This book offers a holistic practitioner and research-based perspective on English Language Teaching and teacher education in difficult circumstances. In addition to extending the current conceptualization of ‘difficult circumstances’ in ELT to include the broader policy issues that may affect ELT in low-to-mid income countries, the book focuses on the challenges faced by practitioners and learners in contexts of confinement, conflict and special education. The chapters in this collection examine the challenges and problems that emerge from the complex current ELT environment, and present examples of contextualized inquiry-based strategies and interventions to address these challenges. Underlining the need to extend the boundaries of the discipline of ELT to include teaching-learning in less privileged contexts, this wide-ranging volume will appeal to students, scholars and practitioners of English Language Teaching.
With a Foreword by Hugh Starkey and Audrey Osler, and Afterwords by Graham Crookes, Hilary Janks and Allan Luke, this book promotes critical language education and illustrates how a critical agenda can be enacted in English language education in real classrooms. It presents four cases located in primary and secondary schools in the province of Buenos Aires in Argentina in contexts that can be characterised as vulnerable or difficult. It describes the possibilities, challenges and limitations of this critical agenda using students’ drawings, posters, leaflets, artwork, classroom activities and conversational data as foundation, and including the voices of local teachers in their classrooms. Importantly, these teachers used teacher-made, locally produced, critical post-method materials, described by the author of those materials in one of the chapters. In this way, the book offers a unique balance of researcher, teacher and materials writer voices. These materials are included in the book and can help language teachers around the world to introduce critical perspectives in their specific contexts. The book is appealing to researchers, classroom teachers, teacher educators, and materials writers and developers interested in critical language education.
The Routledge Handbook of Teaching English to Young Learners celebrates the ‘coming of age’ for the field of research in primary-level English Language Teaching. With 32 chapters written by international scholars from a wide geographical area including East Africa, Mexico, the South Pacific, Japan, France, the USA and the UK, this volume draws on areas such as second language acquisition, discourse analysis, pedagogy and technology to provide: An overview of the current state of the field, identifying key areas of TEYL. Chapters on a broad range of subjects from methodology to teaching in difficult circumstances and from Content and Language Integrated Learning (CLIL) to gaming. Suggestions of ways forward, with the aim of shaping the future research agenda of TEYL in multiple international contexts. Background research and practical advice for students, teachers and researchers. With extensive guidance on further reading throughout, The Routledge Handbook of Teaching English to Young Learners is essential reading for those studying and researching in this area.
This volume encompasses the range of research questions on language-related problems that arise in language teaching, learning and assessment. The [150] chapters are written by experts in the field who each offer their insights into current and future directions of research, and who suggest several highly relevant research questions. Topics include, but are not limited to: language skills teaching, language skills assessment and testing, measurement, feedback, discourse analysis, pragmatics, semantics, language learning through technology, CALL, MALL, ESP, EAP, ERPP, TBLT, materials development, genre analysis, needs analysis, corpus, content-based language teaching, language teaching and learning strategies, individual differences, research methods, classroom research, form-focused instruction, age effects, literacy, proficiency, and teacher education and teacher development. The book serves as a reference and offers inspiration to researchers and students in language education. An important skill in reviewing the research literature is following a study’s “plan of attack.” Broadly, this means that before accepting and acting upon the findings, one considers a) the research question (Is it clear and focused? Measurable?), b) the subjects examined, the methods deployed, and the measures chosen (Do they fit the study’s goal and have the potential to yield useful results?), and c) the analysis of the data (Do the data lead to the discussion presented? Has the author reasonably interpreted results to reach the conclusion?). Mohebbi and Coombe’s book, Research Questions in Language Education and Applied Linguistics: A Reference Guide, helps budding researchers take the first step and develop a solid research question. As the field of language education evolves, we need continual research to improve our instructional and assessment practices and our understanding of the learners’ language learning processes. This book with its remarkable 150 topics and 10 times the number of potential research questions provides a wealth of ideas that will help early career researchers conduct studies that move our field forward and grow our knowledge base. Deborah J. Short, Ph.D., Director, Academic Language Research & Training, Past President, TESOL International Association (2021-22) As a teacher in graduate programs in TESOL I frequently come across the frustration of students at centering their research interests on a particular topic and developing research questions which are worth pursuing so as to make a contribution to the field. This frustration stems from the fact that our field is so vast and interrelated, that it is often impossible to properly address all that interests them. Hence, I wholeheartedly welcome this most relevant and innovative addition to the research literature in the field of TESOL and Applied Linguistics. Coombe and Mohebbi have created a real tour de force that stands to inform budding researchers in the field for many years to come. Additionally, the cutting-edge depiction of the field and all it has to offer will no doubt update the research agendas of many seasoned researchers around the world. The 150 chapters are organized in a most powerful, yet, deceptively simple way offering a positioning within the topic, suggesting questions that might direct inquiry and offering a basic set of bibliographic tools to start the reader in the path towards research. What is more, the nine sections in which the chapters are organized leave no area of the field unexplored. Dr. Gabriel Díaz Maggioli, Academic Advisor, Institute of Education, Universidad ORT del Uruguay, President, IATEFL
This book focuses on mentoring in English language education internationally, as it applies to students, language teachers, practitioner researchers and research mentors themselves. It aims to provide an in-depth understanding of current mentoring practices in diverse contexts worldwide, drawing on case studies from Brazil, Chile, Mexico, Peru, and the USA; China, India, Japan, Nepal, and Vietnam; Australia; parts of Africa; Oman and the UAE; North Macedonia, Turkey and the UK. Areas of focus include peer mentoring, mentor courses, cross-cultural issues, and modalities such as face-to-face or online mentoring, and the chapters also highlight the value of different methodological tools for exploring mentoring situations, including cultural-historical activity theory and conversation analysis. The book’s conclusion highlights the potential of mentoring to widen access to learning and therefore address issues that relate to social injustice and inequality, particularly in, but not limited to, under-resourced contexts. This volume will be of particular interest to teacher educators, pre-service and in-service language teachers, and students and scholars of applied linguistics and English language teaching.
This book is about the policy-practice praxis in English language education, and draws on research from a diverse range of under-explored international settings to showcase the importance of contextual realities on how policy and practice interact. The case studies covered in the volume come from five continents (Africa, Europe, Asia, and South and North America) and cover 11 countries in total. The authors cover a wide range of themes and identify a number of issues at the interface between policy and practice. In some cases they also highlight local initiatives for navigating these issues, providing contextually-grounded guidance and experience which will be of use to teachers and teacher trainers in other settings. This book will be of interest to policy makers, EMI researchers, ELT practitioners, teacher trainers and trainees, and the broader Applied Linguistics research community.
This edited book offers culturally-situated, critical accounts of Content and Language Integrated Learning (CLIL) approaches in diverse educational settings, showcasing authentic examples of how CLIL can be applied to different educational levels from primary to tertiary. The contributors offer a research-based, critical view of CLIL opportunities, challenges and implications in the following areas: teacher education, continuing professional development, assessment, teacher-student dialogue, translanguaging, coursebooks, bilingual education, authenticity, language development and thinking skills. This wide-ranging volume will appeal to students and scholars of English Language Teaching (ELT), language policy and planning, bi- and multilingualism, and applied linguistics more broadly.
The Routledge Handbook of English Language Teaching is the definitive reference volume for postgraduate and advanced undergraduate students of Applied Linguistics, ELT/TESOL, and Language Teacher Education, and for ELT professionals engaged in in-service teacher development and/or undertaking academic study. Progressing from ‘broader’ contextual issues to a ‘narrower’ focus on classrooms and classroom discourse, the volume’s inter-related themes focus on: ELT in the world: contexts and goals planning and organising ELT: curriculum, resources and settings methods and methodology: perspectives and practices second language learning and learners teaching language: knowledge, skills and pedagogy understanding the language classroom. The Handbook’s 39 chapters are written by leading figures in ELT from around the world. Mindful of the diverse pedagogical, institutional and social contexts for ELT, they convincingly present the key issues, areas of debate and dispute, and likely future developments in ELT from an applied linguistics perspective. Throughout the volume, readers are encouraged to develop their own thinking and practice in contextually appropriate ways, assisted by discussion questions and suggestions for further reading that accompany every chapter. Advisory board: Guy Cook, Diane Larsen-Freeman, Amy Tsui, and Steve Walsh
This volume shares proven strategies for Academic English teaching, research, and development in challenging circumstances. Through original first-hand experiences from around the world, the collection reveals how educators in higher education have responded to the specific needs and challenges of teaching second language learners in turbulent times, as seen during the COVID-19 pandemic. Organised thematically, the book covers rapid responses to crises, adapting to teaching online, collaborations and online learning communities, and assessment practices. The volume provides original insights and practical suggestions for a range of practices across English for Academic and Specific Purposes that can address new and unfamiliar circumstances, both now and in future challenging times. The collection includes a wealth of effective strategies, varied research methodologies, and resources for practice making it an invaluable reference for practitioners, students, and researchers in the field of academic English, ESL/EFL, and online language instruction.
