Language and Language Teaching, Issue 2 - Azim Premji Foundation

The LLT journal is just what we need in termsof the themes dealt with, and the easeand simplicity of the presentation and length ofarticles, since it can be used asresource material for teacher capacitydevelopment during forum meetingsand workshops. Difficult and confusing ideasare often described in a lucid manner with lotsof examples from ELT. I believe we can findanswers to many of our questions inits pages.Nivedita Bedadur, University Resource Centre,Azim Premji University, BengaluruI am sure this journal has been well received,and will fill a vacuum area.Keerti Jayaram Director, Early Literacy project(ELP), Organization for Early LiteracyPromotion (OELP), New DelhiI shared the LLT journal with another colleagueof mine at school. A few brief comments:He found the section ‘Classroom Activities’useful, saying he always looks for somethinglike that in journals. However, I think if theactivities described could also be linked verybriefly to the theories of language-acquisitionand learning that they support, it would be moreuseful. Somehow in the current teachinglearningdiscourse, activities have come to havea life of their own without any adequate rationalefor why or how certain activities are helpful ornecessary.Another useful area could be asking teachersto write down specific questions or topics oflanguage learning or teaching, on which theywould like more theoretical, research articles. Idon’t know if a journal like this can entertainsuch a need. But it would be useful to knowwhat teachers are thinking, and the areas thatthey need help in.Snehlata Gupta, Lecturer in English at RajkiyaPratibha Vikas Vidyalaya (RPVV), Delhi1) Most of the articles focus on thedevelopment of four basic skills, especiallythe communicative skill, which is obviouslythe need of the hour.2) In both the articles of R. Amritavalli andSobha Sinha, they discussed how readingcould be a part of learning to developcognitive ability. I like their idea that oneshould continue reading even if one doesnot understand the meaning, which is verypositive.3) Being sensitive to the young languagelearner and helping them bring their realworld experience into the classroom to makethe environment more comfortable forstudents is a significant point of the article,“Towards a conceptual framework for earlyliteracy: A balanced and socially aensitiveapproach”. It touches the theory of usingmultiple intelligence and learning styles inthe classroom, which looks quite interesting.4) Articles such as “Collaborative spaces onthe web and language teaching: Blogs andwikis” can make positive changes inteaching and learning situations. Blogs andwikis are now very popular across the worldin the field of education. They seem veryeffective in the present day situations wherewe can work collaboratively. I am sure, likeme, readers would like to read more articleson the use of technology in the teaching andlearning process, and could bring effectivechanges in the system. After spendingalmost four months in a university in the US,I think that blogs, wikis, and the use ofInternet can bring substantial changes in theteaching-learning environment. I had theopportunity of visiting a high school in theUS, where it was encouraging to see howtechnology, instead of being a distraction,has been used constructively. Undoubtedly,its use depends on the teacher.Language and Language Teaching Volume 1 Number 2 July 2012 66