Search

Building on the long-standing tradition of challenging oppression and questioning whose interests are being served in the field of language education, we report on a study that involved a group of U.S.-based graduate students who collaborated with a ninth-grade English teacher in Nepal. The study comes out of a larger project that sought to internationalize the curriculum of a graduate educational linguistics course at a U.S. university. At the heart of this internationalizing curriculum endeavour was a commitment to expose graduate students in the U.S. to the issues of language teaching outside of the U.S. This was done through co-designing of a unit of lessons, with six graduate students meeting virtually with their teacher partner, Ditya, in Nepal over the course of a semester. The graduate students and Ditya constitute our research participants. The graduate student participants learned about the need to develop pedagogical materials that were relevant to the local context in Nepali classroom, and not attempt to transplant a Western-centric curriculum onto the Nepali classroom. In keeping with recent calls to decolonize higher education, we illustrate how critical theory in general and decolonizing pedagogy in particular can be infused into a U.S. graduate curriculum by drawing on the rich, indigenous knowledge and resources of a teacher collaborator from the Global South. We do this by reporting how this critical, decolonizing goal was realized through collaborative professionalism, which is characterized by the sharing of knowledge, skills, and experience to improve student achievement, reflection, dialogue and collective responsibility. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This longitudinal study explores changes in self-efficacy and motivational beliefs for learners beginning to study via English-medium instruction (EMI) at a transnational university in China. Following first-year local Chinese students over their first semester of learning via EMI, the study focuses on changes in learner self-efficacy beliefs towards lecture listening alongside task value, intrinsic goal orientation, and extrinsic goal orientation. It draws upon questionnaire (N = 412) and interview data (n = 34) to show significant gains in student self-efficacy due to (1) enactive mastery experiences and (2) the development of strategies for mediating the impact of negative affect. A midterm drop in the strength of intrinsic goal orientations contrasted with a greater focus on extrinsic factors, indicating that as students transitioned to the EMI environment, short-term extrinsic factors were of greater importance. However, findings indicate a rebound in the importance of intrinsic factors due to stronger self-efficacy and self-appraisals of success in EMI study, indicating a relationship between efficacy beliefs and intrinsic value orientations. The results contribute to the currently limited research on learner motivation development during transition into EMI transnational higher education. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Interest in formal Nuosu Yi language programmes has been waning in Liangshan, China, even though Nuosu Yi continues to be widely spoken among Yi residents. In this paper, we adopt Hornberger (2004. "The Continua of Biliteracy and the Bilingual Educator: Educational Linguistics in Practice." International Journal of Bilingual Education and Bilingualism 7 (3): 155–171.)'s continua of biliteracy and a translanguaging perspective to explore this phenomenon, and draw on a qualitative study of Yi students' and their teachers' language practices in three schools. Data include observations of Yi students' and teachers' spoken practices both in casual interactions and formal classroom instruction, and photos of their formal and informal written practices. Findings revealed a literacy-oracy divide in formal Nuosu Yi education: written Nuosu Yi was prioritised at school but was not found to be widely used in daily life. By contrast, spoken Nuosu Yi, which was drawn on frequently by students and teachers in informal interactions, was largely excluded at school due to a highly standardised and literacy-focused institutional setting. The continua of biliteracy and translanguaging allowed a nuanced investigation into different kinds of language practices at school, showing how the existing communicative repertoire of the students was not considered to be an asset in formal education. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present study explored the comparability in performance scores between the computer-delivered and face-to-face modes for the two speaking tests in the Vietnamese Standardized Test of English Proficiency (VSTEP) (the VSTEP.2 and VSTEP.3–5 Speaking tests) according to Vietnam's Six-Level Foreign Language Proficiency Framework (VNFLPF) and test takers' experiences. Data were collected from 75 and 82 VSTEP.2 and VSTEP.3–5 university English-majored test takers respectively in both computer-delivered and face-to-face conditions. A counterbalanced research design was adopted to minimise mode order effects. After test completion, 30 of the test takers, 15 from each proficiency test, were interviewed in the focus group format of 3–4 members per group. The results indicated mixed, selective effects of the testing mode. Overall, test scores were comparable in the VSTEP.2 Speaking test but significantly higher in favour of the face-to-face mode for the VSTEP.3–5 Speaking test. However, the statistically significant difference was observed in only one measure of the many analytical criteria (content development in the former test, and pronunciation in the latter test) with mixed mode advantages. The interview data has provided rich refreshing insights into how test takers viewed each testing mode against real-life communication. Their experiences further revealed a wide range of affective preferences involved in the inherent affordances or constraints of each testing mode and their communication and performance/outcome orientation. The findings offer important implications for extrapolation, test preparation and administration, and test taker/rater training in the particular context of the two English speaking proficiency tests in Vietnam and perhaps beyond. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This research explores the use of the Quizlet application in teaching Chinese as a foreign language, employing a mixed methods approach. The participants of this study were 60 international students who majored in Chinese at a university in China. The students were divided into two groups and received instruction through traditional teaching methods and Quizlet-based teaching activities, respectively. The pre-and post-performance tests were used to collect quantitative data on students' Chinese listening, speaking, reading, and writing scores, while the open-ended questions were used to measure qualitative data on student engagement. The integration of Quizlet is found to enhance Chinese listening, speaking, and reading skills, promoting student engagement through behavioral, emotional, and cognitive dimensions. However, its influence on writing skills is less significant, warranting further investigation. The results of this study endorse Quizlet as a valuable tool for language instruction, highlighting its potential for facilitating Chinese language education and inspiring innovative teaching methods. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Cultural Dictionary for German as a Foreign Language is a lexicographical project based at the Technical University of Berlin that aims to compile the cultural vocabulary for advanced learners of German (cf. Roelcke 2015; 2020; Pichler 2021). Its main goal is to enable learners to participate in thematically related discourse. The project is currently conducted at the department of German as a Foreign Language and is mainly carried out by students. The text at hand presents current lexicographical and pedagogical considerations and finally provides an outlook on the future implementation of the project. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the ever-evolving realm of educational research, the design and validation of curricula is gaining prominence. Ensuring both the internal and external validity of such designs is vital, with external validity, specifically applicability, highlighting the practical feasibility and relevance in real-world educational contexts. Drawing on Dewey's views of experience, this study builds on our previous work, introducing the principles of the Experience-Based Cyclical Curriculum Design. This research aims to ascertain the Experience-Based Cyclical Curriculum Design's external validity, specifically its applicability in real-world settings, through expert views. The data were collected through the 'Expert View Form' and 'Semi-Structured Interview Form' by applying design-based research. Our results indicated a consensus among experts regarding the applicability of the 'Stages and Elements' of the design, with particular emphasis on its coherent integration of theory and practice. The 'Implementation Plan' of the design was also perceived as well-grounded, clear, and applicable, reaffirming the design's readiness for practical deployment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The current study was undertaken to investigate how fresh graduates perform in English and why they were successful, reserved, or unsuccessful in job interviews from the perspective of the Systemic Functional Linguistics (SFL) Appraisal Theory namely from the Attitude subsystem. The theory focuses on the English language proficiency of the candidates in terms of their ability to express their stances in English. A qualitative method was employed in the present study. The data of the study comprised of walk-in interview transcripts of 10 fresh graduates for the post of Administrative Officer (s). An Appraisal analysis was conducted to reveal stances for the answers to the general interview question, "How do you face challenges?" and it was used as a theme to analyze the data. The findings revealed that the Appreciation subsystem of Attitude was used predominantly by candidates who were successful. The current study is expected to advance knowledge on the performance of graduates in job interviews and contribute to the field of SFL and Educational Linguistics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Translanguaging theory and pedagogy have emerged as central to the recent multilingual turn in educational linguistics and language teaching, including ELT. This article will explore translanguaging from theoretical and practical perspectives, aiming to clarify what it is and is not claiming, and what types of pedagogic practice it advocates, both in its stronger and weaker forms. I argue that a paradigm shift is occurring in the field, parallel with the shift in understanding of the nature of language itself that underpins both translanguaging theory and integrationism in linguistics. Implications for practice in ELT are also explored, including a reorientation concerning the goals of language teaching, a recognition of English as a social construct with traditions of use rather than immutable rules, and a repositioning of the many translingual teachers around the world as the experts at the centre of the multilingual turn that is defining early twenty-first century language pedagogy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With the increasing significance of technology use in both daily life and education, the digital native assessment scale (DNAS) [developed by Teo, T. (2013). An initial development and validation of a Digital Natives Assessment Scale (DNAS). Computers & Education, 67, 51–57.] has been widely used as a tool to investigate the digital nativeness of different subjects/participants and in different languages worldwide. The current study aimed to continue exploring the cross-cultural invariance of DNAS in the Vietnamese version (V-DNAS) and examine the digital nativeness of Vietnamese pre-service teachers. Using two sources of validity evidence from cognitive response processes and the internal structure of validity of DNAS, the study findings showed that the DNAS, in general, had an adequate model fit in the Vietnamese version, which contributed to confirm the invariance of the scale in different languages. The study also showed that Vietnamese pre-service teachers endorsed all elements of digital nativeness in general, with a significant difference by students' geographic locations. The study provided contributions for scale validation research and teacher education, alongside suggestions for future research to avoid its limitations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In Türkiye, many languages are taught as foreign languages, especially English, which is taught within the framework of the curriculum determined by the Ministry of National Education [MoNE] from primary education level onwards. Turkish, on the other hand, is taught as a foreign language both in Türkiye and abroad. The aim of this study is to compare the Turkish language curriculum as a foreign language with the English teaching programs in terms of basic foundations and implementation methods. The document analysis method was used to examine the MoNE Turkish Language Curriculum as a Foreign Language (MoNE, 2020), the English Course Curriculum (Primary School Grades 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, and 8) (MoNE, 2018a), and the Secondary School English Course (Grades 9, 10, 11, and 12) Curriculum (Mone, 2018b). Through document analysis, it has been revealed that the Turkish Language Curriculum as a Foreign Language (Mone, 2020) has a greater diversity and currency of basic foundations compared to the English Curriculum. Furthermore, in terms of implementation methods, the Turkish Language Curriculum as a Foreign Language (Mone, 2020) is more detailed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Health Bulletin / Zdravstveni Glasnik is the property of Faculty of Health Studies, University of Mostar and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Apart from linguistic diversity and multilingualism, empirical research into diversity is only in its beginnings in the Austrian educational context. CLIL research, on the other hand, is well-established but has not tended to focus on pedagogical practices. This study explores teachers' and students' self-reported experiences in Austrian CLIL classrooms with regard to the phenomenon of diversity and the pedagogical practices addressing it. This mixed-methods study used the research instruments (questionnaires, interview guides) developed in the ADiBE project. Three Viennese secondary schools with two classes each participated in the study. In total, 132 students answered the questionnaires. Six focus group interviews with 6–8 participants were conducted (one for each participating class). Teacher questionnaires were distributed in but also beyond the participating schools (N = 30), and eight teachers from the participating schools were interviewed. With regard to the phenomenon of diversity as such, our results suggest a system-inherent ambivalence between segregation and egalitarianism. Concerning pedagogical practices during CLIL lessons, such as language scaffolding, learner-centred design or use of German, the responses of students and teachers show that different aspects of classroom reality carry different weight with the two groups of participants. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article focuses on how Finnish CLIL teachers and students orient to and experience diversity in CLIL. The data consist of teacher and student interviews that were analysed using qualitative content analysis to identify recurrent themes with regard to diversity. The findings indicate that the theme of equality in the sense of 'the same for all' in both teaching, assessing and homework was readily brought up by both groups, reflecting the ethos of equality prevalent in Finnish education. Equity, however, was not similarly highlighted even though it is a guiding principle alongside equality in the Finnish Core Curriculum for Basic Education. Teachers were found reluctant to topicalise diversity, at least in the form of explicit differentiation. This applied especially to academic skills, with students' different linguistic skills more readily addressed. Both teacher and student interviews construct CLIL students as high-achievers in comparison to peers in regular classrooms. The students, however, also criticised being treated as a homogenous group and expressed wishes for personalised support. In sum, the findings show tensions between maintaining equality and securing equity in that adherence to the same type of education for all may render invisible the varying competences, ways of learning and needs for support. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As increasingly more upper secondary schools mainstream bilingualism via an array of strategies, databases collecting students' appraisals of their bilingual experiences become invaluable for informing practice. This paper discusses how the ADiBE Interview Protocol was adapted to efficiently collect candid appraisals from 99 students attending a high school in highly monolingual southern Italy. Students welcomed the opportunity to shape their instruction, generating a database of commentaries from which 11 thematic issues emerged: three related to improved language competence, personal growth and general satisfaction, while eight themes called for attention to methods, materials, classroom management and even scheduling. Appraisals are presented, alongside brief discussions regarding implications for teacher-training, task-diversity, task-choice and translanguaging strategies for optimizing the shared L1 in monolingual classrooms. That said, appraisals also unveiled expectations for native-speaking English-fluent Content-experts, which, in contexts such as ours, is not only unrealistic, but depreciates Content-experts who, although may not be fluent in English, know content very well. Appraisals indicate that students appreciate the opportunity for receiving bilingual instruction and are willing to put in extra work to learn 'complex upper secondary content through a foreign language', a challenge they feel could be rendered more manageable via more learner-centred, language-aware and inclusive pedagogies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article carries out a cross-European comparison of stakeholder perspectives on catering to diversity within CLIL programs. It reports on a cross-sectional concurrent triangulation mixed methods study with 2,526 teachers, students, and parents in 59 Secondary schools in six European countries: Austria, Finland, Germany, Italy, Spain, and the UK. It employs data, methodological, and location triangulation and carries out across-cohort comparisons in order to determine the differences/similarities which can be discerned between the measures implemented in northern, central, and southern Europe to make bilingual education a more inclusive reality for all. It also provides comparative insights into the main difficulties and chief training needs which still need to be addressed. The broader take-away is that CLIL provision, as it stands, does not fit the bill in the new mainstreaming scenario and needs to be reengineered to respond to the needs posed by educational differentiation. This pan-European outlook will allow us to determine where we currently stand on this issue and to showcase the main lessons which can be gleaned from different contexts in order to step up to one of the most important challenges facing bilingual education in Europe (and beyond) if we seek to ensure its sustainability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This ADiBE case study explores an innovative, integrated approach to addressing diversity in secondary classrooms in England, where more than one language is used and learned. We position diversity in multilingual and multicultural communities where schooling seeks to provide meaningful learning experiences for all students and guide learners towards being and becoming global citizens. Within a UK context, underpinning values emphasise social justice and inclusion embodied in classroom practices that actively involve teachers as researchers with their learners – in terms of 'curriculum-making' and reinterpreting the impact of diversity on 'successful' learning communities. This research analyses contextual and exploratory factors that enable diverse learners with diverse needs to engage in learning partnerships with each other and their teachers. Using a framework to capture collaborative professional learning, synergies are explored between two different approaches to bilingual learning – English as an Additional language (EAL) and Content and Language Integrated Learning (CLIL). The case study identifies potentially rich sites for building pedagogic capital and explores how diversity can enable more young people to feel valued, respected and successful bilingual learners in formal schooling. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper reports on the outcomes of a study on stakeholder perspectives on catering for diversity in Content and Language Integrated Learning (CLIL) in Spain. It is part of the large-scale SWOT analysis conducted in Europe within the project 'CLIL for All: Attention to Diversity in Bilingual Education (ADiBE)'. The research has involved the administration of two sets of questionnaires to 926 informants (742 students and 184 teachers) within 15 secondary schools of four provinces. After framing the topic against the backdrop of the project, the paper will expound on the objectives, methodology, variables, and procedure employed in this particular study in Spain. The bulk of the article will outline its main findings in relation to the five main fields of interest which have been canvassed: linguistic aspects, methodology and types of groupings, materials and resources, assessment, and teacher coordination and development. Across-group comparisons will be carried out to determine whether there are statistically significant differences between both cohorts. A diagnosis of where we currently stand in Spain in the process of catering for diversity in CLIL will be provided in light of these results and a future CLIL agenda will be carved out on the basis of these findings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

CLIL programmes are firmly established in German schools. While empirical studies have provided insights into aspects such as language- and content-related achievement, motivation, and cultural learning, little is known about classroom practices and students' perceptions thereof. Using ADiBE's instruments, this mixed-method study explores how teachers and students view differentiation and diversity-sensitive CLIL classroom practices in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. In total, 31 teachers and 595 students shared their experiences concerning methods, materials, classroom arrangements, scaffolding, and differentiation techniques used to foster the educational success of linguistically and academically diverse students. A classroom observation (45 minutes) geography lesson and an accompanying focus-group interview with six students allowed for deeper insights into specific practices and how they were perceived. The results show (how) diversity is frequently taken into account in various ways, yet there are also substantial challenges in catering to a diverse student population. The findings of this first phase of the ADiBE project lay the groundwork for further research on heterogeneity in CLIL and will be used as a stepping stone for the creation of research-informed CLIL teaching materials and teacher-training resources. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper makes available to the broader educational community the instruments which have been originally designed and validated within the European project CLIL for all: Attention to diversity in bilingual education (ADiBE) to determine how diversity is being catered to across a broad array of CLIL contexts in European Secondary Education (Austria, Finland, Germany, Italy, Spain, and the United Kingdom). They include three sets of questionnaires, interviews, and observation protocols and are qualitative and quantitative instruments whose design has been based on the latest research and which have undergone a carefully controlled double-fold pilot process for their validation (external ratings approach and pilot phase with a representative sample of 264 subjects). The questions included in the three sets of instruments are initially characterized, together with their format and main categories. The paper then details the steps undertaken for their research-based design and the double-fold pilot process followed for their validation. The questionnaires and interview and observation protocols are then presented in a format which is directly applicable in any CLIL classroom in order to determine the accessibility of bilingual programs for all types of achievers and to identify the chief difficulties and best practices in promoting inclusion in bilingual education. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Guest editorial for the special issue 'CLIL for all? Attention to diversity in bilingual education'. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Teacher agency is a pivotal element of professionalism and second/foreign language (L2) education. However, its role in L2 assessment has remained under-researched. Part of this negligence is due to the absence of a validated questionnaire to measure the construct and its underlying components. To address this gap, drawing on the ecological perspective, the present study developed a scale on teacher ecological assessment agency (TEAA) by gleaning data from 539 Iranian EFL teachers. The results of exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis (EFA, CFA) culminated in 5 components and 32 items in the scale. The components were labelled "Iterational", "Projective", "Teachers' Practical-Evaluative View", "Schools' Practical-Evaluative Effect", and "Professional/Democratic Community's Practical-Evaluative Effect". Furthermore, the convergent validity and reliability of the scale were statistically approved (p >.05). The study presents some implications for EFL teachers, teacher trainers, and assessment policy-makers in that they can understand and highlight the pivotal role of teacher agency in L2 assessment practices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study examines teaching about grammar and language use in secondary schools through a narrative lens. The author analyses narrative episodes in interviews with three secondary English language arts teachers in the USA to identify patterns in stories of teaching about language use. Findings show teachers with vastly different life experiences teaching in different contexts orient to the same dominant school language narrative that requires students to accommodate the prejudicial expectations for language use held by a wider society. The author argues the maintenance of traditional school language teaching, despite more than 60 years of research in educational linguistics showing its ineffectiveness, stems from the strength of this dominant school language narrative. Ultimately, the author proposes an adoption of narrative methods in working with teachers to actively re-write the dominant school language narrative; foregrounding a critical approach with the goal of addressing social inequities through language use. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This research article aims to show the academic achievement in the form of marks of students of the third year's subject 'Teaching and Learning English' located in the Degree in Primary Education (Faculty of Education, University of Murcia, Spain). Our corpus of participants has five different groups (including the bilingual group) with a total number of n=1496 students with an average per academic year of n=374 students whose marks have been analysed comparing four different academic years. Taking into account the subject programme, the performance of the students during the normal year, during the lockdown, in the blended learning year (face-to-face and online) and in the return-to-normal year have been analysed. The results show that in both the lockdown and the blended learning year the performance is higher than in the other academic years, which leads us to question whether the pandemic really influenced the assessment and teaching conditions of the subject. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses the challenges faced by language educators amid a decrease in language programs and the ongoing humanitarian crisis in Israel and Palestine. It emphasizes the connection between language education and socio-political movements, urging a shift towards progressive frameworks centered on social justice, antiracism, and anticolonialism. It emphasizes the importance of liberationist pedagogies and advocating for diversity, equity, and inclusion in language education.

Knowledge building occurs when students work together and participate in idea-centred discussions where they share information and create knowledge collectively. This research explores whether knowledge building in knowledge forums using English as the lingua franca can facilitate in foreign language learning. An analysis was done on how Catalan students in secondary schools worked together on collaborative writing tasks in such forums using appropriate scaffolding to organize their thoughts and facilitate the discussion. The students were participating in the Knowledge Building International Project (KBIP), which is based on the concept that students can learn while working together in computer-assisted learning environments. This study applied methods using data triangulation and method triangulation where the students were observed throughout the knowledge building process, and both qualitative and quantitative data were collected and analysed for evidence of foreign language learning. The quantitative data was collected through a pre-test and a post-test, while the qualitative data was collected through observation and a digital questionnaire. The results show an increase overall in the performance of the foreign language. In particular, the analysis determined that the comprehension of the subject matter and writing abilities in the L2 showed an increase at high confidence levels. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article offers information about a special issue on virtual exchange in language learning and teaching from AILA 2021, a call for participation and abstract/proposal submission for the 21st International Association of Applied Linguistics (AILA) World Congress in 2024 on linguistic diversity, which will be held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

In response to the needs of an international workforce, English for Specific Purpose courses are being promoted in higher education, and instructors are turning to learning technology to help design the instruction. In this paper, a needs analysis was conducted to guide the design of the system, materials and activities for context-aware ubiquitous language learning (CAULL) and English for Fitness Purposes (EFP) in a fitness center as part of a Design-Based Research project. The data collection methods included on-site observations, semi-structured interviews, and a questionnaire. The participants included 82 undergraduate students, seven physical education (PE) instructors, and six non-PE faculty members who frequently used the fitness center. All data forms were then triangulated and analyzed. The results show that all three groups consistently agreed that they need receptive language skills as well as specific terminology for fitness. Furthermore, it was suggested that the oral communication skills for EFP learners should also be developed for sharing ideas, experience, and suggestions. They pointed out that vocabulary related to diverse topics such as warm-up and cool-down stretches, cardiovascular exercises, and weight training are needed. Furthermore, participants reported that the CAULL system should be hypermedia-based, and contain a portfolio and a user-friendly interface. The findings were used to develop a blue print for a CAULL system based on design principles. The findings are of interest to context-aware language learning researchers, instructional designers, and the field of English for Specific Purposes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The study of language learners' motivation has long been considered a key, determining factor of success in second/foreign language acquisition. Based on self-determination theory (SDT), the more autonomously motivated learners are, the better they engage in an activity. To sustain autonomous motivation, the learners' basic psychological needs (BPN) of autonomy, competence, and relatedness should be satisfied. Nevertheless, the role of these three components and their relation to autonomous motivation in the mobile-assisted language learning (MALL) context has not yet been addressed in the literature. Therefore, a social networking mobile application (WhatsApp) has been used to explore how teachers' informal use of such an application relates to an increase in students' motivation. A quasi-experimental design was adopted for two groups of Saudi university students enrolled in the English language department at two major universities (N = 447). The structural model revealed a significant improvement in the effects of Time 1 autonomy on Time 2 autonomous motivation as well as in the effects of Time 1 autonomous motivation on Time 2 autonomous motivation exclusively in the experimental group. The two-time repeated measure of ANOVA substantiated the increase in autonomous motivation exclusively among students in the experimental group. This study contributed to greater recognition of the advantages and challenges of applying WhatsApp as a tool of MALL in the educational system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study explores the relationship between the L2 Motivational Self System—namely, the ideal L2 self and the ought-to L2 self—and L2 Willingness to Communicate (L2 WTC) in the classroom (a typical place for English communication among EFL learners) and in the extramural digital setting (an emerging English communication channel increasingly used by young EFL learners). To this end, 417 Chinese EFL middle school students (ages 12 to 14) participated in the study. After controlling for demographic factors hierarchical multiple regression results showed that the ideal L2 self significantly predicted L2 WTC both in the classroom and in an extramural digital setting. Interview data (n = 4) also elaborated that students attempted to lessen the discrepancy between their current L2 self (e.g., EFL learners) and ideal L2 self-images (e.g., discussing the professional National Basketball Association in an American radio program) by becoming more willing to communicate in both communication environments. In addition to new research directions, these results offer pedagogical implications that the ideal L2 self can facilitate L2 communication orientation in in-class and out-of-class digital environments, both of which are typically venues for L2 communication among today's young EFL learners. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Learning analytics (LA) has the potential to generate new insights into the complexities of learning behaviours in language massive open online courses (LMOOCs). In LA, the collective attention model takes an ecological system view of the dynamic process of unequal participation patterns in online and flexible learning environments. In this study, the 'Oral Communication for EFL Learners (spring)' on XuetangX was selected as an example with which to examine the allocation of learner attention in the context of LMOOCs. The open-flow network of collective attention was used to model the dynamics of learning behaviours to understand how different cohorts of second language (L2) learners allocated their attention at the collective level. The results showed that what distinguished high-performing L2 learners was related less to where they started with LMOOC resources or how much attention they allocated to certain learning units and more to the extent to which their attention could be maintained and circulated into other learning units. In addition, learners' attention typically followed the pre-designed course structure each time they entered the online space. No learning resources offered in the selected LMOOC were found to dominate the collective attention flow, which suggested that L2 learners' online engagement followed classroom learning patterns. The use of LA to understand the allocation of L2 attention at the collective level provides new perspectives on digital behaviour in LMOOCs, which may facilitate the design of cost-effective L2 resources that prevent learner overload in the information-rich age. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper delves into the origins for Linguistic Inequality in India which persists despite various efforts to support multilingualism especially in the context of education. It enquires into the socio-political and theoretical basis for the present situation of language use in educational context. It begins by examining some theories of linguistic analysis with their strengths and shortcomings, and then demonstrates how some of these can assist in understanding the complex linguistic situation and resulting marginalization of languages and associated communities in a multilingual set up such as India. A generalized theory of language synthesizing different perspectives is elusive till now, but appropriating the structure of power hierarchies, derived from the usage of language in social context by sociologist Pierre Bourdieu, I've tried to make sense of the issue dominant languages in a multilingual set up and how these interact with the socio-political discourse of power. Analysing the linguistic situation from this socio-linguistic theoretical framework and touching upon the interaction of education and other 'significant domains' through brief outlines from the constituent assembly debates, the constitution itself and subsequent educational policies and their implementation, I've attempted to arrive at a basis for the inequality that we witness today in Indian education in terms of language. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As multi/plurilingual research advances understandings of plurilingual speakers' fluid language use, particularly in multilingual settings, new research methods and pedagogical orientations that address this complex phenomenon are needed. The present study considered the development, reliability, and validity of the Plurilingual and Pluricultural Competence (PPC) scale. Informed by sociolinguistics theories in educational linguistics, including plurilingualism and translanguaging, the PPC scale had its content validated by researchers, language teachers and learners. It was then implemented with 379 plurilingual speakers in two multilingual cities in Canada: 129 in Toronto and 250 in Montréal. Exploratory factor analysis examined the factors in the scale and whether PPC referred to language and culture as separate dimensions or, as theoretically suggested, a unidimensional construct. Results reveal PPC as one construct, suggesting that language and culture are interrelated. With 22 items on a 4-point Likert scale, the PPC scale is a new instrument that can be used in future multi/plurilingual research and pedagogy. Its significance lies in that the scale can gather overall trends among plurilinguals' PPC levels, which can have implications for language education, curriculum and policy. Recommendations for future use are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the first paper inaugurating this journal, Bernard Spolsky makes a case for critical educational linguistics. Reviewing both the critical tradition going back to the Frankfurt School and many of the strands of work that can be seen as part of critical applied linguistics, he concludes that there is an important role for critical educational linguistics as long as it follows in the liberal tradition and avoids so-called wokeism. He also argues that a great deal of work in support of language diversity and bilingualism has in any case been in this critical tradition, and that the addition of the term may not add much to what has gone before. Building on this proposal for critical educational linguistics, this paper raises concerns about basing a critical educational linguistic project on liberal foundations, invoking ideas such as 'wokeism,' or assuming a long history of critical work in mainstream educational linguistics. The paper concludes by suggesting alternative foundations for critical educational linguistics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses the study utilized an artificial language learning task in order to determine whether young children acquire awareness of grammatical patterns based on statistical regularities in the input. Topics include the evidence for statistical learning has been documented in many research studies; statistical knowledge that young children acquire based on exposure to linguistic input, and implications for how we think about statistical learning in general.

An introduction is presented in which the editor discusses articles in the issue on topics including orthographic priming in second-language visual word recognition; self-assessment of comprehensibility and accentedness in second language Korean, and Foreign Language Students' Self-Determination.

English textbooks have an essential role in learning English subjects for students in junior high school, so the quality of textbooks must be of high quality. To make students master English language skills, they need a good quality of textbooks to improve their critical thinking skills. This research aims to find out the representation of higher order thinking skills (HOTS) and lower order thinking skills (LOTS) and the appearance frequency in the instructional questions in English textbook entitled "When English Rings A Bell" grade VIII. This study used a content analysis with qualitative approach. Six chapters of the textbook were taken as the sample. Observation and note-taking techniques were used to collect the data using observation sheet. The data were analyzed by using Miles's et al. model regarding coding method. The research findings showed that chapters I, VI, and VII represented LOTS with the most dominant in remembering and applying. Meanwhile, the appearance of LOTS and HOTS in chapters V and XII looked nearly in balance dominating the verb remembering for LOTS and the verbs evaluating and creating for HOTS. The realization of HOTS in the chapters was less than LOTS, except chapter XIII. After the instructional questions in all activities were categorized, the distribution of LOTS in the textbook appeared in 66 (58%) and HOTS in 47 questions (42%). It is concluded that the textbook distributed less evenly in HOTS and LOTS composition. It implies that the textbook still focuses on LOTS. It is recommended that the authors of the textbook balance the HOTS and LOTS in the instructional questions proportionally to encourage students to think critically. Teachers should creatively modify the instructional questions to meet the balance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The success of English language learners is determined by their capacity for effective English communication. The purposes of this study are firstly to examine what activities university teachers employ to enhance students' speaking skills during and post-COVID-19 pandemic and secondly investigate the differences in teaching speaking skills during and post-COVID pandemic. The researchers select seven English instructors as participants using a qualitative descriptive research design. All participants were English lecturers at a Yogyakarta private university. Participants include three female and four male teachers taken using purposive sampling method. Using an interview guide, the researchers conducted interviews with the participants to collect data. The findings show ten activities lecturers utilize to instruct speaking skills during and post-pandemic. The activities include giving speaking practices, making group work activities, retelling stories, or experiences, assigning role play and presentations, asking students to record activities, providing communicating exposures, practicing interviews, and producing a vlog. During and post the pandemic, the second set of findings highlights the differences in teaching speaking during and post pandemics, covering the nature of the activities in terms of flexibility, degree of control, and engagement. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The need for culturally and linguistically sustaining teaching has become more apparent as school communities across the United States continually grow in cultural and linguistic diversity. This study investigated equity-based instruction for Culturally and Linguistically Diverse (CLD) students by examining public school teachers' perceptions of preparation for diversity and inclusion of CLD students. A CLD research-based survey was designed and administered to 200 elementary and secondary school teachers in ten public schools in the United States. The study examined teachers' perceptions, attitudes, self-awareness, and preparation toward CLD students' cultural and linguistic needs. The analysis of the data uncovered evidence related to the themes of CLD instructional awareness and preparation in participants regarding their gender, race, age, ESL experience, highest degree, and years of teaching. The major findings of the study revealed the role of CLD-related training and awareness on the effectiveness of teacher preparation and their perceptions of the diversity of the students. The study concluded by providing implications for teachers, schools, educators, and policymakers on providing an equity-based educational environment for all students including the CLD ones. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Content and Language Integrated Learning (CLIL) is a popular teaching approach that is being enthusiastically adopted across Japan (Ikeda, M. 2019. "CLIL in Comparison with PPP: A Revolution in ELT by Competency-Based Language Education." In Innovation in Language Teaching and Learning: The Case of Japan, edited by H. Reinders, R. Hayo, and S. Nakamura, 23–45. Palgrave Learning). CLIL is built on a 4Cs framework: Content, communication, cognition and culture (Coyle, D. 2007. "Content and Language Integrated Learning: Towards a Connected Research Agenda for CLIL Pedagogies." International Journal of Bilingual Education and Bilingualism 10 (5): 543–562), addressing and nurturing all four domains. While CLIL has since extended its tenets beyond the 4Cs and now adopts a more holistic, integrated, multimodal pluriliteracies perspective (Meyer, O., D. Coyle, A. Halbach, K. Schuck, and T. Ting. 2015. "A Pluriliteracies Approach to Content and Language Integrated Learning – Mapping Learner Progression in Knowledge Construction and Meaning-Making." Language, Culture and Curriculum 28 (1): 41–57; Meyer, O., and D. Coyle. 2017. "Pluriliteracies Teaching for Learning: Conceptualizing Progression for Deeper Learning in Literacies Development." European Journal of Applied Linguistics 5 (2): 199–222), the 4Cs ideals are still integral in understanding CLIL, and in this paper the author extends its importance and suggests the addition of the fifth C, that of criticality. Without the fifth C, CLIL remains a contentious teaching approach in Japan, given that it is framed within neoliberal goals and discourse. In the current framework, language is deemed largely as a tool that allows one to cultivate the four domains, assuring language/content learning and possibly socio-economic advancement. However, as is, incongruencies in ideologies and conceptualizations conveyed via different languages are not taken up sufficiently, and what's more, problematized and challenged. This paper addresses this lack and calls for the fifth C to make CLIL in Japan an even more robust, holistic and meaningful language teaching approach. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Narrative competence has been defined as a bridge between oral and written language, given that it is acquired before children formally learn to read. This competence has shown to be a relevant factor in reading comprehension and school learning. This study examines the narrative comprehension task proposed by Paris and Paris (2003) and adapted in Chile by Silva et al. (2014) to detect changes in the development of this skill in a purposive sample of 172 Chilean preschoolers aged 2-4 years (121) and 4-6 years (51), 52% of whom were girls. The children, who resided in areas with an average vulnerability index of 86%, attended 9 subsidized private schools in the Metropolitan Region (72% of the sample) and 6 municipal schools in the BioBío Region (29% of the sample). Results show the tool’s structural validity, differential functioning by sex, and adequate internal consistency. Furthermore, the tool exhibits developmental sensitivity, yielding different results according to student age or educational level. The availability of instruments of this type makes it possible to identify children’s progress in this domain and organize pedagogical work to enhance their learning in early childhood education. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper explores the phenomenon of the local‐worldly university. Why should we cultivate "the Difference" in everyday practices of the university? The author refers to the Derridean "différance," to the idea of wonder (το θαυμα) and the Herderean concept of Heimat. By putting these terms in the university's specific context, the author asks questions about an autonomous space for thinking and experiencing. The university cannot be homeless, unanchored or uncommitted. The more intensively the universalising procedures of the control of universities are implemented, the more we are convinced that the world does not need any global institutions of higher education and research. This is because a human being is more localised than we would be willing to admit. What is important is difference, the untranslatability of knowledge and languages, the contextual grounding of thinking and action, as well as the experience of the fragility of what is "locally human," which makes us observe closely a local human being, attached to a place, wandering about with the notion of home, and thus dispelling his or her doubts here and now, even when they tend to recur eternally. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Journal of International Chinese Teaching is the property of Beijing Language & Culture University Press Co. Ltd. and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)