A review of research on student self-assessment in second / foreign language writing

The present article reviews the research on writing Self-Assessment (SA) conducted in the period of 2000 - 2020. The article discusses the theoretical foundation for SA following the review of conceptualization of SA by various researchers. We were particularly interested in (i) examining whether the concept of SA has witnessed an expansion during the two decades in English as a foreign/second language (EFL/ESL) writing and (ii) determining the components that were found interconnected to the concept of SA in the writing context. The findings related to the first objective indicate that the SA has expanded in its conceptualization; however, its definition and application are expected to broaden. As a result of analyzing the studies, based on the second objective, the following themes emerged: SA and training students, SA and the dialogue between students and teachers, SA and teacher training, SA and affective variables, SA and cultural components, SA and age, SA and instrumentation, SA and exemplars, SA and teacher feedback, SA and prior experience, SA and conducive environments, SA and contextualizing SA items. The review shows an important role of the components in the concept of SA in the EFL/ESL writing context; however, studies in this regard are scarce. Another group of studies that emerged was those that examined perceptions towards SA. We conclude with a critical reflection on the reviewed literature and recommend new directions for further studies

A culture of collaboration: Forms and factors affecting collaboration between NESTs and NNESTs in extracurricular English activities

Fulbright English Teaching Assistants (ETAs) assist local English teachers to further the English language development of students around the globe, while simultaneously acting as cultural ambassadors for the United States. ETAs in Indonesia are required to spend between twenty and twenty-five hours each week in the classroom with their teaching counterpart(s) but are also encouraged to engage with their school and community outside of class, and as such many ETAs also spend considerable time developing extracurricular English programming. While some of these extracurriculars are facilitated independently by the ETAs, many are collaborative projects with counterparts from the host institution. As part of a larger five-year research plan initiated by the American Indonesian Exchange Foundation (AMINEF) that seeks to explore the impact of ETAs, this research explores the collaboration within these extracurriculars. It seeks to identify the forms that this collaboration takes, as well as the factors that affect the collaboration. The findings suggest that collaboration within these extracurriculars usually takes the form of either one teach – one assist model, or team teaching, and that logistical and interpersonal factors are of the greatest concern within the collaboration

Analyzing a language-driven content-based language teaching textbook using sociocultural theory

The Asian EFL (English as a foreign language) classroom is famous for its reliance on textbooks to prepare students for high-stakes examinations. It is therefore of importance to ensure the quality of EFL textbooks for quality learning and teaching. While much previous research has been done about pre-use, in-use, and post-use textbook evaluation, there has not been any study about how sociocultural theory may be used as an analytical tool to evaluate EFL textbooks at these different stages of evaluation. The teaching philosophies of different teachers can be rooted in different learning theories, such as constructivism and sociocultural theory. Teachers, thus, need to be sensitive to their own beliefs in terms of learning theories to choose textbooks in a theoretically principled way. This study aims at demonstrating how a Hong Kong high school language-driven content-based language teaching (CBLT) textbook can be analysed in terms of sociocultural theory. The study is guided by the following research question: What are the principles from sociocultural theory which echo the overall design of a Hong Kong CBLT textbook? CBLT is increasingly popular worldwide, especially in Southeast Asia; yet, there are few CBLT textbooks for the English subject in the Asian market. A required textbook of a Hong Kong high school was closely analyzed, with thematic analysis used for analysis. The results of this study show that this textbook exhibits many features of sociocultural theory, such as use of cognitive tools to help promote high-order thinking and use of collaborative talk and then private talk to promote internalization

Weighing on languages: Indonesian parents’ perspectives on bilingualism

The paper focuses on the micro-level language policy where parents are the primary ‘actors’ to socialize language(s) to their children in the family circle. This small-scale study aims to find out 1) parent’s language attitudes towards bilingualism; 2) how the attitudes contribute to the decision making on language policy in the family; 3) and what efforts or strategies for maintaining the heritage language (HL). Data were collected from questionnaires to 28 Indonesian parents (from diverse ethnic backgrounds). To gain deeper insights, interviews were also conducted to investigate individual perceptions, feelings, and experience over bilingualism. Based on the analysis, it is found that although most of the families are bilingual with 3-4 languages being spoken at home, there is a limited context where interaction is carried out in HLs. The majority of respondents reported that it is only used to close relatives. The maintenance of HL is symbolic rather than strategic; it is perceived as important because of the sense of family hood to the language. This is confirmed in the following finding that parents feel that national language is far more important (65%) than the heritage language (34.6%) which is slightly below parents' aspiration for the children to learn a foreign language (38.5%). Also, there is little evidence showing parents’ explicit language policy which may be affected by familiarity and the status of the language, social institutions, community relations, and family structure

EFL students as creative writers

This article aims to share the author’s mini-action research in using some creative writing activities with Vietnamese high school students to examine how creative these EFL students could be in their writing of English and how useful creative writing can be to them. Three teaching activities were tried out as warmers with two groups of students in three different English sessions within two weeks. The outcome showed that these high school students were able to write creatively and their products could contribute to consolidating the benefits of creative activities in enhancing students’ mental and emotional development as advocated in various EFL contexts (Avramenko et al., 2018; Maloney, 2019; Manara, 2015; Pawliczak, 2015; Rippey, 2014; Şenel, 2018)

An attempt to raise Thai students’ awareness of World Englishes in a General English Program

As witnessed over three decades in the field of Applied Linguistics, the emergence of world Englishes (hereafter WE), thanks to the global spread of English, has prompted various scholars to call for the need to critically revise the ways in which teachers teach English. Specifically, practitioners have been encouraged to raise their students’ awareness of WE. Examples of WE-informed curricula, modules, or lessons have been showcased by WE advocates from different parts of the world. However, most of these curricula, modules, and lessons are taught or delivered within TESOL teacher-education programs, leading some educators to question the relevance of WE to language learners. This paper showcases and evaluates critically how a WE-informed practitioner at one of the leading universities in Thailand attempts to inspire students enrolled in a General English program to develop respectful views of English language variation. Although the attempt has resulted in minor changes in students’ views, it certainly highlights that the teaching of world Englishes to English language learners is far from an idealistic attempt

Considering the reality of hegemonic tendencies: English and linguistic diversity

This paper aims to analyze the commodification aspect of dominant languages, in particular, English, while looking into linguistic diversity as a commodity in its own right. In order to illustrate multilingualism as a valuable commodity in itself, we mention Immersion Programs in the US and the increasing recognition of the importance of being proficient in languages other than English, for educational, personal, economic and national security reasons. This research also aims to look into some aspects of the delicate issue of English being strengthened over the weakening of thousands of local languages and cultures. Some arguments are provided in order to illustrate the fact that ‘global English’ represents special politico-economic interests that cannot meet the needs of the people whose languages and cultures are being subjugated by the imperialistic and capitalist ideologies of the spread of English. Unless local language policies are elevated on political agendas, globalization language policies will remain insensitive to the irreplaceable value of linguistic diversity, along with the real needs of citizens from all over the world

Native speakerism (?!): (Re)Considering critical lenses and corresponding implications in the field of English Language Teaching

Within English language teaching (ELT), critical scholarship has paid ever-increasing attention to identity, experience and (in)equity, and thus to privilege-marginalization: where it comes from, how and why it manifests, who (potentially) experiences it, and what might be done to address inequity in (and potentially beyond) the profession. This dialogue is intertwined with broader attempts in the field to account for the complexity of identity and interaction in settings around the globe. In this article, I discuss how categorical apprehensions of identity, experience and privilege-marginalization, and approaches to (in)equity, have framed discourse within critical scholarship. I then survey how more recent work has called into question many of the critical “assumptions” (Pennycook, 2001) both shaping and shaped by such theory and inquiry. This scholarship contends that critical lenses predicated upon categories of being, while calling attention to idealized nativeness embedded in ELT, fail to account for the contextualized, sociohistorical negotiation of privilege-marginalization within and transcending communities around the globe. Next, in order to contextualize and unpack these divergent lenses, I provide a review of critical dialogue attending to Japan, both in and beyond ELT, noting in conclusion how privilege-marginalization within ELT is intertwined with the sociohistorical negotiation of “selfhood” and “otherness” pertaining both to Japanese society and Japan and “the world beyond.” I close by briefly commenting on future directions for critical scholarship in ELT, and the challenges facing, and yet to be faced by, its stakeholders

Revisiting an English extensive reading program in a low “commercial” resources setting

This paper is a teacher’s critical reflection on the implementation of an Extensive Reading (ER) Program in a teaching context with low resources of commercial graded readers. The paper presents the teacher's dialogue with the ten principles for ER in designing and implementing an ER program. During this process, there are several issues related to the education system and culture as well as the availability of L2 resources. The paper firstly starts with the initial reflection on the previous practices on teaching English reading at a tertiary level to identify the problems. Next, the rationale for initiating an Extensive Reading Course is laid out. Then, samples of teaching activities implemented during the program are presented. Lastly, reflective evaluation of the program is presented with several contextual and pedagogical considerations in working at a low English “commercial” resources context

Prompting second language writers for productive reflection using narrative questioning prompt

This paper aims to introduce a novel form of reflective tool ‘narrative questioning’ to facilitate students’ elaborate and graded reflection in two ESL composition classes in a university in the US. Little has been written about a reflective tool where students need to produce a graded and elaborate reflection and this paper will seek to narrow that gap. Narrative questioning is developed primarily from Barkhuizen and Wette’s (2008) narrative frames. Narrative frames employ “a series of incomplete sentences and blank spaces of varying lengths” (Barkhuizen, 2014, p. 13). Narrative questioning utilizes a series of questions through which students reflected on their perceived learning gain throughout the semester. This paper will first discuss research in narrative reflective tools. Then, it will describe the classroom pedagogical lesson that I conducted to introduce and guide students to write their reflection using narrative questioning. Thirdly, the data gathered through students' reflection and individual interviews of 10 students will be presented and discussed. The data illustrates the different ways of narrative questioning facilitate reflection. Limitations of the narrative questioning elicited from students' interviews will also be presented here along with the pedagogical implication of the study