English Teaching Research

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Volume 9, Number 4, April 2012 (Serial Number 100)
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Sino-U S
English Te a ching
Volume 9, Number 4, April 2012 (Serial Number 100)
Contents
Teaching Theory & Practice
Factors in International Student Identity Formation: Processes and Challenges 1035

Deborah Osborne
A Review of the Research on Teacher Autonomy 1045

JIANG Yu-hong, MA Ting
Pedagogical Strategies for Task-Based Vocabulary Acquisition 1056

ZHOU Li-na
An Empirical Study of Learner-Based Teaching in EFL 1061

HU Lan-ying, DU Xue-mei
Learner Autonomy via Self-Assessment in Consecutive Interpreting for Novice Learners
in a Non-Interpreting Environment 1065

Noraini Ibrahim-González, Noraiha Noordin
Strategies for Effective Teaching and Learning of Reading Skill in English 1074
Bolanle Tajudeen Opoola, Ayobami Fatimo Opoola
Deconstructing the Captive Education: Creating Différance Among the Lonely Crowd 1083
Esin Kumlu
Promoting Cultural Diversity in Higher Education 1091

Elena Yurevna Petrova
Rethinking Speaking Skills in EFL (English as a Foreign Language) Settings 1100

Sana Sakale
Sino-US English Teaching, ISSN 1539-8072
April 2012, Vol. 9, No. 4, 1035-1044
D DAVID PUBLISHING
Factors in International Student Identity Formation:

Processes and Challenges
Deborah Osborne
Park University, Parkville, USA

International students choosing to study abroad face a change in self-identity, which in many cases takes them by
surprise and which is affected by a multiplicity of factors. Within the framework of Tajfel’s Social Identity Theory,
we examine the nature of identity and the many contexts in which it is shaped, mainly in reference to the ESL
(English as a Second Language) classroom, but with broader implications for the students’ experiences in Western
classroom as a whole. We discuss the challenges facing not only students, but also faculty who wish to assist
students in the formation of their new identities.
Keywords: student identity, Social Identity Theory, role of language in identity, educational background and
identity, sociopolitical context of ESL (English as a Second Language)
Introduction
International students converge on the universities of English-speaking countries from all over the world
with the primary purpose of learning or perfecting the language, finishing a degree, and parlaying these last into
employment. Most students realize that from “here”—where they begin—to “there”, having accomplished their
goals, comprises a 4-6 years stretch of time. However, other than in the temporal sense, they tend not to anticipate
the depth of a different dimension-the sociocultural “distance” between the two points. As young people often
largely unaware of their own culture, much less the culture of their host country, and who to some extent have
never explored or examined their own identities1, the actual experience of studying abroad can be far deeper,
longer, and fraught on many levels than ever they expected when conceptualizing it as a simple period of time.
Optimistic, usually unsuspecting of the unforeseen obstacles ahead, students stumble blithely into a yawning
chasm, facing situations, expectations, beliefs, and behaviors that they did not anticipate, and for which they must
somehow develop coping strategies. Key to a student’s success is becoming aware of who they are, and
negotiating the transition to the person they must become in order to achieve their goals in a Western academic
setting. In turn, to the extent that we wish our students to accomplish what they came to do, it is incumbent upon
the tertiary-level instructor to understand the various forces which impinge upon students, affecting their identity
Deborah Osborne, Ph.D., coordinator of English as an International Language Program; professor of ESL and linguistics, Park
University.
1
Refugees or members of persecuted minorities, who often are painfully aware of their own identities, are beyond the purview of
this paper. This group also faces identity issues, but they differ in scope and scale from those of the international student coming
from abroad.
1036 FACTORS IN INTERNATIONAL STUDENT IDENTITY FORMATION
formation. In so doing, we may help students become aware of their identity and facilitate its expansion, in as
sensitive and ethical a way as possible. To that end, we first discuss the nature of identity and the factors affecting
student identity. We then introduce a teaching philosophy which supports and assists students and encourages the
forging of new and resilient identities.
The Nature of Identity

The concept of identity can be studied from several perspectives: psychological, sociological, political,
anthropological, linguistic, and any combination of the above. It can be examined on different scales—from that
of the individual, to the group, to the macro group (i.e., a society or even civilization). According to Berzonsky
(1992), identity is “… a multifaceted construct that comprises a number of interdependent dimensions” (p. 786).
Within the context of this paper, we lean towards the sociological view of identities, adopting the framework of
Tajfel’s (1981) Social Identity Theory and subsequent interpretations. Tajfel’s theory concerns social identities,
that part of each individual’s self-concept which is formed through membership in various groups or categories,
and which includes his/her emotional attachment to and attitude towards these groups. Tajfel posits three social
psychological processes which contribute to the formation of social identities: social categorization, social
comparison, and psychological work. Social categorization is ubiquitous and appears to be an inextricable part of
being human: From the time we are born we learn to sort ourselves, and others, into categories determined by
nationality, language or language variety, race, skin color, gender, ethnicity, or other means of distinction. Social
comparison follows categorization: Groups arise and exist in relation to others, and thus to compare and evaluate
themselves with those other groups is inevitable. Psychological work is the emotional and cognitive effort that
members of a group expend in order to feel positive about their distinctiveness. Perhaps not surprisingly,
members of valued, privileged, or even simply majority groups generally do not need to “work” much, in this
way; it is members of smaller, disparaged, or highly visible groups who have the most trouble engendering or
maintaining a favorable self-image.
Furthermore, identities are mutable. A common theme to modern explorations of identity is that it is
negotiable and dynamic, in process: That is, identities are not static within the individual or even within a
community (though some social identities such as partisan or ethnic ones tend to be more stable) (Huddy, 2001).
Central to this mutability is the balance—or imbalance—of power between groups, which is very relevant in the
ESL (English as a Second Language) context. For, as we will discuss below, language is integral to a group’s and
an individual’s identity: As Weedon (1987) said, “Language is the place where actual and possible forms of
social organization and their likely social and political consequences are defined and contested. Yet it is also the
place where our sense of ourselves, our subjectivity, is constructed” (p. 21). Some researchers speak to the
existence of agency, or the degree to which the individual chooses to belong to a group and also to the presence of
gradation of identity, whether weak or strong (Cerulo, 1997). All of these aspects are salient in the transformation
of international students’ identities, between leaving and returning home again.
One of the most fascinating aspects of the identities of both individuals and groups is the part that culture
plays in their constituency. Kramsch (1998) defined culture as:
FACTORS IN INTERNATIONAL STUDENT IDENTITY FORMATION 1037
… Membership in a discourse community that shares a common social space and history, and common imaginings.
Even when they have left that community, its members may retain, wherever they are, a common system of standards for
perceiving, believing, evaluating, and acting. These standards are what is generally called their “culture”. (p. 10)
We typically do not realize the extent to which the way we think, act, understand, and categorize is culturally
embedded and imbued, until we are somehow made aware of it. Often this awareness arises through change or
challenge—what Berzonsky calls “dissonant feedback”. People who grow up in one culture and then move to
another face both change and challenge, and this plays out on many levels, most significantly that of identity and
self-image. Students who study abroad are prime examples. Having chosen to leave familiar surroundings and
support structures, they enter into a process of adjustment which commences, unbeknownst to them, when they
step onto the airplane which brings them to foreign shores. Attempting to learn all one can about a new culture
before entering it is useful to some extent, but as most students will attest, reading about it is far removed from
living in it on a 24-hour a day and 7-day a week basis.
International Student Identity

The almost 900,000 international students in the US arrive from the four corners of the globe. They come
equipped with a social identity provided by their former life, which, however, most of them have never examined
or questioned before. A student from China, if asked, identifies himself/herself as Chinese; a student from Kenya,
as Kenyan; a student from Brazil, as Brazilian; and so on. This appears to be true whether or not they actually
were part of a majority in their home country, or part of a minority there; just as an African-American or Irish
American or Hispanic American person identifies themselves—and is identified—as simply American when
abroad. Students move from a situation where they were part of a defined whole, where they fit in and understood
everything, including differences between groups, to a situation where these former differences are now erased,
at least temporarily. They are now members of a more homogenous minority, subsumed within a larger group,
where things are done differently and where the signposts (where they are available) are written in an unfamiliar
language. If they were unself-consciously Turkish, Moldovan, Venezuelan, (etc.), prior to their arrival, very
shortly they find themselves self-consciously Turkish, Moldovan, and Venezuelan. As one Chinese student wrote
in her journal: “Before I come in America, I feel Chinese, and proud to Chinese, but it not so important. Here in
America I must to be Chinese” (“Must” is here used in the sense “have to”; the student felt that she has no choice
in the matter—she herself feels “more Chinese”, and is seen as Chinese by others). The things students took for
granted, such as social structures, expectations, procedures, and ways of interacting, all are changed; they begin
to realize the extent to which they are indeed strangers in a strange land. The various stresses they are subjected to
have the effect of focusing their attention: They become aware of how things were done at home and draw the
comparisons, and it is at this juncture that they truly begin to become cognizant of their identity. The culture that
surrounds one invisibly only becomes visible when one has left it and can compare it with something new. As a
student journal-writer put it, rather poetically: “In Russia I breathed Russian air. It was me. In US I breathe
American air, and all is different”.
Often this growing awareness of what one has left comes at a difficult emotional stage for students (and no
doubt contributes to their distress). As differences both deep and superficial become more and more apparent, and
misunderstandings and misinterpretations occur, the tendency is to withdraw from the new and long for the old.
Identity-wise, students often clutch at what they remember of the familiar, what one might call their “old self”,
and cling to other people in the same category. Being Chinese, or Togolese, or Russian, becomes very important
or salient, indeed. If one has no-one to cling to, and thus has no “group”, then this can be a very lonely and
frightening time. Viewed in terms of the theory discussed earlier, students are caught up in a maelstrom of having
to reinterpret and reform their identities in the face of a new social reality. The amount of psychological “work”
they must do increases exponentially. This may sound familiar. In culture-shock studies, this describes the nadir
of the adjustment stage, where sojourners feel overwhelmed, negative, and isolated. In fact, the famous W-curve
graph typically associated with the stages of cultural adaptation can also be used with some accuracy to illustrate
the stages which students go through as their identities transmute (see Figure 1).
Arrival Reintegration
Adaptation Return Home
Sense of Satisfaction
Recovery Recovery
Culture Reverse
Shock Culture Shock
Time in Country Time at Home
Figure 1. The culture shock W-curve graph (Retrieved from www2.pacific.edu/sis/culture/pub/ 2.2.1-_Returning_ Home.htm).
However, the processes of identity formation and cultural adaptation, while sharing similar characteristics,
are not identical. For one thing, it is possible to achieve a level of comfort—to find friends, get over
homesickness, become accustomed to routines, etc.—but still be in flux and identity—wise. In the case of
international students, it is the added linguistic and academic dimensions of their circumstance which elongate
the process of identity-formation. The tendency noted earlier—of “hanging with” members of the same culture,
or, failing that, others with whom they share a language—affords a great deal of comfort, but can delay the
development of a new identity, not to mention retarding language acquisition. For this reason, it is common
practice to forbid the use of students’ mother tongues, at least in ESL programs. Notwithstanding, it has been
argued elsewhere (Osborne, 2011) that there are compelling reasons for allowing the (judicious) use of students’
first languages, in part because of the psychological benefits.
The Role of Language

The role of language in the construction of one’s identity cannot be underestimated. Language resides at the
very heart of culture, encoding social relationships, and reflecting and revealing values, ways of thought, and
behavior. Psychologically, language is so much a part of humankind that we cling fiercely to it, particularly in
cases where our group feels threatened in some way. An excellent example is afforded by Rodriguez (1982) who
associated the Spanish spoken by his family, Mexican immigrants in 1970s’ California, as familiar and
comforting, as opposed to the foreign English spoken by outsiders or gringos:
A family member would say something to me and I would feel myself specially recognized. My parents would say
something to me and I would feel embraced by the sounds of their words. Those sounds said: I am speaking with ease in
Spanish. I am addressing you in words I never use with los gringos. I recognize you as someone special, close, like no one
outside. You belong with us. In the family. (p. 15)
Rodriguez, as a child, felt disoriented and uncomfortable in English, and despite having learned it and
become highly literate in it, he has never forgotten the feeling the hearing or speaking of Spanish gave him. For
him, English was a public language, Spanish a private one, to the extent that he hated hearing his parents stumble
over English while trying to deal with the outside world. While international students are not immigrants (for the
most part), they experience the same struggle, between comfort and discomfort and between feeling like
themselves and feeling like someone else, which is typical of identity transformation.
Even within a language, the variety we speak defines us and forms part of our identity. Who we are shapes
the form of our speech, or dialect: the region we come from, our age, our gender, our job, our ethnic background,
and our social status. Dialects are characterized by different vocabularies, grammar, sounds (“accent”), and
discourse rules and traditions. They are also not as discrete or hermetic as it would appear: We adjust our speech
for various reasons, according to context, depending on whom we are with, for instance. Neither are they static
over time, as anyone can attest who has noted the difference between their grandparents’ speech and their own.
Linguistics treats these language varieties as distinct, but equal in status. To the layman, however, how another
speaks very much determines how the speaker is perceived. Shaw said in the preface to Pygmalion (1916): “It is
impossible for an Englishman to open his mouth without making some other Englishman hate or despise him”
(p. 2). Canadian comedian Dave Thomas once said in a standup routine (soon after President Clinton was elected)
that he had a sort of gauge in his head, the needle of which pointed to “Genius” when he heard someone speak in
an upper-class British accent, but which swung to “Moron” when someone from the rural South spoke.
People—for example, Margaret Thatcher—spend money to “upgrade” their accents to make them more
acceptable to others. Others worry about losing their prestige accents in new environments (Jones, 2001).
Controversies rage in school districts, the media, and academia over whether or not “non-standard” dialects
should be encouraged or ignored in the classroom or workplace (Speicher & McMahon, 1992; Labov, 1982;
Dietz & Pugh, 2004). Courtroom cases are fought over whether or not people have been discriminated against on
the basis of their dialect (Matsuda, 1991; Lippi-Green, 1994). All in all, clearly language is a key way that we
categorize ourselves and others.
As far as international students are concerned, part of becoming aware of their own identities is becoming
aware of their own language and discovering a hitherto unrealized emotional attachment to it. As in the
Rodriguez excerpt above, the familiar, “homey” feeling language conveys is extremely seductive in the new
English-imbued environment. Further, students’ self-images as speakers of English are often challenged in this
new environment. In many cases students have studied English prior to coming, sometimes for years. What they
are not accustomed to is the challenging and sometimes extremely difficult task of using English in all settings.
They take for granted that they can switch easily from appropriate language registers—informal, formal,
adjusting their speech to address friends, family members, teachers and other authority figures, and so on—in
their own language. In English they quickly discover that they lack sufficient command of the language to do so.
Interestingly enough, even in the case of students who have been educated in English, for instance, in
international schools or in former British colonies, similar problems occur. Students in these circumstances have
often been taught by non-native speakers of English or speakers of a local or national variety of English, which
possesses different discourse conventions, different vocabulary, different grammar, and so on. Such students may
face equally perplexing adjustment issues as students with lower-level English skills, simply because the need for
adjustment is unforeseen. As one Kenyan student wrote in his journal, “Before coming here I was thinking I
spoke English, but our English is not the same”. Finally, regardless of students’ level of English preparedness
prior to their arrival, it is usually the case that they have never before entered the precincts of Academic English.
This variety of English possesses the highest and the most rigid standards in terms of grammatical complexity,
level of vocabulary, and writing conventions in the language, and is, moreover, not monolithic. In fact it also
represents a challenge for some native English-speaking students.
Educational Backgrounds
Further to this, along with their linguistic identity, students bring with them varying learner identities. As LI
(2007) said, “In an ESL setting, students who move to another culture bring with them beliefs about the education
system and the process of education… that may or may not match those in the Western academic context” (p. 48).
Generally speaking, Western tradition champions independent thinking and learning practices, emphasizing the
importance of questioning and evaluating and critiquing knowledge as opposed to accepting it. Reflection of this
approach is the fact that the most heinous academic crime in Western academic culture is plagiarism. Students
coming from cultures (including, but not exclusively, Asian cultures) where learners view themselves as passive
receptacles who expect to be given knowledge by their teachers, and who regard that knowledge with great
respect as coming from their academic “betters”, seldom see plagiarism in the same light.
The conflict between different educational backgrounds plays out in the classroom on various levels. For
example, a common activity in ESL writing classes is peer review of each other’s work; students exchange drafts,
make comments, and pass the drafts back for revision. However, in order for this activity to be useful or
successful, several conditions must be met: For instance, students must trust each other enough to accept each
other’s criticism; they must be willing, and feel competent, to criticize another’s work; and they must have some
critical evaluative skills in order to be able to carry out the task. Most problematically in some cases, they must be
willing to assume the role that many of them traditionally ascribe to the teacher. The rationale behind peer
reviewing is to help develop students’ evaluative skills, which is part of critical thinking; to emphasize the
process nature of writing; and to give learners some autonomy in the classroom. All are worthy goals from the
Western perspective. However, perhaps not surprisingly, when asked to peer review with no preparation or prior
training, students often judge this type of activity as useless and a waste of time.
An “Other” Identity
Concomitant with the dawning realization that new behavior and a new role are expected of them comes, for
most students, an uncomfortable and unwanted categorization as “an ESL”. This is not self-selected, but rather
imposed upon them by the structures of the institution, and the attitudes of other students and professors outside
of the program. Waterstone (2008), in exploring how professors and instructors identified and evaluated the
writing of ESL learners, quoted the subject of her study as saying “… I hate the ESL idea! And, uh, it’s a cliché
and I don’t like to be clichéd in any way. And I think that the first time ever in my life I was clichéd was as an
ESL” (p. 58). Students coming to tertiary institutions, are tested and placed into ESL programs, and in many cases
(since most universities have adopted the Intensive English program model), are closeted within the program for
as long as it takes for the student to reach the standard required by the institution to “graduate” into the
mainstream degree programs. They are thus “labeled” as ESL students; this identity can linger beyond the
confines of the ESL program, as their professors and instructors may view them as problems or as deficient still.
Zamel (1995) ascribed this negative attitude to a belief that “… Language and knowledge are separate entities,
that language must be in place and fixed in order to do the work in the course” (p. 509). This “deficit model” of
ESL learners ensures that the “ESL student” identity will have negative connotations and deleterious effects upon
a student’s struggle to form a positive new identity.
The Sociopolitical Context of ESL

Finally, from a broader perspective, the context of the ESL classroom itself bears examination. Students
embark upon a course of study abroad with practical motives: Because they wish to improve their chances for a
better life. Why should learning English help them accomplish this? Their presence in our classrooms is due to a
larger historical and sociopolitical fact: English is the “global” language, the language of power and privilege.
Students’ choice to learn English is really no choice at all, but rather is dictated by circumstance. Many students
view this state of affairs pragmatically: Lee (2008) quoted one student as saying “As long as the United States
remain the boss, we have to learn English… and make benefits to ourselves” (p. 97). However, the intrinsic
inequity in the situation can cause resentment. The student in a Western institution of higher learning is expected
to meet certain standards which are necessary for success. Students from outside this paradigm have no choice
but to conform. In the article mentioned above, LI (2007) discussed students who did what their teacher asked
them to do in their ESL class and praised their teacher on evaluation forms, but complained about her in private.
Fernsten (2008) wrote of one student who in discussing her identity as a writer said “… I know that there has to
be standards and guidelines but I don’t understand how someone is allowed to have the authority to judge and
grade someone’s writing ability” (p. 46). And finally Lee (2008) gave examples of classroom practices which
effectively “other” students. She described one such activity which purported to develop students’ ability to
critically analyze, but which actually denigrated students’ home countries-showing students examples of how
their government had lied to them, without showing similar examples from a Western country such as Canada or
the United States. The fact of the matter is that because of the sociopolitical context which has produced it, no
classroom can ever be truly ideology—free or culturally neutral. In the worst case, there is a danger that by
promulgating certain cultural values, focusing exclusively on English to the extent of prohibiting students’ use of
their own language, and adopting a simplistic “us/them” attitude towards culture; students’ languages and
cultures will be downgraded, subtly, or otherwise.
Returning to Tajfel’s Social Identity Theory, it is clear that international students are thrust willy-nilly into a
cauldron of new and challenging circumstances, which necessitates that they assess, analyze, and negotiate new
identities from the beginning of their sojourn. The three psycho-social processes mentioned by Tajfel, namely
categorization, comparison, and “work”, are all evoked and invoked, to a greater degree than students
experienced at home, with the added factor of unexpectedness; this drama is played out in a language unfamiliar
to most of them. To many students, the new circumstances can seem overwhelming, and the struggle to make
their way monumental.
A Helpful Philosophy
The conscientious faculty member who wishes the best for his/her students has much to keep in mind, taking
into consideration all of the above. In the case of ESL classrooms, where all of the factors which contribute to
student identity formation are relevant, a crucial step is to be aware of the abovementioned factors and adopt both
critical and reflective teaching practices. Norton (2004) urged teachers to ask two fundamental questions: “Why
do we teach what we teach?” and “Why do we teach the way we teach?”. Both questions should be asked at the
levels of the philosophy of pedagogy and pedagogical activities. Teachers in the West, not surprisingly, tend to
adopt approaches or models grounded in Western conceptions of learning and teaching, however, research-based
or “common-sensical”. The aware teacher must keep in mind that some class activities (for instance, the example
mentioned earlier, of peer-reviewing), no matter how well-grounded in theory and well-meant, may be perceived
negatively on the part of students from a different culture and educational background. Such activities may thus
be less effective than expected, both from the standpoint of language-learning and identity formation. It may be
necessary to introduce students to “Western” methods in a thoughtful (and more prolonged) way than instructors
are wont to adopt. In addition, it is important not only not to belittle or criticize students’ cultures, and by
extension languages, but rather to do the opposite. Honoring students’ cultures and languages not only affords
respect, but it also provides a source of pride, of comfort, and of belonging. Arguments in support of the use of
students’ first language in the classroom may be found in, for example, Atkinson (1993), Auerbach (1993), Cook
(2001), Huerta-Macias and Kephart (2009), Osborne (2011), Storch and Wigglesworth (2003), and so on.
Teachers are to some extent avatars of the new culture students find themselves in; the more informed and
compassionate the avatar and the more the connection between identity, language, and culture is kept in mind, the
better the transition from one identity to another is facilitated.
Whether they need ESL classes before beginning their degree program or not, all foreign students—and not
excluding some native students—greatly benefit from instructors who better understand the many factors which
can affect students in a new environment. Such instructors examine their “practices and assumptions” (Zamel,
1995, p. 507) and treat students whose work may not be perfect as works in progress, rather than as deficient or
unable to perform on the same level as native speakers. Indeed, those who view English language learners in
negative ways—as problem students, lacking in skill, even cognitively undeveloped—can only hinder students’
identity-forming progress. This is poignantly illustrated in a student’s journal entry, commenting upon
experiences in non-ESL classes: “There is one class, I feel ratchet (wretched) because the teacher, he doesn’t
accept my English. He made me go to the tutors for edit my papers and my homeworks and, he give me a poor
grade anyways. But other teachers are kinder, they allow that I revise and they accept me how I am”.
If students are to adapt to find an identity which embraces both their past and their present, it is essential that
instructors “see” them as individuals coming from a rich cultural and linguistic background, who have already
mastered (at least) one language and who are in the process of learning another in challenging circumstances.
Ultimately, it is students who must do the hard and uncomfortable work of identity-evolution and
formulation as they experience and confront their new surroundings. Fortunately, the human spirit is extremely
resilient. Students emerge from their study abroad sojourns changed: in the Wolfeian (1998) sense, they may well
find they “can’t go home again”:
… You can’t go back home to your family, back home to your childhood… back home to a young man’s dreams of
glory and of fame, … back home to the old forms and systems of things which once seemed everlasting but which are
changing all the time—back home to the escapes of Time and Memory. (p. 666)
However, thankfully, in most cases, given a positive and nurturing environment, students go home changed
for the better. It is our responsibility as educators to do what we can to provide this environment and help them
negotiate the many treacherous cross-currents, rapids, and shoals on their way to success, in school and in life. In
the best case, we can also help them see that the struggle is worth it—not just to secure a better job, but to find a
new and empowered identity and growth as an individual.
References
Atkinson, D. (1993). Teaching monolingual classes. London: Longman.
Auerbach, E. (1993). Reexamining English only in the ESL classroom. TESOL Quarterly, 27(1), 9-32.
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April 2012, Vol. 9, No. 4, 1045-1055
D DAVID PUBLISHING
A Review of the Research on Language Teacher Autonomy
JIANG Yu-hong MA Ting

Southwest University, Chongqing, China Xiao Tang Shan Middle School, Beijing, China

Teacher autonomy is one of the most significant and problematic concepts to have emerged from the field of
teacher education in recent years. It has generally been referred to as teachers’ control over their own teaching.
Teachers’ autonomous learning is also one of the most effective ways to support teachers in their classroom
practice, as well as to improve and expand their professional preparation and practices. Research on teacher
autonomy in the field of second language education has had a short history and many terms related to language
teacher autonomy are still under discussion. The paper mainly discusses the rationale of teacher autonomy and its
related topics in the literature in recent years, and then presents the authors’ own views about the research on
teacher autonomy of university English teachers in China.
Keywords: English teachers, teacher autonomy, literature review
Definitions and Types of Autonomy

Autonomy has been a popular focus in the field of language teaching and learning since it was first
introduced through the adult education movement in the late 1960s (Benson, 2001). The word has come to
refer to a variety of concepts, depending on whom or what is involved. The term actually was derived from
Greek words “autos” and “self-rule” and linked to the living condition according to laws one gave oneself
rather than under the control of others (Haworth, 1986). Moreover, autonomy should be viewed from multiple
perspectives, e.g., technical, psychological, school cultural, and political-cultural (Benson, 2001; Oxford,
2003) and is a multidimensional capacity, which can “take different forms for different individuals and even
for the same individual in different contexts or at different times” (Benson, 2001). With this being said, the
definition that has been arrived at for this study is based on the level of influence or control a teacher has in
and outside their classroom.
In the literature, autonomy has different definitions and has been classified into different forms or types
and there have been numerous discussions concerning the forms of individual, learner, professional, and
organizational autonomy. All of these are pertinent to discovering the effects that autonomy has on
implementing effective teaching practices.
First, individual autonomy can be described as allowing teachers to teach in their own chosen manner.
Street and Licata (1989) stated that individual autonomy includes “teachers’ feeling of independence in making
professional decisions within the classroom” and “their use of personal judgment to guide instructional work

This paper is one of the research results of the project sponsored by 2009 China National Social Science Research Foundation
(Grant No. BFA090027). The title of the project is “A Study of English as Foreign Language Teachers’ Professional Development
in Universities in the West of China”.
JIANG Yu-hong, professor, School of Foreign Languages, Southwest University.
MA Ting, teacher, Middle School Level 2, Xiao Tang Shan Middle School.
1046 A REVIEW OF THE RESEARCH ON LANGUAGE TEACHER AUTONOMY
with students” (pp. 97-107). Rosenholtz and Kyle (1984) said that autonomous teachers are self-aware and can
focus on making things happen within the classroom.
Second, learner autonomy is associated with independence or autonomous learners who have the capacity
of being active and independent in the learning process; they can identify goals, formulate their own goals, and
change goals to suit their own learning needs and interests; they are able to use learning strategies to monitor
their own learning (Dickinson, 1995). Autonomy can be seen as an attitude towards learning in which the
learner is prepared to take, or does take, responsibility for his/her own learning.
Third, professional autonomy is not about “doing as one wants” or “being free from external control”. It is
rather about striving for what a teacher believes in and empowering himself/herself as a teacher (Vieira, 2007).
Increasing the professional autonomy of the teacher holds the potential to increase dramatically the levels of
opportunity and capacity (Pearson, 1998). Professional autonomy in the classroom means that teachers are in
charge of the classroom, the curriculum, and the day-to-day pedagogical tasks. Therefore, the notion of teacher
professional autonomy entails tolerance of uncertainty, willingness to venture into the unknown, and especially
the ability to understand and deal with the complexity of pedagogical practice in schools.
Fourth, Ingersoll (1997) stated that organizational autonomy can be a social philosophy in which he
describes control over social practices within school systems as a large component of overall teacher autonomy.
Organizational autonomy can also be described as curricular in nature when referring to Crawford’s (2001)
concepts of process and outcome autonomy.
Definitions of Teacher Autonomy

Teacher autonomy is one of the most significant and problematic concepts which have emerged from the
field of teacher education in recent years. The idea was introduced into the language teaching literature by
Allwright and Bailey (1991) and later developed by Little (1995).
A review of the literature on teacher autonomy reveals that a body of work has been undertaken in the
field. However, there has been so far little attempt to clarify the various definitions and possible meanings of
teacher autonomy, and the task of defining teacher autonomy seems much more problematic (Little, 2000). The
definitions and meanings of teacher autonomy are still ambiguous in the literature. According to Smith (2003),
in the case of language teaching and learning, definitions have tended to advocate on the aspect to the exclusion
of others, from teacher autonomy as a generalized “right to freedom from control” (Benson, 2000), to teachers’
capacity to engage in self-directed teaching (Little, 1995; Tort-Moloney, 1997), and to teacher’s autonomy as
learners (Smith, 2000).
A summary of definitions presented in the literature reveals that a wide variety of perceptions of teacher
autonomy are under discussion. What seems like autonomy to one teacher may seem like isolation to another.
One teacher may view autonomy as a means to gain substantial freedom from interference or supervision, while
another teacher may view it as the freedom to develop collegial relationships and accomplish tasks that extend
beyond classrooms. Some teachers thrive on autonomy, whereas others perceive it as a means for principals to
avoid their duties (Frase & Sorenson, 1992). However, throughout the literature on teachers’ autonomy,
considerable evidence supports the concept that teacher autonomy has changed considerably over the years and
continues to evolve.
Some scholars have provided the definitions of teacher autonomy in second language education. Little
A REVIEW OF THE RESEARCH ON LANGUAGE TEACHER AUTONOMY 1047
(1995) called attention to the importance of having autonomous teachers in order to promote student autonomy,
which highlights the necessity to analyze this concept in a field where learner autonomy was being considerably
discussed and researched. Littlewood (1999) described autonomy from two different perspectives: the capacity
of independent decision making, which includes having abilities and skills for action; and willingness, which
involves motivation and confidence to carry out choices. Then, McGrath (2000) framed teacher autonomy in
terms of both self-directed professional development and in terms of freedom from control by others. For the
former, he co-optated various educational traditions, including those of the teacher as a researcher (Steinhouse,
1975), action research (Nunan, 1989), and the reflective practitioner (Schön, 1987). For the latter, he pointed out
that freedom from control by others implied the capacity to act self-directedly. For McGrath, it was obvious that
the promotion of learner autonomy was one of the responsibilities of the autonomous teacher.
Smith and Erdögan (2008) summarized some of the previous discussions and highlighted the
multidimensionality of teacher autonomy. As is shown below, their current interpretation of the dimensions of
teacher autonomy attempted to capture both dimensions of teachers’ teaching and their own learning and all the
three perspectives of autonomy—technical, psychological, and political:
In relation to professional action: domains of teaching
(1) Self-directed professional action (= “Self-directed teaching”)
(2) Capacity for self-directed professional action (= “Teacher autonomy (I)”)
(3) Freedom from control over professional action (= “Teacher autonomy (Ⅱ)”)
In relation to professional development: domains of teacher-learning
(4) Self-directed professional development (= “Self-directed teacher-learning”)
(5) Capacity for self-directed professional development (= “Teacher-learner autonomy (I)”)
(6) Freedom from control over professional development (= “Teacher-learner autonomy (Ⅱ)”) (Smith & Erdögan,
2008, pp. 84-85)
HUANG (2007) integrated these conceptual discussions and presents one of the most recent and
comprehensive definitions in the field. He defined teacher autonomy as “teachers’ willingness, capacity and
freedom to take control of their own teaching and learning” (pp. 30-42). The three terms—“willingness”,
“capacity”, and “freedom”—roughly correspond to the three broad dimensions of teacher autonomy:
social-motivational, technical-psychological, and critical-political.
Although many researchers have defined teacher autonomy from different aspects and from different
perspectives, they have not reached a consensus on it yet by now. It may be because teacher autonomy is still a
new and multifaceted concept and it has not been widely recognized and discussed. Moreover, in different
social and cultural context, the term “teacher autonomy” may be employed by different researchers for different
purposes and thus it may be emphasized in one aspect or more.
Consequently, the working definition of teacher autonomy in this study should be made clearly. Based on
the different definitions and interpretations about teacher autonomy mentioned above, especially based on
McGrath’s (2000) and HUANG’s (2007) models of teacher autonomy, the authors suggests that teacher
autonomy can be defined as “teachers’ capacity, freedom, and responsibility to take control of their own
teaching and learning both inside and outside classroom”. And “teaching” and “learning” correspond to the two
interrelated domains: the domain of teaching and the domain of teacher-learning both inside and outside
classroom, because it is well-known to the teachers that the lives both inside and outside classroom can not be
easily separated in reality. Only when a specific and contextually sensitive definition of teacher autonomy is
clearly arrived at can sustainable development of teacher autonomy be obtained.
Interdependence of Teacher Autonomy and Learner Autonomy

In a historical sense, the idea of teacher autonomy was introduced into language education literature by
researchers who were primarily interested in learner autonomy (Benson, 2001). In Vieira’s (2007)
understanding of the expression “pedagogy for autonomy”, “autonomy” refers to both learner and teacher
autonomy. The development of teacher autonomy is interdependent on the development of learner autonomy,
since one gives meaning to the other.
In the literature, a dominant theme expressed in the relationships between learner autonomy and teacher
autonomy is that leaner autonomy and teacher autonomy are interdependent, and that the promotion of learner
autonomy depends on the promotion of teacher autonomy (Breen & Mann, 1997; McGrath, 2000; Thavenius,
1999). Specifically, Little (2000) claimed that teachers can only develop learner autonomy when they
themselves are autonomous. In determining the initiatives they take in the classrooms, teachers must be able to
exploit their professional skills autonomously, applying to their teaching those same reflective and
self-managing processes that they apply to their learning. According to the previous research, Smith (2003)
concluded that in order to promote learner autonomy, teachers may need to have a capacity for self-directed
teaching, freedom from control over their teaching, and a capacity for self-directed teacher-learning.
Researchers’ interest is often in what roles teachers play and what responsibilities they take in order to
develop learner autonomy. For example, Dam (1995) explicitly stated that it is largely the teacher’s
responsibility to develop learner autonomy, based on his/her experience of devising and implementing teacher
development programs and on his/her other research projects. When talking about teachers’ responsibility and
capacity to support learner autonomy, Breen and Mann (1997) identified the attributes and roles of the teacher
who seeks to promote learner autonomy in the classroom.
The discussion of the interdependence between learner autonomy and teacher autonomy showed above also
implies that there is an interaction between autonomy as language learner and autonomy as language teacher for
the same individual (HUANG, 2007). Little’s (1995) observation and discussion on teacher learning in
second/foreign language teacher education also gave rise to the concept of “teacher-learner autonomy”. Then the
term has been used by Smith (2003), by which he meant that teachers are learners in a variety of areas including
pedagogical skills and knowledge, languages, etc.. Smith (2003) later defined it as the ability to develop
appropriate skills, knowledge, and attitudes for oneself as a teacher, in cooperation with others. Moreover, he
was concerned with teacher-learner development (teacher-learning) for mainly in-service but also pre-service
teachers, and his use of the term “teacher-learner” and “teacher-learner autonomy” can help blur the boundary
between teacher and leaner. The term “teacher-learner autonomy” carries an emphasis on teachers’ capacity to
control their own learning of teaching and on reflection on teacher-learning as well as on teaching itself. Then,
HUANG (2007) summarized this as follows: Learning of teaching is routine work for both “becoming teachers”
(pre-service teachers) and “continuing-to-be teachers” (in-service teachers). In his study, he examined the
transition from learner autonomy to teacher autonomy, that is, how autonomy as language learner’s was related
to autonomy as language student-teacher’s, or how language learner autonomy affected the acquisition of
language teacher autonomy for the same individual student throughout the four-year university education. Thus,
based on this argument, it can be proposed that no matter one is teaching as a regular teacher or a student teacher,
he/she is a teacher to the students during that particular period of teaching. In this sense, teacher-learner
autonomy as a conceptual term applies to both in-service teachers and student teachers.
In addition, throughout the literature, several studies explore the ways of supporting teachers in becoming
autonomous with a view to enabling them to develop their own learners’ autonomy. Martinez (2008) began by
accessing pre-service teachers’ subjective theories about the roles of teachers and learners, with a view to
incorporating these perspectives into pre-service teacher education programs in order to stimulate theoretical
reconstruction and the development of a commitment to learner autonomy. Smith and Erdögan (2008) proposed
that an experiential approach, with teachers learning autonomously themselves, is the most effective way of
supporting teachers in the development to pedagogy for autonomy. Nicolaides’ (2008) research in Brazil
indicated that the future teachers of English had high awareness of taking control in the classroom and making
their own decisions about what happened in out-of-class learning. The implication is that students would
benefit from reflecting on the relationships between their learning in these two contexts and this enhanced
awareness would also encourage them to reflect on their own role as future language teachers, in order that they
may eventually build a sense of responsibility amongst their own learners. In the exploration of the relationship
between teacher autonomy and the development of personal theories, Hacker and Barkhuizen (2008) related the
concept of teacher autonomy to the capacity to self-direct one’s own professional development in one
postgraduate language teacher education program. However, through practical interventions to develop more
autonomous ways of working, Shaw (2008) suggested that learner autonomy as a goal was itself a constraint on
teacher autonomy, as it prevented the teacher from responding flexibly and professionally to circumstances.
Then, whether related to learner autonomy or not, there is clearly a need for further empirical research to add
flesh to the theoretical exploration of teacher autonomy in language learning.
Attributive Factors of Teacher Autonomy

Intrinsic Factors
Teacher autonomy is a common link that appears when examining teacher motivation, job satisfaction,
confidence, awareness about new theories and practices, perceptions about teacher and student autonomy, stress
(burnout), salary, workload, professionalism, and empowerment (Brunetti, 2001; Pearson & Hall, 1993;
Pearson & Moomaw, 2006). However, the task of identifying the underlying dimensions of teacher autonomy
has met with varied results.
Autonomy is also one facet of teacher motivation. Studies (Charters, 1976; Pearson & Hall, 1993) have
demonstrated that the degree of autonomy perceived by new teachers is indicative of current job satisfaction
and a positive reaction to teaching. Moreover, in a report on job satisfaction among U.S. teachers, Perie and
Baker (1997) stated that working conditions are related to satisfaction and autonomy is more than background
variables, such as gender, age, and years of experience. Then, on the survey of the relationships between
autonomy and a set of attitudinal, professional participation, and reasons-for-leaving-teaching variables,
Pearson (1998) found only four significant predicators of the dependent variable autonomy: job satisfaction,
perceived paper work load, lack of autonomy, and in sufficient rewards for outstanding teacher performance.
Several researchers (Khmelkov, 2000; Pearson & Moomaw, 2005) have determined how autonomy is
incorporated into professionalism. Ingersoll (1997) argued that autonomy was a key factor in novice teachers’
use of professional practices. In an examination of the commitment of proficient teachers versus novice
teachers (Rosenholtz & Simpson, 1990), it was found that the proficient teacher, when allowed more autonomy
in the work environment, was more influenced by conditions that directly affected the performance of core
instructional tasks.
Teacher empowerment is another variable that education reformers consider essential for school
restructuring and optimum teacher development. Rappaport (1987) has described empowerment as a construct
that ties personal competencies and abilities to environments that provide opportunities for choice and
autonomy in demonstrating those competencies.
For various teachers’ background variables, Pearson and Hall’s (1993) study on teacher autonomy focused
on its pedagogical and curricular aspects, and they discovered that no significant differences in autonomy score
were found by gender or highest academic degree held, nor did total autonomy score correlate with age and
years of teaching experience. However, teacher’s placement (elementary, middle, or high school) appeared to
be the only element that affected their perceptions of autonomy. Thus, it seems that the construct of teacher
autonomy with job satisfaction, professionalism, empowerment, etc., are stronger than various teacher
characteristics mentioned above, and autonomy seems to generalize across these characteristics.
For student teachers, autonomy might be operationalized by the following mental, attitudinal, and
behavioral changes in the process of learning to teach (HUANG, 2007), including enrolling in methodology
courses or conferences, the teaching practicum, informal teaching experiences such as offering private tuition to
primary, secondary, and adult students, teaching in short summer/winter English courses, voluntary teaching
trip to remote rural areas, etc.
Extrinsic Factors
School and administrative factors. Benson (2000) suggested that the exercise of teacher autonomy is
possibly constrained by: policy factors (factors external to the school); institutional factors (factors internal to
the school); conceptions of language, including dominant conceptions of what the target language is and
ideologies of correct and standard usage; and language teaching methodologies, defined in terms of “academic
expertise and professional assumptions”. Decisions regarding class composition and size, scheduling,
curriculum and text content, and planning and allocation of space are controlled by school boards and their
administrators (Pearson & Hall, 1993).
Sinclair (2000) uncovered a great deal of frustration, both from university and middle school teachers,
about the constraints on their autonomy that they faced. The greatness of these seems to be the
examination-oriented syllabus and lack of time for non-examination-related activities in class.
Smith (2000) showed a picture of how teachers perceived the effects of external accountability on their
autonomy that teachers often feared losing autonomy and control over both curriculum and their work lives;
teachers also feared that in spending so much time preparing students for tests that they lost the ability to
personalize instruction and meet individual needs of students; and teachers who resisted pressure to boost test
scores felt threatened with a loss of autonomy and were constantly defending their programs.
Students’ factors. Sipple, Killeen, and Monk’s (2004) study provided insight into how teachers may
indirectly invoke their autonomy differently depending on which group or groups of students they teach. The
possible factors may be students’ past learning experiences, beliefs about and attitudes towards learning, their
learning preferences and styles, personalities, affective and physiological needs as learners, etc.
It is well known that teaching and learning are interactional. Students’ factors, i.e., individual differences of
the students, affect students’ learning as well as teacher autonomy. Research has shown that individuals vary
greatly in the ways they learn a second language. Teachers’ awareness of student factors affecting student’s
learning will help them understand their students better, which will help them develop their autonomy in teaching.
Social-cultural factors. A common way of interpreting culture is to refer to national/ethnic cultures such
as “Chinese culture” or “Western culture”. Dickenson (1996) and Sinclair (2000) suggested that different
interpretations of autonomy were appropriate in different cultural contexts. The learner autonomy from a debate
on the appropriateness of autonomy (and teacher autonomy arises as a Western concept) for Confucian cultures,
e.g., China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Korea, Japan, Singapore, and other South Asian countries with such a
heritage (Little, 1996; Littlewood, 1999).
Littlewood (1999) pointed out three sources of socio-cultural influence on autonomy in East Asia—the
collectivist orientation of East Asian societies, their acceptance of relationships based on power and authority,
and the belief that success may be achieved through effort as much as through innate ability. It would be very
rude to misbehave to a teaching authority verbally or non-verbally. Teachers are expected to respect and obey
their leaders. Questioning those in authority may be interpreted as challenging or showing disrespect to the
authority (Arnold, 1999). Such a suppression or deprivation of the voice/right of the teacher or juniors seems to
be necessary in order to maintain the hierarchy and “harmony” in the collective. Therefore, this surely will
inhibit the development of teacher autonomy, especially on the aspect of “freedom from control by others”.
Research Methods of Teacher Autonomy in Recent Publications

The Quantitative Methods
Pearson and Hall (1993) designed and developed TAS (Teaching Autonomy Scale) which was based on
theoretical framework of teacher autonomy that were supported by the literature and subsequently administered
it to suburban and urban teachers at the elementary and high school levels. The scale was designed to predict
teacher autonomy from a set of attitudinal and work-related variables. And this instrument defined autonomy in
two ways: general teaching autonomy related to “classroom standards of conduct” and “personal on-the-job
decision making”, and curriculum autonomy dealing with “selection of activities and materials and instructional
planning and sequencing”.
Friedman (1999) noticed that autonomy has generally been measured through the lens of “external forces”.
He developed and tested a scale to measure teacher autonomy as an empowering mechanism which includes
teachers “being able to initiate ideas and activities and being involved in major school policies and practices”.
To formulate this conceptualization, Friedman (1999) developed two axes of autonomy. Axis 1 was the
decision-level axis, which split decision making into two categories: the principle and the routine. Axis 2, the
decision-content axis, was broken down into two categories which divided pedagogical issues and
organizational issues. Friedman (1999) titled his scale ATA (The Appropriate Teacher Work Autonomy Scale)
and included 32 items which were broken down by the types of decisions described above. Friedman (1999)
conducted two studies. In his first study, he described and developed the scale; his second study was conducted
to validate the scale. The second study also included a renaming of the scale to the TWA (Teacher
Work-Autonomy Scale). The TWA remained basically the same as the ATA; however, some wording was
changed to reflect teachers’ sense of autonomy as determined by the data gathered from the ATA. The TWA
asked teachers to report existing levels of autonomy, not desired levels, and this survey included questions on
demographic information. In TWA, the factor analysis resulted in the identification of four factors related very
closely to teacher autonomy: student teaching and assessment, school mode of operation, staff development,
and curriculum development.
Ingersoll (1997) discovered that most teachers felt they had substantial control over classroom practices
and less control over more overarching school policies such as those related to budgeting and student discipline.
He further speculated that even though teachers felt they had control over classroom issues, administrative
policies affecting these issues affect teachers’ decision-making processes. In other words, teachers may not
really have the autonomy they think they have.
In China, the concept of autonomy of Chinese EFL teachers coincides with several common
characteristics proposed by Western scholars. However, there still exist its own unique features under the
pedagogical context in China. Therefore, based on previous studies and self-directed surveys, researchers in
China exert efforts to construct the teacher autonomy scale that would be suitable for Chinese teachers. Based
on a sample of 1,222 teachers in primary and middle schools in China, YAO and SHEN (2007) revised Pearson
and Hall (1993)’s “Teaching Autonomy Scale”. Through a confirmative factor analysis, the results indicated
two factors of teacher autonomy: curriculum autonomy and general teaching autonomy. Based on the concept
of teacher work autonomy, YANG, XIA, and HUANG (2009) also developed a questionnaire including five
factors: autonomy on school operation management, autonomy on professionalism and curricula innovation,
autonomy on students’ performance assessment, autonomy on organizing after-school activities, and autonomy
on students’ behavior management. It is demonstrated that the developed questionnaire has met the
psychometric requirement in terms of reliability and validity.
The Qualitative Methods
In terms of qualitative studies on teacher autonomy, researchers (Burk & Fry, 1997; Smith, 2003; Vieira,
2007) have applied the methods of case study, interview, writing reflective journals, classroom observation,
video recording, action research, and so on.
Based on a case study of one student teacher in his teaching practicum, Burk and Fry (1997) employed the
method of semi-structured and structured interview, classroom observation, reflective journal writing, and
teaching portfolio to explore the condition and patterns of teacher autonomy development. Vieira (2007)
described a teacher development initiative in Portugal which used reflection and action research to link learner
and teacher autonomy, while working with the constraints of an education system. Aoki (2002) focused on the
development of a novice female Japanese teacher who taught English as a second language through reflective
teacher education and action research. She drew on feminist theory to deconstruct gendered representations of
teachers and their knowledge and to illustrate a process by which she and the teacher attempted to redefine and
exercise teacher’s own autonomy via her professional development.
A Mixed Approach of the Quantitative and Qualitative Methods
Smith (2003) carried out a longitudinal study of constraints on and opportunities for the development of
teacher-learner autonomy in one pre-service teacher education context. The process of the evaluation used a
variety of research methods: repeated reflective writing by participants, repeated questionnaires, and in-depth
interview with selected participants. This mixed method proved to be useful in giving a deeper insight into
changes in participants’ perceptions and the results shed light on the processes of these changes in a guided
action research experience. The study also helped develop student-teacher participants’ autonomy as learners of
teaching, and their capacities for ongoing and self-critical reflection on their future teaching.
Conclusions
There has been a growing body of research on teacher autonomy during the past decade. Yet, for a variety
of reasons and despite its widespread use, the meaning of teacher autonomy and its implications for second
language education remain opaque. First of all, the lack of correlation among the theorists within and across
different subject areas has resulted in a notable inconsistency in the use of the concept (Smith, 2003). Second,
although teacher autonomy has been connected to a number of theories including professional development,
teacher decision making, and empowerment, this relationship still remains unclear (Short, 2003). Therefore,
this absence of the complementary perspectives of various roles and agencies is also a research gap in the field
of teacher autonomy.
Additionally, research grounded in empirical evidence is still scant on what is meant by teacher autonomy
and how teacher autonomy can be developed in both second language teacher education, and in different
socio-educational and cultural contexts. More urgently, it is of necessity to explore insider perspectives (teachers’
own views and attitudes) on the notions of teacher autonomy in second language education (HUANG, 2007).
Although studies of teacher autonomy are numerous in Western cultural setting, studies concerning
English teachers’ autonomy are extremely scarce in China. Thus, more investigations of teacher autonomy in
China are needed to generate further insights into the conceptualization and measurement of the construct.
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April 2012, Vol. 9, No. 4, 1056-1060
D DAVID PUBLISHING
Pedagogical Strategies for Task-Based Vocabulary Acquisition
ZHOU Li-na
China Youth University for Political Sciences, Beijing, China

Vocabulary has been the most difficult part language learners encounter in the process of their language learning
and their daily communication. Nevertheless vocabulary teaching and learning has not been given due importance
and has become the bottleneck in college English instruction although it is central to language learning. Task-based
Instruction Approach, noted for its advanced methodology in facilitating vocabulary learning and teaching, is
introduced in the vocabulary teaching implementation in this paper. By analyzing the theoretical basis and
features of Task-based Instruction Approach, the author puts forward strategies for vocabulary teaching and
learning as well as principles in task design with the aim of improving learners’ vocabulary acquiring competence
and language competence, fostering learners’ emotional and cognitive development, and at the same time
providing insights into culture of English language.
Keywords: pedagogical strategies, task-based, vocabulary acquisition, principles
Introduction
Vocabulary has not received the recognition it deserves in the classroom in recent years although it is central
to foreign language teaching. Considering a vast amount of time being consumed by explanation and definition
and memorization, students’ command of vocabulary and language production are far from satisfactory. What
follows is that vocabulary teaching and learning has become the bottleneck in college English instruction.
Task-based activity, as Ur (1996) found in an experiment with teachers, scores high with most teachers on all
criteria. They think that there is more talk, more participation, and more motivation and enjoyment. They think
that there is some purpose in speaking, which is challenging and is more like a game so they enjoy it (Ur, 1966).
This finding is in conformity with the result of the questionnaire on group work conducted with 189 students in our
university: It is popular with them. Experts agree that task-based instruction is an advanced method in facilitating
vocabulary learning in that students can engage in various communicative tasks with peers during which less
psychological burden occurs, leading to repetitive use of newly learned vocabularies and more negotiations.
In view of the above, this paper considers the vocabulary teaching and learning within the framework of
task-based activities and approaches in the hope of improving learners’ vocabulary acquiring competence and
language competence, enhancing students’ emotional and cognitive development, as well as providing insights
into culture of target language in the end.

This paper was supported by China Youth University for Political Sciences Fund as Key Scientific Research Project, 2011 (No.
1890508).
ZHOU Li-na, associate professor of English Department, China Youth University for Political Sciences.
PEDAGOGICAL STRATEGIES, TASK-BASED, VOCABULARY ACQUISITION 1057
Task-Based Instruction and Vocabulary Acquisition

A task is defined by many researchers (Candlin, 1987; Nunan, 1989; Robinson, 2001; Skehan, 1998) as an
activity in which meaning is primary; there is some communication problem to solve; there is some sort of
relationship to comparable real world activities; task completion has some priority; the assessment of the task is
in terms of outcome. That is, learners use whatever target language resources they have to engage in an activity or
a piece of work in order to solve a problem, do a puzzle, play a game, or share and compare language experiences
(Willis, 2002).
According to Skehan, task activities have the following features: completing one another’s family trees;
agreeing on advice to the writer of a letter to an agony aunt; discovering whether one’s paths will cross (out of
school) in the next week; solving a riddle; and leaving a message on someone’s answer machine. While activities
such as completing a transformation exercises, questions and answer with the teacher, inductive learning where
preselective material is conducive to the generation of language rules are not identified as task activities.
There are three versions of orientations for task itself: structure oriented tasks, also called focused
communicative tasks by Ellis (1994); the communication oriented tasks; and information processing approach to
tasks. The first two are extreme approaches, because they focus on one aspect of language performance at the
expense of others. The structure-oriented approach emphasizes forms to the detriment of meaning by assuming
that formal instruction and communicative language teaching can be integrated through the use of grammar tasks
aimed to promote communication about grammar. This, however, constrains learners’ attention on a number of
different areas, making natural tasks artificial.
The second approach holds that giving learners tasks to complete foster language development. The tasks
themselves are bound to create a need for language change and a means of fulfilling that need. However,
overemphasizing on communication will increase the risk of undue reliance on communication strategies and
lexically based language, leading to negligence of language structure.
Proponents of the third approach such as Skehan (1996a, 1998) argued that task-based learning needs to be
implemented in a way that discourages the learner from focusing on forms at the expense of meaning, or vice
versa. It should encourage instead of a focus that shifts between the two. Such an approach proposed by Skehan
(1996b, 1998, 2002) and Robinson (2001), called intermediate approach, is based on the information processing
theory, which states that attention limitations constrain the capacity of the language learner to focus on a number
of different areas simultaneously. There is a balanced concern for communication on the one hand and form at a
general level on the other hand so that neither dominates at the expense of the other (Skehan & Foster, 2001), thus
achieving the goal of balanced development of fluency, accuracy, and complexity.
Experts agree that by integrating task-based instruction with vocabulary acquisition is an advanced method
to engage students in various communicative tasks with peers with less psychological burden, facilitate cognitive
growth by bridging information gap and discussion, and promote language competence by repetitive use of
newly learned vocabularies and negotiations.
Pedagogical Strategies for Task-Based Vocabulary Instruction

Skehan divides task implementation into three stages, namely, pre-task, during task, and post-task. Pre-task
includes cognitive and linguistic phase. In pre-task stage, learners schematic knowledge is activated; they observe
1058 PEDAGOGICAL STRATEGIES, TASK-BASED, VOCABULARY ACQUISITION
peer and teachers complementing the task and then doing similar task to make the task more natural and authentic
and draw more on the planned discourse, all of which can reduce the cognitive load so that learners can have more
chances to concentrate on linguistic factors. Linguistic phase contains explicit teaching, implicit teaching, and
learners’ awareness raising on forms. During task stage involves manipulating pressure (setting speed and
deadlines, risk taking and number of participants) and calibrating (provide visual support and introducing surprise
elements) to influence processing load. Post-task stage demands that learners have public performance and
teachers and learners try to analyze the initial performance of a task and accuracy, complexity, use of particular
structures and accuracy of particular structures so that their attention is directed to forms (see Table 1).
Table 1
Skehan’s Framework for Task Implementation
Purpose of phase Examples
Foregrounding introduction to topic of task
Cognitive:
observing
Ease subsequent processing load Doing similar tasks
Pre-task
Linguistic: Explicit teaching
Introduce new form into attention Implicit teaching
Consciousness-raising
Manipulate pressure: Speed, deadlines
Influence processing balance Stakes
Number of participation
During task
Calibrate: Provide visual support

Influence processing balance Introduce surprise elements
Retrospect: Public performance analysis
Post-task
Remind learners of importance of forms Consciousness-raising
For the pre-task stage, consciousness-raising activities are getting more and more important. They connect
with noticing because they attempt to raise awareness of language structure while providing learners with
relevant language input and activity. Pre-task activities, text exploration activities, for example with the task to
find a particular aspects of language or classify some corpus of language, exposure to parallel tasks, perhaps done
by others, but with guidance as to what should be focused upon, exposure to material with some aspects
highlighted all constitute consciousness-raising activities (Skehan, 1998). As a result restructuring is more likely,
recycle of language started and processing load of the tasks changed.
For example, when learning “Internet”, teachers present the students with key vocabularies for the unit, ask
them to read aloud new vocabularies, and practice spelling making a full preparation for further communicative
tasks. Students are asked to dictate new words with each other to further connect word form pronunciation and
semantic meaning. Then they are asked to work in pairs to discuss how to buy books online from Amazon or
reach an agreement on visiting New York City online using some of the key words and structures after having
seen a documentary film of New York. They can also classify some key words and work in a group of four to
have story telling by using those words in six minutes.
As indicated by research, visual support in task instruction process can ease attention to other goals leading
PEDAGOGICAL STRATEGIES, TASK-BASED, VOCABULARY ACQUISITION 1059
to less errors and more accurate performance. So when learning “Travelling”, the teacher can prepare a brochure
on travel to America for the student to read. The teacher can also show a video clip of a student in America trying
to ask the way to Times Square in New York and make the first acquaintance with an American in order to arouse
learners’ interest and activate their schematic knowledge. Next the teacher will encourage the students to classify
the key words and ask them to repeat the tape. Then the teacher and another student will make a dialogue on
making the first acquaintance in front of the class with the aim of raising their consciousness. Last they are asked
to engage in a task in pairs for six minutes: An American making his/her first acquaintance with a Chinese student
in Summer Palace and the two try to talk about some of the scenic spots in their hometowns using some of the
forms required. Such tasks can be highly motivating, make vocabulary learning an active and easy process,
promote more participation and negotiation, enhance students’ emotional and cognitive development, and
provide insights into foreign culture.
At this stage, the teacher’s role is to pace around the classroom and help learners formulate what they have
to say rather than intrude. Members of each group are encouraged to remark to the rest of the members too.
Post-task activities involve presentation by the students, analysis by the rest of the class and the teacher
stressing on language form. The teacher can classify structurally and semantically and ask students to reflect,
recall, and reconstruct texts. It may also be effective to ask students to analyze by themselves. They can record
their performance on tapes or video and then in a group analysis or have themselves analyzed. The teacher can
also ask students to write essays using the new vocabularies to further their understanding of the usage. At the
same time, learners and teacher should make a joint effort to use monitor cycles in which attempt is made to
evaluate which part of language system is learned and which have not in order to learn them later.
Principles in Task Design

Motivating
Tasks should appeal to students’ ultimate goals and interest, and to their need for knowledge for
achievement, competence, and autonomy for their best selves. Skehan (1998) pointed out that if information is of
appropriate interest, more natural discourse is produced. More familiar task information will be possible as well
as interesting and is certainly associated with greater fluency. In real time context, social problems, hot topics
current news problem solving, and case analysis are all interest provoking whereas meaningless activities such as
repetition of certain forms, most question and answer activities often lead to learners’ inattention, low interest,
and in the end, less learning. Questionnaire and classroom observation reveal that instructions for using the
microwave oven, asking for directions to a restaurant or a tourist resort, comparing Beijing and learners’
hometown, planning a trip to Southeast Asia, interview with a celebrity, and problem solving about gifts to take
to the American friend when being a guest to his/her house are all quite popular with the students.
Balance Between Form and Meaning
While there is an ultimate focus on communication, purpose, and meaning, goals in task-based approach are
linguistic in nature in that they ultimately point learners beyond the forms of language alone to real world context
centering on pragmatic language competence (Ur, 1996). According to Skehan, structured information seems to lead
to greater accuracy and fluency whereas meaning centered tasks produce greater complexity especially when linked
to planning, so form and meaning in communicative task should be balanced so that neither dominates the other.
1060 PEDAGOGICAL STRATEGIES, TASK-BASED, VOCABULARY ACQUISITION
Moderate Difficulty
Relatively challenging tasks lead to both fluency and accuracy involving harder tasks and familiar
information. The harder tasks include interpretation, divergent views, abstract tasks, and there and then narrative,
while familiar information involves concrete fact and here-now narrative.
Fluency and accuracy are inseparable in language learning, for which a pedagogical criterion for task
design should provide relatively challenging ones leading to both fluency and accuracy. Nevertheless tasks that
are too demanding or beyond learners’ knowledge will surely result in failure—students will lose interest or
have little to say.
Authentic Language in Meaningful Context Through Multiple Ways
Authentic and real world tasks enable learners to see the benefit of classroom activity with relevance to their
long term communicative goals and readily dive into the activity. But it is not always easy to keep coming with
meaningful interactions since teachers need to have a keen perception of the life around them and be sensitive to
the news and information. In actual classroom, teachers are easily carried away by disconnected grammar or
vocabulary exercises calling students one by one to answer. In addition, abstract discussions such as “What is the
difference between modesty and shyness? What are the factors that are essential to top achievers?” are likely to
make students at a loss as to what to say and how to say. A more challenging and interesting job might be
providing them with a problem and ask them to solve and designing interview or simulation practice.
Conclusions
Task-based instruction is very effective in English vocabulary learning in which it can afford interest and
authenticity, improve language by much negotiation of meanings, and create a climate of intimacy and deep
cooperativeness basic to learners’ emotional and cognitive growth. Therefore, teachers should not only create
comfortable teaching atmosphere and authentic language environment in the teaching process, but also need
design real, motivating, and balanced tasks tailored to the students’ cognitive emotional as well as linguistic level.
References
Candlin, C. (1987). Language learning tasks. Englewood Cliffs, N.J.: Prentice Hall.
Ellis, R. (1994). The study of second language acquisition. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Nunan, D. (1989). Designing tasks for the communicative classroom. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Robinson, P. (2001). Task complexity, cognitive resources, and syllabus design: A triadic framework for examining task influences
on SLA. In P. Robinson (Ed.), Cognition and second language instruction. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Skehan, P. (1996a). A phramework for the implementation of task based instruction. Applied Lilnguistics, 17, 38-62.
Skehan, P. (1996b). Implementation of SLA research for language teaching methodologies. In J. Willis & D. Willis (Eds.),
Challenge and change in language teaching. Oxford: Heinemann.
Skehan, P. (1998). A cognitive approach to language learning. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Skehan, P. (2002). A non-marginal role for tasks. ELT Journal, 56(3), 289-295.
Skehan, P., & Foster, P. (2001). Cognition and task. In P. Robinson (Ed.), Cognition and second language instruction. Cambridge:
Cambridge University Press.
Ur, P. (1996). A course in language teaching: Practice and theory. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Willis, J. (2002). Challenge and change in language teaching. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
April 2012, Vol. 9, No. 4, 1061-1064
D DAVID PUBLISHING
An Empirical Study of Learner-Based Teaching in EFL
HU Lan-ying DU Xue-mei
Jiaxing University, Jiaxing, China Hegang Normal College, Hegang, China

This paper gives a detailed annlysis of the learner-based teaching in EFL (English as a Foreign Language). It deals
with how we arrive at learner-based teaching, what is the role of teachers and the textbooks, and the advantages and
potential problems of learner-based teaching in EFL. The main principle in learner-based teaching is that all class
activities can be done in using information that the learners themselves bring into the class. What is novel about
learner-based teaching is the idea that all activities can be based on that wealth of experience, their grammar
exercises, or translations, etc.. In learner-based teaching, we should know how to help students to teach themselves
in learning English. In using a learner-based approach, the learners themselves are responsible for the information
input, thereby ensuring its relevance and topicality for each particular group. The basic procedure has two stages.
First, learners prepare materials which are designed to practice. Second, these materials are passed to other learners
in the class who carry out the activities. In this way, students obtain valuable language practice, not only while they
are using the materials, but also while they are preparing them as well.
Keywords: learner-based teaching, EFL (English as a Foreign Language), potential problems
How Can We Arrive at Learner-Based Teaching?

We arrived at learner-based teaching along different routes but mainly in response to teaching conditions in
Poland. Here, few teachers have access to a wide range of recently published materials (like Benson and Voller’s
book Autonomy and Independence in Language Learning (1997)1). We found that people were dissatisfied with
the repeated use of the same coursebooks. Many complained that the materials they had did not meet the real need
and interest of their students.
As a result, in the teacher-training sessions, we come to realize that the principle that the acitvities we
developed shoud not require such “materials”, equipment such as photocopiers or a lot of preparation time. We
eventually concluded that a lack of “good materials” might, in fact, be a very positive and liberating thing.
A second factor was that some of the groups of students we taught consisted of academics of varying ages,
with different specialities, who already possessed a good command of English. In certain areas their knowledge
was often considerably greater than ours. This taught us to respect them as learners and see them as individuals

This paper is the period result for the research project “Research on the Differences of English Teaching Model in Applying
Talents’ Training”, which is a key teaching and reform research project sponsored by Jiaxing Unversity, 2010 (No. 85151009).
HU Lan-ying, associate professor of Pinghu Campus, Jiaxing University.
DU Xue-mei, senior lecturer, Hegang Normal College.
1
P. Voller and P. Benson are professors of linguistics at the University of Washington, Seattle, USA, who have done a very
comprehensive survey on language use.
1062 EMPIRICAL STUDY OF LEARNER-BASED TEACHING IN EFL
rather than as “a class of foreign students”2. For example, a physicist specializing in acoustics proved to be an
invaluable source of information during a class on noise pollution. His/Her expertise was available to be
exploited and he/she was only too eager to cooperate.
A Study on the Role of Teachers and Coursebooks

What is the role teachers? Teachers can be an active participant in the group, genuinely taking part in the
activities, contributing ideas and opinions, or relating personal experiences. A teacher is also a helper and
resource, responding to learners, and requests for help with vocabulary and grammar. By providing what the
language students ask for, at the time they actually need it to express themselves, a teacher can facilitate more
effective learning. At other times a teacher is a monitor, checking what learners have produced before they pass it
on to other learners. This is especially desirable in, for example, grammar and examination practice activities. A
learner-based approach is aimed at narrowing the traditional gap between teachers and students. In learner-based
teaching, the teaching and learning are taking place on both sides.
What about coursebooks? The value of coursebooks as a vital learning tool is universally recognized. Our aim
is not to reject the coursebooks as a teaching aid, but rather to suggest ways of avoiding over-dependence on it. A
predetermined syllabus that underlies a coursebook can bypass the needs of students. Topic areas are preselected,
which particular individuals. In some cases the information content is already over-familiar to students. In others it
may be remote from their everyday reality. A potential problem with following a coursebook is that students can,
and do, read ahead to find out what is coming next. Learner-based teaching is unpredictable and more likely to
foster a heightened sense of curiosity. The coursebook can co-exist comfortably with learner-based teaching. Our
learners use it mainly at home for self-study, while in class time we concentrate on activating the language they
have picked up from various sources, such as TV or newspapers, as well as their coursebooks.
The Advantages of Using Learner-Based Teaching

The Potential of the Learner
Students bring a lot with them. They all have their own ideas, opinions, experiences, and areas of expertise.
All of this is important to them. What they need from the English language classroom is the language to express
all this, and thereby themselves, in English.
Learner-based teaching focuses on encouraging learners to express their ideas freely. This route to fluency is
more direct than the teacher imposing irrelevant topics in the hope that with time learners will be able to say what
they really want to.
Previous Learning Experience
Students who have already been studying the language for some time in an environmet where little
published material is available complain of repetitiveness. A learner-based approach offers a much more
open-ended experience. A framework is given, but the learners bear the responsibility for filling in the details, so
that the same framework can evolve in completely different ways with different groups. Even a student who has
worked with an activity before will make new discoveries when working in a different group.
2
For more information on “a class of foreign students”, see Little’s “Learning as dialogue: The dependence of learner autonomy
on teacher autonomy” (1995).
EMPIRICAL STUDY OF LEARNER-BASED TEACHING IN EFL 1063
Learners as Authors
Language practice is doubled in learner-based teaching, because learners are involved in preparing as well
as using the practice materials. They are clearly interested in how others will use what they have prepared. For
example, if groups of students prepare lists of words for other groups to use as the basis for writing a text, the
“authors”3 of the list will be interested in how their words have been exploited. They now have a real reason to
pay attention in the reporting-back stage.
Pace
Teachers may feel disconcerted by the seemingly lengthy preparation work necessary. It may seem so much
easier to hand out texts at the beginning of a lesson, rather than asking the learners to write their own. However,
as the activity progresses, the pace increases. Also, the involvement of the learners is total throughout.
The Element of Surprise
As materials are not available in advance, there is a strong element of surprise. Not only do the learners not
know what is coming before the lesson starts, but also they are often unable to predict how the lesson will develop
and how the material they have produced will be used.
Peer Teaching and Correction
Students in a group often come from very different learning backgrounds. Even in groups with similar
learning experiences there are always different levels of language competence. Learner-based teaching
encourages students to work together and learn from each other. Activities are structured so that learners have to
pay attention to what their colleagues are saying. They can teach and correct each other. Working together, the
class can pool whatever individual linguistic resources that have and work towards creating “group grammars”
and “group lexicons”.
The Potential Problems in Learner-Based Teaching

Learners Resistance
Problems may arise with groups of learners who have specific preconceptions about the learning process.
Some learners feel that they are learning only when talking or listening to the teacher, and do not see the benefit of
working with other students. Some may have a competitive rather than a cooperative philosophy. Other learners
may have a low opinion of themselves and feel that they cannot contribute to the lesson either in content or in
knowledge of the target language. Some learners may simply not be interested in one another. A gradual
introduction, on an experimental basis, of learner-based activities may convince students of their value. It is possible,
however, that there will be groups who will never accept an exclusive commitment to this approach. It is important
for teachers to be sensitive to the opinions of students before attempting to adopt a new way of working with them.
External Restrains
Even if the teacher is required to follow an external syllabus, it may still be possible to cover parts of the
syllabus using learner-based teaching activities. The same applies is students are preparing for an external
examination.
3
For detailed information about “learners as authors”, read the fourth chapter of Hadfield’s book Classroom Dynamics (1998).
1064 EMPIRICAL STUDY OF LEARNER-BASED TEACHING IN EFL
Demands on the Teachers

Teachers using a learner-based approach are faced with the responsibility for the sequence of events in the
classroom, a role which is normally left to the coursebook in conventional teaching. It is essential to keep a record
of all work done: One way in which teachers and students can do this is by collaborating in the production of a
regular class newsletter, which serves as a summary of all that has been achieved over a period of time, and
reassures all concerned that progress is indeed being made. In many of the activities the stages are interdependent.
This means that the teacher must have a very clear idea of where the activity is leading and hope it is organized,
and must give very accurate and precise instructions. If the learners are confused, they may not produce the
material which is necessary for the activity to continue.
Conclusions
In this paper, we try to analyze the real connotation of learner-based teaching in language teaching, we try to
deal with how we arrive at learner-based teaching, what is the role of the teacher and the coursebooks, and the
advantages and potential problems in learner-based language teaching. As to the role of learner-based approach
in English teaching, does it have to be “all or nothing”? Not necessarily. Learner-based teaching can be any of the
followings: (1) the one and only method used in the classroom. The activities pratice skills, grammar, vocabulary,
functions, and so on, and at the same time reveal needs to be met later with other activities; (2) a complement to
coursebooks, providing topicality, introducing special-interest topics, and practicing language not covered by the
coursebook; and (3) an emergency kit to deal with unpredicted situation such as malfunctioning classroom
hardware and poor attendance.
References
Aoki, N. (1997). Affect and the role of teachers in the development of learner autonomy. In J. Arnold (Ed.), Affect in language
learning. Cambridge: CUP.
Benson, P., & Voller, P. (Eds.). (1997). Autonomy and independence in language learning (pp. 98-113). London: Longman.
Boud, D. (Ed.). (1988). Developing student autonomy in learning. London: Kogan Page.
Campbell, J. C., & Kryszewshka, H. (1997). Learner based teaching. Shanghai: East China Normal University Publishing House.
Hadfield, J. (1998). Classroom dynamics. Shanghai: East China Normal University Publishing House.
Little, D. (1995). Learning as dialogue: The dependence of learner autonomy on teacher autonomy. System, 23(2), 175-181.
Littlewood, W. (1997). Self-access: Why do we want it and what can it do?. London: Longman.
Nunan, D. (1997). Designing and adapting materials to encourage learner autonomy. In P. Benson & P. Voller (Eds.), Autonomy and
independence in language learning (pp. 192-203). London: Longman.
Voller, P. (1997). Does the teacher have a role in autonomous language learning?. In P. Benson & P. Voller (Eds.), Autonomy and
independence in language learning (pp. 98-113). London: Longman.
April 2012, Vol. 9, No. 4, 1065-1073
D DAVID PUBLISHING
Learner Autonomy via Self-Assessment in Consecutive

Interpreting for Novice Learners in a
Non-Interpreting Environment
Noraini Ibrahim-González, Noraiha Noordin

Universiti Sains Malaysia, Penang, Malaysia

This paper discusses the implementation of self-assessment in consecutive interpreting among novice learners in a
non-interpreting environment specifically referring to the interpreting courses offered at USM (Universiti Sains
Malaysia), being the only bachelor’s degree programme in Translation and Interpreting in Malaysia, and the
learners’ perception on this mode of assessment with the goal of fostering learner autonomy among them. Such
implementation was made possible with the shift from analogue technology to digital technology, the deployment
of e-learning in the course instruction, and the shift from teacher-centred learning approach to student-centred
learning approach in line with the university’s APEX (Accelerated Programme for Excellence) transformation plan.
Findings show a high acceptance level of self-assessment among novice learners of interpreting.
Keywords: consecutive interpreting, learner autonomy, student-centred approach, self-assessment
Introduction
USM (Universiti Sains Malaysia) is the only university offering BATI (Bachelor of Arts degree with
Honours in Translation and Interpreting) in Malaysia. In 2008, USM was granted the APEX (Accelerated
Programme for Excellence) status. In its APEX transformation plan, USM is reviewing its activities in all areas
including transforming nurturing and learning by raising student-centred learning, adopting alternative
assessment, and promoting technology-enhanced education system, among others (Abdul Razak & Mohamed,
2008). In other words, increasing learner autonomy among its students is on the university’s transformation
agenda. Therefore, in line with the university’s transformation plan in promoting learner autonomy, interpreting
courses in the BATI programme have undergone two important didactical changes since mid-2009: the shift from
analogue technology to digital technology and the introduction of e-learning in the course instruction. These
changes are pivotal in introducing blended learning environment, allowing the shift from teacher-centred
learning to student-centred learning and opening up the path to learner autonomy among students

Acknowledgements: This paper was presented at the II Congreso Internacional sobre Calidad en Interpretación—The 2nd
International Conference on Interpreting Quality in Almuñecar, Granada, Spain on March 24, 25, and 26, 2011, under the
sponsorship of Universiti Sains Malaysia Overseas Conference Fund (TPLN-RCMO) and published under the Universiti Sains
Malaysia Short Term Research Grant Fund 2011/2013 (304/PHUMANITI/6310095).
Noraini Ibrahim-González, senior lecturer at the School of Humanities, Universiti Sains Malaysia.
Noraiha Noordin, a research assistant at the School of Humanities, Universiti Sains Malaysia.
1066 LEARNER AUTONOMY VIA SELF-ASSESSMENT
(Ibrahim-González, 2011). The purpose of this paper is to discuss the implementation of self-assessment in
consecutive interpreting and the learners’ perception on this mode of assessment in promoting learner autonomy.
Learner Autonomy
Learner autonomy can be defined as:
The ability to take charge of one’s own learning; to have, and to hold, the responsibility for all the decisions
concerning all aspects of this learning, i.e., determining the objectives; defining the contents and progressions; selecting
methods and techniques to be used; monitoring the procedure of acquisition properly speaking (rhythm, time, place, etc.).
(Holec, 1981, p. 3)
Holec (1988) further highlighted that learner autonomy is not an automatic obligation among students:
… Just as the ability to drive a motor vehicle does not necessarily mean that whenever one gets into a car one is
obliged to take the wheel, similarly the autonomous learner is not automatically obliged to self-direct his learning either
totally or even partially. The learner will make use of his ability to do this only if he so wishes and if he is permitted to do
so by the material, social and psychological constraints to which he is subjected. (p. 8)
Therefore, as Little (2003) pointed out, “The practice of learner autonomy requires insight, a positive
attitude, a capacity for reflection, and a readiness to be proactive in self-management and in interaction with
others”. This means that autonomous learners take the responsibility for their learning by deciding what, when,
and how to learn. By encouraging them to adopt learner autonomy in their learning, students are able to set
realistic goals, plan their work, develop coping strategies for new and unexpected situations, and perform
self-evaluation and self-assessment of their work. This gives them a chance “to learn how to learn from their own
successes and failures in ways which will help them to be more efficient learners in the future” (Crabbe, 1993, as
cited in Rao, 2006, p. 114).
Little (1995, p. 7) also mentioned that there is a misconception about learner autonomy, i.e., students are
given 100% responsibility in learning, without the presence of a teacher. In autonomous learning, teachers do not
play the conventional primary role of transmitting knowledge (teacher-centred learning) but are “autonomous
teachers who are organisers, advisers, and sources of information” (Horváth, 2007, p. 104), who facilitate
learning and manage learning resources by bringing the learners to the to the point where students accept equal
responsibility of learning; a coproduction at affective and organizational levels (Little, 1995, p. 178). Thus,
although teachers’ roles have shifted in autonomous learning, their roles are still important in promoting learner
autonomy as emphasized by Sert (2006), “… If the teachers who are supposed to teach their students how to take
the wheel are not good drivers themselves, the whole system will be at risk” (p. 196).
Since a fruitful coproduction between the students and teachers is essential in promoting and achieving
learner autonomy, the teacher must determine the aspects and the extent where learner autonomy can be sought
from the students in terms of learning objectives, learning materials, and assessment of their learning process.
This will largely depend on factors such as the institutional framework, the learners’ age group and educational
background, and in language learning, target language competence (Little, 1995, p. 179).
Horváth (2007) pointed out that permanent learning, good listening comprehension, and language skills are
professional requirements in interpreting. In order to be able to practise lifelong learning, interpreter-trainees
“must learn how to learn and must possess the necessary learning strategies that make it possible for them to meet
LEARNER AUTONOMY VIA SELF-ASSESSMENT 1067
professional requirements” (pp. 104-105). For this to materialize, they must achieve learner autonomy, i.e.,
become autonomous learners by being capable to “direct their learning cognitively: They must know how to plan,
monitor and evaluate”.
Self-assessment
Self-assessment is an essential element of autonomous learning (Gardner, 1999, p. 50). According to Lee
(2005), self-assessment in interpreting training refers to:
Students taking the initiative in their leaning by analyzing and assessing their own performances, finding strategies
for improvement, and monitoring their own progress over time… (which) allows students to be in more control of their
learning, be responsible for their learning objectives and the learning process.
Furthermore, Falchikov and Goldfinch (2000) pointed out that self-assessment is “a private activity which
may involve little or no knowledge of the work or performance of others” (p. 317). This means that learners
become independent and sole assessors of their work and performance.
Lee (2005) further reiterated that self-assessment is important in both training and professional phases of
interpreters. Interpreter-trainees should learn how to assess themselves, because when they eventually become
interpreters, they are responsible for their own performance quality; “They are left on their own to check their
interpretation quality and find measures for improvement on their own” (Lee, 2005). If they are taught to self-assess
their performance during training, they do not have to rely on others for assessment and improvement, because even
though clients can also assess the interpreters’ performance, their feedback will be in the form of complaints (Lee,
2005). Thus, to avoid unpleasant experiences for both clients and interpreters, interpreter-trainees must be equipped
with the knowledge of self-assessment and learner autonomy upon entering the profession.
Bachelor of Arts in Translation and Interpreting at USM

USM is the only university offering a BATI in Malaysia. The programme was established in 1992 and has
produced over 800 graduates to date. It is offered at the School of Humanities.
BATI Interpreting Courses
Ibrahim-González (2010) highlighted several constraints with regards to interpreting courses offered in the
programme. Among them are: (1) high teacher-student ratio. Currently the ratio is one teacher to 41 students. There
are two teachers teaching the courses; (2) its teacher-centred learning due to the analogue technology in class
instruction; and (3) the programme’s working languages. The current language pair is only Malay and English
despite the non-homogeneity of mother-tongues among students. The various mother-tongues are Malay, Mandarin,
English, and Tamil, while the instructors’ working language combination is Malay and English. This means that
only a certain percentage of them have the advantage of interpreting into their mother tongue. Upon graduation, the
majority of the BATI students do not become neither community nor conference interpreters which makes the
programme an “interpreter training” in a non-interpreting environment (Ibrahim-González, 2010, p. 116).
Didactical Changes in the Interpreting Courses
During the teacher-centred learning era, students were required to attend a two-hour recording session weekly
and recorded their interpretations using tape cassettes. Now, with student-centred learning approach, students use
their laptops or personal computers, headphones, and microphones, to perform their weekly recordings at their own
pace, anytime and anywhere using freeware audio recording applications such Wave Pad Sound Editor.
Texts to be interpreted are provided to the students in two ways: (1) Audio texts and interpreting exercise
instructions are uploaded onto e-learning portal; and (2) Video texts are burned on a DVD and students can view
the interpreting exercise instructions via the e-learning portal.
These weekly assignments with specific instructions are uploaded onto the USM e-learning portal and all
students access the same information and instructions at their own convenience. They then submit their digital
recordings directly to the portal. Beside the portal, students are required to create a Dropbox account (Available
at www.dropbox.com) and “drop” their recordings into their personal dropboxes which are shared with the
instructor’s. One interesting feature of asynchronous online submission of oral assignments is that one can listen
to the audio files without downloading them. This eases storing and access as well as looking up for a particular
student’s assignments (Ibrahim-González, 2010).
Previously, assessment of students’ interpretations was only done by the instructor. The adoption of CMC
(Computer-mediated Communication) and student-centred learning environment in the course instruction made
it possible to introduce and integrate cooperative assessment in the interpreting courses—self, peer, and teacher
assessments. Two methods of self-assessment have been introduced to students: (1) asynchronous auto-graded
listening comprehension exercises which include listening and translation exercises, and (2) consecutive
interpreting assignments using assessment grids (assessment sheet). However, this paper will only focus on the
latter, the learners’ perception of self-assessment in consecutive interpreting in promoting learner autonomy.
Methods
Subjects
The subjects chosen for this research were final year students of the BATI programme with an average age
of 23. At the time of research, they were enrolled in simultaneous interpreting course (semester 2, 2010/11), and
took consecutive interpreting course in the previous semester (semester 1, 2010/11). There were a total of 41
students who came from two different education systems: 61% underwent the Chinese school system and 39%
underwent the national/vernacular (Malay) school system.
Assessment Criteria
Students were asked to interpret English texts into their mother-tongues (Malay or Chinese). Later, using an
assessment sheet, they were asked to rate their performance based on three categories: delivery, language, and
message using a 5-point scale (very good, good, average, bad, and very bad).
The items in the message category are sense errors, additions, omissions, and replacements. The items for
language category include grammatical errors, word and terminology choices, and wrong pronunciation. The
delivery category includes voice clarity, fluency, intonation, and coherence. Students were also provided the
transcript of the original speech in the assessment sheet to assist them in assessing the message category correctly.
They would then carry out a visual inspection of their output by transcribing their interpretation and comparing it
with the transcript of the original speech.
Online Questionnaire Survey
To find out students’ perception on self-assessment, an online survey was carried out after students have
completed four self-assessment exercises. A set of questionnaire was designed using Moodle Course
Management System. The items in the questionnaire were adapted from Lee’s (2005) findings on self-assessment
among Korean graduate students of Translation and Interpreting. The questionnaire consisted of two sections
with a total of 10 close-ended items (see Table 1) to be rated using a 5-point rating scale (strongly agree (SA),
agree (A), indifferent (I), disagree (D), and strongly disagree (SD)) and one open-ended question for additional
feedback or comments on their experiences using self-assessment. One interesting feature of Moodle
questionnaire is the automatic analysis of the survey’s results (see Figure 1). In addition, via Moodle
questionnaire, students’ were granted anonymity and were labelled from 1 to 38.
Table 1
Results of the Online Questionnaire on Perception of Self-assessment Among Students
Item Percentage (%)
SA A I D SD
Section A: General opinion
Self-assessment has been a useful and effective method of learning for this course. 18.0 66.0 11.0 5.0 0.0
Section B: In what ways was self-assessment useful?
Self-assessment has been useful in helping me improve my interpreting performance. 11.0 65.0 16.0 8.0 0.0
Self-assessment gives me the opportunity to interpret into my A-language despite the fact that 20.0 50.0 20.0 10.0 0.0
my instructor’s A-language is different than mine.
Self-assessment has been useful in helping me identify my linguistic weaknesses. 29.0 53.0 18.0 0.0 0.0
Self-Assessment has been useful in helping me identify the most problematic area in my 24.0 58.0 13.0 5.0 0.0
interpretation.
Self-assessment has been useful in helping me analyse my performance in an objective 21.0 60.0 8.0 11.0 0.0
manner.
Self-assessment has been useful in helping me monitor my progress overtime. 18.0 47.0 29.0 3.0 3.0
The use of assessment criteria (assessment sheet) aids me in assessing my performance. 24.0 58.0 13.0 5.0 0.0
Visual inspection of my interpretation (transcribing activity) helps me improve my 21.0 53.0 21.0 5.0 0.0
performance.
Visual inspection of my interpretation (transcribing activity) helps me identify specific 26.0 63.0 8.0 3.0 0.0
problematic areas/errors.
Figure 1. Moodle Course Management System questionnaire analysis feature.

Results and Discussion

Results from the study are presented in two sections: a 10-item analysis of the students’ perceptions on
self-assessment (Table 1) and additional feedbacks from the students. Thirty-eight students responded the online
questionnaire, giving a response rate of 92.7%. Out of the 38 students who responded the questionnaire, 20 were
Chinese Mandarin speakers (52.6% of total respondents). These students were given the opportunity to interpret
into their A-language during tutorials and online interpreting assignments. Item 3 in Section B of the
questionnaire was addressed to this group of students.
Students’ Perceptions on Self-assessment: Questionnaire Analysis
As can be seen from Table 1, 84.0% of the students strongly agree and agree that self-assessment has been a
useful and effective method of learning interpreting. This shows a high acceptance level in adopting
self-assessment among students as a part of the learning process.
With regard to how self-assessment has been useful to the students, the results show that the most important
feature of self-assessment that the students benefited from was the visual inspection of their interpretation; it
helped them identify specific problematic areas they faced and errors they made (89.0% strongly agree and agree).
More than 80% of the students strongly agreed and agreed that self-assessment was useful in helping them
identify their overall linguistic weaknesses and pin-point the most problematic area in their interpretation,
helping them in analysing their performance in an objective matter and that the use of assessment criteria
helped them assess their performance. This demonstrates that self-assessment with visual inspection is an
effective tool in helping the students identify the key area(s) that they need to improve on.
In relation to whether self-assessment and visual inspection of their output have been useful as tools to
improve their interpreting performance, more than 70% strongly agreed and agreed to these statements.
Sixty-five percent of the students strongly agreed and agreed that self-assessment has been useful in helping
them monitor their progress overtime. This is probably due to the fact that one has to take the time factor into
account in order to monitor progress and see improvement. Students might have better experience in
self-assessment and see improvement with more self-assessment exercises in a longer period of time.
Seventy percent of the 20 Chinese respondents strongly agreed and agreed that self-assessment gave them
the opportunity to interpret into their A-language despite the fact that the instructor’s A-language is different
than theirs. This shows that self-assessment is a potential tool in the didactics of interpreting for novice learners
of various A-languages provided that they must achieve a certain level of learner autonomy.
Students’ Experiences on Self-assessment: Additional Feedbacks
This section discusses feedbacks received from the respondents regarding their personal experiences, the
problems they face, and in what ways self-assessment have or have not helped them. These feedbacks in many
ways help improve self-assessment experience among interpreting students in the future.
(1) I think self-assessment is very useful to me. Actually I was afraid to listen to my own interpreting but with
self-assessment, like it or not, I was forced to listen to it. And it surprised me because it was not so bad listening to our own
voice even I was mumbling around. Because it makes me feel like I must do better next time. So I think self-assessment
really should be done by the student so that we know our own weaknesses. (Student 36, personal communication, 2011)
(2) Self-assessment is useful in improving oneself. I find that the harshest critic is often ourselves and where people
refuse to comment on our weaknesses because they do not wish to hurt our feelings, we are forced to confront and deal with
it. Self assessment should be given more priority than peer assessment. (Student 30, personal communication, 2011)
(3) Through this activity, I could identify the mistakes that I did in my interpretation so that I could improve myself in
due time. Besides, self-assessment helps me improve my performance, especially via the transcribing activity because I
have to listen to every single word that I’ve interpreted, and it helps me correct myself. (Student 32, personal
communication, 2011)
(4) It’s fun to learn from mistakes. So, I think self-assessment really helps me a lot. (Student 33, personal
(5) It might a little bit time consuming, but it’s a good activity to help students to improve their weakness. (Student 16,
personal communication, 2011)
(6) Although self-assessment is time consuming, I can learn about my own mistake in the interpretation. For example,
when I listened again to my recording, I found that I have difficulties in the pronunciation part. So, through self assessment,
I will pay more attention on my pronunciation in next interpretation exercise. Although I still haven’t improved much but at
least I know my own weakness in the interpretation. (Student 17, personal communication, 2011)
(7) May be there are some disadvantages for self-assessment such as it does require quite lot of time but I never feel
like it’s to burden or it’s not useful because it is useful. When I listen to my interpretation, I know my weaknesses. I do have
a moment when I felt like “I don’t like the way I interpret” or “God, I can do better!” and despite all that I got my lesson and
I learn something from my mistakes. And I know it takes time for me to improve because when I do my interpreting it just
comes naturally. But let’s take one step at a time, I know my weaknesses and the next step is to keep improving. (Student 36,
personal communication, 2011)
As can be seen from the above feedbacks, students did not find it easy to carry out self-assessment at the
beginning. This shows that if self-assessment is only suggested but not made compulsory, students might find it
intimidating and might not attempt it at all. The idea of implementing self-assessment in this course is to
introduce the students to one of the methods that can they adopt in order to improve their interpreting skills, not in
the short run but as a lifelong learning process.
(8) Personally, self-assessment is time consuming, particularly when transcribing the interpretation, but it’s worth it
because I have learned how to improve my interpreting skill as well as my transcribing skill. (Student 32, personal
(9) I spent quite some time in completing the self-assessment especially when transcribing the audio. Other than that, I
do not like to listen to my own audio as I find it awkward to listen to my own voice. And sometimes it is difficult to spot my
own mistakes as most of the time I think that what has been done is right. (Student 21, personal communication, 2011)
(10) Transcribing work is useful but when the recording is too long, I’ll become frustrated. (Student 8, personal
In the effort to promote learner autonomy via self-assessment among students, the teacher must consider the
aspect of time taken to complete the exercises especially when dealing with undergraduate students in a
non-interpreting environment. In this case, interpreting courses are compulsory for them despite their interests
and linguistic capabilities, thus, some students may show a certain degree of unwillingness to cooperate in this
type of activity. Therefore, the teacher has to strike a balance so that the activity is not too draining and frustrating
for certain group of students.
(11) I can’t really recognize all the mistakes and misinterpretations because the same message may mean differently to
different people. (Student 31, personal communication, 2011)
(12) Although self-assessment is helpful but I still think that I need tutor assessment. This is because I do not have
much confidence in myself. (Student 12, personal communication, 2011)
(13) Self-assessment is okay as long as there is tutor/peer assessment to see other problems that we don’t notice.
(Student 4, personal communication, 2011)
Probably due to their language command, level of maturity (undergraduate students) and other factors such
as extra-linguistic skills, novice learners still need guidance from the teachers in improving their interpreting
skills via self-assessment in order to achieve full learner autonomy. With regard to peer assessment, the author
agrees with Lee’s (2005) recommendation that students should begin with their own self-assessment so that
“Students will be more familiar with the concept and the mechanics before assessing someone else’s
performance”. Nevertheless, the findings show that students need teachers to guide them on the concept
assimilation and mechanics of assessment especially at the initial stage.
Conclusions
As a conclusion, results clearly show a high acceptance level on self-assessment among novice learners, as
well as the use of assessment criteria and the visual inspection of their interpretations. Therefore, this
demonstrates that the students have acknowledged the importance of self-assessment as a method to improve
their interpreting skill in the long run. In addition, they have achieved partial learner autonomy, because they still
require teacher’s assessment and feedback on their performances, teacher’s guidance on how to carry out
assessment as well as teacher’s feedback on the assessment that they have done.
In order to improve self-assessment and achieve a higher level of learner autonomy among novice learners
of interpreting, the teacher must consider the length of the texts and the total time spent on completing the task.
This factor is important in making sure students perform effective self-assessments that would encourage, not
discourage learner autonomy. As emphasised by Horváth (2007), Little (1995, 2003), and Sert (2006), students
must not be left alone to venture into learner autonomy, but teachers, being autonomous themselves, must
complement the students’ efforts and play a primary role in teaching and guiding them on how to become
autonomous until they are able to accept and apply the concept of autonomous learners. Thus, other modes of
assessment such as teacher assessment is still important especially at the initial stage of the introduction of
self-assessment. Nevertheless, these findings can be considered as a significant achievement of learner autonomy
for novice learners of interpreting given the fact that they may not become interpreters after graduation. However,
they would be able to utilize this knowledge and experience to help them if they were to be assigned as
interpreters in the future. Promoting and achieving learner autonomy is a lengthy and labourious process for both
learners and teachers but exhilarating when one reaps the harvest one has sown.
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April 2012, Vol. 9, No. 4, 1074-1082
D DAVID PUBLISHING
Strategies for Effective Teaching and Learning of

Reading Skill in English
Bolanle Tajudeen Opoola, Ayobami Fatimo Opoola

Federal College of Education, Oyo, Nigeria

Reading is a pertinent skill of the four basic language skills. English teaching and learning in Nigeria cannot but be
given all special attention since it is the major language of administration, economics, religious propagation, and
others in the nation. This paper has traced the treatment of reading aspect of English in the Nigerian Junior
Secondary Schools using the teachers, students, and the nation’s curriculum as instrument of operation. Some of
the problems militating against effective teaching of reading skill in English were identified and discussed.
Recommendations for achieving effective language teaching and learning focusing on English reading skill were
highlighted. In the end, English teachers’ attention is drawn on better ways of teaching reading as an important skill
of the English language education.
Keywords: Fasola, phobia, NERDC (Nigeria Educational Research and Curriculum Development Commission),
NIP (Noting Pad), Ejigbo, major language, reading skills
Introduction
Teaching the reading aspect of English in many schools in Nigeria has over the years not received the
required attention. Many reasons are responsible for the neglect of this important area of language teaching and
learning by the teachers. In this piece of work, reading as perceived by some English and language studies experts
were reviewed and in the end, it is proved that reading as a language skill can be effectively taught by Junior
Secondary School English teachers in Nigeria if the proposed recommendations are properly handled. Learners
and teachers in the recent time in Nigeria seem to have relegated the teaching of reading skill in language
teaching and learning to the background, so much that materials for reading are not professionally selected and
periods for teaching reading on schools timetable are often times illegally appropriated for other things.
Reading as a concept has been misconceived to be for only reading comprehension passages where the
teachers’ emphasis has long been on identification and use of difficult words using flash cards or traditionally
lifting of such words directly on the chalkboard.
In the context of this piece of work, reading is defined and redefined using current terminologies in language
teaching and learning.
Reading from Wikipedia (2008), the free encyclopediais better defined in the following terms: (1) a
Bolanle Tajudeen Opoola, chief lecturer, Federal College of Education.

Ayobami Fatimo Opoola, principal lecturer, Federal College of Education.
STRATEGIES FOR EFFECTIVE TEACHING AND LEARNING 1075
complex cognitive process of decoding symbols; (2) a means of deriving meaning (reading comprehension
and/or constructing meaning); (3) a means of language acquisition; (4) a means of communication; (5) a means
of sharing information; (6) an avenue for translation of symbols into sounds or as visual representations of
language (visual-word resignation); (7) a means of accessing information; and (8) an avenue for interpersonal
communication, e.g., reading aloud for one’s own use for better comprehension.
Although reading cannot be placed on the same terrain with listening and speaking skills that can be
naturally acquired, there have been instances whereby individuals acquired reading skill without any formal
training. There exists the case with Truman Capote who taught himself to read and write at the age of five. Also,
as mentioned in Wikipedia (2008), Harvert Delbanco taught himself to read at the age of six by studying a book
about boats during a transatlantic crossing.
In all, reading and literacy are inseparable. Outside few more cases, reading is taught particularly through
formal education at schools.
Reading involves the totality of the reader. He/She concentrates to achieve his/her set goals with his/her
cognitive and physical features. The reading environment constitutes part of what guarantee effective reading, so
also are other factors such as objectives and purpose of reading as well as types of reading.
Reading types are enormous. The following few are mentioned and highlighted as part of the positive
prompting guides for this exercise using the free encyclopedia (2008) list: (1) Sub-vocalized Reading: combination
of subject reading with internal sounding of the words as if spoken; (2) Speed Reading: closely related to speed
learning. It reduces comprehension or retention; (3) Proof Reading/Close Reading: reading to detect errors, e.g.,
Typographical errors comprehension and retention may be suspended while on proofreading; (4) Skimming
Reading: slow reading; and (5) Guided Reading: silent and purposeful reading (involving initial questioning).
Opoola (2002) also highlighted reading types to include: (1) Study Reading: for examinations, etc.; (2)
Pleasure Reading: for seduction, calming down, leisure, etc.; and (3) Research Reading: for eliciting data for
research works.
Other types of reading are: (1) Scanning Reading: for location of specific information; and (2) Extensive
Reading: reading wide.
Treating reading as an essential skill, Alabi (2005) cited Heilman (1972), Dorothy (1982), and Ajani (1999)
impressions of reading thus: “decoding arriving at a meaning of written scripts” (Heilman 1972), “the getting of
meaning and bringing of meaning to the printed-page” (Dorothy, 1982), and “getting information from print”
(Ajani, 1999).
Creative Reading
Critical Reading
Inferential Reading
Literal Reading
Figure 1. Levels of reading comprehension.
1076 STRATEGIES FOR EFFECTIVE TEACHING AND LEARNING
Focusing on reading comprehension, Alabi (2005) identified the following four levels of reading
comprehension (see Figure 1): (1) Literal Reading: Casual narrow-minded whereby reader takes everything he
reads literally; (2) Inferential Reading: Reading and giving deeper meaning to every word, phrase, clause or
sentence in the passage; (3) Critical Reading: Reading to react constructively to what has been read; and (4)
Creative Reading: Reading with the ability to reproduce the passage in the readers own expression.
The speed with which one reads depends on reading type. Maker and Lenier (1982; as cited in Opoola, 2002)
presented Table 1 for further illustration.
Table 1
Showing Reading Purpose, Types, and Time
Study reading Rapid reading Skimming reading Scanning reading
Speed Up to 250wpm 250-800 wpm Up to thousands of wpm Up to thousands of wpm
Through understanding Recreation information Locating specific
Purpose Survey overview
and recall light reading information
Textbooks technical Newspaper magazines
Types of materials Any type Any type
materials novels
Reading at the Junior Secondary level in line with the nations Nine-Year Basic Education Curriculum
(English Studies) centers on two main types. They are: (1) silent reading, and (2) reading aloud.
The curriculum emphasized that efforts should be geared towards silent reading, while students are to be
encouraged to read extensively focusing on the followings: (1) reading for main and supporting ideas (including
summary); (2) reading to grasp meaning in written communication; (3) reading to follow directions in written
communication; (4) reading to answer specific questions; (5) reading to understand the writers mood and purpose; (6)
reading for critical evaluation; (7) reading to recognize repetition of the same idea; (8) reading for maximum
retention and recall (i.e., intensive study type reading); (9) reading or spatial description; and (10) reading for speed.
Though the curriculum for teaching and learning reading at Junior Secondary 1-3 is quite explicit on its
layout topics, performance objectives, content, and activities for teachers and students including teaching
learning and evaluation guide, this paper points out the need for effective implementation of the curriculum
dictates with special emphasis on acquisition of reading skills by the students. Teachers acquired skills in
teaching are to be revised, improved upon, and exposed to general and individual assessments. Tips for teachers
on teaching reading skill are provided to achieve appreciable quality education at the junior school level.
Strategies for Achieving Effective Teaching and Learning of English Reading Skills in
Nigerian Schools
General Guides for Teaching English Reading Skills
A study of existing curriculum for Junior Secondary School English confirms that reading is not taught as a
separate skill except in relation with comprehension passages.
The holistic concept of reading as instrument for secondary school students better performance in Literature
in English, private study for other school subjects, improved reading cultures and attitudes have no serious prime
of place in the current curriculum. Therefore, through this workshop, our topic on preparation of teachers for
qualitative teaching of reading slightly extends beyond the stereotypical focus on only reading of English
comprehension passages. Teachers of English are to be able to accomplish the tasks of teaching the students so
that they will perform better not only on reading passages and answering questions correctly but excelling in
other reading types. At the end, however, much more emphasis is placed on effective teaching of reading
comprehension at the junior secondary school level at least in favor of the level’s curriculum dictates. In teaching
reading, an English teacher is expected to note the following points.
Lesson objectives. Objectives for teaching reading should be based on type of reading he chooses to teach.
The objectives to be achieved in teaching students on effective study reading must be different from that of
teaching reading comprehension passages. The teacher is to choose general and specific objectives he/she aims to
achieve at the end of each lesson.
Students level. Age and maturation of students as well as level/class should be of concern to English teacher
teaching reading. Types of reading and topics should be such that can conveniently be handled bearing in mind
students learning abilities and maturation. The teaching method to be employed should not be at variance with
student’s age. Method to be used in teaching at the Junior Secondary School Class, one may not be convenient for
the Junior Secondary Schools 2 and 3 inspite of their closeness and relatedness.
Students standard and nature. Individual differences are major factors of note in the choice of topics,
types, and method of teaching reading among Junior Secondary students. In some classes, many students are of
enviable assimilation ability. Therefore, the efforts needed in such classes cannot be the same with those of not
too good students with average rate of assimilation. Also, some classes have more extroverts and high inquisitive
students than the other. The English teacher must note this as guide for achievement of effective reading.
Methodologies to be employed for curious students dominated classes must be different from that of those who
are submissive and want to be spoon-fed.
Duration of lesson. In handling comprehension passages as focus for teaching reading, the length of
passages must be guided by available period on the school’s timetable. We cannot choose lengthy passages of
several pages within 35 minutes lesson period and convincingly achieve the set objectives of qualitative teaching
and learning. The time limit should be seen as an important factor in handling the teaching of reading at schools.
Availability of reading materials. Availability of reading materials also needs to be considered by the
English language teacher of reading skill: In a class of about 30 students, every student should have the reading
text. The idea of grouping and regrouping students due to dearth of reading text leads to ineffective teaching and
learning. It is noted in many English lesson classes that many students do not have reading texts and this usually
results in grouping that disorganizes lessons and disrupts orderliness expected in ideal classroom situation.
The choice of instructional materials. The choice of instructional materials depends on reading topics:
The teacher should determine what to use in supporting his potentials. The use of flash cards and audio-lingual
and audio-visual items in handling teaching for reading lessons promotes qualitative teaching and learning.
Teacher’s lesson preparation includes the determination to choose relevant, adequate, and quality teaching aids.
The choice of electronic items like the followings are of immense benefit: (1) ORP (Oral Record of the Passage):
This is to be played to students before embarking on reading the choice passages; (2) NIP (Noting Pad): This is
similar to flash cards and indicates difficult words with or without their meanings; (3) WIP (Word-In-Tape): The
words considered new or probably difficult for students could also be lifted, pronounced, and recorded in
cassettes for student’s attention during reading lessons. The teacher plays the tape at the end of students reading
exercise; and (4) The CAB (Cardboard): Noted words can be listed on a cardboard for hanging in the classroom
for teaching reading comprehension. The appropriateness of display of this material should also be considered.
We expect that the display of instructional materials should not distract students’ attention and only used at the
appropriate time.
Students’ number and size of classroom should also be noted by the English teachers’ handling of reading
skill: A class of more than between 25 and 30 students may not be convenient for effective teaching and learning
of reading particularly reading comprehension. The teacher should adopt “batches method” in achieving his/her
objectives in such a situation.
Initial questioning approach. In teaching reading comprehension, the teacher is to always commence
reading passages lessons with relevant summary questions. The questions are to serve as pointers to the messages
of the passage. They are also to sensitize the students on the information to be elicited from the passage. There
could be Rhetoric questions whose answers are known to both the teacher and his/her students. The use of
probing questions facilitates fast reading and quick understanding of messages of comprehension passages.
Call for meaning concentration. An English language teacher of reading needs to emphasize the
importance of grouping the content of every read passage, book, or material. Students are to be discouraged from
devoting too much time on concentrating on turning words into sounds to avoid zero understanding or
comprehension of the reading texts.
Student centre attention. Habitually, while teaching reading, some teachers’ often times direct attention to one
or two students positively or otherwise. This slows down ones achievement rate in teaching learning situation. Some
students feel naturally shy if not embarrassed if daily praised or negatively reinforced specifically among their peers.
Exposition of students to wider reading. Teaching reading skills particularly outside the formal classroom
situation involves exposition of students to more reading texts. As long as it is part of the teacher’s
responsibilities to encourage good reading cultures among his/her students, sharing of newspaper articles,
literature texts, magazines, and others is essential among English students. This promotes private reading
attitudes and gives room for self assessment of their reading skill. It also encourages role-playing particularly
whereby the teacher attaches time limit for private reading exercises. Students lunch-break period can be used
through grouping between two or three for leisure reading particularly if such period precedes the English lesson
time when reading comprehension is handled.
The use of context clues. Context clues method is of immense value in teaching reading skill in English. The
teacher needs to apply this reading strategy to assist students in decoding the comprehension messages. The
morphology, semantics, syntax, and context clues are meant to understand the meaning of unknown words in written
texts. The morphological clue prepares the students in question on word structure. The semantic clue introduces
students to meaning and sense ascription (the figurative use of English words in terms of idioms, idiophones, etc.),
while the syntactic clue expresses sentence structure. Reading skill students should have explanation for the
word-class of every grammatically correct English word they come in contact within every reading text.
The use of phonic methods. Phonics involves teaching reading by associating characters or group of
character with sounds. In Wikipedia’s (2008) opinion, phonics is in competition with whole language methods
which involve acquiring words or phrases without attention to the characters or groups of characters that compose
them. Whole language approach impairs learning how to spell words. Phonic method approach is more adaptable
to teaching students on reading aloud. The student’s attention is redirected to correct pronunciation of words,
articulation of speech sounds, pausing styles and techniques along with attentive observation of punctuation and
other oral drilling rules.
Reading assessment tests. Simultaneous teaching, learning, and testing are important features of
programmed instructional method in structural linguistics. English teacher in reading skill classes can adopt the
following recommended tests in assessing both himself/herself and his/her students.
Sight word reading. Reading words of increasing difficulty until they become unable to read or understand
the words presented to them. Difficulty is manipulated by using words that have more letters or syllables, are less
common and have more complicated spelling-sound relationships, e.g., Brake: Break, Weak: Week.
Non-word reading. Reading lists of pronounceable nonsense words but loud. The difficulty is increased by
using longer words, and also by using words with more complex spelling or sound sequences.
Reading comprehension. In this, a passage is presented to the readers, which they must read either silently
or out loud. Then a series of questions are presented that test the reader’s comprehension of this passage.
Reading fluency. This tests the rate at which individuals can name words. English teacher can incorporate two
or more of the above methods of testing students or specifically apply one depending on his objectives of teaching
reading, reading types and conduct of reading test. The Nelson Denny Reading Test scores readers both on the
speed with which they can read a passage and also their ability to accurately answer questions about passages.
Specific Guides for Teaching Reading Skills in the Nigerian Schools
Text 1 is used for simple sample illustration of Reading Comprehension (see Appendix).
English teachers at junior school level should introduce their students to some guides to achieve effective
teaching learning situation.
Reading involves the sense, eyes, and totality of a reader. Opoola (2002) saw reading as: “the vocalization of
the mind and interpretation of graphic representation on paper, slates, boards, walls and other objects”.
It remains a known fact that teachers need to sensitize the students on factors affecting good reading skill.
The major factors that usually impede effective reading (study, comprehension passages, pleasure etc.) are:
(1) finger tracing, (2) vocalization, (3) head movement and divided mind, (4) defective speech apparatus, (5)
poor sight, (6) impatient attitude, (7) illegibility of materials, (8) writers style, (9) illegibility of materials, (10)
examination phobia, (11) echolophobia (fear of crowds), and (12) poor reinforcement stimuli.
Finger tracing. Many readers are of the habit of using items like biro pen, pencil, broom sticks, and others
in reading texts. It has become common among many students to finger trace each line of given reading texts.
This act slows down reading and leads to low assimilation rate and message comprehension problem and should
be discouraged by English teachers.
Vocalization. A lot of literatures on reading has highlighted the inherent problems of reading aloud
particularly where it is not necessary. Teachers of reading skill should discourage the habit of vocalization of
words, clauses, and phrases in reading. This is what is referred to as reading aloud by reading scholars.
Head movement and divided attention. English teachers are expected to teach their students on the
negative impact their students on the effects of head movement while reading. Some readers move their eyes and
heads from one end to the other as they read while others read at the same time with other activities. Reading
without expected concentration is equal to wasted efforts.
Defective speech apparatus. Reading could be for mass communication. Also, students are asked to read
aloud chosen passages during English lessons. A defective part of the body particularly if it is one of the speech
apparatus causes futile reading. A missing tooth, wounded tongue, blocked trachea, or cut palate region cannot
produce good reading result. The teacher should call the students’ attention to this.
Poor sight. Reading either silent or aloud relies mostly on the readers sight. It is only readers with good
sight that can perform better in reading exercises except in the case of special readers (i.e., with visual
impairment). The Braille materials are usually provided for students with visual problems, while the need for
maintenance of good sight is to be stressed for the abled bodied students. Poor sight is a serious impediment to
achievement of effective reading skill.
Impatient attitude. Many students’ reading skills is affected by lack of enough patience. The idea of
rushing over reading texts should be discourage. The teacher needs to practicalize with some passages. Let the
students read each of the given passages both patiently and in rushing manner. The students level of
comprehension and retention of messages in the text must be examined with the mind of encouraging good
reading attitude in Junior Secondary School students.
Illegibility of materials. Reading fault often times occur due to poor quality of reading items. The teacher’s
responsibility should include choice of good materials especially for reading lessons. The quality of selected
reading texts by the teacher has to be acceptable in terms of legibility of letters, unambiguous content devoid of
political religion or damaging ideological messages.
Writer’s styles. The teacher of reading skill also needs to take cognizance of writers style in the choice of
reading items. The student’s level must be put in mind by the teacher. Some writers are of the habits of too long
paragraphs loaded with complex or compound sentences while others enjoy simple and straightforward sentences
with not too long paragraphs.
Psychological factor (Individual differences). Students of Junior Secondary School should be taught to
understand that each of them has his/her own natural trait. The individual differences in relation to reading shows
that every student has his/her own interest on reading.
All students cannot read at the same reading speed, or assimilate and retain their reading texts messages the
same way. The time suitable for study reading for students A may not be appropriate for student B. Also, the
number of wpm (words per minute) of individuals varies from person to person.
Examination phobia. The fear of examination is common among of secondary school students as in other
students of other educational levels, reading for examination has made many students lost their confidence and
patience. It has made some students failed in subjects where they woul have ordinarily performed better.
English teachers should use counseling technique to combat the menace of ineffective reading. Teachers
should let their students know that reading before and during examination should not be given different
perception more so that examination are usually on laid down curriculum.
Ochulophobia. Citing Requer, Narrow, and Rae (1990), Ayena (2008) saw ocholophobia as a
psychological concept that stands for “fear of crowd”. The English language teacher handling reading skills
lesson should prepare students adequately in combating this factor.
Students should from time to time be asked to read comprehension passages and other literary materials
aloud in the classrooms and in their different groups. We need to note that some good students for fear of crowd
do perform below expectation when asked to read aloud. Feeling shy should be discouraged through frequent
class reading exercises. Every student should be involved in reading aloud drilling exercises in which both the
teachers and students should serve as responsible evaluators of readers pronunciation of the words in the texts.
The reading rate is also to be assessed coupled with reader’s stability of mind.
Poor reinforcement stimuli. Stimulus response in the psychological studies is not a new concept. It deals
with reinforcement that could be in either positive or negative form.
In applying this technique, English teachers should maturely, positively, or negatively reinforce the
students’ reading activities without too much focus on a single student. The entire class should be made to enjoy
reading lessons through appropriate application of reinforcement strategy. For instance, wrong pronunciation
should not be a laughing matter that could lead to serious embarrassment of the reader while childish tolerance of
poor performance should also be avoided as much as possible.
In groups of 10, an English teacher can for instance make his/her students use Text 2 (see Appendix) in
teaching themselves. Each group is to choose a moderator with others serving as assessors of individual reading
faults. Every participant should read silently and aloud in his/her group.
Conclusions
Teaching and learning of English at the Junior Secondary School level in Nigeria have some challenges for
the teachers and students. The import of this piece of work is to sensitize English teachers on some basic
strategies for improving on their performance. Some general and specific recommendations were provided with
few activities for simultaneous evaluation of the teachers and the students. This piece of work has identified some
reasons responsible for poor teaching of reading in many secondary schools particularly in Nigeria. As a way
forward, recommendations that will encourage English teachers in effectively doing their job were provided.
References
Afolayan, A., & Newson, A. E. (1983). The use of English commuinicative skills for university students. England: Longman Group
Ltd..
Alabi, A. O. (2005). Reading comprehension. In L. Oyeleye (Ed.), Remedial English I. Ibadan: Akin-Johnson Publishers.
Ayena, O. (2008). Handling psychological problems among primary/secondary student’s. In E. O. Adeniyi, T. Ajobiewe, & A. A.
Adejumobi (Eds.), A handbook on effective classroom practices, for participants in federal teachers scheme. Ibadan: Glory
Land Publishing Company.
Communicating international development research. (2006). id21 Insights. Brighton: University of Sussex. Institute of
Development Studies.
Eleweke, T. (2009). Artisan daughter emmergies one-day lagos governor. Daily Champion, 22(071, April).
National Commission for Colleges of Education. (2009). Training of teachers educators on the teaching of primary education
studies training modules. Ibadan: Supreme Management Training and Consult Services Limited.
National Teachers Institute. (2004). NTI/DLS, Course book on education (Cycle I, Module 6, 7, and 8). Kaduna: NTI.
NERDC. (2007). 9-year basic education curriculum English studies for junior secondary 1-3. Abuja: National Education Research
and Curriculum Development.
Opoola, B. T. (2002). Reading in the language of immediate environment. Agbonda: Tobistic Ventures.
Regier, D. A., Namous, W. E., & Rae, D. S. (1990). The Epidermiology of Anxiety Disorders: The epidermiological catchment area
(ECA) experience. Journal of Psychiatric Research, 24, 3-14.
Wikipedia. (2008). Internet accessed information at www.british council.org
Appendix: Samples of Reading Passages
Text 1: Responding to the Health Workforce Crisis

The shortage of health workers with the right expertise and experience has reached crisis levels in many developing countries.
The ability of health services to deliver care depends on the knowledge, skills and motivation of health workers. Without enough
skilled staff in the right place at the right time health systems cannot function effectively and populations are left without the
treatment and support they need.
The Human Resources (HR) crisis is now firmly on the international policy agenda. The work of the Joint Learning Initiative
and the High Level Forum on health has described the magnitude of the HR challenge, identified the key contributory factors and
defined some of the potential solutions. As Gilles Dussault highlights in this issue of id21 insights, without coordinated action to
address the HR crisis, health systems will not deliver the care required to meet the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). There
is an urgency to expand and upgrade the health care workforce through a rapid increase in staff numbers, skill enhancement and
improvements in productivity.
Challenges
 The health sector workforce is large and diverse and comprises separate occupations often represented by powerful
professional associations or trade unions who pursue their members’ interests.
 Health systems tend to be characterized by a broad range of active stakeholders, such as professional associations and different
government departments, with a high level of direct and indirect governmental and regulatory intervention, and top-down attempts
at reform.
(Culled from id21 Insights, August 2005)
(a) What is your word per minute (wpm)?
(b) How best can you use the text to teach 35 minutes Junior Secondary School Class Two?
(c) Apply the use of at least three resource materials in handling the teaching of the given text within the given time frame (35
minutes).
(d) List out the underlined words and provide each word with an equivalent synonym (i.e., nearest in meaning).
(e) Use each of the listed words in your own expression (i.e., provide a sentence each).
Text 2: Artisans Daughter Emerges One Day Lagos Governor
A 16-year old daughter of an artisan, Miss Adesopo Olaide yesterday emerged the overall winner in the Lagos State Ministry of
education Spelling Bee 2009 competition.
Miss Olaide by this victory will act as one-day governor for Lagos state with full paraphenelia attached to the office of the
executive governor of lags state.
Olaide a student of Estate Senior Grammar School Odi Olowo Mushin whose father repairs sewing machines came first after
beating other 55 competitors from the six education districts in the state.
Miss Ibitoye Funmilayo of Ejigbo senior high school became the first runner up in the competition while in the Agbolade Ruth
of Eva, Adelaja Senior Secondary School Bariga emerged the second runner up.
In addition to becoming a one day governor of Lagos state, Miss Olaide went home with the sum of N250,000, the first runner
up got the sum of N150,000 and the second runner up received N100,000.
The spelling bee is an annual quiz competition among student in the state initiated by the former first lady of Lagos state, Mrs.
Oluremi Tinubu in 2001 to providing a forum for academic excellence among public school students and has been taken over by the
State Ministry of Education.
Speaking on the occasion, the deputy governor of the state, Princess Sarah Adebisi Sosan who is also in charge of the Lagos
state ministry of education commended Mrs. Tinubu for her initiative that provides opportunity to students in the state public
schools to showcase their talents.
According to her, the program me has also attracted the support of the present first Lady of Lagos state, Mrs Abimbola Fashola,
who always honor its activities.
She said that with the spelling bee competition, the state has started a visionary journey that will further encourage healthy
competition among secondary school students in the state.
April 2012, Vol. 9, No. 4, 1083-1090
D DAVID PUBLISHING
Deconstructing the Captive Education: Creating Différance

Among the Lonely Crowd
Esin Kumlu
Dokuz Eylül University, İzmir, Turkey

In 21st century, daily life has become much more difficult to deal with and conflict-centered social life has begun to
dominate the lives of the individuals more and more. In that kind of a hieroglyphic world, the key of creating
difference in education is the use of literature in the classroom. The classroom is a dynamic venue as life itself, and
through literature, a teacher can unite living and learning that will promote a better social and psychological life for
the learners. The subject of this study is to present the “MECL Way” that is the acquisition of “Multiculturalism”,
“Empathy”, and “Creativity” through comparative literature. The objective of this study is to display the magical
power of comparative literature in the classroom and to indicate how literature teaching brings learners in key
concepts of life. “MECL Way” aims to illustrate the indispensable interaction between living and learning and how
comparative literature can promote the creation of creative and emphatic individuals, who will be strictly bounded
with other cultures, and unavoidably different from the lonely crowd.
Keywords: “MECL Way”, literature teaching, multiculturalism, empathy, creativity
Introduction
As Dostoyevsky states, “Taking a new step, uttering a new word is what people fear most” (Cameron, 1992, p.
130). Without a doubt, Dostoyevsky’s statement gains significance, once it has been related with the classroom,
because as a microcosm of social life, the classroom as a dynamic venue is the center of our fears, hopes, and desires.
In this magical environment, students’ greatest need is to learn to define themselves freely. However, freedom can
only be possible in an environment that is controlled by a creative and emphatic instructor who encourages his/her
students to be original and creative not only in the classroom but also in social life. In relation, the need of différance1
in education is mostly felt in teacher training programs whose members will shape next generations. In order to create
the ideal education for trainee teachers, the education system should not only be based upon mechanical knowledge2

This study was first presented at Dil Yazın Deyiş Sempozyumu, Gazi University, 2010.
Esin Kumlu, Dr., instructor, Faculty of Education, Department of English Language Teaching, Dokuz Eylül University.
1
The word “différance” is derived from the French word “differer” that means “to defer”, “to delay”, or “to be different from”.
“Différance” is French philosopher and teacher Jacque Derrida’s (1930-2004) own coinage, and it has the same meaning with the
French word “difference”. In this study, Derrida’s coinage is used in order to highlight the captive education that can be enriched
by literature teaching, as a result, that can be different from the classical education programs. For further reading on “differance”
see Wood and Bernasconi’s Derrida and Différance (1988).
2
By the term “mechanical knowledge”, the author refers to the education programs which are based upon methodology or
structural teaching. In most of the education programs, it has been widely believed that certain mechanical knowledge in a specific
area has the potential to create qualified students who will be qualified in social life.
1084 CREATING DIFFÉRANCE AMONG THE LONELY CROWD
but also knowledge of psychology. In order to achieve this, “MECL Way”, the acquisition of “Multiculturalism”,
“Empathy”, and “Creativity” through comparative literature can be helpful for the instructors.
Crystallizing the Stereotyped Education

In 21st century, the definition of social life gains a new momentum. In relation, conflict-centered and
complex social life turns into the natural result of conflict-centered and dynamic classrooms, as they are the
signifiers of a microcosm of social life. As the classroom encompasses social and psychological elements of
culture, it can be assumed that sameness and monotony are the key words of not only social life but also the
classroom. Should the classroom act as a reflector of social milieu; what is the problematic point in the classroom?
Parallel with social life, Scott (2001) stated that “We tend to see our institutions of higher learning as relatively
stable entities” (p. 1170). Unfortunately, Scott is right. That kind of stability and monotony in higher education
fosters the creation of a vicious cycle not only for the educator but also for the society and the first chain of that
vicious cycle is stereotypical teaching techniques. See Figure 1 as an example of a social diagram that reflects the
vicious cycle.
Stereotyped
Stereotyped learners
teaching techniques
Stereotyped students Stereotyped teachers
Figure 1. Illustrative diagram for the development of stereotyped teachers.
Unfortunately, in the programs of higher institutions, and especially in teacher training programs, it has
always been believed that stereotyped techniques have the power to “create a teacher”. These stereotypical
techniques create stereotyped learners, who have background knowledge of certain areas, and then this fosters the
creation of stereotyped teachers who were once upon a time stereotyped learners. Then, these teachers create
individuals (students) who are capable of presenting their profession but within the limits of their stereotyped
education. Finally, these teachers are going to be fathers and mothers who have the power of shaping society.
Evidently, the role of the teacher is not limited with certain techniques or structural methods. The role of the
teacher is much more than that. As stated by Eldering (1996), they “… have a function in preparing children for
their public role, but at the same time, by transmitting values they have an impact on private lives of the pupils
and their families” (p. 316). As we can deduce from the social diagram, teachers have great psychological and
CREATING DIFFÉRANCE AMONG THE LONELY CROWD 1085
social impacts upon their students, especially upon the students of teacher training programs. In teacher training
programs, on one hand, there are the classic teaching techniques based on structural learning,3 and on the other
hand, there are the post-structural,4 creative teaching techniques that trigger trainee teachers to be wholly in
control of the classroom. At this point, the question is: How can we deconstruct5 this vicious cycle? In order to
form a healthy cycle of teaching, learning and social life, first, we need to define the most significant part of that
chain, the teacher.
Re-reading the Definition of “Teacher”: Deconstructing the Vicious Cycle

The problematic structure of higher institutions begins with the general misconception about the definition
of the “teacher”, as a result the role of the teacher. Therefore, the answer to the question “Who is a teacher?” must
be the primary concern of “deconstructing the captive education”. The answer will also postulate another
question: How can we move beyond sameness by redefining the term “teacher”?
The dictionary definition of the term teacher is the “one that teaches; especially one whose occupation is to
instruct” (Retrieved from http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/teacher). However, this is the structural
meaning and conception about the definition of the teacher. According to James (1992), “… The worst thing that
can happen to a good teacher is to get a bound conscience about her profession because she feels herself hopeless
as a psychologist” (p. 720). William James in his masterpiece Talks to Teachers (1992) highlighted the
significance of the teaching art. He believed that teaching is an art and the teacher is the artist. At this point, it
should be emphasized that James underlines the significance of the relationship among psychology, teaching, and
the teacher. Therefore, if the dictionary definition of the word teacher does not encompass the significance of
psychology, what is missing in this classical definition? Obviously, the missing part is the teacher in school or the
academic in university who has always been interpreted as an individual who is a specialist in a specific area such
as biology, philosophy, or language teaching. However, the teacher is an artist who has the power to prepare
3
Deriving its origins from linguistics, structuralism supports the idea that readers can reach reliable conclusions about language
and the World. In relation with literature, structuralism is a reading strategy in literature that gives emphasis on the idea that a
literary work cannot be regarded as a magical bond between the reader and the author, and claims that meaning is determined by a
system not by the imagination of the reader. In this study, the term is used in order to indicate education programs which deny the
psychological bond between the teacher and the learner. Hence, it calls for an education based on memorization.
4
In the words of Sarup (1993): “One of the main features of post-structuralist theory is the deconstruction of the self. In place of a
unified and stable being or consciousness we get a multifaceted and disintegrating plays of selves. The reader, like the text, is
unstable. With deconstruction the categories ‘criticism’, ‘philosophy’ and ‘literature’. Collapse, borders overrun. The work, now
called ‘text’, explodes beyond stable meaning and truth towards the radical and ceaseless play of infinite meanings” (p. 53).
Therefore, as opposed to structuralism, post-structuralism is a reading strategy which claims that a text can have many meanings
and therefore definite interpretation of a text is impossible. Hence, it stands for creative power of the reader who can build a
psychological bond between the text and the reader. If education programs are interpreted from a post-structural perspective, it
can be understood that the creative character of the student must be enriched through education so that the student can be
transformed into a social being who has the potential to perform his/her education in social life. For further reading see Johnson’s
The Critical Difference: Essays in the Contemporary Rhetoric of Reading (1980).
5
The term is first postulated by Jacque Derrida at a symposium at John Hopkins University in his paper “Structure, Sign, and
Play in the Discourse of Human Sciences” (1966). Deconstructive reading alludes to the idea that a text has multiple
interpretations and each reading has the potential to elicit nouveau interpretations. In this study, the term indicates that a
stereotypical education does not guarantee that it has the power to prepare students both for professional and social life. As a result,
instead of depending on stereotyped teaching methods or declaring one way good and the other bad, new interpretations on teaching
and learning should be created. For further reading see Hartman’s Saving the Text: Literature/Derrida/Philosophy (1981) and
Hartmann and Gerteis’ “Dealing With Diversity: Mapping Multiculturalism in Sociological Terms” (2005).
students not only for professional life but also for social life. Hence, the role of the teacher is not limited with
professional knowledge, but starts with the magical power to create emphatic, creative, and original students,
who will be strictly bounded with other cultures and values, and who will be a perfect role-model for his/her
students. In order to evaluate teacher’s ideas about the significance of empathy, originality, and creativity, a
researcher called Torrence developed a study called “Ideal Checklist”. Later,
Fryer and Collins used Torrence’s Ideal Checklist along with a specially-designed questionnaire to examine
teachers’ definitions of creativity, their view about potential correlates, and their preferred criteria for its assessment.
They found that, while most of the teachers in their sample defined and assessed creativity in terms of imagination,
originality, and self-expression, very few of them selected the typical characteristics of the creative personality for
encouragement in their students. Moreover, while most of the teachers thought that creativity can be developed, none of
them mentioned the use of creative problem solving techniques as a means of achieving that end. (Diakidoy & Kanari,
1999, pp. 227-228)
It is evident that teachers achieve to create students who can pronounce the word “different” correctly but
not able to create different teaching or learning techniques. Therefore, in order to create différance in education,
especially in teacher training programs, we need to seek original teaching strategies so as to foster the creation
of teachers who are ready to prepare their students not only for professional life but also for the multicultural
social life.6
Well-known Harvard social scientist Nathan Glazer declared in 1997 “We are all multiculturalists now”
(Hartman & Gerteis, 2005, p. 218). By the term multiculturalism, he underlines “… the language of tolerance
and respect for cultural diversity…” (Hartman & Gerteis, 2005, p. 218). In this study, the term multiculturalism
is used parallel with Glazer’s definition. Should we say that each student is from a different culture, it means that
each of the students comes from different sociological backgrounds each has different habits, worldviews, and
family values. This indicates the result each classroom is the signifier of diversity which is composed of different
cultures. Hence, metaphoric multiculturalism7 is the core element of the classroom. Therefore, the classroom acts
as a microcosm of social life that is a heterogeneous entity. However, in a classroom dominated by a stereotyped
teacher, who ignores that diversity, harmony cannot be created. In order to alter the captive education, the teacher
must foster his/her students to be a part of that multicultural life.
Creating Différance in the Classroom

Although the innate nature of the classroom is multicultural, the teacher is responsible to raise consciousness
among the students about this multicultural environment that is a microcosm of social life. In order to simplify the
process of orientation to diversity in the classroom, the use of literature can be a creative way for the teacher. The
multicultural venue, the classroom, highlights individual differences. Individual differences both differ from each
other and complement the other, and literary works can successfully reflect that kind of an environment. In a
literary work, the reader faces with different types of characters, lives, and stories. Therefore, through literature,
6
Should we create teachers who are capable of creating qualified teachers, we automatically trigger the creation of creative
students.
7
Multiculturalism can be defined as a system that encompasses socio-cultural differences and underlines respect for diversity. For
further reading see Goldberg’s Multiculturalism: A Critical Reader (1997) and Steinberg’s Diversity and Multiculturalism: A
Reader (2009).
the teacher easily postulates an exemplary social life. Organizing activities such as character analysis, theme
analysis and studies on psychoanalytic reading, or the application of historicism have the power to prepare the
trainee teacher for social life. As a result of these activities, the trainee teacher gains information about the setting
of the work, and naturally, he/she focuses on the social history of the age. In addition, the psychology of the
characters and character analysis will have great contributions for the trainee teacher to gain background
knowledge about human behavior. As mentioned by Beck (2004):
One of the most fundamental ideas implied by the very existence of psychology theory and research is that human
behavior can be understood and predicted. This must mean that behavior has causes, and therefore we are not free to
choose our behaviors so that we can do anything we want. To the contrary if we know the causes of a behavior, then we
could make that behavior occur by producing the causes. (pp. 3-4)
As each work postulates different descriptions of human behavior more powerfully, eloquently, and
humorously than course books can do, they serve as a model for social life. By organizing discussion of the
characters, focusing on the conflicts in the works, the trainee teacher learns how to solve the problems and
dilemmas of the characters by putting the characters in place of his/her students while trying to understand the
psychology of the characters. As a result, these activities will be beneficial activities for the classroom. In
addition, using comparative literature,8 by selecting different works from different cultures or historical periods
can also enhance students’ knowledge on different life styles, cultures, nations, and values that differ from their own.
The comparative perspective will give them the power to tolerate different point of views and choices in life.
In addition to the metaphoric multicultural environment in the classroom which is both created by the
students and the literary works, there is the real multicultural environment in comparative literature activities as
the activities encompass cultural diversity of the characters in the texts. Celebrating diversity, the multicultural
environment created in the classroom through comparative literature emboldens students to understand others
feelings and choices. Instead of labeling them “the other” or “judging” them, through literary works, the trainee
teachers will gain the greatest power that an instructor and an individual can have in life: empathy.9 As:
… Classrooms are dynamic venues where what happens one day never guarantees what will happen the next. … In
that kind of environment power lies not in many techniques and good grasp of content; but in the ability to select and
adopt so that techniques and content serve unchanging learning needs. (Weimer, 2006, pp. 9-10)
In the classroom, if anything can happen at any given time, lesson plans and all the organizations can easily
8
H. Remak defines comparative literature as “the study of literature beyond the confines of one particular country, and the study
of the relationships between literature on the one hand and the other areas of knowledge and belief, such as the arts, philosophy,
history, the social sciences, the sciences, religion, etc., on the other hand” (Stallknecht & Frenz, 1961, p. 3). It can be assumed that
through comparative literature, the trainee teacher gain knowledge in different areas that can help them while teaching in the
classroom, in the learning environment, and acting as a role model for social life for his or her students. As a result, in order to
gain the ability to solve problems in the classroom or enlighten the students in various disciplines comparative literature acts like a
perfect partner for the teacher. The most significant point is hidden under the fact that comparative literature triggers students to
interpret, compare, and contrast the characters, events, time periods, and different ideas. In relation, they will learn to tolerate
different ideas and beliefs not only for literary interpretation but also for social life. For further reading on comparative literature
see Wellek’s “Comparative Literature Today” (1965) and Bernheimer’s Comparative Literature in the Age of Multiculturalism
(1995).
9
Empathy can be defined as an accuracy and it “… suggested a more (active) attempt by one individual to get ‘inside’ the other,
to reach out in some fashion through a deliberate intellectual effort” (Davis, 1996, p. 5). For further reading on empathy see
Davis’ Empathy: A Sociological Approach (1996).
fall upside down. Should each student be a different republic, a metaphoric culture, how can we solve unexpected
dilemmas or how can we motivate the learners not only for learning but also for life?
Thomas Hobbes in his masterpiece Leviathan (1651)10 emphasized the fact that the nature of humans is
such that the inevitable outcome of social living is a state of virtual warfare, with each against all. In that kind of
a complex environment, techniques or structural drills sometimes cannot help us. At this point, we need to create
an emphatic teacher, who has the potential to lower the affective-filter11 of the students. If the students think that
teacher has the capacity to understand them, not only learning but also communication will be much simpler.
What then is the function of comparative literature?
Once we have remembered the vicious cycle diagram, we can understand that if we can create emphatic trainee
teachers, they will be emphatic teachers in future, who will be willing to create emphatic students (see Figure 2).
Original teaching Emphatic and creative

techniques learners
Qualified students Qualified teachers
Figure 2.12 Illustrative diagram for creating emphatic teachers.
Therefore, ending the vicious cycle and turning it into a positive one lies in the hands of the educators.
Through comparative literature, students learn to put themselves in others’ shoes, and try to solve the problems of
the characters in the works and reinterpret their stories and the culture and the period the stories take place.
Thanks to comparative literature students’ will have the chance of analyzing and comparing their cultures with
other ones. Furthermore, they will improve their history, sociology, and psychology knowledge, while analyzing
different works both within the limits of their culture and through analyzing different cultures around the world.
As a result, step by step the trainee teacher will learn to put himself/herself in other’s shoes. As stated by Davis
(1996), “Without a capacity to role-take one’s relationships with others will inevitably be self-centered” (p. 177).
The activities through comparative literature will promote the awareness process of plurality, instead of an “I
centered” worldview. As a result, solving problems in the classrooms or creating the ideal communication among
the student and the teacher will be much simpler. The literary hero Sherlock Holmes while trying to solve a
complex crime, states to another character: “You know my methods in such cases, Watson: I put myself in the
men’s place, and having first gauged his intelligence, I try to imagine how I should myself have proceeded under
10
For further reading see Hobbes’ Leviathan, or the Matter, Form, and Power of a Commonwealth Ecclesiastical and Civil
(1651).
11
Effective-filter is an imaginary filter that rises when anxiety occurs and lowers when the student feels herself/himself
comfortable in the learning environment.
12
Figure 2 displays a social diagram that ends the vicious cycle through focusing on creative and emphatic teachers.
the same circumstances” (Sorensen, 1998, p. 244).

As we can understand from the case of Sherlock Holmes, social life emboldens us to put ourselves in others’
shoes to solve certain dilemmas. While doing this and while dealing with a literary text, we unconsciously use our
imagination and creativity in order to empathize with the other.
Conclusions
As a result of literature teaching, one of the greatest gifts that a teacher can have in life is, without a doubt,
creativity, and the acquisition of creativity is the natural result of multiculturalism and empathy triggered by
comparative literature. The necessity of the creative character of the teacher lies under the fact that the classroom
is a dynamic venue where predictions and plans can sometimes fail. However, through literary works we use our
imagination and creativity in order to reinterpret the text. Activities such as, rewriting the ending, analyzing the
themes, character analysis, or role-taking can have great contributions to creativity.13 Craft (2003) in her article
stated that:
… There has been growing assumption within the discourse of creativity perhaps voiced first by Maslow (1970) that
the creative individual is a fulfilled one, and one whose life is characterized by “agency”—the capacity to take control
and make something of it. Maslow also put forward the notion that creativity is not for the few, but an everyday
phenomenon of everyday people who were not necessarily the equivalent of Einstein. (p. 144)
As implied by Maslow, we need creativity not only in classroom but especially in social life. Because the
creative teacher can solve problems better, form new ideas for life, and postulate nouveau techniques for the
classroom.
Joseph Chilton Pierce14 states “To live a creative life, we must lose our fear of being wrong” (Cameron,
1992, p. 130). In order to purify ourselves from being wrong, we need a creative environment in which
communication is possible and through which we perform our creativity freely. However, the system could not
come into full circle, were it not for composed of emphatic individuals and instructors who underline the
significance of tolerance and the capacity to understand the other. In relation, the acquisition of multiculturalism,
empathy, and creativity thorough comparative literature can have great psychological contributions to teacher
training programs which have the power to form next generations. As stated by James (1992):
I say moreover that you make a great, a very great mistake, if you think that psychology being the mind’s laws, is
something from which you can deduce definite programs and schemes and methods of instruction for immediate school
room use. Psychology is a science, and teaching is an art; and sciences never generate arts directly out of themselves. An
intermediary inventive mind must make the application by using its originality. (p. 717)
References
Axelson, J. (1999). Counseling and development in a multicultural society. Pacific Grove: Brooks/Cole.
Beck, R. (2004). Motivation: Theories and principles. New Jersey: Prentice Hall.
Bernheimer, C. (1995). Comparative literature in the age of multiculturalism. Baltimore: John Hopkins University Press.
Cameron, J. (1992). The artist’s way: A spiritual path to higher creativity. New York: Tarchner/Putman.
13
Furthermore, through using teaching methods trainee students can focus on the characters in the literary texts and try to find out
which methods suit to them if the characters were their students.
14
Joseph Chilton Pearce is an author of a number of books on child development.
Craft, A. (2003). The limits to creativity in education: Dilemmas for the educator. British Journal of Educational Studies, 51(2),
113-127.
Davis, M. (1996). Empathy: A sociological approach. Colorado: Westview Press.
Diakidoy, I., & Kanari, E. (1999). Trainee teachers’ beliefs about creativity. British Educational Research Journal, 25(2), 225-243.
Eldering, L. (1996). Multiculturalism and multicultural education in an international perspective. Anthropology & Education
Quarterly, 27(3), 315-330.
Goldberg, T. (1997). Multiculturalism: A critical reader. Oxford: Blackwell Publishing Ltd..
Hartman, G. (1981). Saving the text: Literature/derrida/philosophy. Baltimore: John Hopkins University Press.
Hartmann, D., & Gerteis, J. (2005). Dealing with diversity: Mapping multiculturalism in sociological terms. Sociological Theory,
23(2), 218-240.
Hobbes, T. (1651). Leviathan, or the matter, form, and power of a commonwealth ecclesiastical and civil. New York: Touchstone.
James, W. (1992). Writings 1878-1899: Psychology a briefer course/the will to believe/talks to teachers and students. New York:
Library of America.
Johnson, B. (1980). The critical difference: Essays in the contemporary rhetoric of reading. Baltimore: John Hopkins University
Press.
Sarup, M. (1993). An introductory guide to post-structuralism and postmodernism. Athens: University of Georgia Press.
Scott, J. (2001). Education and a future for or-a viewpoint. Journal of the Operational Research Society, 52, 1170-1175.
Sorensen, R. (1998). Self-strengthening empathy. Philosophy and Phenomenological Research, LVIII(1), 75-98.
Stallknecht, N. P., & Horst, F. (Eds.). (1961). Comparative literature: Method and perspective. Carbondale, III.
Steinberg, S. (Ed.). (2009). Diversity and multiculturalism: A reader. Peter Lang: New York.
Weimer, M. (2006). Enhancing scholarly work on teaching and learning: Professional literature that makes a difference. San
Francisco: John Wiley & Sons.
Wellek, R. (1965). Comparative literature today. Comparative Literature, 17(4), 325-337.
Wood, D., & Bernasconi, R. (Eds.). (1988). Derrida and différance. Evanston, I.L.: Northwestern University Press.
April 2012, Vol. 9, No. 4, 1091-1099
D DAVID PUBLISHING
Promoting Cultural Diversity in Higher Education
Elena Yurevna Petrova

National Research University “Higher School of Economics”, Moscow, Russia

This paper, first, looks into what cultural diversity in higher education is. Secondly, it offers speculations on
different attitudes of educators and students to multiculturalism because of certain myths that are also described
and dispelled. Thirdly, the author dwells on types of programs that may help maintain cultural diversity in
universities. Finally, the author focuses on the contribution of the National Research University HSE (“Higher
School of Economics”) to promoting multiculturalism, mostly on arranging international online forums to bring
two and more cultures together. When analyzing the forum content, communication strategies used by the
students were determined and described.
Keywords: cultural diversity, multiculturalism, intercultural education, higher education
Introduction
In the United States of America, the concept of multicultural education originated in the 1960s in the wake
of the civil rights movement as a corrective to the long-standing policy of assimilating minority groups into the
“melting pot” of dominant American culture (Sobol, 1990).
But America is not the only country that is facing the issue of cultural diversity and the need to raise
people’s awareness of it.
Migration and interracial marriages contribute to the increasing complexity of the shape of society in any
country, especially in those that used to be multinational in the past (for example, Russia has to deal with the
Soviet heritage). Undoubtedly, the demographic changes will require some shifts in how we educate younger
generations. Besides, we are becoming more aware of other cultures as technology brings the global
community into our homes.
National and international concern about changing demographics, inequities in the distribution of
educational resources, and continuing underachievement for some students, has stirred renewed interest in the
quality and organization of instruction for students in educational institutions (Ball, 2009).
The issue of multicultural education can be studied in two ways: (1) the challenge of dealing with students
with different cultural backgrounds in one classroom, and (2) the challenge of bringing two or more cultures
together through joint international (academic) projects.
Elena Yurevna Petrova, Ph.D. in psycholinguistics, the Department of World Economics and International Relations, National
Research University “Higher School of Economics”.
1092 PROMOTING CULTURAL DIVERSITY IN HIGHER EDUCATION
Defining Cultural Diversity

But before we look into each of these questions, let us define the term “cultural diversity” as it has gone
tremendous transformations itself. A couple of decades ago, this term was regarded as a politically correct word
for “race/ethnicity”. Nowadays, it has broadened its meaning. Here are some definitions of it. Cultural diversity
is: (1) the variety of human societies or cultures in a specific region, or in the world as a whole; (2) variety or
multiformity of human social structures, belief systems, and strategies for adapting to situations in different
parts of the world; and (3) differences in race, ethnicity, language, nationality, religion, etc., among various
groups within a community.
Cultural diversity is not limited only to race or ethnicity; it includes other factors and it is important for
educators to understand what has an impact in their environment as in many cases race may not be the issue but
what does matter is the country of origin, the parents’ educational level, or the socioeconomic status of a child.
The word “diversity” has a connotation of “division” and some scholars argue that multicultural education
threatens to divide students along racial and cultural lines, rather than unite them. It is believed that strong
attachments to ethnic, racial, religious, and other identity groups lead to conflicts and harmful divisions within
society. But the act of drawing people together and trying to unify their myriad cultures may (and does) create a
sense of “university” (Milligan, n.d.).
The Attitude to Multiculturalism in Education

The attitude to multiculturalism in the learning process varies. It may be categorized into the following
four groups: (1) negative; (2) null; (3) contributing; and (4) transformational. Some ideas offered below were
borrowed from the article “Student Organizations and Institutional Diversity Efforts: A Typology” (Kuk &
Banning, 2010).
Negative relationships may be further subdivided into willful negative relationship and negligent negative
relationship.
A willful negative relationship occurs when students are consciously motivated through personal or
organizational values, a policy or behavioural act to bring harm to members of non-dominant culture. It may
result in an act of violence. The reasons for this behavior are either xenophobia (the fear of foreigners) or the
belief in the superiority of their own culture.
A negligent negative relationship happens when the behavior is not conscious or motivated. Still, its
results may be disruptive though the reason for it is negligence.
Corrective measures in both cases will differ not in the content but in scale, intensity, and length.
A null relationship is characterized by doing nothing to support multicultural goals of the institution. In
this case, students believe that doing nothing is not negative. True. But it is not positive either as the
monocultural education will not change unless there are motivated positive efforts.
Unwillingness of educators to deal with diversity is connected with a strong belief that heterogeneity and
diversity are a learning problem and a prejudice of the pedagogical value of homogeneity as a learning
facilitating context. The increasing mobility of young people guarantees the largest inflow of students from
diverse backgrounds in universities all over the world and teachers feel underprepared to teach culturally and
PROMOTING CULTURAL DIVERSITY IN HIGHER EDUCATION 1093
linguistically diverse students. One factor that contributes to the reluctance to accept them is the absence of
connection between the backgrounds of the students and the teachers who teach them.
A contributing relationship suggests that students support some multicultural events in the educational
institution, for example, celebrating holidays that exist in other cultures. It focuses on cultural events that are
typically acceptable by the dominant culture or it may include organizational efforts to address diversity
activities more associated with the organization’s goals by adding cultural content, concepts, and themes
without changing basic structures.
A transformational relationship means recognizing the need to support multicultural goals of the
institution, thus taking deliberate actions to solve, to promote, and to enhance them.
Defining Intercultural Education

Bringing multiculturalism into education creates intercultural educational environment. What is meant by
“intercultural education”? Ouellet (1991; as cited in Martins, 2008) defined it in the following ways: (1) better
understanding of other cultures in modern societies; (2) better communication skills between people from
different cultures; (3) more adequate attitude in the context of cultural diversity and understanding of
psycho-social mechanisms that create racism; and (4) ability to participate in social interaction, developing a
sense of identity and common belonging to humanity.
Myths About Multiculturalism

Introducing multiculturalism brings about change which causes uncertainty and eventually fear, that is why
this process may be resisted both at educators’ and students’ levels. The unwillingness to embrace multiculturalism
is also connected with stereotypes and certain myths associated with it. Let us dispel some of them.
Myth 1: “There should be a separate curriculum for multicultural education”. The world is composed of so
many cultures that it is impossible to teach about all of them. It is essential to make sure that by learning to
understand and value their own culture students learn to understand and appreciate other cultures in the process.
The curriculum should promote recognition, understanding, and acceptance of cultural diversity (Gomez, 1991).
Myth 2: “Multicultural education is only about changing the curriculum”. Marginalized racial, ethnic, and
language groups have demanded that institutions such as schools, colleges, and universities respond to the
groups’ cultural identities and experiences by reforming curricula to reflect their struggles, hopes, dreams, and
possibilities (Gordon, 2001; Nieto, 1999).
Some scholars (Nieto, 1992; Burnett, 1994) assert that multicultural education can have an impact on
every aspect of the operation of an educational institution: staffing, curriculum, tracking, testing, teaching,
disciplinary policies, student involvement, parent, and community involvement. For example, universities may
have to modify teaching strategies to make them more culturally responsive to students from different racial,
ethnic, cultural, and language groups (Au, 2006; Gay, 2000; González, Moll, & Amanti, 2005).
Myth 3: “Other cultures should be presented as opposed to the dominant culture (emphasis on differences
rather than similarities)”. In this case students will feel either superior or inferior to the cultures studied. This
approach does not promote cooperation within culturally diverse class, it enhances the feeling of fear and
hostility. The teaching should be based on finding both differences and similarities (to suggest that we may
share certain values or habits) and on instilling respect for other cultures.
Myth 4: “Multicultural education is relevant only in classes with students who are members of the cultural
and racial groups to be studied”. As it was already said, our world is multicultural and students must experience
the diversity outside their immediate environment (Gomez, 1991). Exposing students to many languages,
cultures and people prepares them for a world that is becoming more diverse every day.
The first step to integrating the diverse cultures of students in the classroom and curriculum is to
acknowledge one’s own prejudices, assumptions, and stereotypes and for educators to recognize the beliefs,
values, and behaviours that characterize the various cultures of their students.
Programs Promoting Multiculturalism in Education

Burnett (1994) differentiated three groups of programs that educators may incorporate into the learning process.
They are: (1) content-oriented programs; (2) student-oriented programs; and (3) socially-oriented programs.
Content-Oriented Programs
Their primary goal is to include aspects of their experiences, cultures, and languages about different
cultural groups into the curriculum and educational materials in order to enrich students’ knowledge about
these groups (Burnett, 1994) and the mainstream culture as well as help marginalized groups to experience
civic equality and recognition (Gutmann, 2004). In its simplest form, this program means adding short readings
or in-class celebrations of cultural holidays. A more profound approach suggests developing multicultural
content throughout the disciplines; incorporating a range of different viewpoints and perspectives in the
curriculum; and transforming the paradigm, thus, working out a new one for the curriculum (Burnett, 1994).
Besides, students are a valuable source for information about their culture, too. Thus, by including people
from various cultural backgrounds (for example, by encouraging students to talk about themselves and their
family and arranging the learning process around their cultures as well as their own), educators will encourage
the exchange of knowledge and best practices, enriching the learning experience of all their students and boost
the self-esteem of an individual student.
Student-Oriented Programs
Throughout human history language and society have always been deeply intertwined. Without a language
as the basis for communication, no society can function (Banks, 2002).
In many countries, many of which are officially monolingual, there are immigrants and refugees from all
over the world who have to be integrated into society. Often, they are expected to adopt the dominant language,
while their own minority language is given a low status (Biseth, 2009).
Minority students usually face challenges connected with their poor knowledge of the language of the
dominant culture. But their academic failures can be attributed to them being somewhat “deficient” as they do
not fit the system. Quite the opposite: “Educators must find where the system is deficient to meet the need of
these students” (Trail, 2000).
Such programs are intended to improve the academic achievement of minority students, even when they
do not involve extensive changes in the content of the curriculum (Banks, 1994). They are designed to help
culturally and/or linguistically different students join the educational mainstream. Thus, they may be viewed as
compensatory in nature and sometimes are not distinguished from other compensatory programs that may not
be multicultural in themselves (Burnett, 1994).
These programs may be directed at researching the culturally-based learning styles so that to choose the
appropriate teaching style or improving the language skills of culturally different students who are usually bilinguals.
Socially-Oriented Programs
In short, such programs combine the two approaches described above: They seek to revise the curriculum
in order to emphasize positive social contributions of ethnic and cultural groups and to determine the learning
styles to enhance students’ academic achievement. In their sophisticated form, these programs should promote
all kinds of contact among the races.
One of the ways to do that is to increase the pool of minority teachers. They can act as “cultural mediators
connecting more immediately with students who might otherwise disengage” (Trail, 2000).
Another way is to arrange joint international projects. The process of globalization, facilitated by the rapid
development of new information and communication technologies, creates the conditions for renewed dialogue
among cultures. Thus, educators should encourage “digital literacy” and better mastery of the new information
and communication technologies that must be regarded both as an educational discipline and as a teaching tool
to enhance the effectiveness of the educational process.
HSE (“Higher School of Economics”) Contribution to Promoting Cultural Diversity

In the National Research University HSE (“Higher School of Economics”), which is aimed at being known
and recognized on the international educational arena, fostering and maintaining multicultural relationships is of
great importance. Students are educated to regard multilingualism not seen as a problem but as a resource.
First, HSE attracts professors from all over the world: either to work on a regular basis or as a visiting
(guest) lecturer. Not only did it enhance students’ language skills, but primarily, it broadens their mind as they
are exposed to multiple perceptions and opinions in the field of their expertise. The drawback of the Soviet
schooling system was the dissemination of only one way of thinking, no other points of view were accepted or
even made known to the public. This way of teaching was discarded together with the collapse of the USSR
(the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics).
Second, it welcomes students from various ethnic backgrounds. For example, according to the 2010
statistical data, the Moscow branch of HSE educates people from Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Estonia,
Georgia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Latvia, Lithuania, Moldova, South Ossetia, Tadzhikistan, Turkmenistan,
Uzbekistan, Ukraine, and Western/Eastern countries (Austria, Bulgaria, China, the Czech Republic, France,
Germany, Great Britain, Greece, Italy, Norway, Poland, Romania, Spain, Turkey, the USA). Some foreigners
also study in the Saint Petersburg and Nizhniy Novgorod branches. The franca lingua in this case is usually
English, sometimes Russian.
The presence of people belonging to different religious, racial, or ethnic groups in class is challenging not
only linguistically but also conceptually. International classrooms create conditions in which students from
different groups can interact in ways that enable them to view events from diverse perspectives and to interact
in equal-status situations. Students will learn to see each issue as a multi-faceted one, to be open for other
options, and to consider all the alternatives before making the final decision. The main problem is not to
overstep the boundary and not to accidentally incite racial or religious hatred that is why each interracial
interaction must be deliberately structured by teachers, otherwise, racial and ethnic conflict can erupt and
stereotyping may persist.
The HSE student club that is responsible for cultural education and recreation activities sees to it that the
interests of ethnic and religious minorities are met. It arranges performances based on the world literature
masterpieces (not only by Western authors) and in different languages. These performances are free of charge and
anyone interested can attend them. The club also holds thematic evenings to help people know certain cultures,
their heritage and achievements, and their way of life in general. But the attendance is voluntary which means that
if you are not keen on learning something about another culture, you will still persist in your ignorance by not
coming to this event. Low attendance can also be explained by a huge workload that HSE students experience.
Third, students are encouraged and given opportunities to participate in various projects that may include
international students. These projects may involve personal contact among participants (for example, HSE
arranges international summer schools) or virtual conversations over the Internet.
The idea of an Internet-based forum used for educational purposes was offered by Professor Gary Scudder
(Champlain College, Vermont, the USA): Two groups of students across the seas get together to discuss an
issue chosen for them by their professors. It was called Global Modules (for further use—GMs). The site is
www.globalmodules.net.
So far, HSE is a partner of Champlain College which means that Russian students are matched to
American students only. But the forum allows casual conversation to take place in a so-called “Coffee Shop”
where students from all over the world may communicate on various topics.
The project usually lasts four weeks: (1) introductions and perceptions; (2) obligatory reading of a certain
fragment on the topic or watching a topic-related video and then answering the questions; (3) the continuation
of the discussion focusing on some particular issues; and (4) conclusions and saying goodbyes.
The advantages of GMs are the followings: (1) Students are brought into contact with members of other
cultures and, thus, they get new or additional knowledge about them; (2) They learn to respect them and work
cooperatively with them; (3) They do it at their own pace as it is an extra-curriculum activity; (4) They get a
better understanding of the topic under discussion. Thus, it helps them grasp the material of the course better.
Besides, they do it in an interactive way without much of drilling; and (5) Besides, the topic, offered in the
forum, is study-related and by moving the discussion online we provide conditions for students to do it at
length, without spending much time on it in the classroom.
Another feature that seems attractive for students is the opportunity to talk to their peers in a relatively
casual situation.
Some students feel more comfortable with this project as the ability to think over their answers or
comments and to check them for mistakes with others including the professor relieves them of the stress that
they may be subjected to in class.
The participation in this project is voluntary for Russian students but this time they are eager to take part
in it as they are more globally-minded and open for challenge; they appreciate the opportunity to express their
point of view that will be taken into consideration when making conclusions.
They are more enthusiastic to complete the task offered in the forum as in this way they help people of
other nationality to get a better understanding of their culture. To answer questions correctly and explicitly,
students need to search for additional information in various sources that must be first assessed for their
reliability. Thus, students get to know their culture better and they learn to support their point of view by
providing experts’ opinions or statistical data.
For example, one of the forums was arranged around the topic of using Internet technologies when
electioneering. Here are some of the questions asked: (1) Is the Internet widely used for political campaigns in
your country? (2) What kind of Internet activity prevails (sites, blogs, videos, press releases, direct mail, etc.)?
(3) Are personal sites of candidates interactive? (4) Is there any bias in providing information on websites of
politicians? and (5) Do websites of politicians provide a two-way communication?
To answer these questions, students analyzed the sites of their politicians, particularly, of their Presidents.
When answering the questions about the preferences of different people (senior people vs. young ones,
men vs. women), students provided statistical data.
Task questions can also be aimed at self-knowledge. For example, another forum was devoted to work-life
balance. Students were asked to analyze their time management, anger management, and stress management
skills, to offer their pieces of advice and to share their ways of coping with these problems (time squeeze and
deadlines, and anger and stressful situations).
In the fourth week, students are to summarize what has been said and to come to certain conclusions. For
example, in the forum about electioneering students found out that: (1) Russian students are not so politically
active as American ones; and (2) Russian students do not welcome the usage of Internet technologies when
campaigning as there is a chance that the coverage of the events will be biased or distorted, while American
students believe that introducing Internet technologies into the electioneering process will create a more
responsible electorate.
Another finding was of a more personal value: American students are more prone to ask questions, while
Russian students are keen on answering them.
For the research, we have chosen two forums on electioneering (February, 2010 and February, 2011) and
two forums on work-life balance (March-April, 2010 and February, 2011).
The objective of the research was to study the students’ communication strategies as they may help to
determine their personal and educational priorities. These strategies may also reflect the students’ learning
styles which is essential for professors to know in order to adjust their teaching style accordingly.
The methods used are quantitative and qualitative: content analysis, the study of the structure of posts, the
analysis of a student’s behavior in the classroom and in the online forum, and questionnaires or interviews.
Content analysis and the study of the structure of posts are applied to come up with a number of
communication strategies developed by the students. The analysis of a student’s behavior in and out of the
classroom suggests the most comfortable way for this student to interact with the environment. Thus, the results
will influence the choice between a questionnaire and an interview for further research. The last two are crucial
for verifying the findings as well as for checking whether the goals set by the professor before the project were
achieved and for feedback from the students on advantages and disadvantages of the conducted discussion.
As a result, we have found the following communication strategies: bonding (establishing a tie with one
person only, posts are rarely related to the topic); networking (establishing as many contacts as possible, posts
can contain both answers to the questions of the discussion and personal information); a formal approach
(providing short answers to all the questions offered for discussion); a selective approach (answering one or
two questions, the posts are usually not very informative and contain a lot of personal anecdotes); and
challenging (offering a controversial opinion or asking a provocative question).
All the students appreciated the opportunity to interact with culturally different people but, in the first run
(February, 2010), few of them regarded this forum as an extension of the course: Mostly they viewed it as
something done for fun rather than for educational purposes. Fortunately, the next time (March-April, 2010)
this attitude changed due to the loss of novelty and extensive talks about web-enhanced learning, the project
being a part of it.
Conclusions
To conclude, there are several ways of bringing multiculturalism into the educational process: (1) inviting
foreign professors to teach; (2) welcoming foreign students into your classroom; (3) organizing cultural events
and celebrations around certain cultures; (4) holding international (summer) schools; and (5) arranging online
discussions among students from all over the world.
The goal of multicultural education is not only to teach children about other groups or countries. It is also
to help children become accustomed to the idea that there are many lifestyles, languages, cultures, and points of
view. The purpose of multicultural curriculum is to attach positive feelings to multicultural experiences so that
each child will feel included and valued and will feel friendly and respectful toward people from other ethnic
and cultural groups (Dimidjian, 1989).
In conclusion, let the author quote the UNESCO (United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural
Organization) Universal Declaration on Cultural Diversity (2001): “Respect for the diversity of cultures,
tolerance, dialogue, and cooperation, in a climate of mutual trust and understanding, is among the best
guarantees of international peace and security”.
References
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Democracy: Contexts, Curricula, Assessments. Greenwich, Connecticut: Information Age Publishing.
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April 2012, Vol. 9, No. 4, 1100-1111
D DAVID PUBLISHING
Rethinking Speaking Skills in EFL

(English as a Foreign Language) Settings
Sana Sakale
MNE (Ministry of National Education), Rabat, Morocco

The teaching of speaking has been neglected in EFL (English as a Foreign Language) settings throughout language
history which led to negative effects on EFL teachers’ and learners’ attitudes. While teachers exhibit hesitation
having no preset teaching paradigms at their disposal, learners experience withdrawal in speaking situations that
demand interactional ease and socio-pragmatic awareness. Indeed, both the type of instruction and the complexity
of this skill make of the teaching of spoken language a highly controversial issue especially with the implicit
dichotomy that speaking entails and which opposes accurate mastery of linguistic patterns to ease or facility in
meaning transmission. This paper aims at reconsidering the way this dormant skill has been tackled and the
interfering variables that should be rethought and revisited while dealing with it.
Keywords: secondary education, teaching EFL (English as a Foreign Language), speaking skills in class, spoken
discourse, speech and writing, alternative speaking assessment, communicative competence
Introduction
Levelt (1989), Murphy (1991), Bailey (1999), Ferris and Tagg (1996, 1998), and Mauranen (2006) have
agreed that speaking is a very challenging yet still dormant EFL (English as a Foreign Language) skill. Prior to
this, Brown and Yule (1983) have also emphasized how speaking has been neglected in ESL (English as a second
language) and EFL settings. The complexity and heterogeneity of the speaking skill, however, make it one of the
most controversial issues since the production of speech comprises a considerable number of cognitive, affective,
and sociolinguistic competences to be mastered in any speaker/hearer interactional or transactional situation
especially since there are as many speaking situations as there are social and cultural differences. In his article
“Current Perspectives on Teaching the Four Skills” (2006), Hinkel stressed that “The complexity of learning to
speak in another language is… a cognitively demanding undertaking” (p. 114). Unfortunately, no universal
agreed-upon teaching paradigms have been set or identified concerning the treatment of speaking in class as is the
case with the written code for instance which maintains its clear-cut tenets from the well-established standard
grammar descriptions. Teaching speaking in class with no standardized methods or teaching paradigms turns out to
be a risky endeavor dependent to a great extent on curricula designers and teachers’ own initiatives and attitudes.
Sana Sakale, doctoral research at Faculty of Science of Education, EFL (English as a Foreign Language) teaching at MNE
(Ministry of National Education).
RETHINKING SPEAKING SKILLS IN EFL SETTINGS 1101
Locally speaking, it is hard what modal or what criterion to consider during the teaching of speaking and
during a speaking activity; Moroccan teachers are constantly experiencing a kind of incertitude and hesitation
vis-a-vis what to teach and how to teach it in class and some of them resort to using listening tasks as a practical
receptive basis to foster speaking, a practice which though very important—for the interrelatedness between both
skills—yet remains unsatisfactory for the establishment of good productive speaking habits that demand much
more industry, a knowledge and a skill-building. Therefore, the need to review this skill and reconsider the way it
is dealt with in classroom settings should be chief among EFL preoccupation and research. A major problematic
comes to picture when dealing with speaking which is: Should teachers initiate their students to speaking
situations that aim at transmitting a contextual meaning regardless of the linguistic inaccuracies students actually
commit? Or should they focus more on the utterances syntactic forms even when the meaning is incomplete? We
shall try to sketch out how views have differed in response to this problematic.
Historical Excursus
In her article on SLA (second language acquisition) research and applied linguistics, Pica (2008) reported
how the study of SLA is historically based on the belief that answers to language acquisition dilemmas lie in
linguistics itself; that is why basic solutions to major practical problems are done through the application of
linguistic theories. Mostly, research on SLA is directed by theories from linguistic structuralism and behavioral
psychology where language is a system comprising a number of sounds and patterns. Influenced by such
sociolinguistic theories as the speech act theory, discourse analysis, and pragmatics, and with the appeal that EFL
teaching has been foregrounded since the introduction of the CLT (communicative language teaching) approach
to language, a new awareness has started to grow within EFL settings, the aim of which is to review language as
a set of functions and a medium for communication rather than a system of form or linguistic patterns. Basing
themselves on such theories and on a growing tendency to borrow from real-life language contexts (Swain &
Canale, 1980; Bygate, 1987; Cathcart, 1989; Nunan, 2009), major language researchers have elaborated new
teaching strategies that provide EFL learners with ample opportunities and appropriate tools to contextualize and
enhance their interactivity and learning ability when dealing with spoken language. For most of its history,
however, language teaching has been primarily concerned with the study of the written discourse (Brown & Yule,
1983; Bailey, 1999) and researches have to some extent discarded the role of speaking skills in language acquisition.
Undoubtedly enough, more attention has been afforded to written skills for the well-established position
writing holds among the four skills (Carter & McCarthy, 1995), however, there is a new need to reconsider the
role of spoken language especially that the nature of the spoken discourse is in a permanent flux and spoken
English varies greatly from one area to another which renders continual research about it a worthy endeavor. In a
comparative study, Mauranen (2006) put forward some distinctive features that characterize speaking and
writing like:
(1) The nature of interaction: Speaking is interactively co-constructed which expects of the speaker a broader range of
skills to build meaning than in written discourse.
(2) Continuous meaning co-construction: Native speakers as well as L2 (second language) speakers are
involved—while interacting—to produce meaningful exchanges on an ongoing or continuous basis even when faced with
multi-party encounters with nonstop alternating interaction. But in writing, meaning is established through a determined or
fixed wording that writers manage to appropriate as they wish and in accordance with their targeted readers.
1102 RETHINKING SPEAKING SKILLS IN EFL SETTINGS
(3) Use of repair strategies: In speaking, self-repairs are frequent, that is the reason that enables skilful L2 speakers to
use both proactive strategies (which prevent misunderstandings) as well as retroactive repair ones (which allow the
recognition of a certain problem). In writing, the writers have enough time to decide what to write and what to omit. (p. 146)
Presumably, if this implies that written code uses well-identified presupposed criteria to integrate by
language learners, spoken language remains highly flexible and de-centered. For most of its parts, spoken
discourse implies so many examples of slips, errors, and incompleteness produced by speakers; it becomes hard
what sort of modal is appropriate to offer the foreign learner (Brown & Yule, 1983; Cameron, 2001), as there is
no such a thing as a definite or ready-made instructional planning or course design for students regarding
speaking skills in most curricula; real spoken data is hard to come by and most dialogues found in textbooks lack
authenticity and suffer from artificiality (Carter & McCarthy, 1995).
Throughout language history, however, 20th century approaches to language teaching have stressed the
importance of productive skills and particularly speaking and among these: the audio-lingual approach with a
strong focus on accuracy and drill repetition, and the situational approach which stresses the practice of material
orally before being presented in its written form. These and other approaches to language teaching have been
harshly criticized for their emphasis on structure accuracy or grammatical correctness at the expense of
communication (Blair, 1991; Celce-Murcia, 1991; Richards & Rodgers, 1986). Broader horizons, however, have
been opened to the teaching of speaking with the introduction of the communicative language teaching which
adheres to contextualization as a basic tenet where communicative competence is the most important motive
(Swain & Canale, 1980; Savignon, 2008; Nunan, 2009).
Why Is Speaking Important?

The complexity of the processes involved in the production of speech is one among various challenges
facing the EFL speaker. In an ideal speaker-hearer situation, a native speaker is an active listener and speaker at
the same time performing a number of competencies allowing him to interact positively in any real-life
conversation. The non-native speaker, however, lacks the genuine context and the facility or ease that a native
speaker has, so the classroom is one important instance to get them nearer to that.
Adding to this, during this era of intense competitiveness in the job market, high unemployment rates and
the tendency towards initiating juvenile and autonomous micro-projects, learners from a variety of sectors (arts,
literature, business, philosophy, and marketing) have to exhibit a certain mastery of speaking skills in different
fields; therefore, a good spoken English potential will certainly be reflected in the workplace. To this end, many
schools try to integrate speaking assessment as an alternative assessment type that can also initiate the learner to
the job market (Bailey, 1999; Simpson, 2006; Malone, 2007).
Mauranen advocated the belief that in this era of globalization and academic mobility, academic discourse
should imply real-world spoken discourse and that models imparting procedural rather than just declarative
knowledge should be inserted while teaching foreign languages to learners. She (2006, p. 144) evoked instances
of such corpora as the MICASE (Michigan Corpus of Academic Spoken English; available at
www.hti.umich.edu/m/micase), also its British counterpart BASE (The British Academic Spoken English;
available at www.rdg.ac.uk/slals/base), and the ELFA (English as a lingua franca) corpus (available at
www.uta.fi/laitokset/kielet/engf/research/elfa). Referring to such academic speaking US-based corpora such as
the MICASE and the T2K-SWAL (TOEFL 2000 Spoken and Written Academic Language), the TOEFL (Test of
English as a Foreign Language), the writer puts forward that spoken discourse has its own conventions different
from the academic writing conventions and that these should be incorporated in EFL settings to pave the way for
enough evidence for EFL teachers while they are teaching.
In English-speaking countries like USA or UK, performance testing and particularly testing speaking ability
has become one of the most important issues in language testing (Sweeney, 1992; Simpson, 2006). Needless to
mention how fruitful the teaching of speaking can be if classroom assessment takes advantage from the pivotal
role technology plays in learners’ lives nowadays. Since 1986, the CAL (Center for Applied Linguistics) in
Whashington, D.C. has investigated and initiated a number of approaches to oral proficiency assessment.
Margaret Malone describes ways to use technology to improve test development and administration (Malone,
2007). As identified by Gebhard (2009), technology can refer to scientific and industrial know-how or expertise.
He (2009) talked about what he called a technology continuum from low-tech to high-tech all of which learners
can benefit in class.
What Is Speaking?
As defined by Florez (1999), speaking is “an interactive process of constructing meaning both its form and
meaning depend on the context, the participants, their experiences, the environment and the purpose for
speaking” (p. 1). She explained that learners should demonstrate a degree of linguistic competence and a
corresponding awareness of sociolinguistics to be able to interact in class. Besides, speaking can be a predictable
skill having its own structure and conventions that speakers may acquire through practice. Similarly, in his
chapter “Teaching English as Communication Among People”, Gebhard (2009) presented a classification to
what communicative competence is as influenced by the thinking of Hymes, Swain, and Savignon, and chief
among this classification we find the linguistic and the sociolinguistic ones.
But, to what extent does classroom instruction incarnate communicative competence and push learners to
speak communicatively? Indeed, much of EFL learners’ weaknesses in the area of spoken language can be linked
to the deficiencies and hesitations in classroom instruction as well as the tendency to teach formally rather than
communicatively. The teachers themselves do not integrate the speaking sub-skills in their teaching, and
overlook the communicative socio-pragmatic awareness that learners need to construct as they are building good
speaking habits in their classes. Learners, therefore, show a withdrawal from speaking as they experience
hesitation and anxiety in front of situations which are totally unpredictable for them. But in what way can
speaking become predictable and learners skill constructed to be able to speak?
The Importance of Collaborative Tasks

Swain initiates what she calls collaborative dialogue in which speakers are engaged in problem-solving and
knowledge-building. The theoretical rationale for this advocacy is based on the work of Vygotsky and others who
argue that individual mental resources develop from collective behavior. Swain considers language as one of the
most important semiotic tools which help perform different mental activities and mediate our interaction with the
physical world and social environment. In her studies of dialogues undertaken by learners of FSL (French as a
Second Language), she (2000) clearly put that: “Verbalization objectified thought and made it available for
scrutiny… collaborative dialogue…—saying and responding to what is said—is language learning (knowledge
building) mediated by language (as a semiotic tool)” (p. 104).
But again the question here is: If collaborative dialogue helps foster speaking in class, what does good
language production comprise? And how can students’ speaking skills be established? Nunan (2009) presented
seven basic principles for task-based language teaching that can be applicable to speaking as one of the most
demanding productive skills; a summary of these is:
(1) Scaffolding: Good language production necessitates that learners should be equipped with enough supporting
evidence from what has preceded in their previous learning or what Nunan calls “supporting frameworks” to be able to
manipulate the current processed task.
(2) Task-dependency: Each task exploits and builds on the one that has preceded it. Other principles have been
mentioned here, one of them is the receptive-to-productive principle that deals with the learners’ exposure to more
receptive skills namely reading and writing at the beginning than to productive skills (writing and speaking). The
underlying conception is that we should expect speaking to subsequently emerge at a later stage in a learning process.
(3) Recycling: Learning’s unstable nature makes it a highly flexible process hard to be mastered all at once and the
need for recapitulation and rehearsal in different content areas especially with spoken language which is permanently
changing.
(4) Active learning: Joining the speech act theory that views speaking as doing (Austin), optimal learning is where
learners are provided enough opportunities to use the language and are actively involved in producing it.
(5) Integration: Reintegrating both formal as well as functional aspects of language in class. Therefore, grammatical,
lexical, and phonological components are taught in a communicative way that enables learners to make use of language.
(6) Reproduction to creation: Models provided by teachers are designed to give learners form but learners are also
given enough room to come up with new elements basing themselves on previous background.
(7) Reflection: In processing information and learning, learners are encouraged to reflect on their learning and
ponder on the rationale behind the undertaken classroom tasks. (pp. 35-36)
In other words, both learners’ collaborative dialogues and their immediate immersion in interactive tasks as
well as teachers’ tactfulness and perceptible recognition of the processes underpinning the teaching of speaking
can promote or establish good speaking habits in EFL classes. Still a number of other variables interfere with the
teaching of spoken English and two major sub-skills that have to be fully anticipated and clearly set in class are
also pronunciation and listening.
Speaking and Its Sub-skills

Considerable ink has been shed on the skill integration process in EFL classes and more particularly the
interdependence of the two oral language speaking sub-skills namely: listening and pronunciation. Indeed, these
sub-skills correlate and closely intersect with the teaching of speaking in class in a way that the teaching of one of
them often leads to the other (Murphy, 1991; Florez, 1999; Hinkel, 2006).
Pronunciation
Pronunciation is a crucial speaking sub-skill and by far the departure point for any oral interaction since the
success of any communication process is closely tied to the mastery of the sound system. Throughout language
teaching history, debates have been hold as to give a primary role (Audio-lingualism) or a secondary position
(Communicative language teaching) to the teaching of pronunciation in EFL learning curricula. Today, however,
pronunciation is emerging from its marginalized place in adult ESL classes (Kenworthy, 1994; Florez, 1999;
Hall, 1997).
In the old grammar-translation theory, pronunciation was completely overlooked in language teaching, but
as a reaction, the audio-lingual approach highlights pronunciation and learners’ structural proficiency becomes of
primordial interest in EFL classes (Celce-Murcia, 1991). But later on, linguistic approaches and especially the
Communicative Approach influenced by the work of Wilkins assumed that the content of a language course will
include semantic notions and social functions not just linguistic structures (Richards & Rodgers, 1986).
In her paper “Integrating Pronunciation for Fluency in Presentation Skills” (1997), Hall argued that speech
can be analyzed, conceptualized, and understood as the organization and development of utterances, which are
not always complete sentences, but are the building blocks of information. She pointed out to the importance of
suprasegmentals (rhythm, intonation, and stress) and non-verbals (head movement, gestures, and facial
expressions) in conveying meaning. In brief, she (1997) stressed the great role of pronunciation in establishing
interactive communication.
To this end, pronunciation should be incorporated in the curriculum in an attempt to attain what Florez
(1998) called functional intelligibility and functional communicability. On the other hand, in an experimental
study on “Rethinking the Teaching of Pronunciation in ESL Classroom” (2006), Ramesh has cited how there is
very little knowledge from the part of teachers on how to teach pronunciation apart from the language drills that
involve the use of minimal pairs.
Available material, however, can be found to help teachers cope with the different ambiguities the teaching
of pronunciation entails especially that individuals’ performance in this area can be so indeterminate and
changing; sometimes a learner can make a sound perfectly and then, in the next instance, their performance seems
to deteriorate (Kenworthy, 1994). In the book, Kenworthy examined the issue of integrated pronunciation
teaching and suggests a set of priorities to help teachers cope with the perplexities of the English pronunciation
including the Arabic settings.
Listening
Listening is believed to be a demanding process (Duzer, 1997) since it implies not only the physical aptitude
to comprehend the morphology dimension of the word system, but also essentially the assimilation of the exact
meaning conveyed by the speaker and the recognition of the employed tone and rhythm. Current theorists
describe listening comprehension as an interactive and interpretive process in which listeners engage in a
dynamic construction of meaning (Murphy, 1991).
To clarify the important role that real-life listening holds, Ur (1984) argued that it would be useful if there
was a full-scale taxonomy of all the different situations together with a statistical analysis of their frequencies. He
tries to delimit the purely listening activities involving real aural comprehension in a 15-component list situation
varying from very much used to less used in everyday life (Ur, 1984). But here, there is a clear distinction that has
to be mentioned between native speakers and non-native speakers who lack such real opportunities in
encountering the language.
Moreover, the relevance of such a classification is conditioned by whether we are dealing with learners who
have English as a second language or as a foreign one. Indeed, English is now taught to EFL learners all over the
world. Still learners’ needs vary from one place to another, and for Moroccan students for instance, the classroom
is one among very few instances to encounter the language and experience speaking; whereas for most ESL
settings, learners arrive at a country where English is the predominant language which they can both encounter at
school and outside (for more details on EFL or ESL settings, see Gebhard, 2009).
In a Study Circle on Teaching Listening, the CAELA (Center for Adult English Language Acquisition)
Guide for Adult ESL Trainers includes basic processes involved in listening and as cited: determining a reason
for listening, depositing an image in short-term memory, organizing information according to speech type,
predicting information in message, recalling background information, assigning meaning to message, checking
that the message has been understood, choosing information to keep in long-term memory, and deleting message
in short-term memory.
As clearly stated, the quality of any listening undertaking depends on the delivery art or the speech act itself
since the listening phase correlates to the spoken discourse and to the components interfering with the
transmission or the telling of the message. Although a high degree of overlap may be witnessed when dealing
with these crucial skills in language teaching, an emerging necessity to focus and closely examine the speaking
skill is witnessed in EFL classes.
Communicative Speaking Production

But even with the integration of these sub-skills, the problematic of form versus communication is still
prevalent. From a discourse analysis perspective, in tracing the path that research has followed in the treatment of
speaking, the dichotomy of linguistic form and communicative meaning has always been highlighted
(Celce-Murcia & Olshtain, 2008). This has always been the case since a challenging area of interest to spoken
discourse is grammar. Mauranen quoted Du Bois (2003) who advanced that: “Spoken discourse most transparently
reveals grammar in use” (p. 54). She pointed out how such a statement is an explicit challenge to linguistic research
based on the written clause: grammar. She also reported how McCarthy (1998) discussed grammatical structures
(subject-verb inversion) in reconsidering clauses which have distinctive uses in spoken English discourse. In this
respect, Mauranen highlighted the major advocacy that some characteristics of spoken grammar like rules of
Preferred Argument Structure are indeed universal since they are deeply-rooted in human cognitive processing,
but on the other hand, others may be language specific and that in this case these that are language specific are the
ones that need to be introduced to L2 learners. Mauranen (2008) stressed how for such an endeavor, the teaching
should not be based on such old transcriptions of writing-based grammars taking into account that pedagogic
grammars delimit themselves to that which is perceived to be the most fundamental in the language structure.
To the same end, Swain employs empirical evidence to prove the reliability of the output hypothesis in solving
this controversy as she evokes the French immersion programs in Canada that have come up with optimal chances
for learning an L2 especially FSL. Swain reports how in these programs, English-speaking children were taught,
some of their programs in French beginning with the start of school (early immersion), and around grade four or
five (mid-immersion), or around grade six or seven (late immersion). After being evaluated later on, evaluations
have showed that the French proficiency of the immersion students was more advanced than that of students taking
just 20 to 30 minutes a day for FSL which proves the importance of extensive or abundant input or instruction.
But, if French students obtained similar scores to those of francophone students in receptive skills, namely
listening and speaking, their productive skills were largely dissimilar. These findings paved the way for
reconsidering the validity of the abundance of comprehensible input in language acquisition (Swain, 2008). And
among the alternative explanations to the one Krashen (1984; as cited in Swain 2005) has already advanced and
which constituted that comprehensible input was the only true cause of SLA, Swain quotes observations
revealing that the immersion students did not talk as much in the French portion of the day (using French which
they are being taught) as they did in the English portion of the day (in their mother tongue English) and that
teachers did not “push” students to talk in a manner which was grammatically accurate or socio-linguistically
appropriate. And this is where Swain (2008) employed the “output hypothesis” which as she said:
The meaning of negotiating meaning needs to be extended beyond the usual sense of simply getting one’s message
across can and does occur with grammatically deviant forms and socio-linguistically inappropriate language. Negotiating
meaning needs to incorporate the notion of being pushed toward the delivery of a message that is not only conveyed, but
that is conveyed precisely, coherently, and appropriately. Being pushed in output…is a concept parallel to that of the i + 1
of comprehensible input. Indeed, one might call this the comprehensible output hypothesis. (p. 473)
Negotiation of meaning and being pushed into message delivery are two of the many implications of the
output hypothesis initiated by Swain who also points that interactions where the negotiation of meaning between
native speakers/non-native speakers are extremely important for the production of comprehensible output. To
this end, both learners and their interlocutors work together to support enough comprehensible input and produce
comprehensible output and it is through density of negotiation that learners gain opportunities to attempt
producing meaning and grammatical structures as well. By density of negotiation, Swain refers to negotiated
interactions that provide non-native speakers with opportunities to receive input through negotiation. She also
believes that they can provide speakers with opportunities that enable them to modify their speech so that the
output is more comprehensible.
Methodology
The author will try to answer two fundamental questions in this paper, namely: (1) What are Moroccan EFL
high school learners’ and teachers’ perceptions of the teaching/learning process of speaking skills? (2) How do
Moroccan EFL high school teachers give instructions and provide feedback during speaking activities?
Participants
A total number of 100 students have contributed through the questionnaires. Twenty secondary teachers
from different academies have provided a detailed view about their experience. Twenty secondary teachers
from the area of Salé Zemmour Zaer have been interviewed orally to allow more insightful data about the
process of learning/teaching speaking in secondary classes. Ten teachers have been subject to observation while
conducting a speaking session.
Instruments
This study has been based on students’ questionnaires, teachers’ questionnaires, teachers’ interviews, and
observation checklists (elaborated and then ticked during a series of visits to teachers in their classes while
conducting speaking activities). These instruments have been compiled and charted to find out corresponding
frequencies and percentages in an attempt to answer the above stated research questions.
Results
Based on the extracted students’ needs analysis questionnaire results and concerning the pre-speaking
activity phase, these results have been registered: (1) 56% of the students have reported never to the frequency of
being shown pictures, slides, or maps related to the topic; (2) 54% have reported never to whether they listen to
conversations or watch videos related to the topic at hand; and (3) 68% have reported never to whether they
choose the topic that interests them, while a less significant proportion (28%) have reported never to whether they
are given the topic in advance to work on at home. In the same respect, while 60% have reported never to whether
the objectives of the lesson are explained to them in advance, a proportion of 56% have also ticked never to
whether the instructions they are given are clear.
And in response to whether students feel more motivated to speak English in class when the teacher helps
(cueing, pushing) them while doing activities, Figure 1 has been elaborated.
35
30
25
20
15 Student's perceptions on teachers'
10 cueing
5
0
totally agreed had no Disagreed totally
agreed opinion disagreed
Figure 1. Students’ perceptions on teachers’ cueing.
We notice that 34% totally agreed they feel more motivated when the teachers push them towards speech
delivery; 18% agreed; 18% disagreed; 26% totally disagreed while 4% had no opinion.
But in singling out the students’ perceptions about the classroom environment and management elements that
influence speaking in class most, students have reported these significant elements: 77% total agreement that it is
when the way they are seated in class is comfortable; 68% also reported total agreement when the students’ number
in their class is limited; 58% totally agreed that it is when the classroom atmosphere is calm and students can hear
each other while 64% totally agreed that it is when the activities in their textbook incite/help them to speak.
As to the reported frequencies of teachers helping the students to speak in class through either: (1) chunk
language rehearsals: 36% always do that, 32% often do that, 18% sometimes do that, and 14% never do that; or (2)
inciting students and pushing them to provide responses to teachers’ questions: 24% always do that, 12% often do
that, 8.00% sometimes, while a higher proportion of 56% never do that; (3) ignoring mistakes as long as the
message is clear: The corresponding percentages are respectively: 48%, 35%, 17%, and 0%; and finally
regarding, (4) project work presentations: the percentages are 18%, 16%, 48%, and 18% respectively.
Through an unstructured teachers’dignosis interview, the ideal classroom conditions that could contribute to
enhancing teachers’ motivation to teach speaking and learners’ motivation to learn it have been identified. When
revised and classified in a hierarchical order, teachers’ perceptions of good speaking conditions have included: a
limited number of students at a rate of 46%, providing necessary communication aids and material at a rate of
34%, while reconsidering the weight given to speaking in the textbooks at a rate of 20%. In addition to these
instruments, the observation checklists have reported these (see Table 1).
Table 1
Observation Checklists’ Result
Teachers’ levels of intervention Yes (%) No (%)
(1) Teacher devotes this session to teaching speaking only. 19 81
(2) The instruction he/she provides is clear to students. 38 62
(3) Teacher does most of the talk during the activity. 66 34
(4) Students are encouraged to speak throughout. 52 48
(5) Teacher cues them and paves the way for their speaking. 34 66
(6) Teacher corrects students as they speak. 16 84
(7)Teacher-student interaction is prevalent. 48 52
(8) Student-student interaction takes place during this activity. 18 82
(9) Students hesitate to talk during the activity. 66 34
(10) Students speak in separate language chunks only. 76 24
(11) Students speak with long pauses. 54 46
(12) Students speak fluently. 14 86
Discussion and Analysis

With the introduction of the new conceptual framework in SLA that Swain identifies as comprehensible
output, the idea of “being pushed up” that is implied with comprehensible output has paved the way for more
research on the area of teacher-student feedback. Swain reports Mackey (2002) who has conducted experimental
research that proves students’ perception of being pushed is highest when the feedback comes from the teacher.
Swain refers to Mackey’s experiment that made adult ESL students watch videotapes of themselves, while they
were interacting with their peers.
Basing herself on Mackey’s findings in that area, Swain reaches the fact that learners who received teachers’
feedback or what she identifies as “being pushed up” really made the students establish modifications to suit their
interlocutors and this with varying degrees according to setting, type of interaction and whether they are with
native speakers or non-native speakers, she presents the following percentages: (1) 81.5% in the case of
student-teacher interaction in a classroom setting; (2) 72% in NNS/NS (non-native speaker/native speaker)
interaction in a laboratory setting; and (3) 64.5% in NNS/NS interaction in a laboratory setting.
While research stresses the importance of pushing students towards the production of speech, the Moroccan
setting indicates students are being pushed towards talk only at a rate of 34%. The teachers’ instructions are
unclear to the students at a rate of 62%, which points out to the need to reinforce this skill in class either through
the use of multimedia and technology or the introduction of new interactive activities that may help the learners
acquire the habit of FL (foreign language) speaking.
In Moroccan secondary classes, students and teachers perceptions have stressed that this skill is being taught:
(1) as an integral part with the other skills; (2) with very limited communication aids; (3) in settings mostly
uncomfortable for both students and teachers; (4) with unclear (mostly oral) instructions that students fail to
decipher; and (5) with a quite restricted teachers’ feedback of being “pushed up” towards speaking.
All these aspects make of speaking an even more challenging endeavor in Moroccan classes and since
speaking comprises the production of a number of sophisticated stress patterns, the capacity of good listening
endeavor, a certain pragmatic awareness as well as a high corresponding cognitive industry; then it becomes hard
to expect fluency from non-native learners unless they are afforded the proximity to genuine or authentic
speaking contexts where learners will be allowed to use the language outside the formal settings, and where
emphasis will also be more on oral-aural skills and communication. This will impact positively the learners who
are at the moment still experiencing withdrawal from classroom speaking and oral contribution. In sum,
rethinking speaking skills and working to establish spoken conventions to optimize the teaching/learning process
in class can be tomorrow’s most important challenge in EFL Moroccan settings.
Some pedagogical implications are as follows: (1) Teachers’ and students’ perceptions are in favour of
improving speaking skills class conditions; (2) There is a lack of curriculum emphasis on speaking skills; (3)
Teachers’ limited proficiency needs to get improved through in-service trainings; (4) Teachers should employ all
means to provide feedback through pushing students up towards speech production; and (5) Examination system
should integrate speaking or oral production assessment.
Conclusions
In conclusion, the present paper has gauged how though speaking is a very complex and challenging skill in
nature, it is not afforded importance and remains a dormant skill in EFL classes. The studies implied in this
instance traced the route to how speaking has been considered from early structuralist to more recent
pragmalinguistic views. The paper attempted to present a definition to what speaking is, to revisit its sub-skills,
and to bring empirical evidence as to the importance of collaborative dialogue and communicative speaking
production. These served as a reference basis to juxtapose with the Moroccan situation in an attempt to unveil
how speaking is tackled in this specific context, and rethink why it should be improved. The data collected has
helped to pinpoint the interfering variables affecting speaking in Moroccan classes. Chief and significant
intricacies have proved to be related to teachers’ instruction and feedback, overall classroom condition or setting,
and lack of adequate communication aids.
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Factors in International Student Identity Formation: Processes and Challenges 1035

A Review of the Research on Teacher Autonomy 1045

Pedagogical Strategies for Task-Based Vocabulary Acquisition 1056

An Empirical Study of Learner-Based Teaching in EFL 1061

Learner Autonomy via Self-Assessment in Consecutive Interpreting for Novice Learners

in a Non-Interpreting Environment 1065

Promoting Cultural Diversity in Higher Education 1091

Rethinking Speaking Skills in EFL (English as a Foreign Language) Settings 1100

Factors in International Student Identity Formation:

The Nature of Identity

International Student Identity

Time in Country Time at Home

The Role of Language

The Sociopolitical Context of ESL

A Review of the Research on Language Teacher Autonomy

JIANG Yu-hong MA Ting

Keywords: English teachers, teacher autonomy, literature review

Definitions and Types of Autonomy

Definitions of Teacher Autonomy

Interdependence of Teacher Autonomy and Learner Autonomy

Attributive Factors of Teacher Autonomy

Research Methods of Teacher Autonomy in Recent Publications

Short, P. M. (2003). Defining teacher empowerment. Education, 114, 488-492.

Pedagogical Strategies for Task-Based Vocabulary Acquisition

Keywords: pedagogical strategies, task-based, vocabulary acquisition, principles

Task-Based Instruction and Vocabulary Acquisition

Pedagogical Strategies for Task-Based Vocabulary Instruction

Calibrate: Provide visual support

Principles in Task Design

An Empirical Study of Learner-Based Teaching in EFL

Keywords: learner-based teaching, EFL (English as a Foreign Language), potential problems

How Can We Arrive at Learner-Based Teaching?

A Study on the Role of Teachers and Coursebooks

The Advantages of Using Learner-Based Teaching

The Potential Problems in Learner-Based Teaching

Demands on the Teachers

Learner Autonomy via Self-Assessment in Consecutive

Noraini Ibrahim-González, Noraiha Noordin

Keywords: consecutive interpreting, learner autonomy, student-centred approach, self-assessment

Bachelor of Arts in Translation and Interpreting at USM

Figure 1. Moodle Course Management System questionnaire analysis feature.

Results and Discussion

Strategies for Effective Teaching and Learning of

Bolanle Tajudeen Opoola, Ayobami Fatimo Opoola

Bolanle Tajudeen Opoola, chief lecturer, Federal College of Education.

Appendix: Samples of Reading Passages

Text 1: Responding to the Health Workforce Crisis

Deconstructing the Captive Education: Creating Différance

Keywords: “MECL Way”, literature teaching, multiculturalism, empathy, creativity

Crystallizing the Stereotyped Education

Stereotyped students Stereotyped teachers

Figure 1. Illustrative diagram for the development of stereotyped teachers.

Re-reading the Definition of “Teacher”: Deconstructing the Vicious Cycle

Creating Différance in the Classroom

Original teaching Emphatic and creative

Qualified students Qualified teachers

Figure 2.12 Illustrative diagram for creating emphatic teachers.