Principles of Language Learning and Teaching

1. Interaction. The interactions learners have with each other build interpersonal skills, such as listening, politely interrupting, expressing ideas, raising questions, disagreeing, paraphrasing, negotiating, and asking for help. 2. Interdependence. Learners must depend on one another to accomplish a common objective. Each group member has specific tasks to complete, and successful completion of each member’s tasks results in attaining the overall group objective.

将“Cooperative Learning”融入课堂——浅谈英语素质教育

PART ONE: CLEARING THE GROUND PART TWO: HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVES PART THREE: CONCEPTS OF LANGUAGE PART FOUR: CONCEPTS OF SOCIETY PART FIVE: CONCEPTS OF LANGUAGE LEARNING PART SIX: CONCEPTS OF LANGUAGE TEACHING

语言教学的基本概念 = Fundamental concepts of language teaching

Acknowledgements Introduction PART ONE - BACKGROUND Introduction 1. Second language acquisition research: an overview PART TWO - THE DESCRIPTION OF LEARNER LANGUAGE Introduction 2. Learner errors and error analysis 3. Developmental patterns: order and sequence in second language acquisition 4. Variability in learner language 5. Pragmatic aspects of learner language PART THREE - EXPLAINING SECOND LANGUAGE ACQUISITION: EXTERNAL FACTORS Introduction 6. Social factors and second language acquisition 7. Input and interaction and second language acquisition PART FOUR - EXPLAINING SECOND LANGUAGE ACQUISITION: INTERNAL FACTORS Introduction 8. Language transfer 9. Cognitive accounts of second language acquisition 10. Linguistic universals and second language acquisition PART FIVE - EXPLAINING INDIVIDUAL DIFFERENCES IN SECOND LANGUAGE ACQUISITION Introduction 11. Individual learner differences 12. Learning strategies PART SIX - CLASSROOM SECOND LANGUAGE ACQUISITION Introduction 13. Classroom interaction and second language acquisition 14. Formal instruction and second language acquisition PART SEVEN - CONCLUSION Introduction 15. Data, theory, and applications in second language acquisition research Glossary Bibliography Author index Subject index

第二语言习得研究 = The study of second language acquisition

With genre now viewed as a fundamental element of writing, both second language writing and mainstream composition studies have seen an increased focus on the question of how writers learn genres. The purpose of this paper is to review key findings from 60 empirical studies that have investigated this question. To this point, research has typically studied genre learning as it occurs either through professional or disciplinary practice or through classroom instruction; almost no studies have looked at the same writers as they traverse these multiple domains. I therefore categorize studies as taking place in either ‘practice-based’ or ‘instructional’ settings and identify trends in the research findings from each setting. After examining one study which takes place in multiple settings, I tease out some of the commonalities and distinctions between learning in practice-based and instructional contexts and between first language and second language genre learning. On the basis of this comparative review of research, I suggest future directions for the interdisciplinary study of genre learning.

Language Testing に関する覚書

This paper reviews the recent theoretical and empirical literature relevant to metacognition and reading comprehension. The first chapter presents a definition of metacognition and considers different types of metacognitive knowledge and the interaction among these types. The second chapter is concerned with the methods of teaching cognitive/metacognitive reading strategies. The third chapter deals with the instruments for assessing students' metacognitive knowledge. The last chapter presents the conclusions drawn from the previous literature and the author's recommendations for incorporating metacognitive knowledge into reading lessons.

/pdf/metacognition-and-reading-comprehension-current-trends-in-bqf11lnk8r.pdf

Metacognition and Reading Comprehension: Current Trends in Theory and Research.

The idea of this book arose out of an awareness that students with language learning disabilities are completely ignored in the Egyptian school system and there are no special programs that cater to these students. They are placed in normal schools that are not prepared to deal with their unique difficulties. This book, therefore, is an attempt to provide teachers with multiple-strategies models for teaching English language skills to these students at the intermediate level and beyond. More specifically, this book will help pre-and in-service teachers to: (1) identify effective strategies for learning and using language skills, (2) use multiple-strategies models for teaching language skills, (3) interweave strategies for language learning and language use into regular language activities, and (4) improve both the processes and products of language learning of students with learning disabilities. Thus, the target audience of this book includes pre-and in-service regular teachers, special education teachers, school psychologists, counselors, and administrators.

/pdf/teaching-english-as-a-foreign-language-to-students-with-w4szzrpfha.pdf

Teaching English as a Foreign Language to Students with Learning Disabilities at the Intermediate and Advanced Levels: A Multiple-Strategies Approach.

The purpose of this study was to examine the differences in foreign language reading comprehension among high-, middle-, and low ambiguity tolerance students The subjects for the study were 150 English-as-a-Foreign-Language (EFL) university students randomly drawn from all freshmen enrolled in the English section at four schools of education in Egypt Data required by the study were obtained by using two measures: the MAT-50 (Morton, 1975) and a reading comprehension subtest of the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) The data were analyzed using one-way analysis of variance and a t-test Results showed a significant variance in the mean scores among the high-, middle-, and low ambiguity tolerance groups The t-tests revealed that the moderate ambiguity tolerance group scored significantly higher than the low and high groups, and the low and high groups were not found to be significantly different A relationship may exist between ambiguity tolerance and learning strategies -- high-, middle-, and low ambiguity tolerance students may exhibit different learning strategies that could, in turn , lead to different rates of language learning success Based on these results, it is recommended that EFL students be helped to become moderate ambiguity tolerant students

Differences in FL Reading Comprehension among High-, Middle-, and Low-Ambiguity Tolerance Students.

The purpose of this paper is to review the theoretical and empirical literature relevant to language performance assessment. Following a definition of performance assessment, this paper considers: (1) theoretical assumptions underlying performance assessment; (2) purposes of performance assessment; (3) performance assessment procedures; (4) merits and demerits of performance assessment; (5) language performance assessment formats and research relevant to each format; (6) criteria for selecting performance assessment formats; (7) alternative groupings for assessing student performance; (8) performance assessment via computers and research related to this area; (9) reliability and validity of performance assessment and research related to this area; and (10) conclusions drawn from the literature reviewed in this paper.

/pdf/language-performance-assessment-current-trends-in-theory-and-5bxehxiwnm.pdf

Language Performance Assessment: Current Trends in Theory and Research.

A study compared the effectiveness of three classroom methods for teaching semantic mapping to college-level learners of English as a foreign language (EFL). Subjects were 187 freshmen at an Egyptian university, randomly assigned to three treatment groups: teacher-initiated semantic mapping; student-mediated semantic mapping; and teacher-student interactive semantic mapping. Treatment was administered over 5 months in one session per week. Subjects were pre- and post-tested in reading comprehension. While the pretest indicated no significant differences in the groups, post-test results revealed students in the teacher-student interactive semantic mapping group scored significantly higher than the other two groups, which had similar results.

/pdf/effects-of-three-semantic-mapping-strategies-on-efl-students-1zv0egz757.pdf

Abdel Salam A. El-Koumy

Papers

Metacognition and Reading Comprehension: Current Trends in Theory and Research.

Teaching English as a Foreign Language to Students with Learning Disabilities at the Intermediate and Advanced Levels: A Multiple-Strategies Approach.

Differences in FL Reading Comprehension among High-, Middle-, and Low-Ambiguity Tolerance Students.

Language Performance Assessment: Current Trends in Theory and Research.

Effects of Three Semantic Mapping Strategies on EFL Students' Reading Comprehension.