Universitetet i Agder: UiA Journal System
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Foreign Languages and Internationalisation at a University of Education in Germany
No full textAs my title suggests, the aim of this article is to give interested readers an insight into the ways in which advanced foreign language studies are taught at Ludwigsburg University of Education (LUE), Baden-Württemberg, Germany and how this links up with the policy of internationalisation which has been developed by the university over the past 15 years or so. It is my hope that our attempts to address the challenges of teacher education and training maybe of some use to readers of this journal and possibly lead to a discussion of the issues at hand with interested parties – a discussion to which we at Ludwigsburg are more than willing to engage in, especially in view of the changes to the system of teacher education currently being prepared by the government of the state of Baden-Württember
Feedback practices in English in Norwegian upper secondary schools
No full textThe trends that we see both in official guidelines and school practices demonstrate a shift towards formative assessment strategies with an emphasis on feed-forward comments to the students. How this is carried out in schools varies, and the material in this study shows signs of changing evaluation practices in English instruction. One of the changes is an increased tendency to use process-oriented approaches to feedback, in which the students work through a draft several times before handing in a final product. Much of what is commented on in the feedback focuses on how ideas are organised and how the text is structured. Though process writing is a familiar concept from first language writing instruction, the specific focus on genre requirements in the feedback process makes this a somewhat different type of process-writing, similar to what we find in the genre-pedagogy tradition developed in Australia. The English teachers in this study who report working in this way combine process-writing with explicit instruction in genre requirements. This study explores current feedback practices, and illustrates how process-oriented feedback practices may be combined with writing instruction in a genre-pedagogy approach to writing to support students’ writing
Reshaping workplaces: workplace innovation as designed by scientists and practitioners
No full textCurrent thinking in several disciplines (organisational economics, sociology, psychology)about organisations is starting to converge. Organisations are no longer considered a blackbox, adapting to the economic environment as will-less objects. There is a role to play formanagers to choose the right organisational model. There is still some confusion in theresearch field regarding which organisational model will be most suited for future societaldemands. Workplace Innovation is positioned as a solution, not only stressingorganisational performance, but also delivering better quality of work. This article proposesa research agenda to help this positioning
Being an exchange student in the USA: How does it affect a student’s oral English skills? A case study.
No full textIt is uncontroversial to assume that learners of foreignlanguages who spend extended periods of time in an environment of nativespeakers will improve greatly with regard to oral skills. However, according tomodern theories of Second Language Acquisition (SLA), it is also assumed thatsome features of a language are more difficult to acquire than others. Thisarticle explores how the oral English skills of a Norwegian teenager havedeveloped in the course of one year as an exchange student in the USA. Fluencyalong with grammatical and phonological features have been examined before andafter the student’s stay abroad, and accuracy rates have been discussed andcompared, also taking into account relevant theories of SLA. Finally, somedidactic implications are addressed as to what aspects of English should betaught at what stage in a student’s education
A way to increase pupils’ motivation in their English lessons? : A teaching experiment in a small group receiving adapted education
No full textPicture books in EFL; vehicles of culture and visual literacy
No full textDrawing on recent developments within the teaching of foreign languages, this article discusses the potential of picture books in teaching visual and verbal reading skills in English as a foreign language (EFL). Learner motivation is considered to be of increasing importance, and the article discusses various aspects of picture books which can contribute to learner motivation for reading. Through a thorough examination or the iconotext and peritext of three picture books, this article discusses how the interaction of pictures and words work together to bring across messages. In The Stinky Cheese Man and Other Fairly Stupid Tales by Jon Scieszka and Lane Smith traditional fairy tales are subverted and interrogated. In Rose Blanche by Ian McEvan and Roberto Innocenti, a child’s experience of the Second World War is explored, and in Zoo by Anthony Browne, the text addresses both the child and the adult reader on the serious themes of human nature and animals held in captivity. Additionally, the pedagogical potential of each text is discussed.
Critical Literacy in the ESL Classroom: Bridging the Gap between Old and New Media
No full textResearch recently conducted at the University of Stavanger found that teachers of English at upper secondary schools experience difficulty in getting their students to read longer fictional texts, and have witnessed negative attitudes towards reading. At the same time, the past four years have shown a 22% decline in enrolment across Norway in the Literature and Culture subject in the third year of upper secondary. How can the objectives set out in the basic skills section of the English subject specialization program—“understanding, exploring and pondering demanding texts”—be met if students are losing the cognitive mode of deep attention that helps them read novels and other longer texts? As digital reading has proven to be sloppy, and exhaustive reading is rare online, to what extent can students be expected to gain “insight across cultures and special fields”? Can the overall aims for teaching literature in the ESL classroom, especially those aims regarding the ability to ponder and gain insight, still be achieved through new media and popular culture? This study raises questions concerning the future of reading and offers a critical literacy approach through which teachers and learners can investigate different types of media. Implementing a critical literacy approach in the ESL classroom offers rich possibilities for teaching both language and culture at all levels through both traditional and new media.
Hvordan kan digitale læringsressurser bidra til økt studentaktivitet i klasserommet?
No full textI denne artikkelen beskriver vi hvordan vi arbeidet med å utvikle digitale læringsressurser til et emne i spanskspråklig litteratur på universitetsnivå i prosjektet Litteratur på nett. Målet med de digitale læringsressursene var å gi studentene en støtte i arbeidet med å lese autentiske litterære tekster på spansk. For å kartlegge hvordan læringsressursene ble brukt, fulgte vi studentene tett igjennom spørreskjema, studentevalueringer og fokusgruppeintervjuer. Fordelen med å utvikle læringsressurser over tid og parallelt med at de ble brukt i faktisk undervisning, var at det var mulig å gjøre justeringer underveis. Det ga også rom for ideer til nye ressurser som supplerte de eksisterende ressursene. Hovedelementet i de digitale læringsressursene er videodialogene, som er videoopptak av to faglærere som samtaler om de litterære tekstene på spansk. I videodialogene presenteres blant annet tekstenes story, som bidrar til at studentene forstår innholdet i tekstene bedre. En økt forståelse for innholdet i tekstene, skapte et behov for et konkret vokabular for å snakke om tekstene. Vi utviklet da en komponent vi har kalt for nøkkelord, som er et knippe sentrale ord i teksten som er nødvendig å kunne for å snakke om teksten og som gir innganger til dypere forståelse. Nøkkelordene fungerer også som knagger for å huske innholdet i teksten. Arbeidet med å utvikle og implementere digitale læringsressurser i undervisningen har lært oss at det er viktig at læringsressursene blir en integrert del av læringsprosessen. Når de digitale læringsressursene inngår i et dialogisk forhold mellom lærere, studenter og ansikt-til-ansikt undervisning, bidrar de til økt studentaktivitet, som igjen skaper økt motivasjon og i siste instans bidrar til økt kvalitet i undervisningen
