Sandra Lee McKay

Toward an Appropriate EIL Pedagogy: Re-Examining Common ELT Assumptions.

This article argues that the teaching of English as an international language (EIL) should be based on an entirely different set of assumptions than has typically informed English language teaching (ELT) pedagogy. To begin, several defining features of an international language are described. Because these features have altered the nature of English itself, the author maintains that the pedagogy for teaching English must also change. The author then describes how two developments – a dramatic increase in the number of second language speakers of English and a shift in the cultural basis of English – have significantly altered the nature of English. These changes challenge several common assumptions of ELT pedagogy, namely that: interest in learning of English is largely the result of linguistic imperialism; ELT research and pedagogy should be informed by native speaker models; the cultural content for ELT should be derived from the cultures of native English speakers; the culture of learning that informs communicative language teaching (CLT) provides the most productive method for ELT. The article ends by positing major assumptions that should inform a comprehensive theory of EIL pedagogy.

English language education in East Asia: some recent developments

Abstract This article presents an overview of the perceived importance and accelerated spread of English language education, both formal and informal, in three East Asian countries (i.e. China, Japan and South Korea) against the backdrop of globalisation and emergent ideological, sociocultural and educational trends. It begins with a review of the recent developments in English language education in each of the countries, the ostensible reasons for English language education and the ideological issues contributing to the recent English language education initiatives. This is followed by a discussion and a critique of the common trends and themes manifested in the three countries’ recent initiatives to reform and improve English language education. The article concludes with a number of policy recommendations for English language education in East Asia and other countries, where English does not have an institutional role to play.

Eil Curriculum Development

In this paper the author argues that current changes in the nature of English and English language learners warrants a re-evaluation of two widely accepted notions of ELT curriculum development, namely, that the goal of English learning is native speaker competence and that native speaker cul ture should inform instructional materials and teaching methods. Recogniz ing the current status of English as an international language (EIL), the author describes central features of an international language and how these influence the relationship between language and culture. The paper then proceeds to demonstrate how native speaker models and culture need to be carefully examined in reference to EIL curriculum development.

Teaching English overseas : an introduction

Acknowledgements Introduction PART ONE: THE LARGER CONTEXT 1. Language teaching and the sociopolitical context Theoretical background - Language planning - Nationalism versus nationism Case studies - A-modal nations: Cameroon - Uni-modal nations: Malaysia - Multi-modal nations: The Philippines Conclusion - Exploring and researching the ideas - Suggestions for further reading 2. Language teaching and the economic context Theoretical background - Motivation and attitudes - Language spread Case studies - Thailand - The Philippines Conclusion - Exploring and researching the ideas - Suggestions for further reading 3. Language teaching and the cultural context Theoretical background - Multicultural classrooms - Ethnography - Culture in materials Case studies - Saudi Arabia - Japan Conclusion - Exploring and researching the ideas - Suggestions for further reading PART TWO: THE EDUCATIONAL CONTEXT 4. Language teaching and the language education context Theoretical background - Language education policies - Curriculum guidelines - The varieties of English Case studies - English as a required subject: Malaysia - English as a medium of instruction: The Philippines - English as an elective subject: Japan Conclusion - Exploring and researching the ideas - Suggestions for further reading 5. Language teaching and the institutional context Theoretical background - English teaching institutions - Securing employment Case studies - Public institutions: Turkey - Privately funded institutions: Tanzania - Private institutions: Spain and Japan Conclusion - Exploring and researching the ideas - Suggestions for further reading Glossary Bibliography Appendix Index

Teaching the Syntactic, Semantic and Pragmatic Dimensions of Verbs.

The audiolingual emphasis on teaching structure with a minimum of vocabulary has contributed little to the development of vocabulary materials. Lexical usage, however, is an area in which ESL students demonstrate a considerable number of errors. In an effort to help develop lexical competence, this paper illustrates one strategy for teaching vocabulary with the use of a computer corpus. Because of their inherent difficulty, verbs are the main focus of the materials, although the technique could be used with other parts of speech. It is assumed here that knowing a word involves knowing how to use the word syntactically, semantically, and pragmatically.

Language Minority Education in Great Britain: A Challenge to Current U.S. Policy

British educational policies advocate placing language minority students in mainstream classes where their regular teacher receives ongoing support from a TESOL specialist. By contrast, in the United States, the policies favor placing nonnative speakers in separate programs such as ESL pull-out classes, sheltered English, or bilingual education, where they are taught solely by the TESOL or bilingual education specialist. The same rationale—protecting equality of opportunity—is offered for both approaches. This article compares the events that led to the contrasting solutions and the institutional structures that support those solutions; it gives an example of the British mainstream system at work and shows how the different approaches to educating nonnative speakers reflect different assumptions about language development and definitions of equality of opportunity. The article concludes by asking language teachers three questions about programs for language minorities that are raised by the contrastive examination: (a) What are the consequences of social segregation in educational programs? (b) What are the effects of varied instructional contexts on language learning? (c) What are the most helpful roles ESL teachers can play with respect to teaching subject matter and linguistic competency?

English Literacy in the U.S.: National Policies, Personal Consequences.

This article examines the relationship between U.S. national policies on literacy, available literacy programs, and individual lives. Beginning with a discussion of the expanding role of English literacy in U.S. immigration policies, this article examines the pressures to become literate in English with consideration given to the resources that are available to do so. In the second section, language use in immigrant families is discussed with a focus on native language loss and the consequences of this loss for intergenerational relationships. The article concludes with suggestions for an approach to literacy in which the links between national policies and personal lives are made explicit. The authors make recommendations for policy and practice that take into account the plurality of literacies and the possibilities for nurturing families and communities through the development of native and second language literacy resources.

Multilingualism in the United States.

The scope of this paper is limited to an overview of mutilingualism in the U.S. from 1980 to the present. During this period, discussions of language diversity in the U.S. have been largely dominated by an effort to exert the hegemony of English. This effort has been brought on by changes in the demographic makeup of the U.S. population and supported by a commonly held belief that the economic strength of the U.S. in the international sphere is declining. A dramatic increase in the number of immigrants from Central and South America and the Pacific Rim, coupled with increasing economic competition from industrialized European and Asian nations, has resulted in widespread support for the exclusive use of English in the U.S. This emphasis on English is seen as a way to minimize the threat of the “foreign” influences that are believed to be undermining both the internal unity of the U.S., and its economic world dominance. Whereas nativism is nothing new in the U.S., its current intensity has been fueled by global aspects of migration and economic trade.

“Foreign workers” in Singapore: conflicting discourses, language politics and the negotiation of immigrant identities

Abstract Singapores status as one of the most globalized nations in the world rests primarily on its reliance on cheap immigrant labor. However, with foreign workers now comprising 36 percent of Singapores population, resentment is fast building up among local Singaoreans, as evidenced in the public discourses on migrants which contruct largely negative identities for them. In the context of Singapores language policy, where English is deemed necessary not only as an interethnic lingua franca but for global economic competitiveness, anti-immigrant discourse frequently comes to be couched in terms of language politics and language ideologies that strongly smack of monolingual/monolithic attitudes in relation to English. Thus, paradoxically, despite a large proportion of Singapores current population being the descendants of early immigrants, the “foreign workers” hired today for jobs Singaporeans themselves are unwilling to take up, are castigated for their English language skills, among other things. Because numerous studies dealing with the implications for language shift and maintenance in relation to Singapores language planning initiatives already exist, our article refocuses issues to allow grassroots subjectivity to come in by examining how immigrant identities in Singapore are negotiated through the personal narratives of the everyday experience of these foreign workers, framed within the contraints of language politics and language ideological understandings prevalent in Singapore.

Developing ESL writing materials

Abstract This paper addresses three main questions in the framework of a second language learning situation: What are the benefits of developing writing skill? What strategies can learners use to become better writers? What role can materials play in helping students develop their writing strategies? The author lays aside the debate over the process vs product approach and encourages using the best of both approaches for enhancing writing in a second language.