The advancement of technology provides education with varioussolutions to create new learning environments. Edmodo as a learning platform is believed to offera solution in the teaching of English, particularly for teaching writing. This research was aimed to investigate how Edmodo as a learning platform,in a blended learning setting, was implemented in teaching writing in its combination with Genre-based Approach, how Edmodo facilitated students’ engagement, and how students perceived the use of Edmodo in teaching and learning activities. This research employed a qualitative approach with case study design. The research involved 17 participants from the eleventh grade of a senior high school in Bandung, Indonesia. The data were collected through observations, document analysis, interviews, and questionnaires. The results showed that in teaching writing,it was possible to integrate Edmodo into GBA writing cycles. Edmodo also facilitated students’ engagement cognitively during classroom sessions. The students showed various responses towards the use of Edmodo based on the Uses and Gratification Theory (UGT) framework. Some issues on the use of Edmodo identified in this research were bandwidth, confusion in using Edmodo, incompatibility of smartphone applications, and students’ lack responsibilities for learning. The suggestions for the authority and areas of further research are presented.

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The use of Edmodo in teaching writing in a blended learning setting

The importance of narrative inquiry as an alternative approach to research in the humanities and social sciences has grown considerably over the past 20 years or so. Over the past decade, it has also become an established approach to research on second and foreign language learning and teaching through the publication of numerous data-based studies and several texts on narrative inquiry for applied linguistics. Focusing on studies published since 2008, this article outlines the scope of narrative research on language learning and teaching at the present time. It discusses recent innovations in data collection (the use of mixed and longitudinal methods and the use of narrative frames and multimodal data) and data analysis (focus on the discourse of narrative and the use of narrative writing). It concludes that these innovations represent a welcome trend toward methodological diversity that is strengthening the contribution of narrative inquiry to our understanding of the experience of language teaching and learning.

https://www.cambridge.org/core/services/aop-cambridge-core/content/view/S0267190514000099

Narrative Inquiry in Applied Linguistics Research

The decline of the requisite linguistic skills of law students around the world has been documented comprehensively through legal scholarship. While ameliorating initiatives attempt to remedy law school education, the curriculization of English for academic legal purposes (EALP) has been neglected, resulting in the absence of a principled curricular framework for developing EALP syllabi. The proliferation of legal English communication across the circles of world English has accentuated the deterioration of students’ linguistic skills and exacerbated the educational challenges confronting law schools. These premises were influenced and validated by the researcher’s experiences as student and teacher of law and language. Three research questions address the rationale and guide the research: (1) Which curricular principles can be deduced from theoretical linguistics, second language (L2) pedagogy, and legal education to constitute a framework for EALP? (2) Which legal linguistic skills clusters can be identified from a typology of EALP-type textbooks? (3) As research outcome, how can the literature review and textbook analysis be synthesized into a cohesive curricular framework for EALP that can be applied across the circles of world English? The cyclical research strategy that underpinned this qualitative study relied on a social constructionist worldview, case study methodology, and qualitative content analysis method. The literature review probed theoretical linguistics, L2 pedagogy, and legal education as tributary disciplines of EALP. Insights gleaned from the literature review informed the qualitative content analysis of a purposive sample of EALP-type textbooks (N = 44). The textbooks were coded to create a typology and to determine the clusters of linguistic skills introduced during law school and across the circles of world English. The literature review led to the formulation of theoretically informed, curricular principles from the three disciplines that underpin EALP. The qualitative content analysis resulted in the creation of a typology of textbooks that exhibits clusters of linguistic skills that are scaffolded throughout law school. While academic © University of Pretoria communication skills were accentuated, legal linguistic skills incorporate additional clusters of thinking, research, and pedagogic skills. Together these skills constitute the skill of “thinking like a lawyer.” A synthesis of the theoretical principles and skills clusters provides a holistic curricular framework for EALP that is sensitive to the local diversity within the circles of world English. The curricular framework for EALP draws legal English from the periphery to the center of law school education by accentuating the legal linguistic skills needed both in academia and in legal practice. The main limitations of the study are the challenges posed by the inclusion of original EALP syllabi and the manual coding of the textbook sample. © University of Pretoria

A Curricular Framework for English for Academic Legal Purposes

‘The learning never ends’: Exploring teachers’ views on the transition from General English to EAP

Like many other methodological innovations, Task-Based Language Teaching (TBLT) has been applied to many English language curriculums across Asia. However, little research has been done to explore what teachers know and believe about these reforms in their specific contexts. This paper derives from an in-depth study of teacher cognition in Vietnamese high schools using multi-methods of data collection. It will present and discuss findings from one of the methods used to elicit teachers’ knowledge and attitudes - ‘narrative frames’ (Barkhuizen & Wette, 2008). Specifically, teachers were asked to write (in Vietnamese) reflective comments about their attitudes towards TBLT, and their recent experience of applying it in their classroom. After presenting some of the findings, the application and usefulness of this approach to data collection in relatable contexts will be considered.

https://www.leia.org/LEiA/LEiA VOLUMES/Download/LEiA_V1_2010/LEiA_V1_07_Barnard_Nguyen_Task_Based_Language_Learning_Narrative_Frames.pdf

Task-Based Language Teaching (TBLT): A Vietnamese Case Study Using Narrative Frames to Elicit Teachersʼ Beliefs

Acknowledgements Preface Notes on Contributors PART I: OVERVIEW Introduction to Qualitative Research R.Croker What Makes 'Qualitative' Research? D.Freeman PART II: QUALITATIVE RESEARCH APPROACHES Narrative Inquiry G.Murray Case Study M.Hood Ethnography J.Heigham & K.Sakui Action Research A.Burns Mixed Methods N.V.Ivankova & J.W.Creswell PART III: QUALITATIVE DATA COLLECTION METHODS Observation N.Cowie Interviews K.Richards Open-Response Items in Questionnaires J.D.Brown Introspection Techniques S.L.McKay Discourse Analysis A.Lazaraton PART IV: PRACTICAL ISSUES Ethics and Trustworthiness S.Rallis & G.Rossman Writing up Your Research C.Casanave Glossary of Qualitative Research Terms Subject Index

Qualitative research in applied linguistics : a practical introduction

Qualitative Research in Applied Linguistics

Qualitative research — when you first heard the term, your initial thought might have been, ‘What do qualitative researchers actually do?’ It may come as a surprise to you that you are already familiar with many of their activities, and you actually do them yourself — every day — as you watch and listen to what happens around you, and ask questions about what you have seen and heard.

An Introduction to Qualitative Research

Scaffolding Students’ Initial Self-Access Language Centre Experiences

1.

When we say a piece of research is ‘qualitative’ (as opposed to some other kind of research), what is being described about it? What makes it ‘qualitative’?




2.

Think about an instance when someone makes a claim about something, for example, that Arabic is a difficult language to learn. What is that claim based on? On what basis would you agree or disagree with the claim?




3.

One key thing that distinguishes a research study from opinion or conjecture is that the study makes clear its limitations. In other words, good research responds to the question, ‘How could this be wrong?’ Thinking specifically about a newspaper account, what are some ways that these accounts might be wrong? What could be some limitations?

Robert A. Croker

Papers

Qualitative research in applied linguistics : a practical introduction

Qualitative Research in Applied Linguistics

An Introduction to Qualitative Research

Scaffolding Students’ Initial Self-Access Language Centre Experiences

What Makes Research ‘Qualitative’?