Developing Second-Language Skills: Theory and Practice

Chastain, Kenneth

doi:10.2307/328125

Cited by 178 publications

(26 citation statements)

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“…Presentation of culture in ELT textbooks Chastain (1988) links 'culture' as a relatively intricate notion to second language instruction in two groups: small c culture and large C culture. The former relates to the method of people's lives.…”

Section: Need For Textbook Evaluationmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Meager diverse cultural topics are introduced, mainly presenting general information about big C such as art and general science. Little c culture concerns how people live, as Chastain (1988) argued, while big C culture has to do with the economic, social, and political history and the great politicians, heroes, writers, and artists of a country. Such cultural knowledge can be essential to every language program, as any educational course aims to prepare learners for real-life activities.…”

Section: Culturesmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Culture in English Language Teaching: A curricular evaluation of English textbooks for foreign language learners

2023

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A critical assessment of the current systematical planning and an in-depth review of the teaching materials efficiently improve fine educational materials to the benefit of developed learning and teaching contexts. In some countries, such as Iran, that belong to the expanding circle, local book writers provide English teaching materials that may ignore sociopragmatic language components, particularly culture. There is a blind spot and massive gap in the related literature regarding the inclusion and organization of cultural knowledge in these textbooks. This study investigated culture in Iranian schools by conducting a nationwide survey to fill the gap. The investigation was based on the components of the curriculum administered and used in Iran, namely Vision Series. The evaluation was aimed at two prospects; firstly, to interpret whether the English textbooks taught at high schools in Iran have standardized principles and elements regarding Communication and Culture. Secondly, to investigate the extent to which cultural knowledge and technology as the curricular components are implemented in the Vision Series. In this respect, the 5 Cs checklist developed by the American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages was employed. The evaluation done by 120 English language teachers reveals that the textbook Vision 3 is more preferable and desirable than Vision 1 and 2, yet not significantly. The evaluation based on the seven curricular components indicates that Vision textbooks have standards at a low level and are not designed and developed to enhance language learners’ cultural competence in the target language. This study highlights the role of enhancing language learners’ cultural awareness in the expanding circle of World Englishes.

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Section: Need For Textbook Evaluationmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Culturesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Culture in English Language Teaching: A curricular evaluation of English textbooks for foreign language learners

2023

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“…One of the varieties of definitions for readings given by Cambridge dictionary establishes it " the skill or activity of getting information from books" which implies that reading is a process in which some strategies are applied in order to obtain and understand information. In similar way, Chastain (1988) reports that reading is a path that comprises significant knowledge and related language skills to achieve the interchange of information from one to another person. In fact, reading is a basic skill to be acquired for EFL students because they can understand the message that the writer attempts to convey.…”

Section: Reading Efl Skill and Importance Benefits And Limitationsmentioning

confidence: 98%

Use of Twitter for improving reading comprehension skills

Celi¹,

Pintado²,

Ulehlova³

2018

Transforming Education for a Changing World

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Technology in educational field was implemented by the use of social networks such as Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, Flickr or Whatsapp, which have been used to improve different language skills (acquisition of second foreign language). The aim of this research is to foster reading comprehension skill through the use of Twitter in EFL (English as a foreign language) classroom. Fifty participants (N=50) were involved in this experimental research; they all were enrolled in the Reading and Writing I class. In addition, both quantitative and qualitative approaches were used in order to obtain and analyze the information gathered in the research field. Based on the results, it can be said that the students have improved reading comprehension skill, which was evident in the comments provided in Twitter. Apart from that they had the opportunity to share information and ideas among classmates in an informal learning environment, which allow them to act and use the language spontaneously. For this reason, it is highly recommended to use Twitter as a learning tool to be adapted to the acquisition of a second or foreign language.

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“…Similarly, Burns and Joyce (1997) argue that speaking is an interactive process of constructive meaning that involves two or more people who use language for interaction and transactional purposes. Chastain (1988), in his view, defines speaking as a process of combining background and linguistic knowledge to produce an oral message that is conveyed to the listeners. Bygate (1987) defines speaking as a process which includes not only the use of the right sounds, but also the choice of words in the right order to convey the right meaning.…”

Section: Perceptionsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Investigating Efl Teachers’ Perceptions of Implementing Active Learning Techniques in Teaching Speaking

Minh

Duong

2023

EJFL

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Active learning (AL) is widely implemented in Asia including Vietnam. However, to date, research on this method seems to be scarce, particularly in the context of Vietnam. This study aims to investigate teachers' perceptions of AL and its principles in teaching English speaking. In addition, the study also explores teachers’ attitudes about AL implementation and their concerns about applying this method to their teaching context. Ten teachers of English teaching at a university in the Mekong Delta, South of Vietnam participated in the study. A semi-structured interview activity was employed to collect data. The results showed that the teachers generally had a high level of understanding of AL teaching principles and showed positive attitudes toward the implementation of it. The results also revealed teachers’ concerns about implementing AL. In particular, three problems of large class size, students’ mixed language proficiency and time limitation were addressed. Accordingly, possible suggestions for a better implementation of AL in teaching English speaking in Vietnam and similar contexts elsewhere will be provided. Article visualizations:<img src="/-counters-/soc/0006/a.php" alt="Hit counter" />

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Developing Second-Language Skills: Theory and Practice

Cited by 178 publications

References 0 publications

Culture in English Language Teaching: A curricular evaluation of English textbooks for foreign language learners

Culture in English Language Teaching: A curricular evaluation of English textbooks for foreign language learners

Use of Twitter for improving reading comprehension skills

Investigating Efl Teachers’ Perceptions of Implementing Active Learning Techniques in Teaching Speaking

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