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Lead Articles

Feature

TESOL Talk from Nottingham: Using Podcasts and Blogs to Extend Engagement Amongst Postgraduate TESOL Students

by Jane Evison and Richard Pemberton
University of Nottingham

This paper reports on a two-part project which involved students engaging with two types of social software: podcasting and blogging. The idea began as part of an ‘ePioneers1’ initiative in the School of Education at the University of Nottingham and continued as part of a university-wide programme focused on ‘integrative learning.’ The genesis of the project, which combined audio podcasting with blogging, was the desire to improve the learning experience of students on the MA TESOL (Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages) course at the University of Nottingham. The aspiration was to do this by promoting postgraduate students’ engagement with theory and research, and by increasing their opportunities to engage with the content, their tutors and their classmates outside formal classroom settings. Although there was a strong focus on the needs of international students, whose first language was not English, the project was designed to be of benefit to all the students taking the course. Whilst access to the students’ blog sites is restricted to course members, the podcasts – which became known as ‘TESOL Talk from Nottingham’ (or TTFN) – are freely available at http://www.nottingham.ac.uk/ttfn. We continue to record podcasts and upload them to the site. Read more

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Features

Teacher Reflections: Teaching Article Use to Graduate Students

by Chitra Varaprasad
National University of Singapore

Many studies have highlighted students’ problems with article use among international students, particularly students from China (Milton, 2001; Papp, 2004; Chuang, 2005; Deng et al, 2010). This paper reports on the impact of an approach to teaching article use to post graduate students (mainly students from China) at the National University of Singapore. The study had several objectives. Firstly, it set out to explore the extent to which article usage was a problem for these doctoral students. Secondly, having decided to experiment with a learner-centred approach to article use, it also set out to assess the impact of such an interventionist approach on students’ learning. Towards this end, the study also obtained information about students’ perceived self efficacy about their ability to use articles before and after the training. A careful analysis of both numerical and descriptive data showed that the approach used has resulted in improvement in students’ understanding of article use although the extent of improvement was varied across students. The outcomes from the study augur well for learner-centred approaches. It clearly showed that getting students to take responsibility for their learning was a good pedagogical practice. Read more

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Activity

Accelerated Learning In and Out of the Reading Classroom

by Yang Ying and Jiang Jingyi
National University of Singapore and South China University of Technology

The “accelerated learning approach” focuses on the promotion of learning success through fully engaging learners in the learning process and encouraging them to become more self-directed learners. Helping learners see their learning objectives, encouraging multi-sensory learning, involving learners in active exploration of what they learn, encouraging learners to show what they have learned and reflect on their learning processes are some of the tenets of this approach. This paper describes four types of reading activities designed on the basis of the principles of the “accelerated learning approach.” Read more

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Feature

Developing a Classroom-Based Self-Access Learning Course: A Course Evaluation

by Tanya McCarthy
Kanda University of International Studies

This paper is based on the premise that a considerable amount of language can be acquired outside the classroom lesson, and that as educators it is our responsibility to raise awareness of the value of self-directed learning. Self-access language learning (SALL) promotes the idea that as there are different types of learners with different language needs, students learn better if they are actively in control of their own learning. The paper focuses on how a SALL course was integrated into the curriculum at a private university in Japan. A mixed method approach incorporated whole class and small group discussion, reflective diary writing, out-of-class learning and one-to-one meetings with the teacher. Feedback on the course from a questionnaire was used to evaluate learners’ perception of the effectiveness of the program. Results were favorable, showing that learners found this mode of learning helpful in organizing study habits; sustaining motivation; improving specific language skills; and increasing knowledge of self-access resources. Read more

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