ESL Magazine Issue 68 (March-April 2009)

8/10/2019 ESL Magazine Issue 68 (March-April 2009)

1/36

March/April 2009Issue 68

Plus

News Briefs

Conference Calendar

Letters

Reviews

THE INFORMATION SOURCE FOR ESL/EFL PROFESSIONALS WORLDWIDE

Teaching Reading in

a Second Language

Captioning Comprehension: Using

Movies in the ESL Classroom

The Shyness Myth: Questioning

Student Stereotypes

Integrating Information Technology

in Learning and Teaching EFL inSaudi Arabia


2/36


3/36ESL MAGAZINE March/April 2009 3

Number 68 March/April 2009

ESL Magazine is the leading magazine for teachers of American English and

ESL/EFL professionals worldwide. Drawing from decades of diverse ESL/EFL

experience, top educators and other professionals keep our readers informed

of the latest news, trends, methods, products and services that matter to

ESL/EFL professionals. Each issue contains relevant and timely features

and department articles relating to the K-12, college and adult levels. If you

find this combination to be an asset to your profession, spread the word!

Questions can be sent to [email protected]

FREE RESOURCES

FOR TEACHERS AT

WWW.ESLMAG.COM

Contents

Departments4 Editorial

6 News Briefs

8 Conference Calendar

34 Reviews

Features10 Teaching Reading in a Second Language

Beatrice S. Mikulecky

18 Captioning Comprehension: Using Movies in the

ESL Classroom

Majid Hayati

22 The Shyness Myth: Questioning Student

Stereotypes

Christian Burrows

28 Integrating Information Technology in Learning

and Teaching EFL in Saudi Arabia

Yousef H. Al-Maini

SUBSCRIBEonline at www.eslmag.com


4/364 www.eslmag.com

Breaking Down Barriers to

English Language Learning

The spring issue of ESL Magazine features articlesfrom educators working in the U.S. and around theworld. The challenges to learning that they confrontand the solutions they offer illustrate the common threadsthat bind together ESL teachers working in all corners of the

global village.

Effective reading is essential for success in acquiring a

second language. It forms the core of instruction in all aspects

of language learning: using textbooks for language courses, writing, revising, developing

vocabulary, acquiring grammar, editing, and using computer-assisted language learning

programs. Reading instruction, therefore, is an essential component of every second-language

curriculum and in our lead article (Teaching Reading in a Second Language) Beatrice S.

Mikulecky reveals some important facts about reading, literacy, and teaching methods that

are indispensable in providing effective instruction in reading

Hollywood has long provided an impetus for English language learners to hone their

linguistic skills. In fact, many non-native speakers say that they acquired idiomatic English

from repeated viewing of their favorite icks. But ESL teachers face a dilemma when choosing

a movie to show to their students: L2 subtitled movies? L1 subtitled movies? Or movieswithout subtitles? In Captioning Comprehension: Using Movies in the ESL Classroom

Majid Hayati examines the pros and cons of each choice so that teachers can determine

which type of presentation will be of most aid to improving the listening comprehension of

their students.

Asian EFL students are commonly regarded by their teachers as being shy, reticent,

and quiet. As a result teachers fall into the trap of labeling students for no other purpose than

to reinforce a certain stereotype. In The Shyness Myth: Questioning Student Stereotypes,

Christian Burrows analyzes teacher-student interactions in the Asian EFL classroom and

concludes that when teachers understand the reasons behind this apparent shyness, then they

will be able to adjust their methodology to overcome perceived barriers.

The power of Communication Technology (ICT) to improve education is vast and many

countries, including Saudi Arabia, are keen to adopt this technology in their education

systems. However, in order to take advantage of ICT, educators and planners need to consider

a few essential issues including those of access, availability, and funding. In Integrating

Information Technology in Learning and Teaching EFL in Saudi Arabia, Yousef H. Al-

Maini discusses these challenges with particular reference to teaching and learning English

as a foreign language in the Saudi context.

We hope you enjoy this issue of ESL Magazine and look forward to hearing your

comments regarding articles and other magazine content.

ED I TOR I A L

The information source for

ESL/EFLprofessionals worldwide

ESL MAGAZINE

Editor

BENWARD

Contributing Editors

YOUSEF H. AL-MAINI

CHRISTIAN BURROWS

MAJID HAYATI

BEATRICE S. MIKULECKY

Book Reviews

LYNN OLCOTT

Design

MATRIXPRINTCONSULTANTSLTD

KEYWAYSPUBLISHING

(PARTOFTHEOLM GROUP)

Publisher

TONYGREVILLE

Editorial Director

PETERCOLLIN

Advertising Sales

SOPHIEDICKSON

tel:312-283-3756

[email protected]

Subscription Information

To subscribe, contact:

Keyways Publishing

tel: 312 283 3756

www.eslmag.com

[email protected]

To subscribe outside the USA contact:

Keyways Publishing

tel:+44 (0)1243 576444

fax:+44 (0)1243 576456

ESL Magazine is published bimonthlyby Keyways Publishing

444 North Michigan Avenue,

12th Floor, Chicago, IL 60611

tel:312-283-3756

[email protected] www.eslmag.com

ISSN:1098-6553

ESL Magazine is indexed with ERIC.

All text, logo & magazine title 2009

Keyways Publishing Ltd

Printed by Matrix Print Consultants Ltd.

email: [email protected]


5/365ESL MAGAZINE March/April 2009


6/36


7/367



Planner

March 2009

< 31-4. 43rd IATEFL (International Association

of Teachers of English as a Foreign Language)

Annual International Conference and

Exhibition, Cardiff City Hall and Museum,

Cardiff, Wales.

Website: www.iate.org/content/conferences/

index.php

April 2009

< 4. 12th ATEL (Association of Teachers of

English in Lebanon) Annual Conference,

Stretching Educational Boundaries in a

Changing World, Lebanon.

Email: [email protected]

< 10-11. The Asian EFL Journal and Linguistics

Journal Conference, The Multiple Roles of

the EFL Teacher, Grand Hotel, Pusan, South

Korea.

Website: www.asian-e-journal.com/

conf_2009_schedule.php

< 13-17. AERA (American Educational Research

Association) Annual Meeting, Disciplined

Inquiry: Education Research in the Circle of

Knowledge, San Diego Convention Center,

San Diego, California.

Website: www.aera.net

< 15-18. 32nd Sunshine State TESOL Annual

Convention, Miami Marriott Biscayne Bay Hotel

and Marina, Miami, Florida.

Website: www.sunshine-tesol.org

< 16-19. CATESOL (California Teachers of English

to Speakers of Other Languages) Annual State

Conference, Whole Learner, Whole Teacher,

Pasadena Convention Center, Hilton Pasadena,

& Sheraton Pasadena, Pasadena, California.

Website: www.catesol2009.org

< 18-19. 5th International Seminar, Teaching English

in Multilingual Contexts: Current Challenges, FutureDirections, Centre of English Language, Aga Khan

University Institute for Educational Development,

Aga Khan University Auditorium, Stadium Road

Campus, Karachi, Pakistan.

Website: www.aku.edu/events/cel2009

< 22-24. PELLTA (Penang English Language

Learning & Teaching Association, Matters :

New Ways of Looking at English Language

Teaching & Learning, Bayview Hotel,

Georgetown, Penang, Malaysia.

Website: http://eltcon.webs.com

< 25-29. 2nd International ELT Conference,

Deep Into ELT: Transforming Our Knowledge to

Innovations, Fatih University, Istanbul, Turkey.

Website: http://elt.fatih.edu.tr

< 30-2. CCAE (California Council for Adult

Education) Annual State Conference, Adult

Education...Changing Lives Every Day!

Pasadena Hilton Hotel, Pasadena, California.

Website: www.ccaestate.org/ccae_news.

html#2009_state_conference

May 2009

< 1-2. 22nd UC LMRI (University of California

Linguistic Minority Research Institute) Annual

Conference, The Preparation of Teachers

of English Learners, University of California

Riverside, California. Website: www.lmri.ucsb.

edu/events/09_conf.php

< 1-3. 3rd Brazilian Bilingual Schools

Conference, Improving & Dening Brazilian

Bilingual Programs, Bilingual EducationCenter, Escola Cidade Jardim - Play Pen,

Praa Professor Amrico de Moura, 101, So

Paulo SP, Brazil.

Website:www.playpen.com.br/registro

< 3-6. National Association of State Directors of

Migrant Education (NADSME) Annual National

Migrant Education Conference, We can. We

will. We must. Podemos. Haremos. Debemos,

Marriott Rivercenter and Riverwalk Hotels, San

Antonio, Texas.

Website: www.nasdme.org

< 3-7. 54th IRA (International Reading Association)

Annual Convention North Central, Beyond

the Horizon, Minneapolis Convention Center,

Minneapolis, Minnesota.

Website: www.reading.org/association/meetings/annual_mn.html

< 7-8. MATSOL (Massachusetts Association of

Teachers of Speakers of Other Languages)

Annual Conference, Multiple Literacies:

Launching English Language Learners into a

New Era, Sheraton Four Points, Leominster,

Massachusetts.

Website: www.matsol.org


9/36



Teaching Reading in a

Second LanguageEffective reading is essential for success in acquiring a second language. Understanding

some important facts about reading, literacy, and teaching methods is essential for providing

effective instruction in reading, writes Beatrice S. Mikulecky.

Reading is the basis of instruction in

all aspects of language learning: using

textbooks for language courses, writing,

revising, developing vocabulary, acquiringgrammar, editing, and using computer-

assisted language learning programs.

Reading instruction, therefore, is an

essential component of every second-

language curriculum.

What is Reading?Reading is a conscious and unconscious

thinking process. The reader applies many

strategies to reconstruct the meaning that

the author is assumed to have intended. The

reader does this by comparing information in

the text to his or her background knowledge

and prior experience.

A reader approaches a text with a huge

store of prior knowledge and experience,

including preconceptions about the uses

of spoken and written language. All of a

persons prior knowledge, experience,

and values are organized in categories,

or schemata. Each category, or schema,

is connected to many other schemata in

a complex mental network. As he or she

notices particular ideas or facts in a text,

the reader matches that information with

background knowledge and is able toconstruct a version of the texts meaning.

Researchers in text comprehension have

applied an information-processing analogy

to understanding how people think,

learn, and remember what they read.

When a person reads, two aspects of this

human information processing system

continuously interact. When the reader

focuses primarily on what he or she already

knows, this is called a concept-driven or

top-down mode. On the other hand,

when the reader relies primarily on textual

features and information to comprehend,

this is called a data-driven or bottom-

up mode (Kintsch and van Dijk 1978;

Rumelhart and Ortony 1977; Winograd1977; Rumelhart 1980). In other words,

the reader is constantly noticing parts of

the text and comparing that sample with

what he or she already knows. The diagram

below shows how the reader continuously

and simultaneously employs both top-down

and bottom-up processes while reading.

The diagram shows that the reader (top

of diagram) samples the text (bottom of

diagram) and instantaneously (and usually

unconsciously) compares what he or she

notices in the text with what he or she

already knows, trying to nd a match.The textual information activates prior

knowledge, and the prior knowledge, in

turn, activates expectations about what is

in the text. This primarily unconscious,

interactive process continues until the reader

is satised with the match between text and

prior knowledge, and comprehension has

occurred. (AHA!)

Readers rst language and mental

schemata, however, determine what they

notice in a text and how they apply the

mental schemata to that information, and

second language readers mental schemata

are based on their rst language and cultural

background. This means that what second-

language readers notice in the text and how

they interpret it will vary due to differing

expectations about language structure and

cultural attitudes toward literacy.

It is important to clarify the relationship

between reading and literacy, since researchhas shown that they are not the same thing.

In fact, the denitions and uses of literacy

vary culturally, and the cultural contexts

of literacy are the underpinnings of the

acquisition and use of reading and writing.

Reader processes text in light of mental schemata:

Background knowledge

Knowledge about language and literacy

Cultural values and beliefs

Text provides new data to be processed:

The shapes and sounds of the letters

The meaning of words/phrases

Grammatical information

AHA!

The reader matches

the data and a schema.

Comprehension!



What is literacy?Literacy is a set of attitudes and beliefs

about the ways of using spoken and written

language that are acquired in the course of a

persons socialization into a specic cultural

context.

Language and culture cannot be separated.

Language knowledge and thinking patterns

are socially constructed within a cultural

setting, and each language/culture fosters its

own way of understanding the world. In other

words, each culture fosters the development of

different schemata of the world. That is why

readers from two different cultural backgrounds

can read the same text and construct very

different models of what the text means. They

have different schemata (different background

knowledge), different expectations about how

a text should present information, and different

ways of creating meaning.

Consequently, teachers cannot assume that

students who are good readers in their native

language can simply apply successfully the

same skills to reading in English. Reading

in English requires a set of thinking skills

and attitudes that grow out of the spoken

and written use of the English language.

Teaching reading in standard English to

second-language learners and other limited

English procient students means helping

them acquire the literate behaviors, the ways

of thinking about text, that are practiced by

native speakers of English. In fact, learning

to read and comprehend a second language

requires learning a secondary literacy:

alternative cultural interpretations, cultural

beliefs about language and discourse, and

culture-specic formal and content schemata.

It is important to realize that learning to read

effectively in a second language literally

alters the learners cognitive structures and

values orientations.

Teaching Reading: Applying

Theory and Research to Practice

We can conclude, therefore, that second-language students need to learn to think

in English in order to read effectively in

English. Reading instruction needs to be

based on training ESL and EFL students

in new ways of talking and thinking about

texts. In teaching reading, instructors need to

take into account the following conclusions

and recommendations of educational

researchers.

Cognitive psychologists have shown in their

research that students learn new strategies

or thinking processes most effectively when

they are consciously aware of what they are

doing (Brown, Armbruster, and Baker, 1986).

Once students are conscious of the processes,

they can monitor their comprehension and

apply appropriate strategies as needed for

comprehending a text (Brown, 1978).

Interacting and talking about text in

particular ways is essential (Casanave 1988).

Heath (1984), Vygotsky (1962), and others

found that students develop literate skills

when teachers encourage them to talk about

written language, when teachers model

comprehension strategies for them, and whenstudents have opportunities to talk to each

other about how they make sense of a text

(Hoffman and Heath, 1986).

Research has also shown that literacy is not

a neutral technology, but is, in fact, a cultural

artifact laden with the values and beliefs of

the culture in which it arises (Street, 1984;

Cook-Gumperz, 1986). Ones native language

literacy (or primary Discourse, as Gee terms

it) is acquired from birth by being socialized

into the native language and the local cultures

ways of using language. Literate behaviors

grow out of the spoken and written languagepractices of a local culture. And according

to Gee, serving as an apprentice to a native

is the way one acquires a new literacy, or

secondary Discourse. (Schiefelin and Ochs,

1986; Gee, 1996).

Research also conrms that students must

read faster and with more uency if they wish

to read effectively (Eskey, 1986; Anderson,

2005). Faster reading promotes reading in

thought units instead of one word at a time,

and that leads to improved comprehension.

Reading

instruction needs

to be based on

training ESL and

EFL students

in new ways

of talking andthinking about

texts.



Krashen (1985) posited that the best way to

improve reading is by reading. In recent years,

research and practice have validated that idea

(Day and Bamford, 1998). The benets of

extensive reading include uency, vocabulary

acquisition, awareness of grammar, models

for writing, and an immersion in the culture

of the second or foreign language.

Finding effective methods of promoting

second-language vocabulary acquisition

seemed, for many years, to be an impossible

goal. Thanks to recent work by Nation

(2001), Coxhead (2000), Cobb, and others,

word frequency lists are available that will

allow teachers to focus on the words that will

be the most useful for their students. Nations

approach combines direct instruction,

extensive reading, and multiple exposures to

the same words by any means necessary to

promote learning.

In order to read well in English, then, students

need to do the following:

1. Develop a schema of the reading process

that includes the idea that reading is more

than translatingreading is thinking.

2. Talk about their reading, and explain how

they make sense of a text.

3. Read extensively for pleasure in English,

and discuss their reading with someone

who can model the literate behaviors

expected in an English-language context.

4. Break the habit of reading every word byreading faster.

5. Learn to vary their reading rate to suit

their purpose in reading.

6. Employ top-down processes effectively

by learning to make connections between

what they already know and what they

are reading.

7. Learn reading and thinking skills

that uent readers of English employ

unconsciously to strengthen both top-

down and bottom-up processing abilities.

8. Enhance bottom-up processing by

acquiring the most useful vocabulary

and by learning strategies for guessing

meaning in context.

9. Master the basic 2,000 words that

constitute approximately 80 percent of

texts in English.

10. Acquire specic reading comprehension

skills they can apply strategically.

Putting this all together, it is clear that

students will learn to read in English best in

a class that includes, on a regular basis, the

following components:

Substantial amounts of extensive reading

for pleasure, with opportunities for

talking about their books with people

who can model the literate skills requiredin English-language contexts.

Focused, interactive lessons on specic

reading skills, with opportunities for

students to explain their thinking, and

direct instruction on applying the skills

strategically to a variety of texts.

Training and practice in uency

development (skimming, scanning,

previewing) and reading rate

improvement.

Vocabulary activities that include direct

instruction in high-frequency words,

multiple opportunities for exposure to

and manipulation of the target words, and

plenty of extensive reading.

Extensive readingExtensive reading is a highly individualized

approach to reading improvement. Students

select their own books and read at their own

pace. The teacher should guide students to

select books at a level of comprehension that

allows for comprehensible input (Krashen).

The emphasis is on the quantity of books read

and the students enjoyment of their books.

Students are never tested formally on their

extensive reading. However, they are required

to talk about the books they read in structured

activities, including book conferences with

the teacher, brief oral reports to the class,and discussions in small group settings. Day

and Bamford (1998) have documented the

benets of extensive reading, which include:

Development of a positive attitude toward

reading in a second language.

Motivation to read more.

Increased reading uency.

Gains in vocabulary and grammar

knowledge.

Improvement in writing in the second

language.

According to Day and Bamford, extensive

reading can be included in a second-language

curriculum as a separate course; as part of

an existing reading course; as a non-credit

addition to an existing course; and as an

extracurricular activity (p. 41, 1998).

Reading skillsReading skills are the cognitive processes that

a reader uses in making sense of a text. For

Finding effective

methods of

promoting

second-languagevocabulary

acquisition

seemed, for many

years, to be an

impossible goal.



Every language

requires a different

repertoire of

reading skills,based on the

structure of the

language and the

literacy habits

of the native

speakers of that

language. ESL

and EFL teachers,

therefore, should

train students

in the skills that

will give them

the power tocomprehend in

English.

uent readers, most of the reading skills are

employed unconsciously and automatically.

When confronted with a challenging text,

uent readers apply these skills consciously

and strategically in order to comprehend.

Every language requires a different repertoire

of reading skills, based on the structure of

the language and the literacy habits of thenative speakers of that language. ESL and

EFL teachers, therefore, should train students

in the skills that will give them the power to

comprehend in English. As Brown and others

pointed out, learning a new thinking process

is best accomplished when the learner is

consciously aware of the process, and an

approach to teaching reading skills should

take that into account. In fact, the more

students talk about their thinking processes,

the more they learn.

Many teachers believe that they can teach

reading skills by instructing students to

read a text and then showing them how to

apply a variety of skills to the text for better

comprehension. It is more effective for

students, however, to focus on one reading

skill at a time and talk about their application

of that skill in a number of text samples.

Eventually, students will be able to apply the

skill unconsciously so that they can call it up

to consciousness and apply it strategically

whenever they face a challenging text.

Reading skills1. Automatic decoding. Being able to

recognize a word at a glance.

2. Previewing and predicting. Giving the

text a quick once-over to be able to guess

what is to come.

3. Specifying purpose. Knowing why a text

is being read.

4. Identifying genre. Knowing the nature of

the text in order to predict the form and

content.

5. Questioning. Asking questions in an inner

dialog with the author.

6. Scanning. Looking through a text very

rapidly for specic information.

7. Recognizing topics. Finding out what the

text is about.

8. Classication of ideas into main topics

and details. Categorizing words and

ideas on the basis of their relationships;

distinguishing general and specic.

9. Locating topic sentences. Identifying the

general statement in a paragraph.

10. Stating the main idea (or thesis) of a

sentence, paragraph or passage. Knowing

what the authors point is about the

topic.

11. Recognizing patterns of relationships.

Identifying the relationships between

ideas; the overall structure of the text.

12. Identifying and using words that signal

the patterns of relationships between

ideas. Being able to see connections

between ideas by the use of words such

as rst, then, later.

13. Inferring the main idea, using patterns

and other clues.

14. Recognizing and using pronouns,

referents, and other lexical equivalents as

clues to cohesion.

15. Guessing the meaning of unknown words

from the context. Using such clues as

knowledge of word parts, syntax, and

relationship patterns.

16. Skimming. Quickly getting the gist or

overview of a passage or book.

17. Paraphrasing. Re-stating texts in the

readers own words in order to monitor

ones own comprehension.

18. Summarizing. Shortening material by

retaining and re-stating main ideas and

leaving out details.

19. Drawing conclusions. Putting together

information from parts of the text and

inducing new or additional ideas.

20. Drawing inferences and using evidence.

Using evidence in the text to know things

that are unstated.

21. Visualizing. Picturing, or actually drawing

a picture or diagram, of what is described

in the text.

22. Reading critically. Judging the accuracyof a passage with respect to what the

reader already knows; distinguishing fact

from opinion.

23. Reading faster. Reading fast enough to

allow the brain to process the input as

ideas rather than single words.

24. Adjusting reading rate according to

materials and purpose. Being able to

choose the speed and stategies needed

for the level of comprehension desired by

the reader. (Mikulecky, 1990)


15/3615

An approach to teaching reading

skills1. Focus on one skill at a time.

2. Explain the purpose of working on this

skill, and convince the students of its

importance in reading effectively.

3. Work on an example of using the skill

with the whole class. Explain your

thinking aloud as you do the exercise.

4. Assign students to work in pairs on an

exercise where they practice using the

same skill. Require them to explain their

thinking to each other as they work.

5. Discuss students answers with thewhole class. Ask them to explain how

they got their answers. Encourage polite

disagreement, and require explanations

of any differences in their answers.

6. In the same class, and also in the next few

classes, assign individuals to work on more

exercises that focus on the same skill with

increasing complexity. Instruct students

to work in pairs whenever feasible.

7. Ask individual students to complete an

exercise using the skill to check their

own ability and condence in using it.

8. In future lessons, lead the students to

apply the skill, as well as previously

mastered skills, to a variety of texts.

Reading FluencyReading uency can be dened as reading

fast with good comprehension and adjusting

the reading rate to suit the purpose for

reading. It is important to note that reading

uency does not refer to oral reading,

however, because it is possible for someone

to read a passage aloud uently and not

comprehend it at all. Fluency in silent

reading promotes improved comprehension

by allowing the student to read for ideas

rather than for individual words.

Studies have indicated that training in reading

uency should constitute about 25 percent

of instructional time (Anderson 2005). In

addition to improving reading comprehension,

uency will help ESL/EFL students in

academic settings who are unable to keep up

with their reading assignments, often a cause

of failing a course or dropping out of college.

Taking too much time in the rst reading of

an assignment means there is not enough time

for reecting on and reviewing the reading

materials. Reading slowly during a test often

means not being able to nish it. Fluency

training should include:

Practice with timed reading passages

followed by comprehension questions.

Lessons in such skills as scanning

and skimming that help students learn

how to move their eyes quickly and

purposefully over a text.

Opportunities for large quantities of

extensive reading.

Vocabulary developmentReading comprehension depends on

vocabulary knowledge and vice versa.

The more students read, the better their

vocabulary becomes. And the more

vocabulary they know, the better they can

read. The question for teachers and second-

language students, however, was always,

Which words should the students learn?

Thanks to research in corpus linguistics,

teachers have a good source for the most

important words to teach rst. According to

Nation, about 2,000 high-frequency words

constitute 80 percent of all texts in English.

Students who master those 2,000 words,

therefore, are well on their way to being

able to comprehend texts in English. And

for students in academic settings, Coxhead

(2000) has published a list of 570 high-

frequency words (the Academic Word List),

which students should also learn. Students

can learn these 2,570 words through acombination of direct instruction and self-

study in a relatively short time.

According to Nation (2001), direct

teaching of vocabulary should constitute

about 25 percent of a vocabulary program.

Instruction should be planned so that the

students encounter a new word at least

seven or more times in meaningful contexts.

To motivate students, it is important to

explain the usefulness of mastering the

high-frequency words and how that will

improve reading comprehension. In addition

to direct instruction, teachers can do a lot

to enhance vocabulary building. They can

teach students how to:

Study and learn words effectively.

Choose new words they want to learn.

Use a dictionary.

Keep a vocabulary notebook with

sentences, syllable break-downs, and

denitions.

Make and use word study cards.

ESL MAGAZINE March/April 2009



Extensive reading,

comprehension

skills, reading

fluency, andvocabulary

building these

four components

clearly overlap,

as they should,

because they

are all an integral

part of the

development of

effective second-

language reading.

Review their word study cards alone,

with a partner, and in class

Use Web pages, such as www.lextutor.

ca, to fnd out more about words and

collocation from concordances.

Conclusion

Extensive reading, comprehension skills,reading uency, and vocabulary building

these four components clearly overlap, as

they should, because they are all an integral

part of the development of effective second-

language reading.

References

Anderson, Neil J. (2005). Fluency in L2

Reading and Speaking. TESOL 2005

colloquium.

Birch, Barbara M. (2002). English L2

Reading: Getting to the Bottom. Mahwah,NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.

Brown, A. L. (1978). Knowing When,

Where, and How to Remember: A Problem of

Metacognition. In R. Glaser (ed.) Advances

in Instructional Psychology. Hillsdale, NJ:

Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.

Brown, A. L., Armbruster, B. B. and Baker,

L. (1986). The Role of Metacognition in

Reading and Studying. In J. Orasanu, (ed.),

Reading Comprehension: From Research to

Practice. Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum

Associates.

Casanave, C. P. (1988). Adding

communication to the ESL reading class.

TESOL Newsletter Vol. XII (3).

Cobb, Tom. Research. The Compleat Lexical

Tutor. http://www.lextutor. ca.

Cook-Gumperz, J. (ed.) (1986). The Social

Construction of Literacy. Cambridge:

Cambridge University Press.

Coxhead, A. (2000). A New Academic Word

List. TESOL Quarterly, Vol. 34 (2): 213-238.

Day, R. & Bamford, J. (1998). Extensive

Reading in the Second Language Classroom.Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

Eskey, D. (1986). Theoretical Foundations.

In F. Dubin, D. Eskey, and W. Grabe (eds.),

Teaching Second Language Reading

for Academic Purposes. Reading, MA:

Addison-Wesley.

Gee, J. P (1996). Social Linguistics and

Literacies: Ideology in Discourse. 2d. Ed.

Bristol, PA: Taylor and Francis, Inc.

Heath, S. B. (1984). Literacy or literate skills:

Considerations for ESL/EFL learners. In P.

Larson, E. L Judd, and D. S. Messerschmitt

(eds.), On TESOL 84. Washington, DC:

TESOL.

Hoffman, D. M. and Heath, S. B. (1986).

Inside Learners. Stanford University,

Stanford, CA.

Johnston, P. H. (1983). Reading

Comprehension Assessment: A CognitiveBasis. Newark, DE: International Reading

Association.

Kintsch, W. and Van Dijk, T. A. (1978). Toward

a model of text comprehension and production.

Psychology Review Vol. 85 (5): 363-394.

Koda, K. (2004). Insights into Second Language

Reading: A Cross-Linguistic Approach.

Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

Krashen, S. (1985). Insights and Inquiries.

Hayward, CA: Alemany Press.

Mikulecky, Beatrice S. (1990). A Short Course

in Teaching Reading Skills. Longman.

Nation, I. S. P. (2001). Learning Vocabulary

in Another Language. Cambridge University

Press.

Rumelhart, D. E. (1980). Schemata:

The building blocks of cognition. In. R.

J. Spiro, B. C. Bruce, and W. F. Brewer

(eds.). Theoretical Issues in Reading

Comprehension. Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence

Erlbaum Associates.

Rumelhart, D. E. and Ortony, A. (1977). The

representation of knowledge in memory.

In R. C. Anderson, R. J. Spiro, and W.E. Montague, (eds.), Schooling and the

Acquisition of Knowledge.

Hillsdale, NJ. Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.

Schiefelin, B. and Ochs, E. (1986).

Language Socialization. Annual Review of

Anthropology. Vol. 15: 163-191.

Street, B. (1984). Literacy in Theory and

Practice. Cambridge: Cambridge University

Press.

Vygotsky, L. S. (1962). Thought and

Language. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.

Beatrice Mikuleckyholds a masters degree in

TESOL and a doctorate in Applied Psycholinguistics

from Boston University. In addition to teaching

reading, writing, and ESL, she has worked as a

teacher-trainer in the Harvard University Summer

ESL Program, in the Simmons College MATESL

Program, and in Moscow, Russia. She is the

author of A Short Course in Teaching Reading

Skills and co-author of the Reading Power series.

This article is published with permission of Pearson

Longman ESL, White Plains, NY.



IntroductionIn recent years, English language teachers

have begun to use movies in their classes

at different levels. But they have to decidewhether they should show a lm with or

without subtitles and in what language.

They also need to think about in what way

will the presentation benet their students

most in relation to listening comprehension.

Richards and Gordon (2004) maintain that the

employment of video enables learners to use

visual information to enhance comprehension.

It allows learners to observe the gestures,

facial expressions and other aspects of body

language that accompany speech. It presents

authentic language as well as cultural

information about speakers of English.

Although a widespread view on audio

comprehension held that both target-language

captions and native-language subtitles

were anathema to developing listening

comprehension (Robin, 2007), a group of

studies focusing exclusively on L2 subtitling

has looked at its effects on comprehension,

language recall and retention (Kikuchi; King;

Weyer; Ryan,; Meskill; Kothari, Pandey, and

Chudgar). Until recently, however, the use of

lms in teaching English has been downplayed

because teachers felt they were time-consuming

and too difcult to tackle. Yet with the spread

of video equipment and audiovisual resources

into educational institutions, the use of lms

is becoming more common (Canning-Wilson;

Secules, Herron & Tomessello; Balatova).

In my own experience of teaching listening to

Persian learners of English, I found on several

occasions that motivation in communicating

with the content of the lm in general and the

idea of listening in particular was encouraged.

In one class, the learners even asked if they

could take some subtitled movies to watch athome so that they could keep in touch with the

atmosphere of learning English. I remember

one student who said it was quite difcult

for him to understand all the words, phrases,

and sentences uttered by the characters of the

lm. He continued, I would like to get what

the characters mean by what they say. More

Captioning Comprehension:

Using Movies in the ESL ClassroomTeachers face a dilemma when choosing a movie to show to their English language learningstudents: L2 subtitled movies? L1 subtitled movies? Or movies without subtitles? Majid

Hayati examines the choices and explains which type of presentation will be of most aid to

listening comprehension.

Watching subtitled

movies requires

a fair mastery

of reading. It

develops both fast

reading and recalland retention

of the structure

especially if used

with other skills

such as speaking

and writing.



than that, there seem to be some idioms

and expressions which I miss during the

listening task. I am very much interested in

using them in my daily conversations with

my friends and classmates.

Watching subtitled movies requires a fair

mastery of reading. It develops both fast

reading and recall and retention of thestructure especially if used with other skills

such as speaking and writing. The choice of

the language to be used as captioning should

be of concern to the teacher who should base

his or her decision on the likes and dislikes

of the class itself. There is no xed rule for

selecting the type of captioning to be used

with non-native learners of English. Even

native-speaking students, such as those

majoring in elds such as Chemistry, Physics,

etc. who deal with technical terms may enjoy

watching subtitled lms of different types

(imaginary, documentary, etc.).

The teacher can design a syllabus based on

which s/he intends to teach, for example,

idiomatic expressions. Next, s/he might

decide to concentrate learners attention on

the various ways greetings are used according

to a specic situation. After making sure of

the learners mastery of the items, the teacher

may create similar situations, probably

simulations, to help the learners establish the

correct forms of the materials in their minds.

Presenting subtitled materialsDepending on the students level ofprociency, I suggest the following

procedures to be followed in presenting a

subtitled lm:

(1) Show them the lm with no subtitles. Before

it starts, give students a short description about

the content. Take the lm Wild Hogs as an

example. This would be the description: The

lm is about four friends who are tired of their

monotonous lives and decide to have a road

trip. Throughout the lm they face interesting

adventures which cause them to refresh their

thoughts about life.

(2) Ask them some general questions orally

or in written form, multiple-choice or open-ended. This all depends on the level of the

class. You may move from the recognition

part to the most productive stage. In other

words, students memory is tested on the

grounds of their explicit memory, measured

by recognition and recall, combined with

their underlying implicit memory (Caimi,

2006). Evaluate their understanding by

giving them grades. Do not forget to tell

them that the grades they take are only for

measuring their comprehension. In this way,

the activity will become fun.

(3) Show them the lm with English subtitles.

This time they do not need any description

since they have watched the lm once.

(4) Ask them some general and specic

questions about the events which have

happened in the lm. The questions may

include the name of the characters, the

places they went, the dates, etc.

(5) If you see that comprehension is still

difcult for the students, show them the

lm with L1 (rst language) subtitles. The

question-answer type of activity could againbe used at this stage.

This stage should not last for more than

two or three sessions because the students

may get used to watching the lm with L1

subtitles which is not the objective of the

listening class.

Remember when selecting a lm to use

criteria such as class time available, number

of students in the class, the level of language

used in the lm, etc.

Practical implicationsOne possibility would be to add English

subtitles to educational television programs

that normally have English dialogs only. For

those who are poor readers or illiterate in

English, this simple addition could become

a valuable aid over time for enhancing and

enriching listeners general comprehension

in English.

In addition, radio can be used as a

dependable educational adjunct for those

who have not access to television. For

instance, audio input in the form of radio

programs of reading could be coordinated

with script versions of textbooks. For adults

not in school settings, stories and dailyevents taken from newspapers could be read

by radio broadcasters at appropriate speeds

so as to provide a useful bimodal L2 input

for those with little formal education. In

other words, they would be taught how to

follow the newspaper text while listening to

the same materials read over the radio.

It would be benecial in teaching to have the

students follow the subtitles of the materials

while the teacher reads the same materials

aloud to them. Because beginners do not have

native-like command of English, they might

be discouraged from reading aloud until theirlistening skills have improved. Similarly,

taped material could be played in English

while students follow the same texts in L2.

Finally, there is another activity in which

learners hear a message in English and are

required to supply the English input on

their own. This is considered an excellent

example of a form of bimodal L2 input and

when reutilized could help learners to focus

on both the spoken and written forms of

English messages.

ConclusionWhen learners hear incorrectly or cannot

make sense of sounds, they panic and the

result is a comprehension breakdown (Tatsuki,

1998). Moreover, when it comes to watching

movies, the communication becomes

more complicated, because the students

are sometimes faced with complex visual

behavior. Therefore, as a result of personal

experience with my classes, I believe that

lms with English subtitles will help students

improve their listening comprehension more

than the other programs. However, watching a



lm with L1 (in our case Persian) subtitles can

be appropriate for beginners due to their limited

range of vocabulary and so they can use their

native language for the better comprehension of

the lm.

On the other hand, lms with no subtitles seem

to be benecial for advanced students because

their prociency levels are higher and they havefewer problems in understanding the lms. But

immersing students in a foreign language lm

without any preparation (e.g. using a subtitled

version in advance) may be of little help for

learners at any level. Of course those students

who practice listening a lot and spend a lot of

their time listening to and viewing lms, can

often watch subtitle-free English language lms

without difculty, because they are accustomed

to the medium and their ears have become tuned

in to English as a spoken language.

In sum, using a lm with English subtitles and

soundtrack has a signicant effect on students`

listening comprehension which can be applied

in the language laboratories of schools,

institutions, colleges, universities and even at

home. Teachers can consider using various types

of movies such as documentaries (depending on

the learners special eld of interest History,

Geography, and the like), news (brief, late

night, sport) feature lms (drama, hilarious,

imaginary), comedy shows, etc. to motivate the

language learners sense of self-condence.

References

Balatova, I. (1994). The impact of video on the

comprehension skills of core French students.

The Canadian Modern Language Review.

50(3), 507-532. Retrieved September 23,

2005 from http://www.sfu.ca/ccrel/strategies/

abstracts/abstr75.html

Caimi, A.(2006). Audiovisual Translation

and Language Learning: The Promotion

of Intralingual Subtitles. The Journal of

Specialised Translation. 6, 85-98.

Canning-Wilson, C. (2000). Practical aspectsof using video in the foreign language

classroom. The Internet TESL Journal. VI

(11), Nov. http://iteslj.org/Articles/Canning-

Video.html. Accessed December 23, 2007.

Kikuchi, T. (1997). A review of research on

the education use English captioned materials

in Japan. pp. 1-7. Retrieved October 14, 2005,

from http://www.robon.org/gary/captioning/

kikuchi.html.

King. J. (2002). Using DVD feature lms

in the EFL classroom. The weekly column.

No.88, 13-18. Retrieved May 15, 2005

from http://www.elt newsletter.com/ back /

February2002 /art882002.htm

Kothari, B., Pandey, A. & Chudgar, A. R.

(2004). Reading out of the Idiot Box:Same-

language subtitling on television in India.

Information Technologies and International

Development. 2(1), 2344.

Lewis, M & Anping, H. (2002). Video-

viewing tasks for language teacher education.

RELC. 33(1), 122-136.

Meskill, C. (1996). Listening skills through

multimedia. Journal of Educational

Multimedia and Hypermedia, 5(2), 179-201.

Richards, J.C. & Gordon, D.B. (2004). New

Interchange Intro: Video teachers guide.

New York: Cambridge University Press.

Robin, R. (2007). Commentary: Learner-

based listening and technological authenticity.

Language Learning & Technology, February

2007, 11(1), 109-115.

Rubin, J. (1994). A review of second language

listening comprehension research. The

Modern Language Journal. 78(2), 199-221.

Ryan, S. (1998). Using lms to develop

learner motivation. The Internet TESL Journal,

IV(11), Nov. http://iteslj.org/Articles/Ryan-

Films.html. Accessed December 23, 2007.

Secules, T., Herron, C., & Tomessello, M.

(1992). The effect of video context on foreign

language learning. The Modern Language

Journal. 76, 480- 490.

Tatsuki, D. H. (1998). Comprehension Hot

Spots in Movies: Scenes and Dialogs That Are

Difcult for ESL/EFL Students to Understand.

The Internet TESL Journal, IV(11), Nov.

http://iteslj.org/Articles/Tatsuki-HotSpots.

html. Accessed December 23, 2007.

Weyer, J.R. (1999). The effect of authentic

video on communicative competence. The

Modern Language Journal. 83 (3), 339-349.

Vanderplank, R., (1990). Paying attention to

the words: Practical and theoretical problems in

watching television programmes with unilingual

(Ceefax) subtitles. System. 18, 221- 234.

Majid Hayati, an Associate Professor of

Linguistics at Shahid Chamran University, Ahvaz,

Iran, holds a doctorate degree in Linguistics from

the University of Newcastle, Australia and has

published articles in numerous ESL teaching

publications.

In sum, using a

film with English

subtitles and

soundtrack hasa significant

effect on

students listening

comprehension

which can

be applied in

the language

laboratories

of schools,

institutions,

colleges,

universities and

even at home.



The Shyness Myth: Questioning

Student StereotypesChristian Burrows analyzes teacher-student interactions in the Asian EFL classroom and

examines the perceived problem of reticence among learners .

IntroductionMany native English language teachers argue

that shyness poses such a problem for Asian

students that it is in their best interest to

attempt to overcome this feeling, but without

offering clear advice on how to go about

this task. As a result they fall into the trap

of labeling something for no other purpose

than to reinforce a certain stereotype, serving

no positive function. Many teachers would

agree that it is possible to label Asian students

shy, reticent, and quiet, but unless you are

proposing ways to overcome this handicap

(Doyon, 2000) it appears to do little to further

the research. Doyon (ibid) touches upon the

real implications that need to be addressed

when he lists the traits that are manifestations

of shyness in the classroom. It is how this

feeling interferes with the language learningprocess that is most relevant to teachers

since teaching in foreign cultures can lead to

problems of communication and even conict

due to certain cultural misunderstandings.

One reason is because people from different

cultures react differently to various situations,

meaning the cultural basis of the teacher-

student relationship tends to make cross-

cultural learning situations fundamentally

problematic for both parties as:

teaching to a student or student body

with a cognitive prole different from what

the teacher is accustomed to is evidentlyproblematic

(Hofstede, 1986:305)

This can sometimes lead to any differences

being viewed unfavorably and negative

assessments being reached. The signicance

of the cultural aspect in the learning of a

second language is illustrated in the ve traits

Doyon (ibid) points out trouble native English

teachers:

They are that Asian students:

(a) rarely initiate discussion

(b) avoid raising new topics

(c) do not challenge the teacher

(d) seldom ask questions

(e) are reluctant to volunteer answers

Although these traits could be used to

reinforce the shyness myth, more tellingly

they represent certain traditions of learning

and teaching in Asia which differ from

Western countries, thus necessitating the

need for a sound, culturally sensitive

foundation (Jones, 1995:229) that recognizes

these differences and tries to incorporate the

different ways of learning. These traditionsinclude students expectations, risk-taking,

and student autonomy.

Students expectationsStudents knowledge about their role in

the learning process will be shaped and

maintained by other beliefs they hold about

themselves as students (Wenden, 1991:54).

This knowledge about language learning has

been acquired throughout their schooling and

has contributed to their beliefs, insights and

concepts in regard to the language learning

process (Wenden, 1991:34). Several of the

traits (a e) are not due to inherent shyness

but the expectations of the students, who

after years of being evaluated through tests

are simply unused to an environment which

requires skills they have little practice in. For

many Asian students who enter university

these expectations of what appropriate

behavior is are applied to their new situation,

meaning they expect teacher-centered, rote-

learning rather than independent, creative,

autonomous learning. As a result when Asian

students encounter a communicative class they

can often experience difculty adapting to the


23/36


24/36



during class students can see that they are not

there just there to teach but also interact and

so will gain condence and also understand that

to interact fully with the teacher is an expected

and benecial exercise of learner-centered

learning. This type of interaction will help them

to be aware that they need to contribute and will

need to be coached in what to do and what the

teacher expects from them personally. It is alsonecessary to make the students aware that the

risks cannot be completely avoided merely

reduced.

Student autonomyStudent autonomy and other learning styles

and strategies are mental steps that students use

to learn a new language (Wenden, 1991:18).

Unfortunately they are not possessed by

everyone and appear to be age-related skills

which students acquire as they get older. It

therefore seems unrealistic for younger learners

(including university students) to possesssuch skills. Successful students, it has been

pointed out, are those who learn to adopt active

strategies for themselves, rather than relying on

the teacher (Tyacke and Mendelsohn in Wenden,

1991:12). This psychological proportion

(Allwright, 1981) is part of helping students

take responsibility for their learning. However

the cultural aspect of autonomous strategies

are concepts which Asian students have little

experience of as their teaching methods, as

mentioned, are mainly teacher dependent

(Jones, 2005:229) where teachers are viewed as

the respected bearers of knowledge (Stapleton

2002). Therefore this way of learning must be

explicitly taught to Asian university students,

otherwise due to different learning styles it will

be unknown by all. This process of attitude

change in adults is intended to teach learners

to recognize the right attitude (Petty and

Cacioppo, 1986 in Wenden).

This concept of student autonomy is a broad

eld which incorporates numerous denitions,

including autonomy (Rubin and Thompson,

1982); independence (Nunan, 1988:3;

Cooker and Torpey, 2004); and responsibility

(Wenden, 1991:53). Research has led to somegeneral agreement on the key factors of what

characteristics a good learner should possess.

They include that the learner:

1. Is actively involved in the language

learning process

2. Attempts to decipher how the language

works

3. Adapts even in situations they dont like

4. Knows that language is used to

communicate

5. Adopts strategies to assist with their

language learning

(Naiman et al, 1978; Rubin, 1989; O`Malley,

1978; Rubin and Thompson, 1982; Saville-

Troike, 1982).

In other words if students made more effort

to decipher what is involved in learning alanguage, and attempted to overcome any

shortfalls, this would have a benecial

inuence on their learning. It would therefore

seem appropriate to promote the qualities,

which make a good student as:

one reason for the widespread acceptance

and growth of autonomous ... activities, it tends

to be regarded as promoting autonomy, which

we all know to be a highly valued goal.

(Technology, autonomy: A word of caution)

Due to the difference in cognitive proles the

culturally insensitive approach would be to

expect learners from other cultures to be able

to adopt these foreign strategies immediately.

Why would Japanese students, who have

experienced years of passive learning,

suddenly realize that they have to take more

responsibility? This lack of awareness of

alternative learning techniques obviously

limits a learners ability in situations requiring

the use of these learning strategies (Dansereau

in Wenden, 1991:4) thus appearing shy.

Overcoming shynessAs stated earlier, Asian students could benet

greatly in the long run if a substantial portion

of the lesson were given to teaching them

ways of leaning for themselves. This would

include strategies, activities and techniques

students need to use to improve their progress

in apprehending, internalizing and using

English (Oxford, 1990:235). Students,

especially those from collectivist societies

(Hofstede, 1986) such as Japan need to

build self-condence in their capability to

work independently of the teacher (Sinclair

and Ellis, 1985). Activities are also useful

for developing pragmatic awareness andopportunities for communicative practice,

especially role-playing (Kasper, 1983:20)

which also helps promote the process of

cross-cultural dialogue. As second language

learning is a highly interactive process the

quality of this interaction is thought to have a

considerable inuence on the learning process

(Ellis, cited in Richards and Lockheart,

1994:138) with research showing that the

conscious use of such strategies is related

to language achievement and prociency

(Oxford, 1990; Rubin and Thompson 1982).

This can help turn the learning experience into

Asian students

could benefit

greatly in the

long run if a

substantialportion of

the lesson

were given to

teaching them

ways of leaning

for themselves.



one of increased cultural and self-awareness

by encouraging greater cooperation and

teamwork.

In teaching an alien language teachers need to

be sensitive to the fragility of using techniques

that promote cultural understanding (Stevick,

1976: 173). Therefore we should not expect

learners to deny the frustration they feel. Thereason that these methods play a more signicant

role in Asia is because the teachers role is more

of a factor in helping students progress through

their development stages of language learning

(Brown, 1994:174). Becoming partners,

however, imposes its own responsibilities, ones

which have again not traditionally been accorded

to the recipients of teaching. Important among

these responsibilities is that of consciousness

about ones own learning process and strategies.

To force one technique onto students as a

means of becoming a better learner will only

lead to problems when it is surely realized that

one t does not suit all (Jones, 1995). Thisfocus on the learner changes quite radically the

typical distribution of power and authority in

the classroom. How learners go about making

sense of language data therefore becomes of

central importance and it is these psychological

traits (attitude, personality) that appear to be

related to successful language learning (Rubin

and Thompson, 1982:6).

ConclusionWhile it is acknowledged that there are many

signicant factors which affect the relationship

in the classroom, if teachers are aware of themthere are strategies which can be adopted

which reduce their effect. These other factors

are much more difcult to quantify than by

directly asking the students. So the onus

of responsibility must be on the teacher to

recognize and to be aware of factors affecting

the success of the class. Once the teacher

is aware and understands the reasons (e.g.

shyness), then they will be able to adjust their

methodology to overcome perceived barriers.

Teachers should also be sensitive and perceptive

to the unique situation and not expect learners

to deny the anger and frustration they may feel.

These are real feelings and they need to be

openly expressed. To smother these feelings

may delay and actually prevent progress. So

it is important to recognize the inuence of

shyness rather than dismiss it as a problem.

This mental handicap (Doyon, 2000) may

cause students to feel uncomfortable in

unstructured situations resulting in taking a

longer time to process what is expected; or

a reluctance to fully participate in the lesson

(e.g. answer questions, volunteer information

etc.); or a general restriction and limiting of

their answers due to uncertainty. Also worries

about accuracy may make students feel

reluctant to take a risk or venture an opinion.

These traits are often observed especially in

the Japanese language class that I join every

week. I would observe that many of the

foreigners appear shy when asked to answer to

the whole class in a language they do not have

full command of. I have not considered thesepeople handicapped merely unaccustomed to

the situation and lacking the linguistic ability

to express themselves freely.

References

Allwright, R.L. (1981). What do we want

teaching materials for? English Language

Teaching Journal, 36/1.

Bialystok, E. (1990). Communication

Strategies A Psychological Analysis Of

Second Language Use. Cambridge, MA :

Basil Blackwell.

Brown, H.D. (1994). Principles Of Language

Learning And Teaching. (3rd ed.) New Jersey:

Prentice Hall.

Cooker, L. & Torpey, MM. (2004). From the

classroom to the self-access centre: A chronicle

of learner-centred curriculum development .

The Language Teacher, 28(6), 11-16.

Dansereau, D. (1978). The development of

a learning strategies curriculum. in ONeil,

Harold F., Jr. (ed.) Learning Strategies. pp.

1-29. New York: Academic Press. pp1-29.

Doyon, P. (2000). Shyness in the Japanese

EFL class: Why it is a problem, what it is,

what causes it, and what to do. The Language

Teacher (24/01).

Faerch, C. and Kasper, G. (1983). Strategies

in Interlanguage Communication. London:

Longman.

Hofstede, G. (1986). Cultural Differences in

Teaching and Learning. International Journal

of Intercultural Relations. 10/301-320.

Holec, H. (1981). Autonomy and Foreign

Language Learning. Oxford: Pergamon. (First

published 1979, Strasbourg: Council of Europe.)

Jones, J. (2001).Technology and autonomy:

A word of caution. Learning Learning, 8(1),

JALT Learner Development N-SIG (http://

coyote.miyazaki-mu.ac.jp/learnerdev/

LLE/8.1/jonesE.html).

Jones, J. (2005). Self-access and culture:

retreating from autonomy. ELT Journal 49(3):

228-234.

Naiman, N., Frohlich, M., Stern, H.H. &

Todesco, A. (1978). The Good Language

Learner. Toronto: Modern Language Centre,

Ontario Institute for Studies in Education.

Nunan, D. (1988). The Learner-centred

Curriculum. Cambridge: Cambridge

University Press

OMalley, J.M. (1987). The effects of training

in the use of learning strategies on learning

English as a second language. In A. Wenden

& J. Rubin (Eds.). Learner Strategies inLanguage Learning. Cambridge: Prentice-

Hall. 133-43.

Oxford, R. (1990). Language Learning

Strategies: What Every Teacher Should Know.

Boston: Heinle and Heinle.

Petty, R. E. & Cacioppo, J. T. (1986).

Communication and Persuasion: Central and

Peripheral Routes to Attitude Change. New

York: Springer-Verlag.

Richards, J.C. & Lockhart, C. (1994).

Reective Teaching in Second Language

Classrooms. Cambridge: CambridgeUniversity Press.

Rubin, J. (1989). How learner strategies can

inform language teaching. In V. Bickley

(Ed.), Proceedings of LULTAC, sponsored

by the Institute of Language in Education,

Department of Education, Hong Kong.

Rubin, J., & Thompson, I. (1982). How To Be

a More Successful Language Learner. Boston:

Heinle.

Rubin, J. &Wenden, A. (1987) Learners

Strategies in Language Learning. New Jersey:

Prentice Hall.Saville-Troike, M. (1982). The Ethnography

of Communication. Oxford: Blackwell.

Sinclair, B. & Ellis, G. (1985). Learner

training: preparation for learner autonomy.

Paper presented at the 19th Annual TESOL

Convention, New York.

Stapleton, P. (2002).Critical thinking in

Japanese L2 writing: Rethinking tired

constructs. ELT Journal, 56(3), 250-257.

Stevick, E.W. (1976). Memory, Meaning and

Method. Rowley, M.A.: Newbury House.

Tyacke, M, & Mendelsohn, D. (1986). Student

needs: Cognitive as well as communicative.

TESOL Canada Journal, Special Issue 1,

171-183.

Wenden, A. (1991). Learner Strategies For

Learner Autonomy. New Jersey: Prentice

Hall.

Christian Burrowshas taught at various levels

within the Japanese education system and is

currently working at the International Pacific

University, Okayama, Japan.


27/36



Integrating Information

Technology in Learning andTeaching EFL in Saudi ArabiaDr. Yousef H. Al-Maini discusses the problems and challenges, especially financial ones, that

confront users of Information and Communication Technology (ICT), with particular reference

to teaching and learning English as a foreign language in the Saudi context.

IntroductionThe power of ICT to improve education is

vast as many writers and educators argue

(Eastment, 1999; Atkinson, 1998, Williams,

1999). Saudi Arabia is keen to adopt this

technology in its education system. However,

in order to take advantage of ICT, educators

and planners need to consider a few essential

issues. These include issues of access,

availability, and funding whether funding

is available, and whose responsibility it

is, as well as training to overcome teacher

resistance and develop relevant skills.

BackgroundCommunication technologies have come

to play a very important role in shaping

education, not only in developed but also

in the developing countries (Al-Showaye,

2002). However, in spreading the use of

information and communications technology

(ICT) some major difculties are felt by the

policy makers as well as the implementers

(Al-Showaye, 2002). Teachers familiarity

with information technology is often too

limited to give optimum outcomes and results.

Al-Agla (2002) notes resistance towards

ICT, no or only limited participation in in-

service training courses or developmental

tasks, resistance to teamwork in the school,and perceptions of teaching as one-way

communication i.e. teacher to student.

Saudi Arabia has in the last two decades

sought to implement technology in education,

as part of the countrys overall development

and human resources strategy. In 1986, the

Ministry of Education decided to introduce

computer studies as a trial subject in

secondary schools. At this stage, computer

studies were divorced from other subject

areas. The objectives of the syllabus were

to overcome fears of computers, to equip

Saudi Arabia has

in the last two

decades sought

to implement

technology in

education



students with knowledge of technology, to

enable them to cope with changes in society,

to promote investigation and scientic ways

of thinking; and to equip students with

technology skills in order to help them in their

careers (Al-Salloom, 1995). Later, computer

studies were extended to higher education

and other educational institutions. More

recently, efforts and concerns have centeredon developing teaching methodologies and

on how computers may effectively assist in

supporting and achieving educational goals

(Sabbak, 1996).

In early 2000 Crown Prince Abdullah

announced the Watani project, an ambitious

national project to incorporate computers

and the Internet into school classrooms and

lessons (Saudi Press Agency, 2000). The

Watani project also aims at linking Saudi

Arabias schools with an integrated network,

enabling the Ministry of Education to contactall its schools and education departments

around the Kingdom (Saudi Information

Resource Centre, 2000).

The project master plan (Watani, 2007)

highlights the impact of globalization and

the need, in the Information Age for young

Saudis to be equipped for a future that

depends heavily on computers, in order to

play their role in national development and

the international economy.

The project is planned in four phases: phase

1, design of network and trial project in afew schools; phase 2, extension to half the

Kingdoms schools; phase 3, completion of

linkage; phase 4, follow-up, maintenance

and upgrading.

When complete, Watani is intended to provide

students and teachers with educational

references, e-books, Teachers Guides, series

for students with special needs, multimedia,

teacher training, school management systems

and a Q & A bank.

These initiatives, however, are still in theirearly stages, and in many schools they

have as yet had little impact, as shown, for

example, in a survey by Al-Showaye (2002)

of teachers and students in public and private

sector intermediate and secondary schools in

the Al-Qasseem area of Saudi Arabia. He

found shortages of computers compared

with the large number of students in schools.

For example, one secondary school with 300

students had only 15 computers, and another

with 500 students had only 13 computers.

Consequently, opportunities to use computers

were very limited.

The Present Study: Context,

Methods and ParticipantsWhat follows is based on an interpretive,

qualitative study carried out in Unaizah, one

of the main cities in Al-Qasseem, in the centre

of Saudi Arabia, to explore the teaching of

English as a foreign language. One of the

issues investigated was the availability anduse of educational technology resources, and

how this inuences teaching and learning.

An intensive case study was carried out in

one state secondary school containing 415

students, age 15-18 years, distributed in

three years or grades and 13 classes. Class

sizes varied from 28 to 39 students. The

headteacher, all three English teachers and

more than 60 students were interviewed,

and 15 classroom observations carried out,

covering all three years of study. In addition

to the main case study, visits were made

to four other secondary schools in the city,

and interviews conducted with a further

nine English teachers. A number of parents,

educational supervisors and a training ofcer

were also interviewed.

Status and Use of ICT FacilitiesThe case study school had a computer

laboratory, but no language laboratory and

no computers in classrooms. The computer

laboratory was provided specically for the

teaching of Computer Studies, and English

classes were not allowed to use it. Thus, the

only computer access was in the Learning

Centre (LC) containing seven circular tables

and a computer connected to a data projector.

With 13 classes in the school, and 33 lesson

periods in the school week, in theory, each

class might be able to use the LC twice

a week. However, such access would be

spread across the full range of academic

subjects. In practice, priority seemed to be

given to Physics and Chemistry, although

this was perhaps not so much an institutional

policy as a de facto situation arising from

the exceptional interest in technology of

the teachers concerned, and their vigor in

asserting their need to use this facility. Inpractice, therefore, it would be difcult for

English teachers to use the LC regularly, for

example for one of the four English periods

week timetabled for each class.

Even if a teacher succeeded in booking the

LC, in practice, since there was only one,

teacher-controlled computer, the computer

was used only as an aid to enhance the

existing teacher-centered, drill-focused

teaching, rather than enable a more

constructivist, communicative approach to

language learning.

In early 2000

Crown Prince

Abdullah

announced the

Watani project,

an ambitious

national project

to incorporate

computers and

the Internet

into school

classrooms and

lessons


30/36



respect, they seemed to misperceive, not

only the potential role of computers, but also

the attitudes of students, who in discussions

with me expressed a strong need for access to

computer facilities in order to develop their

linguistic ability. For example, they thought

that English classes should be given access to

the schools ICT laboratory, in order to search

information from English language websites.Access to the laboratory would also enable

students to use the Internet as a medium for

creative work.

Over and above time constraints and

concerns about discipline and learning

outcomes, however, a major reason for

teacher resistance to using ICT in subject

teaching is that they simply do not know

how to use it. This raises the issue of

training, to which I now turn.

TrainingIn order to integrate computer technology intotheir teaching, teachers must have a degree

of competence and condence in using the

technology, as well as some understanding of

how ICT relates to learning theories, and of

its potential in specic subject areas. Teacher

preparation in Saudi Arabia, however, does

not routinely cover such issues.

In Saudi Arabia, in order to overcome the

shortage of indigenous teachers during a time

of rapid quantitative expansion, graduates

in any subject are allowed and encouraged

to teach, without specic pedagogical

preparation. Graduates in Arts and Social

Sciences, in particular, may have had little

or no exposure to computers, as computer

skills are not a requirement of graduation;any computer access or training available

tends to be conned to students of science

and mathematics. Those teachers who have

an Education degree will perhaps have

attended a lecture on the use of computer

technology in teaching, but will have had

no opportunity to practice integrating

computers in their subject teaching, even

during the nal-term teaching practice

placement.

In this situation, in-service training could

clearly have an important role to play.

Concerning the in-service training coursesavailable, the headteacher reported that

there are different kinds of courses. One

type is the special training courses, provided

free of charge, at the Training Centre in

each educational area. The Centre for the

research area was located in the city of

Unaizah. The Centre sends an ofcial letter

to the specic school, inviting teachers

to attend. These courses are held during

the working day and may last one or two

days, depending on the topics and lectures

prepared for them. Second, there are general

training courses held in the evenings, which

are open to all teachers and headteachers.

They last for four days and cover general

teaching methods and, sometimes, schoolmanagement. I did not, however, have an

opportunity to observe any such courses.

Sami, a training ofcer, told me that there

are a few courses about using ICT in the

classroom, for teachers at both intermediate

and secondary stages. Sami coordinates

the ICT courses and lectures teachers who

attend training sessions in connection with

teaching a variety of subjects. These courses

accommodate 12 people, in three groups of

four, and include both theory and practical

experience. However, as Sami pointed

out, they provide only a basic introductionto computer operation. Thereafter, it is

left to teachers to develop their skills

independently. In fact, I did not come across

any teacher who had received even this

limited training. Indeed, Maher told me he

had never, in all his teaching career, been

given an opportunity of in-service training



on any subject. He was one of many teachers

who asserted a wish for training in aspects

of teaching methodology, to increase their

professionalism and improve learning

outcomes for students.

ConclusionThis article has highlighted important issues

associated with the use of ICT in schools in

Saudi Arabia. Despite the intentions of the

recent Watani project, in practice, ICT

equipment was often unavailable and even

where available was underused. It seems

that the explanation for lack of computer use

must be sought in a complex interaction of

factors, including bureaucratic confusion,

lack of teacher awareness, perceptions of

student roles, and the nature of the centrally-

prescribed curriculum. Another factor may

be the lack of clear research evidence for the

effectiveness of ICT (Buckingham, 2007).

Nevertheless, in the Saudi context, there is

anecdotal evidence from supervisors, students

and teachers who have experienced EFL

teaching with ICT that student participation

is increased, and motivation and learning

enhanced. Many Saudi teachers, however,

are unaware of these success stories, due

to the absence of a professional culture and

lack of opportunity for sharing ideas and

experience (Al-Maini, 2006).

The growth and application of new ICT

in the eld of education is fraught with

immense difculties. Projects such as

Watani will only succeed if accompanied

by opportunities for teacher training and

development. Supervisors could play a vital

role through disseminating information,

liaising with trainers to develop courses that

meet teachers needs, enlisting headteachers

support for new educational initiatives and

arranging opportunities for teachers to

observe examples of good practice. Teacher

competence and commitment is crucial

for countries like Saudi Arabia, seeking

to promote educational improvement

through ICT. Teachers need opportunities to

familiarize themselves with the technology,

guidance on its application in their subject

areas, and evidence that ICT is both feasible

and effective in their particular teaching

context. Most important of all, however, is

an environment in which teachers are notsimply passive implements of educational

directives, but are encouraged to be

dynamic professionals, engaged in career-

long learning, and actively sharing in the

development of policy and practice.

References

Al-Maini, Y.H. (2006). The learning and

teaching of English as a foreign language

with particular reference to developing

reading skills: a case of a Saudi secondary

school, Ph.D. Thesis submitted to University

of East Anglia, UK.

Al-Salloom, H. (1995). Science and

technology in Saudi Arabia, New Jersey:

Amona Publications.

Al-Showaye, M. (2002). Use of computer-

based information technology and the

internet in Saudi Arabian intermediate and

secondary schools, Ph.D. Thesis submitted

to the University of Manchester, UK.

Atkinson, T. (1998). WWW, the Internet.

London: CILT.

Buckingham, David (2007). Beyond

Technology: Childrens Learning in the age

of Digital Culture, Blackwell Publishing.

Sabbak, H. (1996). The potential of using

computers for language learning in the

Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, unpublished

Master dissertation, University of Leeds.

Saudi Information Resource Centre (2000):

http://www.saudiinf.com/main/start/htm

Saudi Press Agency (2000): http://www.spa.

gov.sa/

Williams, B. (1999). The Internet for

teachers. Chicago: IDG Books.

Watani (2007), http://www.watani.org.sa

Dr. Yousef H. Al-Maini, Assistant Professor

at College of Languages and Translation, Imam

University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

Teachers need

opportunities

to familiarize

themselves with

the technology,

guidance on its

application in their

subject areas, and

evidence that ICT

is both feasible

and effective



Language of the Tossing ManeLynn Olcott discovers how equines can teach educators about communication.

Horses have shared t

Documents

ESL Magazine Issue 68 (March-April 2009)