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17 December 2009

TEFL FORUM: Issue 1 (December 2009) of 'ELT in Japan' (ELT-J)

http://eltinjapan.blogspot.com/2009/12/elt-in-japan-issue-1-december-2009.html

17 December 2009
'ELT in Japan', Issue 1 (December 2009)

These articles were first published at the related blog established prior to ELT-J, Japan Higher Education Outlook. . These have been compiled to form the first issue of ELT-J.

The entire collection can be navigated from this page:

http://japanheo.blogspot.com/2009/12/tefl-forum-so-far.html

>> ELT-J Issue 1 Table of Contents <<

1. Proposes a more useful model/basic unit of phonology for EFL.

http://japanheo.blogspot.com/2009/12/facially-salient-articulatory-gesture.html

2. Looks at a literacy and phonology 'crutch' often used by Japanese EFL learners and relates it to standard concepts in ELT and EFL literacy.

http://japanheo.blogspot.com/2009/12/do-japanese-efl-students-need-katakana.html

3. Sums up ten major reasons why TEFL and EFL are so problematic in Japan and at Japanese universities.

http://japanheo.blogspot.com/2009/12/tefl-forum-ten-reasons-why-english.html

4. This is an article that is conceptually related to the article in item #2 on this list but comes at the issues from a different angle--that is, positive transfer vs. negative interference from the native literacy backgrounds of EFL students.

http://japanheo.blogspot.com/2009/12/tefl-forum-native-writing-systems.html

5. Looks at why TEFL/ELT/TESOL need a new approach to 'theory' and 'practice', where real theory emerges from real practice.

http://japanheo.blogspot.com/2009/09/breaking-down-theory-vs-practice.html

6. Questions the value of most academic research on ELT and FLL (e.g., 'SLA' research).

http://japanheo.blogspot.com/2009/06/why-is-research-in-elttefltesolalsla-so.html

7. An earlier version of item #3 on this list. Gives a briefer overview of the ten reasons and links back to the individual articles in which they were discussed in more detail.

http://japanheo.blogspot.com/2009/04/ten-reaons-why-english-education-in.html

8. Gives an overview of the many issues foreign nationals (e.g., 'native speakers of English) face teaching at the level of higher education in Japan, including TEFL at this level.

http://japanheo.blogspot.com/2008/03/teaching-as-foreign-national-at.html

Labels: AL, EFL, ELT, SLA, teaching English in Japan, TEFL, TEFL Forum, TESOL

------------------
Future issues will include articles on teaching vocabulary, pronunciation, and writing multiple choice questions. .
Posted by CEJ at 11:23
Labels: AL, EFL, ELT, ELT in Japan, SLA, teaching English in Japan, Teaching in Japan, TEFL, TEFL Forum, TEFL in Japan, TESOL

16 December 2009

TEFL FORUM SO FAR

Here is a list (with links) of some of the TEFL-related articles to appear at JHEO.
They are listed from most recent to past. The TEFL Forum here at JHEO will then move on to articles on teaching pronunciation and vocabulary.

TEFL FORUM SUMMARY

1. Proposes a more useful model/basic unit of phonology for EFL.

http://japanheo.blogspot.com/2009/12/facially-salient-articulatory-gesture.html

2. Looks at a literacy and phonology 'crutch' often used by Japanese EFL learners and relates it to standard concepts in ELT and EFL literacy.

http://japanheo.blogspot.com/2009/12/do-japanese-efl-students-need-katakana.html

3. Sums up ten major reasons why TEFL and EFL are so problematic in Japan and at Japanese universities.

http://japanheo.blogspot.com/2009/12/tefl-forum-ten-reasons-why-english.html

4. This is an article that is conceptually related to the article in item #2 on this list but comes at the issues from a different angle--that is, positive transfer vs. negative interference from the native literacy backgrounds of EFL students.

http://japanheo.blogspot.com/2009/12/tefl-forum-native-writing-systems.html

5. Looks at why TEFL/ELT/TESOL need a new approach to 'theory' and 'practice', where real theory emerges from real practice.

http://japanheo.blogspot.com/2009/09/breaking-down-theory-vs-practice.html

6. Questions the value of most academic research on ELT and FLL (e.g., 'SLA' research).

http://japanheo.blogspot.com/2009/06/why-is-research-in-elttefltesolalsla-so.html

7. An earlier version of item #3 on this list. Gives a briefer overview of the ten reasons and links back to the individual articles in which they were discussed in more detail.

http://japanheo.blogspot.com/2009/04/ten-reaons-why-english-education-in.html

8. Gives an overview of the many issues foreign nationals (e.g., 'native speakers of English) face teaching at the level of higher education in Japan, including TEFL at this level.

http://japanheo.blogspot.com/2008/03/teaching-as-foreign-national-at.html

19 February 2010

TEFL Forum Retrospective at JHEO

Japan Higher Education Outlook first started publishing articles that were related to English Language Teaching/Teaching English as a Foreign Language with a piece on the work conditions and terms of employment for foreign nationals at universities.

It then ran a ten-part series about the reasons English (EFL) fails in Japan (published all together in one article). Also available for download in .pdf here.

This transformed into the TEFL Forum section of the Japan Higher Education Outlook. If you click on the link below, you will get a list of much of the content of the TEFL Forum over the past year. Most of this content is now available at the related online publication, ELT in Japan.

http://japanheo.blogspot.com/search?q=TEFL+Forum:

Note: Scroll below this post to view the list of TEFL Forum articles.

Or visit the ELT in Japan site to view even more ELT-related content.

18 August 2010

Overview of original content published at Japan Higher Education Outlook

02 November 2010

JAPAN HIGHER EDUCATION OUTLOOK: TEFL FORUM: TEN REASONS WHY ENGLISH LEARNING IN JAPAN FAILS

This is one of the most visited articles up at ELT-J. It was originally a 'TEFL Forum' piece done for Japan HEO.

JAPAN HIGHER EDUCATION OUTLOOK: TEFL FORUM: TEN REASONS WHY ENGLISH LEARNING IN JAPAN FAILS

17 December 2009

TEFL FORUM - Preview of future issues of ELT-J Online Magazine

These will also be announced in the TEFL Forum section of Japan Higher Education Outlook.

Preview of future issues of 'ELT-J Online Magazine':

1. Vocabulary activities for the conversation class.
2. Vocabulary activities for the writing class.
3. Teaching English /l/ vs. /r/ (applied phonology).
4. Introducing a different sort of audio-visual electronic dictionary for FL learning.
5. Variations of the multiple-choice vocabulary question for FL practice and assessment.

All these and more are under development for publication at ELT-J.

17 February 2010

TEFL Forum: "ELT in Japan" Issue #1 in downloadable form

'ELT in Japan' Issue #1 (Dec. 2009) in PDF

You can read them in the public access folder at GoogleDocs (read-only using a reader that is like GoogleBooks), or you can download them from the GoogleDocs interface. Creative Commons License 3.0 applies.

ELT in Japan Issue #1 (first published December 2009)

Click on the title of the article to view it.

1. Writing Systems: Positive transfer or negative interference for EFL learning?

2. Do Japanese EFL students need katakana eigo to learn and to read English?

3. Teaching as a foreign national at Japanese universities: Shifting terms of institutional status, employment, work conditions and related concerns

4. Ten reasons why English learning fails in Japan

5. The facially salient articulatory gesture as a basic unit for applied phonology in ELT

6. Why is 'research' in ELT/TEFL/TESOL/AL/SLA so irrelevant?

7. Breaking down the 'theory vs. practice' distinction

30 September 2010

TEFL Forum: ELT in Japan, Issue #3 (Aug-Sep 2010)

ELT in Japan, Issue #3 (Aug-Sep 2010)

Article 1: Schema theory: Is this set of concepts relevant to TEFL?

Article 2: Truespel - the English-based phonetic notation for both ESL and EFL

Article 3: Writing systems across languages and cultures: Implications for language teaching and learning

Article 4: Japanese publishers of EFL books for self-study/ 自習のための言語・英語材料の出版社

Article 5: Key concepts in EFL literacy: Phonics vs. whole language

Article 6: Three phonics, spelling and whole word activities for EFL learners

Article 7: Should the JET Programme be axed?

27 February 2010

TEFL Forum: ELT - J Issue #2 Preview Articles in Downloadable Form

Issue 2 of ELT in Japan will consist of four articles: (1) "Teaching English [l] sounds vs. [r] sounds: Integrating applied phonology into the EFL classroom"; (2) "Devising multiple-choice questions, quizzes and tests"; (3) "Semantic mapping activities for the speaking class"; and (4)"Semantic mapping activities for the writing class".

Articles (2) and (3) are now available as a preview of the full issue.

You can now download the two preview articles for ELT J #2 in .pdf. The best way from Firefox browser is to left-click the link and save the file. It should download through your browser or default downloader program.You might have to right-click your mouse if the left-click loads the document. However, if you have the correct Adobe Plug-ins, the pdfs can be viewed from your browser and then saved from there as well.

Two articles as PDFs.

1. Devising Multiple-choice Questions, Quizzes and Tests. pdf

2. Semantic mapping activities for the speaking class.pdf

Alternatively, you can view them first as GoogleDocuments and choose to download them from the download feature there (upper left of page).

1. Devising Multiple-choice Questions, Quizzes and Tests

https://docs.google.com/fileview?id=0B2aIR7UspFzpMDMxYTVkNmMtYzdlMS00ZmZlLWJjOTEtYTU5M2IyMmJmNTlk&hl=en

introductory excerpt:

In this article we will look at how to introduce students to 'English-only' multiple-choice questions and then how to use such questions to assess students and evaluate courses. The focus here will be specifically on using multiple-choice questions to construct tests that assess vocabulary learning drawn from the syllabus, materials, and content of specific EFL classes--i.e., the classes you have to teach and your students have to attend. It is hoped that these explanations and examples will serve, for example, teachers who have to give grades to hundreds of students each semester and have limited time to do other types of testing (such as oral interviews or projects, which can be too time-consuming to manage if you teach hundreds of students).

2. Semantic mapping activities for the speaking class

https://docs.google.com/fileview?id=0B2aIR7UspFzpNDk0M2I0YzItOTVmMC00ZDEyLWFiOTEtMjQ1Mjc2YjBhYzIx&hl=en

introductory excerpt:

In TEFL situations, when we say 'vocabulary study', the two activities that most often come to mind for students quite likely are (1) looking up words in a bi-lingual dictionary and (2) compiling and studying bi-lingual word lists. If this is what is meant by vocabulary study, it hardly could be called 'systematic'. The weaknesses of such an approach to vocabulary are many. For example, students may use an L1-L2 dictionary to confirm the meanings of an L1 meaning in L2, and then forget the L2 item. Also, bi-lingual word lists are hard to organise; indeed, they lack any organising principle except that an L1 word should be matched with an L2 counterpart and that such items, once translated, should follow each other on a list. Little wonder then students do not find time to study and review them. What is more, the input of vocabulary to be learnt, revised, or reviewed is too limited to items (words, phrases) encountered in the textbook or specified by the teacher. Finally, and most importantly for the purpose of this introduction, the most obvious flaw is that there is very little communicative or social linguistic activity required to use a dictionary or make a bilingual word list. An alternative to this is using a semantic mapping activity.

01 September 2010

TEFL Forum: ELT in Japan, Issue #3 (August 2010)

27 August 2010

ELT in Japan, Issue #3 (August 2010)

Feature 1: Schema theory: Is this set of concepts relevant to TEFL?

Feature 2: Truespel - the English-Based Phonetic Notation for ESL and EFL as Well

Feature 3: Writing Systems Across Languages and Cultures: Implications for Language Teaching and Learning

Feature 4: Japanese publishers of EFL books for self-study/ 自習のための言語・英語材料の出版社

19 February 2010

Japan Higher Education Outlook Looks Back

Japan Higher Education Outlook has been in existence for over two years now. So it might be a good time to look back on some of the original content.

Here is a list of key feature articles that appeared here. These are articles that are for the most part exclusive of the ones that appeared under the 'TEFL Forum' title series.

But first, here are a few comments on some of the news and trends analyzed in the past two years of articles:

-Instead of getting more universities into the world's top 30, Japan's one top 20 university, Tokyo U., dropped out of the top 20.

-The new research university being founded in Okinawa has faltered, hitting budget limitations due to the ongoing fiscal crisis of the national government.

-The often-predicted demographic disaster awaiting Japan's large HE sector still awaits--offset by the fact that more and more young women are continuing onto four-year programs and graduate school.

-Meanwhile, the lines drawn across terms like 'university', 'college' and 'special training school/college' are being blurred: Two-year colleges have got into vocational programs and four-year programs in order to stay in business. It also seems that 'special training colleges' will hook up with universities and colleges because they need students, but their administrations have something the universities need as well: management skills in running vocationally relevant programs that lead to graduates getting certifications, qualifications, careers.

-And while the continuance rate from senior high to universities and colleges hasn't hit 60%, it is rising and for many students there are more and more ways to get into the programs of their choice (most students choose 2 or 3 institutions to apply for).

-And the top-rated universities like Toudai have more applicants than ever because many are hopeful that the demographic decline favors their chances to win the placement lottery. .

Links and introductory excerpts have been dug out from the archives for your convenience.

Original feature articles at JHEO:

1. http://japanheo.blogspot.com/2009/12/profile-of-japans-top-university-u-of.html

16 December 2009

Profile of Japan's top university--U. of Tokyo (Toudai)

Recently Toudai dropped out of the THES-QS top 20 ranking of universities worldwide. I thought this would be a good time to run an alternative version of an earlier piece on the University of Tokyo.

---------------------------

Is University of Tokyo Japan's only world-class university?
Charles Jannuzi, University of Fukui, Japan

It is unique and elite

When the university system of Japan is compared internationally, one institution is most often cited as Japan's best example of a 'world-class' university. This is, of course, the University of Tokyo (Toukyou Daigaku' or 'Toudai' for short). Toudai is perhaps most famous for graduating and networking elite bureaucrats and politicians, including prime ministers; however, the supposed lock on leadership in top government has waned over the past two decades. For example, this century's most popular prime minister of Japan, Junichiro Koizumi, and many of his advisors were graduates of the private elite Keio University.

2. http://japanheo.blogspot.com/2009/04/end-of-japans-national-development-and.html

10 April 2009

The End of Japan's National Development State for Higher Education
Charles Jannuzi, University of Fukui, Japan

Introduction

Japan's vast higher education system has around 5,000 institutions, with the count still growing. This includes a tertiary level of about 1,300 government-certified, degree-awarding colleges and universities. Seven hundred forty-five of these are designated as 'daigaku'--a term which refers to any institution that has received government sanction to award four-year degrees equivalent to a baccalaureate. These four-year universities along with junior and technical colleges enroll close to three million undergraduate students, including about 120,000 foreign nationals, the vast majority of whom are from China.

3. http://japanheo.blogspot.com/2008/10/demographic-disaster-for-higher-ed-in.html

27 October 2008

Demographic Disaster for Higher Ed in Japan? Parts II-III
by Charles Jannuzi, University of Fukui

Introduction

In early September 2006, I gave a presentation at a conference in Langkawi, Malaysia. The conference, which focused mostly on educational management issues in higher education, was hosted by the South East Asian Association for Institutional Research (SEAAIR) and the Open University of Malaysia. My talk was titled, "Japan's Tertiary Education System: Developments in the Koizumi Era of Reform".

In the resulting paper (which was published in the proceedings of the conference), I attempted to sum up twenty years of university reform with the following:

Those two prior decades of changes in tertiary education leading
up to the creation of the NUCs [Japan's 87 national universities
were re-chartered as 'national university corporations' in 2003-4]
comprised many profound developments....:

-the establishment of a handful of new research universities and
institutes, decision-making at which flows from a central
administration....

-the expansion of graduate program and their enrollments,
including American-style professional schools of business,
law, and accounting;

-growth in doctoral and post-doctoral programs....

-a steady increase in the number of international students
hosted, to over 120,000 annually, about 25% enrolled in
graduate schools;

-more public funding of the entire tertiary sector...with a
target of 1% of GDP;

-increased funding for research (including more basic
research) to compensate for its decline in private industry...
with a target of 7-8% of annual national budgets, and a
national goal approaching 3% of GDP for ALL scientific R&D
(with national government spending accounting for 1% of GDP);

-legislative and regulatory changes that allowed the national
universities to tie up with other entities to pursue research and
expand course offerings....

-parallel changes that allowed national university academics
to serve on the boards of NPOs and for-profit corporations;

-internal and external systems of evaluation, independent of
national government certification....

4. http://japanheo.blogspot.com/2008/04/japans-tertiary-education-system.html

18 April 2008

Japan's Tertiary Education System: Developments in the Koizumi Era of Reform
Charles Jannuzi, University of Fukui, Japan

With this first JPN HEO blog post of April 2008, I am using this forum to publish an article that was delivered as a paper at the SEAAIR conference in Langkawi, Malaysia, in September 2006. It will serve as something of a retrospective on happenings in higher education during the Koizumi years of 2000-6 and the preceding years that set up the reforms of what now could be called a political era for Japan.

News posts on the demographic crisis and reasons for the failure of English education will follow in the remaining days of April.

Japan's Tertiary Education System: Developments in the Koizumi Era of Reform
by Charles Jannuzi

Abstract

This paper will survey the major developments and changes that have taken place during the past decade in Japan's tertiary education system and put them into international (comparative) and historical perspectives. It also will attempt to assess critically the impact of major reforms on the national and public universities (and the response of the more numerous private universities to these reforms as well). For example, as of 1 April 2004, Japan's 87 national universities were 'denationalized' and incorporated into 'autonomous institutions'(or 'juridical persons') giving them, at least in theory, wider discretionary powers over personnel management, teaching and research assignments, program and curriculum development. The new status was supposed to result in more local autonomy within each institution over the allocation of money for their mandated missions in teaching, conveying public services to their regions, and conducting basic and applied research in science and technology. Have such top-down reforms proven effective, and have their effects matched the government's stated intentions? It is the author's contention that, not only are the reforms a classic case of reform over-reach, but that Japan's overbuilt university system will face demographic, financial and socio-cultural crises that the current Koizumi era of reform, now coming to its close, has utterly failed to address.

5. http://japanheo.blogspot.com/2008/03/teaching-as-foreign-national-at.html

10 March 2008

Teaching as a Foreign National at Japanese Universities: Shifting Terms of Institutional Status, Employment, Work Conditions and Related Concerns
Charles Jannuzi, University of Fukui, Japan

Introduction

The Japanese tertiary system consists of some 1250 national, public, and private four- and two-year institutions. At these degree-awarding universities and colleges, the terms 'foreign lecturer' or 'foreign instructor' refer to any non-Japanese personnel teaching below the status of professor. Most typically though the terms refer to full-time foreign language teachers who are 'native speakers' of the language they teach.

The vast majority of these foreign nationals teach English as a foreign language (EFL), but the number teaching other important languages, especially Asian ones, such as Mandarin Chinese, has also risen significantly during the past two decades. The non-Japanese teaching EFL in Japan are often assigned general English classes as part or all of their teaching duties. General English refers to service course English required as part of general education requirements of tertiary education.

6. http://japanheo.blogspot.com/2008/03/from-university-research-centers-to.html

02 March 2008

From university research centers to international research hubs?
Charles Jannuzi, University of Fukui, Japan

In the post-bubble Japan of the 1990s, the private sector's ability to finance scientific research and development went into stagnation and then decline. So from 1995 on the government has pursued an expanded role in the management and funding of scientific R&D at annual levels that equal or exceed 1% of GDP. In great part this has been through the dominant role of its super-ministry, the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT) and its five-year 'Science and Technology Basic Plans'.

In order to increase public subsidy of scientific research-- while at the same time forcing research universities and research institutes to compete for funds--MEXT established a 'Centers of Excellence' program. However, this turned out to be a fairly diffuse program, paying for the construction of dozens of new research facilities all over the country at the former national universities and a handful of elite private ones. While this did a lot to help refurbish the appearance of the visibly deteriorated national universities, its actual boost to important scientific results is questionable.

7. http://japanheo.blogspot.com/2008/02/demographic-disaster-for-higher-ed-in.html

10 February 2008

Demographic Disaster for Higher Education in Japan? Part I
by Charles Jannuzi

Introduction

This will be a three-part series for the Japan HEO Blog. This first installment will be a short introduction of the series and then follow with an analysis of Anglophone news coverage of Japan. This is, after all, an English-language blog on Japan.

Part two will consist of analysis of recent articles which appeared in the FT, New York Times, Guardian and Kyodo News Service which have covered the 'demographic disaster' that is supposed to be looming over higher education in Japan. Going straight to the strong points of the argument for a disaster scenario for HE in Japan, I will try to point out some of the flaws and gaps in the analysis.

The third and final part, which will most likely appear late in March 2008 (when the single correspondent of the Japan HEO Blog doesn't have to teach classes), I will put forth a different analysis in an attempt to answer the puzzling question, "Why, if high school graduate and university-eligible populations are in steady and unrecoverable decline, is Japan building still yet more universities?" Does someone in the HE sector here know something that everyone else doesn't? Or are they delusional?

8. http://japanheo.blogspot.com/2008/02/extended-look-at-academic-freedom-in-he.html

03 February 2008

Academic freedom in Japan's higher education--a more in-depth look
by Charles Jannuzi

Introduction

Many attempts at analyzing the nature of government in post-war Japan tend to emphasize continuity with 'old' Japan and its conservative nationalism. However, such analysis does not insightfully refer to tendencies that are ancient or even old by historical standards. Instead, any connection with past rule has to be made with early modern Japan, from the start of the Meiji era (1868) to the start of the second world war.

Sweeping political, social and cultural changes in the last half of the 19th century opened up Japan to outside ideas, knowledge and technology. The Meiji Restoration of 1868 was actually a political revolution which swept away most elements of the old shogunate government and its prestige culture. New factions of elites capable of leadership and rule emerged during a time of great social unrest and change.

9. http://japanheo.blogspot.com/2008/02/pork-barrel-boondoggle-in-ryukyu.html

03 February 2008

The Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology: Pork barrel boondoggle in the Ryukyu Islands?
by Charles Jannuzi

Introduction

In December 2006, the Japanese government (at the ministry level) decided to put the construction and certification of the Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology (OIST) on a privileged fast track. The OIST was conceived in the 1990s and put forward as an official proposal in June 2002 to help mark the 30th anniversary of the reversion of Okinawa from US control to become the 48th prefecture of Japan. Its proponents within the national government and in Okinawa had hoped that the proposed institute would open for teaching and research by September 2006--or earlier. That target has long been been missed, and efforts to speed up the process have been clouded by serious oversight issues involving the specification of research program, taught curriculum, and codes and regulations. Construction of the campus, currently in progress, could also cause considerable environmental destruction because of its location in what is now a communal forest near the coast.

10. http://japanheo.blogspot.com/2008/02/japan-aims-for-world-class-universities.html

03 February 2008

Japan aims for 'world class' universities
by Charles Jannuzi

Introduction

The government of Japan is pushing for a consolidation and revitalization of the university system, formulating specific targets. Of the hundreds of universities here, 30 are supposed to emerge competitively as truly 'world-class' institutions. From amongst this group of 30, a very select group of five are supposed to attain a top 30 global ranking. And at the top of this super group of five, one of these must make it into the global top 10.

15 March 2010

A two-year retrospective on 'Japan Higher Education Outlook'

This is more or less a re-post from last month in hopes of it being found by a few more people who come in the front door and very quickly leave by the same door. So it is being re-posted to put it at the top and front of the blog for a while.
---------------------------------------------------

16 December 2009

Google Group for TEFL Forum

ELT in Japan

Visit this group

24 June 2011

TEFL FORUM: Teaching English /r/ and /l/ to EFL learners: a lexical approach (parts 1-3 final)

http://eltinjapan.blogspot.com/2011/06/teaching-english-r-and-l-to-efl.html

Teaching English /r/ and /l/ to EFL learners: a lexical approach (parts 1-3 final)
Charles Jannuzi
University of Fukui, Japan

excerpt:

Introduction

English /r/, /l/ and contrasts across these two categories of sounds are often cited as pronunciation and listening perception problems for a variety of EFL learners, most from E. Asia. The language backgrounds most often associated with these problems are Japanese, Korean, Chinese and some languages of SE Asia (e.g., Thai but also Cantonese Chinese). Other language speakers have also expressed an interest in improving their pronunciation of English /r/ and /l/, including Russian and German EFL learners.

Perhaps the most well-known group to have a problem with the two categories of sounds is Japanese EFL learners. This could be because their native language background creates the most difficult problems to overcome, both in terms of listening perception and spoken production. It could also be because Japan attained affluence before most of the rest of Asia and hired native speakers of English to help teach and model the language. So a lot of information based on knowledge and experience of Japanese and Japanese learners of EFL has been exchanged and discussed in 'global ELT'.

Rest of article here:
http://eltinjapan.blogspot.com/2011/06/teaching-english-r-and-l-to-efl.html

02 February 2010

TEFL Forum: ELT - J Issue #2 Preview (First issue of 2010)

02 February 2010

ELT - J Issue #2 Preview (First issue of 2010)

Issue 2 of ELT in Japan will consist of four articles:

1. Teaching English [l] sounds vs. [r] sounds: Integrating applied phonology into the EFL classroom

2. Devising multiple-choice questions, quizzes and tests

3. Semantic mapping activities for the speaking class

4. Semantic mapping activities for the writing class

Issue 2 of ELT in Japan is scheduled to be published before the end of February 2010.

Meanwhile, if you haven't already, check out issue 1, which was published in December 2009.

http://eltinjapan.blogspot.com/2009/12/elt-in-japan-issue-1-december-2009.html

08 December 2009

New post, new series--TEFL Forum

Most foreign nationals working at universities and colleges in Japan will find themselves asked to do language-related tasks--translation, copy editing and proofreading, language and cultural informant, etc. But the number one task is 'foreign language teaching', most popularly 'English language teaching'. Indeed, that is the number reason why so many 'English native speakers' are hired to work at this level, even when the official reason is to teach a speciality.

With all that in mind, I'd like to start a new series or regular type of article here at Japan HEO Blog covering language teaching. We have already featured some ELT-related articles here. Before we kick off the new series (with an article on teaching pronunciation in the communicative classroom), let's review what those previous articles are and where you can find them quickly if you have not yet read or at least skimmed them. The following list is of the original content, not the linked newspaper articles that relate to ELT:

http://japanheo.blogspot.com/2009/09/do-japanese-efl-students-need-katakana.html

http://japanheo.blogspot.com/2009/09/breaking-down-theory-vs-practice.html

http://japanheo.blogspot.com/2009/06/why-is-research-in-elttefltesolalsla-so.html

http://japanheo.blogspot.com/2009/04/ten-reaons-why-english-education-in.html

http://japanheo.blogspot.com/2008/03/teaching-as-foreign-national-at.html

Next we will post a link to an article that is about 'phonological models', downloadable in pdf (you need Adobe Acrobat Reader). Then we will follow with an article about teaching pronunciation (as 'applied phonology and phonetics') in relatively large EFL classes at a university in Japan.

14 February 2010

TEFL Forum: ELT - J Issue #2 Preview Articles: (1) Multiple Choice Questions and (2) Semantic Mapping for English Conversation Class

ELT - J Issue #2 Preview Articles: (1) Multiple Choice Questions and (2) Semantic Mapping for English Conversation Class

ELT - J Issue #2 Preview Article: Devising Multiple-choice Questions, Quizzes and Tests
Issue 2 of ELT in Japan will consist of four articles: (1) "Teaching English [l] sounds vs. [r] sounds: Integrating applied phonology into the EFL classroom"; (2) "Devising multiple-choice questions, quizzes and tests"; (3) "Semantic mapping activities for the speaking class"; and (4)"Semantic mapping activities for the writing class".
Here is a preview of Issue #2 with two of the articles in draft form:

1. Devising multiple-choice questions, quizzes and tests

http://eltinjapan.blogspot.com/2010/02/elt-j-issue-2-preview-article-devising.html

2. Semantic mapping activities for the speaking class

http://eltinjapan.blogspot.com/2010/02/elt-j-issue-2-preview-article-semantic.html

18 February 2010

TEFL Forum: "ELT in Japan" Issue #1 in downloadable form - bonus article

'ELT in Japan' Issue #1 (Dec. 2009) in PDF - Bonus Article

ELT in Japan Issue #1 featured seven articles.

Here is a bonus article that is longer than a typical ELT-J piece. It provides more background, graphics and resources to two of the features of issue #1. They are:

1. Writing Systems: Positive transfer or negative interference for EFL learning?

and

2. Do Japanese EFL students need katakana eigo to learn and to read English?

The bonus article is available at the link below in read-only .pdf which you can also download and read in Adobe Acrobat Reader.

An abstract is also provided here.

Can Native Literacy Practices Impact EFL Learning? The Example of Japan

Charles Jannuzi, University of Fukui, Japan

Abstract

Katakana eigo is a Japanese term referring to English rendered into a written form that uses one of the two syllabaries of written Japanese. On the one hand, it aids a legitimate process: the borrowing and subsequent nativization of terms from English into Japanese. On the other hand, its use in EFL teaching and learning (because of its cross-lingual, L2 to L1 orientation) may well hinder literacy and language development in the L2. In this paper, the author looks at why katakana eigo is used in the EFL learning in Japan. The reasons center most on teachers' and learners' responses to the complex nature of the writing system of English. The author then goes on to cover katakana eigo in relation to the pedagogical stances possible. Finally, the author lists and describes methods and activities that could help to make katakana eigo and other such graphic translation 'crutches' unnecessary in the EFL classroom in Japan (and in other countries where non-alphabetic writing systems are used.

Can Native Literacy Practices Impact EFL Learning? The Example of Japan

01 March 2010

TEFL Forum: ELT-J Issue #2 (March 2010)

Note: the previously proposed article on pronunciation will run as a two-part series (preview) at the ELT-J homepage and will then be re-published in final form in ELT-J Issue #3. The entire issue #2 of ELT-J will be made available later this month in downloadable .pdf. Watch for future posts.

01 March 2010

ELT-J Issue #2 (March 2010)

ELT in Japan Issue 2 (March 2010)

Contents

(1) Devising multiple-choice questions, quizzes and tests
(2) Semantic mapping activities for the speaking class
(3) Semantic mapping activities for the writing class

17 December 2009

16 December 2009

19 February 2010

18 August 2010

02 November 2010

17 December 2009

17 February 2010

30 September 2010

27 February 2010

01 September 2010

27 August 2010

19 February 2010

15 March 2010

16 December 2009

24 June 2011

02 February 2010

02 February 2010

08 December 2009

14 February 2010

18 February 2010

01 March 2010

Note: the previously proposed article on pronunciation will run as a two-part series (preview) at the ELT-J homepage and will then be re-published in final form in ELT-J Issue #3. The entire issue #2 of ELT-J will be made available later this month in downloadable .pdf. Watch for future posts.

01 March 2010

02 March 2010

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