TESL Canada Journal
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How can I hear your voice when someone else is speaking for you? An Investigation of the Phenomenon of the Classroom Spokesperson in the ESL Classroom.
No full textLearning to Live and Study in Canada: Stories of Four EFL Learners from China
No full textDuring the past five years, an increasing number of younger international students from mainland China have appeared on Canadian campuses to pursue their first university degrees. What is it like being an international student studying in a foreign language and culture at such a young age? Through narrative inquiry (Clandinin and Connelly, 2000), the study reported here examines the transitional experiences of four female high school students from mainland China as they moved from a Chinese high school to a Canadian high school and later to a Canadian university. The study attempts to record and understand the challenges these students face in order to live and study in English in a vastly different educational, cultural and social milieu. The study also offers insights into how these international students, as well as many recent immigrant ESL students, can be better supported during their adaptation process in Canada
Targeting Language Support for Non-Native English-Speaking Graduate Students at a Canadian University
No full textUniversities and colleges in Canada and other English-speaking countries have become increasingly concerned with linguistic and cultural diversity and internationalizing their campuses, both to enhance local and international students' experiences on campus and to prepare them to function in their careers and the larger society. Most international students are non-native English-speaking (NNES) and need support to develop the English language proficiency required for engagement in the academic demands of the Canadian university milieu. This small-scale study at a Canadian university, by way of a survey and follow-up interview, addresses the gap in our understanding between academic skills that are required at the graduate level and those that learners of English find difficult. The findings suggest that by targeting academic skills that are both required and difficult, efficiency can be achieved in the design of programmatic supports for developing English for academic purposes (EAP). The findings further suggest that international students may lack independent strategies for advancing their English-language proficiency and that these too can be targeted in an EAP program
Linking Teacher Professionalism and Learner Autonomy Through Experiential Learning and Task Design
No full textLike others in the teaching profession, second language education (SLE) teachers have been subjected in recent years to a process of work intensification and accountability. This process makes use ofexternally developed sets of behavioral
objectives, assessment instruments, commercially produced classroom materials, and externally controlled technologies. Taken together, these have resulted in a marked reduction in the freedom of dedicated SLE teachers to be inventive,
flexible, adaptable, and responsive to students' needs. In short, teachers are losing professional autonomy. In this article, we argue that an experiential learning approach can help counter this trend. We describe and compare three theoretical
frameworks and models in this orientation that have been developed specifically for SLE and draw out practical implications for classroom task design. We contend that experiential learning is more than a classroom management technique and argue the importance of linking learner autonomy and teacher professionalism through this approach
The 'Third Place': Investigating an ESL Classroom Interculture
No full textThis study focuses on a multicultural ESL classroom with the purpose of exploring the creation of new individual and cultural identities and the formation of interculture. Through on-site observations and interviews with second-language learners and their teacher, the study presents findings about the dynamics, quandaries, complexity, and diversity of classroom interculture. The metaphor of the 'third place' (Kramsch, 1993) aptly captures the nature of this interculture in its fluidity and ambiguity. Perceiving language-learning in this way allows one to look beyond the traditional dichotomous views and approaches to culture and identity in ESL settings and to describe properly the enriching process of creating new identity and new cultural space that is greater than the sum of individual cultures
Selecting and Using Computer-Based Language Tests (CBLTs) to Assess Language Proficiency: Guidelines for Educators
No full textWith the growing demand for and use of computer-based language tests (CBLTs) comes the need for clear guidelines to help educators as they attempt to select appropriate tests to assess their students with respect to their second- and foreign-language (L2/FL) teaching-learning goals. The purpose of this article is to provide guidelines to educators who are seeking appropriate CBLTs to assess language proficiency in the classroom. We being with an introduction that includes a brief word about our intended audience, our rationale for creating this set of guidelines, and the development procedure used. We continue with a discussion of some relevant assessment criteria and conclude with a few summary remarks. Finally, we present a 'CBLT Selection and Use: Guidelines Summary Table' composed of questions to ask and an accompanying checklist
Teacher Prepared Materials: A Principled Approach
No full textThe language-through-content movement of the past decade has promoted the use of authentic texts for language-learning purposes. Content-based instruction, however, has had the effect of emphasizing content as the driver of curriculum rather than language-learning objectives in the language-through-content equation. Longitudinal studies of ESL learners' achievement on standardized measures suggest that it is in the intermediate-level proficiency range that these students are most in need of materials that are qualitatively and quantitatively distinct from authentic text. These distinct materials are needed in order to promote the development of English-language proficiency. Using various computer tools, teachers can prepare materials for intermediate-level learners following a principled approach, thus supporting them through a stage in their language development when they are at risk of failure. This article provides information and examples of how this may be accomplished. We conclude that
preparing materials may also contribute to teachers' professional development
Book Reviews
No full textReviews of: 'Writing Games: Multicultural Case Studies of Academic Literacy Practices in Higher Education,' by Christine Pearson Casanave; and 'Critical Applied Linguistics: A Critical Introduction,' by A. Pennycook
Buyer Beware: Professional Preparation and TESL Certificate Programs in Canada
No full textSignificant progress has been made toward greater professional recognition for adult ESL instructors in Canada over the past decade. At the same time, an ever-increasing demand for English-language teachers, particularly abroad, has resulted in a substantial growth in the number of private companies offering
short-term ESL/EFL teacher training. Often these programs make inflated claims about the worth of their certificates in the job market, undermining attempts to professionalize the field in the eyes of the public. In this article, I propose basic requirements that should be expected ofany professionally adequate TESL training program. I then assess several TESL "certificate" programs from across Canada to determine to what degree they meet these minimal professional standards. I conclude with a discussion ofwhy increasingly stringent training standards
are essential if we are to promote professionalism in the field and to achieve recognition commensurate with that in other disciplines