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2008/AEMM/012

Learning Language - Research Update

Purpose: Information Submitted by: Chinese Taipei

4th APEC Education Ministerial MeetingLima, Peru

10-12 June 2008

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APEC Education Pre-Ministerial Seminar, Lima, Peru

Education to Achieve 21st Century Competencies and Skills for All: Respecting the Past to Move toward the Future

LeAnn EyermanMing Chuan University

Chinese Taipei

Language Learning- research update

APEC Education Symposium, Xi’anEducation to Achieve 21st Century Competencies and Skills for All:

Respecting the Past to Move toward the Future

Patricia A. DuffUniversity of British Columbia

Canada

Language Education21st Century Competencies and Skills:

Some Updates

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Global Context• Current Status

- Human migration- Cross-border cooperation - Global knowledge generation and consumption- Internet and other new digital learning/

communication technologies

• Citizens needed for the 21st century global knowledge economy - Culturally sensitive - Multilingual- Communicatively competent

Global Context and APEC PrioritiesMonolingual Complacency

- in many English-dominant economies

Economic Trends- outsourcing of labor/services/higher education - English and Chinese education for international

business/trade, economic development

Access to Language Education - gender equity - societal and personal benefits - risk reduction (e.g., disease, violence, social exclusion)

3

EDNET Survey Results – Dec 2007Standards for Learning English and

Other Foreign Languages14 responding economies

• promotion of learning English and other foreign languages

• organization of the curriculum • setting of clear standards for both learners and

teachers

EDNET Survey Results

• Most common foreign languages taught among APEC economies:– English– Spanish– French– Chinese– German– Japanese– Arabic

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Graddol (English Next, 2006)• an “English factor” is found in virtually every key macro

trend:

• whether it is business process outsourcing (BPO), • the rise of urban middle classes around the world, • the development of new communications technology

such as the Internet, • the global redistribution of poverty, • the changing nature of news media, • or the reform of education in universities and schools.

(p. 20)

English as a Lingua Franca (ELF)• English is increasingly learned and used

for communication with other non-native speakers of English (e.g. in Asia), not native speakers

– “Non-core” features in ELF don’t hinder communication

– Changing norms for standardized testing, curriculum

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“Get Ahead, Learn Mandarin”“China's economic rise means the world has a new second

language—and it isn't English”(June 2006)

Chinese

• Chinese L2 learners– 30 million (Graddol, 2006)

100 million (2010 estimate)

• Chinese language teaching/learning – New research initiatives – Methodological innovations – Teaching materials creation

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• Chinese is 3rd most commonly spoken home language in US and Canada (after Spanish and French, respectively)

• Foreign learners taking China's official Chinese Proficiency Test– 1991: 2,000 – 2005: 117,660

Language Learners are Very Diverse• Different histories (and politics) of languages/education

across APEC economies

• Different varieties of L2– Standard– Local non-standard– Regional standard varieties/dialects

• Different needs and profiles– foreign language– second language– heritage-language– lingua franca (specific purposes: business, academic…)

• Older vs. young learners

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Age & Language Learning Issues: Trends• continuing trend to introduce FLs earlier

• early FL learning is potentially valuable--recommended by leaders in 22+ countries (e.g. EU)

• 75 min/wk minimum, ideally more (1 hr/day)

• development of first languages & literacies first(additive vs. subtractive bilingualism)

• well trained/proficient teachers and age-appropriate materials/methods still lacking

• new research and development on young learners in EU

K<>Brunei Darussalam

13171<>

73135

1Thailand 5Chinese Taipei1Singapore 7Peru 1Malaysia 3Korea 7Japan 7Indonesia 1Hong Kong 3China

2003Average:

4

2007Average:

2.9

5Chile

EDNET Survey ResultsGrade when English instruction begins

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EDNET Survey Resultsweekly hours of English instruction

2-32-32-32-32-32-32-32-3Thailand

4442-32-31-21-21-2Chinese Taipei

2222Peru3.53.53.53.53.53.54-3.54Malaysia

^^^33^^^Japan4444422Indonesia4444444China224332Chile

3-3.53-3.53-3.53-3.53-3.53-53-53-5Brunei Darussalam

12/1311108-975-63-4K/1-2Economy \ Grade

EDNET Survey Resultsweekly hours of English instruction

English co-dominant Economies

or Foreign/Other Language in English-dominant Economies

5552.5-52.520.5-1.50.5-1USA4-54-56-86-87-68Singapore

8.58.58.58.58.5101010New Zealand

3.53.53.55-3.5

54.5-54.54.5Hong Kong, China

12/1311108-975-63-4K/1-2Economy\…….…Grade

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Issues for Language Teacher Development

1. Appropriate, effective curriculum

2. Effective, well contextualized and theoretically informed second-language (L2) pedagogy (k-adult)

3. Knowledge/skill sets needed by language teachers

Types of Curriculum

• Immersion: school subjects in English (L2)• Content-based: e.g., Psych + Chinese • Theme-based: e.g., a unit on the environment;

occupations; aging; globalization; social issues• Project-based: doing a major course assignment• Task-based: within units or lessons, the core

activity is a carefully structured “task”—with components conducive to SLA: info-gap, etc.

• Service Learning: using language to help speakers of that language in the community (e.g. Chinese-speaking immigrants; content focus on immigration issues)With principled, contextualized focus

on form and content

Communicative,

meaning-driven

Structural,

form-driven

Grammar-based: the syllabus is organized around a series of grammar structures; knowledge ABOUT language

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Curriculum Materials and Media• content authenticity• linguistic component• task authenticity, appropriateness• interesting motivation • appropriate difficulty/challenge level• age-appropriateness• awareness of cultural bias • audio-visual quality• varied genres, text types, activities• provides socialization into cultural practices

(e.g., in business, academia)

Trends in Best Language Teaching Practices

• comprehensible input/exposure to L2• opportunities to produce meaningful language output• contextualized grammar instruction & correction

(“focus on form”)• different learning styles• individual + cooperative/collaborative learning• engaging new media/technology and digital learning

tools• non-stereotypical cultural content, awareness-raising

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Technology, Multimedia, and Distance Education

ISSUES of ‘Digital Divide’, Resource Constraints

Technology• Up-to-date access to authentic materials via Internet

– careful task design– sufficient pre-task preparation– follow-up

• Multiple models of oral/written language– dictionaries– pronunciation tools (different regional varieties)– concordances – grammar-checks

• Interactivity – opportunities to modify texts and monitor activities– communicate with others (near and far) synchronously and asynchronously– adaptive simulations – tutorials

• Combination of autonomous and cooperative language learning/use

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EDNET Survey Results

• English as language of instruction for non-language subjects among non-English dominant economies:– Singapore and Brunei Darussalam: all subjects,

either from grade 1 or grade 4 – Malaysia: Science and Math in secondary

schools– Hong Kong, China: all required subjects in about

one-quarter of secondary schools

Language Teachers: Knowledge/Skills Needed

(Applied) Linguisticknowledge: L2 proficiency

& metalinguisticknowledge

Contextual knowledge: country, program,

curriculum, students

Teaching: Knowledge

of L2 teaching/learning theory& “best (or “good”) practices”(constructivist, discovery oriented); L2

curriculum, articulation, IT

Experience: as language learner & teacher; decision-making; beliefs

Reflexivity; Identity as teacher

Excellent communication/

interaction skills, scaffolding

Culturalknowledge,experience

SLA knowledge

Other personal attributes: empathy, vision, passion, subject

knowledge

assessment

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Teacher-Education Resources and Research for Non-European Languages: Lacking

about English (ESL), French, German, Spanish, Italian L2s…. But how are Asian languages (e.g. Chinese) or HLs best learned and taught?

How Languages are Learned(Lightbown & Spada, 2006, 3rd ed.)

Alice Omaggio Hadley (2001, 3rd ed.)

EDNET Survey Resultsclear standards for teachers

• Performance standards/assessment system64% of responding economies

– Malaysia and Chinese Taipei have added since 2003; Japan has set target

• Enforcing the standards– Not allowed to teach unless standards are met

(pre-service) 77%– University degree in education/target language 77%– Enroll in professional development or language

course 69%– Pass exam 38%– No promotion (in-service teachers) 15%

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EDNET Survey Resultsclear standards for teachers

Professional Development for Teachers• In-service training

– Require 42 to 200 hrs/yr in Brunei; Chile; Hong Kong, China; Indonesia; Malaysia; Singapore

• Teacher networks • Training courses• Mentoring • e-learning• Multi-pronged approaches

50%+ economies50%+ economies

Assessment: From paper-pencil written, structure-

based testing to…

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… More interactive, task-based, 4-skill direct assessment, and portfolio-based assessment

capturing what students “CAN DO”

EDNET Survey ResultsWhen are learners assessed?

Malaysia

Brunei Darussalam

Thailand

9 10 11

USA

Chinese TaipeiSingaporeNew Zealand

JapanIndonesiaHong Kong, ChinaChile

Australia

12/13876543Economy \ Grade

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EDNET Survey Resultsclear standards for learners

• Assessment of learning– locally developed tests 70%– University of Cambridge Local Examinations

Syndicate (UCLES) 30%• Brunei Darussalam• Hong Kong, China• Malaysia • Singapore

EDNET Survey Resultsclear standards for learners

• Performance standards/assessment system(% of responding economies)

83% (2003) 93% (2007)• Primary responsibility for setting performance

standardsCentral government 79%State/Provincial governments 21%

• Skills emphasized in standards’ assessment– reading, listening, speaking and writing 62%– only reading and writing 23% – some other skill combination 15%

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Conclusion: Benefits of 21st Century Language Education, Skills, Competencies

• socio-economic and political benefits: jobs, higher education levels, greater participation in knowledge economy, world politics, diplomacy, security

• personal benefits: cognitive flexibility, academic achievement, metalinguistic awareness (L1, L2, L3…), opportunities for travel, study-abroad, employment

• cultural benefits: openness to other cultures, peoples, worldviews, better understanding of self/own culture(s)

• epistemic benefits: access/contribution to new knowledge

• other social benefits: inclusion, participation, integration, upward/international mobility

APEC Education Pre-Ministerial Seminar, Lima, Peru

Education to Achieve 21st Century Competencies and Skills for All: Respecting the Past to Move toward the Future

Language Learning Research Update