Marilyn Lewis

Video-Viewing Tasks for Language Teacher Education

Two teacher educators experimented with the design of video-viewing tasks for language teachers. These were used and evaluated with teachers on in-service courses in Shenzhen, China. Drawing on current theories of language analysis and of task design for teacher education they developed, used and evaluated a series of tasks with different groups of teachers in China. They found that the action research cycle of task development, presentation and evaluation led to more focussed and therefore more useful activities. Finally they draw a number of conclusions about the use of authentic classroom data to guide teachers, thinking while viewing, including details of task design

Principles of Academic Writing

Consistency: Consistency refers to uniformity of writing style. For example, there is a problem on this page in that “cohesion” and “clarity” are defined in note form (incomplete sentences), whereas “consistency” and “unity” are defined in complete sentences. The writer should be consistent: either use note form or complete sentences. The principle of parallelism also exemplifies consistency (the same grammatical structures should be consistently used in a list). Finally, in citing sources, consistency of style is also essential.

Book Review: Creativity in Language Teaching: Perspectives from Research and Practice

believe that stories of empowerment, collaborative professional development, and autonomy need to be central to teacher development, and this title is an outstanding representation of this need. Perhaps, as I indicated above, stories based in primary and secondary schools could have been included. That said, such lack of representation should encourage colleagues from those educational levels to disseminate their teacher research accounts. I recommend this book to teachers interested in engaging with research, teacher educators, and policy makers who have a say in teacher education programmes and projects.

Book review: John Flowerdew (ed.), Discourse in Context: Contemporary Applied Linguistics

genders; and through contrastive/comparative analysis between English and Italian, Spanish and German on rhetorical and lexicogrammatical patterns, while changes are observed through diachronic studies of authorial voices, metadiscourse and the historical development of academic journal abstracts. It is one of the most comprehensive books to date which concentrates on abstracts as an academic genre, covering definition and classification of abstracts, disciplinary similarities and differences, cross-linguistic aspects, intercultural aspects, gender differences in academic lexis, structural and cross-generic analysis. One minor defect is the slight imbalance between soft and hard science discourse examples in the book. However, this drawback should not detract from the conclusion that Bondi and Lorés Sanz have done the data-driven research community a great service with Abstracts in Academic Discourse. The book is particularly useful to researchers interested in discourse analysis and corpus linguistics, and it will be a much quoted reference in the years to come.

Focus on Skills

This final chapter explores the complexities of teaching listening as well as practical examples of how to assist a learner develop listening skills in a tutoring environment. The section on teaching speaking and pronunciation addresses the affective and cognitive needs of an individual learner. Reading, writing, and vocabulary are also covered in some detail in addition, and the teaching of grammar is touched upon. A list of resources is found at the end of the chapter for those who wish to continue reading about a specific skill.

Technology and One-on-One Teaching

There are two contexts to explore related to technology and tutoring. The first involves fully online tutoring where the student and tutor do not physically meet for sessions. Within this option there is considerable variance. The second major category is using technology to enhance or extend traditional face-to-face sessions. Any discussion of technology is fraught with confusion over terms in this rapidly changing field. General principles as well as specific technologies are covered in this chapter with the understanding that equivalents or new technologies may soon replace them.

Choosing Materials and Structuring Sessions

Once basic information has been gathered and initial decisions made, such as the role of the learner in the sessions, it’s time to move on to structuring the language learning sessions. In this chapter, the issue of authenticity in materials is discussed, as are suggestions for organizing materials to provide scaffolding and increase learning. Learner-centered approaches will be summarized, including how to involve the learner in the planning process, what tasks can assist in learning and how to manage time.

Introduction to One-on-One Learning and Teaching

Let’s assume that you are reading this book because you are doing, or are interested in doing, some one-to-one language tutoring or learning. The history of one-on-one learning is both rich and lengthy (Lepper et al., 1997). The Ancient Greeks made use of tutors all those centuries ago when Socrates tutored a young slave boy. From ancient times to the present, one-on-one instruction has led to significant learning gains and provided personalized learning that can’t be achieved in larger language classrooms.

Individual Differences in One-on-One Teaching

Individual variables influence learning in any setting, whether in classrooms or, as for readers of this book, in one-to-one lessons. Individual differences include the long-term variable of cultural background and the changing variable of age as well as the complex concept referred to as motivation.

The Tutor-Learner Relationship

In this chapter, we explore the complex relationship between a learner and a tutor, including the spectrum of roles and appropriate boundaries. Suggestions on how to avoid crossing role boundaries are covered, based on factors such as age and formality of the tutoring situation and learning environment. As one example, suggestions are made for locations for the lessons, ranging from the home of the tutor or learner, to a more open space such as a public library. The privacy of the tutee is considered, especially related to ethical issues, with vignettes to show both positive and not-so-positive examples of what can happen.