第十二辑（中）

11.The language-learning self, self-enhancement activities, and self perceptual change

Author: Richard Sampson

Source: Language Teaching Research, 2012, 16(3): 317-335

Abstract: This article presents an overview of action research conducted in an EFL university context, regarding primarily the relationship between individual possible self-images, socially constructed possible self-images, and language-learning motivation. The study used three cycles of action research over the course of one 15-week university semester, utilizing mixed-methods data collection and analysis. The results provide support for the assertion that initially inquiring with students as to their language possible self-images might assist the teacher to create more motivating lessons through self-enhancement activities. Furthermore, the article provides context-dependent evidence that assisting students to focus their language-learning possible self-images may positively affect motivation and bring a heightened recognition of self-regulation in language learning.

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12. The relationship between SLA research and language pedagogy: Teachers’ perspectives

Author: Hossein Nassaji

Source: Language Teaching Research, 2012, 16(3): 337-365

Abstract: There is currently a substantial body of research on second language (L2) learning and this body of knowledge is constantly growing. There are also many attempts in most teacher education programs around the world to inform practicing and prospective L2 teachers about second language acquisition (SLA) research and its findings. However, an important question in this context has been to what extent SLA research has been able to influence L2 teaching. There is extensive discussion and debate among SLA researchers about the applicability of L2 research to language teaching. However, there is little empirical research in this area. This research was conducted to shed some light on this issue by examining how English language teachers perceive the relationship between SLA research and language teaching and to what extent they believe the findings of SLA is useful and relevant for L2 pedagogy. Data were collected from 201 teachers of English as a second language (ESL) and English as a foreign language (EFL) by means of a written questionnaire. Analyses of data revealed that most teachers believed that knowing about SLA research is useful and that it can improve L2 teaching. However, a high percentage indicated that the knowledge they gain from teaching experience is more relevant to their teaching practices than the knowledge they gain from research. The majority indicated that they have easy access to research materials, but very few stated that they read research articles, with the most common reasons being lack of time, difficulty of research articles, and lack of interest. The article concludes with discussion and suggestions about how to improve the perceived gap between L2 research and pedagogy.

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13.  Comparing the effect of teacher codeswitching with English-only explanations on the vocabulary acquisition of Chinese university students: A Lexical Focus-on-Form study

Author: Lili Tian , Ernesto Macaro

Source: Language Teaching Research, 2012, 16(3): 367-391

Abstract: This study investigated the effect of teacher codeswitching on second language (L2) vocabulary acquisition during listening comprehension activities in a lexical Focus-on-Form context. To date there has been research on teacher beliefs about first language (L1) use, its functions and its distribution in the interaction, but little on its effect on aspects of learning. Previous research on intentional vocabulary teaching has shown it to be effective, but whether the lexical information provided to learners is more effective in L1 or L2 has been under-researched and, moreover, has only been investigated in a reading comprehension context. Eighty first-year students of English as an L2, in a Chinese university, were stratified by proficiency and randomly allocated to a codeswitching condition or to an English-only condition, and their performance in vocabulary tests compared to a control group of 37 students that did not receive any lexical Focus-on-Form treatment. Results confirm previous studies that lexical Focus-on-Form leads to better vocabulary learning than mere incidental exposure. Results also provide initial evidence that teacher codeswitching may be superior to the teacher providing L2-only information. Contrary to some theories of the mental lexicon, proficiency level did not clearly favour one condition against the other.

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14. How effective are affective activities? Relative benefits of two types of structured input activities as part of a computer-delivered lesson on the Spanish subjunctive

Author: Florencia Henshaw

Source: Language Teaching Research, 2012, 16(3): 393-414

Abstract: Proponents of Processing Instruction (VanPatten, 2005) claim that learners benefit most when presented with both referential and affective structured input activities. Following a classic pretest–posttest design, the present study investigates the role of these two types of activities on the learning of the Spanish subjunctive. Groups differed only with respect to the types of activities completed during practice: (1) affective activities only, (2) referential activities only, or (3) referential activities followed by affective activities. All groups showed a significant improvement in performance on recognition and interpretation tasks, suggesting that both types of activities, either in isolation or combined, may be equally beneficial to learners. All practice conditions experienced a decline in performance over the span of two weeks, but delayed posttest scores were still significantly higher than pretest scores, indicating that some of the gains from instruction were maintained over time. Additionally, in the case of interpretation items, results revealed that the two groups that engaged in affective activities were able to better maintain learning gains over the span of two weeks than the group that completed only referential activities. Findings are discussed in relation to the role of task-essentialness in structured input practice.

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15. Re-thinking the Goals of Education: Some Thoughts on Women’s Education and Women’s Development

Author: Uma Chakravarti

Source: Contemporary Education Dialogue, 2012, 9(2): 223-243

Abstract: This article examines the linkages between women’s education and women’s development as these have been understood and forged by feminists. The rhetoric of empowerment is examined to see what is included among its indices. The article explores questions about the goals of women’s education as understood by policy makers and educationists. These are examined in relation to the feminist commitment to women’s right to autonomy, to fulfilling their own potential as human beings, to thinking for themselves and to changing the structural conditions that obstruct their autonomy. I argue that education, unless conceptualised in the ways in which Jotiba Phule and Paulo Freire did—as a traitiya ratna, or a third eye that opens up a way of understanding the world, and as a pedagogy of the oppressed, respectively—is otherwise of little use to women, as it is for all those outside the field of power.

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16. Education for Liberation: Ambedkar’s Thought and Dalit Women’s Perspectives

Author:  Padma Velaskar

Source: Contemporary Education Dialogue, 2012, 9(2): 245-271

Abstract: Despite the phenomenal impact that it has had in transforming the lives of dalits and its continuing contemporary relevance, Ambedkar’s social and educational thought remains surprisingly neglected in Indian educational discourse. Education was assigned a revolutionary role in Ambedkar’s conception of social progress and in his vision of a just and equal society. It was identified as a key instrument of liberation from oppressive structures of Hindu caste-patriarchy as well as of reconstruction of a new social order. Women were integral to this visionary egalitarianism and were consciously mobilised as political actors in the dalit liberation movement led by Ambedkar in the early decades of the twentieth century. This article explores the interface between Ambedkar’s ideologies of liberation and education, on the one hand, and dalit women’s thoughts and perspectives, on the other hand. It seeks to incorporate gender in the understanding of the historical processes of social change. It argues that an emancipatory discourse on gender was an important component of Ambedkar’s philosophy of social democratic liberalism and permitted women an authentic identification with its underlying principles with a view to achieving a full and enlightened citizenship. The article shows how the imbibing of Ambedkar’s thought and participation in his movement constituted the bedrock of dalit women’s political education. The arena of formal education was a significant focus of women’s political involvement, and they played foundational roles as political educators and educational activists. Dalit women redefined ideals of both womanhood and educational purpose in terms of counter-hegemonic reconstructions of nation, society and community, and articulated new subject positions grounded in them.

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17. A Comparison in the Developmental Strategies of the Cincinnati and St. Louis Public School Systems

Author: Doug Feldmann , Timothy James Watson

Source: Education and Urban Society, 2012, 44(5):553-570

Abstract: This study investigated the recent histories of the urban public school districts of St. Louis, Missouri and Cincinnati, Ohio in the United States of America. The purpose was to identify the similar challenges that each had recently faced in regard to the maintenance and development of its public school systems, as well to gauge the level of community support for the numerous reforms proposed by local education officials in each city over the past decade. After a critical review of the research and applicable theory, the authors offer suggestions for solidifying the future success of each system with examples of positive experimentation occurring in these cities and others. The city of St. Louis received the primary focus, as its enrollment and monetary problems tend to revolve back several years before similar issues surfaced in a comparable manner in Cincinnati. Each city was also examined in its particular historical context, with the accompanying educational, political, and social issues which have manifested themselves to the present state of affairs.

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18. Pre-Service Biology Teachers' Perceptions on the Instruction of Socio-Scientific Issues in the Curriculum

Author: Kara, Yilmaz

Source: European Journal of Teacher Education, 2012, 35(1): 111-129

Abstract: The work presented here represents a preliminary attempt to address the role of teachers in supporting students' learning on socio-scientific issues (SSI) by characterising pre-service biology teachers' perceptions and adaptation of curriculum and identifying factors that serve to mediate this process. A hundred and two undergraduate pre-service biology teachers took part in this study over the course of one semester. The teacher candidates (72% female) completed a questionnaire comprising Likert-type and open-ended questions. The results indicated that the teacher candidates perceived a need to address SSI positively. Pre-service teachers had moderate personal teaching efficacy beliefs related to teaching about SSI. They also identified the lack of instructional time and the unavailability of relevant materials as the primary obstacles hindering the teaching of SSI. The implications for teacher education and the design of curriculum materials with respect to SSI are discussed.

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19. The Impact of Institutional Grant Aid on College Choice

Author: Jian-Hua Liang, Paul E. Heckman, Jamal Abedi

Source: Educational Evaluation and Policy Analysis, 2012, 34(3): 328-343

Abstract: In California, an increasing number of 8th graders have taken algebra courses since 2003. This study examines students’ California Standards Test (CST) results in grades 7 through 11, aiming to reveal who took the CST for Algebra I in 8th grade and whether the increase has led to a rise in students’ taking higher-level mathematics CSTs and an improved performance in following years. Results show that the pipeline of 8th-grade algebra and following years’ higher-level mathematics CSTs has a significant leak in it. Furthermore, the longitudinal analysis reveals that 9th-grade students have a 69% greater chance of succeeding in algebra if they passed the CST for General Mathematics in 8th grade compared to those who failed the CST for Algebra I.

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20. Measuring Usable Knowledge: Teachers’ Analyses of Mathematics Classroom Videos Predict Teaching Quality and Student Learning

Author: Nicole B. Kersting, Karen B. Givvin, Belinda J. Thompson, Rossella Santagata, and James W. Stigler

Source: American Educational Research Journal, 2012, 49 (3): 568-589

Abstract: This study explores the relationships between teacher knowledge, teaching practice, and student learning in mathematics. It extends previous work that developed and evaluated an innovative approach to assessing teacher knowledge based on teachers’ analyses of classroom video clips. Teachers watched and commented on 13 fraction clips. These written analyses were coded using objective rubrics to yield a reliable and valid indicator of their usable teaching knowledge. Previous work showed this measure to correlate with another measure of teacher knowledge and to predict students’ learning from the teachers’ fraction instruction. In this study, the authors replicated those findings and further showed that the effect of teacher knowledge on student learning was mediated by instructional quality, measured using video observations of teachers’ lessons.