Iranian Journal of Language Teaching Research
Volume:7 Issue: 2, Jul 2019

The notion of learner autonomy has attracted the close attention of scholars, teachers, policy makers and researchers in various countries. In Indonesia, while its scope remains limited, learner independence is one of the highlights of the current curriculum. The purpose of this study was threefold: to investigate how Indonesian secondary school students conceptualized the construct of learner autonomy; to ascertain the extent to which students were motivated to learn English; and to estimate how ready they were to participate in the teaching-learning process as autonomous learners. The study employed a mixed-methods approach and recruited 391 participants – EFL students and teachers – from urban and suburban schools, classified as state and private institutions. The data were collected using questionnaires and focus group interviews. The findings revealed that many students were not familiar with the concept of learner autonomy. They also had fairly low motivation to learn English and generally were not ready to act as autonomous learners, lacking the typical skills and competences. The results indicate that Indonesian students need to be trained in planning their learning process, setting objectives and taking a more active role in negotiating the teaching-learning process.

English as an international language (EIL) is considered by applied linguists to be a new paradigm for research, practice and English language teaching (ELT). However, it appears that English language teachers have little voice in these discussions, and the English as a foreign language (EFL) classroom has remained largely unaffected by EIL, hinging upon the native speaker (NS) ideal. This is hardly surprising as insufficient attention has been devoted to EIL pedagogy, and to helping teachers integrate theoretical understandings of EIL into their teaching. This paper aims to address this gap by examining EFL teachers’ (non-native speakers - NNS) perspectives on the implications of EIL for classroom practice. Through an analysis of data gathered from an online questionnaire and 10 semi- structured interviews, this study examined the attitudes of 53 EFL teachers working in Croatian public schools towards: a) the EIL paradigm, b) NS/NNS models in ELT, and c) the implications of EIL for language teaching. The findings show that although the teachers are familiar with and open to the notion of EIL, when conceptualized as a paradigm for teaching, it becomes a rather elusive concept, and a second best NNS English. Overall, the teachers are largely unaware of the potential of EIL for ELT, and rely on the NS as the benchmark and authority. They maintain that the EIL theory-ELT practice link is complex and difficult to operationalise. It is argued that, if EIL is to become a new paradigm for teaching, greater collaboration is required between applied linguists and ELF teachers, and explicit guidelines are needed to help teachers integrate EIL into ELT.

Semiotics as a broad field of study encompasses Systemic Functional Linguistics (SFL). SFL has paved the way for Multimodality which is the study of different sources of meaning. This study was conducted to analyze the visual sources of meaning in children’s storybooks on the basis of what Kress and van Leeuwen (2006) developed and called visual grammar. The chosen books for this study consisted of A, Apple Pie, Princess Rose and the Golden Bird, Tyrone the Horrible, and Terrible Tommy Tom Cat. The aim of this qualitative study was to investigate the interaction between the viewer and the represented participants. Accordingly, interactional meta-function was analyzed through interpreting the frequencies of each dimension of interactional meta-function in all pictures. It is supposed that there are differences in interactional meanings in storybooks in which the characters are animals and in storybooks in which the characters are human beings. The results of the present study prove the assumption of differences between the two types of storybooks. The viewer can enter into relation with represented participants in stories with human characters easier than the ones with animal characters. The findings may help teachers and syllabus designers. Specifically, teachers can choose the stories with human characters in order to make easy the process of involvement of the children with intended subject. They also can choose stories with animal characters in order to teach some strange concepts in which they do not want their students to be involved.

This study was an attempt to investigate the relationship between EFL teachers’ effective classroom management and EFL learners’ anxiety and learning strategies. Accordingly, two questionnaires and a checklist were used: Strategy Inventory for Language Learning (SILL), Foreign Language Classroom Anxiety Scale (FLCAS), and Murdoch’s checklist. A total of 750 male and female learners and their 30 teachers participated in this study. Once the questionnaires were administered and the checklist was filled, the researchers conducted the relevant descriptive and inferential statistical analyses and the results supported the notion that teachers’ classroom management was positively correlated with language learners’ learning strategies while it was negatively correlated with their anxiety. Hence, the major implication of this study is that EFL teachers can engage in employing more effective classroom management techniques in order to encourage EFL learners to use more strategies in the process of their learning and at the same time reduce their anxiety.

There is scarce evidence of publications pertaining to the phenomenon that a foreign teachers’ language in fact is a language for specific purposes. In the field of (foreign) languages for specific purposes, traditionally linked to a vast variety of professional and academic domains, it seems that LSP teachers’ language has not yet gained due attention. However, any FL or LSP teacher’s language is used for professional, teaching purposes; yet it does not seem that FL teachers for specific purposes are aware of their teacher talk, either in class or conceptually. On the basis of classroom observation and semi-structured interviews among 17 Slovenian teachers of foreign languages for specific purposes this paper attempted to identify differences in the teacher talk used by them in class, and the level of their awareness of their own teacher talk. The results of the quantitative analysis indicate that there are some specific features in LSP teacher talk which led us to conclude that it could be identified and categorised as a separate LSP category. However, the related LSP teacher’s awareness about their own teacher talk varied from highly profiled to absent, and there was a perceptible impact on working efficiency in the class. All discussed phenomena require further research.

This study was an attempt to evaluate practicum courses at Farhangian University. Since practicum is a significant component of teacher education which links theory to practice and prepares student- teachers for their work, this study was intended to explore the extent to which (1) the practicum objectives stated in the ‘Curriculum Document of TEFL’ at Farhangian University were actualized, (2) the students’ language teaching profession needs were fulfilled, and (3) the participants were satisfied with the courses. To this end, based on the data gathered from interview, focus-group discussion and the University documents, a questionnaire was developed and administered to 144 student-teachers and mentors. Findings revealed that although the courses were relevant to the student-teachers’ occupational needs, and improved participants’ motivation, self-confidence, and class management skills, they failed to fulfill a number of their needs and course objectives to a considerable degree. Findings also indicated that the way courses implemented in practice was not satisfactory. The findings are discussed and some implications are provided for student-teachers, EFL teacher educators, and syllabus designers.

Many studies have addressed the issue of collaborative teaching in EAP courses; however, there is a gap in the literature concerning EAP teachers’ cognitions and actual practices regarding collaborative EAP teaching, especially in contexts like Iran where EAP courses are taught by either language teachers or content teachers - subject specialist teachers - with little or no cooperation between them. Therefore, the current nationwide study explored the cognitions and practices of language teachers and content teachers at medical sciences universities in Iran regarding collaborative EAP teaching. The participants were 128 representative language teachers and 190 representative content teachers, teaching at all five types of universities across the country. The instruments included questionnaire and semi-structured interviews. The results revealed that the differences between the two groups of EAP teachers overshadow the similarities between them. The findings also disclosed inconsistencies between the two groups of EAP teachers in terms of their cognitions and actual practices. The conclusions outline implications for the EAP community throughout the world and specifically accentuate the urgent need for teacher education programs in Iran and micro- and macro- policy reforms in the Iranian EAP educational system.

The book is an edited volume made of three sections, each divided into several chapters. The first section focuses on different possibilities for the adoption of sequential art in the classroom, from introductory to advanced composition writing. In the second section, the graphic novel is foregrounded as a unique literary genre where the editor makes reference to authors who advocate graphic novels to be regarded as literature in their own right. The third section is concerned with graphic novels’ potential for triggering discussions that create opportunities for students to gain insights into the notions of social justice, identity, and empathy. In the introductory chapter of the book, which is a collection of essays on the use of graphic novels in the English classrooms, Burger enumerates the outstanding benefits of teaching graphic novels such as engaging reluctant readers, encouraging students to view familiar knowledge from a new perspective, activating, and developing students’ multiple literacy skills due to the inextricable combination of text and image in graphic novels.

David Banks’ A Systemic Functional Grammar of English: A Simple Introduction has been written for learners of English as a foreign language and those interested in learning about English linguistics. The book comprises nine chapters and aims to serve as an easy-to-read introduction for Halliday’s (2004) Systemic Functional Linguistics. This work is a fundamental introduction to this linguistic theory and is targeted at PhD students, researchers and linguists interested in a functional systemic perspective to studying language. As the book includes practical activities and exercises with an answer key, it has the potential to be used as a textbook in educational contexts with small groups of learners. The book also includes a glossary which also includes some terms not used in this book but which can be helpful especially for students and researchers who are not familiar with Systemic Functional Grammar. It, furthermore, has an index which alphabetically lists the terms and topics mentioned in the book.