TESL Canada Journal
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Enculturation into Discourses by East Asian Students in a Graduate TESOL Program
No full textThrough multiple case studies, this article examines the learning experiences of three Korean students in a MATESOL program and how they made sense of the Discourses (Gee, 1996) that they encountered in their course work. The students experienced enculturation on three interrelated dimensions: disciplinary, linguistic, and cultural knowledge, the latter two initially posing the greatest difficulty. The Discourse(s) that they experienced appeared to be a mixture of professional and academic Discourses. However, this hybridity did not seem to be explicitly recognized either by the entering students or even by the contributing faculty, which resulted in feelings of uncertainty among the students
Semantic Prosody and ESL/EFL Vocabulary Pedagogy
No full textThere is evidence that semantic prosody, a novel linguistic theme, should attract much attention in ESL/EFL (English as a second/foreign language) vocabulary learning and teaching. Research suggests that inappropriate word choice arising from ignorance of semantic prosody is common among ESL/EFL learners (Wei, 2006; Xiao & McEnery, 2006). This article introduces the notion of semantic prosody and provides an overview of studies of semantic prosody from five perspectives: monolinguistic, cross-linguistic, register, lexicographical, and interlinguistic. Based on this overview, the article suggests that semantic prosody be integrated into ESL/EFL vocabulary pedagogy. Finally, implications on integrating semantic prosody into ESL/EFL vocabulary pedagogy are discussed
Paper Partners: A Peer-Led Talk-Aloud Academic Writing Program for Students Whose First Language of Academic Study is Not English
No full textThis article examines the Paper Partners program at Ryerson University, Toronto. This peer-mentoring program was developed to support the academic writing skills of students whose first language of academic study was not English. The program integrated a team of student-facilitators, a talk-aloud co-editing process, and a reflective feedback component. The article looks at (a) the process of developing a campus-wide program using a team of student-facilitators specially trained to support English academic writing skills; (b) program assessment based on feedback received from student-writers and facilitators; and (c) the contribution of the program to the language-learning experience. The article concludes with encouragement for postsecondary institutions to develop peer-led languagelearning opportunities on campus to create and celebrate a truly international learning community
The Novel as Textbook
No full textThe use of authentic literature, especially novels, has proven electrifying for teachers as well as students: a development mirrored in the success of related methodologies and the increasing availability of materials accompanying literature. The benefits of using novels as textbooks are numerous. Research consistently shows the benefits of extended reading; novels are motivating and authentic; and they can support any curriculum and be used in a variety of programs. Issues discussed in the article include a rationale for using novels as textbooks, selection criteria, ways of teaching discrete and integrated skills, and reflections on the pros and cons of using literature to teach English
Mentoring EFL Preservice Teachers in EFL Writing
No full textEffective mentoring of EFL preservice teachers may advance EFL teaching practices. Five factors for mentoring have been identified, namely, personal attributes, system requirements, pedagogical knowledge, modeling, and feedback. An empirically based survey instrument focused on 106 Vietnamese preservice teachers’ perceptions of their mentoring for EFL teaching across these five factors. Apart from acceptable Cronbach alphas for four of the five factors (system requirements was .08 below the accepted .70 level), analysis revealed that more than 50% of these preservice teachers perceived that they had not received mentoring for developing their teaching of English writing on 29 of the 34 survey items. Mentoring practices in this study varied; consequently, EFL mentors may require guidance for enhancing their practices. In addition, the instrument linked to the five-factor mentoring model may assist in identifying mentors’ needs for devising professional development programs
Change in ESL Graduate Students’ Perspectives on Non-Native English-Speaker Teachers
No full textThis article discusses the findings of an ethnographic study that explored the perceptions of ESL graduate students toward non-native English-Speaker Teachers (NNESTs) in the United States, a little researched topic. Analysis of classroom observations and interviews with 12 ESL graduate students from various countries showed that international ESL graduate students were active agents capable of exercising their agencies in evaluations of NNESTs. Overall, students enjoyed having a non-native speaker as their ESL teacher, which suggests that NNESTs have the cultural capital necessary for teaching ESL center courses. The students also reported initial disappointment about the constraints of NNESTs and about their changed attitudes, which seemed to be connected to changes in their teachers’ confidence and effectiveness in classroom management. Suggestions for further research and practice are made
The Effects of Various Kinds of Form-Focused Instruction on Learners' Ability to Comprehend and Produce Polite Requests in English
No full textThis study involving 60 Japanese learners of English investigated the effects of various kinds of form-focused instruction on learners' ability to comprehend and produce polite requests in English. Each treatment group received one of the following: (a) deductive instruction; (b) inductive instruction with problem-solving tasks; or (c) inductive instruction with structured input tasks. These tasks all involved explicit input-based instruction and were intended to test for differences in deductive versus inductive treatments. Treatment group performance was compared with that of a control group on a range of input- and output-based pretests, posttests, and follow-up tests. The results indicate that the three treatment groups performed significantly better than the control group, suggesting that in this study explicit input-based instruction was effective both deductively and inductively for learners' comprehension and production of English polite requests. There was also some indication that
inductive treatment may be superior in the longer term
Beyond the Pragmatic and the Liminal: Culturally and Linguistically Diverse Students Code-Switching in Early-Years Classrooms
No full textThis article examines the code-switching (CS) practices of culturally and linguistically diverse (CLD) young children in kindergarten and grade 1 classrooms. The author argues that their use of CS went beyond relief of psycholinguistic stress or coping with liminality (sense of living between two languages and cultures). Through several narratives constructed using ethnographic data, the author explores CLD students' use of CS to respond to the sociolinguistic and sociopolitical dynamics that they encountered in their early-years classrooms. CS enabled students to address their language and literacy needs, assert their identities, and defy subtractive and assimilative orientations that they experienced with respect to lack of incorporation of their first languages. Further, data affirm Cummins'(2001) assertion that students do not passively accept dominantgroup attributions of inferiority, but actively resist the process of subordination
Book Reviews
No full textReviews of: 'Storybuilding,' by Jane Spiro; and 'How to Teach Grammar,' by Scott Thornbury