Freda Mishan

An application of XML to the creation of an interactive resource for authentic language learning tasks

There has of late been a call among language practitioners for the sophisticated new markup language XML to be used in Web-based tools for language learning (Mills, 1999; Riley, 2001; Godwin-Jones, 2000). This paper describes just such an application: the development of an interactive electronic resource book of learning tasks for English Language Teaching (ELT). The electronic resource book incorporates an authenticity-centred approach to language learning materials design, viz language learning based on authentic texts complemented by authentic tasks. The paper covers a general introduction to XML, describes the pedagogical model (i.e. the authenticity-centred approach) that it was used to realise, and describes the development of the XML-based system operating the electronic resource book. Among the conclusions of this paper are that this trial application reveals XML to be ideally suited to the realisation of such pedagogical models and that its greatly enhanced information management and linking potential promises an exciting future in the field of language teaching by providing the possibility for pedagogy-led technology rather than technology-led pedagogy.

Whose learning is it anyway? Problem-based learning in language teacher development

This article describes the piloting of a problem-based learning (PBL) approach in a teacher education context. Originating in medical education in the 1980s, PBL is now applied in the teaching of a broad range of disciplines. While increasingly used in teacher education, however, PBL has not been applied, to the authors knowledge, in the area reported on in this paper – language learning materials development. Problem-based learning is rooted in constructivist philosophy, which holds that knowledge is actively constructed within the mind of the learner and influenced by his/her interactions with peers and with the environment. Furthermore, constructivism holds that learning is spurred by ‘the problematic’ (i.e. cognitive conflict). In PBL, cognitive conflict is ‘concretised’, in that a real problem is used to trigger the learning process. This article reports on the piloting of PBL on a materials development module in a Masters in English Language Teaching programme in Ireland. It presents the students’ and tutors reflections on the approach. These are largely positive as regards the development of professional skills especially teamwork, leadership and achieving compromise. It concludes with recommendations for further research on the use of PBL in language teacher education programmes.

Investigating EFL teachers’ perceptions of task-based language teaching in higher education in China

While task-based language teaching (TBLT) is a teaching methodology favoured by the Chinese Ministry of Education, it has not been sufficiently researched to be validated empirically in practice in...