ec.europa.eu/education/eurydice/documents/thematic_repo rts/101EN.pdf Jiménez, R. T., Garcîa G. E. and Pearson P. D. (1996), ‘The reading strategies of bilingual Latina/o students who are successful English readers: opportunities and obstacles’. Reading Research Quarterly, 31, (1), 90-112. Katsaiti, L. (1983), ‘Interlingual transfer of a cognitive skill in bilinguals’. Unpublished master’s thesis, University of Toronto. Macnamara, J. (1970), ‘Bilingualism and thought’, in Alatis J. E. (ed.), Georgetown Round Table on Languages and Linguistics. Washington, DC: Georgetown University Press, pp. 25-40. Moll, L. and Dworin, J. (1996), ‘Biliteracy development in classrooms: Social dynamics and cultural possibilities’, in J. Harris (ed.), Discourse: Language and Schooling. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, pp. 221-46. Langer, J. A., Bartolome, L., Vasquez, O. and Lucas, T. (1990) ‘Meaning Construction in School Literacy Tasks: A Study of Bilingual Students’. American Educational Research Journal, 27, (3), 427-71. Roberge, M. (2002), ‘Who are generation 1.5 immigrant ESL students and what experiences characteristics and needs do they bring to our classrooms?’. The CATESOL Journal, 14, (1), 107-30. Royce, A. W. and Patterson, B. (2008), Developing reading versatility (10th edn). Boston: Thompson Wadsworth. Shohamy, E. (1982), ‘Affective considerations in language testing’. The Modern Language Journal, 66, (1), 13-17. Roe B. D., Stoodt-Hill B. D. and Burns P. C.(2010) Secondary School Literacy: The Content Areas. Belmont: Wadsworth, Cengage Learning. Rumbaut, R. G. (1997), ‘Assimilation and its discontents: between rhetoric and reality’. International Migration Review, 31, (4), 923-60. Tosi, A. (1995), Dalla Madrelingua all’Italiano. Lingue ed Educazione Linguistica nell’Italia Multietnica. Florence: La Nuova Italia. Toukomaa, P. and Skutnabb-Kangas, T. (1977), The Intensive Teaching of the Mother Tongue to Migrant Children of Pre-School Age and Children in the Lower Level of Comprehensive School. Helsinki: The Finnish National Commission for UNESCO. Ur, P. (1996), A Course in Language Teaching: Practice and Theory. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

332

Chapter Sixteen

Appendix Figure 16.13 True and False.

Figure 16.14 Multiple Choice.

Investigations into Interlinguistic Transfer

333

Figure 16.15 Gap Filling.

Notes 1

In early formulations of his theory, Cummins (1979) distinguishes between two basic types of language proficiency: basic interpersonal communicative skills (BICS) and cognitive academic language proficiency (CALP). BICS refers to the conversational proficiency which is usually attained when L2 pronunciation, vocabulary and grammar are mastered and after some cognitive processes, such as knowledge, comprehension and application have developed. CALP, on the other hand, refers to students’ ability to analyze, synthesize, and evaluate in both oral and written modes, concepts and meanings that are relevant to school success. According to Cummins’ theory, it is CALP that prepares learners to manipulate language in context-reduced, academic situations. 2 In Italy there are only two regions whose bilingual status is officially recognized by the government; they are Valle d’Aosta and Trentino Alto Adige. 3 For skimming and scanning skills in reading see, for example, Roe, Stoodt-Hill and Burns (2010).

COMMENTS ON SECTION 3 MATERIALS IN DIVERSE CONTEXTS FREDA MISHAN

The teaching situations described in Section 3 range geographically from Italy to Oman and Egypt and present interestingly contrastive case studies with regard to teaching materials. While the Italian studies describe programmes that have eschewed conventional course book materials, the Middle Eastern studies look inwards, at ‘local’ interpretation and treatment of ELT coursebooks. The case studies also reveal contrasting perspectives: while the programmes described in two of the Italian chapters are built around the needs of the learner, the Omani and Egytian studies focus on the experiences and expectations of the teacher. These varied perspectives give rise in the chapters to discussion and exposition of a range of different language teaching methodologies included CLIL, task-based learning, blended learning, the Communicative approach and, in the Middle Eastern studies, to traditional approaches to teaching grammar. Chapters 12 and 13 describe two different teaching programmes at the same institution, the Language Centre of the University of Naples, Italy. Considering the diverse range of European and International students at the University – Chapter 12 describes a CLIL programme in linguistics for Chinese students and Chapter 13 a blended learning programme for Polish learners of Italian as a second language - each offers an impressively creative solution to the very different needs of their respective students. The spread of chapters in this section also illustrate a relatively new phenomenon in the field; as technology becomes ‘normalised’ (in that it is just one of the repertoire of tools used in our daily lives), the concept of language learning materials has broadened to embrace electronic as well as print media. Hence the ‘materials’ discussed in this section range from the traditional print media (in Chapters 14 and 15) to ones with a virtual, online presence (in Chapters 12 and 13). As a corollary of this, we see

Section 3 Materials in Diverse Contexts

335

how materials can range from ones specifically designed for language learning (e.g. coursebooks, as discussed in Chapters 14 and 15) to authentic ones in websites and social networking forums (in Chapter 13, Italian Language@Culture in particular). It is significant that in this environment, materials are increasingly identified with ‘interactions’ (in the forums, online chat and Skype exchanges, for example), and not only with ‘tangible’ entities, printed or audio/audio-visual texts. What also stands out in all of these chapters is that new media notwithstanding, the teacher remains at the centre of language learning materials. In whatever way they are ‘administered’ (whether learners work independently or in a teacher-directed mode), the teacher is still the ‘mediator’ of the learning materials. Paradoxical though it may seem, this is all the more the case in blended environments which contain online modes: integrating online elements does not mean abnegating responsibility for the design of learning materials, only the relinquishing of control of when and how learners’ use them. The careful and detailed construction of the intertwined multi-modal elements that went towards the Italian Language@Culture programme or the blended CLIL linguistics course described in Chapters 13 and 12 respectively are exemplary reminders of this. Turning from Europe to the Middle East, Chapters 14 and 15, as noted above, provide a switch of focus from the learner to the teacher and to an analysis of the treatment of coursebook materials, rather than a tacit repudiation of them as in the first two. Both these case studies illustrate how central the teaching of grammar remains in some pedagogical cultures. Despite the efforts of this generation of coursebooks (in particular, so-called ‘Global coursebooks’) to inculcate a culture of communicativeness (ostensibly at least), these two studies reveal how teachers deliberately strip coursebooks of their communicative dimension, paring them down to the bare bones of grammar so to speak . In both these studies, teachers adapted the coursebook they were asked to teach to fit their own perceptions of good pedagogy and their perceived learner needs and expectations. This is, of course, well-known common practice (see, for example, McGrath 2013) but it also exposes the gap between coursebook design and coursebook use. How to narrow this gap is something widely discussed in the literature on materials development and language pedagogy, and as Tasseron points out in Chapter 15, one of the most convincing solutions is for materials/coursebook development to look to second language acquisition research and applied linguistics (as the volume by Tomlinson 2013 does, for instance). This once more throws up

336

Comments on Section 3

the ‘fatal flaw’ in coursebook writing today, particularly as regards writing for a global market. What is known about language acquisition is in a sense ‘filtered’ through methodologies devised to facilitate it, and contemporary methodologies – principally communicative in spirit - are too imbued with the pedagogical traditions and cultural values of their (Western) countries of origin to be universally valid. For as long as coursebook writing continues to use such methodologies as its framework, rather than looking to the increasingly accessible research in applied linguistics for example, it will inevitably miss the mark with a portion of its international market. Yet even coursebooks commissioned and written for specific national markets can default to the international currency of the communicative approach. This was the case of the Hello! For Secondary Schools series destined for the Egyptian market (Chapter 14), even though, as the study in this chapter reveals, the approach is suited to neither the teaching nor learning traditions there, nor, incidentally, the examinations it is preparing students for. Language acquisition research is, however, at the heart of the closing chapter in this section, Chapter 16, investigating Interlinguistic transfer in young immigrants in Italy. The research shows the essential nature of L1 to L2 skills transfer (in this research, of reading skills) in what is effectively a CLIL environment for the young bilinguals involved. From a broader perspective, this research offers clear evidence of the significance and universality of SLA factors. The conclusions to this study suggest that the strongest factor propelling language learning in these youngsters hailing from 13 different countries in three continents, Europe, Asia and Africa - was indeed the very factor often held to be the most universal and the most fundamental to learning, motivation. This section is a collection of action research studies ‘from the chalk face’ of language teaching in truly diverse contexts. An overall picture emerges nevertheless, one of resourcefulness and creativity in teaching and materials development, and most of all, of the strength of teachers’ convictions as regards the most effective pedagogy for their own particular environment. This collection shows that communicative and task based teaching, blended learning, autonomous learning, CLIL and grammarfocused, teacher-led approaches are all equally valid as long as they are implemented within cultural contexts accepting of them.

Section 3 Materials in Diverse Contexts

337

References McGrath, I. (2013). Teaching Materials and the roles of EFL/ESL teachers, London: Bloomsbury. Tomlinson, B. (ed.) 2013. Applied Linguistics and Materials Development, London: Bloomsbury.

CONCLUSION HITOMI MASUHARA

We have presented 16 studies from 12 countries across the globe involving diverse learners and contexts. A question arises: are there any convergent implications? Indeed, running through such diversities, I have noticed at least three recurrent themes. I will discuss each of them and make suggestions for future research and for principled materials development for language acquisition and development.

Theme 1: Ensuring the validity of materials based on universal learning principles The authors of all the chapters seem to confirm that some kind of core material is necessary in whatever shape or form (e.g. traditional printbased materials, blended learning, internet-based, social media). They also seem to be in agreement that the materials must meet the requirements of the specific target learners in their respective learning contexts. Also shared seems to be the feeling that commercially available coursebooks are not meeting their learner/teacher needs. The dissatisfaction extends even to the materials which claim to have been designed especially for a region (e.g. materials for Egypt) or for a speciality (e.g. English for medicine). New kinds of materials are emerging: some authors in this book are trying out digital materials that involve interacting on social networks. The learners differ in age, level, background, culture, language learning experience, expectations for the material, time available and purposes for learning languages. The teachers and institutions bring in further variables which add to the enormity of the challenges for materials development. What might be possible ways forward? Paradoxically, I would argue for the utmost importance of realising universal learning principles regardless of the learners, teachers, modes of delivery or kinds of materials. In Section 1 Comments, Tomlinson explains that underneath the diversity seem to lie some universal elements of language acquisition for all learners regardless of all the variables (for a more detailed summary and

Practice and Theory for Materials Development in L2 Learning

339

discussion of second language acquisition studies see Tomlinson, 2011; Tomlinson, 2013b). Masuhara, in her Comments for Section 2, supports this argument based on increasing evidence in brain studies that seems to testify to universal mechanisms for learning (see Masuhara, 2016 for a more extensive discussion). Recent literature in materials development seems to recommend applying universal learning principles to evaluation, adaptation and development of materials (Harwood, 2010; McGrath, 2014; Mishan and Timmis, 2015; Tomlinson, 2013a; Tomlinson & Masuhara, 2017 forthcoming). My recommendation for application of universal learning principles does not constitute cultural ideological imposition or negation of the vital necessity of localization (see Comments for Section 3 by Mishan and also the second theme below). Let us not confuse two separate issues: universality of learning principles and locally appropriate realisation of the learning principles in diverse contexts. Learning principles based on how the brain learns should be applicable for any learners, cultures or contexts. For example, the brain needs rich and significant exposure to language in use for language learning to take place. The brain learns best if it is cognitively and affectively engaged. Needs, wants and feedback facilitate learning. Intricate aspects of language use and accuracy require conscious attention and communicative use of the target language. These principles seem to be in line with what I have come to understand from studies in second language acquisition (Tomlinson, 2013c for a summary of various strands of research). How such principles could be realised in methodology needs to be carefully considered for the particular learners and local contexts without losing sight of validity. In fact trying to satisfy such universal learning principles prior to localization is more likely to ensure the validity of local modifications (see Masuhara, 2015 for an example of how Task Based Language Learning materials can remain principled and yet be made appropriate for specific learners and contexts).

Theme 2: Principled localization Endeavours to identify and apply universal learning principles, as identified in Theme 1 above, do not in any way undermine the crucial importance of localization. All the 16 chapters in this book, in fact, discuss localization as a central issue in one form or another.

340

Conclusion

Localization is an area that deserves extensive discussion and research, considering there is such a huge demand for materials that can cater for the diversity and dynamic nature of local requirements. There have been publications on localization in the literature published in Southeast Asia. Renandya (2003), for example, includes research papers on local projects by members of Southeast Asian Ministers of Education Organisation RELC such as Indonesia, Malaysia and Viet Nam. Mukundan (2006; 2009) provides collections of research papers from MICELT materials development conferences in Malaysia. I reiterate the point that sound localization would require interpretation and realisation of the fundamental elements of learning principles through appropriate methods and approaches that suit the diverse target learners and contexts. This book provides evidence that such efforts are happening globally and it also brings the literature on localization up-to-date. I would welcome more research on localization. For example, it would be interesting to compare the effects on the learners’ performance of materials which are especially designed to meet the human and local contextual needs of specific target students and the effects for the same students of materials developed for the global market. I would also encourage more attempts to identify overall principles and procedures that facilitate effective second language acquisition and development through localization of principled methodologies and approaches. Tomlinson (2006) considers how global coursebooks can be localised and how locally developed coursebooks could have global perspectives. The second section of Tomlinson (2008) offers a compilation of various experts’ evaluation of the materials in 11 areas in six continents, using the same/similar universal criteria.

Theme 3: Materials design and use In her comments on the chapters in Section 3 of this book, Mishan points out that ‘materials design’ and ‘materials use’ are not the same thing. We may evaluate the validity of the materials design, evaluate the materials and adapt them or develop new materials. Ultimately, however, the users have their own beliefs, preferences and choices for the use of materials. By ‘users of materials’, I mean not only teachers but also learners. Focusing on teachers’ use of materials is one of the emerging areas of materials development research. Masuhara (2011) explores teacher needs

Practice and Theory for Materials Development in L2 Learning

341

and wants. McGrath (2013) discusses how teachers evaluate, adapt and supplement coursebooks. Harwood (2014) provides a collection of papers on how teachers use coursebooks. This book contributes to the field by providing case studies of how teachers/researchers critically evaluate existing materials, methods and materials and try to realise universal learning principles and make necessary changes to suit their learners and contexts. What these 16 studies in this book also seem to highlight is a call for the kind of teacher education that will equip them with knowledge, awareness and skills to respond in a principled way to diverse local needs and wants. Richards (2010) points out that materials development is not currently receiving the attention it deserves in second language teacher education or in graduate education. Mishan in her Comments for Section 3 discusses how digital materials and social networking are becoming significant in the materials development repertoire (see Chapters 12 and 13 in this book). The field of materials development is moving fast forward but is teacher/graduate education keeping up? What this book seems to demonstrate is that dynamic real life situations induce innovative materials development practice and then materials development practice stimulates theory – thus the title of this book. The good news is that materials development can be one of the best ways of such teacher development. As Masuhara (2006, pp. 34-35) puts it: … materials development is one of the most effective approaches to teacher development in helping teachers become more aware, critical, creative, engaging, fun and effective in teaching. After a teacher training course, teachers have knowledge and skills. After a materials development course, teachers have not only knowledge and skills but also materials that they can use tomorrow.

Tomlinson (2003; 2013) offers sections in teacher development through materials development. Masuhara (2006) discusses how the process of adaptation requires the teachers to reflect upon their assumptions and evaluate them against the learning principles. Tomlinson and Masuhara (2004) and Mishan and Timmis (2015) are courses for materials development. What about the learners as users? By learners I mean not only those in classrooms but also adult autonomous learners learning online or through blended modes. With the increasing availability of Mobile technology and

342

Conclusion

the common use of the internet, a significant number of learners are able to access materials directly online, sometimes in an interactive manner (e.g. twitter, web chat, social networks) as in the case of taxi drivers learning English using mobiles and Podcasts in Kern (2013), part of the collection of studies on blended learning by Tomlinson and Whittaker (2013). When ‘interaction’ is discussed in SLA studies, it still tends to mean face to face exchanges in classrooms. Real-life interactions, on the other hand, could include authentic communication through websites, online chat, Skype etc. Communication is much more multi-modal, multi-lingual and spontaneous. What kinds of exposure to language in use are the learners receiving? Barker’s research (2011) demonstrates that non-native speakers’ regular voluntary informal interactions in English in EFL situations result in a marked effect on language development. Could there be future materials that could help leaners in all these different situations? Barker (ibid.) suggests that the coursebooks should be linking outside language use with their classroom activities. All in all, there seem to be plenty of opportunities for innovative future research and principled materials development for language acquisition and development.

References Barker, D. (2011). ‘The role of unstructured learner interaction in the study of a foreign language’, in S. Menon & J. Lourdunathan (Eds.), Readings on ELT Materials IV. Petaling Jaya: Pearson Malaysia, pp. 50-71. Harwood, N. (ed.). (2010). English Language Teaching Materials Theory and Practice. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Harwood, N. (ed.). (2014). English Language Teaching Textbooks Content, Consumption, Production. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan. Kern, N. (2013). ‘Blended learning: Podcasts for taxi drivers’, in B. Tomlinson & C. Whittaker (eds.), Blended Learning in English Language Teaching: Course Design and Implementation London: The British Council, pp. 131-139. Retrieved from www.britishcouncil.org Masuhara, H. (2006). ‘Materials as a teacher development tool’, in J. Mukundan (ed.), Readings on ELT Materials II. Petaling Jaya: Pearson Malaysia, pp. 34-36. Masuhara, H. (2011). ‘What do teacher really want from coursebooks?’, in B. Tomlinson (ed.), Materials development in language teaching (2nd ed.). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, pp. 236-266.

Practice and Theory for Materials Development in L2 Learning

343

Masuhara, H. (2015). ‘Anything goes’ in task-based language teaching materials? – The need for principled materials evaluation, adaptation and development’. The European Journal of Applied Linguistics and TEFL, (2), 113-127. Masuhara, H. (2016). ‘Brain studies and materials for language learning’, in B. Tomlinson (ed.), Second Language Research and Materials Development for Language Learning. Routledge. McGrath, I. (2013). Teaching Materials and the Roles of EFL/ESL Teachers. London: Bloomsbury. McGrath, I. (2014). Materials Evaluation and Design for Language Teaching (2nd ed.). Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press. Mishan, F. (2013). ‘Demystifying blended learning’, in B. Tomlinson (ed.), Developing Materials for Language Teaching (2nd ed.). London: Bloomsbury, pp. 207-224. Mishan, F, & Timmis, I. (2015). Materials Development for TESOL. Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press. Mukundan, J. (ed.). (2006). Readings on ELT Materials II. Petaling Jaya: Pearson Malaysia. Mukundan, J. (ed.). (2009). Readings on ELT Materials III. Petaling Jaya: Pearson Malaysia. Renandya, W. A. (ed.). (2003). Methodology and Materials Design in Language Teaching: Current Perceptions and Practises and their Implications. Singapore: SEAMEO Regional Language Centre. Richards, J., C. (2010). ‘Series editor's preface’, in N. Harwood (ed.), English Language Teaching Materials - Theory and Practice. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, pp. ix-xi. Tomlinson, B. (ed.). (2003). Developing Materials for Language Teaching. London: Continuum. Tomlinson, B. (2006). ‘Localising the global: Matching materials to the context of learning’, in J. Mukundan (ed.), Readings on ELT Materials II. Petaling Jaya: Pearson Malaysia, pp. 1-16. Tomlinson, B. (ed.). (2008). English Language Learning Materials - A Critical Review. London: Continuum. Tomlinson, B. (2011). ‘Introduction: Principles and procedures of materials development’, in B. Tomlinson (Ed.), Materials development in language teaching (2nd ed.). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, pp. 1-31. Tomlinson, B. (ed.). (2013a). Developing Materials for Language Teaching (2nd ed.). London: Bloomsbury.

344

Conclusion

Tomlinson, B. (2013b). ‘Second language acquisition and materials development’, in B. Tomlinson (ed.), Applied Linguistics and Materials Development. London: Bloomsbury, pp. 11-29. Tomlinson, B. (ed.). (2013c). Applied Linguistics and Materials Development. London: Bloomsbury. Tomlinson, B. & Masuhara, H. (2004). Developing Language Course Materials. Singapore: SEAMEO Regional Language Centre. Tomlinson, B. & Masuhara, H. (2013). ‘Adult coursebooks’. ELT Journal, 67(2), 233-249. Tomlinson, B. & Masuhara, H. (2017). A Complete Guide to the Theory and Practice of Materials Development for Language Learning. Chichester: Wiley. Tomlinson, B. & Whittaker, C. (eds.). (2013). Blended Learning in English Language Teaching: Course Design and Implementation. London: British Council.