No abstract

No abstract

No abstract

Research in ESL/EFL writing has shown there is a need for a framework that explores teaching contexts and decision making within various settings, and the way writing instructors work within a variety of teaching contexts (Pardo, 2006). This chapter intends to fill this gap by examining how ESL/EFL writing teachers negotiate differing teaching practices and professional cultures in their classroom writing instruction. The authors adopted an autoethnography approach (Ellis, 2009) to illuminate the hidden feelings, motivations, and tensions posed by cultural factors in their classroom writing instruction (Canagarajah, 2012). The results of the study show that three contextual factors—school policy, teachers' identities as writers, and the type of students—affect writing instruction in significant ways. There is a need to construct locally appropriate responses to support the preparation and professionalism of ESL/EFL writing instructors due to the changing sociopolitical and socioeconomic contexts in which teachers are positioned.

Readers Theatre (henceforth RT) is a presentational performance based on principles and techniques of oral interpretation and conventional theatre (Adams, 2003). This study seeks to examine whether: (i) RT lowers the affective filters of Japanese EFL learners in the classroom,(ii) Japanese EFL learners have positive experiences with RT in class (iii) RT has any impact on Japanese EFL learners’ writing. Students’ reactions to specific phases of RT activities are described and analysed: script negotiating, script rehearsal, and script performance. For this study, data was collected from the following sources: the teacher’s reflexive journals after the RT lesson, students’ comments on their writing journals, a survey on students’ reactions towards the RT activity, and the impact of RT on students’ writing. The results of the study showed that RT lowers affective filters of Japanese EFL learners in the classroom as students display a positive attitude towards RT as an enjoyable and creative activity.