Castledown Journals
Not a member yet
968 research outputs found
Sort by
Teaching ideas for improving oral performance through formulaic language instruction
No full textThis article suggests three teaching ideas to help L2 learners improve speaking performances through form-focused instruction using formulaic language. Formulaic language is considered an effective way to foster speaking fluency because prefabricated chunks are faster to retrieve than constructing sentences word by word (Wray, 2002). In spite of the benefits of learning formulaic language in L2 learning theory, few empirical studies were found which examined the effects of formulaic language instruction in intact classrooms, in particular in the EFL (English as a Foreign Language) context. By introducing some effective classroom tasks to foster L2 learners’ speaking fluency focusing on formulaic language in this article, the author emphasizes the need for empirical research involving EFL learners
The challenges of measuring multi-word expression use in conversation
No full textThis article introduces three important challenges and possible solutions when using spoken dialogue to measure the use of specific multiword expressions. The first challenge is deciding whether to count precise and accurate use of target expressions only or whether to extend the count to include variation. The second challenge requires addressing the indirect nature of dialogue as a testing method. The third challenge is organizing data and preparing ways to clearly identify speakers within the dialogue. These challenges are illustrated with examples and potential solutions from my recent research investigating spoken use of multi-word expressions
Multicultural education: How are ethnic minorities labelled and educated in post-handover Hong Kong?
No full textUsing multicultural education as a lens, this article details the discursive formation of Hong Kong’s linguistic landscape with a focus on policy arrangements around teaching Chinese as a second language for non-Chinese ethnic minorities since the early 2000s. We pose two research questions: What are the identifiable policy trends in education for ethnic minorities? And how effective are the policy provisions in managing diversity and social justice for ethnic minorities in Hong Kong? The study draws upon documentary analysis to review existing local literature, which highlight the school admission, curriculum design, language teachers’ professional development practices, and assessment pertaining to the education of ethnic minority students. Our analysis reveals a narrow concentration of policies that focus exclusively on supporting ethnic minority students’ Chinese language learning regarded as the barrier to their advancement in education and an omission of other nonlinguistic, structural and ideological challenges and barriers. This barrier contributes to prejudices in school access, curriculum and assessment that function within an assimilationist integration framework. We call for policy measures that broaden the focus of multicultural education for ethnic minorities and that seek to manage ethnolinguistic diversity for equal citizenship rights in the Asian context
Review of intercultural communicative competence in educational exchange: A multinational perspective.
No full textLearning through participation: A case study on the affordances of making YouTube tutorial videos
No full textThe Internet has offered many opportunities for interactions and participation. The current study positioned YouTube as a possible affinity space (Gee, 2003, 2004) for students to showcase their personal talents and develop media literacy skills. The participants were recruited from a group of senior students in a Taiwanese university who volunteered to participate in this study. In their three-minute tutorial videos, students needed to teach the global audience something they were good at and then responded to the comments they might receive. Data were collected from students’ reflective essays and transcripts of their group interviews. An inductive data analysis process revealed that this “learning-through-participation” (Merchant, 2009, p. 110) approach was found to provide students with authentic audiences and an engaged learning opportunity (Dabrowski, 2018) for personal expression. Taking the role of a YouTuber was found to be conducive to the participants’ learning on technological, educational and social dimensions. Playing the role of content creators and responding to online comments also allowed students to develop a more cautious and responsible attitude towards online speech and etiquette. This paper ends with a few suggestions for continuing related research on help students to become more capable and responsible citizens of the twenty first century
Translanguaging as transmediation: Embodied critical literacy engagements in a French-English bilingual classroom
No full textTranslanguaging highlights an interconnected use of languages and other semiotic resources for communication and knowledge construction. Everyday communicative practices involve processes of resemiotization (Iedema, 2003) or transmediation (Suhor, 1984), whereby one discourse or semiotic resource is transformed into another mode or a mixture of modes in time and space, mobilizing and rendering new ways of knowing, being and acting. Translanguaging pedagogy hence values the dynamic integration of languages, including the languages of arts for creative and critical learning. Translanguaging and/or transmediation of embodied semiotic resources, linguistic, visual or aural, gestural, etc. help disrupt the traditional logo- and verbo-centric notion of critical literacy (Janks, 2002) that privileges rational textual critique over aesthetic or emotional engagements. Such a trans-systemic approach challenges most deficit-oriented second language classrooms where critical literacy and/or expressive arts are often considered beyond language learners’ abilities. Elaborating on a university-school participatory action research study, this article showcases the use of coordinated translanguaging pedagogy in an English-French bilingual classroom whereby the two language teachers collaborated flexibly to provide target language models while crafting a translanguaging space (Li, 2017) for multidirectional, pluriliterate meaning-making possibilities. Engaging children in a yearlong inquiry into the issue of refugees, the class read and discussed related literature in both languages while integrating visual arts to deepen understanding. Results show these embodied multimodal engagements opened up aesthetic spaces for students to be affected and to affect (Ahmed, 2010) others through their expressive arts, affording an alternative avenue of critical awareness and engagement that deepened reflexivity and civic empathy
Translanguaging for and as learning with youth from refugee backgrounds
No full textAlthough host countries generally integrate refugees into public education, wide-spread and comprehensive understanding of teaching and learning with children and youth who have experienced forced displacement and migration remains an unmet goal within most education systems. This article explores the educational needs of these children and youth, exploring teacher perceptions of and approaches to students’ language and literacy practices. Sharing insights from case study research conducted in one Canadian school, the article discusses how educators at the school drew upon and engaged students’ linguistic resources as key to student learning, relationships and engagement, catalyzing new configurations of language in education. Analyzing these processes through a translanguaging theory of language, the article discusses how teachers and students engaged “translanguaging instinct” and created “translanguaging spaces” (Li, 2018) in their classrooms to support teaching and learning. Finally, the article proposes a three-dimensional matrix for teachers to use in reflecting on language teaching and learning, comprising axes of (1) teacher- and student-initiated translanguaging; (2) planned and spontaneous engagements with translanguaging; and (3) translanguaging as either a scaffold or a resource for learning. Illustrated with examples from practice and elaborated with teacher reflections, the article describes why such approaches are of critical importance in response to circumstances of forced migration and resettlement of vulnerable populations. Findings arising from this work further support and respond to the call for nuanced understanding of how translanguaging practice and pedagogy materialize within situated educational contexts
Vocabulary learning using student-created class vocabulary lists
No full textIn this article, we describe the pedagogical basis for class vocabulary lists (CVLs) and their implementation using Google Sheets. CVLs allow students to collaborate and build “notebooks” of vocabulary that they feel is important to learn. CVL choices of students (N= 53) in three classes of mixed non-English majors and one informatics class were compared against frequency-based lists (British National Corpus/Corpus of Contemporary American English Word Family Lists [BNC/COCA], New General Service List [NGSL], Test of English for International Communication [TOEIC] Service List [TSL]) using the Compleat Web Vocabulary Profiler (Web VP) to determine the usefulness of the selected vocabulary. An information technology keywords list, constructed using AntConc and AntCorGen, was compared against the informatics group’s CVL to determine if those students were choosing field-appropriate vocabulary. Results suggest that when given autonomy to choose vocabulary, students generally select useful and relevant words for their contexts (e.g, simulation, virtual, privacy, artificial, denuclearization, aftershock, heatstroke) and that CVLs supplement frequency-based lists in beneficial ways
Factors affecting immigrants’ host country language proficiency: Focusing on the differences between migrant workers and marriage-migrant women in South Korea
No full textThis study aims to reveal significant factors affecting the Korean language proficiency of immigrants in Korea by comparing the two immigrant groups, migrant workers and marriage-migrant women, that constitute the largest sector of the foreign-born population in Korea. A comprehensive survey was conducted on a total of 136 migrant workers and 136 marriage-migrant women. A statistical analysis was followed adopting stepwise multiple regression on six independent variables (age at arrival, length of residence, education level, linguistic distance, intensity of target language use, and learning time at institutions) and one dependent variable (self-reported language proficiency). Results show that length of residence in Korea and intensity of target language use significantly contributed to the Korean language proficiency of marriage-migrant women, whereas age at arrival, intensity of target language use, and education level played a significant role in the development of language proficiency of migrant workers in Korea. Educational implications are discussed, and suggestions are made for expanding language educational support for migrant workers
Introduction to the special issue
No full textMany teachers who see the multilingual and multicultural nature of society reflected in their classrooms seek inclusive and effective teaching strategies that go beyond conventional monolingually and monoculturally conceived approaches. Translanguaging, as communicative and cognitive practice which draws on a speaker’s full multilingual repertoire, is a valuable resource for teaching and learning in contemporary linguistically diverse classrooms. When enacted in teaching and learning, translanguaging supports students not only to employ their full range of linguistic and cultural knowledge in the learning process to enable deeper and more connected understanding of content and language, but also contribute to the learning of their peers and teachers and bridge spaces between educational institutions, families and communities.
This special issue addresses the role and use of translanguaging as a resource for students and teachers in a range of education settings including institutions and systems operating under a monolingual mindset (Clyne, 2008) in English-speaking countries including USA, UK, Canada, Australia and New Zealand. The studies present examples of practice from early childhood, primary, secondary and tertiary education settings, encompassing students from all walks of life in mainstream education, introductory language centres and heritage language classrooms. Discussion of multilingual and translanguaging practice, learning and pedagogy, case studies of linguistic and educational practice, and principles for translanguaging in teaching and learning will interest and inform educators in all roles, including teachers, teacher educators and researchers