Honglin Chen

Review of Coffin, C. (2006) Historical Discourse: The Language of Time, Cause and Evaluation

Publisher: John Benjamins Publishing Company

Date: 2008

DOI: 10.2104/ARAL0809

Changes to teachers’ knowledge base

Publisher: John Benjamins Publishing Company

Date: 19-12-2019

DOI: 10.1075/ARAL.18025.SHI

Abstract: In China, since 2004, developing students’ overall communicative competence has become the central goal of the current College English Curriculum Requirements. However, this goal has yet to be addressed, particularly in regard to the teaching of writing. This paper examines whether and how changes in teachers’ knowledge base related to teaching writing may impact their students’ writing outcomes. Six experienced teachers were introduced to a SFL (Systemic Functional Linguistics)-informed genre approach and subsequently trialled this pedagogy in practice. Through pre- and post- workshop interviews and classroom observations, changes in teachers’ knowledge base were investigated. In each observed class, two writing s les produced by students were collected. The findings of changes in the teachers’ knowledge base were compared with possible changes emerging in their students’ writing products. The results of the comparison reveal that, corresponding to positive changes evidenced in the teachers’ knowledge base, the majority of the students made improvements in their writing products.

Punching through the barrier Using gesture to activate productive oral vocabulary

Publisher: John Benjamins Publishing Company

Date: 04-03-2021

DOI: 10.1075/JSLP.19031.MIS

Abstract: This paper aims to investigate how productive oral vocabulary development can be promoted by focusing on word stress patterns. The Rhythmic Fight Club (RFC) pronunciation technique has been used in numerous ESL/EFL classrooms, but its effect on the L2 vocabulary development of learners has yet to be investigated. The present study focused on adult ESL learners and tested a four-stage learning cycle aimed at developing productive oral vocabulary. This paper focuses on findings related to one aspect of that learning cycle which used the RFC to draw learner attention to word stress patterns in order to control productive output. Findings reveal that repetition of target words whilst making a gesture helped to enhance the learners’ productive output accordingly. The paper concludes that kinaesthetic/tactile classroom teaching techniques such as the RFC can help learners to develop productive oral vocabulary by reconceptualising their perception of English speech rhythm.

Engaged at the first sight! Anticipating your audience as a way to think critically in writing an argument

Publisher: Universitas Pendidikan Indonesia (UPI)

Date: 31-01-2023

DOI: 10.17509/IJAL.V12I3.55170

Abstract: Critical thinking has been subject to various theoretical interpretations. Despite the differences, it has been perceived to principally build upon argumentation skills. One of the skills involves anticipation of the putative reader. This paper establishes an insight into how this knowledge can be grounded for timely reader anticipation to evidence the skills in thinking critically when constructing a written argument. It draws on the interaction of interpersonal meaning patterns from the discourse semantic level in selected sets of low and high achieving texts, with a focus on the macroThemes. The texts were collected from three time points: pre, mid and final pedagogic intervention periods, enacting Teaching and Learning Cycle (TLC) framework, a genre-based pedagogy, in a regular academic writing course. Text analysis employed tools from the APPRAISAL systems of the Systemic Functional Linguistics (SFL). The analysis focused on the deployment of ENGAGEMENT resources in each text’s macroTheme. Findings from the analysis revealed a developmental pathway from a non-specific to a predictive and heteroglossic macroTheme. Appropriate ENGAGEMENT resources began to be manipulated to anticipate the argument development and the unfolding of meanings throughout the text. Their deployment became more effective to inform the reader on how the argument would be organised and negotiated. Re-thinking critical thinking through a linguistic lens elucidated exactly which language resources were implicated to indicate some of its important elements, making them visible and accessible.

Putting it into context How exposure to rich and meaningful contexts can activate productive oral vocabulary

Publisher: John Benjamins Publishing Company

Date: 14-10-2023

DOI: 10.1075/ARAL.21058.MIS

Abstract: Developing L2 learners’ productive mastery of vocabulary is a challenging task. Recent research has called for greater attention to understanding how receptive vocabulary may be transformed for productive use ( Schmitt, 2019 ). Using a design-based research methodology, this study investigated adult ESL learners’ productive oral vocabulary development through engaging them in a series of classroom workshops where they were exposed to nine target words in five different contexts. Findings suggest that such exposure to words combined with phonological form-focused elaboration facilitates the development of metalinguistic awareness, specifically the associations between grammatical patterns and word meaning, leading to subsequent productive use of target words. The paper contributes to the understanding that vocabulary training combining a focus on meaning with a focus on phonological and grammatical form may enhance form-meaning mapping, leading to productive oral vocabulary development.

They Are Talking, But Is It Productive? Exploring EFL Students' Small Group Talk

Publisher: Wiley

Date: 04-2023

DOI: 10.1002/TESQ.3227

Abstract: Curricular innovations in English language programs have placed increasing emphasis on providing opportunities for students to speak in the classroom, often through communicative group activities. However, despite decades of advocacy for small group talk, a rigorous conception of the quality of talk in these groups is lacking, particularly in the ways students productively use talk to meet curriculum objectives. This paper presents an analytic framework for characterizing the productive use of small group talk, exploring data collected from English language learning students in a South Korean university. Findings demonstrate the students' talk developed in the robustness of the talk repertoires, the collaborative nature, and the connections of their talk to course outcomes. This paper closes with a discussion exploring English language students' talk, challenging current understandings of students' talk abilities by pushing beyond simple communication in a foreign language and towards productive small group talk.

“Actually, in my culture…” Identity, positioning, and intersubjectivity in cross-cultural interviews

Publisher: John Benjamins Publishing Company

Date: 20-08-2022

DOI: 10.1075/ARAL.19040.GRO

Abstract: The increasing internationalization of education has brought ersification to university student populations. The demographic changes pose great challenges to interview practice as interviews are increasingly occurring in cross-cultural contexts and often involve participants from erse cultural backgrounds. Recent research has demonstrated that the cultural identity of the interviewer, in particular, the insider or outsider positioning relative to the participants, can impinge upon the quantity and quality of the collected interview data and research outcomes. In this paper, we go beyond this conception of interviewer as either a cultural insider or outsider to examine how multiple identities and positionings are enacted by interviewer and interviewees in order to achieve intersubjectivity, or common ground, in cross-cultural research interviews. The paper contributes to understanding the complexity of cross-cultural interviews, in particular, the impact of positioning processes on the establishment of intersubjectivity and data construction.

La Trobe University

Location: Australia

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Yunnan Normal University

Location: China

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Shanghai Normal University

Location: China

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University Of Wollongong

Location: Australia

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University Of Wollongong School Of Education

Location: Australia

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University Of Wollongong

Location: No location found

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The National English Curriculum: Understanding The Development, Interpretation And Implementation Of Disciplinary Knowledge

Start Date: 2010

End Date: 2015

Funder: Australian Research Council

Development In Metalinguistic Understanding.

Start Date: 2013

End Date: 2016

Funder: Economic and Social Research Council

Maximising The Potential Of Australia's Language Resources: Exploring And Developing Languages Across Sectors, Schools And Communities

Start Date: 2011

End Date: 2015

Funder: Australian Research Council

An Investigation Of The Relationship Between Literacy Research, Policy Development And Classroom Practice

Start Date: 2007

End Date: 2009

Funder: Australian Research Council

Linkage Projects - Grant ID: LP110100441

Start Date: 07-2011

End Date: 06-2015

Amount: $203,978.00

Funder: Australian Research Council

Discovery Projects - Grant ID: DP0771675

Start Date: 2007

End Date: 12-2010

Amount: $235,000.00

Funder: Australian Research Council

Discovery Projects - Grant ID: DP1093826

Start Date: 07-2010

End Date: 09-2016

Amount: $246,000.00

Funder: Australian Research Council