Different shades of the collective way of thinking: Vietnamese and Chinese international students' reflection on academic writing

Investigating ELF/ESL students' experiences in constructing their academic written texts seems to be of great significance in EFL/ESL writing syllabus design and teaching. The case study reported in this paper explores the underlying factors which shape students' ways of supporting ideas in academic essays in English. Drawing on Lillis' (2001) framework for exploring student writing, the study examines the writing experiences of students from Vietnam and mainland China at an Australian university. Based on the students' reflection on their different ways of meaning making, this paper argues for the need to challenge the tendency to essentialize cultural rhetoric patterns and their effects upon Chinese and Vietnamese students' writing in English as a foreign or second language. Several implications for teaching EFL/ESL writing have also been drawn from the findings of this study.

Quality in accounting education and low English standards among overseas students : is there a link?

Two studies of stakeholders in university education for accounting professionals in Australia provide evidence of a decline in the quality of accounting education as perceived by accounting academics. This decline may be linked to increasing enrolments of international students with poor English language skills. Some university lecturers indicate that the quality of students entering their courses has declined, as has the quality of those graduating. In an environment increasingly dominated by the need to publish or perish, assessment tasks such as essays, case studies, and research reports, designed to improve the English language and communications skills of graduates, may have been compromised. This may contribute to the fact that many employers of graduates are concerned about the low levels of English language and communication skills displayed by accounting graduates, particularly international students.

The self-efficacy of gifted students : an investigation into the written English self-efficacy of verbal and non-verbally gifted adolescents

Self-efficacy is a belief. It can encourage or hamper students from learning to their full potential. Students who are efficacious are more motivated, more persistent to meet their goals and are more likely to take learning risks. The research into the self-efficacy of students classified as verbally or non-verbally gifted is in its infancy. This book details a Doctoral dissertation that investigated the written English self-efficacy of adolescent students. Results identified verbally gifted students had higher written English self-efficacy, were more intrinsically motivated, had higher levels of creativity and wrote superior essays compared to non-verbally gifted and non-gifted students. Findings highlighted differences between gender as female student?s recorded higher self-efficacy and written English performance scores and interestingly, students from lower socio-economic backgrounds reported higher self-efficacy compared to students from higher socio-economic backgrounds. Pedagogical implications are considered with teachers encouraged to realise the impact of self-efficacy upon student learning, motivation and persistence regardless of their academic ability.

Investigating the written English self-efficacy of gifted and non- gifted adolescents

Self-efficacy is a belief. It can encourage or hamper students from learning to their full potential. Students who are efficacious are more motivated, more persistent to meet their goals and are more likely to take learning risks. The research into the self-efficacy of students classified as verbally or non-verbally gifted is in its infancy. This book details a Doctoral dissertation that investigated the written English self-efficacy of adolescent students. Results identified verbally gifted students had higher written English self-efficacy, were more intrinsically motivated, had higher levels of creativity and wrote superior essays compared to non-verbally gifted and non-gifted students. Findings highlighted differences between gender as female student?s recorded higher self-efficacy and written English performance scores and interestingly, students from lower socio-economic backgrounds reported higher self-efficacy compared to students from higher socio-economic backgrounds. Pedagogical implications are considered with teachers encouraged to realise the impact of self-efficacy upon student learning, motivation and persistence regardless of their academic ability.

Joint action: essays in honour of John Shotter

Joint Action: Essays in honour of John Shotter brings together a cross-disciplinary group of fifteen respected international scholars to explain the relevance of John Shotter’s work to emerging concerns in twenty-first century social science.Shotter’s work extends over forty years and continues to challenge conventional scientific thinking across a range of topics. The disciplines and practices that Shotter’s work has informed are well established throughout the English-speaking world. This is the first publication to examine the importance of his influence in contemporary social sciences and it includes authoritative discussions on topics such as social constructionism, democratic practice, organisational change, the affective turn and human relations. The geographical diversity and disciplinary breadth of scholarly contributions imbues the book with international scope and reach.Joint Action presents a contemporary reflection on Shotter’s work that demonstrates its influence across a range of substantive topics and practical endeavours and within disciplines including management studies and philosophy as well as psychology. As such, it will appeal to researchers and postgraduate students of social sciences and related disciplines, as well as to those who have heard of Shotter’s work and want to know more about its utility and value in relation to their own research or practice.