Author: gustavorernesto

PDF #47 – Claude Marcel 1793-1876 A Neglected Applied Linguist Richard Smith University of Warwick UK

This article contributes to the as yet underexplored field of applied linguistic
historiography by surveying the life and achievements of Claude Marcel
(1793–1876), author of a two-volume study of language education published
in London in 1853 under the title Language as a Means of Mental Culture
and International Communication. The question of whether Marcel was an
applied linguist ‘avant la lettre’ is addressed, as are possible reasons for the
contemporary and subsequent neglect of his work. It is suggested that the
identification of precursors depends on one’s view of the nature of applied
linguistics, and that there are alternatives to a linguistics-focused conception. Indeed, a consideration of Marcel’s writings — and the contemporary
and subsequent neglect of them — highlights the way language teaching
theory has tended, for the last 120 years or more, to be dominated by
linguistic much more than educational considerations.

Claude Marcel (1793–1876), who served in Cork as an official representative of the French government between 1816 and c. 1864, was additionally an innovative teacher of French and the author of a two-volume study of language education published in London in 1853 under the title Language as a Means of Mental Culture and International Communication; or, Manual of the Teacher and the Learner of Languages.

A Neglected Applied Linguist for Howatt (1984/2004: 174), ‘there is no single work in the history of language teaching to compare with it for [. . .] strength of intellect [. . .] breadth of scholarship [. . .] and [. . .] wealth of pedagogical detail’, with the possible exception of Henry Sweet’s (1899) The Practical Study of Languages. Should we not, then, consider Claude Marcel a major pioneer of applied linguistics, comparable in this respect with figures like Sweet (1845–1912) and Harold E. Palmer (1877–1949)? Although his work had little apparent influence on his contemporaries, Marcel’s principled and systematic approach to the elaboration and selection of teaching methods seems at first sight to qualify him as an early applied linguist of some stature. In this article I present original findings relating to Marcel’s overall career and writings as a basis for considering further the question of Marcel’s status — or otherwise — as an applied linguist avant la lettre. In so doing, I hope to contribute a fresh perspective in the as yet underdeveloped area of applied linguistic historiography. Thus, while Linn (2008) — who also remarks on a relative dearth of research in this area — has recently made a convincing case for the ‘birth of applied linguistics’ in Anglo-Scandinavian work of the late nineteenth century, I shall suggest, taking Marcel’s work as a case in point, both that the identification of precursors depends very much on one’s view of the nature of applied linguistics and that alternatives to a linguistics-focused conception may deserve greater consideration.

You can check more articles like this on my PDFs sections and you can also visit my Youtube channel.

PDF #46 – A Handbook for Teaching and Learning in Higher Education

This is a handbook which offers higher education professionals both sage advice on the essentials of effective teaching and research-based reflection on emerging trends. It is a precious collection of core chapters on lecturing to large groups, teaching and learning in small groups, teaching and learning for employability, assessment, and supervision of research theses. At the same time, there are chapters on e-learning, effective student support, and ways of providing evidence for accredited teaching certificates and promotion, including the expanding use of teaching portfolios. Specialists from the creative and performing arts and humanities through business and law to the physical and health sciences will benefit from discipline-specific reflections on challenges in teaching, learning and assessing. Specific case studies, actual examples of successful practice, and links to helpful websites add to the Handbook’s usefulness.

PDF #45 – Richard C Smith – Autonomy, context, and ‘appropriate methodology’

Is the promotion of learner autonomy just the latest top-down fashion in language teaching, or does it have a more universal, lasting significance? In this paper I provide examples from various historical and cultural contexts to show why I believe the promotion of a ‘‘strong’ version of pedagogy for autonomy is not just a passing trend, is not the invention of ‘experts’, and can be a particularly appropriate idea in non-western as in western classroom settings. I begin with historical examples which show that pedagogy for autonomy is not a new idea, although it might have been called by different names in the past and has remained, and probably still remains a minority pursuit in practice. I then consider how notions of autonomy seem to be spreading world-wide these days, and I attempt to show that this does not necessarily involve a western ‘imposition’ on non-western contexts, although over-simplistic interpretations which equate ‘developing autonomy’ with technology or top-down strategy training do seem to court this danger. I conclude that pedagogy for learner autonomy will continue to be valid in many contexts whether or not autonomy is simply the latest fashion in mainstream discourse on language education. However, if pedagogy for autonomy is to become genuinely mainstream in practice there is a continuing need for theories and ideas to be derived out of attempts by teachers to engage in appropriate (context-sensitive) experimentation, and to share insights regarding their practice, in resistance to the ever-changing fashions in top-down discourse on language education to which they are so often subjected.

PDF #44 – Barbora Kratochvilova – Use of Translation in Teaching English as a Second Language 

This thesis deals with the issues of using translation in second language teaching. The question of translation in language teaching (TILT) has been a very problematic one, as the recent teaching theories mostly support monolingual teaching and the use of translation is considered a breaking of rules and possibly even the teacher‟s fault. However, this does not mean that translation is not being used in foreign language classrooms anymore. Even though it has been outlawed from language teaching in theory, translation remains widely used in practice. The aim of this thesis is to try to show that there is a lack of sufficient evidence for the abandoning of translation and that the question of its use might need to be reviewed by language teachers and researchers.

PDF #43 – Harold E. Palmer’s- Alternative ‘applied linguistics’

A view on an alternative ‘applied linguistics’ was developed by Harold E. Palmer‘s pioneering conception of a  science of language-teaching as described with reference to primary sources and previously neglected writings.

The issue of whether Palmer was a precursor of  linguistics applied‘ is addressed, with the conclusion being reached that his writings and activities reveal important differences from both previous and subsequent applied linguistic conceptions. On this historiographical‘ basis the article highlights the value of an approach to the history of applied linguistics which avoids over-literal attachment to the applied linguistics‘ label.

After reading alternative ‘applied linguistics’ you can check more about Applied Linguistics in this link. It takes a deeper and quite fulfilling look into what AL is. I suggest as well my Youtube channel where I may already have or will in the future talk about AL in detail.

PDF #42 – Iranian English Language Learners’ Attitude towards their Accent in English Language An Ecological Approach 

Exotic Accents in English- With the spread of English around the world and the recognition of English as a lingua franca (ELF), a large number of studies have investigated the attitudes of learners towards different varieties of English as well as their related accents. However, this attitude towards L1 accented English within the context of Iran has not been explored yet.

Thus, the present study ecologically investigated the attitudes of Iranian English as Foreign Language (EFL) learners towards their L1-accented English based on Bronfenbrenner’s (1993) nested ecosystems model consisting of micro-, meso-, exo-, and macro- systems.

To do this, a triangulation of data collection using an attitudinal questionnaire distributed among 157 respondents (118 female and 39 male) and semi- structured interviews with 60 participants (38 female and 22 male) were collected. The findings indicated a dominant emerging pattern of preference for native-like accent within the ecology of Iran along with the acknowledgement of L1 accented English.

Maintaining linguistic security and self-confidence as well as teachers’ role and materials used within the microsystem of the class, learners’ background experiences within the mesosystem, policies of English language institutes at the ecosystem, and the public view towards accent at the macrosystem contributed to the emerging pattern of preference for native-like accent within the context of Iran.

Foreign Loanwords in English and the “Exotic Charm” of Accents

Some foreign words imported into English have “diacritical marks”, better known as “accents”. Most of these words are from French but there are many also from Spanish, Portuguese, German and other languages. Just how important to the English language are accented characters?

And will they withstand the test of time? asks the author of this article for the “Week”. For example, in English one no longer puts the circumflex accent on rôle or hôtel, and résumé is often written with no accents or one only. But sometimes accents are added even if there is no reason: latté has no accent in Italian, where the word comes, and maté has none in Spanish and Portuguese.

The double-dot crown named “umlaut,” is so fashionable that it is even being added to English words (e.g. the Blue Öyster Cult band) and used in US brands (Söfft shoes). Why? Some claim accents have an “exotic charm”. Benjamin Dreyer, copy chief at Random House, says “Sojourning in a chateau can’t be nearly as much fun as sojourning in a château!”

ccents are actually also very useful when you need to distinguish between rose and rosé, divorce and divorcé, expose and exposé, says the author. The downsides? Accents don’t show up in web addresses and are rarely reproduced in newspapers, say critics. The Chicago Manual of Style, leading guide for book publishers, for its part, “plants its flag squarely in the accent camp”. And, thanks to Unicode, a variety of accents are available, and even smartphone users now have plenty to choose from.

After reading “Exotic Accents in English” you can check important issues for ESL teachers on the section PDFs, and visit my YouTube channel.