TESL Canada Journal
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Who is the Real Owner? Or How a Simple Pepsi-Cola Story Can Help Students Build Critical Thinking Skills
No full textBesides language competence, international students must develop a systematic approach to processing information and follow up with co-construction of the knowledge acquired. Critical thinking is a crucial principle commonly required in North American universities for evaluating academic texts. This practice may present certain difficulties for English-as-an-additional-language (EAL) students, as they may be influenced by cultural norms accepted in the academic environment of their home country or by dissimilar approaches to evaluating academic texts. This article discusses our classroom experience with assisting EAL students, predominantly from China and Saudi Arabia, in developing critical thinking skills; however, the operational model offered may also be useful with students from other cultural backgrounds
Linking Research and Practice: Effective Strategies for Teaching Vocabulary in the ESL Classroom
No full textVocabulary plays a pivotal role in the ESL classroom. Whereas a considerable amount of research has examined effective ESL vocabulary teaching and learning, missing are studies that provide examples of how to put various research findings into practice: that is, apply them to real texts including target vocabulary items. In order to close the gap between research and practice, I reviewed a broad range of relevant literature addressing vocabulary learning. Drawing on an authentic Web reading text, in which I selected five vocabulary items as target words on the basis of my experience as a secondary English teacher in Korea, I applied vocabulary teaching strategies drawn from research findings reported in the literature to provide a model for ESL teachers when putting theory into practice
A Peer Review Training Workshop: Coaching Students to Give and Evaluate Peer Feedback
No full textIn this article, I demonstrate how I planned and conducted a peer review training workshop to coach my students in giving and responding more effectively to peer feedback. The recommended training approach aims to raise students’ consciousness through analyzing the effectiveness of their peer feedback and evaluating the extent to which peers’ comments are incorporated into their subsequent revisions
Reflections on Teaching Referencing: What Four Case Studies Can Tell us About Developing Effective Teaching Strategies
No full textTwo contradictions are inherent in our research into referencing practices and the subsequent development of teaching strategies to remedy inappropriate practices. First, aggregate studies and teaching strategies that tend toward a one size fits all formula for researching and teaching referencing do not consider individual differences in students’ development of the complex set of skills that we know are involved in referencing practice. Further, although we say that we want students to be creative in their reading and writing practices, our teaching encourages them to look for correct answers in their reading of sources and to imitate set formulae for writing essays. This article examines four case studies taken from a larger aggregate study of EL1 and EL2 students. In their interviews and essay scripts, these students show varying levels of awareness of appropriate referencing practices. After examining these differences, I adapted Ada’s (Cummins, 1996) framework for comprehensible input and critical literacy, as well as work by Hinkel (2002), Keck (2006), and Kintsch (1998), to develop some strategies for teaching referencing that address individual differences
The Impact of Language and Skills Training on Immigrants's Lives
No full textThis study is a qualitative exploration of the experiences of immigrants who completed a health care aide training program that combined occupational skills and ESL training. The focus was the employment barriers and personal benefits associated with program completion. Data were collected through structured interviews with nine participants, eight of whom were women, which were then transcribed and analyzed for central themes. The interview data were supplemented with document data consisting of information from application forms and intake assessment tests. The findings revealed that participation in the training program had a major impact on the employment, identities, and settlement of program participants. The skills and language training improved the employment prospects of the individuals, although many had to overcome such employment barriers as the need to work on call, conflicts between domestic responsibilities and work outside the home, and transportation limitations. Many participants also spoke of the importance of learning job-search skills and the personal significance of having an occupational identity. Finally, successful completion of the program increased the self-confidence and autonomy of the individuals, which in turn aided their settlement and integration into Canadian society. The article concludes with recommendations for future research in this area, as well as pedagogical interventions to assist participants with their ongoing language learning, job aspirations, and settlement.Cette recherche est une etude qualitative sur les experiences d'immigrants qui ont complete un programme d'aide-soignante qui jumelait une formation sur les competences professionnelles et de l'enseignement en ALS. La recherche acible les obstacles d'emploi et les avantages personnels que connaissaient ceux qui completaient le programme. Neuf participants, dont huit femmes, ont participe ades entrevues structurees qui ont ete transcrites et analysees pour en retirer les themes principaux. Aces donnees ont ete ajoutees des informations recueillies de formulaires de demande et d'evaluations initiales. Les resultats indiquent que la participation au programme de formation a eu un impact tres important sur l'emploi, l'identite et l'etablissement des participants. D'abord, les habileUs et la competence linguistique ont augmente les possibilites d'emploi des participants, quoique plusieurs aient asurmonter des obstacles d'emploi tels que le besoin de travailler sur appel, des conflits entre les responsabilites ala maison et le travail d'exurieur, ainsi que des contraintes liees au transport. Ensuite, plusieurs participants ont egalement evoque l'importance de developper des habiletes de recherche d'emploi et !'impact personnel d'avoir une identite professionnelle. Dernierement, le fait de reussir le programme a augmente la confiance en soi et l'autonomie des individus, ce qui a contribue 11 leur etablissement au Canada et leur integration 11 la societe. Les auteurs terminent 1'article en presentant des recommandations quant ala recherche dans le domaine et quant aux interventions pedagogiques qui aideraient les participants avec leur apprentissage linguistique continu, leurs buts de carriere et leur etablissement
Book Reviews
No full textReviews of: 'Using Student-Centered Methods With
Teacher-Centered Students,' by Marilyn Lewis and Hayo Reinders; 'Test it Fix it: Business Vocabulary (Intermediate) Test it Fix it: Business Grammar (Intermediate),' by K. Bourke and A. Maris; 'Teaching Other Subjects Through English,' by Sheelagh Deller and Christine Price
Chinese-Western “Contact Zone”: Students’ Resistance and Teachers’ Adaptation to Local Needs
No full textMany universities in Mainland China hire native-speaking teachers of English annually to teach English writing. Having been trained in Western Europe or North America, these native-speaking teachers of English are on the front line of global education contact zones as they introduce their writing instruction in an English as a foreign language (EFL) country where education strongly reflects different cultural values. This interview study examines the perceptions of 12 expatriate writing instructors about their teaching at 10 universities in China. The participating teachers practiced what they believed to be good teaching activities to teach Chinese students to think critically and write in a direct Western style. However, some encountered resistance from students who felt disadvantaged by having an expatriate instructor who did not know how they learned English and how they should be prepared for structure-oriented local tests. The study suggests that teaching in global education contact zones can be a process of finding ways to interweave the local culture of learning with one’s own
Book Reviews
No full textReviews of: 'English for Business Studies in Higher Education Studies,' by Carolyn Walker; 'English for Academic Study: Listening,' by Colin Campbell and Jonathan Smith; 'English for Academic Study: Speaking,' by Joan McCormack and Sebastian Watkins; 'The Hockey Sweater: An Interactive CD-ROM,' by Donna Mydlarski, Penthes Verena Rubrecht, Dana M. Paramskas,
André Bougaïeff, and Larry Katz; 'Analyzing the Grammar of English (3rd ed.),' by Richard V. Teschner and Eston E. Evan