Pre-service teacher development project: ideas and practice

У статті розглядаються проблеми організації методичної підготовки майбутнього вчителя іноземної мови у мовному педагогічному вузі та пропонуються шляхи їх вирішення в межах системного підходу

Elementary Spanish I & II

This Grants Collection for Elementary Spanish I & II was created under a Round Eight ALG Textbook Transformation Grant. Affordable Learning Georgia Grants Collections are intended to provide faculty with the frameworks to quickly implement or revise the same materials as a Textbook Transformation Grants team, along with the aims and lessons learned from project teams during the implementation process. Documents are in .pdf format, with a separate .docx (Word) version available for download. Each collection contains the following materials: Linked Syllabus Initial Proposal Final Reporthttps://oer.galileo.usg.edu/languages-collections/1002/thumbnail.jp

Applying New Technologies to Upgrade Non-English Speakers’ English Speaking Skills

As technologies are getting more and more advanced, modernized information technologies start to step into the field of education. The application of multimedia- assisted instruction is getting more and more popular. This can stimulate students’ interests as well as promote students’ development and improve teaching efficiency. Teachers’ work should be student centered, and teachers’ function is to provide help and guidance in students’ studies. With the introduction of new technologies, students start to be fond of having classes. They start to have interests in studies. This can create a positive learning environment to students, which meets the social requirements of this era. This project is to provide some ideas and methods of applying new technologies in English instruction to expose students in a more authentic learning environment and improve their speaking skills

THE IMPROVED PERFORMANCE OF EDITORS IN FINISHING DRAFTS FOR PUBLICATION

Improvement of editors in performing their jobs. Training on effective language exploitation was conducted to editors of publishers in Klaten Regency. Drafts representing their job before and after the training were colleted to be compared on their language performance in improving the texts. The results show that in general the editors have better performance in finishing the drafts for publication. They are more sensitive in identifying grammar mistakes as well as lexical inappropriateness, so that the texts are more effectively revised and improved

Good Language Teachers: Divergent Perspectives between University Language Teachers and Learners

Teachers assume several key roles in the language classroom: as educators transmitting knowledge, as facilitators assisting students with their learning, and as motivators inspiring students to achieve their language goals, to name a few. As any one teacher is unlikely to possess the full range of characteristics suggested in the literature, it seems important to explore what individual class groups of learners believe are the characteristics most beneficial to their language learning. In addition, how about these language learning group teachers’ perspectives? Do language learners and their teachers hold similar views? Are there any discrepancies in their viewpoints? If so, would these discrepancies affect learning effectiveness? These are some questions this research project aims to answer.9 language teachers and their class groups (a total of 10 groups, 287 students) from a language university in southern Taiwan participated in this study. Questionnaire results from student questionnaire were collated with data from their language teachers to discover points of agreement and divergence. The result shows that both language learners and their teachers believe in the importance of good command of L2. However, language learners care more about their relationship with the teachers (e.g., whether they are treated fairly, with respect), whereas language teachers believe that their professional teaching knowledge and the ability to update and reflect most important. This gap in the viewpoints may cause unmet expectations which ultimately affect learning effectiveness. This research ends with some practical suggestions for language teachers in the classroom

A Sociolinguistic Study of Compliment Responses Among Americans and Indonesians and Its Implications for Teaching English

The writers in this study would like to find out whether there is any difference between Indonesians and Americans in responding to compliments. This study also attempts to discover whether both the Americans and Indonesians in this study show a preference for certain types of compliment responses. Lastly, it also tries to see if a certain variable like status can play a role in determining the types of compliment responses chosen. To collect the data, the writers use the elicitation method. They use two sets of role-play consisting of four situations made as close as possible to the real-life situations. The first is for the Indonesian respondents; the other for the Americans. The respondents are asked to respond to the situations and their responses are then recorded on the tape for further analysis. The data are then analyzed using Herbert\u27s Twelve Types of Compliment Responses. The research finds that both the Indonesians and Americans show differences in responding to Compliments. They are different in terms of both the types of Compliment Responses chosen and the frequencies made. The findings also reveal that status is an important variable affecting the choice of a particular response

ESTRATEGIAS DE THINK-ALOUD PARA MEJORAR LA HABILIDAD DE LECTURA EN ESTUDIANTES EN EL CENTRO DE IDIOMAS EN LA UNIVERSIDAD TÉCNICA DE BABAHOYO

RESUMEN Este caso de estudio pretende mejorar la comprensión lectora utilizando las estrategias Think-Aloud para captar la atención de los estudiantes durante el proceso, así como conocer las estas estrategias que mejoren la comprensión durante el proceso de la lectura de un texto en el idioma inglés.  Este estudio fue realizado con dos estudiantes del Centro de Idiomas (CENID)en la Universidad Técnica de Babahoyo en la Provincia de Los Ríos quienes están en el tercer nivel de estudios. Las estudiantes tienen diferentes entornos culturales y de aprendizaje y el hecho de que hayan estado alejadas de los estudios en el CENID entre 2 y 4 meses pudo influir en las dificultades presentadas en este proceso.  En la Introducción se detalla este problema de estudio.  Luego se presenta una descripción de la metodología y el uso del método mixto para lo obtención de datos y análisis de los resultados.  Los resultados obtenidos muestran que Think-Aloud mejora la comprensión lectora y la retroalimentación con la autoevaluación motiva la lectura en las estudiantes.  Se concluye con una discusión de los resultados y las conclusiones finales de la investigación. PALABRAS CLAVES: destreza de lectura, proceso de enseñanza aprendizaje, conocimiento previo, estrategia Think-Aloud, autoevaluación, retroalimentación.   ABSTRACT This case study aims to enhance reading skill using the think-aloud strategies during the reading process to know how these strategies catch students’ attention to read, and how the think-aloud process enables the improvement of this skill in the teaching-learning process. This research was conducted with two students of the CENID language center at the Technical University of Babahoyo in Los Rios Province, who are in the third level and show different language and cultural backgrounds. The fact that they were out of the CENID between two and four months could produce some difficulties in the process of reading comprehension. In the introduction is specified the information about this problem of study in detail. the methodology includes a description of the elements to be used in the process of data collection and the analysis of results through the implementation of the mixed methods. The results suggest that Think-Aloud upgrade the reading skill and feedback through self-assessment increase motivation. Lastly, it is concluded with a discussion of the results and the conclusions. KEY WORDS: reading skills, the teaching-learning process, prior knowledge, think-aloud strategies, self-assessment, feedback REFERENCES .Fisher, D., and Frey, N. (2004). Improving Adolescent Literacy: Strategies at New Jersey:Pearson Prentice Hall Gersten ,R., Fuchs, Lynn., Williams, Joanna P., and Baker, Scott. (2001). Teaching      Reading Comprehension Strategies to Students With Learning Disabilities.      American Educational Research Association. DOI: 10.3102/00346543071002279. http://rer.sagepub.com/content/71/2/279 Kelly, M. J., Clausen-Grace, N. (2007). Comprehension shouldn't be silent. Retrieved may 5, 2009, from  http://books.google.com.co/books?id=mriwJujOzQAC&pg =PA138&dq=visualizing+as+a+reading+strategy&lr=&as_brr=3#PPP1,M1. O’Malley and Valdez, (1996). Authentic Assessment For English Language U.S.A.: Addison-Wesley. p.12