Electronic Collaboration Across Cultures in a Web-based Project for English Writing Instruction

The paper highlights the importance of experimentation and an innovative approach to English language writing instruction with the help of information communication technology (ICT or IT). First, it describes the local situation of English language teaching at The Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK). Then, it summarizes the development of IT proficiency and student-led collaborative learning groups at CUHK. Third, it reports on an International Web-based writing project involving six collaborating schools in different parts of the world including China, the United States, Indonesia, and Hong Kong in the year 1999-2000. In the report, the author-presenter will share with the audience a new ELT course development titled "English Online: Writing on the Web." He will explain the course objectives, the background of participating classes, the Web Course Tools (WebCT), the design of the project, the evaluation of course effectiveness and the outcome of the new curricular initiative. Finally, the paper presents a summary of a practical guide to electronic collaboration and some of the lessons the writer has learnt in five years\u27 experience of participant-observation in English teaching practice using the Web

Zur Bedeutung von Unterrichtsqualität für die naturwissenschaftliche Kompetenz von Grundschulkindern. Ein Fokus auf Kinder mit ungünstigen Lernvoraussetzungen

Research on classroom instruction has consistently identified characteristics that contribute to student learning. For instance, these include structural-organizational aspects (e.g., classroom management) and affective aspects (e.g., classroom social climate). The idea that the effects of instruction may differentially depend on students’ characteristics has been investigated within the scope of aptitude-treatment-interactions (ATI) research. This study of elementary school (1,041 students, 54 classes) builds on ATI and examines main effects and interaction effects of instructional quality (i.e., classroom management and classroom social climate) and individual risks of school failure (i.e., demographic risk: immigration background or functional risk: low cognitive ability scores) on students’ science competence. Based on hierarchical linear modeling and class-level aggregated student ratings of instructional quality, results show a positive link between classroom social climate and science competence but not for classroom management and science competence. As its most important finding, our study demonstrates the compensatory capacity of instructional quality to narrow the achievement gap between students at risk and their peers. Furthermore, classroom management also counteracted risk of school failure when controlling for students’ language proficiency. (DIPF/Orig.)Im Rahmen von Forschung zu gutem Unterricht wurden Unterrichtsqualitätsmerkmale identifiziert, die mit dem Lernerfolg von Schülerinnen und Schülern verbunden sind. Diese beinhalten bspw. strukturell-organisatorische Aspekte, wie Classroom Management, oder affektive Aspekte, wie das Klassenklima. Dass der Lernerfolg nicht nur von Unterrichtsmerkmalen, sondern auch von deren Wechselspiel mit den individuellen Lernervoraussetzungen abhängt, ist Thema der Forschung zu Aptitude-Treatment-Interactions (ATI). Gegenwärtig erfährt diese Forschung erneute Aufmerksamkeit und bestätigende empirische Befunde. Diese Studie an deutschen Grundschulen (1041 Kinder aus 54 Klassen) knüpft daran an und prüft Haupt- und Interaktionseffekte von Unterrichtsqualitätsmerkmalen (Classroom Management und Klassenklima) sowie individuellen Lernvoraussetzungen (Migrationshintergrund oder geringe kognitive Grundfähigkeiten) für die naturwissenschaftliche Kompetenz von Grundschulkindern. Ergebnisse aus Mehrebenenanalysen zeigen einen positiven Zusammenhang zwischen Klassenklima und naturwissenschaftlicher Kompetenz, nicht aber zwischen Classroom Management und naturwissenschaftlicher Kompetenz. Darüber hinaus zeigten sich Interaktionseffekte zwischen Unterrichtsqualitäts- und Schülermerkmalen dahingehend, dass Unterrichtsqualität einen ausgleichenden Effekt auf die Leistungen von Kindern mit ungünstigen Lernvoraussetzungen und diejenigen ihrer Mitschülerinnen und Mitschüler ausübte. Dieser kompensatorische Effekt zeigte sich für Classroom Management auch nach Kontrolle sprachlicher Kompetenzen. (DIPF/Orig.

Flexibility and Interaction at a Distance: A Mixed-Model Environment For Language Learning

This article reports on the process of design and development of two language courses for university students at beginning levels of competence. Following a preliminary experience in a low-tech environment for distance language learning and teaching, and a thorough review of the available literature, we identified two major challenges that would need to be addressed in our design: (1) a necessity to build sufficient flexibility into the materials to cater to a variety of learners' styles, interests and skill levels, therefore sustaining learners' motivation; and (2) a need to design materials that would present the necessary requisites of authenticity and interactivity identified in the examined literature, in spite of the reduced opportunities for face-to-face communication. In response to these considerations, we designed and developed learning materials and tasks to be distributed on CD-ROM, complemented by a WebCT component for added interactivity and task authenticity. Although only part of the original design was implemented, and further research is needed to assess the impact of our environment on learning outcomes, the results of preliminary evaluations are encouraging

Interlanguage pragmatics and instructional pragmatics: two vibrant and illuminating research fields

*** **

THE IMPLICATION ON TEACHING EFL (ENGLISH FOREIGN LANGUAGE) READING FUN TO VARIOUS LEVELS OF INDONESIAN STUDENTS

For some students, EFL (English Foreign Language) reading is one of the most uninteresting subjects because it can make them bored easily. Kweldju (1996) found that students were not interested in reading although they thought some texts books were useful for their study. Meanwhile, English is a compulsory subject that must be studied by Indonesian students. If they get bad to comprehend EFL reading, it means that their English is still bad so that they cannot get the information from the reading text. The goal of the teaching EFL reading in Indonesia is to comprehend the reading texts on which Indonesian students must be able to read science-related texts written in English. This paper analyzes some strategies such as metacognitive and extensive reading to make students enjoyable when learning English reading

L2 Acquisition Portrayed Through the Use of Way Ahead Game by Children in Learning Basic English

This research investigates how students learn Basic English by using Way Ahead game. This study was conducted to identify how effective the use of educational game in acquiring L2 is. Qualitative study was used by the researcher as the research method. The data were collected through conducting several interviews and exploring library study. The case study involved 4 elementary school students as the participants. The background of the research on the role of game in learning L2 is based on Fuscard (2001) and Boyle (2011). The findings of this research are 4 most important roles of game implementation in learning process: (1) pedagogical device, (2) creative ice breakers, (3) engaging students, (4) helping students retain salient points in our teaching. The purpose of the research is to give information over the portrayal of using educational games in learning which is expected to give practical use in teaching Basic English to children as their L2 acquisition

USE OF COHESIVE FEATURES IN ESL STUDENTS’ E-MAIL AND WORD-PROCESSED TEXTS: A COMPARATIVE STUDY

As the computer is rapidly finding its way into classrooms around the world at all levels of education,teachers are trying to find effective ways to integrate this technology into their curriculum. While the effectiveness of using word processing in the teaching of writing is acknowledged, there is still no general consensus on how to use, or even whether to use, asynchronous electronic mail, leaving a number of questions unanswered. For example, when given comparable academic tasks, do students produce similar texts in the two media or do they write differently according to the medium used? In order to determine whether the medium has an effect on the language that the students produce, a discourse analysis of comparable word processed and e-mail writing assignments was carried out, focusing on twelve cohesive features and on text length. The students involved in the study were enrolled in a higher-intermediate English as a Foreign Language course at a university in the United States. The results indicate that two of the cohesive features, as well as text length, differentiated e-mail and word-processed writing. It was also found that, while they tended to write shorter texts in both media, Arab students tended to use more of some of the cohesive features than Asian students

The role of cultural diversity in e-based language learning.\ud A comparative study of Bulgarian and Lithuanian learners of German as a foreign language using an online learning platform

The study reported on in this paper focusses on the impact of cultural\ud factors in media-based language acquisition. The study sets out to investigate the\ud role of learners‟ cultural dispositions during the use of media-based programs in\ud language learning. More specifically, the study aimed at finding out to what extent\ud the cultural disposition of learners outweighs the learners‟ individual preferences\ud in a media-based (online) language course. The analysis of input data produced\ud strong differences between the two learning cultures at the outset of the study.\ud Lithuanian learners were found to be more passive, more rule oriented, more\ud reliant on their mother tongue as a means of instruction and less tolerant vis-à-vis\ud ambiguity when they entered the experiment. They also turned out to reject open\ud (less teacher-guided) forms of communicative learning requiring active\ud participation and, instead, preferred language teaching to be (passively)\ud entertaining. Bulgarian learners by contrast were more tolerant vis-à-vis ambiguity\ud and more goal-oriented with respect to learning the foreign language for academic\ud success abroad. They also turned out to be more focussed on and appreciative of\ud the technical aspects of the program and thus were eager to explore new\ud approaches to media-based learning. However, over the course of the study both\ud groups of participants developed an unexpected ability to adapt to the electronic\ud media even though the program seemed to counteract their cultural-specific\ud preferences. The study shows that both groups of learners improved significantly\ud over the course of the experiment with respect to language skills and that\ud acceptance of the program was high in both groups despite the initial resistance\ud and despite the fact that the program requires a well developed level of\ud independence. Despite the fact that a tendency to act according to cultural\ud dispositions can be shown those influences were not found to be statistically\ud significant

An Unfinished Canvas: Teacher Preparation, Instructional Delivery, and Professional Development in the Arts

Based on surveys, interviews, and secondary data analyses, identifies deficiencies in teacher preparation, instruction, and development in the arts in California, and recommends minimum training requirements and support for professional development