The power of literature : A literature review on the incorporation of children’s literature in the lower-elementary English as a Second- Language classroom.

The use of children’s literature in the English as a Second language (ESL) classroom is a widely used teaching method. This study aims to find research relating to the incorporation of children’s literature in the lower elementary English as a secondlanguage classroom. The main questions are how children’s literature can be used in the classroom and what potential benefits it has. A systematic literature review was carried out and research from six studies was included. The included studies, analyzed in this thesis, involved children aged 6-9, who are learning a second language. The results reveal multiple benefits with the use of children’s literature in the lower elementary ESL classroom, such as vocabulary gains, improved speaking and listening skills, increased motivation and better pronunciation. The results also present a few suggestions on how to incorporate the literature in the classroom, where reading aloud to the students appears to be the most common practice. It also appears common to have post-reading sessions that include discussions about what has been read.

The Role of Motivational Strategies in the Upper Elementary Classroom : A systematic literature review about teacher strategies that promote self-confidence, motivation and a conducive learning environment

The aim of this literature review is to investigate which strategies teachers use to motivate pupils to communicate orally in English. The literature review also investigates how these teacher strategies affect pupils. The methodology used for this investigation is a systematic literature review. Various databases have been used when searching for literature. Scientific articles and theses have been searched for. They have also been read and analyzed before they have become a part of this review. The results indicate that some teachers feel insecure when speaking English. Therefore Swedish is spoken in many language classrooms. Teachers speaking in front of the class is the traditional way of teaching, and it does not seem to be a strategy who influences pupils positively. If teachers speak the target language among pupils they often get more motivated and focused pupils who feel comfortable speaking English. Young pupils are fast learners. By exposing them to the English language in early ages they receive great opportunities to learn a foreign language and strengthen their self-confidence. Drama, songs and rhymes are preferable strategies to use when teaching young learners. What position teachers decide to take in the classroom is also a significant element when teaching foreign languages.

Teachers’ Views on ICT as a Tool in English Teaching for Students with Dyslexia : An interview study with English teachers in grades 7-9

Information and communications technology (ICT) is a broad concept, which is often discussed in relation to the development of education. More specially, ICT can be seen as a tool to help teachers individualize students’ education. Students who have literacy difficulties, such as dyslexia, are in constant need of new techniques to help them learn and new tools to make their educational development easier. The aim of this thesis is to show what views teachers have regarding using ICT in English teaching at a sample of schools in the south of Sweden. A secondary part of the aim is to see what ICT tools, or other non ICT related methods, these teachers use to improve literacy skills for students with dyslexia.This empirical study is based on interviews with six participants. Previous research within the area is presented and different aspects of ICT within the National Agency for Education in Sweden, and the English syllabus, are also discussed. The results of this thesis show that ICT is seen as a helpful tool to make education easier for both students and teachers. Tools such as ViTal, Spell Right and Legimus are being used and the participants of the study also use iPads and Chromebooks in their teaching. According to the interviews, ICT can tribute to a fun way of learning and a more individualized education. Other non ICT related methods are also used to help students with dyslexia and these are often in terms of pictures in connection to words. These findings are based on a limited number of participants in a small area of south of Sweden. Therefore, further research is needed to see if the findings can be verified with more participants, in different parts of the country.

Teaching Mathematics in English to Swedish Speaking Students : The Use of Second Language Teaching Practices in the Teaching of Mathematics in English to Swedish Speaking Students in Lower Secondary School

Over 20,000 Swedish lower high school students are currently learning mathematics in English but little research has been conducted in this area. This study looks into the question of how much second language learner training teachers teaching mathematics in English to Swedish speaking students have acquired and how many of those teachers are using effective teaching practices for second language learners. The study confirms earlier findings that report few teachers receive training in second language learning but indicates that some of the teaching practices shown to be effective with second language learners are being used in some Swedish schools

Learning Grammar : A study of upper secondary level students’ attitudes and beliefs concerning the learning of grammar

The communicative approach to language learning is widely taught in Western education, and yet its predecessor, the grammar-translation method, is still commonly employed in other parts of the world. In Sweden, the increasing popularity of the communicative approach is often justified by the high level of students’ communicative skills (Öhman, 2013). At the same time, students’ written texts and speech contain many grammatical errors (Öhman, 2013). Consequently, being aware of their tendency to produce grammatical errors, some students express beliefs regarding both the explicit and implicit learning of grammar (Sawir, 2005; Boroujeni, 2012). The objective of this thesis is to gain more knowledge regarding students’ beliefs concerning the learning of English grammar at the upper secondary level, in Sweden. With this purpose a survey was conducted in two schools in Sweden, where 49 upper-secondary English students participated. Qualitative and quantitative methods were applied to process the collected data. Despite some difference in the participants’ ages, there were many similarities in their attitudes towards the teaching and learning of grammar. The results show that the participants in both schools believe that only by applying both, explicit and implicit methods, can they obtain a high level of language proficiency. The results of this study can help teachers in planning different activities that enhance the students’ knowledge of grammar.

Comparing alternate teaching styles to teach computing skills to girls in their English classes

Low female participation rates in computing are a current concern of the education sector. To address this problem an intervention was developed — computing skills were introduced to girls in their English classes using three different teaching styles: peer tutoring, cross-age tutoring and teacher instruction (control). The sample comprised 136 girls from Years 8 and 10 from a single-sex government school. A pre-test post-test quantitative design was used. To describe the students perspectives, qualitative data were collected from six focus groups conducted with 8–10 students — one from each of the six classes. It was predicted that cross-age tutoring would yield more positive effects than peer tutoring which, in turn, would yield more positive effects than traditional teacher instruction as assessed by achievement on class tasks and attitudes towards computing. The hypothesis was not supported by the quantitative analysis, however in the qualitative data cross-age tutoring was appraised more favourably than peer tutoring or teacher instruction. The latter was the least preferred condition due to: (1) inefficiency; (2) difficulty understanding teachers' explanations; and (3) lack of teacher knowledge. Problems with the implementation of the intervention identified in the focus groups were teacher differences, system failures, missed classes, lack of communication, and selection of computing activities. Practical suggestions were provided relevant to the introduction of cross-age tutoring and the use of computers within secondary level English classes.

Enhancing learning for culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD) students

Objectives: Academic staff have noted that culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD) students have faced difficulties during their studies and in adapting to workplace experiential learning.

Method: To explore this issue, three focus groups were held to identify the barriers to learning faced by CALD students and to develop strategies for CALD students, academic staff and workplace supervisors to assist in the students' academic progress and skill development. The three focus groups represented academic staff: CALD students and placement supervisors in courses where workplace supervision was a requirement of the course.

Results: The barriers to learning were identified as difficulties with English language communication skills, including reading, writing and verbal skills; course content that was too local; extra time not being allocated to academic and placement staff to allow for the greater time commitment required for CALD students; large tutorial groups; social isolation; discriminatory assessment, and lack of awareness of existing support services for academic staff dealing with international students.

Conclusions: Strategies suggested to help assist CALD students to learn included conducting introductory sessions on Australian culture for CALD students; having additional and smaller tutorial groups; having academics spend time with individual CALD students; incorporating international issues into the course content and assessment; providing support and assistance for academic staff teaching CALD students, and organising experienced CALD students to mentor their less experienced peers. Implementing the strategies suggested would require greater resources to be committed to CALD students, which may be difficult given competing demands within the university for limited financial resources.

Becoming l(IT)erate : pre-service English teachers and ICTs

One of the recommended principles for classroom practice from the Digital Rhetorics Project is ‘Teachers First’, emphasising the need to prioritise the requirements of teachers in learning new technologies and in understanding their relationship to literacy education (Lankshear, Green and Snyder 2000, p. 121). While most of my pre-service English Education students use digital technologies for their own purposes and understand the benefits of doing so, it is not always straightforward regarding how technology can be effectively utilised in their classroom and for what purposes. This article reports work conducted with pre-service English Education teachers in an elective unit that focuses upon digital technologies in secondary classrooms. Using Green’s 3D model of literacy as a way of understanding the complex interrelationships between the cultural, critical and operational aspects of literacy, the students experiment with digital technologies such as mobile phones, wikis and blogs.

A self-learning system for identifying harmful network information

Network information identification is a “hot” topic currently. This paper designs a self-learning system using neural network algorithm for identifying the harmful network messages of both Chinese and English languages. The system segments the message into words and creates key word vector which characterizes the harmful network information. The BP algorithm is taken advantage of to train the neural network. The result of training and studying of the neural network can be applied onto many network applications based on message identification. The result of experiments demonstrates that our system has a high degree of accuracy.

Assessment of online reflections : engaging English second language (ESL) students

Online discussion boards are being used increasingly by tertiary educators as a tool for encouraging greater student interaction and developing learning communities. In particular, educators who have adopted a learner centered, socio-constructivist approach to teaching have sought to facilitate collaborative learning in which students reflect upon and share their experiences and perspectives, and construct knowledge together through developing shared meanings. This paper presents the findings of an electronic survey of the perceptions of 70 distance education EFL and ESL students concerning a compulsory assessment item involving contribution to an online course discussion board. The study revealed that the majority of the students enjoyed the assessment item and agreed that posting to the online course discussion board had allowed them to achieve a range of cognitive and social learning outcomes, as well as to develop some important graduate skills. In particular, ESL students reported the benefits of posting to the discussion board in terms of sharing their experiences with others and reducing the feeling of isolation. Further, when considering social outcomes, ESL students perceive the discussion board provided them with an opportunity to meet and develop a closer relationship with other students in the course and encouraged them to keep up with their studies.

Language and learning : an introduction for teaching

This revised and updated edition provides a practical and readable explanation of how language can be understood and significant implications for classroom and teaching practices.

Text next : new resources for literacy learning

This collection of resources provides classroom examples and case studies, offers a platform of ideas for teachers to investigate new ways of building the literacy development of their students.

Language learning : an introduction for teaching

The fourth edition ... continues to provide an accessible and comprehensive explanation of language acquisition and use, written specifically for Australian teacher-education students and teachers.

Poetry as a starting point for drama: learning to tolerate ambiguity

This article explores the use of process drama in an English classroom to explore issues raised by 'A poem for the Rainforest' by Judith Nicholls. The drama is used to explore both the themes and forms of the poem, the episodic nature of the drama reflecting the episodic form of the poem. The work engages the students, and the process drama works to layer complexity onto the issues rather than simplifying them.