Developing critical reading skills : a coursebook evaluation study

The aim of the paper is to discuss the importance of teaching critical reading skills, particularly in a foreign language context. The paper consists of two parts: theoretical and empirical. In the first part, the theoretical considerations underpinning this aspect of reading are discussed. Two theoretical perspectives are focused on: a psycholinguistic-cognitive orientation, which views reading as a mental process during which the reader constructs their own representation of the text and a socio- cultural orientation, which emphasizes the importance of varied social and historical contexts in text production and text reception. Within each theory, practical possibilities on how to develop critical reading skills are explored. The practical part of the article presents the results of a small-scale coursebook evaluation study, whose main aim was to examine to what extent the Pioneer Plus coursebooks can help learners develop critical reading skills. The results of the study point to didactic materials and teaching activities that have the potential to facilitate this important component of language proficiency.peer-reviewe

Bridging the Gap: 21st Century Media Meets Theoretical Pedagogical Literacy Practices

In this chapter, the researchers used an ethnographic stance to demonstrate how conversation evolved within a social media platform. They investigated the online discussions and face-to-face dialogues between teacher educators and pre-service teachers. They compared the participants’ reciprocal conversations within this case study to analyze patterns in the language used in each forum in order to identify the affordances and constraints of perceived understanding. Through this discourse analysis the authors sought to identify indicators of each participant’s metacognitive development while engaging in an online book discussion through a social media platform. Data analysis indicated that there was metacognitive growth when comparing the initial reciprocal conversations with the final conversations

Expectations eclipsed in foreign language education: learners and educators on an ongoing journey / edited by Hülya Görür-Atabaş, Sharon Turner.

Between June 2-4, 2011 Sabancı University School of Languages welcomed colleagues from 21 different countries to a collaborative exploration of the challenging and inspiring journey of learners and educators in the field of language education.\ud \ud The conference provided an opportunity for all stakeholders to share their views on language education. Colleagues met with world-renowned experts and authors in the fields of education and psychology, faculty and administrators from various universities and institutions, teachers from secondary educational backgrounds and higher education, as well as learners whose voices are often not directly shared but usually reported.\ud \ud The conference name, Eclipsing Expectations, was inspired by two natural phenomena, a solar eclipse directly before the conference, and a lunar eclipse, immediately after. Learners and educators were hereby invited to join a journey to observe, learn and exchange ideas in orde

The academic atudies between printed and multimedia text in Italy

La diffusione e la disponibilità di testi e fonti informative rese disponibili e immediatamente fruibili attraverso la rete ha reso disponibili banche dati testi di diversa natura, in generale facilitato l'accesso a diversi tipi di documentazione (Gui 2014) e incrementato il tempo dedicato alla lettura (Bohn e Short 2009). Inoltre Internet in quanto fonte informativa occupa un posto di fondamentale importanza nei sistemi di istruzione e formazione. In Italia con la Legge 107/2015 il Ministero dell’Istruzione, dell’Università e della Ricerca ha messo a punto un Piano Nazionale Scuola Digitale (PNSD) sostenendo di fatto un processo di dematerializzazione del libro nel sistema di istruzione, ormai avviato e spesso ritenuto soluzione didattica. Tuttavia questo processo non è esente da rischi. Come sottolinea Casati (2013) il libro di carta presenta una indubbi vantaggi cognitivi connessi a linearità, stabilità della pagina che offre i contenuti, modalità di lettura. A ciò possiamo aggiungere gli elementi critici connessi al sistema di ricerca in Internet (Spitzer 2015) e le difficoltà di selezione delle fonti e del contenuto informativo connesse a tale ricerca. In questa sede si propone di sviluppare il tema attraverso una analisi critica anche alla luce delle evidenze emerse nel corso delle interviste a un gruppo di laureandi iscritti al corso di laurea triennale in Scienze dell’Educazione e della Formazione (SEF) dell'Università di Roma "La Sapienza"This essay falls within the reflection on the relation between learning places and methods and the use of new technologies in Italy. The diffusion and immediate availability of texts and sources of information through the Internet have enabled the access to various databases of texts as well as to several types of documentation, thus increasing the time spent on reading [1]. Moreover, the Internet-intended as a source of information -plays a crucial role within the education and training systems. In Italy, Law 107/2015 of the Ministry of Education, Universities and Research (MIUR) has provided for a National Plan for Digital Education (PNSD) which promotes the dematerialization of books with in the school system, often regarded as proven educational instruments. However this process necessarily involves some risks. As evidenced by Casati (2013) [2], printed books have clear cognitive advantages thanks to their linearity, the stability of the page bearing the contents, and the ease of reading. This could be supplemented by critical elements relating to the research on the Internet [3] and the difficulty of selecting the sources and the information highlighted by the research. In this context, the issue is developed also based on the evidences arisen from the interviews with some students about to graduate in Education and Training (SEF) - 1st level degree - at The Sapienza University of Rom

The Implementation of Online Features of Blended Learning Method in Critical Reading Class at B University

This thesis is a study of the online aspects of Blended Learning Method implementation and the example implemented in the Critical Reading class in B University. The purposes of the study are to see the implementation of the online aspects of the blended learning criteria in the classroom and the example of its implementation. The theory used is the criteria of blended learning class from Thorne (2003). The finding revealed that most of the criteria are implemented. However, the findings only focused on online features, so there will be some points not implemented in the class, since it could be implemented in offline class. Some examples of the implementation were the USAge of Moodle as a help to adapt to blended learning method, USAge of wide range of option in giving task and assignments to students, and giving access to contact the most appropriate person in the class

Revisiting reading for pleasure: Delight, desire and diversity

To what extent do children in the early 21st century choose to read for pleasure, for leisure and for enjoyment? Are they reading for themselves, or for their teachers and the assessment system? Does the desire to read independently, to engage with others’ worlds, to wonder and ponder and find out more about issues of interest run deep enough to sustain the young as readers of today and tomorrow

Working the Nexus: Teaching students to think, read and problem-solve like a lawyer

Despite a clear case for thinking skills in legal education, the approach to teaching these skills often appears to be implied in law curricula rather than identified explicitly. Thinking skills could be taught as part of reading law and legal problem solving. However, learning the full suite of thinking skills requires active teaching strategies which go beyond exposing students to the text of the law, and training them in its application by solving problem scenarios. The challenge for law teachers is to articulate how to learn legal thinking skills, and to do so at each level of the degree. This article outlines how the nexus between three component skills: critical legal thinking, reading law, and legal problem solving, can be put to work to provide a cohesive and scaffolded approach to the teaching of legal thinking. Although the approach in this article arises from the Smart Casual project, producing discipline-specific professional development resources directed at sessional teachers in law, we suggest that its application is relevant to all law teachers

ALANZ handbook 2018

Co-edited Handbook for participants at December ALANZ Symposiu

ALANZ handbook

Co-edited Handbook for participants at December ALANZ Symposiu

ALANZ handbook

Co-edited Handbook for participants at December ALANZ Symposiu