Colloquia - British Association for Applied Linguistics

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BAAL Conference 2004 37 th Annual BAAL Meeting the progression of language games as well as their role in the process of knowledge construction in three different learning stages of the foreign language. 2. Promote the teacher's reflection about his/her own practice in the EFL classroom in what concerns the use of language games through the observation of his/her teaching, the construction of a theoretical framework and the dialogue with the researcher in reflective sessions taken place after the video recording of the teacher's class. The set of data for this research was collected in a Language School in Brazil and consists of seven videotaped games, written questionnaires answered by students after the videotaping of each game and four dialogical reflective sessions from which the teachers and the researcher participated. The theoretical framework that gives support to the discussion concerning the use of games in the EFL classroom is mainly based on the studies of Vygostky (1930), Leontiev (1934) , Elkonin (1978) Huizinga (1944), Caillois (1955), Cook (2000), Bruner (1975), Lier (1985) and Rojo (1999, forthcoming). In what concerns the reflective process and the role played by the researcher in the construction of this process, I have been seeking theoretical support basically in the conceptions of Bakhtin (1929, 1953, 1975), Coulter (1999), Fullan (1996) and Freire (1992). Besides providing essential information concerning the research questions, the context and the theoretical framework, this paper intends to focus on some analysis results in progress concerning both the construction of knowledge in the games and the participants' reflective process. Taking the Bible for a Talk: The discursive life of a Bible-study group Andrew Todd School of Religious and Theological Studies, Cardiff University andrew.todd@stedmundsbury.anglican.org In an age where the contribution of religion to the cultural life of Europe is under question, it is increasingly important to understand the language of religion and its relation to other discourses. This paper provides a small contribution to this area. The author of the paper is an adult educator employed by the Church of England and a practical theologian. He is currently researching empirically the way in which people in local churches talk about and interpret the Bible. This involves in-depth study of the talk and dynamics of a small number of existing Bible-study groups. This paper presents some early findings from the project. The paper will discuss the ways in which one particular such group talked about the Bible and its interpretation, focusing on: � the role of the researcher, and associated questions of reflexivity; � the different interpretative strategies adopted by members of the group, and the ways they orientated to the Biblical text; � the way members talked about God, and the location of God in relation to the discourse. Language learning motivation in a reconfigured Europe: access, autonomy, identity Dr Ema Ushioda Centre for English Language Teacher Education, University of Warwick E.Ushioda@warwick.ac.uk Historically, social-psychological models of language learning, though originating in a North American context, date back to a foundational period in communicative syllabus design prompted by European integration in the early 1970s. Their central motivational concepts of instrumental and integrative orientation closely paralleled the professional and social communicative purposes according to which functional-notional syllabus specifications were defined. Moreover, social-psychological theory offered a valuable framework for studying communicative needs and language development among migrant populations (e.g., Meisel 1977). In the last decade, however, in a move towards what Dörnyei (2001) has called more educationfriendly approaches, we have witnessed significant diversification of L2 motivation concepts under scrutiny, adapted largely from cognitive and social cognitive theories of motivation. This move is welcomed since it has resulted in a stronger focus on classroom practices and brought the field in line with mainstream educational psychology. Yet one might also argue that it has somewhat shifted attention away from the broader social context of language learning and language use during a period of significant socio-political change. This paper proposes that we need to develop an appropriate set of conceptual tools for examining motivational issues pertaining to linguistic diversity, mobility and social integration in a rapidly changing and expanding Europe. The paper draws on research that has begun to reappraise the concept of integrativeness in relation to the lingua franca status of English. It considers the value of participation rather than acquisition metaphors of language learning in illuminating perspectives on motivation, and explores recently developed notions of investment and cultural capital. It examines the King‟s College, London 9 – 11 th - 30 - September, 2004
BAAL Conference 2004 37 th Annual BAAL Meeting contribution of the Council of Europe‟s European Language Portfolio in promoting a view of motivation as self-development, and concludes by highlighting the concepts of access, autonomy and identity as key tools for analyzing the multiplicity of personal, professional and social goals underpinning the motivation to develop full and partial competences in additional languages. References Dörnyei, Z. 2001. Teaching and Researching Motivation. Harlow: Longman. Meisel, J. 1977. Linguistic simplification: a study of immigrant workersspeech and foreigner talk. In S. P. Corder & E. Roulet (eds), The Notions of Simplification, Interlanguages and Pidgins in their Relation to Second Language Pedagogy, pp.88113. Geneva: Librairie Droz. The best way to teach inferring meaning from context: A comparative study JoDee Walters School of English Studies, University of Nottingham aexjdw@nottingham.ac.uk The use of context to infer the meanings of unknown words has been proposed as the source of the majority of the words in the mental lexicon, with the task of learning vast amounts of vocabulary seen as too great to be accomplished by direct instruction alone (Nagy, 1997, Sternberg, 1987). In addition to seeking better ways to teach vocabulary directly, researchers and teachers have sought ways to improve the use of context, in an attempt to have an impact on vocabulary acquisition. While much of the empirical research in this area has been from the L1 perspective (e.g. Fukkink, 2002; Jenkins, Matlock & Slocum, 1989), the topic has been widely addressed, largely in descriptive terms, by second language researchers and teachers (e.g. Clark & Nation, 1980; Fraser, 1999; Huckin & Jin, 1987). Instruction in the use of context seems to be generally considered worthwhile, in order to enhance, at the very least, reading comprehension, as well as, it is hoped, vocabulary development. What has not been demonstrated in the literature, however, is the most effective means of instruction in the use of context; nor has any long-term effect on vocabulary development been demonstrated. In this paper, the presenter will describe, and report on the preliminary results of, an ongoing research study, the purpose of which is to compare the effects of various methods of instruction in the use of context in ESL learners. This study will look at three instructional conditions: the use of a general strategy for using context, presentation and practice of specific context clues, and the use of cloze exercise to enhance awareness of and use of context. The effects of these instructional conditions on reading comprehension, ability to infer meaning from context, and vocabulary growth will be examined, and implications for teaching and further research will be discussed. References CLARKE, D. F. & NATION, I. S. P. (1980). Guessing the meanings of words from context: strategy and techniques. System, 8, 211-220. FRASER, C. A. (1999). Lexical processing strategy use and vocabulary learning through reading. Studies in Second Language Acquisition, 21, 225-241. FUKKINK, R. G. (2002). Effects of instruction in deriving word meaning from context and incidental word learning. L1 – Educational Studies in Language and Literature, 2, 37-57. HUCKIN, T. N. & JIN, Z. (1987). Inferring word meaning from context: a study in second language acquisition. In ESCOL 86: Proceedings of the third eastern states conference of linguistics. Colombus, Ohio: Department of Linguistics. JENKINS, J., MATLOCK, B. & SLOCUM, T. (1989). Two approaches to vocabulary instruction: the teaching of individual word meanings and practice in deriving word meaning from context. Reading Research Quarterly, 24, 215-35. NAGY, W. (1997). On the role of context in first- and second-language vocabulary learning. In N. Schmitt & M. McCarthy (eds.), Vocabulary: Description, Acquisition and Pedagogy, 64-83. STERNBERG, R. J. (1987). Most vocabulary is learned from context. In M. McKeown & M. Curtis (eds.), The nature of vocabulary acquisition. 89-105. Frequency, flexibility and word order in formulaic sequences: a corpus-based approach Shih-ping Wang University of Nottingham aexspw@nottingham.ac.uk Fixed idiomatic strings or formulaic sequences (FSs) can play a successful role in language studies (McCarthy, 1990 and onwards; Sinclair, 1991; Wray, 2000 among many others). Frequency is often suggested as one of the factors to influence the flexibility of word order in FSs (Fenk-Oczlon, 2001). However, how flexible (cf. Carter's 'cline', 1998) can the word order of fixed sequences be reversed, possibly yielding different grammatical/ungrammatical usages with various metaphorical meanings? King‟s College, London 9 – 11 th - 31 - September, 2004
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