Foreign Language Study

This book unravels the story of English, the language of 'the enemies', in post-revolutionary Iran. Drawing on diverse qualitative and quantitative fieldwork data, it examines the nation's English at the two levels of policy and practice to determine the politics, causes, and agents of the two diverging trends of indigenization/localization and internationalization/Anglo-Americanization within Iran's English education. Situating English in the nation's broader social, political, economic, and historical contexts, the volume explores the intersection of the nation's English education with variables such as power, economy, policy, ideology, and information technology over the past three decades. The multidisciplinary insights of the book will be of value to scholars of global English, education policies and reforms and language policy as well as those who are specifically concerned with education in Iran.

In this volume a range of authors from different international contexts argue that the notion of communicative competence in English, hitherto largely referenced to metropolitan native-speaker norms, has to be expanded to take account of diverse contexts of use for a variety of purposes. It also discusses the popular belief that language and literacy should simply be regarded as a technical 'skill' which confers universal benefits and that it should be replaced with a social practice view that recognises situated variations and diversity. This volume, we believe, provides a reference point for extended research and practice in these areas that will be of interest to wide range of people engaged in language and literacy education.

This book critically examines current ELT practices vis-à-vis the use of English as an international lingua franca. It bridges the gap between theoretical discussion and the practical concerns of teaching English as an international language (EIL), and presents diverse approaches for preparing competent users of English in international contexts. Part 1 examines how the linguistic and functional varieties of English today complicate ELT, and suggests ways to address them effectively in an English language classroom. Part 2 showcases English courses and programs that are specifically based on the EIL perspective, illustrating how the issues addressed in Part 1 are realized in a real context. This section also presents a collection of EIL pedagogical ideas that have been developed and used successfully by English teachers across the world.

This book addresses recent developments in medical and language education. In both fields, there have been methodological shifts towards 'task-based' and 'problem-based learning'. In addition, both fields have broadened their focus on clinical expertise and linguistic skills to address issues of cultural competence. English in Medical Education responds to these changes by re-imagining the language classroom in medical settings as an arena for the exploration of values and professional identity. The chapters cover topics such as the nature of cultural competence; how to understand spoken discourse in a range of medical settings; the use of tasks and problems in language education for medics; the development of critical skills and the use of literature and visual media in language education for doctors. It will interest everyone teaching English for Medical Purposes.

This volume addresses the complex issues surrounding language teacher education, especially in EFL, and the development of professionalism in this field. By applying such concepts as Shulman's "pedagogical content knowledge", the development of teachers' knowledge base is investigated in a variety of settings, thus underpinning the contextual nature of teacher learning. The vital role of critical reflection at all stages of teacher development is shown to be an integral part of language teachers' knowledge constructions in areas such as pedagogical grammar, assessment and testing. The contributions shed light also on the perception and development of teacher expertise. This volume sets out to bridge the gap between theory and practice, and in so doing shows that these constructs are far from monolithic. Rather, both theory and practice are created and developed dynamically in close interrelation.

For believers in the power of English, language as aid can deliver the promise of a brighter future; but in a neocolonial world of international development, a gulf exists between belief and reality. Rich with echoes of an earlier colonial era, this book draws on the candid narratives of white women teachers, and situates classroom practices within a broad reading of the West and the Rest. What happens when white Western men and women come in to rebuild former colonies in Asia? How do English language lessons translate, or disintegrate, in a radically different world? How is English teaching linked to ideas of progress? This book presents the paradoxes of language aid in the twenty-first century in a way that will challenge your views of English and its power to improve the lives of people in the developing world.

This book explores the interfaces of English as a Lingua Franca (ELF) and English as a Foreign Language (EFL) pedagogy. It presents the theoretical aspects of ELF, discusses issues and challenges that ELF raises for the EFL classroom, and demonstrates how EFL practitioners can make use of ELF theorizing for classroom instruction, teacher education, developing language learning materials, policymaking and testing and assessment. Accounts of innovative and practical pedagogical practices and researchers’ insights from diverse geographical, cultural and institutional contexts will inform and inspire EFL practitioners to reconsider their practices and adopt new techniques in order to meet their learners’ diverse communicative needs in international contexts.

This collection of 16 reflective accounts and data-driven studies explores the interrelationship of religious identity and English Language Teaching (ELT). The chapters broaden a topic which has traditionally focused on Christianity by including Buddhist, Hindu, Muslim and non-religious perspectives. They address the ways in which faith and ELT intersect in the realms of teacher identity, pedagogy and the context and content of ELT, and explore a diverse range of geographical contexts, making use of a number of different research methodologies. The book will be of particular interest to researchers in TESOL and EFL, as well as teachers and teacher trainers.

This book brings together renowned scholars and new voices to challenge current practices in ELT materials design in order to work towards optimal learning conditions. It proposes ideas and principles to improve second language task design through novel resources such as drama, poetry, literature and online resources; and it maps out a number of unusual connections between theory and practice in the field of ELT materials development. The first section of the book discusses how innovative task-writing ideas can stretch materials beyond the current quality to make them more original and inspiring; the second part examines how different arts and technologies can drive innovation in coursebooks; the third section describes how teachers and learners can participate in materials writing and negotiate ways to personalize learning.

This book explores ways to prepare teachers to teach English as an International Language (EIL) and provides theoretically-grounded models for EIL-informed teacher education. The volume includes two chapters that present a theoretical approach and principles in EIL teacher education, followed by a collection of descriptions of field-tested teacher education programs, courses, units in a course, and activities from diverse geographical and institutional contexts, which together demonstrate a variety of possible approaches to preparing teachers to teach EIL. The book helps create a space for the exploration of EIL teacher education that cuts across English as a Lingua Franca, World Englishes and other relevant scholarly communities.

How are language and disciplinary knowledge connected in the English for Legal Purposes (ELP) classroom, and how far should ELP practitioners go in supporting students’ acquisition of the conceptual frameworks that shape the genres they are learning? This book presents a pedagogical model for incorporating these conceptual frameworks into disciplinary language instruction and follows four focal participants as they learn to read and write new genres in a second language and disciplinary culture. By examining not just students’ written texts, but also their reading practices and interactions in class and in tutoring sessions, the book traces the ways in which disciplinary knowledge and language interact as students develop academic literacy in a new disciplinary community. Throughout the book, the discipline of law is used as a lens for examining broader connections between language, culture and disciplinary knowledge, and their relevance for English for Specific Purposes and writing in the disciplines.

When Yugoslavia disintegrated in the early 1990s, competence in English was not widespread. This book explores how English came to be equated with economic survival for many during and after the ensuing war through a range of diverse social and professional contexts, from the classroom to the military to the International Criminal Court. While English provided social mobility for many, its abrupt arrival also contributed to the marginalization of those without the adequate language skills. The high level of international intervention in Bosnia and Herzegovina over the last two decades has contributed to a sense of normalization of the presence of English. Viewed as a far more complex issue than simple linguistic imposition, this book explores the widespread adoption of English and its effects on a nation recovering from war.

Debates about the place of mission work in English Language Teaching continue to rage, and yet full-length studies of what really happens at the intersection of ELT and evangelical Christianity are rare. In this book, Johnston conducts a detailed ethnography of an evangelical language school in Poland, looking at its Bible-based curriculum, and analyzing interaction in classes for adults. He also explores the idea of ‘relationship’ in the context of the school and its mission activity, and more broadly the cultural encounter between North American evangelicalism and Polish Catholicism. The book comprises an in-depth examination of a key issue facing TEFL in the 21st century, and will be of interest to all practitioners and scholars in the field, whatever their position on this topic.

This book investigates the cultural and intercultural aspects of English as a Lingua Franca (ELF). Authors discuss how ‘culture’ and the ‘intercultural’ can be understood, theorised and operationalised in ELF, and how the concepts can be integrated into formats of ELF-oriented learning and teaching. The various cultural connotations are also discussed (ideological, political, religious and historical) and whether it is possible to use and/or teach a lingua franca as if it were culturally neutral. The chapters consider the communication and pedagogical implications of the cultural and intercultural dimensions of ELF and offer suggestions for new directions in ELF research, pedagogy and curriculum development.

Many Asian education systems discourage or even ban the use of L1 in L2 classrooms – although in fact L1 remains widely used by teachers. Why is L1 use still devalued in this context? By observing classes and interviewing teachers, this book explores three dimensions of L1 use in L2 teaching:

• pedagogy: what teachers actually do, and what they say about it

• the personal: what happens to identity when we ‘perform’ a foreign tongue

• the professional: how textbooks are used, and what is distinctive about the EFL domain. 

This book tells the story of a project in Mexico which aimed to decolonize primary English teaching by building on research that suggests Indigenous students are struggling in educational systems and are discriminated against by the mainstream. Led by their instructor, a group of student teachers aspired to challenge the apparent world phenomenon that associates English with “progress” and make English work in favor of Indigenous and othered children’s ways of being. The book uses stories as well as multimodality in the form of photos and videos to demonstrate how the English language can be used to open a dialogue with children about language ideologies. The approach helps to support minoritized and Indigenous languages and the development of respect for linguistic human rights worldwide.

How do teachers who have chosen to settle down in one country manage the difficulties of living and teaching English in that country? How do they develop and sustain their careers, and what factors shape their identity? This book answers these questions by investigating the personal and professional identity development of ten Western women who teach English in various educational contexts in Japan, all of whom have Japanese spouses. The book covers issues of interracial relationships, expatriation, equality and employment practices as well as the broader topics of gender and identity. The book also provides a useful overview of English language teaching and learning in Japan.

This book provides a comprehensive overview of approaches to academic literacy instruction and their underpinning theories, as well as a synthesis of the debate on academic literacy over the past 20 years. The author argues that the main existing instructional models are inadequate to cater for diverse student populations, and proposes an inclusive practice approach which encourages institutional initiatives that make academic literacy instruction an integrated and accredited part of the curriculum. The book aims to raise awareness of existing innovative literacy pedagogies and argues for the transformation of academic literacy instruction in all universities with diverse student populations.

This book examines student identities as revealed through the pragmatics of face as observed in the context of English L2 classroom interaction between Japanese students and a native speaker teacher. Classroom recordings together with retrospective interviews reveal specific points during learning activities when the students’ and their teacher’s interpretations of classroom communication deviate from what was intended. This research study is a potent reminder that what students and teachers may consider as standard and conventionally acceptable language use and behaviour within the classroom context can differ dramatically according to social, cultural and individual frames of reference. The book outlines an innovative teacher professional development programme which encourages teachers to reflect on and, where desired, modify or discontinue existing pedagogic practices.

This book examines how critical literacy pedagogy has been implemented in a classroom through a year-long collaboration between the author (a researcher) and an EAP teacher. It details the teacher's introduction to functional grammar and accompanying critical literacy approaches to EAP, and her growing critical language and discourse awareness of power and meaning making in the classroom. The book traces her evolving classroom practices and addresses how powerful discourses in social circulation found their way into the classroom via the curriculum materials the students encountered. The main themes of the book are threefold: narrowing the divide between critically-oriented researchers and practitioners; how critical literacy is actually implemented in a teacher's classroom; and how people (students and the teacher) engage in and with the representations and discourses of the everyday world that include neoliberal globalization, racial and cultural identities, and consumerism. It will be of interest to both researchers and practitioners for the ethnographic and pedagogical issues it raises as well as its accessible theoretical frameworks illustrated by relevant classroom interactional data, mediated, multimodal and critical discourse analysis.

In the complex, multilingual societies of the 21st century, codeswitching is an everyday occurrence, and yet the use of students’ first language in the English language classroom has been consistently discouraged by teachers and educational policy-makers. This volume begins by examining current theoretical work on codeswitching and then proceeds to examine the convergence and divergence between university language teachers’ beliefs about codeswitching and their classroom practice. Each chapter investigates the extent of, and motivations for, codeswitching in one or two particular contexts, and the interactive and pedagogical functions for which alternative languages are used. Many teachers, and policy-makers, in schools as well as universities, may rethink existing ’English-only’ policies in the light of the findings reported in this book.

This book brings the voices of teachers into the fierce debates about language ideologies and cultural pedagogies in English language teaching. Through interviews and classroom observations in Chile and California, this study compares the controversies around English as a global language with the similar cultural tensions in programs for immigrants. The author explores the development of teacher identity in these two very different contexts, and through the narratives of both experienced and novice teachers demonstrates how teacher identity affects the cultural pedagogies enacted in their classrooms.

In many locations around the globe, scholars are coming under increasing pressure to publish in English in addition to other languages. However research has shown that proficiency in English is not always the key to success in English-medium publishing. This guide aims to help scholars explore the larger social practices, politics, networks and resources involved in academic publishing and to encourage scholars to consider how they wish to take part in these practices–as well as to engage in current debates about them. Based on 10 years of research in academic writing and publishing practices, this guide will be invaluable both to individuals looking for information and support in publishing, and to those working to support others' publishing activities.