This collection focuses on the work of the major pioneers working in the 1920s and 1930s whose research and writings laid the methodological foundations for post-World War II British approaches to English as a foreign language teaching (ELT). These early pioneers included Harold E. Palmer (in Japan), Michael West (in India), and Laurence Faucett (in China). Separately and jointly (at the 1934-5 'Carnegie Conference'), they succeeded in establishing a principled basis for the teaching of English to speakers of other languages, different in significant respects from teaching English as a 'first language' in Britain and the Empire.
Following the Second World War, the British Council, along with British publishers and universities, began to take a serious interest in English as a foreign language teaching ('ELT') and the UK soon gained a dominant role in the development and export of teaching approaches and materials. This set includes the works of neglected theorists such as Horace Wyatt, who indicated that English can be taught through the mother tongue as well as 'directly', and Michael West, whose emphasis on the educational value of teaching reading 'in difficult circumstances' has often been ignored in favor of the more utilitarian, spoken-language approach to ELT.
This book is a metaphorical journey through the English lexicon, viewed as a vehicle and a mirror of cultural identity. From the translatability of phrases and metaphors to genre-specific terms, from English as a Lingua Franca to English language teaching, the studies collected here testify to the fact that in English – and overall in language – word contextualization or lack of contextualization impinges on linguistic utterances and leads to differing interpretations of the textual message. The book may be of interest to a wide range of scholars and students who are concerned with the study of the English lexicon, bearing in mind that this lexicon provides the bricks of any language, and language, in turn, needs the cornerstone of Culture to stand firmly and thrive.
This set includes the works of neglected theorists such as Horace Wyatt and Michael West. This set complements English as a Foreign Language Teacing, 1912-1936: Pioneers of ELT.
Uncovering the role of literature, late imperialism, and the rise of new models of internationalism as integral to the invention of Global English, this book focuses on three key figures from the “Vocabulary Control Movement” - C.K. Ogden, Harold Palmer, and Michael West - who competed for market share for their respective language teaching systems - Basic English, the Palmer Method, and the New Method - through battles over word lists and teaching methods in the 1920s and 30s. Drawing on archives from the Carnegie Corporation and considering language teaching in eight global sites, this book analyzes how a series of conferences in New York and London resolved their conflicts and produced a consolidated, international standard form of English. As a postcolonial approach to the development of the field of English Language Teaching, it reveals how these language debates were proxy battles over an idealized global subject: an urban, secular, consumer moving seamlessly between the tribal and global, speaking both mother tongues and an international lingua franca, Global English. Featuring analysis of the primary texts of each of the three key figures in this book as well as close readings of their readers, which featured adaptations of well-known literary texts from writers like Poe, Dickens, Wordsworth, Milton and Wells, it recovers a neglected history of English as it was redefined as an international language through anti-colonial resistance in the peripheries and transatlantic power struggles in the metropole during the interwar period.
This Handbook is a comprehensive overview of English language education in Bangladesh. Presenting descriptive, theoretical, and empirical chapters as well as case studies, this Handbook, on the one hand, provides a comprehensive view of the English language teaching and learning scenario in Bangladesh, and on the other hand comes up with suggestions for possible decolonisation and de-eliticisation of English in Bangladesh. The Handbook explores a wide range of diverse endogenous and exogenous topics, all related to English language teaching and learning in Bangladesh, and acquaints readers with different perspectives, operating from the macro to the micro levels. The theoretical frameworks used are drawn from applied linguistics, education, sociology, political science, critical geography, cultural studies, psychology, and economics. The chapters examine how much generalisability the theories have for the context of Bangladesh and how the empirical data can be interpreted through different theoretical lenses. There are six sections in the Handbook covering different dynamics of English language education practices in Bangladesh, from history, policy and practice to assessment, pedagogy and identity. It is an invaluable reference source for students, researchers, and policy makers interested in English language, ELT, TESOL, and applied linguistics.
This book investigates an important but under-researched aspect of dictionary making: the use of a controlled vocabulary in definitions. The main concern of the author is the role of a definition vocabulary in how foreign learners understand and perceive dictionary definitions. The author takes the reader through a detailed historical account of controlled vocabularies and examines definitions in a range of English dictionaries with respect to their vocabulary loads. He performs a series of experiments with university students to reveal merits and shortcomings of restricted vocabularies. This monograph has been written with the aim to fill a gap in the literature on defining vocabulary. It is intended for lexicographers, dictionary editors, course designers, teachers, and students, as well as anyone who wishes to explain words in an intelligible way.
The promotion and vernacularization of Hebrew, traditionally a language of Jewish liturgy and study, was a central accomplishment of the Zionist movement in Palestine. Viewing twentieth-century history through the lens of language, author Liora Halperin questions the accepted scholarly narrative of a Zionist move away from multilingualism during the years following World War I, demonstrating how Jews in Palestine remained connected linguistically by both preference and necessity to a world outside the boundaries of the pro-Hebrew community even as it promoted Hebrew and achieved that language's dominance. The story of language encounters in Jewish Palestine is a fascinating tale of shifting power relationships, both locally and globally. Halperin's absorbing study explores how a young national community was compelled to modify the dictates of Hebrew exclusivity as it negotiated its relationships with its Jewish population, Palestinian Arabs, the British, and others outside the margins of the national project and ultimately came to terms with the limitations of its hegemony in an interconnected world.
"The history of Foreign Language Teaching in India arrived at a point of transformation with the liberalization of Indian politics and economics since 1991. Although the Indians had experienced the learning of English as a foreign language due to their colonial past, the need to learn other European/Romance/Germanic languages has intensified with the growing linkage of India with the developed and developing countries in the post-Cold War era. In response to this intensified need for learning foreign languages, many new foreign programs of study/curricula have been introduced in Indian schools (especially those with international curriculum). The central objective of this book is to shed light on the specific challenges of teaching Spanish language through foreign curricula in India. The book performs a qualitative study not only to investigate the problems of teaching Spanish language but also to design suggestive measures to resolve these pedagogical problems."
The Routledge Handbook of Intralingual Translation provides the first comprehensive overview of intralingual translation, or the rewording or rewriting of a text. This Handbook aims to examine intralingual translation from every possible angle. The introduction gives an overview of the theoretical, political, and ideological issues involved and is followed by the first section which investigates intralingual translation from a diachronic perspective covering the modernization of classical texts. Subsequent sections consider different dialects and registers and intralingual translation from one language mode to another, explore concepts such as self-translating, transediting, and the role of copyeditors, and investigate the increasing interest in the role of intralingual translation and second language learning. Final sections examine recent developments in intralingual translation such as the subtitling of speech for the hard-of-hearing, simultaneous Easy Language interpreting, and respeaking in parliamentary debates. By providing an in-depth study on intralingual translation, the Handbook sheds light on other important areas of translation that are often bypassed, including publishing practices, authorship, and ideological constraints. Authored by a range of established and new voices in the field, this is the essential guide to intralingual translation for advanced students and researchers of translation studies.
