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Book part
Publication date: 3 February 2015

Ester de Jong and Katherine Barko-Alva

Teachers’ ability to identify and link content and language objectives is an important skill. This chapter explores how two-way immersion (TWI) teachers with a mainstream educator…

Abstract

Teachers’ ability to identify and link content and language objectives is an important skill. This chapter explores how two-way immersion (TWI) teachers with a mainstream educator negotiated the shift to becoming a language-focused TWI teacher. We argue that it cannot automatically be assumed that these teachers have the knowledge and skills to attend to language issues. Specifically, our study examined how TWI teachers in three schools defined academic language and how they integrated language development into their practice through the use of language objectives. Our qualitative study features a constructivist framework using a thematic analysis of our data, which consisted of individual interviews and surveys with the teachers. Our analysis shows diverse interpretations of academic language and increased awareness of the role of language in their teaching and experienced benefits of making language objectives explicit, as teachers participated in professional development. Selecting and designing specific language-supporting activities, however, continued to be a challenge. We conclude that professional development needs to consider teachers’ different understandings and awareness of the role of language in the classroom. We also note that taking on the role of a language teacher may require a significant shift in assumptions about teaching and learning for teachers with mainstream teacher preparation and experiences and may depend on instructional context.

Details

Research on Preparing Inservice Teachers to Work Effectively with Emergent Bilinguals
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-78441-494-8

Keywords

Book part
Publication date: 18 September 2014

Alma D. Rodríguez and Sandra I. Musanti

This chapter discusses the findings of a qualitative study conducted on the US–Mexico border to investigate preservice bilingual teachers’ understandings of the effective…

Abstract

This chapter discusses the findings of a qualitative study conducted on the US–Mexico border to investigate preservice bilingual teachers’ understandings of the effective practices needed to teach content in bilingual classrooms. Specifically, participants’ understandings of teaching language through content to emergent bilinguals and the role of academic language in a content methods course taught in Spanish for preservice bilingual teachers were explored. The results of the study show that preservice bilingual teachers struggled to internalize how to develop language objectives that embed the four language domains as well as the three levels of academic language into their content lessons. Although participants emphasized vocabulary development, they integrated multiple scaffolding strategies to support emergent bilinguals. Moreover, although preservice bilingual teachers struggled with standard Spanish, they used translanguaging to navigate the discourse of education in their content lessons. The use of academic Spanish was also evident in participants’ planning of instruction. The authors contend that bilingual teacher preparation would benefit from the implementation of a dynamic bilingual curriculum that: (a) incorporates sustained opportunities across coursework for preservice bilingual teachers to strengthen their understanding of content teaching and academic language development for emergent bilinguals; (b) values preservice bilingual teachers’ language varieties, develops metalinguistic awareness, and fosters the ability to navigate between language registers for teaching and learning; and (c) values translanguaging as a pedagogical strategy that provides access to content and language development.

Details

Research on Preparing Preservice Teachers to Work Effectively with Emergent Bilinguals
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-78441-265-4

Keywords

Book part
Publication date: 2 August 2018

Laura Schall-Leckrone, Lucy Bunning and Maria da Conceicao Athanassiou

This chapter explores how TESOL teacher educators used self-study to respond to educational policies for emergent bilingual learners (BLs) and their teachers. The purpose was to…

Abstract

This chapter explores how TESOL teacher educators used self-study to respond to educational policies for emergent bilingual learners (BLs) and their teachers. The purpose was to examine tensions, challenges, and opportunities in our efforts as teacher educators to prepare teachers to teach BLs in mainstream classes through a state-mandated sheltered English instruction (SEI) course. Data sources, including emails, course artifacts, meeting agendas, and journals, pre and post surveys and course assignments were analyzed using mixed methods. Practitioners and participants agreed one SEI course is insufficient. In a coherent approach to preparing mainstream teachers to teach language, learning would be reinforced from coursework to the classroom. Without self-studies that provide an informed response to external policies that shape teacher education, the danger is new policies result in no substantive change.

Details

Self-Study of Language and Literacy Teacher Education Practices
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-78754-538-0

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 1 October 2006

Deborah Knowles, Terry Mughan and Lester Lloyd‐Reason

The purpose of this research is to assess the place of language skills in the international orientation of decision‐makers of successfully internationalised SMEs. The position of…

2258

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this research is to assess the place of language skills in the international orientation of decision‐makers of successfully internationalised SMEs. The position of language skills in this area of literature and policy is problematic and a new paradigm is proposed.

Design/methodology/approach

This paper considers findings from an empirical project using both quantitative and qualitative methods, first, a 1,200 company telephone survey and second, an 80 company batch of face‐to‐face interviews.

Findings

Strong international orientation seems indeed to be a determinant of success in international trade. The decision‐makers of the successful companies were notably more likely to have foreign language skills than those in the other groups and were also the only group to include self‐reported skills at the highest level. However, comparison of the countries in which the firms were dealing with the languages in which decision‐makers claimed skills shows very clearly that the decision‐makers of the “successful” international companies were often not using their foreign language skills in business. In addition, these decision‐makers also possessed better attitudes towards foreign experience and other elements of international orientation.

Practical implications

The paper discusses the implications of the findings for policy‐makers responsible for training and trainers themselves. The evidence supports the view that government subsidies focusing on language training might be better directed at a more varied range of activities to develop international orientation.

Originality/value

The article contributes to the development of qualitative research in this area in examining the foreign language use of decision‐makers in successful international SMEs and locating this within their broader international orientation. It posits that language skills make an indirect contribution to overall international business success which is more valuable than their direct contribution to improved communication with specific foreign clients and markets.

Details

Journal of Small Business and Enterprise Development, vol. 13 no. 4
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1462-6004

Keywords

Open Access
Article
Publication date: 1 June 2006

Nikki Ashcraft

As new English-medium universities open their doors in the Arabian Gulf andsome Arabic-medium universities switch to using English as the language ofinstruction, instructors in…

Abstract

As new English-medium universities open their doors in the Arabian Gulf andsome Arabic-medium universities switch to using English as the language ofinstruction, instructors in all disciplines face the challenge of teaching theircourses in English to students who have learned (and who are continuing tolearn) English as a foreign language. This article reviews theories and practicesfrom the field of Applied Linguistics and Teaching English as a SecondLanguage (TESOL) which can help content-area instructors understand andreach these learners.

Second language acquisition research has produced several concepts ofinterest to content-area instructors. Krashen’s theory of comprehensible inputfocuses on the language used by the instructor, while Swain’s of comprehensibleoutput emphasizes providing opportunities for students to produce language. Cummins differentiates between two types of language proficiency: BasicInterpersonal Communication Skills (BICS), which are needed for dailyinteractions, and Cognitive Academic Language Proficiency (CALP), which isrequired for academic tasks. Interlanguage and first language interference mayalso influence students’ second language production in classroom settings.

Specific classroom practices for improving students’ language comprehensionand facilitating content learning are recommended. These include modifyingspeech, using visual aids, utilizing a variety of questioning techniques, andextending the time instructors wait for students to respond. Instructors canemploy strategies, such as mind-mapping and quickwriting, to activate students’linguistic and conceptual schemata at the beginning of a lesson. Scaffoldingprovides structure and support for students to complete tasks until they are ableto realize them on their own. Collaborative/cooperative learning lowers students’affective filters and offers opportunities for participation and language practice. Graphics illustrate some of the suggested practices.

Details

Learning and Teaching in Higher Education: Gulf Perspectives, vol. 3 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2077-5504

Article
Publication date: 1 July 2004

April Linton

Observes that, in some public schools in the USA, dual language instead of English only is being promoted as a plus and not the drawback it was once seen to be. Stresses there is…

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Abstract

Observes that, in some public schools in the USA, dual language instead of English only is being promoted as a plus and not the drawback it was once seen to be. Stresses there is still opposition to dual language or other languages being used in the US. Reckons that educated parents are the likeliest to seek dual‐language education for their children. Uses tables and figures to show the dual language options and variances. Concludes that there is potential for two‐way immersion to expand.

Details

International Journal of Sociology and Social Policy, vol. 24 no. 7/8
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0144-333X

Keywords

Book part
Publication date: 3 February 2015

Abstract

Details

Research on Preparing Inservice Teachers to Work Effectively with Emergent Bilinguals
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-78441-494-8

Article
Publication date: 22 March 2022

Djamila Mohdeb, Meriem Laifa, Fayssal Zerargui and Omar Benzaoui

The present study was designed to investigate eight research questions that are related to the analysis and the detection of dialectal Arabic hate speech that targeted African…

Abstract

Purpose

The present study was designed to investigate eight research questions that are related to the analysis and the detection of dialectal Arabic hate speech that targeted African refugees and illegal migrants on the YouTube Algerian space.

Design/methodology/approach

The transfer learning approach which recently presents the state-of-the-art approach in natural language processing tasks has been exploited to classify and detect hate speech in Algerian dialectal Arabic. Besides, a descriptive analysis has been conducted to answer the analytical research questions that aim at measuring and evaluating the presence of the anti-refugee/migrant discourse on the YouTube social platform.

Findings

Data analysis revealed that there has been a gradual modest increase in the number of anti-refugee/migrant hateful comments on YouTube since 2014, a sharp rise in 2017 and a sharp decline in later years until 2021. Furthermore, our findings stemming from classifying hate content using multilingual and monolingual pre-trained language transformers demonstrate a good performance of the AraBERT monolingual transformer in comparison with the monodialectal transformer DziriBERT and the cross-lingual transformers mBERT and XLM-R.

Originality/value

Automatic hate speech detection in languages other than English is quite a challenging task that the literature has tried to address by various approaches of machine learning. Although the recent approach of cross-lingual transfer learning offers a promising solution, tackling this problem in the context of the Arabic language, particularly dialectal Arabic makes it even more challenging. Our results cast a new light on the actual ability of the transfer learning approach to deal with low-resource languages that widely differ from high-resource languages as well as other Latin-based, low-resource languages.

Details

Aslib Journal of Information Management, vol. 74 no. 6
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2050-3806

Keywords

Content available
Article
Publication date: 13 August 2020

Shuyi Wang, Chengzhi Zhang and Alexis Palmer

Abstract

Details

Information Discovery and Delivery, vol. 48 no. 3
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2398-6247

Abstract

Details

Teacher Preparation in Papua New Guinea
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-83549-077-8

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