elta journal: an international & interdisciplinary journal...

ELTA Journal: An International & Interdisciplinary Journal of the ELT Practice & Research

ISSN 2334-9662 (Online)

ELTA – English Language Teachers’ Association Nemanjina 28, 11000 Belgrade

Serbia + 381 (0) 63 210 460 + 381 11 36 11 644 ext. 110 [email protected]

Danijela Serafijanović, ELTA President [email protected]

Editor-in-Chief:

Marija Ivanović, Research Assistant, Aarhus University, Copenhagen, Denmark

Co-editors:

Maja Jerković, Medical School, Zrenjanin, Serbia

Bojana Nikić-Vujić, The School of Pharmacy and Physiotherapy, Belgrade, Serbia

Miljana Mladenović, Elementary school Vuk Karadžić, Aleksinac, Serbia

Olivera Ćatić, MA student of Lifelong Learning, Aarhus University, Copenhagen, Denmark

Proofreader:

Miljana Mladenović, Elementary school Vuk Karadžić, Aleksinac, Serbia

Website: http://eltajournal.org.rs/

Send your submissions electronically to: [email protected]

The journal is published annually.

Contributors are requested to refer to the guidelines on the ELTA Journal website:

http://eltajournal.org.rs/submission-guidelines/

The authors bear full responsibility for the content of their papers.

E-mail correspondence: [email protected] Copyright ELTA Journal 2013 www.eltajournal.org.rs

Editorial ELTA Journal

ELTA is proud to have published the first issue of ELTA Journal. In this first

Editorial we would like to present and explain some of the major ideas that have

shaped the creation of ELTA Journal and to adopt the position that will serve as

the benchmark for future issues.

ELTA Journal has been founded in order to better connect research and practice

in the field of ELT, to promote interdisciplinary publications and to bring

international perspective along with that of Serbia’s in the ELT.

The connection between research and practice is visible in several aspects of

ELTA Journal. Firstly, the journal is peer-reviewed meaning that two highly

credible researchers anonymously review each article. In this way, practitioners

have an opportunity to receive high quality feedback from the academia. Next,

practitioners and teachers who are mostly occupied with very practical activities

take the opportunity to delve more deeply into theories and then see how it can

be accommodated to their particular context. On the other hand, researchers

who focus in their examination of the phenomena on theoretical issues are

encouraged through this journal to reflect more on knowledge dissemination and

its findings/implications for the practice, even if they were just tentative.

VOLUME 1| NO.1| ENGLISH LANGUAGE TEACHERS’ ASSOCIATION (ELTA SERBIA)

Following the trends in research that underscore teacher development based on

reflective practice and classroom research, the first and the issues to come will

primarily publish articles produced by teachers and the ELT practitioners. The

intention behind such idea of ELTA is to elevate the teaching profession with the

ultimate goal of improving student and teacher learning. By writing an article,

teachers choose to develop by reflecting on their practice and in this way

question their beliefs, values and principles. In the context of Serbia, teacher

development has so far mostly been based on external training whereby

teachers attend workshops or seminars covering various didactic themes.

Unquestionably useful, this form of development adds little to personal and

professional growth, due to its focus on short-term initiatives such as e.g. how to

plan a lesson or how to manage large groups.

Another reason for focusing on teachers’ articles is ELTA’s mission to

acknowledge teachers’ work and to give them respect and position they deserve

for their hard work and contribution to student learning, again especially in the

context of Serbia that saw degradation of education and ethical principles due to

war years and economic hardship. In this issue, there are two articles that bring

teacher practice to the forefront: ‘From teachers to learners’ by Gavrilovic, S. as

well as ‘Making a magazine and TV blog’ by Ivanovic-Bozic, M.

This is not to say that by focusing on articles written by practitioners, the

academia and its well-established research is to be left out. On the contrary,

articles from this field are more than welcome as well. It is the article ‘The Effects

of Learner-generated Images’ by Vasiljević Z. coming from the field of

sociolinguistics that represents a piece of classic research.

Another goal of ELTA Journal is to promote interdisciplinary research that would

better inform the ELT. Globalization and new demands on teachers urge us to

broaden our views in order to attain a more comprehensive picture of the ELT

world. ELTA Journal would like to encourage the submission of contributions

from the educational policy level, school/educational leadership, lifelong learning,

inclusion etc. In this issue, an example of such article can be found in

‘Addressing diversity and equality in the field of early childhood education and

care’ by Banković I.

Finally, the journal is international in its scope and it welcomes contributions from

all over the world. In this first issue, there are articles written by researchers and

teachers from Japan, Russia, Cyprus and Uruguay in addition to those from

Serbia.

The Editorial team would like to thank all the people who contributed to the

journal’s creation. In the first place, many thanks to ELTA president Ms. Danijela

Serafijanović who supported the idea from the start; ELTA Board, who formally

approved our idea and granted the financial means. Further, we would like to

express our gratitude to Ms. Marija Panić on her support regarding technical

issues, marketing and communication and Mr. Nemanja Mladenović for the

website design. Lastly we owe much gratitude to eminent professors who

reviewed the articles and of course to our contributors.

We hope you enjoy reading this issue and we look forward to receiving your

feedback and article contributions.

Yours truly,

ELTA Journal Editorial Team

Corresponding author: [email protected] Copyright ELTA Journal www.eltajournal.org.rs

Addressing Diversity and Equality in the Field of Early Childhood Education

and Care in Serbia

By Ivana Bankovic, English language teacher at Primary school “Branko Radičević”, Sedlare, Serbia

Abstract: This article explores diversity and equality issues in Early Childhood Education and Care field in Serbia. Three

major themes that are particularly significant in the context of Serbia are identified and discussed: availability and accessibility

of ECEC institutions, children with special needs and multiculturalism. The main considerations entail ensuring availability and

accessibility of ECEC services, so that all children in the country would have equal opportunities with regard to benefiting from

ECEC provision. Similarly, in order to foster and acknowledge child’s own identity and a sense of belonging it is important to

introduce him/her to cultures different from his/her own through positive atmosphere of play, curiosity, enjoyment and

appreciation of differences. Therefore, the recommendations entail that addressing diversity and equality in ECEC settings in

Serbia should be done on several very important levels: policy level, teacher training level, curriculum level and the level of

everyday practice.

Key words: diversity, equality, Early Childhood Education and Care, Serbia

Apstrakt: U ovom radu su raspravlja o jednakosti i uvažavanju različitosti u sistemu predškolskog obrazovanja i vaspitanja u

Srbiji. Na ovu temu se govori kroz prizmu tri pitanja: na koji način su dostupnost i pristupačnost predškolskih ustanova u vezi sa

jednakim pravima za svu decu i uvažavanjem različitosti; kako se odnos prema ovim pojmovima ogleda u radu sa decom sa

posebnim potrebama; i kakvo mesto multikulturalizam zauzima u predškolstvu. Zaključuje se da se pitanjima jednakosti i

uvažavanja različitosti treba baviti na nekoliko nivoa: nivou obrazovnih politika, nivou obrazovanja vaspitača i nastavnika, nivou

planova i programa i nivou svakodnevnog rada i razmatra se kako svaki od datih nivoa doprinosi unapređenju jednakosti i

uvažavanja različitosti.

Ključne reči: različitost, jednakost, predškolsko obrazovanje i vaspitanje, Srbija


December 2013, 1-10

2 Ivana Banković

Introduction

Addressing diversity and equality in Early Childhood Education and Care field is

a very important contemporary issue across the globe. As population becomes

increasingly multi-faceted in terms of social class, people with disabilities, family

status, ethnic minorities, religious minorities, the majority population, economic

migrants, refugees and many others, the importance of recognising different

individual needs and of ensuring equity in terms of access, participation and

benefits for all children in the educational settings is highly emphasized. This

issue is also very important for the field of ECEC in Serbia. In the next

paragraphs, the diversity and equality issues, which are particularly significant in

the context of Serbia, are explored by identifying three major themes and

discussing them in some detail.

Definition of key terms

The concepts that are referred to throughout the paper are broad and subject to

many different definitions and interpretations depending on the context,

perceptions and theoretical perspectives. In this paper Early Childhood

Education and Care (ECEC) is considered as “a global term encompassing all

arrangements providing care and education for children under compulsory school

age, regardless of setting, funding, opening hours or programme content”

(OECD, 2006, p. 229). An Early Childhood Education and Care setting refers to a

centre-based ECEC which is “collective (more than 5 children) early education

and care for young children from 6-12 months to 6 years, distinguished from

services provided in households or family settings”. The centres may be public or

private, and include “crèches, kindergartens, pre-school (normally 3-6 years) and

publicly provided pre-primary classes, but not playgroups, or out-of-school care”

(OECD, 2006, p. 227). An Early Childhood Teacher refers to a person “involved

in teaching and learning with young children in early childhood settings”

(MacNaughton, 2003, p. viii). Diversity refers to the diverse nature of a society for

example in terms of social class, gender, returned emigrants, family status,

minority groups and the majority group. Equality refers to the importance of

ELTA Journal 3

recognising different individual needs and of ensuring equity in terms of access,

participation and benefits for all children and their families; it is therefore not

about treating people the ‘same’ (Ireland Office of the Minister & Ireland Dept. of

Health 2006).

Present ECEC policies

In 2004 the government of the Republic of Serbia introduced the National Action

Plan for Children (Savez za prava deteta 2004) which defines the general policy

direction of the country towards children for the period until 2015. This document

aims to fulfil some of the country's international obligations arising from its 1990

ratification of The Convention on the Rights of the Child (United Nations 1989),

United Nations Millennium Development Goals (United Nations 2000), A World

Fit for Children (Unicef 2002) and Education For All (Unesco 1990), among

others. Since 2003 the ECEC system in Serbia has been a part of the unified

educational system (Gavrilović 2006). Currently, it is regulated under the Law on

the Fundamentals of the Education System (Zakon o osnovama sistema

obrazovanja i vaspitanja 2009) and more specifically under the Law on Preschool

Education and Upbringing (Zakon o predškolskom vaspitanju i obrazovanju

2010). These laws regulate the establishment and activities of ECEC institutions

including their aims and principles, record keeping procedures, language use in

minority communities, the organization of teachers’ work, staff requirements and

monitoring and financing. The laws state that preschool education and upbringing

- which refers to services for children from six months to compulsory schooling

age (seven years) - is of direct public interest and constitutes a public service.

Availability and accessibility

Serbia is still a highly centralized country, both in terms of government and

economic development. The capital and nearby regions are the most

economically developed with many successful national and international

companies. Thus, the local budgets of these regions are significantly higher than

in other parts of the country. However, ECEC services are one of the rare

systems which are governed as well as financed at the local level. At this

moment there are many investments in ECEC in the capital. On the other hand,

4 Ivana Banković

smaller municipalities, due to underdeveloped industry and economy, do not

have the funds to open new services and ensure that ECEC services are

available and accessible to all members of the community. Thus, availability and

accessibility of ECEC services greatly differs throughout the country.

Consequently, it follows that all children in the country do not have equal

opportunities with regard to benefiting from ECEC provision (Baker, Lynch,

Cantillon, & Walsh, 2004, p. 142). Vulnerable or disadvantaged groups are

especially affected. In the capital or more affluent municipalities these groups

have more support in comparison to less affluent municipalities where the

support is lacking, due to limited budgets and other resources. Since this is a

very sensitive and complex issue, finding some kind of solution requires a lot of

commitment. The first step should be raising awareness about the problem and

getting political will to address it. This should be followed by the introduction of a

new policy that would focus specifically on improving ECEC services in those

regions in which local governments do not have sufficient funds. Similarly,

special funds from the national budget need to be allocated (Baker et al., 2004,

p. 81) in order to establish new services or support projects aimed at

encouraging vulnerable groups to use ECEC services. By giving special attention

to vulnerable groups at the policy level as well as by providing investments from

the national budget, local governments would be motivated to pay special

attention to those groups (esp. minorities). This would, consequently, lead to

better accessibility of ECEC services to vulnerable groups as well as increasing

diversity and equality within the services. Therefore, ECEC services can be

made equally available and accessible to all inhabitants of the country,

irrespective of whether they live in ‘richer’ or ‘poorer’ regions, whether they

belong to vulnerable groups or minorities.

Children with special needs

Another issue that is very important for achieving equality and diversity is

whether and how children with special needs use ECEC services. For a long

time, these children have been sent to ‘special’ schools where only special needs

children were admitted. However, currently there is an initiative which aims to

integrate these children through inclusive education into the regular schooling.

ELTA Journal 5

This initiative instigated a debate on how this can be achieved in order to be

successful and beneficial for all involved. Inclusive education is definitely the right

step towards respecting diversity and equality principles for all children in the

society (United Nations, 1989, sec. 23). However, if it is not implemented in the

right way it can do more harm than good for all children. In order to ensure

complete integration of children with special needs it is not sufficient to simply put

them into a classroom with all other children. It is essential that good support

mechanisms be provided by the system in order to achieve the goals of inclusion.

The first necessary step is adapting space to suit children with special needs,

mainly building ramps, suitable toilets and providing technical equipment. This

would raise the quality of everyday life and schoolwork of these children. Next,

since majority of teachers have not received adequate training on how to work

with children with special needs during their formal education, they should be

trained on how to deal with this situation through some form of professional

development. Furthermore, new courses on special and inclusive education need

to be introduced in bachelor programs for new generations of ECEC teachers.

Another way of supporting teachers and children could be hiring assistants

trained to work with special needs children in order to ensure constructive

learning process for all children, those with special needs as well as others. Also,

it is very important to re-examine the curriculum and adapt it to suit abilities of

every child through designing individual educational programs. Moreover, since

community awareness is another factor of great importance, ECEC services

should try to raise it by organizing parental meetings, shows, recitals and similar

activities emphasizing commonalities and similarities (Kernan & Singer, 2011, p.

108). Parents can, as a result of these activities, become aware that interaction

and learning of all children can be successful even though it includes children

with special needs. This could, consequently, lead to better integration of the

children with special needs into peer groups because the level of isolation or

bullying could diminish when children see that their parents have positive

attitudes towards children with special needs.

6 Ivana Banković

Multiculturalism

It has been argued that parents usually choose early years services based on

their home culture, language or religion (Willer et al., 1991). Thus, parents

choose to send their child to an ECEC which is likely to enroll other children of

similar/same background, language and culture. In Serbia, the right to education

in minority languages is guaranteed by the law and ECEC services that use

languages of the minority population exist. As a consequence many ECEC

services are quite homogeneous either on ethnical, language, religious or

socioeconomic level. Therefore, ECEC services face a difficult challenge since

they are expected to provide experiences outside of their groups and offer

opportunities to teach children how to be tolerant, respectful and accepting of

differences. This can be quite difficult having in mind that they are quite

homogeneous. One way of overcoming this difficulty could be visits to other

ECEC services that are different in some way either by ethnicity, language,

religion or other (Wardle, 2003). This would ensure exposing children to diversity

and making them experience it in a positive, constructive way. A variety of

activities that can be more or less formal could be organized, which would

expose children to different culture through storytelling, plays, foreign language

learning or free play time with toys that are particular to the particular culture.

Consequently, this can lead to learning through experience about backgrounds of

people different from them, discovering about different ways of doing the same

thing or solving the same problem, challenge stereotypical thinking and decrease

distinction between binary opposites US and THEM. It is not only important for

the children from the minority groups in order to understand and learn how to

function in a world around them, but also for the children from the majority group

in order to sensitize them for the more and more diverse world they would not

otherwise have an opportunity to experience.

Foreign language learning is particularly valuable as it opens the way for the

children to get acquainted with the foreign language culture and different ways of

cultural behaviors. It enables children to experience diversity in an interesting,

cognitively stimulating way as well as to develop competences that are crucial for

communicating inter-culturally. Early second/foreign language learning is also a

ELTA Journal 7

part of the EU policies such as A New Framework Strategy for Multilingualism

(European Commission, 2005), Action plan on language learning and linguistic

diversity (European Commission, 2003) and Council Resolution on the early

teaching of European Union languages (The Council of the European Union,

1998). The objectives of these policies are to encourage early teaching of

languages, the continuous provision of teaching in several languages, increasing

awareness among all those involved of the benefits of teaching languages at an

early age and encouraging measures to prepare teachers working in the field of

early language learning to meet new needs. The rationale for introducing very

young children to languages other than their mother tongue entails fostering

multiculturalism that would enable greater understanding, respect and openness

to Europe’s cultural wealth, giving children a head start, providing them with a

useful resource for further achievement as well as the views, which have been

debated (Long, 2007), that a language is learnt more easily and quickly when

children are young rather than as they grow older. Thus, the issue of

second/foreign language acquisition is becoming progressively more relevant,

particularly for the field of ECEC.

Conclusion

Having said all this, it follows that addressing diversity and equality in ECEC

settings in Serbia should be done on several very important levels: policy level,

teacher training level, curriculum level and the level of everyday practice. Having

good policies pertaining to diversity and equality that are clearly stated in the law

is extremely important. Although it does not guarantee practicing diversity and

equality it gives them significance and helps raise social awareness.

Furthermore, since teachers are crucial for practicing diversity and equality with

children, parents and community, it is important to address diversity and equality

on teacher education level as well, either by having a training that examines it or

as a part of some other professional development activity. As teachers may

sometimes be unaware of their stereotypes and bias it is necessary to question

and examine their attitudes as well as to increase knowledge base regarding this

issue. Moreover, curriculum presents the crucial document that empowers or

depowers teachers to practice diversity and equality approaches in their

8 Ivana Banković

everyday practice. Thus, it is extremely important to reexamine the curriculum

and implement diversity and equality principles as a base which teachers can

later develop further with regard to a specific context they are in. Curriculum also

obliges teachers, who otherwise would not do so, to deal with this issue (for e.g.

using different stories or songs from the majority as well as minority or foreign

culture, language and background) (Wardle, 2003). Finally, everyday practice is

very important for implementing principles of diversity and equality into the life

and upbringing of children as well as parents and consequently the whole local

community. Therefore, teachers need to have sensitivity, continuous awareness

of implementing these principles and should create environment that fosters

equality and diversity (for e.g. pictures on the walls, toys, storybooks, different

activities...) (Wardle, 1999). Teachers should also include parents and

community into the planning of the activities, through parental visits to the

kindergarten or visits to a community setting particular or different in some way.

Introducing children to cultures different from their own is very important in order

to foster and acknowledge, on one side, children’s identity and a sense of

belonging and, on the other, tolerance and appreciation of differences.

References: Baker, J., Lynch, K., Cantillon, S., & Walsh, J. (2004). Equality: from theory to

action. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan.

European Commission. (2003). Action plan on language learning and linguistic

diversity. Retrieved from

http://europa.eu/legislation_summaries/education_training_youth/lifelong_learnin

g/c11068_en.htm

European Commission. (2005). A new framework strategy for multilingualism.

Retrieved from http://eur-

lex.europa.eu/LexUriServ/LexUriServ.do?uri=COM:2005:0596:FIN:EN:PDF

Gavrilović, A. 2006. Multifunkcionalna delatnost predškolskih ustanova. Nastava i

vaspitanje 55: 57–69.

Ireland Office of the Minister & Ireland Dept. of Health. (2006). Diversity and

Equality Guidelines for Childcare Providers. Dublin: Stationery Office Dublin.

ELTA Journal 9

Kernan, M., & Singer, E. (2011). Peer Relationships in Early Childhood

Education and Care. Abingdon: Routledge.

Long, M. H. (2007). Problems in SLA. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum

Associates.

MacNaughton, G. (2003). Shaping early childhood: learners, curriculum and

contexts. Maidenhead: McGraw-Hill International.

OECD. (2006). Starting strong II: Early childhood education and care (Vol. 2).

Paris: Publications de l’OCDE.

Savez za prava deteta. 2004. Nacionalni plan akcije za decu. Beograd: Savez za

prava deteta. http://www.unicef.org/serbia/NPAfinalSerb.pdf.

The Council of the European Union. (1998). Council Resolution of 16 December

1997 on the early teaching of European Union languages. Retrieved from

http://eur-

lex.europa.eu/LexUriServ/LexUriServ.do?uri=CELEX:31998Y0103%2801%29:E

N:HTML

UNESCO. 1990. Education For All. Paris: Unesco. Accessed on November 28,

2011.

http://web.worldbank.org/WBSITE/EXTERNAL/TOPICS/EXTEDUCATION/0,,cont

entMDK:20374062~menuPK:540090~pagePK:148956~piPK:216618~theSitePK:

282386,00.html.

UNICEF. 2002. A World Fit for Children. New York: UNICEF.

United Nations. 1989. Convention on the Rights of the Child. New York: United

Nations. Accessed on August 9, 2012.

http://www2.ohchr.org/english/law/crc.htm.

United Nations. 2000. United Nations Millennium Declaration. New York: United

Nations. Accessed on August 9, 2012. http://www.un.org/

millennium/declaration/ares552e.pdf.

Wardle, F. (1999). Meeting the Needs of Multiracial and Multiethnic Children.

Early childhood news. Retrieved April 3, 2011, from

http://www.earlychildhoodnews.com/earlychildhood/article_print.aspx?ArticleId=1

24

Wardle, F. (2003). Diversity in Early Childhood Programs. Early childhood news.

Retrieved April 3, 2011, from

10 Ivana Banković

http://www.earlychildhoodnews.com/earlychildhood/article_print.aspx?ArticleId=5

48

Willer, B., Hofferth, S. L., Kisker, E. E., Divine-Hawkins, P., Farquhar, E., &

Glantz, F. B. (1991). The demand and supply of child care in 1990. Washington,

DC: NAEYC.

Zakon o osnovama sistema obrazovanja i vaspitanja. 2009. Accessed on

November 18, 2011. http://www.mp.gov.rs/propisi/propis.php?id=9.

Zakon o predškolskom vaspitanju i obrazovanju. 2010. Accessed on November

7, 2011.

http://www.parlament.gov.rs/upload/archive/files/cir/pdf/zakoni/2010/2490-09.zip.

*****

Ivana Bankovic is an English language teacher and an Early Childhood

professional. After earning her degree in the English language and literature from

the Faculty of Philology and Arts, University of Kragujevac in 2006, she worked

as an English language teacher for four years. Following that, she enrolled the

International Master in Early Childhood Education and Care organized jointly by

Oslo and Akershus University College, Norway, Dublin Institute of Technology,

Ireland and University of Malta and graduated in 2012. Her professional interests

include EFL/ESL teaching, TEYL, early childhood studies and children’s rights.

She is committed to enhancing the quality of experience of educational settings

for all children. Ivana is a country representative of the Erasmus Mundus Student

and Alumni Association for Serbia.

Corresponding author: [email protected] Copyright ELTA Journal 2013 www.eltajournal.org.rs

From Teachers to Learners

By Svetlana Gavrilovic, Užice High School, Užice, Serbia

Abstract: This paper is about a study done with a group of secondary school students regarding their learning styles and

strategies. It was performed with the aim to help the teacher learn more about her students and then adapt his own teaching

methodology to her learners’ diversity. Thus, the change of focus from the teacher to the learner should make the English

language learning more effective and improve students’ learning achievements.

Key words: the learner, the teacher, a change of focus, learning strategies, learning styles

Apstrakt: Ovaj rad se bavi istraživanjem obavljenim sa grupom srednjoškolaca, a na temu njihovih stilova i strategija

učenja. Istraživanje je sprovedeno sa ciljem da se pomogne nastavniku da nauči što više o svojim učenicima i da zatim svoj

metod rada prilagodi njihovim različitostima. Tako bi promena težišta sa nastavnika na učenika trebalo da dovede do

efikasnijeg učenja i boljih učeničkih postignuća.

Ključne reči: učenik, nastavnik, promena težišta, strategije učenja, stilovi učenja


December 2013, 11-23

12 12 Svetlana Gavrilović

Introduction

There are probably no teachers in the world who have not asked themselves the

following question at least once in their teaching career: ‘How come that despite

the fact that I try hard to make my lessons exciting and engaging, I still fail to

make my students interested in learning?’ I have been teaching teenagers for

many years now, facing, more or less, the same problem. I have always insisted

on variety and creativity in the classroom and there is constantly a lot of pair and

group work, games, quizzes, role plays, poetry writing, projects and music. And

yet, I am often aware of the fact that my students avoid doing anything, look at

me blankly, or engage themselves in an activity as reluctantly and rebelliously as

they can. Although I know that teenagers are difficult to move and are not very

keen on school in general, this does not prevent me from occasionally thinking of

myself as a failure.

Have you noticed the many Is in this long introduction of mine? This is exactly

where the problem might lie. Language teaching is often looked at from the point

of view of us, teachers, and when teaching, we almost always do things we

personally like or are good at or things we consider important or worth

accomplishing. However, learners, our students, also have their goals, beliefs,

preferences and attitudes, which inevitably affect their motivation to learn, their

expectations and, eventually, their learning achievement.

Problem Formulation

The idea that logically sprang to my mind was to change the focus of my

attention from myself and what I want to students and what they need, and then

use the newly acquired knowledge to expand the range of my teaching methods

and techniques so as to respond to their diversity. I focused on learning styles

and learning strategies, and tried to learn more about my students by obtaining

answers to the following questions:

1. What are my students’ learning styles?

2. Which learning strategies are typical of particular learning styles?

3. Do students’ learning strategies match their learning styles?

ELTA Journal 13

4. What are the differences, if any, between the learning strategies used by

successful and unsuccessful learners?

Research Methodology

Since this was a pilot project, I chose a class of twenty-eight students, third-

graders of Užicka gimnazija, the grammar school where I teach. They are

proficient enough to understand what is expected of them and, at the same time,

I believed there would be sufficient time for me to, if necessary, change the focus

of my work with them within the following two years of their high school

education. Besides, they are a fine class, quite communicative and responding

well to new things. There are twenty girls and eight boys, and about an equal

number of successful and not so successful learners. They completed two

questionnaires in September 2013, at the very beginning of this school year. The

first one was on learning style preferences; it consisted of 30 statements they

had to agree or disagree with (the Likert-type scale) and was meant to determine

their dominant learning style. The second questionnaire was on learning

strategies; there were 25 statements describing some of the basic learning

strategies, and the students were supposed to tick the ones they use most

frequently in the process of learning a foreign language. This would eventually

show the most common learning strategies of the whole class as well as of

particular learning style groups.

Both questionnaires were taken from 'Reflective Teaching in Second Language

Classroom by Jack C. Richards and Charles Lockhart, CUP, 1990, pp.73-77, and

very slightly modified. The most important change was the fact that they were

both done anonymously. In the first questionnaire, the introductory section

describing various learning styles was omitted as the students were already

familiar with them. In the second questionnaire, the introduction was also

simplified since I thought that instead of imagining living in a foreign-language

country it would be much easier for the students just to think of themselves and

their practices as foreign-language learners and nothing else. In addition to this,

some of the statements were simplified in terms of vocabulary.


Theoretical Background

According to Keefe learning or cognitive styles are ‘composite of characteristic

cognitive, affective and physiological factors that serve as relatively stable

indicators of how a learner perceives, interacts with, and responds to the learning

environment’(Keefe 1979, p. 1-17), They are not concerned with what learners

learn but how they prefer to learn, and they reflect different ways people respond

to learning situations. For example, some people like working independently,

while others prefer group work; some people learn best with the help of visual

cues and note-writing, while others prefer auditory learning; some like drills, while

others learn best through movements, role plays and simulations. There are

various categorizations of learning styles, e.g. Knowles (1975) suggests that

there are four of them: concrete, analytical, communicative and authority-oriented

whereas the Baldwin Programme for Academic Development

(http://www.bowdoin.edu/baldwin-program/student-resources/learning-

styles.shtml) identifies five: verbal/written, auditory/oral, visual/graphic,

kinesthetic/tactile/concrete and active/reflective. The questionnaire used in this

study is based on the six-part system (Richards and Lockhart, 1996, p. 68-69),

which defines the following six categories of learners: visual, auditory,

kinesthetic, tactile, group and individual. Identifying a student’s style and then

providing instruction consistent with it can contribute to more effective learning.

However, learning styles are not the characterizations of what people are or are

not like since we are all capable of learning under almost any style, no matter

what our preference is.

Learning strategies, on the other hand, are ‘steps taken by students to enhance

their own learning; they are specific actions taken by the learner to make learning

easier, faster, more enjoyable, more self-directed, and more transferrable to new

situations’ (Oxford, 1990, p. 1). Some of them have been used since ancient

times, e.g. mnemonic or memory devices. According to Oxford (1990), there are

six general types of learning strategies:

• Memory strategies for storing and retrieving information (such as creating

mental linkages);

• Cognitive strategies for understanding and producing new language

(practicing);

ELTA Journal 15

• Compensation strategies for communicating despite one’s own

deficiencies in language knowledge (guessing intelligently);

• Metacognitive strategies for organizing, planning and evaluating one’s

own knowledge (arranging learning);

• Affective strategies for gaining control over emotions, attitudes,

motivations, and values (encouraging oneself);

• Social strategies for interacting with people (asking questions).

Identifying them accurately may result in increasing students’ self-awareness

about their own approaches to learning as well as improving their proficiency and

self-confidence.

Research Findings

The results are as follows:

1. Of the twenty-eight examinees, eleven (39.28%) are individual learners;

seven (28.57%) are visual learners; four (14.28%) are tactile learners; four

(14.28) are auditory learners, and two (7.14%) are kinesthetic learners.

2. The top five learning strategies according to the first four groups are:

• Individual learners:

• Comprehending and practising language primarily in real-life

context having personal significance,

• Focusing on and learning from public messages of all kinds,

• Listening and watching observed situations, overheard

conversations,

• Using semantic context, linguistic manners, gestural cues,

etc.,

• Practicing the language in deliberately artificial contexts.

• Visual learners:

• Comprehending and practising language primarily in

real-life context having personal significance;



conversations;

• Interacting with a native speaker;

• Taking notes, writing down new items;

• Focusing on and learning from public messages of all

kinds.

• Auditory learners:



• When listening or reading, directing attention to a

specific language feature;


• Speaking freely, without worrying too much about errors;

• Focusing on understanding messages socio-culturally.

• Tactile learners:




• Speaking freely, without worrying too much about errors,

• Comparing, for example, several sentences in an effort

to deduce the underlying rule;

• Making visualizations to clarify meaning and remember

it.

3. Top five learning strategies among successful learners are:


conversations;


• Self-monitoring one’s own individual difficulties:



• Just relaxing and keeping sensory pathways open.

ELTA Journal 17

Top five learning strategies among not so successful learners are:


real-life context having personal significance,


conversations,

• Interacting with a native speaker,

• Seeking from other people explanations of linguistic and

grammatical points,

• Focusing on and learning from public messages of all

kinds.

The Significance of the Research Findings

The results were more than surprising. An active, responsive class with, what

seemed to me, a great capacity for interaction, appeared to consist of mostly

individual learners with no affinity whatsoever towards group work, and with only

two kinesthetic learners, which meant that I had been constantly creating an

inadequate learning environment for them by insisting on pair and group

activities, mingling and playing, and that I, in a way, prevented them from

achieving better learning results since I used inappropriate teaching methods and

techniques.

It was a relief to find out that students obviously use a variety of learning

strategies, irrespective of their learning preferences. This enables me to persist

in the principle of variety, which I so dearly cherish. Furthermore, the students’

learning strategies are not a perfect match with their learning styles. There is at

least one learning strategy that seems unexpected or illogical for each of the

identified learning styles. For example, visual learners enjoy interacting with

native speakers, tactile learners make visualisations to clarify meaning, and

individual learners like practising language in artificial contexts such as role-plays

or simulations. This clearly demonstrates that even though we have one or two

dominant learning preferences, we actually learn under a variety of different

styles.


It was really fascinating to see that each group of learners placed comprehending

and practising language primarily in real-life context having personal significance

at the top of their learning strategies lists.

Surprisingly enough, there are more similarities between successful and

unsuccessful learners than expected. Successful learners are more relaxed and

prone to self-monitoring, whereas unsuccessful learners lack self-confidence and

tend to have something or someone to rely on when learning.

Conclusion

By shifting the focus from themselves to students, teachers undergo, a process

of self-monitoring and self-evaluation. At the same time, they expand a spectre of

the roles they already have – they are no longer just instructors, managers,

judges or even doctors; now they are also guides, consultants, coordinators and

facilitators. The starting and the ultimate point in teaching in the ELT is enabling

students to use the language communicatively and confidently even when

teachers are no longer there to help, and this change of focus might be a huge

step towards this goal.

References:

Oxford, R. L. (1990), Language Learning Strategies, Newbury House, New York

Richards, J. C. and Lockhart, C. (1996), Reflective Teaching in Second

Language Classroom, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge

Keefe, J. W. (1979), Learning style: An overview; in J. W. Keefe (ed.) Student

Learning Styles: Diagnosing and prescribing programs, Reston VA, National

Association of Secondary School Principles

Knowles, M. (1975), Self-directed learning: A guide for learners and teachers,

Prentice Hall, Cambridge

http://www.bowdoin.edu/baldwin-program/student-resources/learning-styles.shtm

ELTA Journal 19

*****

Svetlana Gavrilović graduated from the Faculty of Philology, University of

Belgrade in 1989. She works in Užice High School, Užice. Her interests include

using literature, music and games in the ELT. She is currently an ELTA Serbia

Board Member and ELTA Serbia regional coordinator for Zlatibor Region.

Appendix 1 and Appendix 2: Research Instruments

Perceptual learning style preference questionnaire

This questionnaire has been designed to help you identify the way(s) you learn

best – the way(s) you prefer to learn. Read each statement and respond to them

AS THEY APPLY TO YOUR STUDY OF ENGLISH. Decide whether you agree

or disagree with each statement.

SA Strongly agree

A Strongly disagree

U Undecided

D Disagree

SD Strongly disagree

Please respond to each statement quickly, without too much thought. Try not to

change your responses after you choose them.

1. When the teacher tells me the instructions, I understand better. SA

A U D SD

2. I prefer to learn by doing something in class. SA

A U D SD

3. I get more work done when I work with others. SA

A U D SD


4. I learn more when I study with a group. SA

A U D SD

5. In class, I learn best when I work with others. SA

A U D SD

6. I learn better by reading what the teacher writes on the board. SA

A U D SD

7. When someone tells me how to do something in class, I learn it better.SA

A U D SD

8. When I do things in class, I learn better. SA

A U D SD

9. I remember things I have heard in class better than things I have read.SA

A U D SD

10. When I read instructions, I remember them better. SA

A U D SD

11. I learn more when I can make a model of something. SA

A U D SD

12. I understand better when I read instructions. SA

A U D SD

13. When I study alone, I remember things better. SA

A U D SD

14. I learn more when I make something for a class project. SA

A U D SD

15. I enjoy learning in class by doing experiments. SA

A U D SD

16. I learn better when I make drawings as I study. SA

A U D SD

17. I learn better in class when the teacher gives a lecture. SA

A U D SD

18. When I work alone, I learn better. SA

A U D SD

19. I understand things better in class when I participate in role playing. SA

A U D SD

ELTA Journal 21

20. I learn better in class when I listen to someone. SA

A U D SD

21. I enjoy working on an assignment with two or three classmates. SA

A U D SD

22. When I build something, I remember what I have learned better. SA

A U D SD

23. I prefer to study with others. SA

A U D SD

24. I learn better by reading than by listening to someone. SA

A U D SD

25. I enjoy making something for a class project. SA

A U D SD

26. I learn best in class when I can participate in related activities. SA

A U D SD

27. In class, I work better when I work alone. SA

A U D SD

28. I prefer working on projects by myself. SA

A U D SD

29. I learn more by reading textbooks than by listening to lectures. SA

A U D SD

30. I prefer to work by myself. SA

A U D SD

Learning Strategies Checklist

Look at the following list of basic 'learning strategies'. Which ones do you most

often use in your own process of foreign language learning? (Place a tick beside

these.)

1. Comprehending and practising language primarily in real-life context

having personal signigicance: i.e. to a large extent, trusting in 'picking it

up'.


2. When listening or reading, directing attention to a specific feature (e.g. a

verb tense, main ideas, etc.): thus, 'selective focusing'.

3. Practising common structures, conversational phrases, polite expressions

and other set formulae i.e. learning them off by heart, in order to have a

ready stock of conversational gambits.

4. Trying to extend the known by 'hypothesis' testing' (e.g. having learned

'truck-driver,' guessing what would you call someone who operates a

taxi?)

5. Listening and watching (and deriving meaning from) observed situations,

over-heard conversations, etc.

6. Using semantic context, linguistic markers, gestural cues, intonation,

situaion, etc. To guess meaning i.e. inferencing.

7. Interacting with a native speaker, utilizing learning techniques (e.g. asking

for repetition, clarification, correction; paraphrasing and asking if that is

accurate etc.)

8. Speaking freely, without worrying too much about errors; persevering in a

focus on your meaning and getting it across in any way possible: re-

stating, giving examples, gesturing etc.

9. Monitoring listener's practical and affective responses to one's

productions: paying careful attention to this and making alterations

accordingly.

10. Focusing on understanding meanings socio-culturally: customs,

expectations, interpretations, cues, etc.

11. Self-monitoring one's own individual difficulties, working out plans for

imrovement.

12. Comparing, for example, several sentences in an effort to deduce the

underlying rule; i.e. in your own way, looking for generalizations or basic

principles of language.

13. Seeking from other people, explanations of linguistic, grammatical (etc.)

points.

14. Reading grammar explanations, contrasts; doing exercises and drills.

15. Making visualizations (diagrams, pictures) to clarify meaning and

remember it; or to clarify structures.

ELTA Journal 23

16. Using mnemonic techniques in order to memorize.

17. Using phonetic symbols or somepersonal system for reminding oneself

about particular sound features, intonation patterns etc.

18. Taking notes, writing down new items; keeping vocabulary lists; keeping a

personal learning journal etc.

19. Repetition for pure reinforcement or motor practice; for fluency of sound

production, phonetic difficult spots etc; pure enjoyment of articulation,

sounds in general.

20. Focusing on and learning from publi message of all kinds (signs, ads,

labels, train announcements, radio, TV, films etc.).

21. Familiarization with a specific language 'field' by deliberate specialization

(e.g. getting to know the language of politics and currect affairs ba always

watching the same TV news program etc.).

22. Working through a 'cassette-course' on the language.

23. Practising the language in deliberately artificial contexts (simulations,

games, crosswords etc.).

24. Experimenting with transferring a message from one medium (or format,

register etc.) to another: (e.g. recounting, as a narration, the story-line of a

movie; discussing, conversationally, an issue read about in a magazine or

newspaper, or writing a personal letter about the same etc.).

25. Just relaxing and keeping sensory pathways open ('absorbing').


Effects of Learner-Generated Illustrations on Comprehension and Recall of L2 Idioms

By Zorana Vasiljević, Bunkyo University, Japan

Abstract: Research in cognitive semantics has shown that the dual coding of input (i.e. presentation of both verbal and visual

information) promotes the formation of memory traces and consequently, the retention of information. The results of earlier

studies that examined the effects of pictorial elucidation on idiom learning suggest that pictures may facilitate comprehension

but contribute little to learners’ retention of linguistic form and may even interfere with it. This paper will review the results of two

studies that were conducted to examine whether learner-generated illustrations could serve as a way of integrating images and

verbal descriptions so that both the comprehension and the production of idiomatic language are facilitated. The first study

compared the effect of instruction through verbal definitions only with the condition where verbal explanations were followed by

learner-generated pictures. The second study compared the retention of idiom meaning and form when pictures were provided

by the instructor and when learners had to draw their own images based on the verbal input. The results of the two studies

suggest that a combination of visual and verbal clues has a limited effect on retention of the meaning of idiomatic phrases but a

positive effect on the recall of their linguistic form.

Key words: idiom teaching, dual-coding theory, learner-generated illustrations Apstrakt: Istraživanja u oblasti kognitivne lingvistike su pokazala da prezentacija informacije u vizualnom i verbalnom

modalitetu ima pozitivan efekat na njenu memorizaciju. Ranije studije o efektu slike na interpretaciju idiomatskog jezika su

pokazale da vizualni materiaj pomaže razumevanju idioma, ali ima mali i ponekad čak i negativan efekat na memorizaciju

forme idiomatskih izraza. Ovaj cčlanak sumira rezultate dva eksperimenta koja predstavljau pokušaj da se vizulani materijal

integriše u metodologiju sa pozitivnim efektom i na interpretaciju i na upotrebu idiomatskog jezika. U prvom eksperimentu instrukcija idioma kroz definicje je uporodjena sa instrukcijom u kojoj su definicije bile propraćene studentskim ilustracijama tih

izraza. U drugom eksperimentu efekat ilustracija odabranih od strane instruktora je uporedjen sa studentsikm ilustracijama

idioma. Rezultati sugerišu da kombinacija vizualnog I verbalnog materijala ima mali efekat na memorizaciju znacenja

idiomatskih izraza, ali doprinosi memorizaciji njihove jezicke forme.

Ključne reči: metodologija predavanja idiomatskog jezika, teorija dvojnog kodiranja; vizualni prikaz teksta od strane studenata



ELTA Journal 25

1 Background Traditionally, semantic opacity, indivisibility of the phrases and their limited

substitutability were considered to be intrinsic characteristics of idiomatic

language (Carter, 1987). Idiomatic expressions were seen as isolated language

units, mutually unrelated and independent of any conceptual system (Köveces &

Szabó, 1996). Consequently, it was assumed that the only way they could be

approached was by treating them as single lexical units that must be memorised

(Boers, Eyckmans & Stengers, 2007).

However, research in cognitive semantics that took place over the last three decades

has offered a new perspective on the nature of idiomatic language. There is a growing

body of evidence that suggests that a large number of idioms may be semantically

motivated, and that idiomatic language can be interpreted according to general

cognitive principles that include ontological and epistemic mappings (Lakoff &

Johnson, 1980; Gibbs, 1990; Köveces & Szabó, 1996; Boers, 2000).

The cognitive framework has opened new possibilities for the teaching of

idiomatic language. Cognitive mechanisms that link literal and figurative

meanings of idiomatic phrases, such as metaphors and metonyms, have been

explored on the assumption that they can help learners recognise semantic

motivation of the figurative language, and subsequently facilitate their retention

and recall. One subject of growing interest in recent years has been the role that

mental imagery may play in the comprehension and production of idiomatic

language.

In 1971 Paivio proposed a ‘dual-coding theory’ arguing that there are two

cognitive subsystems in the human brain: visual and verbal. They exist

independently, which means that visual and verbal information are processed

along two different channels. However, the two memory channels are

interconnected, and therefore information that is presented through both visual

and verbal codes is likely to be stored and retrieved more easily than information

presented through one modality only.

26 Zorana Vasiljević

A number of studies have looked for ways of accommodating the principles of dual-

coding theory in the teaching of idiomatic language. As the meaning of the idioms can

often be derived from the original, literal usage of the phrases (Boers, Demecheleer &

Eyckmans, 2004), it was expected that pictorial support would facilitate the acquisition

of idiomatic language. However, experimental research has produced mixed results.

Boers, Lindstromberg, Littlemore, Stengers and Eyckmans (2008) conducted a

number of controlled experiments that examined the mnemonic effectiveness of

pictorial elucidation (a process of stimulating associative links between language

items and images through the use of schematic drawings or pictures). In the

experiment that specifically focused on idiom learning they found that using

pictures and verbal explanations had a positive effect on the retention of idiom

meaning in L2 but a limited, and sometimes even negative effect on the retention

of idiom form, especially for learners who were high-imagers. Similar results were

obtained in a study by Boers, Piquer-Píriz, Stengers and Eyckman (2009). Half of

the target idioms were presented with verbal definitions only, while for the other half

verbal definitions were accompanied with photographs or drawings that depicted the

literal meaning of the phrases. The learners’ recollection of the idioms was measured

by a gap-fill test. The data obtained provided little evidence that pictorial support

enhanced the retention of linguistic form. Pictures were even found to have a

detrimental effect on the recollection of the more difficult words, especially for students

who had a predisposition for processing vocabulary through imagery.

However, the results of the study by Szczepaniak and Lew (2011) indicated a

facilitative effect of imagery on the retention of idiomatic language. The study

compared the effect of four different formats of presentation of idiomatic language:

1) definition of idiomatic meaning + example sentence;

2) definition of idiomatic meaning + example + etymological note;

3) definition of idiomatic meaning + example + picture;

4) definition of idiomatic meaning + example + picture + etymological note.

After the idiom treatment the students were asked to write a full form of the target

idioms based on one lexical component and to then select the best paraphrase of the

ELTA Journal 27

idiom meaning out of four options. The same format was used on the delayed test

given a week after the treatment. The results of the study suggested that the presence

of imagery facilitated retention of both idiom meaning and form. The effect of pictorial

enhancement was significantly stronger than the effect of etymological notes. With

regard to retention of meaning, the results were found to be statistically significant on

the immediate retention test only, while with regard to idiomatic form a significant

positive effect was observed on both the immediate and the delayed test. These

findings suggest that pictures can stimulate both semantic and structural elaboration.

In short, the currently available data do not provide conclusive evidence with regard to

the extent that pictorial support may facilitate the retention of idiomatic language. The

present paper will report the results of two experiments conducted to further

exploit the possible applications of pictorials in teaching idiomatic language in an

SLA context. The studies examined whether substituting teacher-supplement

pictures with student-generated illustrations could neutralise the observed

negative effect that the use of pictorials had on the retention of the form of

idiomatic expressions. The assumption was that asking learners to illustrate the

literal senses of the idiomatic phrases would not only enhance imaging and the

concreteness of their figurative meanings, but also focus learners’ attention on

the constituent elements of the target phrases.

2 Experiment One 2.1. Study purpose and hypotheses

The study examined acquisition of the meaning and the form of L2 idioms when

the treatment consisted of verbal definitions only or when verbal explanations

were followed by learner-generated illustrations of the target phrases. As drawing

required that learners externally articulated the mental images that they

generated in response to verbal input, it was expected that illustrations would

promote the dual-coding of the input, and in turn enhance the recall of the target

phrases.

2.2 Participants

28 Zorana Vasiljević The experiment involved one group of 48 first-year Japanese university students

with an intermediate level of English proficiency (TOEIC scores between 410 and

530).

2.3 Method and procedures

The study compared the acquisition of thirty L2 idioms, 15 of which were taught

through verbal definitions only and 15 where presentation of verbal input was

followed by learner-generated illustrations of the target phrases.

During the idiom selection process, attention was paid to the imageability of the

target phrases. Only expressions that consisted of concrete words were included

in the study. An effort was also made to ensure that the idioms that were taught

in the two conditions were similar in terms of phrase length and general

frequency of the constituent words. A complete list of the target phrases can be

found in Appendix 1.

The idioms were taught five at a time over six sessions. The sessions lasted

approximately 35 minutes in the definition-only condition, and about 50 minutes

when students were asked to generate the drawings. Each session consisted of

the following stages:

First, the students’ level of familiarity with the target phrases and their constituent

words was established. In both conditions at the beginning of each session the

students were presented with a list of five idioms and asked to explain the

meaning of the phrases in either English or Japanese. They were also instructed

to circle any unknown words, and they were given an opportunity to clarify the

meaning of these words with the teacher. This ensured that the literal meaning of

each lexical item was known to the learners before the discussion shifted to their

figurative usage.

In the second step, the learners were asked to read the example sentences that

included the target idioms, infer their meanings and then write the phrases next

to their definitions, which were also provided in the L2. At this stage the focus

ELTA Journal 29

was primarily on meaning, although the learners did have to pay some attention

to the form in order to write the target phrases correctly.

For the idioms for which the treatments consisted of verbal definitions only, once

the meaning of the target idioms had been confirmed the students were asked to

complete two gap-fill tasks. The first one served as a receptive knowledge test:

the learners were asked to complete the sentences by selecting a suitable idiom

from the list. All idioms were presented in their neutral (dictionary) forms (e.g.,

hold all the aces, play one’s cards right) and therefore in order to complete the

sentences correctly the students sometimes had to make modifications to the

verb tense and the form of possessive pronouns. The second gap-fill task served

as a test of productive idiom knowledge. The target idioms were not provided,

and therefore in order to complete the sentences, the students had to recall both

their meaning and form.

In the dual-coding condition, after the second stage where learners read the

example sentences and wrote the target phrases next to their corresponding

definitions, an extra step was introduced where the students were asked to

illustrate the literal meaning of the target idioms and then to write the phrases

below the corresponding pictures. The steps that followed were the same as in

the definition-only condition: first, the students had to complete a gap-fill task with

the target idioms listed and then do another gap-fill activity for which they had to

recall both the meaning and form of the target expressions.

One week after the idiom treatment the learners were given a delayed post-test

where they were provided with the definitions and asked to write the idioms that

matched their meanings.

Scoring. In the receptive knowledge test, where idiom phrases were provided,

points were given if the students completed the sentence with the correct idiom.

As the purpose of the test was to measure students’ understanding of idiom

meaning, no points were deducted for inflectional or spelling errors.

30 Zorana Vasiljević In the productive knowledge test, the students were only given the points when

all components of the target phrases were encoded correctly. Spelling mistakes

or omissions of an article or a preposition would result in no points being scored.

Students were not penalised for verb tense errors as they were treated as

grammatical errors, rather than lexical.

2.4 Results

2.4.1 Students’ familiarity with the idiomatic language prior to the vocabulary

treatment

None of the 48 participants in the study indicated familiarity with any of the target

idioms. However, literal meanings of most of the constituent words did not seem

to present a problem for the students. The only items that had to be explained in

class were contention, stab, cart, worms, palm, burner and grapevine.

2.4.2 Immediate receptive knowledge test

In the receptive knowledge tests the students recalled on average 55% of the

target idioms in the dual-coding condition and about 63% of the phrases in the

verbal coding condition. The results of the descriptive analysis are presented in

Table 2.1.

Table 2.1 Descriptive statistics of the receptive idiom knowledge test (N=48)

Condition Mean SD

Dual coding condition

Verbal coding condition

8.21

9.44

3.20

3.48

The results of the paired sample t-test indicated that the differences between the

two conditions were statistically significant [t(47)=2.29, p<.05]. The eta square

statistic was (.10), which is considered a moderately large effect size.

2.4.3. Immediate productive knowledge tests

In both conditions, the overall scores of the productive knowledge test were lower

than on the test of receptive knowledge, which can be attributed to the more

ELTA Journal 31

difficult nature of the task and the strict grading criteria applied. The mean values

obtained were slightly higher in the dual-coding condition where the students

mastered on average about 50% of the target expressions. The results of the test

are presented in Table 2.2.

Table 2.2 Descriptive statistics of the productive idiom knowledge test (N=48)

Condition Mean SD



7.58

7.38

2.80

3.39

The difference between the two conditions was not found to be statistically

significant [t(47)=.49, p>.05].

2.4.4. Delayed post-test results

An analysis of the delayed post-test results indicated higher recall rates in the

dual-coding condition. The students who generated drawings for the verbal input

were able to successfully recall on average 81% of the target phrases; the

students who were exposed to the verbal input only had an average recall rate of

65.6%. The results of the test are presented in the table below.

Table 2.3 Descriptive statistics of the delayed post-test (N=48)

Condition Mean SD



12.15

9.85

2.95

3.66

A paired sample t-test analysis showed that difference between the two

conditions was highly statistically significant [t(47)=4.65, p<.0001]. The eta

squared statistic (0.31) indicated a large effect size.

2.5 Summary

32 Zorana Vasiljević The results of the study suggest that learner-generated drawings can facilitate

the acquisition of linguistic forms of idiomatic expressions.

3 Experiment Two 3.1. Study purpose and hypotheses

The second experiment was designed to further explore the possible applications of

student-generated drawings in the teaching of idiomatic language. The study

examined L2 idiom acquisition under two conditions: a) pictorial support provided by

the instructor; b) pictures generated by the learners themselves. Student-generated

drawings were expected to facilitate learning more than the pictorials provided by the

teacher on the grounds that the requirement for external visual representation of the

target phrases would prompt learners to pay attention to their lexical make-up.

3.2 Participants

The experiment involved one group of 53 first-year Japanese university students. The

students were non-English majors and their level of English was intermediate (TOEIC

scores between 430 and 545).

3.3. Method and procedures

The study compared the acquisition of thirty L2 idioms, 15 of which were taught

through pictures provided by the teachers and 15 for which learners themselves had

to provide pictorial support. Like in the previous study an effort was made to ensure

that the target idioms were composed of concrete words, and that the length of the

phrases and distribution of the constituent words across the frequency levels were

similar in both conditions. A complete list of the target phrases can be found in

Appendix 2.

The idioms were taught five at a time during six sessions. The sessions lasted for 40

minutes when visual support was provided by the teacher and 50 minutes when

students were asked to generate the drawings. The procedures were similar to those

followed in Experiment One. First, the learners’ level of familiarity with the target

ELTA Journal 33

phrases was established and the literal meaning of unfamiliar constituent words was

explained. Next, the learners were presented with the example sentences and asked

to infer the idiom meaning from the context and write the target phrases next to their

corresponding definitions. After the meaning of the target idioms was confirmed, the

students moved onto working with pictorial support. For the idioms where the pictures

were provided by the teacher, illustrations from Collins Cobuild Idioms Workbook

(Goodale, 1995) were used. The pictures represented the literal meanings of the

target phrases. For example, for the idiom ‘to hear something through the grapevine’

the following image was provided:

(Goodale, 1995:12)

The students were asked to write the target idioms below the pictures, which was

expected to strengthen the connections between visual and verbal representations.

For the idioms where the learners were asked to provide pictorial support, a sheet

with five rectangular boxes was handed out. The students illustrated the target

phrases and wrote the idioms below their corresponding pictures. Immediate post-

tests had the same formats as those described in Experiment 1. In order to measure

their receptive knowledge of the target phrases the students were asked to complete

sentences by selecting a suitable idiom from the list. After that the students had to

complete another set of five sentences but this time the target idioms were not

provided. In order to complete the task the students had to recall both the meaning

and the form of the target idioms (productive knowledge test). After the students’

responses were collected they were provided with the model answers and

encouraged to ask any questions they had about the meaning or usage of the target

phrases. In the following week, the learners were given a post-test. For the idioms for

which pictorial support was provided by the instructor the learners were presented

with the same illustrations that they worked with in the previous week. They were

asked to write the target idioms below the picture and then to match the picture

number with the corresponding definition. In this way their retention of both the form

34 Zorana Vasiljević and the meaning of the target expressions could be tested. For the idioms where

visual support came from the learners themselves, the copies of illustrations that they

had made in the previous week from which the target idioms were blanked out were

presented. The learners were asked to write the idioms below the pictures and to

match the pictures with the corresponding definitions. The scoring procedures were

the same as those followed in Experiment 1. In order to score a point the students had

to correctly encode all components of the target phrases. Only errors that concerned

word inflections were tolerated as they were treated as grammatical errors rather than

lexical errors.

3.4 Results

3.4.1 Students’ familiarity with the idiomatic language prior to the vocabulary treatment

None of the 53 participants in the study indicated familiarity with any of the target

idioms. Most of the constituent words of the target phrases were familiar, but the

following items had to be explained in class: grapevine, axe, grind, cart, horns,

haystack, palm and contention.

3.4.2 Students’ performance on receptive knowledge tests

The students were able to successfully recall the meaning of 55% of the target

expressions in the learner-generated drawing condition and 60% of the phrases for

which pictorial support was provided by the instructor. The results of the test are

presented in Table 3.1.

TABLE 3.1 Descriptive Statistics of the Receptive Idiom Knowledge Test (N=53)

Condition Mean SD

Illustrations provided by the instructor

Illustrations generated by the learners

9.01

8.28

2.85

3.28

A paired sample t-test was conducted to examine the statistical significance of

differences in the mean scores. The results of the analysis did not indicate that the

differences between the two conditions were statistically significant [t(52)=1.38,

p>.05].

ELTA Journal 35

3.4.3 Students’ performance on productive knowledge tests

In both conditions the average scores on the productive knowledge test were lower

than on the tests of receptive knowledge, which can be attributed to more difficult

nature of the task and the strict grading criteria applied. However, this time the

obtained mean values were slightly higher in the learner-generated drawing condition

where the students mastered on average 7.3 out of 15 target expressions (49%).

When illustrations were provided by the instructor the average rate of recall was 46%.

The results of the descriptive analysis are presented in Table 3.2.

TABLE 3.2 Descriptive Statistics of the Productive Idiom Knowledge Test (N=53)

Condition Mean SD



6.88

7.30

3.85

3.41

The difference between the two conditions was not found to be statistically significant

[t(52)=-.90, p>.05].

3.4.4 Post-test results

In both conditions students’ scores on the delayed post-tests were higher than the

scores on the immediate post-tests suggesting a positive effect of the feedback

provided after the initial testing.

Post-tests of receptive idiom knowledge. The post-test scores suggested a better

recall of idiom meaning when pictorial support is generated by the learners

themselves. The students correctly identified the meaning of 84% of the target idioms

that they provided the illustrations for and 76% of the phrases for which the visual

support was provided by the teachers. The mean values and standard deviations are

provided in the table below.

TABLE 3.3

36 Zorana Vasiljević

Descriptive Statistics of the Receptive Post-Tests (N=53)

Condition Mean SD



11.36

12.62

3.03

2.83

A paired-sample t-test analysis showed that the difference between the two conditions

was statistically significant at .05 level [t(52)=2.63, p<.05].

Post-tests of productive idiom knowledge. The results of the delayed post-tests

suggest a better of recall of linguistic forms when visual support is generated by

provided by the students; the average number of correctly recalled idiom forms was

almost 25% higher when the students drew the pictures themselves. Descriptive

statistics of the productive post-test are presented in the table below.

TABLE 3. 4 Descriptive Statistics of the Productive Post-Tests (N=53)

Condition Mean SD



8.56

12.26

3.42

3.96

The difference between the two mean values was found to be statistically significant

[t(52)=-10.293 p<.05].

3.5 Summary

Better student performance on the immediate test of productive knowledge and higher

scores on the delayed post-tests of both receptive and productive idiom knowledge

suggest that learner-generated drawings may be a more effective way of promoting

acquisition of L2 idiomatic language than through pictorials provided by instructors.

4. General discussion and pedagogical implications Data obtained in the two experiments suggest that student-generated drawings

could be a potentially useful tool in the teaching of L2 idioms. Based on the

ELTA Journal 37

postulate of the dual-coding theory it can be assumed that illustrations of the

target idioms stimulate integration of the verbal and visual coding systems,

providing an alternative pathway for their recall. Students’ better performance in

the dual-coding condition may also be attributed to the greater complexity of the

task. According to Schneider, Healy and Bourne (2002) more difficult learning

tasks tend to result in initially inferior performance but less information loss

across retention intervals than simpler learning conditions. This could explain the

limited impact that the dual-coding condition had over the verbal condition in the

immediate post-test and the substantial differences obtained in the delayed post-

test in Experiment One. Finally, students’ better performance on productive

knowledge tests may have resulted from the nature of the task itself. According

to the transfer-appropriate processing theory (TAP), the mnemonic effect of

learning will depend on the nature of the task at the study phase and the testing

phase (Morris, Bransford, & Franks, 1997). Semantic elaboration facilitates

performance on semantically oriented tasks, while structural elaboration has a

positive effect on the performance on the structurally oriented tasks (Barcroft,

2002). Illustration of the literal meaning of the idiomatic expressions focused

learners’ attention on the compositional elements of the target phrases,

knowledge of which is crucial for productive idiom usage. In other words,

productive encoding at the study phase may have accounted for students’ better

performance at the recall stage. This beneficial mnemonic effect of pictorial

elucidation must not be overlooked when methodology for teaching figurative

language is considered. Idioms present an intrinsic part of the native speaker’s

lexicon (Polio, Barlow, Fine and Polio, 1977) and mastery of the language will

require the learners to acquire a large repertoire of idiomatic expressions for

active use. Depicting the literal meaning of the idiomatic expressions may help

learners who are striving to achieve this goal.

However, as with any other learning strategy, it is important that instructors

consider when and how pictorial elucidation is integrated into the classroom

activities. First, it should be remembered that the facilitative effect of the pictorial

support tends to be stronger when it comes to the acquisition of the linguistic

form rather than idiom meaning. While visual representation of the compositional

38 Zorana Vasiljević elements of the idiomatic strings makes individual words more salient prompting

a better recall of the formal properties of the phrases, pictures do not always

facilitate idiom comprehension. Although illustrations may help some learners to

see the connection between the literal and the figurative meanings of the

expressions, it is also possible that they sometimes have a distracting effect as

some learners may focus too much on the literal meaning of the target

expressions and fail to recognise their idiomatic usage. Therefore, visual coding

of the input through student-generated pictures may be best suited for

consolidation of the linguistic forms of the idioms that learners are already

familiar with. Students could be asked to work in pairs and take turns drawing

and identifying idioms from the illustrations. Alternatively, they could be divided

into teams and asked to act out or mime the target expressions.

In addition to reinforcing encoding of the input, student-generated illustrations

ensure that visual input is pedagogically relevant and comprehensible to the

learners. There are many textbooks where pictures have a purely decorative

function, and as a result do little to enhance learning (Mayer, Steinhoff, Bower &

Mars, 1995). Furthermore, illustrations that are intended to contextualise

language and stimulate learning are often culturally biased, and as a result

incomprehensible to the learners (Hewings, 1991). Having the learners illustrate

the target language ensures that the images match the verbal input and are

meaningful to the students.

Third, student-generated illustrations can also serve as an indicator of learners’

understanding of the input and reveal possible misconceptions caused by

misunderstanding of the key-words or confusion of lexical forms. For example,

one of the participants in Experiment Two produced the following illustration for

the idiom ‘a feather in a cap’.

ELTA Journal 39

The drawing clearly indicates the confusion of word forms (cup vs. cap). The ability to

identify the elements that cause misunderstanding of the input allows instructors

to provide timely and more effective formative feedback, leading to better

learning outcomes.

Finally, picture generation as a teaching strategy also has an affective value. An

opportunity to personalise input and the comparatively easy nature the task

meant that the majority of students approached the task positively and were able

to produce context-appropriate drawings quickly and effectively from the first

teaching session. A sample of student-generated drawings is available in

Appendix 3. Teachers, however, should be careful not to impose this or any

other strategy on the learners. As Richardson (1978) points out, it is important to

make a distinction between coding efficiency (i.e. processing ability) and coding

preference (i.e. preference for utilizing particular strategies). The effect that a

particular strategy may have a stronger mnemonic effect does not mean that all

learners will embrace it with enthusiasm. Pictorial elucidation should be

approached as one of the alternative options to rote memorization, not as a

magic wand for acquisition of figurative language.

The results of the study also highlight some general issues of concern with

regards to teaching idiomatic language to L2 learners. First, it is evident that

idiomatic language should be given more attention in the ESL classroom. In

neither of the two experiments were the students familiar with any of the target

expressions. Idioms represent an integral part of vocabulary development and

the ability to comprehend and use them correctly requires linguistic, cognitive

and pragmatic skills. The lack of learners’ familiarity with the idioms highlights the

need for this type of language to be incorporated in the syllabus and course

40 Zorana Vasiljević materials. Second, it is clear that learners need more practice in the production of

syntactically flexible idioms. Sentences that required transformations of indefinite

pronouns one, somebody and something resulted in a large number of erroneous

phrases. Learners must be given sufficient exposure to both canonical and

variant idiom forms and opportunities to work on activities that stimulate

structural elaboration.

5. Future Research The results of the two experiments point to several possible directions for future

research.

First, in the two experiments reported above, posttests took place either immediately

after the idiom treatment or one week later. An additional follow up test at a later date

would provide more information about the long-term effects of different kinds of

treatment on the acquisition of idiomatic language.

Another area of interest is the depth of processing of literal and figurative

meanings of idiomatic utterances in L2. Earlier studies (Gibbs, 1980) suggested

that figurative meaning is a dominant mode of processing of idiomatic language

for native speakers. However, the conventionality of the figurative usage means

that utterances with figurative meaning usually require less mental elaboration

and as a result they tend to be more difficult to retrieve than the expressions

used in their literal sense. It would be of interest to see whether the same results

would be obtained with second language learners, who have a tendency to

overlook figurative usage and process phrase constituents literally and

individually. It is possible that for them figurative usage would be “unconventional

usage”, eliciting more elaborative processing and leading to a better recall of the

figurative phrases.

In both experiments reported in this paper the learners were asked to illustrate

the literal meanings of the target phrases. It would be interesting to see whether

a more open-ended task, where the participants are instructed to illustrate the

ELTA Journal 41

target sentences, but are left free to decide whether the drawings will reflect their

literal or figurative meanings, would produce different results in terms of both

images that are generated and their subsequent recall rates. A more open task

design could also shed some light on the debate about whether conceptual

metaphors underlie idiom comprehension (Gibbs & O’Brien, 1990; Gibbs, 1992),

or whether images associated with idioms are more likely to reflect their

concrete-literal meanings (Cacciari & Glucksberg, 1995). Parallel studies with the

participation of native speakers and language learners could reveal possible

differences in the role that imagery plays in L1 and L2 idiom comprehension.

Finally, more research is needed into how instruction of idiomatic language could be

integrated in more communicative and authentic language tasks. In the present study,

vocabulary treatment was de-contextualised, and the target idioms were presented as

discrete lexical items. However, considering the limited time that learners and

teachers have at their disposal, it is important to consider how learning activities can

be modified to stimulate the use of the target phrases while retaining their

communicative function.

It is hoped that this study will encourage further studies into acquisition of

figurative language and the possible applications of image-based pedagogy in

the ESL classroom.

Acknowledgments I would like to thank two anonymous reviewers for their comments and suggestions.

References Barcroft, J. (2002). Semantic and structural elaboration in L2 lexical acquisition.

Language Learning, 52 (2), 323-363.

Boers, F. (2000). Metaphor awareness and vocabulary retention. Applied Linguistics

21 (4),553-571.

Boers, F., Demecheleer, M., & Eyckmans, J. (2004). Etymological elaboration as a

strategy for learning figurative idioms. In P. Bogaards and B. Laufer (Eds.),

Vocabulary in a second language: selection, acquisition and testing (pp. 53-78).

42 Zorana Vasiljević Boers, F., Eyckmans, J., & Stengers, H. (2007). Presenting figurative language with a

touch of etymology: more than mere mnemonics? Language Teaching Research, 11

(1), 43-62.

Boers, F., Lindstromberg, S., Littlemore, J., Stengers, H., & Eyckmans, J. (2008).

Variables in the mnemonic effectiveness of pictorial elucidation. In F. Boers

& S. Lindstromberg (Eds.), Cognitive linguistic approaches to teaching

vocabulary and phraseology (pp.189-216). The Hague: Mouton de Gruyter.

Boers, F., Piquer-Piriz, A. M., Stengers, H., & Eyckmans, J. (2009). Does pictorial

elucidation foster recollection of idioms? Language Teaching Research, 13 (4), 367-

382.

Cacciari, C., & Glucksberg, S. (1995). Understanding idioms: Do visual images

reflect figurative meaning? European Journal of Cognitive Psychology, 7 (3),

283-305.

Carter, R. (1987). Vocabulary: Applied linguistic perspectives. London: Allen and

Unwin.

Gibbs, R.W. (1980). Spilling the beans on understanding and memory for idioms

in conversation. Memory and Cognition, 8, 149-156.

Gibbs, R.W. (1990). Psycholinguistic studies on the conceptual basis of

idiomaticity.Cognitive Linguistics 1-4, 417-451.

Gibbs, R.W. (1992). What do idioms really mean? Journal of Memory and

Language, 31, 485-506.

Gibbs, R., & O’Brien, J. (1990). Idioms and mental imagery: The

metaphoricalmotivation for idiomatic meaning. Cognition, 36, 35-68.

Goodale, M. (1995). Collins Cobuild idioms workbook. UK: Collins Cobuild.

Hewings, M. (1991). The interpretation of illustrations in ELT materials. ELT

Journal, 45 (3), 237-244.

Köveces, Z., & Szabó P. (1996). Idioms: A view from cognitive semantics.

Applied Linguistics 17 (3), 326-355.

Lakoff, G., & Johnson, M. (1980). Metaphors we live by. Chicago: University of

Chicago Press.

Mayer, R.E., Steinhoff, K., Bower, T., & Mars, R. (1995). A generative theory of

textbook design: Using annotated illustrations to foster meaningful learning of

science text. Educational Technology Research and Development, 43, 31-43.

ELTA Journal 43

Morris, C.D., Bransford, J.D., & Franks, J.J. (1977). Levels or processing versus

transfer appropriate processing. Journal of Verbal Learning and Verbal Behavior,

16, 519-533.

Paivio, A. (1971). Imagery and verbal processes. New York: Holt, Rinehart & Winston.

Polio, H.R., Barlow, J. M., Fine, H.K., & Polio, M.R. (1977). Psychology and the

poetics of growth. Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum.

Richardson, J.T.E. (1978). Mental imagery and memory: Coding ability or coding

preference. Journal of Mental Imagery, 2 (1), 101-115.

Scheinder, V. I., Healy, A.F., & Bourne, L.E. (2002). What is learned under

difficult conditions is hard to forget: Contextual interference effects in foreign

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46, 419-440.

Szczepaniak, R., & Lew, R. (2011). The role of imagery in dictionaries of idioms.

Applied Linguistics 32 (3): 323-347.

Note: Data reported in Experiment One first appeared in paper “Dual Coding Theory and the

Teaching of Idiomatic Language” (Bunkyo University, Bulletin of The Faculty of Language and

Literature 27 (1): 1-34). Data reported in Experiment Two was first reported in ‘Teaching Idioms

through Pictorial Elucidation” (The Journal of Asia TEFL 2012, 9 (3): 75-105). Both papers were

revised for this publication.

*****

Zorana Vasiljevic (PhD, University of Queensland) is associate professor at the

Faculty of Language and Literature at Bunkyo University, Japan, where she

teaches courses in English as a foreign language, L2 teaching methodology and

materials development. Her research interests include L2 vocabulary acquisition,

discourse analysis and EFL methodologies.

44 Zorana Vasiljević Appendix 1: Target idioms in Experiment One

Dual coding condition • tighten one’s belt • bone of contention • ring a bell • skate on thin ice • step on someone’s toes • race against the clock • pull one’s socks up • feather in one’s cap • stab somebody in the back • have egg on one’s face • put the cart before the horse • open up a can of worms • burn the candle at both ends • bang one’s head against a brick wall • have someone in the palm of one’s hand


• food for thought • at a crossroads • cook the books • hold all the aces • go one’s separate ways • on the back burner • play one’s cards right • flash in the pan • hear something through the grapevine • sink one’s teeth into something • have an ace up one’s sleeve • put one’s foot into one’s mouth • put one’s cards on the table • leave a bad taste in one’s mouth • you scratch my back, I’ll scratch yours.

ELTA Journal 45

Appendix 2: Target Idioms in Experiment Two Picture-provided condition

• ring a bell • cook the books • let off some steam • flash in the pan • start the ball rolling • play it by ear • put one’s finger on something • have an axe to grind • hear something through the grapevine • burn the candle at both ends • put one’s cards on the table • take the bull by the horns • let the cat out of the bag • look for a needle in a haystack • you scratch my back, I’ll scratch yours

Learner-generated drawing condition

• tighten one’s belt • bone of contention • skate on thin ice • step on someone’s toes • race against the clock • pull one’s socks up • stab somebody in the back • have egg on one’s face • feather in one’s cap • put the cart before the horse • open up a can of worms • put one’s foot in one’s mouth • leave a bad taste in one’s mouth • bang one’s head against a brick wall • have someone in the palm of one’s hand

46 Zorana Vasiljević Appendix 3: Samples of Student-Generated Drawings To tighten one’s belt

To open a can of worms


Making a school magazine and a video blog in English-

Project based TEFL by Marija Ivanović- Božić, "Vuk Karadžić" Primary School and "Mladost" Primary

School, Knjaževac

Abstract: Due to the needs of the contemporary world, a modern English language teacher must devise and practise

effective, efficient and appealing models to develop students' communicative competence in English so that they are able to

use the foreign language adequately in different situations as well as to express their opinion on a given topic. A school

activity of making a magazine and a video blog in English, based on the methods of the Communicative approach,

Contrastive analysis, Project based learning and Computer Assisted Language Learning seems to provide a very successful,

fruitful and, above all, sustainable learning environment. This article describes our 5 years' experience in undertaking these

projects, giving an insight into the organization and realization of all the phases of the activities. It also consists of our

reflection on these activities, which might serve as useful information to other EFL teachers, who may wish to incorporate

these activities into their school projects.

Key words: project based TEFL, magazine, video blog, communication skills, teaching, learning.

Apstrakt: S obzirom na zahteve modernog sveta, savremeni nastavnik engleskog jezika mora razviti i primenjivati

delotvorne, efikasne i privlačne nastavne modele u cilju razvijanja komunikativnih sposobnosti učenika, kako bi oni

adekvatno koristili strani jezik u različitim situacijama i bili sposobni da izražavaju svoje mišljenje na slobodnu temu.

Aktivnost pravljenja časopisa i video bloga na engleskom, zasnovana na komunikativnom pristupu, kontrastivnoj analizi,

projektnoj nastavi, i učenju pomoću računara, ima izgleda da obezbedi veoma uspešno, produktivno i, pre, svega,

održivo okruženje za učenje. Ovaj članak opisuje petogodišnje iskustvo u izradi ovih projekata i izlaže , način organizacije

i realizacije svih faza aktivnosti. Pored toga, on sadrži i naša zapažanja o datim aktivnostima, koja mogu poslužiti

kao korisna informacija drugim nastavnicima koji bi uvrstili ove aktivnosti u svoje školske projekte.

Ključne reči: projektna nastava engleskog jezika, časopis, video blog, komunikativne veštine, podučavanje, učenje.



48 Marija Ivanović Božić

Introduction

Considering the modern way and tempo of life, in the world which has become a global

village, where numerous modes of communication are available, the role of an EFL

teacher has extended. It does not only entail enabling students to use grammar and

vocabulary properly within the textbook context, but also training them to practice and

expand that knowledge in any new environments and for different purposes.

An approach that emphasizes the importance of the communicative function of a foreign

language, and which has been the essence of the methodology of TEFL for the last 30

years is the Communicative approach. Its theory advocates procuring the activities and

conditions similar to the first language acquisition, such as providing the target language

input and the real communicative contexts. Children should not be forced to talk,

nor be pre-taught grammar explicitly, but be provided with the functional, meaningful

language, in context, resembling real life situations [Larsen Freeman, 2000:123], which

is usually done through role playing games, discussions or debating activities.

However, our years of teaching practice have shown that although teachers do their best

to provide the TL input, when asked to express what they think on a free topic, students

follow the patterns of their native language (L1) in the majority of cases. The reason for

this might lie in the fact that the more subtle the topics, the more likely they are to think

in their native language first and then to stick to its structures inertly. They tend to follow

grammatical patterns of their native language and provide literal translation, regardless

of their mark in English. Although this might be evident in immediate communication, it is

certainly less elusive in written works, indicating what clumsy and awkward ‘expressions’

should be replaced with adequate and authentic grammatical, lexical or idiomatic

equivalents of the target language. Consequently, a teacher realizes what L2 context to

supply so that the required target language should be practised and acquired.

The activities of a school magazine and video blog are suitable for both approaches as

they are devised to encourage the students’ free expression, as well as correct the

students’ literal mistakes and supply them with authentic language patterns. These

activities are preferably designed as instances of Project based learning, for its

numerous benefits for the development of the students’ personal skills, apart from those

exclusively linguistic ones [Đorđević, 2007:83]. These activities are really involving and

they gradually lead to the process of acquiring correct language patterns and of

developing the feeling of accomplishment and social recognition. Besides this, another

great significance of project work is that it provides a learning platform for all pupils in the

school regardless of their class or abilities. Furthermore, the overall students’

ELTA Journal 49

development is enhanced as people learn more effectively in a group setting assuming

different roles, observing others’ perspectives, interacting regularly and complementing

one another [Gardner, 2003:172].

The project based teaching entails a lot of phases of work, one of which is editing the

magazine and the video blog, usually manipulating different Internet resources and

applications, therefore, CALL (Computer Assisted Language Learning) is also

incorporated. Besides helping the students to improve their ICT skills, this way of e-

learning, procures students’ active participation in individual and collaborative

activities [Mišić Ilić, Mihajlović, 2012: 26].

The aim of this article is to promote this teaching praxis and motivate more EFL teachers

to try out these teaching projects and enjoy their benefits. The article gives an insight

into the organization and realization of all the phases of the project activities

and provides useful information on our 5 years' experience of editing a magazine and a

video blog in English.

The school magazine - The phases of its making

Although both models of learning enhance the students’ communicative competence,

the written work, characteristic of the magazine, is more convenient for monitoring the

flow of the students’ language, detecting their patterns and correcting them, if necessary.

The phases of making a magazine would proceed in the way described below.

Informing the students - At first the students could be informed by their English language

teachers; however, it is necessary to have a project coordinator e.g. an editor-in-

chief to arrange regular meetings. English language teachers participating in the

project could present students with the possibilities of writing different types of papers,

but they should also listen to and accept the children’s ideas, which

are mainly unexpectedly fresh, novel and unique. After being informed about the general

idea, the students should be involved as active participants in editing the magazine in

terms of its content (suggesting rubrics, applying for writing certain reports, or drawings,

etc.) The editorial work should be based on an inclusive policy and peer to peer learning,

as that it is very important for the students’ growth that everybody contribute and be

accepted according to their abilities.

Collecting the material - The first problem could be gathering the children’s materials.

The teachers should choose the material for the magazine not only from the given


assignments to the specific students, but also from the delivered pieces of homework,

poster presentations, etc. It is important to encourage and evaluate students’ additional

self-study work and self-assigned homework, as it would become their habit, enhance

their learning strategies and encourage their independent lifelong learning. It would also

provide more material to collect for the magazine.

Correction of the material - After the papers have been collected, they could be

corrected by all the participants within the English section classes. These classes are

also suitable for making the posters with useful tips and expressions or other

presentations of useful phrases as a feedback and a reminder of the errors in the

students’ papers. Thus, contrastive analysis is supposed to be applied here to

explain certain instances of interference of the mother tongue in terms of lexical and

grammatical patterns and the concept of collocations. For instance, students should

realize that some words may sound similar but have quite a different meaning, such us

"sympathetic" and Serbian “simpatičan”, or "eventually" and “eventualno”, “TV

programme” and “TV emisija”, “chips” and “pomfrit”, etc. In addition to that they

should be aware of the nuances in meaning between grammatical categories across the

languages. Thus the predicates in the sentences “I am playing tennis now”, “I play

tennis every day”, and “I have played tennis for two years”, are translated in Serbian

with the same predicate regardless of the time reference “Igram tenis…sada/

svakog dana/ dve godine”.

Furthermore, besides lexis and grammar, certain phrases must be fixed -

students cannot “jump” but “get on somebody’s nerves”. They can fall in love “at first

sight”, not “on the first saw”, as one of our students suggested in his paper.

In order to discern and acquire different lexical and grammatical patterns the

students should use them intensively. They could make a poster, a news item, story, an

essay, a play, a debate or a game using the given words and phrases in class or in

homework activities.

Graphic design- The next phase would be editing or designing the magazine which could

be done in e.g. MO Publisher. Editing the graphic design of the magazine electronically

might appear as one of the problems in the beginning. However, ICT teachers should

assist the students so that they could be trained to edit their pages independently in the

near future.

In our school the graphic design phase was for the first time entirely carried out by our

pupils this year. They were instructed into the basics of the MO Publisher and it did not

ELTA Journal 51

take them a significant time to grasp its use and to start to enjoy it so the whole job was

finished within 6 double classes of ICT, where they excelled in efficient and selective

browsing the Internet, choosing and downloading the information and pictures they

needed, scanning the drawings, and listing the references, etc.

Printing Phase - Financing the printing of the magazine, especially in colour, might be

considerable in amount, however, there are many ways to gather money. First, the

school and the local municipality should be asked for the support. Different local shops,

factories or companies could also be asked to donate money to the school and to be

advertised in the magazine. It could also be agreed that the parents provide part of the

financial assets. For instance, on certain occasions the money was collected from the

entry fees given on a free basis. Everybody paid as much as they preferred. This way

the students could pay for printing costs of the magazine and buy some of the

equipment for their English classes - readers, costumes, didactic materials or more

valuable technical devices (e.g. a smart board, a camcorder). This praxis is highly

recommendable as it reinforces the students’ feeling of achievement of doing something

concrete and making a change by their own effort.

Promotion of the Magazine- The last, but not the least are follow-up activities of

promoting the magazine in karaoke nights, school performances, plays or literary

evenings. The magazines were distributed to the visitors comprised of our students, their

parents, teachers and special guests, such as eminent town people; however, their

target audience was the students of our school, as this project based teaching was

designed and performed to improve their ability to express themselves in English.

All these events were organized and prepared within the English section classes and

they ensured learning in a gamelike and a memorably pleasant environment.

A video blog

While the school magazine is more time consuming, a video blog requires a more hi-

tech “literate” team. The team should make a choice of the materials to be presented.

Then the pupils should also be informed about the possible rubrics and delegated a

section to prepare and write a scenario for. These activities could be used with the age

group over 10, as there are very fluent and talkative pupils in the fourth grade.

The scripts would be proofread and practiced under the teachers’ supervision and then

only a camcorder and a creative cameraman are required.


In our case, the movie was shot, directed and edited in Windows Movie Maker by

amateur teachers and students. This is not a less comprehensible application than any

other Windows component and it is possible to be used in schools in ICT or English

section classes.

The shooting can be done in English section classes or in pre-classes between the

shifts, with the motto that Practice makes perfect.

The contents of the magazine and the video blog

Judging by the content of the articles, reports, various columns and rubrics, students

may benefit from the CLIL and multicultural learning in addition to their mastering the

communicative competence. They can get a broader vision of universal connectedness

and diversity in the world. They can also develop their critical and creative thinking,

which encourages them to take action to better things and which nourishes their

entrepreneur’s spirit.

Some of the standard rubrics in our magazine are:

• How to make our school better;

• Culture corner;

• A book to read;

• What’s on TV?

• The interviews about visiting other countries;

• Holidays;

• Animals;

Although the articles are mostly expected from 9 - 11 year olds, there are rubrics for the

youngest; My first English steps, I can write, too, where they can deliver their drawings,

exercises, and thus be encouraged to enter the world of English and ignite the spark of

love towards learning it from an early age.

The standard rubrics in our blog are: On the spot, School news, Interviews, A piece of

DIY advice, A tutorial on the English culture, etc.

Conclusion

All in all, according to our 5 years of experience, during which we published 6 issues of

our magazine Happy paper- Glückliche Zeitung and 2 episodes of our video

blog Happy English Corner, which are available at http://english.osvuk.com/, we have

noticed many satisfactory and desirable outcomes. The students’ greater ability to

express themselves in English, better fluency, brushed up grammar and a more careful

use of collocations were noticed in children’s greater ability to communicate, in their

ELTA Journal 53

greater achievements in different competitions, as well as in their eagerness to do more

project works in English, such as research works, writing poems, essays, plays. In

addition to that the students recognized the power of organized team project work, and

expressed greater initiative to organize similar activities for different purposes (not

necessarily connected with English). For all the above mentioned reasons we would

strongly recommend these activities to other primary and secondary schools. They could

use these ideas and spice them up according to their own taste and joy as making our

teaching enjoyable - both for ourselves and for our students through plays,

entertainment and a lot of games [Kitić, 2007:121] - is one of the key notions of the art of

teaching and learning.

References: Larsen Freeman, D. (2000) Techniques and Principles in Language Teaching,

OUP, Oxford;

Gardner, H. (2003) Intelligence Reframed: Multiple Intelligences for the 21th Century,

Basic Books, A Member of Peseus Books Group.

Đorđević, V., D. (2007) Inovativni modeli nastave, Obrazovna tehnologija 4/2007;

Kitić, S. (2007) An Introduction to Methodology of ELT, University of Niš, Faculty of

Philosophy, Niš

Mišić Ilić, B., Mihajlović Lj. (2012) Try IT, University of Niš, Faculty of Philosophy, Niš

*****

Marija Ivanović- Božić, has graduated from the University of Niš, Faculty of Philosophy

in 2007 and became an MA in English language and literature. She works at "Vuk

Karadžić" Primary School and "Mladost" Primary School in Knjaževac. She has a special

interest in the methodology of TEFL and the research work related to it.

Corresponding authors: [email protected]; [email protected] Copyright ELTA Journal 2013 www.eltajournal.org.rs

Developing Critical Thinking in the English Language classroom: A Lesson Plan

by Elena Vdovina, Saint-Petersburg State Polytechnical University, Saint-Petersburg, Russia and Lourdes Cardozo Gaibisso, Secondary School, Montevideo, Uruguay

Abstract: The aim of this article is to share both theoretical and practical ideas about critical thinking development within

English language teaching/learning contexts. First, the authors seek to answer three questions, namely, what critical thinking

is, why to integrate and develop critical thinking in ELT, and how to create lessons including an element of critical thinking

development. Then the article introduces some extra concepts which prove useful when designing a lesson with a critical

thinking objective in mind such as the importance of cognitive and affective domains, and an ABCD model as a convenient

framework for the incorporation of necessary components into the lesson plan. A lesson plan is provided demonstrating the

application of critical thinking strategies in ELT.

Key words: Critical thinking, English language teaching/learning, lesson plan, ABCD model, cognitive and affective domains,

critical thinking strategies

Apstrakt: Ovaj rad ima za cilj da podeli sa čitaocima neke teoretske i praktične ideje u vezi sa razvijanjem kritičkog načina

razmišljanja u kontekstu nastave i učenja engleskog jezika. Autori prvo pokušavaju da daju odgovor na tri pitanja: šta je

zapravo kritičko razmišljanje, zašto ga uvesti u nastavu engelskog jezika i kako stvoriti časove koji uključuju element razvijanja

kritičkog razmišljanja. Nakon toga, rad uvodi dodatne koncepte koji se pokazuju kao korisni pri kreiranju časova sa ciljem

razvoja kritičkog razmišljanja, kao recimo značaj kognitivnog i afektivnog domena i ABCD model kao praktičan okvir za

uvođenje neophodnih komponenata u plan časa. Na kraju, priložen je plan časa koji demonstrira primenu strategija kritičkog

razmišljanja u nastavi engleskog jezika.

Ključne reči: kritičko razmišljanje, nastava I učenje engleskog jezika, plan časa, ABCD model, kognitivni I afektivni domeni,

strategije kritičkog razmišljanja



ELTA Journal 55

Introduction Every teacher must have heard at some point throughout their teaching careers

the term “critical thinking”. This concept seems to be present daily in educational

speeches, articles and syllabuses. Moreover, there seems to be a general

agreement on the “correctness” of such term and its usage. For that reason, it

might be strange for the reader to discover that little is known about critical

thinking, what it is, what it counts and how to incorporate it into our ELT lesson

plans.

The aim of this article is to share both theoretical and practical ideas about

critical thinking and its application within English language teaching and learning

contexts. First, the authors seek to answer three fundamental questions

connected with the topic:

1. What is critical thinking?

2. Why to integrate and develop critical thinking in ELT?

3. How to create lessons with an element of critical thinking development?

Then some concepts concerning critical thinking development are introduced

which prove useful when designing a lesson. Finally, the authors suggest three

objectives with a critical component in each for a particular lesson. The lesson

plan and some material for the lesson are provided in the appendix.

What is critical thinking? Critical thinking is not a new concept or practice. Most teachers might be

impressed to learn that critical thinking can be traced back many centuries ago.

In fact, it has been practiced from times immemorial, notably, by Socrates and

Plato. (Paul, el al. 1997).

Defining critical thinking might seem difficult, especially because the term tends

to be used repeatedly without actually reflecting on its true meaning. To begin

with, we can state that critical thinking is a quality able to be developed

throughout life. But critical thinking is not a dimension just applicable to education

(in the formal sense of the term). So what it is? How can it be defined?

“Critical thinking is self-guided, self-disciplined thinking which attempts to reason

at the highest level of quality in a fair-minded way. People who think critically

56 Elena K. Vdovina and Lourdes Cardozo Gaibisso

consistently attempt to live rationally, reasonably, empathically. They are keenly

aware of the inherently flawed nature of human thinking when left unchecked.”

(Elder, 2007)

It is crucial to be aware of the fact that critical thinking is not “survival thinking”; it

requires careful and intentional development of specific skills in processing

information, considering beliefs, opinions, solving problems. Schafersman (1991:

p.3) states that “critical thinking means correct thinking in the pursuit of relevant

and reliable knowledge about the world. Another way to describe it is reasonable,

reflective, responsible, and skillful thinking that is focused on deciding what to

believe or do. A person who thinks critically can ask appropriate questions,

gather relevant information, efficiently and creatively sort through this

information, reason logically from this information, and come to reliable and

trustworthy conclusions about the world that enable one to live and act

successfully in it”.

Raymond S. Nickerson (1987) provides us with a whole list of abilities and

attitudes which characterize the individual who thinks critically. This individual is

someone who:

• organizes thoughts and articulates them concisely and coherently;

• suspends judgment in the absence of sufficient evidence to support a

decision;

• attempts to anticipate the probable consequences of alternative actions;

• can learn independently and has an abiding interest in doing so;

• applies problem-solving techniques in domains other than those in which

learned, to name just a few.

Why to integrate and develop critical thinking in the ELT? Critical thinking is associated with quality thinking and, if sufficiently developed,

provides learners with a more skillful way of communicating with other people,

acquiring new knowledge, and dealing with ideas, beliefs, and attitudes. In all

these areas language plays a crucial role. We may need to distinguish between

the language as a communicative vehicle in everyday situations and the use of

the language beyond the survival level. In fact, a lot of verbal communication

ELTA Journal 57

occurs in everyday situations which do not require much thinking but a number of

situational clichés and factual information.

However, when a foreign language is taught/learned, even the survival language

level may require more thinking of how to communicate in a foreign language.

This is because languages are culturally determined (see David Chrystal’s book

The Stories of English, 2004). And as cultures differ, so do languages. Traditions

and mentality reflect in the language, its vocabulary, grammar structures,

modality, etc. When learning the target language, students need to accept these

cultural differences not as a deviation from the natural way associated, as they

may think, with their mother tongue but as a fully natural, though different, way of

verbal expression within a different cultural domain. Practicing thinking critically

when trying to identify similarities and differences in how one and the same

cliché is put in words in another language makes the learning process more

enjoyable and culturally enriching even at the beginning level.

Moreover, the English language took the role of the lingua franca and is used

globally by non-native speakers of English for intercultural communication.

Critical thinking skills are indispensable when practicing such intellectual traits as

empathy and tolerance thus getting ready for communication in multicultural

contexts.

One more aspect justifying and even requiring critical thinking introduction in the

ELT class arises due to the rapidly growing international student mobility trends

and the use of English as the language of instruction in universities around the

world. Researchers of the American Foundation for Critical Thinking

(www.criticalthinking.org) argue that critical thinking is not as a natural skill as

speaking or running, it is a deliberately developed complex set of skills and

features which takes years to acquire. Similarly, a foreign language acquisition

needs years of persistent training. So practicing both simultaneously saves time

and provides a synergy effect: developing the former we improve the latter and

vice versa.

Finally, critical thinking requires active and interactive learning. It does not

tolerate passive learning, taking new things and opinions as ready-made words

of wisdom. In our experience, students tend to learn better by actively

communicating with each other in a particular academic content, especially if


they are encouraged to apply critical thinking when comparing their views and

ideas, when evaluating arguments, when probing into the intellectual standards

of clarity and accuracy, breadth and width, relevance and fair-mindedness, etc.

Engaged in the interactive activities while practicing both communicative skills

and critical thinking, students have a better chance to improve their self-

consciousness, their understanding of their abilities and of their limits and thus

paving the road to self-improvement as learners, as future professional, and as

individuals.

How to integrate critical thinking in a lesson plan? So far we have focused our attention on exploring some theoretical aspects of

critical thinking, but as every English language teacher knows, it might be hard to

find the way to apply and develop lesson plans that address critical thinking in

viable and realistic ways. As usual, there are different contexts and student

characteristics that may influence the degree to which critical thinking can be

introduced and developed, but we firmly believe that the first steps are planning,

experimenting and reflecting. Our own practice and students feedback will

provide the teacher with the necessary information to start redesigning lessons

so that they involve students in the development of critical thinking, i.e. to adapt

content, language tasks, learning strategies in cognitive and affective domains.

Undoubtedly, writing a lesson plan helps to organize our thoughts and have a

framework that indicates how to take our students to certain “learning

destinations”. In order to develop plans that include the development of critical

thinking some essential elements or components are typical for any lesson plans,

yet some other components need to be added and adapted in order to integrate

a critical thinking element. After all, if we want to develop critical thinking in our

foreign language class, we need to include some specific lesson components

into the lesson plan, in addition to traditional components of the lesson

description such as prerequisites, instructional objectives, supporting activities,

and assessment.

Typically, language teachers are quite happy if their students learn some

linguistic structures including words and word collocations, as well as grammar

ELTA Journal 59

structures and practice them, first, in a more controlled exercise and later in the

production of their own pieces of text, oral or written. This traditional approach is

known as PPP, which stands for Presentation – Practice – Production. The

purpose of the initial stage called ‘Presentation’ is obviously to expose the

students to a new material which the students can remember, in other words,

retrieve, recognize later, and understand, i.e. being able to interpret and explain

what they learned, first, though exercises known as ‘Practice’ and, later, to apply

what they learned in a new context, a stage known as ‘Production’. Such transfer

of knowledge typically from a teacher to a student may not require active

learning.

With a critical thinking objective in mind, this is not enough. By including a critical

thinking objective, teachers are expected not only to plan a more inquisitive

mode of learning new linguistic phenomena but also to engage their students’ in

an interactive activity focused on various issues which can be of interest to a

particular group of students like world events or problems of personal character.

This can be done by relying on the students’ previous experience, by asking

question for clarification in order to make the issue clearer, more accurate and

precise, by comparing opinions, by identifying the underlying factors, etc. All this

has an effect on the quality of arguments and thinking, thus becoming personal

practice in using a foreign language and thinking critically at the same time.

Extra elements of a lesson with a critical thinking objective: ABCD Model for Writing Objectives: ABCD Model provides a very convenient

framework for the incorporation of all necessary components when designing a

lesson. Indeed, it is useful to write each objective in one clear sentence

structured according to the ABCD model, where ‘A’ stands for ‘Audience’,

typically the students, ‘B’ for ‘Behavior’, i.e. lesson activities, ‘C’ for ‘Condition’

meaning the initial prerequisites for the lesson activities, and ‘D’ for ‘Degree’, by

which we mean certain measurable criteria for the acceptable student

performance. Writing objectives using the ABCD model proves beneficial

because in this way objectives acquire such characteristics as being specific,

observable, results oriented, and measurable by either quantitative or qualitative


criteria. Three examples of ABCD modeled lesson objectives will be provided

when describing the lesson plan.

Cognitive and Affective Domains in Learning: There is a tendency among

teachers, students and people in general, to believe that there is only one type of

learning, namely, the one which relies on cognitive activity. Indeed, cognition as

a mental process is crucial in learning, but this simplistic way of addressing such

a complex phenomenon as human learning fails to recognize the role of

emotions and attitudes in learning identified and emphasized by Benjamin Bloom

in his Taxonomy of educational objectives: the classification of educational goals

published in 1956. The cognitive domain “involves knowledge and the

development of intellectual skills. This includes the recall or recognition of

specific facts, procedural patterns, and concepts that serve in the development of

intellectual abilities and skills.” The affective domain “includes the manner in

which we deal with things emotionally, such as feelings, values, appreciation,

enthusiasms, motivations, and attitudes.” (Clark, 2010: p.2)

So for the sake of critical thinking development, it is crucial to consider the types

of activities from the point of view of how they contribute both to the intellectual

and to the affective development.

Critical thinking strategies: In the past decade, learning/teaching strategies

have come into light for teachers to take into account in lesson plans. However,

we need to be aware of specific critical thinking strategies if we declare our

commitment to their developments when teaching anything, including foreign

languages. Strategies related to critical thinking can be classified in two

categories: cognitive strategies and affective strategies. By these we should

understand the way we address issues in question. For examples, critical

thinking development can take place if students are given the task involving such

critical thinking strategies as ‘Giving Reasons and Evaluating Evidence’, or

‘Recognizing Contradictions’, or ‘Distinguishing Relevant from Irrelevant Facts’,

etc. As the students, according to our lesson plan, are expected to discuss

personal relations and attitudes, we suggest they also deal with the affective

domain, involving such affective strategies as ‘Exercising Fair-mindedness’ and

‘Developing Intellectual Humility’. Teachers who want to know more about critical

thinking strategies can study a strategy list of 35 dimensions of critical thinking

ELTA Journal 61

which is available at http://www.criticalthinking.org/pages/strategy-list-35-

dimensions-of-critical-thought/466/.

Continued development of critical thinking: Critical thinking is knowingly hard

and takes time to feel confident in it. If we think about consistent and continued

development of critical thinking, we must understand it as a process. One lesson

cannot be sufficient to achieve the complex purpose of developing critical

thinking. Lessons, units, and a whole curriculum should include critical thinking

objectives on a systematic basis, which creates continuity. Moving from

traditional homework such as writing an exercise to more creative assignments

like writing a paragraph which is focused on a critical thinking strategy can

produce continuity in the teaching and learning of critical thinking.

A lesson plan: reading a story and thinking critically Let us take a lesson which has been developed for university undergraduates in

order to develop their reading comprehension and speaking skills by applying

some critical strategies relevant for the activities of the lesson. For that purpose

we have chosen a humorous story of a failed romantic relationship between a

boy and a girl in a university context with the plot development around

teaching/learning some elements of logic, namely, logical fallacies. So there are

two areas of speculation which we thought are open for our students to practice

communicative skills of reading, listening, and talking by applying some of critical

thinking strategies.

We thought that an exchange of ideas concerning the plot should be

supplemented by more complex activities related to the cognitive and affective

domains as the students have an opportunity to learn some elements of the

science of logic and to think deeply about the factors which have an impact on

the relationship developments.

We have planned three objectives, which incorporate critical thinking, for a two-

hour lesson and used the ABCD model in the description of the lesson

objectives.

Objective #1: Given the introductory part of the story for reading (C),

students divided into small groups (A) will evaluate the main hero’s attitude to


the girl and compose (B) one clear and error-free paragraph per group of 60

words assessing the hero’s his plan to improve the girl’s intellectual skills (D).

Objective #2: Given one of the two following parts of the story for

skimming and scanning (C) students divided into two groups (A) will interpret and explain to each other the fallacies of logic they learned about in their parts

(four fallacies per group) fostering understanding by asking questions for

clarification; and elaborate a clear definition of a fallacy (B) in less than 30 words

(D).

Objective #3: Having read the last part of the story (C), the students (A)

will fill out the gaps with the correct names of appropriate logical fallacies (D)

and justify their choice in the following discussion (B).

Thus the verbs we used to write the objectives (evaluate, compose,

interpret and explain, elaborate, justify) can be attributed to different levels of the

cognitive domain of the revised Bloom’s taxonomy namely, the levels of Understanding, Analyzing, Evaluating, and Creating.

Final reflections Incorporating critical thinking in lesson plans is a challenge which language

teachers should experience in order to provide their students with a quality

learning experience. The important element to bear in mind is that critical

thinking cannot be developed overnight, it is a process and as such there are

many steps to be taken. We understand that teaching contexts and routines can

easily lead to frustration and a quick discharge of innovative practices and that is

why careful planning is required.

A “trial and error” approach may be the best way to move towards the

incorporation of critical thinking as well as understanding that there is not one

exclusive or “right” way to develop and promote it. Ultimately, each teaching and

learning context provides the teacher with some food for thought he/she will need

to process by applying his/her own critical thinking when making changes in

lesson plans. We also acknowledge that, ideally, a move in this direction in a unit

and in a curriculum design would be best, so that students could benefit from the

critical thinking component throughout their academic and non-academic lives,

ELTA Journal 63

but we believe that changes can be made from inside the classrooms and this

may eventually lead to changes in educational policies.

To conclude, we would like to quote William Graham Sumner (Paul, R.

2009, p.23) when he mentions the paramount influence of critical thinking within

societies and among human beings:

“The critical habit of thought, if usual in society, will pervade all its mores,

because it is a way of taking up the problems of life. Men educated in it cannot

be stampeded by stump orators ... They are slow to believe. They can hold

things as possible or probable in all degrees, without certainty and without pain.

They can wait for evidence and weigh evidence, uninfluenced by the emphasis or

confidence with which assertions are made on one side or the other. They can

resist appeals to their dearest prejudices and all kinds of cajolery. Education in

the critical faculty is the only education of which it can be truly said that it makes

good citizen”.


References: Clark, D. R. 2010. Bloom’s Taxonomy of Learning Domains. Retrieved July 10,

2012 from http://www.nwlink.com/~donclark/hrd/bloom.html/.

Elder, L. 2007. A brief conceptualization of critical thinking. Retrieved August 21,

2012 from http://www.criticalthinking.org/pages/defining-critical-thinking/410/.

Nickerson, R. 1987. Critical Thinking. Retrieved July 17, 2012 from

http://lclane2.net/criticalthinking.html/.

Paul, R. and Elder, L. 2009. The miniature guide to critical thinking. Concepts

and tools. The Foundation for Critical Thinking.

Schafersman, S. 1991. An introduction to Critical Thinking. Retrieved February 8,

2008 from http://www.freeinquiry.com/critical-thinking.html/.

*****

Elena K. Vdovina is an Associate Professor at Saint-Petersburg State

Polytechnical University (Russia), where she teaches Academic English,

Professional English, and introductory CLIL courses for undergraduates

(economics; economic relations). Currently, she is completing a research on

CLIL in tertiary education.

Lourdes Cardozo Gaibisso is a Secondary School educator. She works as an

English language teacher and tutor for the National Council of Education in

Uruguay. At the moment she is conducting a research on EFL novice teachers in

her country.

Both authors have successfully completed the online course ‘Critical Thinking for

English Language Teaching (EFL) Curriculum’, at the University of Oregon (USA,

2012). The article is a result of their collaboration during the course.

ELTA Journal 65

APPENDIX 1. The Lesson Plan

Title of Lesson: Reading a story and discussing issues concerning romantic

relationships.

Short description: Working on a short story Love is a Fallacy by Max Shulman

students engage in communicative, reflective, and analytical activities which

integrate both receptive and productive skills and stimulate critical thinking.

Note! The text of the story is available on multiple sites. For the purposes of the

lesson discussed, the story has been abridged (from circa 3800 words to circa

2600). Part 1 for home reading starts with ‘… I had long coveted Polly Espy.’

Part 2 (for one group) starts with “Wow-dow!” she cried, clapping her hands

delightedly.’ Part 3 (for the other group) starts with ‘Seated under the oak the

next evening I said, “Our first fallacy tonight is called Ad Misericordiam.” Part 4

begins with the words ‘Five grueling nights this took but it was worth it. I had

made a logician out of Polly’. And the last sentence of the text for the lesson:

“Because this afternoon I promised Petey Bellows that I would go steady with

him.”

Duration: One 90 minute lesson (45+45 without a break).

Participants: 12 university undergraduates, upper-intermediate language

proficiency level (CEFR).

Prerequisites:

• Students are familiar with the dynamics of group work and pair discussion.

• Students have had some controlled practice in asking questions for

clarification and can differentiate between lower-order questions and higher-

order questions.

• Students have had regular practice in writing one-sentence definitions.

• Students are not acquainted with the science of logic.

• Students have been given a homework task to read the introductory part of

the story (Part One) before the lesson and to think about the main hero’s

plan concerning the girl.

Supporting Activities for Objective #1

• Introduction to the topic (10 minutes)


Students bring forward their ideas of love and romantic relationship based on

their experience, reading and knowledge. In doing so they answer the questions:

Why do people fall in love with someone? What is there in someone, which

makes him or her special to you? Should a decision to marry someone be based

on feelings or on a rational idea? Why?

• Working in small groups (25 minutes)

a) Students discuss the hero’s plan of improving the girl’s thinking skills, the

underlying attitudes, focusing on the concepts of fair-mindedness,

prejudice, and arrogance.

b) They summarize their opinion in a paragraph.


• Reading and discussing (35 minutes)

Students are divided into two groups. Each group reads one of the two

following parts of the story (Part 2 or Part 3).

a) In groups, they analyze the meanings of the fallacies which the

hero teaches to the girl.

b) They share what they learned with the other group and use

questions for clarification to ensure they understand the meaning of all eight

fallacies described in the story.


• Reading and after reading (20 minutes)

a) All students read the last part of the story (Part 4) and fill out the gaps with

the names of the appropriate fallacies which the girl identifies in the hero’s

arguments.

b) In two groups they compare their results. If there are differences, they

analyze the arguments by asking questions for clarification.

Follow up activity (for homework): Students are given a home assignment to write an essay of 350 words which

analyzes the factors which brought about the hero’s failure in building a romantic

relationship with the girl in the story. At the next lesson the students exchange

their works and evaluate the partner’s variants using the assessment rubric.

ELTA Journal 67

APPENDIX 2. Examples of questions for clarification

1. What do you mean by ____?

2. Could you put that another way?

3. Is your basic point _____ or _____?

4. Let me see if I understand you; do you mean _____ or _____?

5. How does this relate to our problem/discussion/issue?

6. What do you mean by this remark?

7. Can you summarize in your own words what your partner said?

8. Is this what you meant?

9. Could you give me an example?

10. Why do you say that?

APPENDIX 3. Paragraph Evaluation Scoring Rubric

Directions to the reviewer: Read each question and mark YES, PM or NO.

Each “YES” answer = 10 points

Each “PM” (Partially Mastered) answer = 5 points

Each “NO” answer = 0 points

A perfect score is 100.

Questions

1. Does the paragraph clearly and directly answer the

question?

YES PM NO

2. Does the main point of the paragraph demonstrate

deep understanding of the factors causing the

hero’s failure?

YES PM NO

3. Is the writer’s opinion totally convincing? YES PM NO

4. Is the argumentation well explained and justified? YES PM NO

5. Did the writer succeed in avoiding unnecessary YES PM NO


facts and details?

6. Does the paragraph have appropriate linking words

ensuring cohesion?

YES PM NO

7. Is the paragraph error-free (grammar, punctuation)? YES PM NO

8. Are all the words appropriately used? YES PM NO

9. Do the linguistic features of the paragraph perfectly

exemplify the upper-intermediate language

proficiency level?

YES PM NO

10. Is the length of the paragraph as required? YES PM NO

SCORE: ______ /100

Reviewer’s possible suggestions about the improvement of the paragraph:

________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________


Enhancing General ELT by Applying ESP - the Language of Marketing

by Ljiljana Jovković, PhD, Union University, Belgrade, Serbia

and Maja Lazović, MA, Belgrade Business School – Higher Educational Institution For Applied Studies, Belgrade, Serbia

Abstract: This paper deals with the possibilities of applying ESP in general English Language Teaching. The authors of this

paper are proposing the language of marketing and advertising in English as a methodological tool for enhancing ELT.

Although the language of advertising and marketing belongs to the ESP category, its specific features of this ESP make it

compatible with almost any General English teaching endeavour. This paper focuses on slogans, since they are very suitable

for practicing pronunciation, vocabulary, and even some grammar structures.

Key words: slogans, marketing, advertising, ESP

Apstrakt: Ovaj rad se bavi mogućnostima primene EPS nastavi opšteg engleskog jezika. Autori ovog rada predlažu jezik

marketinga i oglašavanja za poboljšanje nastave engleskog jezika. Iako jezik oglašavanja i marketinga pripadaju ESP

kategoriji, njegove specifične karakteristike čine ga kompatibilnim sa skoro svakim zadatkom u nastavi engleskog jezika.

Ovaj rad se fokusira na slogane, budući da su vrlo pogodni za uvežbavanje izgovora, vokabulara i nekih gramatičkih

struktura.

Ključne reči: slogani, marketing, reklamiranje, ESP



70 Ljiljana Jovković&Maja Lazović

The purpose of this paper is to show the possibilities of applying ESP in general

English Language Teaching – ELT for general purposes in order to achieve

greater effectiveness of English language acquisition.

The majority of language and applied linguistics specialists and writers have

been dealing with the issues pertaining only to ESP courses. The relationship

between General English and ESP, the ratio of GE and ESP in both materials

and syllabus designing has been the main concerns of these authors and

practitioners. However, very few of these linguists have investigated the

possibilities of applying ESP into ELT for general purposes. The authors of this

paper are proposing the language of marketing and advertising in English as a

methodological tool for enhancing ELT. This language is simple, striking,

memorable, effective, amusing and, as such, suitable to serve this purpose.

The global language of advertising and marketing is the English language.

Needless to say, advertisers throughout the world use English words, sentences

and even entire texts as an efficient strategy to sell their brands and products to

consumers. English serves as a ’’lingua franca’’ that is understood by people in

different countries. Why has English become the chosen language of advertising

and marketing? English is associated with today’s dominant cultural values of

western civilization and prosperity; and they in essence reflect Anglo-American

models of internationalism, modernity, prestige, youth, globalisation,

cosmopolitanism and other positive stereotypes. Since English has become the

international or global language it has turned into a ’’neutral’’ and ’’transparent’’

language, tied to no particular social, political, economic or religious system,

belonging to everyone or to no one. (Kelly-Holmes, 2005)

It is necessary to emphasize that the English language is used not only for

advertising and marketing of American and British brands but also for promoting

all other famous French, German, Scandinavian, Japanese and other brands. It

is almost impossible to imagine a famous brand coming from any country that is

not advertised in English. Such developments have made English the language

of mass consumer culture and as such suitable for advertising and marketing.

ELTA Journal 71

Advertising and marketing experts are devoting their greatest attention to the use

of language because they are very much aware of the power of effective

messages, slogans, taglines and other language structures. They employ expert

teams made up of linguists and psychologists to study and analyse language

expressions before launching them. The language of advertising has to be

striking and memorable, universally and globally acceptable in order to reach the

target audience. Leo Burnett, one of the most famous advertising experts and

slogan producers, gives guidelines for the language of advertising: ’’ Make it

simple. Make it memorable. Make it inviting to look at. Make it fun to read.’’

In order to serve this purpose the language of advertising uses plain, clear,

concise language elements, simple and catchy vocabulary, short and effective

language structures for unique selling propositions, advertising slogans and the

like. The field of advertising and marketing recognized the need for the use of

’’plain English’’ long ago. Nowadays the Plain English movements of Britain and

the USA are advocating the use of uncomplicated clear and simple English in all

spheres of life: business, civil service activities and other linguistic contacts with

the general public. ’’Plain English campaigns’’ continue to grow and they are the

outcome of the requirements of modern times. (Crystal, 2010)

Although the language of advertising and marketing belongs to the ESP

category, the above- mentioned specific features of this ESP make it compatible

with almost any General English teaching endeavour. It can greatly contribute to

achieving more effective linguistic as well as communicative competences. Its

quality to enhance motivation in language acquisition is of special importance.

The above-mentioned features of the language of advertising provide greater

motivation than many other motivating factors. The use of advertising slogans

can be very effective in ELT. Their use of “plain English” makes them more

widely applicable for learners at different levels of competence and at different

ages than many other types of materials.


The authenticity of course materials used (advertising slogans) is an important

prerequisite in applying this ESP segment. This is easily accomplished due to

great accessibility of such materials via all modern media. The selection of

materials (advertising slogans) requires a special attention taking into

consideration the following criteria:

- the level of the English language course, the age and cultural background of

students and their professional interests, target language skills and needs.

Slogans can be classified in various ways. In order to be effective, striking,

amusing and memorable some of them use rhyme as a style. Good examples

are the following:

Eye it-try it-buy it! (Chevrolet Cars)

Buy it. Sell it. Love it. (e-Bay)

Grace...space...pace. (Jaguar)

Get busy with the fizzy. (Soda stream)

These slogans are very suitable for practicing pronunciation, vocabulary, even

simple grammar structures. Therefore they are suitable for upper elementary and

intermediate level students, but other students also enjoy them.

Besides rhyme similar effects can be achieved with slogans consisting of plain

single words chosen to be fun to read, pronounce or listen to. There are slogans

which use alliteration, such as:

Today, tomorrow, Toyota (Toyota)

Sense and Simplicity (Philips)

Sometimes they use simple grammar categories for these single words, for

instance:

Good, better, Paulaner. (Paulaner, German brand beer)

which uses comparison of adjectives as the base. Another example applies

single imperative forms, such as:

Subaru. Think. Feel. Drive. (Subaru Cars)

Word play is inevitably one of the most frequently-used features when creating

advertising slogans. These expressions are amusing and interesting to learners

ELTA Journal 73

of English and at the same time quite instructional for an easy acquisition of

various more or less complicated lexical and grammar forms. For instance:

Time to Re-Tire. (Fisk tires)

BEer YOURSELF (Tuborg)

Don’t just book it, Thomas Cook it. (Thomas Cook, Travel)

Some of these slogans are especially funny. The best example of it is

Volkswagen’s slogan Relieves gas pains.

Some slogans play with words to build new lexemes out of brand names. Good

examples of these are: You know when you’ve been Tango’d. (Tango soft drinks) or

Inspire me. Surprise me. AMD me. (AMD - Advanced Micro Devices)

The brand Tango is used as a past participle, whereas the brand abbreviation

AMD is applied as an imperative form.

Idiomatic expressions could be learned from slogans such as:

A whole lot can happen, Out of the Blue. (Labatt Blue, the best-selling

Canadian beer brand), or

Love it for life (Dannon Yogurt)

Think outside the Box (Apple Computers).

The possibility of playing with words could go beyond expectations. A good

example of it is the slogan for SEGA Saturn Console:

It takes AGES to be as good as SEGA. Apple Computers launched a very interesting word play slogan combining the

use of rhyme and word play:

Once you go Mac. You’ll never go back.

There are numerous possibilities for enhancing the acquisition of grammar

structures through slogans ranging from simple imperative forms to more


complex grammar forms like if- clauses, passives and causatives. The imperative

is probably the most frequently used form in advertising slogans. We have

chosen some of the most interesting imperatives:

Unleash a Jaguar. Or Don't dream it. Drive it! (Jaguar cars)

Drive Your Dreams. Let’s Go Places. (Toyota)

Saab. Move your mind. Or Find your own road. SAAB.

Create a storm. (Monsoon)

Think outside the bun. (Taco Bell)

Just imagine what Citroen can do for you. (Citroen)

Fly the friendly skies. (United Airlines)

Superlative forms are also often found in slogans such as:

The Best Built Cars in the World (Toyota)

The Happiest Place on Earth (Disneyland)

The most natural thing in the world. (Guiness)

Interrogative forms could be effectively illustrated and practiced through slogans

such as:

Have you driven a Ford lately? (Ford Vehicles)

Who could ask for anything more? (Toyota)

What’s the worst that can happen? (Dr Pepper)

These examples are appropriate for pre-intermediate and intermediate levels.

There are quite a few slogans which provide possibilities for the effective

contrasting of gerund vs. infinitive forms.

Going beyond expectations. (Malaysia Airlines)

Designed for living. Engineered to last. (Ford)

Moving Forward. (Toyota)

Engineered to move the human spirit. (Mercedes-Benz car brand)

It takes a licking and keeps on ticking. (Timex Corporation)

Leave the driving to us. (Greyhound Lines)

ELTA Journal 75

Keep walking. (Johnie Walker)

Syntactic structures such as if clauses could be easily memorized by learning

slogans such as:

If you’ve got the time, we’ve got the beer. (Miller Beer)

If you dream it, you can do it. (Disneyland)

Passive forms have always presented a challenge for both English language

teachers and learners. However slogans are born to perform for you. (like a

Jaguar)

At least these slogans, luckily, can make such complex grammar notions more

digestible.

You and I were meant to fly. (Air Canada)

Because you were born to fly. (TAM Brazilian Airlines)

Everything we do is driven by you. (FORD)

Once driven, forever smitten. (Vauxhall Motors)

Make yourself heard. (Ericsson)

Driven by Passion. (Fiat Cars)

Born to perform. (Jaguar)

The language of advertising can also provide various opportunities to applying

task-based approaches. The teacher can assign small research projects for

students to perform which they will enjoy doing. For instance, students could be

asked to find the ten shortest, funniest, most enigmatic, silliest, most bizarre,

most attractive, most annoying, and most famous slogans. They could be asked

to offer the best possible translation or interpretation of slogans. A great

challenge for the most creative ones could be to try to make their own advertising

slogans for brands they choose. This is a particularly motivating and inspiring

task. Students love it. Great fun can be had by organising a competition in the

best performance in terms of pronunciation, translation, etc. A more demanding

assignment could be to ask them to ’’translate’’, find the equivalent or English

version for some of the best known Serbian advertising slogans such as

’’Svetsko a naše’’ (MB pivo), ’’Ili jesi ili nisi’’ (Lav), ’’Muškarci znaju zašto’’ (Jelen),


’’Izgleda šašavo ali mene leđa više ne bole’’ (Kosmodisk), ’’Savršeno lako,

savršeno slatko“ (Poslastina Bambi čokolada), ’’Dobar osećaj koji se vidi’’

(Wellness keks Bambi), ’’Prepusti se inspiraciji’’ (Yo D’ORO Bambi napolitanke).

Obviously the language of advertising offers a great variety of possible

applications in general ELT. Its role is to enhance motivation as one of the most

crucial factors of foreign language acquisition. Besides, the great accessibility of

advertising materials makes it convenient and easy to use for both the teacher

and the learner. It does not take any special effort to carry out these tasks. The

exercises exemplified are usable with a wide range of students with regard to the

level of ELT course.

This paper focuses on just one segment of the language of advertising -

advertising slogans - as a source of teaching materials. It would be beneficial to

explore other segments of the language of marketing and advertising suitable for

implementation in ELT. The language of marketing and advertising is just one

type of ESP. There are many other types and subtypes of ESP. It would be

worthwhile exploring other suitable ESP categories for applications in general

ELT. Of course some of the disciplines would be more appropriate, such as

English for Tourism, Catering, Air Travel, certain segments of Business English,

English for Art, Media and quite a few other disciplines in the field of humanities

and social studies. ESP for more technical and scientific disciplines is probably

less applicable and attractive for general ELT courses.

References: Crystal, D. (2010). The Cambridge Encyclopedia of Language, Cambridge:

Cambridge University Press.

Dimković-Telebaković, G. (2003). Savremeni engleski jezik struke i nauke, Novi

Sad- Moskva: Naše slovo.

Hutchinson, T. & Waters, A. (1987). English for Specific Purposes, Cambridge:

Cambridge University Press.

ELTA Journal 77

Kelly-Holmes H. (2005). Advertising as a Multilingual Communication, Palgrave

Macmillan.

Lazović, M. (2011). Primena kontrastivne analize engleskog i srpskog jezika u

oblasti marketinga (Magistarska teza)

Wardhaugh, R. (1987). Languages in Competition: Dominance, Diversity and

Decline, Oxford:Blackwell.

Foster, T. (2001). The Art and Science of the Advertising Slogans, ADSlogans.

Retrieved March 3rd, 2013 from

http://www.adslogans.co.uk/ans/adslogans_artscience.pdf

Hollis, N. (2010). The Global Brand, Palgrave Macmillan.

*****

Ljiljana Jovković has been teaching English for specific and academic purposes as a

full professor at a few universities and colleges for over 30 years. She acquired her

doctoral degree in applied linguistics at the Florida State University in 1976. Her

academic career also included numerous publications (papers, textbooks, dictionaries

and other) mostly in the sphere of ESP and in particular English for Business and

Economics.

Maja Lazović graduated with honours from the Institute for foreign languages,

Department of Translation for English and Russian, in Moscow, Russia. She has been

English language lecturer at The College for Fine and Applied Arts in Belgrade and

Belgrade Business School for more than 15 years. Her special fields of interest include

applied linguistics, ESP, English as a global language. She received her master’s

degree in applied linguistics at the International University of Novi Pazar in 2011.


Focus on the Primary Language Teacher: A Study within a Greek Context

By Christina Nicole Giannikas, Cyprus University of Technology, Cyprus Abstract: In recent years, the role of the primary language teacher has been broadly discussed. The

phenomenon of early language learning has grown and the desire of educational authorities to implement

language instruction in primary schools worldwide has raised many issues regarding the importance of

educators’ skills. This paper discusses the early language learning situation within a Greek context from the

educator’s point of view, with the aim of giving the primary language teacher a voice since they are believed

to be a neglected agent of Greek education. Keywords: Language teachers, teacher training, educational policies, public & private sector

Poslednjih godina široko se diskutuje o ulozi nastavnika jezika u osnovnim školama. Proširio se fenomen

učenja jezika u ranom uzrastu, a želja stručnjaka u ubrazovanju da uvedu strani jeziki u osnovne škole širom

sveta iznela je na videlo mnoga pitanja kao što je koliko je važno da nastavnici poseduju odredjene veštine.

Ovaj rad se bavi učenjem jezika u ranom uzrastu u Grčkoj iz perspektive nastavnika, a sa ciljem da se čuje

mišljenje nastavnika, jer se smatra da su oni zapostavljeni akteri u gračkom obrazovanju.

Ključne reči: Nastavnici jezika, trening nastavnika, obrazovne politike, javni i privatni sektor



ELTA Journal 79

Introduction There has been a worldwide increasing interest in the study of language teaching

to young learners. Early language learning implementation has been debated

due to the popular notion of ‘the younger the better’.

Behind the linguistic exterior hide political and sociocultural perspectives which

influence the success or failure of the field. Enever & Moon (2009) have argued

that political demands and changes of leadership can influence or change stable

policy formation and continuity. The question language learning professionals

must prompt themselves to ask is, whether these perspectives include

pedagogical language teaching approaches successful enough to equip children

for the future and benefit their present.

The present exploratory study concentrates on the reality of early language

teaching within a Greek context, where the focus is on language teachers’

disparity and loss of motivation due to their working environment and the

perception of the wider community has towards their effort and skills. The

question that arises is how effective language learning can be in an education

system where state language teachers are a neglected agent and private

language teachers are set with futuristic goals. The aim of the study is to give the

language teachers in Greece a voice, in the hope that their working conditions

will improve and continuous professional development will be initiated for them.

Greek Education Policies in Teaching English to Young Learners (TEYL) It is essential that the basis of language learning is strong in order to proceed.

The language teacher is crucial for successful foreign language implementation

in school curricula. Unfortunately, the constant changes in the Greek education

system and political instability have affected TEYL in the country. Language

teachers in Greece, whether in the private or public sector, are not offered pre- or

in-service training, which is vital for the development of any educator. The

present situation results in new language teachers beginning their career

confused and lost. Because of their lack of self-confidence language educators

resort to teacher-centred approaches which they imitate from their own

experience as students as will be discussed (Giannikas, 2013a).

80 Chistina Nicole Giannikas

Research Methods The data collection took place in seven primary state schools and seven private

language schools in various areas of the region of South Western Greece (the

precise area of the study is not identified to maintain the anonymity of research

participants). Schools were selected to reflect a range of geographical and socio-

economic backgrounds. The research included observations of English language

lessons in both primary state schools and private language schools,

concentrating on teachers of young learners aged 7-11. Additionally, semi-

structured interviews with 14 English language teachers from the participating

schools (state and private) were conducted, providing the researcher with the

opportunity to probe more deeply and explore the interviewee's opinions,

concerns and awareness regarding teaching approaches suitable for young

learners. Specific language lessons were systematically observed twice a week

for one school year.

A Background Description of the Participants The Public Sector

According to Chryshochoos & Chourdaki (2003), the 1998 Educational Reform

in Greece modified procedures for the recruitment of teaching employees. From

1977-1998, teachers were placed on a waiting list to be recruited according to

the date of their application for appointment in the school. The situation has now

changed and selection is based on national examinations run by ASEP1. Foreign

language teachers recruited at state schools are university graduates and,

according to all the language teachers interviewed, no further training is provided

prior to their employment. Mainstream primary school teachers, however, are

offered a pre-service course before they complete their studies at university

(Giannikas, 2011). Nevertheless, based on governmental decisions, foreign

language teachers in the public sector have all the accoutrements to teach at a

primary state school, even though they have not been trained to do so. Those

1 ASEP (ΑΣΕΠ: Ανώτατο Συµβούλιο Επιλογής Προσωπικού) is the Supreme Council for Personnel Selection. It is an independent commission, which is tasked with the selection of employees in the Greek public sector. ASEP is not subject to government control and is supervised by the Ministry of Administrative Reform and e-Governance.

ELTA Journal 81

who wish to teach in the public sector but hold a university degree of a foreign

university are required to take courses at a Greek university followed by

examinations. If the candidate is successful, the government then recognizes

their degree of equal quality to that of a Greek university, at which point they may

be considered for a teaching position at a state school. All state school teachers

who participated in the study had completed their studies in Greek Universities

and only one had a postgraduate degree. This is mentioned due to the fact that

the procedure of selection of state school teaching personnel differs greatly from

that of private language schools.

The Private Sector According to Mattheoudakis & Alexiou (2009), a highly unique feature of foreign

language education in Greece is a thriving private sector, where students attend

language lessons after mainstream school. Private language schools serve the

purpose of supplementing the morning language lessons, which take place in

state schools. 88% of state school language learners attend lessons at private

language institutions, which work in a more rapid pace using state-of-the-art

teaching material. The high percentage of children who attend private language

schools indicates the dissatisfaction that exists regarding language teaching in

state schools. The ultimate goal at private institutions is to prepare children for

future language examinations (Giannikas, 2011). Nonetheless, even though the

private sector provides language learners with a more visible goal, young

children fail to remain motivated as the goal of taking examinations and acquiring

a language certificate is futuristic for learners of a young age. Without teacher

education, the language instructors in the country are unable to rise to the

challenges of primary language teaching. This could have an immediate effect on

English Language Teaching (ELT) in general as children may grow to develop

negative feelings regarding language learning.

Within the private sector and participants of the study, six out of seven teachers

were Greek, with one being Australian of Greek descent. None of the teachers

held a university degree from a Greek university; nonetheless, two language

teachers had completed their studies in the United Kingdom. The other five

teachers held a certificate of proficiency in English by Cambridge (CPE) and


Michigan University (ECPE) respectively. They were granted a teaching license

from the Greek Ministry of Education and were only certified to teach in the

private sector.

The Role of the Language Teacher in the Greek Context State School Interview and Observation Data State school language teachers and private language school teachers are

perceived to be very different in skill by the wider community, regardless of their

qualifications. Language teachers in state schools carry the stereotype of the

demotivated educator with limited will of professional development due to the

security they feel once commencing a career in the public sector. During

interviews, however, state school teachers made it a point to emphasize the

extent to which they take pride in their work. Those who have been in the

profession longer claim that they have grown exhausted of the constant

criticism they endure, since they feel they are not the ones to blame. They

believe to be neglected lacking basic facilities and an updated course-book.

They have not received training and are currently struggling with various

teaching approaches suggested by the Ministry of Education. The fact that

teachers have had no guidance to make any new adjustments to their practice,

has increased their hesitation in introducing their own teaching material,

changing teaching approaches or even applying a different seating layout

(Giannikas, 2013b). Interestingly, all state school teachers mention in their

interviews that they had begun their teaching at a private language school,

where they were viewed in a different way and their efforts were appreciated.

Nonetheless, teachers prefer a position in state schools which is permanent, in

contrast to the private sector.

Based on the data collected, language educators in the public sector appear to

hold general aims to be achieved by the students. Their preferred approach is

teacher-centred, where the educator is guided by the course-book.

Nonetheless, evidence revealed that the Ministry of Education does not

obligate language educators to cover the entire course-book. Language

teachers in schools are free to use any material they consider valuable, as long

ELTA Journal 83

as it meets students’ needs. Nevertheless, none of the teachers who

participated in this study used any material other than what they were supplied

with. Additionally, all participant state school language teachers expressed a

strong aspiration in relation to the completion of the course-book, even though

they are aware that their students are often at a more advanced level than what

is instructed in class due to students’ exposure to the rapid pace of private

language schools. This has led to students developing a negative attitude

towards language learning within the specific context where there is a lack of

stimulating, authentic teaching materials and tasks that could challenge

children’s cognitive abilities. Findings revealed that state school language

teachers do not have any specific goals for their students, apart from the

completion of the assigned course-book.

Private Language School Interview and Observation Data

Private language school teachers have a very dissimilar attitude towards their

occupation and how their community views them as professionals. This does

not necessarily mean that the English language teachers at the private sector

apply different teaching approaches or are more qualified than their state

schools colleagues. Some of the participant teachers do not hold a university

degree, as mentioned earlier, and none of them have undergone pre/in-service

teacher training. Their only type of training is in an instructive form, which

includes step-by-step guidance received when language teachers are first

granted a teaching position in the private sector. The participant teachers who

hold a university degree view their teaching position at the private language

school as temporary, since their final aim is to work for a state school in order

to guarantee professional stability.

Based on the data, private language school teachers have certain privileges

state school teachers do not possess. One very important advantage was the

fact that they were equipped with a wider range of facilities, which made their

work uncomplicated compared to state school language lessons. Conveniences

such as televisions, CD players and computers gave the classroom a different

environment, which brought about a positive response from the students.

Furthermore, since language educators are not provided with pre- or in-service


training, owners of private language schools supply English language teachers

with a detailed curriculum for every class they would be teaching every school

year. The private language school teachers have clear goals of what they are

expected to accomplish with each class; however, the goals set are not age

appropriate, meaning that the basic aim is preparation for language examination,

which students are expected to take when they were in secondary school.

The Outcome of the Negligence of Professional Development The current investigation revealed that the negligence of the professional

developmental process may be one of the reasons that teachers are entrapped

in their outdated teaching methods and approaches. The language teachers of

both sectors are familiar with the benefits of student-centred environments but

are not aware of how to apply them in their classes, which could change if

language teachers were exposed to professional training. According to evidence

gathered from interviews, the language instructors who participated in this study,

were unsure of the best technique to apply so as to attend to their students’

learning needs, teachers felt a sense of security when being guided by a course-

book. Therefore, one may argue that the Educational Reform of 1998 was not

complete since not all aspects of education were contended with. In agreement

with Diaz-Maggioli (2003:1) who argues that:

[...] professional development has become increasingly important as a

way to ensure that teachers succeed in matching their teaching goals with

their students’ learning needs. In the case of second language teachers,

professional development is needed to enable them to help their

students develop proficiency in the target language and an understanding of

the cultures associated with that language.

It appears that private language school teachers feel they are providing their

students with an education that will help and prepare them for the future, which is

considered purposeful and reassuring. In contrast, the state school language

teachers feel neglected and have been driven to believe that their professional

efforts have no objective. State school language teachers have stated in their

interviews that language learners are not fulfilled with their language education in

ELTA Journal 85

the public sector; as a result, students are forced to put all their hope and effort in

learning English in the private sector, even though different approaches to

language learning are not implemented. They are offered a more pleasant

learning environment and a clear goal of what they are expected to accomplish,

however, they are still encouraged to view language as another school subject

rather than a means of communication.

Gabrielatos (2001:11) makes a valid point when stating that “since there are

quick and easy routes to becoming a language teacher, ELT is regarded by

many as a fairly low-status occupation, and language teachers are often treated

as mere materials operators in need of simple and easy-to-use miracle methods”.

The point Gabrielatos makes provides the literature with a valid description of the

language learning situation in Greece, and is in agreement with the evidence

gathered in this investigation. Nevertheless, according to the Ministry of

Education, foreign language teachers in the public sector have all the skills

needed to teach in a state primary school. The puzzling question of why

language lessons in state schools are not considered equivalent by pupils and

the broader community, since the government asserts teachers are fully qualified

remains unanswered. The frustration of poor facilities and working conditions

have led language educators from motivated to indifferent. One may argue that

even if there are a lack of facilities, having the appropriate training can aid

language instructors with this complex process. Lee (2007:321) has argued that

“through reflection, pre-service teachers become more aware of themselves as

would-be teachers and of the pedagogical context that impinges directly on

teaching and learning”. If teachers are provided with a focus on development of

reflection from the start of their learning-to-teach process, it will help them

advance and progress in their profession.

Conclusion Language instructors have the demanding task of expanding their learners’

knowledge and cognitive skills in the sphere of language and culture. Their goal

should be to allow children to make sense of the world around them and beyond

their own community, in order to be able to communicate across cultural and


linguistic borders. Studies such as this can supply language learning in Greece

with rich data which could facilitate its development. The current research

supports that language learning is an important aspect of education and can be

improved with the appropriate teaching material and professional training. This

could help state school language teachers regain the self-belief needed to deliver

productive language lessons. Private language school teachers can also feel

more confident using various teaching approaches, gain fulfillment and consider

themselves something more than language educators who prepare their students

for language examinations.

References Chrysochoos, J. & Chourdaki, R. (2003) The Greek Educational System: A Brief

Description. The Greek Ministry of Education.

Diaz-Maggioli, G.H. (2003) Fulfilling the Promise of Professional Development.

IATEFL Issues August-September, pp. 4-5.

Enever, J. & Moon, J. (2009) New Global Contexts for Teaching Primary ELT:

Change and Challenge. In Enever, J; Moon, J; Raman, U (2009) Young Learner

English Language Policy and Implementation: International Perspectives (pp.5-

22). Reading: Garnet Publishing.

Gabrielatos, C. (2001) Teachers or Materials Operators? ELT News: The Greek

Monthly Newspaper for EFL October, no.152. pp.18-19.

Giannikas, C.N. (2011) L1 in English language learning: a research study in a

Greek regional context. International Journal of Applied Linguistics, 21 (3),

pp.319–339.

Giannikas, C.N (2013) Action Research in the Language Classroom: the Greek

educator’s answer to the financial crisis. IATEFL Teacher Development Special

Interest Group, Issue 68, pp.22-25.

Lee, I. (2007) Preparing Pre-Service English Teachers for Reflective Practice.

ELT Journal, 61 (4), pp.321-329.

Mattheoudakis, M. & Alexiou, T. (2009) Early Foreign Language Instruction in

Greece: Socioeconomic factors and their effect on young learners’ language

ELTA Journal 87

development. In M. Nikolov (ed.) The Age Factor and Early Language Learning

(Studies on Language Acquisition) (pp. 227-252). New York: Mouton de Gruyter.

*****

Christina Nicole Giannikas, PhD is a researcher for the Language Centre of Cyprus

University of Technology. Her research interests are primary and secondary language

learning, particularly linguistic, pedagogical, motivational and cultural aspects that inform

student-student and teacher-student interactions and learning, writing genres and the

sociolinguistic perspectives of the diglossic context. Dr. Giannikas is also a reviewer for

the Canadian Journal of Education and an IATEFL YLTSIG committee member.

E-mail correspondence: [email protected] Copyright ELTA Journal 2013 ISSN 2334-9662(Online) www.eltajournal.org.rs

Ethical considerations

ELTA Journal reviewing process follows the guidelines of the double peer

review and neither the reviewer nor the submission authors are informed of the

other. Also, minimum two reviewers review each manuscript. ELTA Journal

reviewers have been recruited according to their field of academic specialization,

academic credibility, their degree level (Ph.D.) or/ and the track record of their

engagement in the ELT or other educational fields.

The following persons have reviewed the articles for the first issue of ELTA

Journal:

• Tatjana Glušac, Ph.D., Assistant professor, The University of Novi Sad,

Serbia;

• Phil Holland, Ph.D., Chairman, English Department, Anatolia College,

Greece;

• Gordana Petričić, Ph.D., Assistant professor, The University of Novi Sad,

Serbia;

• David A. Hill, M. Phil., Freelance consultant in English Language &

Literature, United Kingdom;

• Biljana Radić Bojanić, Ph.D., Assistant professor, The University of Novi

Sad, Serbia;

• Roger House, Director of Studies, Professional English Language

Training, Greece.


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