PROBLEMS OF THE EXPRESSION OF CONDITIONAL RELATIONSHIPS IN THE UZBEK LANGUAGE

The article is aimed at investigating the problems of the expression of conditionals in the Uzbek language. Particularly, in the article a special emphasis is placed on the analysis of peculiarities of formal expressions of conditionals in the Uzbek language. The objectives of the research are formed by defining the notion of condition in Uzbek, studying the forms of expression of the conditionals, analyzing the syntactic structure of the conditional constructions, identifying the levels of language in which conditionals are expressed, analyzing the functions of conjunctions connecting the clauses of conditional sentences and identifying the stylistic features of conditional conjunctions. Linguistic description, generalization of prior ideas and theories in the field and componential analysis methods are used. The results of the study have shown that the conditionals are expressed by the synthetic and analytic forms, the synthetic forms (conditionals formed by affixes) refer to the conditional forms constructed by adding the conditional affix “-sа” to the stem of the verb, the analytic forms (the combination with two or more components) include the form of“-sа”+ to’liqsiz fe’l (an auxiliary verb (edi, ekan, emish), the combination of a part of speech which is not a verb+bo’l (to be)+sa, lexical units as desa, bo’lsa, yo’qsa and proverbs. The conditionals are mainly expressed at the grammatical and lexical levels of the language. In the grammatical layer, the conditionals are especially expressed through a syntactic unit which is a complex sentence and it is important to note the role of the conditional affix “-sa” in expressing a conditionat the morphological level. In the lexical layer, some lexical units and proverbs can be regarded as means of expressing conditionality. Also,conditional clauses are connected by various conjunctions (agar, basharti, mabodo, bordiyu, madomiki all referring to “if” in English) and these connectives possess different stylistic colorings and the main function of such conjunctions is not to express conditionality, but to emphasize and exaggerate a conditional meaning. So, the structural peculiarities of conditionals in Uzbek are determined by their syntactic structure, their expression in different language levels and the conditional conjunctions

THE IMPLICATION OF FUNCTIONAL THEORY IN TEACHING READING A DESCRIPTIVE TEXT FOR MIDDLE AGE STUDENTS (Functional Communication Activities in Language Teaching)

Functional theory views language as means of communication. So, communicative competence is the goal of language teaching. One of the most characteristic features of communicative language teaching is that it pays systemic attention to functional as well as structural aspects of language, combining these into a more fully communicative view. Teaching language as communication focuses on the ability to use language for different purposes. In this article the writer focused on functional communication activities in language teaching. The aim of this article is to know the implementation of functional communication activities in teaching reading a descriptive text for middle age students

When the textbook is not enough: How to shape an ELF classroom?

This chapter is devised for English language teaching (ELT) practitioners to reflect on how language and culture are portrayed in English as a Foreign Language (EFL) textbooks, and explore how an English as a Lingua Franca (ELF) approach can be further integrated into their teaching practices through supplementary activities and teaching materials. The target audience is pre-service and in-service teachers as well as course-book designers. After reading the chapter, readers will be informed of several ELF-related teaching activities and materials that focus both on language and culture, so that they could explore and apply them in their teaching contexts

Teacher cognition in language teaching: A review of research on what language teachers think, know, believe, and do

This paper reviews a selection of research from the field of foreign and second language teaching into what is referred to here as teacher cognition – what teachers think, know, and believe and the relationships of these mental constructs to what teachers do in the language teaching classroom. Within a framework suggested by more general mainstream educational research on teacher cognition, language teacher cognition is here discussed with reference to three main themes: (1) cognition and prior language learning experience, (2) cognition and teacher education, and (3) cognition and classroom practice. In addition, the findings of studies into two specific curricular areas in language teaching which have been examined by teacher cognition – grammar teaching and literacy – are discussed. This review indicates that, while the study of teacher cognition has established itself on the research agenda in the field of language teaching and provided valuable insight into the mental lives of language teachers, a clear sense of unity is lacking in the work and there are several major issues in language teaching which have yet to be explored from the perspective of teacher cognition

Managing the complexities of English Language teaching in engineering

In this 21st century, engineering employers seek professional engineers who have excellent scientific knowledge and are able to demonstrate good communication and problem solving skills. With this focus on job demands, engineering education has been restructured, balancing the emphasis between scientific knowledge and soft skills. This shift in focus has not only affected the teaching and learning in engineering education, but also English Language (EL) educators who are involved in teaching non-technical components within an engineering education curriculum. This shift in focus has raised the demand for ESP which include teaching communication skills in English language discourse used in engineering, and teaching problem solving skills in English language teaching. With this demand, challenges are inevitable among EL educators who are generally prepared for teaching English for generic purposes in school settings and who bring with them pedagogical knowledge and beliefs in English language teaching, as well as identities they have developed from their previous to their new workplace. This shift also raises questions about the ways in which English language teaching is positioned, the role of English language courses within an engineering-specific context and the implications of this positioning on the design of the English language courses. The main aim of this study was to investigate how EL educators managed the complexities in teaching English at one technical university in Malaysia. In addressing the research questions, a case study design was developed to highlight the complexities within that context and the ways in \ud which EL educators managed these complexities. The data for this study were collected through qualitative and quantitative methods to unpack the complex process of teaching English for engineering which included teaching problem solving and communication skills. These methods obtained insights into the ways in which EL educators conceptualised English language teaching, positioned themselves and framed their teaching in an engineering context. The quantitative data were collected through a questionnaire involving 12 EL educators. The data from the questionnaire were used to profile the EL educators at the English Language Department of this university. Based on the profiling, four EL educators teaching undergraduate engineering students were selected for the main study. The qualitative data were collected through document study, individual semi�structured interviews, classroom observations, video recording of classroom observations and stimulated recall protocols. This study found that there were disconnections between English language teaching and the engineering discipline at this university. These disconnections were due to the dissemination process of the engineering accreditation requirements whereby these requirements went through ii multiple layers of interpretation, adaptation and translation before they reached the EL educators, causing ambiguities in positioning English language teaching and misalignments in the role of the English language courses within the engineering academic curriculum. As a result, tensions occurred in determining the emphasis of English language teaching. The ambiguities in positioning English language teaching and the misalignments of the English language courses presented the EL educators with challenges in managing their pedagogies and framing their teaching within the context of an engineering university. The study found that the strategies that the EL educators exercised in their agency resulted from the interplay between how they positioned English language teaching and the professional identities they developed in their university context. The demand for ESP required these EL educators to teach beyond their expertise, creating challenges for them to establish their professional identities. Complexities emerged when English language teaching involved integration among English language, communication skills, engineering knowledge, and problem solving skills. This study contributed to the field of English language teaching, specifically to English for Specific Purposes (ESP) by providing knowledge and understanding of the complexities of teaching English for the engineering discipline in higher education. It also contributed to research on professional identities by highlighting the tensions, struggles and negotiations that EL educators faced in positioning themselves within this context to determine their professional identities. The findings of this study deepen our knowledge and understanding of professional identities and agency among EL educators in the Malaysian context, particularly in the discipline-specific context of engineering

Listening & Speaking, Reading & Writing: Improving Four English Language Skills through the Eclectic Approach of International Educators in Japan

This paper elaborates on the language teaching experiences of four international educators working in Japan. With diverse nationalities and backgrounds, and as language learners themselves, these professionals’ eclectic approach is the result of many years of teaching within a multilingual and multicultural environment. It is argued that alternative forms of teaching might influence student’s motivation towards speaking, listening, reading and writing in an L2 (second/foreign language). In addition, the authors provide a few suggestions of activities that might contribute to successful outcomes in the English language education in Japan, which presently strives for communicative language teaching practices.研究ノー

FLAX: Flexible and open corpus-based language collections development

In this case study we present innovative work in building open corpus-based language collections by focusing on a description of the opensource multilingual Flexible Language Acquisition (FLAX) language project, which is an ongoing example of open materials development practices for language teaching and learning. We present language-learning contexts from across formal and informal language learning in English for Academic Purposes (EAP). Our experience relates to Open Educational Resource (OER) options and Practices (OEP) which are available for developing and distributing online subject-specific language materials for uses in academic and professional settings. We are particularly concerned with closing the gap in language teacher training where competencies in materials development are still dominated by print-based proprietary course book publications. We are also concerned with the growing gap in language teaching practitioner competencies for understanding important issues of copyright and licencing that are changing rapidly in the context of digital and web literacy developments. These key issues are being largely ignored in the informal language teaching practitioner discussions and in the formal research into teaching and materials development practices

Teaching English, Language and Literacy

[Review of Teaching English, Language and Literacy - Wyse, D and Jones, R] When David Wray decides to accord to any work the status of “an impressive achievement” (Wyse and Jones 2008: xvi), it bears some serious scrutiny. Written for “all primary education students and their teachers” (Wyse and Jones 2008: xviii), this is the second edition of a book first published in 2001 and its authors can lay claim to some substantial revisions. Having sought to address the National Literacy Strategy in 2001, Dominic Wyse and Russell Jones now offer a critique of the Primary National Strategy Literacy Framework and set that out in a much wider and ambitious context as “an essential guide to the teaching of English” (Wyse and Jones 2008: xviii). I found myself in the interesting position of assessing that claim from a tangential Scottish perspective, hoping to mine some generic gems. With the usual reservations about the inevitable limitations of any such guide, I believe that this book offers a great deal of interest and value, not only to primary teachers but to a wider audience. Without doubt, it has a distinct voice which dissents very audibly from some current practice where that has its roots in reactive policy initiative rather than research evidence