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Universities 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.

Cantonese tertiary-level students taking a general education course taught in English at the Chinese University of Hong Kong were asked to rate their own English language skills development in relation to six specific areas. They were asked to identify what they had learned in relation to other aspects of the course. Responses indicated that students felt their English skills had increased in all areas, particularly in speaking and listening. (Author/VWL)

Describes the experiences of English as a Foreign Language (EFL) university professors who investigated reflective teaching and professional development by practicing what they preached. Over one academic year they taught their EFL classes utilizing three professional development procedures (journal writing, videotaping, and teaching portfolios). The paper discusses why such practices are successful and how they are generalizable. (SM)

This paper reports on the learning outcomes described by experienced teachers attending a program designed to enable them to come together to engage in professional development through structured and systematic reflective practice. In the first part of the paper, we look briefly at some of the challenges of defining "reflective practice". We then describe the particular project we worked with, and present the collection and analysis of interviews with seven teachers and survey data from 35 teachers working within and near to schools in Vermont, USA. Six themes emerged from the teachers' responses: • Renewed enthusiasm for teaching • Looking at teaching with "fresh eyes" • Shifts in understanding teaching • Becoming more reflective and aware as teachers • Enhancing the quality of student learning • Building professional communities These recurring themes are discussed in relation to teachers' knowledge, beliefs and learning and in relation to teachers' ways of knowing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present study aims to validate Akbari et al.'s (2010) English Language Teaching Reflection Inventory in a Chinese EFL context. It comprises two phases. During the first phase, Akbari et al.'s (2010) hypothetical model was modified and validated through exploratory factor analysis (EFA) and confirmatory factor analysis (CFA). The data used in this phase includes two samples (S1 = 334 and S2 = 1055), making a total of 1389 EFL teachers from 16 different universities or colleges in China. The EFA was carried out with the first sample, and the CFA was carried out with both the first and second samples. During the second phase, the data from the second sample was used to investigate the surveyed participants' reflective practices. To gain a deeper understanding of their practices, 12 teachers were interviewed. The analysis of the data revealed the following outcomes and conclusions: (1) Akbari et al.'s original six-factor model with 42 items was modified and a new seven-factor model with 33 items was developed; (2) The Chinese EFL teachers' reflection in this study was found to be at a medium level. The “classroom management” and “moral” factors were found to be the most frequently reflected on, and the “critical” and the “practice” factors were the least. Suggestions for future research on teachers' reflective practices are also offered. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]