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Page 1: Special Issue: A Century of Language Teaching and Research: Looking Back and Looking Ahead, Part 2 || Language Teaching: New Insights for the Language Teacherby Christopher Ward; Willy

Language Teaching: New Insights for the Language Teacher by Christopher Ward; WillyRenandyaReview by: Miles TurnbullThe Modern Language Journal, Vol. 85, No. 1, Special Issue: A Century of Language Teachingand Research: Looking Back and Looking Ahead, Part 2 (Spring, 2001), pp. 151-152Published by: Wiley on behalf of the National Federation of Modern Language Teachers AssociationsStable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/330388 .

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Page 2: Special Issue: A Century of Language Teaching and Research: Looking Back and Looking Ahead, Part 2 || Language Teaching: New Insights for the Language Teacherby Christopher Ward; Willy

Reviews

WARD, CHRISTOPHER, & WILLY RENANDYA. (Eds). Language Teaching: New Insights for the Lan-

guage Teacher. Anthology Series 40. Singapore: SEAMEO Regional Language Centre, 1999. Pp. viii, 308. $12.00, paper.

Ward and Renandya assembled the 16 papers in this volume from the 1998 RELC Regional semi- nar that bore the same title as the book under review. The volume consists of three sections. The first contains three articles, all focusing on lan-

guage teacher development. Gopinathan calls for a redesign of teacher preparation programs to

equip new teachers with skills in critical and cul- tural literacy, loosely defined by the author, that will help them and their students cope with the

reality of globalization and an English-dominant world. Although I appreciated and identified with many of the issues raised by the author, espe- cially the loose connections between universities and schools, I would have liked more suggestions for solutions to the problems identified.

John Joseph Moran examines teacher supervi- sion, an often neglected component of teacher

development. I agree with Moran that training teacher supervisors must become a priority. It was not clear to me, however, which type of supervi- sor the author is referring to, whether university- based or school-based, or both. Moran referred to a study he conducted with English teachers and their supervisors but, unfortunately, does not

provide the reference. Donald Freeman's article is an important con-

tribution to our understanding of teacher change. The author emphasizes a consideration of the context within which educational change is envisaged. Freeman uses metaphors such as Lego blocks, water in a glass, and ice cubes to examine three types of educational change: change as substitution, change as integration, and change through infusion and transforma- tion. Freeman argues convincingly that change that occurs through gradual infusion results in the most effective transformation. This article is thought provoking and in touch with reality; it is a must for all involved with teacher development.

The second section of the volume contains 11 papers focused on teaching and learning. Prabhu presents a timely and thought-provoking piece that identifies teaching and learning as separate events. One of Prabhu's principal objectives is to encourage language education to replace overly specific content syllabi with procedural syllabi. He argues that a procedural syllabus allows teach-

ers to connect to students' learning rather than obsess over prescribed outcomes and the time needed to achieve them. I am concerned, how- ever, that many teachers, especially new ones, find it difficult to implement procedural syllabi. In a future piece, the author might suggest ways to help prepare and support teachers who use this type of language syllabus.

Joan Morley's article focuses on pronunciation training in language education. She begins by ra- tionalizing pronunciation training, then exam- ines the components of an effective program at the University of Michigan. Readers who are inter- ested in this topic will find the article useful and detailed. There are four excellent appendices, in- cluding an assessment scale for pronunciation training. Unfortunately, Morley does not clearly indicate how to fit everything she proposes into

typical communicative language teaching. Williams presents what he calls a "new ap-

proach" to teaching grammar to younger learn- ers, based on Vygotskian learning theory and Hal- lidayan systemic functional grammar applied to real texts. The approach focuses on examining text to discover what kind of metalanguage pro- motes thinking about language. The article as- sumes an understanding of Hallidayan linguis- tics, which the author finds useful for teaching grammar. However, it is not clear to me why Wil- liams believes that his approach to grammar teaching is any more appealing than other ap- proaches to which he refers in the article. Tran-

scripts of student-teacher interaction, included in a section about a research study examining this grammar teaching approach, help the reader un- derstand how Williams's approach works.

Merrill Swain's article expands the definition of task to include activity that focuses on form while simultaneously making meaning. Using examples from French immersion research, Swain explains that such language tasks allow learners to notice gaps in their language knowledge, hypothesize about possible ways to express their ideas, and push learners to reflect upon and talk about their language output. Swain's summary of insights (pp. 142-145) is both theoretical and practical and provides useful suggestions for other second language contexts. Most individuals involved in language education teaching or research will find this article relevant and accessible.

It is not clear to me why the editors decided to include two articles on pragmatics in language teaching. This objection is not to imply that the Thomas and Gunarwan articles are not worth a read. Nonspecialists in pragmatics will probably find these articles more interesting and useful

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Page 3: Special Issue: A Century of Language Teaching and Research: Looking Back and Looking Ahead, Part 2 || Language Teaching: New Insights for the Language Teacherby Christopher Ward; Willy

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than specialists in pragmalinguistics and socio- pragmatics. The articles constitute an excellent re- view of introductory pragmatics. Gunarwam draws implications that are much more profound and grounded in reality than those drawn by Thomas. For example, Thomas does not acknow- ledge that helping students interpret the illocu-

tionary force of speech acts is difficult and prob- ably only realistic with advanced students. I agree with Gunawarm's suggestion that it is important for language teachers to know the pragmatics of the target language (TL) before teaching it. How- ever, it may not be realistic to expect teachers to draw contrasts between the pragmatics of all stu- dent first languages and the TL, especially in mul- ticultural urban centers.

Honna's article describing English language instruction in Japan is fascinating. The author refers to a 3-day awareness training session for

Japanese teachers of English that aims to help participants recognize that English has become a multinational and multicultural language. The sessions also help teachers and students acknow-

ledge Japanese English as acceptable. More de- tails about the awareness sessions would be useful to provide a model for other countries struggling with American- or British-English envy.

Crabbe's article on learning autonomy is both

theoretically sound and pedagogically grounded. The author offers a clear rationale for helping students become more autonomous language learners, and he provides useful ideas (especially in the table on pp. 253-254) to help teachers

help their students become more autonomous. I found this article so useful that I plan to use it this

coming year in a graduate class I teach!

Unfortunately, I cannot say the same about the last three articles in this section. Kayad's article summarizes a correlational study of language learning strategies and second language profi- ciency among ESL learners at a Malaysian univer-

sity. The research questions are interesting, but the analyses are unclear. Moreover, the implica- tions of the findings from this survey for language teaching are not clear. In the conclusion of her article, Pefiaflorida provides a useful summary of the connections among text, task, and authentic-

ity. However, the rest of the article does not lead the reader to these conclusions, but reads more like a reformulation of the ideas of Nunan and others. Pibulchol's short article (five pages) de- scribes a new national textbook series (On the Springboard) for primary English instruction in Thailand. The textbook is hardly innovative, al-

though it may be in Thailand. It is designed as a

support and guide for English language teachers

than specialists in pragmalinguistics and socio- pragmatics. The articles constitute an excellent re- view of introductory pragmatics. Gunarwam draws implications that are much more profound and grounded in reality than those drawn by Thomas. For example, Thomas does not acknow- ledge that helping students interpret the illocu-

tionary force of speech acts is difficult and prob- ably only realistic with advanced students. I agree with Gunawarm's suggestion that it is important for language teachers to know the pragmatics of the target language (TL) before teaching it. How- ever, it may not be realistic to expect teachers to draw contrasts between the pragmatics of all stu- dent first languages and the TL, especially in mul- ticultural urban centers.

Honna's article describing English language instruction in Japan is fascinating. The author refers to a 3-day awareness training session for

Japanese teachers of English that aims to help participants recognize that English has become a multinational and multicultural language. The sessions also help teachers and students acknow-

ledge Japanese English as acceptable. More de- tails about the awareness sessions would be useful to provide a model for other countries struggling with American- or British-English envy.

Crabbe's article on learning autonomy is both

theoretically sound and pedagogically grounded. The author offers a clear rationale for helping students become more autonomous language learners, and he provides useful ideas (especially in the table on pp. 253-254) to help teachers

help their students become more autonomous. I found this article so useful that I plan to use it this

coming year in a graduate class I teach!

Unfortunately, I cannot say the same about the last three articles in this section. Kayad's article summarizes a correlational study of language learning strategies and second language profi- ciency among ESL learners at a Malaysian univer-

sity. The research questions are interesting, but the analyses are unclear. Moreover, the implica- tions of the findings from this survey for language teaching are not clear. In the conclusion of her article, Pefiaflorida provides a useful summary of the connections among text, task, and authentic-

ity. However, the rest of the article does not lead the reader to these conclusions, but reads more like a reformulation of the ideas of Nunan and others. Pibulchol's short article (five pages) de- scribes a new national textbook series (On the Springboard) for primary English instruction in Thailand. The textbook is hardly innovative, al-

though it may be in Thailand. It is designed as a

support and guide for English language teachers

The Modern LanguageJournal 85 (2001)

who have little training in ESL teaching method- ology, especially communicative language teach-

ing, and few opportunities for in-service profes- sional development. I am concerned that the author acknowledges indirectly, in the last few lines of the article, that teacher change may not occur simply because of a new textbook.

The last section of the volume contains two articles related to computers in language teach-

ing. Levy presents a realistic and grounded view of computers in language education. Levy's arti- cle describes the controversies that technology and computers have caused in society, possibly explaining teachers' positive and negative reac- tions to computers in language teaching. I found

Levy's examination of teachers' beliefs concern-

ing student language learning insightful and use- ful. He reports on an international survey and, although the response rate was somewhat low (48.8%), the results ring true. Language teachers need time and support to integrate computers as

teaching tools into their curriculum. The last article in the volume is short and

dreamy. Siegel describes digital learning environ- ments that are authentic and cooperative, requir- ing solving problems from the real world. Siegel's article is a fun way to end the book, but this concrete-oriented applied linguist has difficulty visualizing digital learning in most of the lan-

guage classes I know. Overall, I would call the volume a mixed bag.

The quality of the contributions is uneven and the intended readership is not entirely clear. How- ever, the editors have managed to assemble an

interesting combination of theoretical and peda- gogical perspectives and topic areas. All in all, it is a useful and inexpensive volume that I will refer to and lend to graduate students more than once.

MILES TURNBULL Ontario Institutefor Studies in Education, University of Toronto

BILINGUALISM

The Modern LanguageJournal 85 (2001)

who have little training in ESL teaching method- ology, especially communicative language teach-

ing, and few opportunities for in-service profes- sional development. I am concerned that the author acknowledges indirectly, in the last few lines of the article, that teacher change may not occur simply because of a new textbook.

The last section of the volume contains two articles related to computers in language teach-

ing. Levy presents a realistic and grounded view of computers in language education. Levy's arti- cle describes the controversies that technology and computers have caused in society, possibly explaining teachers' positive and negative reac- tions to computers in language teaching. I found

Levy's examination of teachers' beliefs concern-

ing student language learning insightful and use- ful. He reports on an international survey and, although the response rate was somewhat low (48.8%), the results ring true. Language teachers need time and support to integrate computers as

teaching tools into their curriculum. The last article in the volume is short and

dreamy. Siegel describes digital learning environ- ments that are authentic and cooperative, requir- ing solving problems from the real world. Siegel's article is a fun way to end the book, but this concrete-oriented applied linguist has difficulty visualizing digital learning in most of the lan-

guage classes I know. Overall, I would call the volume a mixed bag.

The quality of the contributions is uneven and the intended readership is not entirely clear. How- ever, the editors have managed to assemble an

interesting combination of theoretical and peda- gogical perspectives and topic areas. All in all, it is a useful and inexpensive volume that I will refer to and lend to graduate students more than once.

MILES TURNBULL Ontario Institutefor Studies in Education, University of Toronto

BILINGUALISM

AUER, PETER. (Ed.). Code-Switching in Conversa- tion: Language, Interaction and Identity. New York:

Routledge, 1998. Pp. xiii, 355. $32.99, paper.

AUER, PETER. (Ed.). Code-Switching in Conversa- tion: Language, Interaction and Identity. New York:

Routledge, 1998. Pp. xiii, 355. $32.99, paper.

This volume has appeared at a crucial moment for the study of the rapidly growing field of code-

switching (CS), which can be defined roughly as

This volume has appeared at a crucial moment for the study of the rapidly growing field of code-

switching (CS), which can be defined roughly as

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