Martha C. Pennington

THE COMPUTER VS. THE PEN: A COMPARATIVE STUDY OF WORD PROCESSING IN A HONG KONG SECONDARY CLASSROOM

Abstract The aim of this paper is to find out how two groups of .HK secondary students adapted to the writing media of pen and word processor, by looking at raters’ evaluations of Content, Organization, Vocabulary, Language Use, and Mechanics of 18 compositions produced over one year following a process approach. It was found that students in the Computer group, on the whole, wrote better than those in a Pen group. According to the Jacobs et al. (1981) Composition Profile, all aspects of writing except Content and Organization showed highly significant differences, with the Computer group exhibiting superior performance. After the first composition, the Computer group scored significant differences in all aspects of composition except Content, which had a nearly significant result. If we allow the Computer group the period of about one composition for adjustment to the computer medium, then they dearly outperformed the Pen group in their compositions.

Cycles of Innovation in the Adoption of Information Technology: A View for Language Teaching

A framework for viewing developments in information technology [IT] is presented as an elaborated model of the adoption of innovations, with implications for language teaching. The model is loosely based on that of Rogers (1995), but involves three successive phases of innovation-adoption. The model provides a context for a discussion of CALL and information technologies in language teaching.

Reorienting the Teaching Universe: The Experience of Five First-Year English Teachers in Hong Kong.

This article reports on the experience of five Cantonese-dominant secondary English teachers in Hong Kong during their first year of teaching after graduation from a BA course in TESL. The report investigates the extent to which the teachers implemented the principles they were exposed to in their university education. The findings demonstrate that these teachers coped with their instructional contexts by abandoning much of what they were taught in the BA course and by reorienting their teaching universe away from communicative teaching principles and practices and towards product- oriented teaching principles and practices. This reconfiguring of their teaching model involved (i) a focus on order and control and (ii) shifts in: (a) procedural orientation, from teaching language communicatively to covering the required syllabus and materials; (b) interpersonal orientation, from developing the teachers role and relationship with the students to establishing the teachers authority; and (c) conceptual orientation, from viewing English as the medium of instruction and communication to viewing English as curriculum content. Reasons for these shifts in orientation are explored, and suggestions are offered for improving the experience of graduates of the course.

Factors shaping the introduction of process writing in Hong Kong secondary schools

Abstract This paper describes the initial stage of a research project designed to evaluate the adoption of process writing by a group of eight secondary English teachers in Hong Kong. The discussion of the project and the profile of its participants is set in Rogers’ (1983) framework for describing the process of adoption of innovations, including the nature of the innovation and how it is perceived by potential adopters, the communications channels for disseminating it, the time needed for adoption, and the social system in which the adoption takes place. A range of adoption attitudes are identified among the participants, based on the compatible and incompatible factors they perceive in relation to the innovation and the conditions they believe would need to change to ensure a smooth adoption process. The teachers’ profile suggests that they can be assisted in actualising the necessary conditions for implementing the process approach by provision of suitable materials and various types of support, inclu...

A critical examination of word processing effects in relation to L2 writers

Abstract This article offers an assessment of the effects of word processing with reference to writers for whom English is a second language. A review of the findings reported in the published literature on the application of word processing in English first language (L1) and second language (L2) composition leads to an attempt to find explanations for the conflicting results of different studies. Method and context effects are identified which help to account for the differential findings.These effects are attributable to variation across studies in one or more of the following variables: (a) the nature of the students, (b) the abilities and attitudes of the teachers, (c) the setting for computer use, (d) the time span of the implementation, (e) the type and amount of instruction offered in Writing and in word processing, (f) the nature of particular word processing software and hardware, and (g) the measures used for assessing the effects and effectiveness of the implementation. It is concluded that word processing can be of value for nonnative writers if it is employed under certain conditions, and recommendations are offered for research with such populations.

Positive and negative potentials of word processing for ESL writers

Abstract This paper is an investigation of the positive and negative potentials for ESL student writers of word processing that are derivable from the properties of the medium. It is shown that any potentially beneficial properties of the medium can also be potential drawbacks. Therefore, the degree of success of any application of word processing in an ESL setting will ultimately be determined by the nature of the users and the circumstances of use, rather than directly by the attributes of the medium.

Work satisfaction and the ESL profession

Abstract This paper reviews the topic of work satisfaction with particular reference to the ESL field. An overview of the literature indicates that work satisfaction is a complex response which incorporates many influences inside and outside of the work environment. The available survey data, primarily from members of the TESOL organisation, suggest that ESL practitioners are basically satisfied with their work, though they experience dissatisfactions in certain areas such as promotions, pay, and some administrative aspects. It is maintained that the key to ensuring work satisfaction and the positive career conditions which educators in ESL desire and deserve is professional recognition.

The “cognitive-affective filter” in teacher development: Transmission-based and interpretation-based schemas for change

Abstract Two basic orientation to the learning process are described, that of transmission and that of interpretation. According to the first view, knowledge is acquired by transfer of information from source to receiver. According to the second view, knowledge is developed in the receiver interactively with the source. By analogy to Krashens (1982, Principals and Practice in Second Language Acquisition, Pergamon) views on input and language learning, it is argued that transmission-or interpretation-based values are like a cognitive-affective filter, in that they form a cognitive and an evaluative, emotional frame that affects both intake of new information and performance (output) in teaching and teacher change. The lowering of this filter through reflection makes it possible for teachers to take in new ideas and to incorporate them into their values and practices. However, since some teachers may not have a reflective orientation, guidance in the reflective process may be necessary to move them through cycles of change at an increasingly deep level.

Beyond Off-the-Shelf Computer Remedies for Student Writers: Alternatives to Canned Feedback

Abstract This paper makes a case against the educational application with non-proficient writers of the sort of preset, “canned” feedback provided in a whole class of text analysis programs marketed as grammar checkers and style analyzers. These programs are criticized for offering feedback which: (1) is not generalizable, (2) does not train the editing process, (3) has no direct link to writing quality, (4) presents no clear educational rationale, and (5) is highly inaccurate. Other approaches to computer-based feedback are then described as alternatives for student writers.

Writing the Natural Way: On Computers.

Abstract A model of computer writing skill is presented that consists of four stages of development‐‐(1) Writing Easier, (2) Writing More, (3) Writing Differently, (4) Writing Better‐‐representing the evolution of a natural computer‐based writing approach under favorable conditions. The relevant conditions comprise the starting state of the user and a range of constraints on computer use.