Category: PDFs

PDF #176 – Philip Durkin. 2014. Borrowed Words: A History of Loanwords in English

Borrowed Words in English – Philip Durkin’s monograph deals with loanwords. Thousands of which have been absorbed into English ever since the fifth century A.D. up to the present day. Originating from a host of languages which English came into contact with. From classical languages to tongues and dialects spoken in far-flung corners of the world. Words of foreign origin now make up a substantial proportion of English vocabulary. Given the pervasive nature of loanwords. Particularly those representing the major inputs in the development of English, it is hardly surprising that they have been examined by a number of scholars. They have also been synthesized in outline histories of the English language. Never before, however, have they been investigated with such breadth of inquiry as introduced by Durkin.

It is noteworthy that the last monograph devoted solely to the topic, was Mary Serjeantson’s A History of Foreign Words in English (1961). It was published originally in 1935. Needless to say, it is now seriously out of date, so the time was ripe for a volume that would update the then current state of research. Availing himself of recent achievements in contact and historical linguistics, Durkin endeavoured to take a fresh look at lexical borrowing in English, presenting facts and figures on the basis of an impressive range of dictionaries, corpora, and, where relevant, individual studies (e.g. Skaffari 2002). It is thus a timely and long-awaited book that surpasses its predecessor in practically every respect, including the quality of methodology and the amount of research data.

After reading “Borrowed Words in English”, you can check important issues for ESL teachers on the section PDFs. And visit my channel by YouTube.

PDF #175 – Advanced EFL Learners’ Beliefs about Pronunciation Teaching

EFL Learners’ Beliefs on Pronunciation – This paper explores EFL learners’ beliefs about English pronunciation teaching and aims to provide insights into current teaching practices of English pronunciation at both college and university levels. To this end, the study sought to elicit the beliefs of a group of 71 third- and fourth-year EFL students majoring in English at a university college in Saudi Arabia about crucial aspects of pronunciation teaching.

The study utilized a survey containing five-point Likert scale items as well as multiple-choice questions. Open-ended questions were also included in order to gain fuller understanding of students’ views. Data were thematically analyzed and consequently categorized into five major areas: course design, language of instruction, learning and teaching style, types of feedback, and nativeness of teachers. It was found that students in this study context are cognizant of the value of learning English pronunciation, and of what they find useful and less useful. Students also proved willing to help improve pronunciation instruction by providing helpful perspectives on the proper way, at least in their views, to present this sub-skill.

After reading this article you can check important issues for ESL teachers on the section PDFs. And visit my channel by YouTube.

PDF #174 – ELF in the Iranian education system: Exploring teacher trainers’ and pre-service/in-service English teachers’ attitudes

The present study was aimed at exploring English teacher trainers’ and pre-service and in-service English teachers’ attitudes toward English as a lingua franca in the Iranian education system. To amass the data, 68 pre-service and 118 in-service English teachers and 21 teacher trainers filled out an adapted ELF questionnaire and sat semi-structured interviews. The results of the study revealed that the participants expressed diverse attitudes to different aspects of ELF.

However, generally, they showed further inclination toward native speakerism although some traces of flexibility were observed in their attitudes toward the mainstream English language teaching (ELT). Further, the results of one-way ANOVA showed that overall there was no significant difference between the three groups’ attitudes toward ELF. Moreover, the results of Kruskal–Wallis Test also demonstrated no significant difference between the three groups’ attitudes to each aspect of ELF. The findings of the study imply that the practitioners’ fixed mindsets cannot change unless a significant change occurs in the education system of the country in general and teacher training programs in particular.

After reading “ELF in the Iranian education system”, you can check important issues for ESL teachers on the section PDFs. And visit my channel by YouTube.

PDF #173- ESL Teaching books – Techniques and Principles in Language Teaching helps you to learn about The Political Dimensions of Language Teaching. In many different language teaching methods, to uncover the thoughts that guide your own actions as a teacher, and introduces you to a variety of techniques.

The third edition includes chapters on: The Grammar-Translation Method, The Direct Method, The Audio-Lingual Method, The Silent Way, Desuggestopedia, Community Language Learning, Total Physical Response, Communicative Language Teaching, Content-based Instruction, Task-based Language Teaching, The Political Dimensions of Language Teaching and the Participatory Approach Learning Strategy Training, Cooperative Learning, and Multiple Intelligences Emerging Uses of Technology in Language Teaching and Learning View Diane Larsen-Freeman explaining the need to consider a range of methods in language teaching, and how methods continue to evolve.

The Political Dimensions of Language Teaching and the Participatory Approach

This chapter of the book they take a look at the politics of language use and language teaching. We also discuss one language teaching method, the Participatory Approach, which pays particular attention to the political dimensions of education.

The Politics of Language

Learning a language is a political act. Those that know a language are empowered in a way that those who do not know the language are not. These days, because of its status as an international language, it is English that is seen to be the language of power.1 Many people around the world want to learn English because they believe that it will help them to get a good education or job. They feel that knowing English gives them a greater chance for economic advancement. ‘On the one hand,’ Graddol (2006: 22) notes, ‘the availability of English as a global language is accelerating globalization.

On the other, the globalization is accelerating the use of English.’ This view sees English as a tool that benefits the individual who learns it. Other people, however, express concern about what is lost when an individual learns English or ‘adds’ an English-speaking identity. They worry that learning English might mean losing some ability in another language—even an individual’s native language—or that a new identity as an English speaker might cause another identity to fade or to die. They are also concerned about the educational inequality that results. After all, not everyone has the opportunity to study English. More generally, some worry about English dominance leading to the loss of endangered languages, such as those spoken by indigenous people and immigrants living in countries where English use predominates, especially when ‘English only’ policies are adopted.

After reading “The Political Dimensions of Language Teaching”, you can check important issues for ESL teachers on the section PDFs. You can also visit my channel on YouTube.

PDF #172 – How Well do General-Skills ESL Textbooks Address Pronunciation?

Pronunciation on ESL Textbooks  – Many instructors are reluctant to teach pronunciation in adult ESL classrooms, often because of lack of formal training. However, significant numbers of ESL students want pronunciation instruction. Although stand-alone pronunciation courses for second-language (L2) learners exist, many students cannot gain access to them.

One approach to meeting the needs of both instructors and students is
for general-skills L2 textbooks to include pronunciation activities. We examined 12 ESL general-skills textbook series (48 texts in total) and six accompanying teachers’ manuals to determine to what extent these popular books include pronunciation activities and how consistent the texts are across individual series.

We also recorded which aspects of L2 pronunciation are the focus of the lessons. Task types were examined in a subset of five series. We found striking variability in the concentration of pronunciation activities both across and within series. Similarly, whereas some textbooks used several task types, others relied heavily on a limited range.

Furthermore, some texts offered little in terms of explicit explanations. In some instances teachers’ manuals provided instructors with guidance; others included little more than repeated admonitions to remind the students
to monitor their L2 pronunciation. The implications for teachers of general ESL
courses are discussed.

After reading “Pronunciation on ESL Textbooks “, you can check important issues for ESL teachers on the section PDFs. And visit my channel by YouTube.

PDF #171 – European English in the EFL classroom?

The UK is facing important changes in the near future, with Brexit, i.e. the UK leaving the European Union (EU), looming ever more closely on the horizon. These important political and economic changes will certainly have an influence on Europe as a whole, and have had linguistic consequences for the English language, such as Brexit-related neologisms (Lalić-Krstin & Silaški, 2018).

As Modiano (2017a) suggests, Brexit might also have an influence on the status of the English language in the EU, in particular with regard to the dominance of native speaker varieties. In this article, we discuss the possibility of the use of a neutral European English variety in the EFL classrooms of two EU member states, i.e. Sweden and Germany. Based on a survey among 80 practitioners in secondary schools (first results were presented in Forsberg, Mohr & Jansen, 2019), the study investigates attitudes towards target varieties of English in general, and European English or ‘Euro-English’ (cf. Jenkins, Modiano & Seidlhofer, 2001; Modiano 2003) in particular, after the referendum in June 2016.

In light of the views expressed in our study, it does not seem as if German and Swedish teachers would very much welcome the use of a unified European English variety in their teaching at this point in time. This is due to ideological as well as practical reasons which might, however, be influenced by such large-scale political events as Brexit. Some teachers, especially in Sweden, already use more ideologically neutral varieties of English than the traditional native target varieties BrE and AmE, thus emphasising the idea of communicative competence as teaching goal. Individual European Englishes seem very well suited for (international) communication and time will tell whether they can and will substitute native targets in European EFL classrooms.

After reading “Bilingual language program for babies”, you can check important issues for ESL teachers on the section PDFs. And visit my channel by YouTube.

PDF #170 – Preparing Students for Education, Work, and Community: Activity Theory in Task-Based Curriculum Design

Preparing Students for Life – This case study describes how sociocultural and activity theory were applied in the design of a publicly funded, Canadian Language Benchmark (CLB)-based English as a Second Language (ESL) credential program and curriculum for immigrant and international students in postsecondary institutions in British Columbia, Canada.

The ESL Pathways Project was conceived to prepare immigrant students to navigate the multiple pathways in the settlement process from postsecondary education to the workplace, community participation, and citizenship. The in-novation in curriculum design resulted from the systematic reinterpretation of situated cognition and task-based design using activity theory.

Given that both situated and task-based learning share intersecting theoretical lineages with ac-tivity theory, this reinterpretation was more a deepening and improvement than a reconceptualization process. The ensuing units were defined by the real-world activities and contexts of target communities of practice, with relevant instructional topics, tasks, genres, skills, and outcomes presented in a systematic manner to support learners to participate, ultimately, in those target communities.

This process contrasts with traditional ad hoc forms of task-based curriculum design in ESL and EAP (English for Academic Purposes). Four key challenges, profiled herein, motivated the innovative approach to curriculum design presented in this article: (a) the internationalization of higher education, (b) the need to accommodate increasing numbers of linguistically and culturally diverse learners, (c) the need to address contextual needs beyond disciplinary knowledge, and (d) the shift to outcomes- or competency-based instructional design and assessment.

This article has described the application of sociocultural and activity theory, research, recognized standards, and best practices to the process of creating an innovative CLB-, outcomes-, task/activity-, and content-based curriculum that unites the three goals of language learning in community, workplace, and academic study. The approach outlined in this article is recommended for inspiring and guiding the development of innovative curricula that ad-dress real challenges in the sector, namely: to facilitate the integration of inter-national and immigrant learners in higher education, work, and community; to address the disciplinary rigidity that exists in some ESL faculties; and to move to outcomes-based curricula. The ESL Pathways curriculum is offered as an exemplar of an innovative curriculum that continues to evolve to meet these challenges.

After reading “Preparing Students for Life” you can check important issues for ESL teachers on the section PDFs, and visit my YouTube channel.

PDF #169 – IELTS Interactive self-study: 200 Advanced Vocabulary Questions/ Book 2

IELTS Interactive self-study – If you are preparing for the IELTS test, studying advanced vocabulary is absolutely essential to get the maximum score. Knowing hundreds of “tough” words will greatly improve your reading and listening comprehension, as well as help you write and speak much more accurately and fluently.

If you are preparing for the IELTS test, studying advanced vocabulary is absolutely essential to get the maximum score. Knowing hundreds of “tough” words will greatly improve your reading and listening comprehension, as well as help you write and speak much more accurately and fluently.

IELTS Interactive self-study: 200 Advanced Vocabulary Questions/ Book 1 can help you in a way no other ordinary book can. It is ideal for self-study whenever you want, wherever you are. You answer vocabulary questions and you receive feedback right away. It’s as if you have a private English Tutor on the spot; telling you what you did right or wrong, explaining the mistakes again and again.

After completing the exercises in this unique eBook, you will have mastered hundreds of advanced words and word combinations quickly and easily. You will also practice your dictionary skills and learn how to use the free Kindle dictionary so you can delve deeper into the meaning and usage of a word. This eBook is very convenient; you can download it simultaneously to your desktop, laptop, smart-phone or tablet, thanks to the free Kindle applications.

After reading “IELTS Interactive self-study”, you can check important issues for ESL teachers on the section PDFs. And visit my channel by YouTube.

PDF #168 – The Communicativeness of Activities in a Task-based Innovation in Guangdong, China

Communicativeness of Activities in Task-Based – This paper analyses the extent of communicative activities in a Year Four primary school class in Guangdong, where a national task-based innovation has been mandated. The framework guiding the study uses a continuum of communicativeness of activities, developed by Littlewood.

In contemporary East Asia, the related concepts of communicative
language teaching (CLT) and task-based language teaching (TBLT) form
a central pillar of language policies (Nunan, 2003). Despite their popularity at the policy level, recent literature reports on numerous challenges
in implementing TBLT in Chinese contexts (Carless, 2004; Hu, 2002,
2005b; Littlewood, 2007). There is clearly a need for more critical scrutiny of the suitability of task-based approaches for schooling, particularly
in contexts where TBLT may prove to be in conflict with traditional
educational norms (Carless, 2007; Ellis, 2003).

In 2001, the New Round National Curriculum Innovation was
launched by the Chinese government, and TBLT was advocated as part
of the official syllabus (Hu, 2005a). It is asserted that TBLT in the new
curriculum can “develop students’ positive attitude toward learning” and
“enhance students’ competence in using the target language” through
tasks (PEP, 2001, p. 2). However, the government documents do not
define the key concept of task clearly. We infer that the Chinese government documents follow the standard understandings of TBLT, such as
the definition given by Willis (1996, p. 23), that “tasks are always activities where the target language is used by the learner for a communicative purpose (goal) in order to achieve an outcome.” In other words,
tasks are focused on communicative outcomes, instead of, or in addition
to, the presentation of grammatical information.

After reading “Communicativeness of Activities in Task-Based” you can check important issues for ESL teachers on the section PDFs, and visit my YouTube channel.

PDF #167 – Teaching EFL Learners the Past Perfect and Past Simple Through Cognitive Grammar

Cognitive Grammar (CG) is a relatively new approach to linguistics that is becoming more mainstream in recent years due to its comprehensive description and meaningful elaboration of grammar. CG proponents have been proposing this approach to L2 grammar instruction instead of a more traditional approach that relies heavily on rules.