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A Handbook for Teaching and Learning in Higher Education

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.

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An ESL teacher’s book

An ESL teacher’s book – If anything, schools’ dependency on technology to see us through lockdown has made literacy even more of a critical issue. Alex Quigley opens his latest offering, Closing the Reading Gap, by stating that reading is the “master skill of school”, a phrase he repeats four times in the introduction, and it is hard to imagine it isn’t all the more so when ‘school’ has essentially been reduced to a computer screen. Yet according to Quigley, reading doesn’t receive the primacy it should in classrooms up and down the country.

The book’s opening chapters provide a history of reading that encompass everything from the tablet schools of Sumer to the farthest reaches of the Internet, before moving onto the science of reading and some of the current debates around how young children are taught to read. Together, these form an intriguing theoretical framework for what comes next, which is a closer look at classroom practice and the challenges associated with helping students to read with greater fluency.

The complex and interacting factors that make reading difficult – the ‘arduous eight’– are deconstructed in chapter five and Quigley recommends practical strategies that teachers and support staff can use to evaluate the accessibility of different texts prior to using them in the classroom.

Learn more about this topic by reading in on Schoolweek.

After reading “An ESL teacher’s book”, you can check important issues for ESL teachers on the section PDFs. And visit my channel by YouTube.

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Autonomy, context, and appropriate methodology

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.

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Teacher shares first day

Teacher shares first day – Your first day of kindergarten is a special occasion photos are taken by eager parents, friends are made and, sometimes, tears are shed. One Canadian woman is now reliving that experience 30 years later. From the other side of the classroom. Reddit user dragonbornsqrl shared photos of herself on May 5, showing what she looked like on her first day of school as a child and on her first day of school as a teacher. 

Teacher shares first day

She later explained that she first pursued a degree in business but “hated it” and decided to return to college for her degree in education.

“Ended up going to Taiwan after business school and kind of fell into teaching English as a second language,” she wrote. “I went back for my education degree and this was my first full year contract.”

“There were days I felt old as hell but other days where I fit right in with the rest,” she added. “Nobody ever once commented that I was older other than when I brought it up myself.”

The teacher also opened up about the difficulties she faces instructing young children while schools across the globe are shuttered to prevent the spread of coronavirus.

Learn more about this topic by reading in on Yahoo.

After reading “Teacher shares first day “, you can check important issues for ESL teachers on the section PDFs. And visit my channel by YouTube.

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Use of Translation in Teaching English as a Second Language

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.

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Students and teachers support each other

Students and teachers support each other – When schools moved to virtual learning because of the coronavirus pandemic, there was growing concern over how English as a second language students would adapt. “I was a little worried,” East High School ESL Teacher Catalina Thompson said. “How do we keep the momentum going?” One student found it so challenging at first, he wasn’t doing his homework.

 

“I didn’t call nobody,” East High School Student Salim Ceesay said. “If I didn’t understand it, I just leave it like that. “

It was math that Salim was struggling with, and Thompson went out of her comfort zone to help.

“I called him and I said I’m not a math teacher, but I think we can go through this together,” Thompson said. ” I’m learning math at the same time with you.”

“Now I’m doing all of it and it’s kind of getting easy for me,” Ceesay said.

It’s the one-on-one conferences each week and the extra effort East High School ESL teachers are putting forward that is making a difference.

“It’s kind of like teaching two curriculums, two sets of lesson plans for each because you want to make sure that you meet their needs,” East High School ESL Teacher Mary Choua Thao said.

Learn more about this topic by reading in on WKOW.

After reading “Students and teachers support each other”, you can check important issues for ESL teachers on the section PDFs. And visit my channel by YouTube.

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Alternative ‘applied linguistics’

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.

alternative applied linguistics

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.

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Cognitive benefits from L2

Cognitive benefits from L2 – Twelve students of varying backgrounds sit down for dinner at two long tables in the kitchen of a Foreign Language Student Residence apartment north-east of the BYU campus. Some are STEM majors; others study humanities. A few have family in Utah; others come from overseas. If you listen closely, however, you’ll notice something out of the ordinary which they all share. One thing has brought them together tonight — a common love for a foreign language; not one of them is speaking English.

Cognitive benefits from L2

BYU ranks third-highest in the nation for producing the most graduates with foreign language degrees, with 62 languages regularly taught and nearly 65% of students speaking a second language. There are also 128 languages spoken on campus. The school holds language fairs, supports language clubs, provides opportunities for students to live in immersive language-learning housing and funds free foreign film showings.

Foreign language learning has a greater impact on student growth than is initially evident. In fact, studying a second language leads to benefits related to students’ native language understanding, global and cultural empathy and cognitive abilities, students and experts have realized.

Learn more about this topic by reading in on Universe.

After reading “Cognitive benefits from L2”, you can check important issues for ESL teachers on the section PDFs. And visit my channel by YouTube.

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Exotic Accents in English

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

Exotic Accents in English

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.

Exotic Accents in English

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.

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Is Teaching Abroad Hard?

How Hard Is It To Teach English Abroad?

How hard teaching English abroad is really depends on you and what you encounter. Here I’ll share with you some of the difficulties and experiences that I and other teachers encountered while teaching abroad in Asia: China, Korea, Japan and Taiwan.

Is Teaching Abroad Hard?

As far as starting goes it’s not that hard to get a job teaching English abroad since it’s not that competitive of a market in many countries. English is in demand around the world. Sure some schools can be harder to get into, but it’s an industry that is growing and that has a high turnover rate. Most teachers only do it for a year or two.

Each country and each school can have different requirements. But for the most part…

Learn more about this topic by reading in on ESLInsider.

Dream teaching job abroad is now a living nightmare

After Krugersdorper, Jasen Matthee had matriculated from Krugersdorp High School in 2010, he started pursuing a career in diesel engineering. After several years of working in the industry, he realized that it was not taking him anywhere in life. His visit to a friend in Vietnam changed his life forever. “A friend, who I could call my sister, invited me to visit her halfway across the world in Vietnam. It was a difficult decision for me to make as I had never travelled abroad before, and I was financially unstable. However, for the first time, I finally had the chance to experience something I always dreamt of doing,” Jasen said.

Learn more about this topic by reading in on Roodepoortrecord.

Is Teaching English Abroad Hard?

Q: Is teaching English abroad hard?

Simple A: Yes.

Complete A: Yes, but it’s worth it.

When I was offered my first position teaching English abroad, I (quite naively) didn’t get too nervous. After all, I spoke English as easily as I ordered breakfast tacos: how difficult could it be to impart knowledge so ingrained in your everyday brain?

Uhm… yeah. No. Because let me tell you a secret about teaching English: the language is the least of your focus. Next to disciplining tough dudes, getting kids’ attention, inspiring conversation, trying to make lessons relevant to everyday life, setting the line between “teacher” and “friend”, coming up with fun classroom games, and attempting to figure out just what you are expected to impart is gonna take a lot more time than explaining grammar rules or expanding vocabulary. And, actually, all that stuff is a lot more important than straightening out ABC’s.

Learn more about this topic by reading in on GoAbroad.

After reading “Is Teaching Abroad Hard?” you can check important issues for ESL teachers on the section PDFs.