Own-language use in language teaching and learning: state of the art

Until recently, the assumption of the language-teaching literature has been that new languages are best taught and learned monolingually, without the use of the students’ own language(s). In recent years, however, this monolingual assumption has been increasingly questioned, and a re-evaluation of teaching that relates the language being taught to the students’ own language has begun. This article surveys the developing English language literature on the role of students’ own language(s) in the language classroom. After clarifying key terms, the paper charts the continuing widespread use of students’ own languages in classrooms around the world and the contemporary academic and societal trends which have led to a revival of support for this. It then explores key arguments which underpin this revival, and reviews a range of empirical studies which examine the extent and functions of own-language use within language classrooms. Next, the article examines the support for own-language use that a range of theoretical frameworks provide, including psycholinguistic and cognitive approaches, general learning theory and sociocultural approaches. Having explored the notion of ‘optimal’ in-class own-language use, the article then reviews research into teachers’ and students’ attitudes towards own-language use. It concludes by examining how a bilingual approach to language teaching and learning might be implemented in practice

Own-language use in ELT: exploring global practices and attitudes

In this research paper Graham Hall and Guy Cook explore teacher attitudes to own-language use in the classroom. They conducted a global survey and interviews with practising teachers. They found evidence of widespread own-language use within ELT, and suggest that teachers’ attitudes towards own-language use, and their classroom practices, are more complex than usually acknowledged. The findings also suggest that there is a potential gap between mainstream ELT literature and teachers’ practices on the ground

The role of forestry in flood management in a Welsh upland catchment

Mechanisms of flooding are being investigated in the mountainous catchment of the Mawddach in the Snowdonia National Park of North Wales, where an estimated 300-year maximal flood event in 2001 caused extensive damage to bridges and roads. Interest has centred on the middle course of the river system, where deeply incised valleys cut through the extensive forest of Coed y Brenin. Investigations are combining field hydrological monitoring with modelling of ground and surface water flows. Forestry plantations, now reaching maturity, are found to have significant moderating effects on flooding downstream: Humid microclimates, resulting from cloud catching on steep Atlantic-facing hillslopes, promote prolific moss growth beneath mature conifers. Deep forest brown earth soils have formed, providing an enhanced water storage and buffering effect during storm events. Clear felling leads to rapid soil erosion, with reversion to thin peaty podsols. Areas of floodplain forestry within the deep valleys impede overbank discharges through generation of lateral turbulence. Models indicate a water depth increase of up to 1m in comparison to grassland floodplain. This represents a significant temporary storage capacity during flood events. Natural broadleaf woodland within the riparian zone stabilises river banks and reduces erosion of periglacial gravel deposits which infill the main valleys. Eroded gravel entering rivers can accumulate downstream, reducing the effectiveness of flood defence embankments.

Holonomy and Projective Equivalence in 4-Dimensional Lorentz Manifolds

A study is made of 4-dimensional Lorentz manifolds which are projectively related, that is, whose Levi-Civita connections give rise to the same (unparameterised) geodesics. A brief review of some relevant recent work is provided and a list of new results connecting projective relatedness and the holonomy type of the Lorentz manifold in question is given. This necessitates a review of the possible holonomy groups for such manifolds which, in turn, requires a certain convenient classification of the associated curvature tensors. These reviews are provided.Comment: Comments: 23 pages, LaTeX; typos corrected, page 9 last line corrected to $g'=e^{2\chi}a^{-1}

Mind the gap? A case-study of the differing perceptions of international students and their lecturers on postgraduate business programmes

This paper reports on a project which explored the experiences of a group of East Asian students studying postgraduate business programmes at a British university. Data drawn from a series of in-depth interviews with the students and their lecturers provided clear evidence that many of the students faced a substantial number of difficulties which affected their learning. The data also show that the lecturers and students had differing perceptions about why such difficulties arose. Whilst lecturers regarded language as the essential cause of East Asian students’ difficulties, the students recognised that, additionally, a lack of culturally-related knowledge of UK HE academic norms presented a fundamental challenge to their learning. The authors argue that these culturally-based academic practices need to be made more explicit to students. We also suggest that the complexity of East Asian cultures of learning are not fully understood or appreciated in British universities where, despite much relevant research and a range of institutional initiatives, a “deficit view” of international student behaviour and ability is still widespread. We contend that current university strategies may need to be reviewed if institutions and academic staff are to understand and resolve some of the difficulties international students face during their studies

Contamination of optical surfaces

The effect of molecular contamination on Space Station optical surfaces is examined. In particular, contamination of solar voltaic power sources and optical solar reflectors for thermal control or solar dynamic power generation is addressed. The published Space Station requirements for molecular contamination accretion and for the monitoring of such accretion is discussed in the context of the historical performance of space systems. Specific reference is made to the results from the Spacecraft Charging at High Altitudes (SCATHA) ML12 experiment

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Scenes from January Term 2006; clockwise from top left, Austrialia, India and Londo

Method, methods and methodology: historical trends and current debates

Whether conceptualised as a disciplinary field (Richards and Rodgers, 2014) or a profession (Pennington and Hoekje, 2014), ELT is often characterized as being in “ferment” (Richards and Rodgers, 2014), and subject to “fashions and trends” (Adamson, 2004); debates surrounding language teaching methods and methodology have been central to this perceived flux. Yet we are also in an era when unifying narratives and overarching explanations of intellectual and social developments “are viewed with suspicion” (Canagarajah, 2006: 9); in attempting to explain and understand the past, histories are always partial because they are informed by particular viewpoints and biases (ibid.). Consequently, there are a number of differing accounts of the recent history of methods in ELT, each with its own emphases, and each having implications for the way we might make sense of contemporary debates and practices within ELT. This chapter therefore aims to convey this range of perspectives on the development of methods in our field, narratives which, at times, diverge and offer conflicting accounts of the past and present

Exploring values in English Language Teaching: teacher beliefs, reflection and practice

English language classrooms and schools are local environments in which values, value-judgements and value-based decisions are part and parcel of the daily working lives of teachers and teacher educators. Moreover, we are also involved in a profession which is global in scale and effect, and where difference is a way of life. Yet it may be true to say that values are rarely reflected upon openly in staffrooms and on professional development programmes