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The paper examines the meaning of professionalism in TEFL, with specific reference to non-native speaker teachers working in the public sector, and discusses the Hong Kong Government’s recent attempts to set professional standards for EFL teachers. The first part of the paper explores some of the wider issues, in particular the nature of the distinctive knowledge base that would justify considering TEFL as a profession. The paper argues that professionalism in TEFL involves the possession of adequate knowledge of the language, adequate knowledge about the language, and adequate Teacher Language Awareness (TLA) in pedagogical practice. The second part of the paper focuses on initiatives in Hong Kong to set professional standards in the first two of these areas. It begins by discussing attempts to set standards in relation to knowledge of the language through the introduction of the Language Proficiency Requirement (LPR). The paper then considers the recent specifications regarding subject matter knowledge, that EFL teachers should possess relevant degree qualifications (as evidence of adequate knowledge about the language). It concludes by reporting the results of a small-scale study of the validity of the ‘relevant degree’ as a criterion in setting standards for the subject matter knowledge of EFL teachers.

This paper deals with the issue of potential blind Westernisation of TEFL in Asia by conducting a case study of TEFL in China and looking at such concepts as process and outcome, extrinsic motive force and inherent motive force, and teacher’s qualification: scholar and teacher. The author points out that “internationalization” and “modernization” can easily turn into “Westernisation”. The comparison of the occidental with the Asian system of TEFL is made to offer the kernel of a powerful argument about the future of TEFL in Asia – Go your own way.

This paper reports an explorative case study in which the researcher, working as a teacher and evaluator, used a new methodology for teaching English pronunciation at a teacher training college, Universidad Nacional de Mar del Plata (UNMDP), Argentina, and measured what happened as a result. In order to reassure the validity of this research, different elicitation instruments were used to collect the data obtained. The results were analysed and interpreted against pre-established criteria, and in the light of the findings obtained, some recommendations and avenues for further research are highlighted.

This research was motivated by seeming skepticism on the part of teachers about the efficacy of explicit pronunciation instruction. A study was conducted to investigate whether explicit knowledge of the English phonetic system on the learners’ part helps them in their phonological development. Sixty-six students at a women’s university in Tokyo were chosen as the experimental group, while sixty students in another department at the same university were selected as the control group. The experimental group received extensive pronunciation instruction for a year, while the control group received no specific attention on pronunciation. At the end of the year, both groups were evaluated on their reading of a prepared passage and their explicit knowledge of the English phonetic system. The results show that the experimental group did better in their reading of the passage, as well as in the rest of the test, than the control group, despite the fact that the control group had a higher TOEIC average. Multiple regression analysis shows that learners’ explicit knowledge is one of the strongest predictors of how well students do on the passage reading, suggesting the merits of explicit pronunciation instruction.

The purpose of the present study is to learn about students’ presentation anxiety and confidence when facing oral presentation tasks in L1 (Korean) and L2 (English). In particular, this study attempts to identify the differences in sources of presentation anxiety and confidence when the presentation is made in Korean and English. An open-ended questionnaire was first administered to students in order to find out factors related to presentation anxiety and confidence. The factors identified through content analysis were further categorized into English language skills, presentation skills, and other related variables. A structured survey was then constructed based on these categories and administered to one-hundred-thirty-seven students. The results of the study demonstrated that there are some differences and similarities in the sources of anxiety and confidence in both presentations. For example, while factors such as ‘time management’ and ‘ability to adjust to changes’ were related to Korean presentation anxiety, ‘English language skills’ and ‘ability to summarize the main points’ were related to English presentation anxiety. On the basis of the study, implications are discussed.

Due to the students lack of motivation in studying GE (General English) text books, content-based writing was experienced as a new procedure to teaching English to the students of Science and Technology. Content course syllabus for Chemistry was divided into different topics and each topic was allocated to one student. The students were asked to refer to the library and try to gather as much information as they could. Then they had to arrange the material they gathered, organize and structure them into a linear piece of discussion. The result was quite satisfactory. These students had a better Vocabulary, Grammar, Reading Comprehension, and Writing compared to the students in GE. Their scores in their content course were also higher than the scores of the students in GE course.

This paper (1) introduces an innovative way of improving EFL learners’ thinking strategies and their writing skills, (2) represents possibilities in the organic blending of Western educational principles and literary classics with the actual teaching of English creative writing in China, and (3) opens up broad prospects for direct intercultural communication between and among learners and users of English all over the world. This paper examines English creative writing as taught to EFL learners in China, touching upon the relevant teaching rationales and methods, and the stepped learning procedures of comprehension, imitation and creation. My students’ creative writing outcomes showcase their sensitiveness, imaginativeness and creativeness. The uniqueness and significance of a well-structured English creative writing course just lie in the fact that it follows the general line of humanistic education; it enhances the overall quality of EFL learners’ self-expression in English. At its best, an English creative writing course might help EFL learners create an eye for beauty, a taste for verbal art, and a voice of self-expression for themselves; it might also help them create links between writers and readers, between feelings and meanings; it might help them create channels of intercultural communication as well.

This study focuses on students’ journal writing with the attempt to promote students’ autonomy in writing in English as well as their writing accuracy and fluency. About 115 students from four faculties participated in the research. Students were asked to keep their journals in a systematic way. Students were constantly given guidance as they continually worked through their own writing. They were encouraged to reflect on their writing by learning to correct their own mistakes. Furthermore, the students were motivated to set goals in order to improve their subsequent journal writing. Moreover, both fluency and accuracy were encouraged during the entire journal writing process. With the help of new technology and a little support from the teachers, these students emerge with their autonomy to write in English. This experience will also generate their life-long learning and writing in English as well as establishing positive attitude towards studying English on their own in the future.