TESL Canada Journal
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Morphological Make-up as the Predictor of English Word Accent
No full textFor years, phoneticians have tried to simplify pronunciation for EFL/ESL learners. Some have identified four degrees of primary, secondary, tertiary, and weak stress, and others only three degrees: primary, secondary, and weak. Still others have concentrated on two stress levels: accented versus unaccented, or stressed versus unstressed (Bowen, 1975; Stageberg, 1964; Chomsky & Halle, 1968). None, however, has followed an orthography-based approach to English accent. Because orthography is the most static way of representing words in English, spelling- or orthography-based rules of accent/stress placement may come as a relief to ESL/EFL learners. In this article I present four spelling-based rules for stress placement to help EFL/ESL learners master pronunciation
Integrating Form and Meaning in L2 Pronunciation Instruction
No full textOne of the central challenges of ESL teaching is striking the right balance between form and meaning. In pronunciation pedagogy, this challenge is compounded because repetitive practice, which has been shown to enhance phonological acquisition and promote fluency, is widely viewed as being incompatible with communicative principles. This article provides a brief historical background for modern pronunciation pedagogy (from World War II to the present) as part of a backdrop for understanding the current disjuncture between pronunciation and communicative language teaching. A discussion on form-focused instruction, its applicability for pronunciation pedagogy, and challenges in implementation follows with reference to a recent article that presents evidence for the appropriateness of a communicative instructional framework for teaching L2 pronunciation (Trofimovich & Gatbonton, 2006). Finally, a communicative activity that encourages repetitive practice while integrating pronunciation with other components of language use is proposed
Reticence in Chinese EFL Students at Varied Proficiency Levels
No full textReticence in foreign language classes has long been a challenge for both teachers and students. With the advent of globalization, there is a pressing need for EFL (English as a Foreign Language) teachers to help reticent students develop the skills and confidence needed to take an active role in oral English lessons. This article reports on a study of reticence in EFL classrooms in a key university in Beijing. Five hundred, forty-seven first-year non-English majors with three proficiency levels answered a 124-item questionnaire with 20 items on reticence. In addition, one class from each proficiency group was selected for a more focused investigation of reticence and participation in oral EFL lessons. As well as the survey, data gathered during the 14-week term included reflective journals, videotaped observations, and interviews. Analyses of the data revealed that (a) the students were willing to communicate with their peers in English in class and considered speech communication valuable; the more proficient were most positive about interpersonal communication and the most willing to engage in interaction; (b) all the students, irrespective of proficiency level, were the most active during pair work and the least active when responding to teachers’ questions; the more proficient students tended to be the most active in all classroom activities; and (c) with increased exposure to spoken English and more familiarity with the English-learning environment, students at all proficiency levels became (more) active in class. Based on the findings, pedagogical implications are discussed with the aim of enhancing the teaching and learning of spoken English in foreign-language contexts
A Case for Faculty Involvement in EAP Placement Testing
No full textThe EAP placement procedure at Thompson Rivers University (TRU) involves multiple measures to assess the language skills of incoming students, some of which are facilitated and all of which are assessed by ESL faculty. In order to determine the effectiveness of this comprehensive EAP placement process and the effect of the faculty factor, a placement validity study was conducted at TRU. The results revealed that with faculty involvement, the accuracy of course placement ranged from 81% to 84; without it the accuracy of the placement would have decreased to between 44% and 66%, depending on the skill area
Early Language and Literacy Development Among Young English Language Learners: Preliminary Insights from a Longitudinal Study
No full textThis article reports on the preliminary findings of a two-staged empirical study aimed at gaining insights into the variables salient in the early language and literacy development of young English language learners (ELL). Increasingly, young ELL, whether foreign-born or Canadian-born, arrive at school with little developed English-language proficiency. They must acquire oral language and literacy synchronously. Stage one of this study consists of time series data for reading and vocabulary scores using the Gates MacGinitie reading tests. Stage two consists of an early literacy screen and vocabulary profiles generated from an oral storytelling task for 65 kindergarten-aged ELL and a comparison group of 25 native speakers of English (NS). The findings suggest that although reading and vocabulary are closely interrelated in the stages of early literacy development, over time ELL youngsters face the greatest learning challenges in the area of vocabulary development. Implications for the design of early literacy programs are offere
The Triunal Model of Anxiety and its Application to Anxiety Reduction in Learning and Teaching Environments
No full textIn this article we are calling for an interlayered and cross-dimensional approach to understanding and working with anxiety, especially as manifested in English as an additional language (EAL) teaching and learning environments. We aim to understand the phenomenon of anxiety from the multidimensional perspectives of physiology, psychology, and philosophy; to introduce what we call the Triunal Model of Understanding Anxiety; and based on this new understanding, to suggest how teacher education may help teachers to notice and work with anxiety in teaching-learning environments. Given the scope of what we propose, this article with its limited space affords only an initial synopsis and model-building exercise
Recognizing Visual and Auditory Cues in the Detection of Foreign-Language Anxiety
No full text.This study examines whether nonverbal visual and/or auditory channels are more effective in detecting foreign-language anxiety. Recent research suggests that language teachers are often able to successfully decode the nonverbal behaviors indicative of foreign-language anxiety; however, relatively little is known about whether visual and/or auditory channels are more effective. To this end, a group of 36 preservice English-language teachers were asked to view videotaped oral presentations of seven beginning English-language learners under three conditions: visual only, audio only, and a combination of visual and audio in order to judge their foreign-language anxiety status. The evidence gathered through this study did not conclusively determine the channel though which foreign-language anxiety could be most accurately decoded, but it did suggest indicators in the auditory and visual modes that could lead to more successful determination of behaviors indicative of negative affect
A Sociocultural View of Language Learning: The Importance of Meaning-Based Instruction
No full textThe process of second-language teaching is grounded in the sociocultural theory of Vygotsky, which emphasizes meaningful interaction among individuals as the greatest motivating force in human development and learning. In this theoretical framework, the concepts of meaning and mediation are considered as the two essential elements affecting an individual’s learning of a second language. Suggestions are offered for enhancing students’ second-language learning in their regular classrooms by applying sociocultural theories to practice. Socioculturally based implications for classroom teaching include bilingual instruction, focus on pragmatics, literacy instruction based on drama, inclusive learning environments, instruction based on children’s interests, and the teacher’s role as a facilitator mediating between students and their second-language learning environment
Collocational Differences Between L1 and L2: Implications for EFL Learners and Teachers
No full textCollocations are one of the areas that produce problems for learners of English as a foreign language. Iranian learners of English are by no means an exception. Teaching experience at schools, private language centers, and universities in Iran suggests that a significant part of EFL learners’ problems with producing the language, especially at lower levels of proficiency, can be traced back to the areas where there is a difference between source- and target-language word partners. As an example, whereas people in English make mistakes, Iranians do mistakes when speaking Farsi (Iran’s official language, also called Persian) or Azari (a Turkic language spoken mainly in the north west of Iran). Accordingly, many beginning EFL learners in Iran are tempted to produce the latter incorrect form rather than its acceptable counterpart in English. This is a comparative study of Farsi (Persian) and English collocations with respect to lexis and grammar. The results of the study, with 76 participants who sat a 60-item Farsi (Persian)- English test of collocations, indicated that learners are most likely to face great obstacles in cases where they negatively transfer their linguistic knowledge of the L1 to an L2 context. The findings of this study have some immediate implications for both language learners and teachers of EFL/ESL, as well as for writers of materials