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TEFL Theory, 2013

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TEFL Theory, Further Course Information

Instructor: Andrew Blyth, PhD (Ed; candidate), MA ELT, CELTA, B.Sc (Bio).

Contact: [email protected]; [email protected]

Materials required: (1) A small pocket notepad (for language notes), (2) an A5 notebook (to be a

‘research journal’), (3) a notebook for class notes, (4) USB memory stick, (5) and a sense of curiosity.

Textbook: Carter, R., and Nunan, D. (2001) The Cambridge Guide to Teaching English to Speakers

of Other Languages. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press. < Must be acquired.

Other key reference: Nunan, D. (1998) Language Teaching Methodology: A textbook for teachers.

Longman.

Assessment (see page 4 for details): a 1 hour written test (40%), a 2000 word research paper (40%,

due week 11), and class performance and attendance (20%).

Research Journal: � (A5 notebook). Use this for basic research topics that will be assigned to you on a weekly basis.

Add at least one entry a week. We’ll spend up to just 10mins of class time each week reviewing

your journals.

How to pass this class

� It is really easy to pass (if you try).

� Come to every class すべてのクラスに出席し

てください。

� Review and preview every class 毎クラス予

習復習をしてください。

� Ask questions (I like answering questions) もしわからないことがあれば恥ずかしがらず質

問してください。質問は大歓迎です。

� Have fun. ☺ 楽しんでください。

� Also, build up your vocabulary. Get a little

notebook (see right) and write in some

interesting words, expressions and sample

sentences each week during class.

(McCrostie, 2007)

McCrostie, J. (2007) Examining learner vocabulary

notebooks. ELT Journal, 61(3), p246-255.

Conferences

It is strongly recommended that you attend at least one of these or similar event:

� Japan Association of Language Teachers (JALT) Nagoya Chapter meeting. Monthly

presentations, see http://jaltnagoya.homestead.com/Presentations_Future.html.

� JALT Computer Assisted Language Learning (JALTCALL) annual conference, 31st May to

2nd June, 2013, at Shinshu University, Matsumoto, Nagano. See http://jaltcall.org.

� JALT Pan-Special Interest Groups (JALT Pan-SIG), 18th

– 19th

June, 2013, at Nanzan

University, Nagoya. See http://pansig.org/2013/, also see http://jalt.org/ for more information

about the participating SIGs.

� First Annual Brain Day (FAB), usually mid-July, and possibly at University of Kitakyushu,

Kitakyushu, Fukuoka Prefecture. See http://fab-efl.com for details.

TEFL Theory, 2013

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Schedule

Note: This schedule is subject to change when necessary. Also, if you can’t find the extra readings in the

library, you can ask me to bring it to class. These optional extra readings do not represent seminal papers in

their fields, but contain recent interesting ideas being applied, so these should also be considered good

examples of publications for you to consider as models for your own future research and publication.

Week 1: 15th Apr. Research & observation in ELT

Reading: Chapters 16, Observation; and 17, Classroom Interaction

Key Concepts: Brief course introduction. Qualitative vs. Quantitative research, a very brief introduction.

Introduction to Moral Relativism and cultural filters affecting observers’ understandings. Introduction to

Observation research, observer’s paradox; Classroom Interaction: display vs. referential questions, teacher-

fronted interaction, IRF pattern, pair work, group work, turn allocation, hypothesis testing. A brief

introduction to Action Research, and research triangulation, reliability & rigor. Transcript analysis: language

independent of the sentence, context-rooted, Utterances vs. Sentences, caretaker language, scaffolding.

Extra reading: Nishida, R., and Yashima, T. (2010) Classroom interactions of teachers and elementary

school pupils as observed during a musical project in a Japanese elementary school. System, 38(3), p480-490.

OR Eröz-Tuğa, B (2013) Reflective feedback sessions using video recordings. ELT Journal, 67(2), p175-183.

Week 2: 22nd Apr. Theories of learning & memory

Reading: McInernney & McInernney (1998) Educational Psychology: Constructing learning. Prentice Hall,

p20-34. OR Chapter 11, Psycholinguistics.

Key Concepts: Review of Week 1. A very brief introduction to the brain; long term & working memory

types; declarative and nondeclarative knowledges; scaffolding; introduction to Vygotsky: collaborative

construction of meaning, Zone of Proximal Development; introduction to Piaget; Multiple Intelligences

theory; Hermann Ebbinghaus’s ‘forgetting curve’ and vocabulary learning introduction.

Extra listening: Anything on the Brain Science Podcast. See http://brainsciencepodcast.com/ or iTunes.

Week 3: 29th Apr. Vocabulary

Reading: Chapter 6, Vocabulary

Key Concepts: Review of Week 2. What is a word?, Nation’s ‘word families’, paired translation equivalents,

semantic sets, corpora, collocation, chunking, concordancing, Key Words in Context (KWIC), metaphors,

false friends (eg, compare ‘hip’ in English to ‘hip’ in Japanese-English), loan words (Japanese vocabulary

expressed in katakana). Lexical recall models: neighbourhood activation model and Bayesian Probability.

Key reference: Nation, P. (2010) Plenary presentation at PAC-KOTESOL, audio recording and notes

available from Andrew (see Dropbox.Com). OR McLean, Hogg, & Rush (in press) Vocabulary learning

through an online computerized flashcard site. JALTCALL Journal (see the JALTCALL Journal website).

Week 4: 6th May. Grammar

Reading: Chapter 5, Grammar

Key Concepts: Review of Week 3. Morphology, syntax; descriptive vs. prescriptive; Universal Grammar

(UG) and criticisms; transformational-generative; pragmatic competence; focus on form (noticing,

consciousness-raising) and Pienemann’s Processibiltity Theory; scaffolding (review of Vygotsky); construct

theory; chunks and patterns; interlanguage; Present-Practice-Produce (PPP) and Test-Teach-Test (TTT)

lesson plan types.

Extra listening: Philosophy Bites (2010) 135, Daniel Everett on Nature of Language. Accessed at:

http://philosophybites.com/past_programmes.html, or http://www.philosophybites.libsyn.com/2010/09. (A

discussion about the flaws of Universal Grammar).

Week 5: 13th May. Teaching Methodologies

Outline of research paper is due

Reading: Chapter 25, Task-based Language Learning

Key Concepts: Direct vs. Indirect methods, Methods vs. Approaches (introducing grammar translation,

Audio-lingual methods, Communicative Language Teaching TBLT, and others); explicit vs implicit

instruction; form-based, meaning-focused, meta-communicative tasks, delayed focus on form, genuine tasks,

task-plan-report cycle, learner roles, sequencing of tasks, PPP, current status of ELT Methodologies.

Extra reading: Bell, D. (2007) Do teachers think that methods are dead? ELT Journal, 61/2, p135-143.

TEFL Theory, 2013

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Week 6: 20th May. Listening

Reading: Chapter 1, Listening

Key Concepts: Definitions of listening. A brief introduction of listening processes. A brief history of

teaching listening; Krashen’s i+1, top-down, bottom-up, rhythm in languages (stress, syllable, and mora) and

lexical segmentation, phonemic exemplar theory, extensive listening vs. listening strategies, internet and

other media resources, input differences between L1 and L2, lexical access, Sociolinguistic perspectives.

Key reference: Blyth, A. (2011) How teachers teach listening in Japan: Part 1. PAC-KOTESOL Conference

Proceedings: Advancing ELT in the Global Context. Seoul, South Korea, 16-17 October 2010.

Optional extra reading / listening: Renandya, W., and Farrell, T. (2011) ‘Teacher, the tape is too fast!’

Extensive listening in ELT. ELT Journal, 65(1), p 52-59. Or Renendya, W. (2010) ‘Teacher, the tape is too

fast!’ Extensive listening in ELT. PAC-KOTESOL 2010 Conference presentation. (see DropBox.com).

Week 7: 27th May. Speaking

Reading: Chapter 2, Speaking

Key Concepts: recently stressed skill, audiolingualism, behaviorism, strict rotation of LSRW where S =

strict repetition of target structures and patterns; speech acts (function and form), skill sets, 4-stage process:

conceptualization, formulation, articulation, and self-monitoring, fluency, accuracy, complexity, task-

recycling, Comprehensible Output Hypothesis vs. the Comprehensible Input Hypothesis.

Extra reading: Shahini, G., and Riazi, M. (2011) A PBLT Approach to teaching ESL speaking, writing, and

thinking skills. ELT Journal, 65(2), p170-179.

Week 8: 3rd June. Reading & Strategies

Reading: Chapter 3, Reading; and Chapter 24 Language-learning Strategies

Key Concepts: Reading: grapheme to phonological representation models, models of learning (from phonic

to sight), top down, bottom up, phonetic vs. whole word, text vs. reader, literate vs. non-literate, strategies

(pre-, during, and post-), Krashen and free sustained reading, graded readers, extensive vs. intensive.

Strategies: Oxford’s learner types, achievable short-term goals, autonomy, cognitive strategies, Vygotsky and

scaffolding, social learning, hypothesis testing, mnemonic strategies, metacognitive strategies, compensatory

strategies, affective strategies, social strategies, O’Malley and Chamot strategy list, Rubin’s good language

learner.

Extra reading: Brown, D. (2009) Why and how textbooks should encourage extensive reading. ELT Journal,

63(3), p238-245. Or Robb. T. and Susser B. (1989). Extensive reading versus skills building in an EFL

context. Reading in a Foreign Language, 5(2), p239-252. (Available free on the internet)

Week 9: 10th June. Writing

First draft of research paper is due (see samples in dropbox.com)

Reading: Chapter 4, Writing

Key Concepts: peer-writing, process approach, reading vs. writing as way to learn writing, translation vs.

direct composition, contrastive rhetoric, plagiarism, influence of Internet, error correction,

Key references: Connor, U. (2002) New directions in contrastive rhetoric. TESOL Quarterly, 36(4),

p493-510. OR Friesen 2011, Creative Writing Workshop, presented at JALTCALL 2011 (see DropBox).

Week 10: 17th June. Second Language Acquisition

Reading: Chapter 12, Second Language Acquisition

Key Concepts: contrastive analysis, interlanguage, error, teachability / readiness, natural order of

acquisition, silent period, critical period, working memory demand vs. complexity, Krashen’s

comprehensible input hypothesis (learning vs. acquisition), Swain’s comprehensible output hypothesis,

intrinsic & extrinsic motivation.

Extra reading: Dörnyei, Z. (2009) The Psychology of Second Language Acquisition. OUP, p 135-151. (see

Dropbox)

Week 11: 24th June. Assessment theory

Research paper is due

Reading: Chapter 20, Assessment; and Chapter 21, Evaluation

Key Concepts: assessment vs. evaluation, portfolio, one-time vs. continual, proficiency vs. achievement,

formative vs. summative, norm-referenced vs. criterion referenced, validity, reliability, measurement error;

TEFL Theory, 2013

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stakeholders, motivation, discrete item vs. integrative, objective vs. subjective, washback, washforth,

evaluation cycle, accountability, practical testing tips, ethical issues in testing.

Handouts: Common European Framework (see DropBox.com)

Extra reading / listening: McNamara, T. (2011) Language analysis in the determination of origin of asylum

seekers: A perspective from language testing. 2nd

combined ALAA & ALANZ Conference. (Includes issues

regarding the limitations of testing, human rights, and public policy; see DropBox.com for audio and notes).

Week 12: 1st July

Activities: Brief review of research paper and final exam, good luck ☺

Assessment

Class Attendance and Performance (20%) � Simply do pre reading of the assigned material, and discuss in class

� Constructively contribute to class discussions

� Do the research diary tasks and report back in class

� Demonstrate other attributes expected of a person entering the teaching profession.

Research Paper (40%) Students are to write a 2000-word paper on one of the topics below. Your topic should be chosen by Week 3

(29th April). An outline is due Week 4 (6

th May), the first draft is due Week 8 (3

rd June), and the finished

paper (with a minimum of three sources of which two must be from ELT publications, using APA or ELT

Journal style writing and referencing) is due Week 11 (24th June).

1. Three issues in vocabulary acquisition (see week 2&3 topics).

2. Three issues in teaching listening (see week 6 topic).

3. The pros and cons of strategy instruction. (see weeks 6 & 8)

4. An ELT conference presentation you saw. Include a theoretical background (a summary of the

key points of the presentation and other sources), and then your assessment on the practicality

of the ideas proposed by the presenter. Use either a “three issues” or “pro & con” format.

Final Exam (40%) This tests your knowledge of key concepts most pertinent to current ELT theory, including your knowledge

of recent developments in ELT research. The test consists of short and long answer questions, including

defining and explaining concepts, with examples.

Useful Links for ELT

Academic resources

� APA Style format for academic referencing: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/APA_style#Reference_list

� ELT Journal, our industry’s leading academic journal: http://eltj.oxfordjournals.org/ *

� LinguistList: http://linguistlist.org/

� RELC Journal, especially for South-East Asia: http://rel.sagepub.com/

� TESOL Quarterly: http://tesol.org

Jobs

� LinguistList: http://linguistlist.org/ > Jobs

� Also see LinkedIn.Com

� TEFL.Com for global job listings: http://tefl.com *

Professional organisations

� British Association of Applied Linguists: http://baal.org.uk/ *

� Japan Association of Language Teachers: http://jalt.org/

� International Association of Teachers of English as a Foreign language: http://iatefl.org/

Other

� Lives of Teachers: http://livesofteachers.com/ (also see Darren’s Twitter feed)*

� Winjeel.Com: My website with some resources for you. * The most recommended for you to join or subscribe to.

Welcome to our profession ☺