Earticle

The government in Singapore uses both English and three ethnic languages, known officially as Mother Tongue Languages, for economic and cultural functions. Traditionally, English has been valued primarily for its economic contribution while the Mother Tongue Languages - Mandarin, Malay and Tamil - for their cultural contributions. However, there has been an increasing emphasis on the economic value of the Mother Tongue Languages, especially Mandarin in Singapore. This emphasis on the economic value of languages is known as linguistic pragmatism. This paper examines this shift and explores the external and internal factors that contribute towards this phenomenon in Singapore. The discussion illustrates the dynamic interplay between the rise of China as an economic power and the language shift to English among Chinese students in Singapore which lead to the linguistic pragmatism of Mandarin in Singapore.

From its outset, Streamline English Curriculum Innovation (SECI) in China has suffered two weaknesses, that is, lack of feasibility study and neglect of the importance of management in ELT. The purpose of the research reported here was to remedy this situation. Through careful analyses of data obtained from on-site interviews and questionnaire in three primary schools, four middle schools, and three universities, a conceptual framework of feasibility study in the implementation of SECI was validated both qualitatively and quantitatively, and translated into a factor model, with a set of variables verified defining school-based innovation management. These variables, in accordance with our research hypothesis, can be extracted into five factors, which can be interpreted respectively as five mechanisms of school-based innovation management. These mechanisms affect the implementation of streamline innovation to varied degrees. In general, the research not only provides an empirically-based guidance to the implementation of a large-scale curriculum innovation like SECI in China, but also contributes to the field of language program evaluation.

How does the average English teacher help students who lag far behind their peers in terms of English proficiency at tertiary level? This exploratory study attempts to answer this question by studying a class of Foundation level students who are repeating an English class for the second time. A four pronged approach was used to help these remedial students whose attitudes range from apathetic to hostile. The approach consisted of the use of computer software, directed grammar exercises, reading and vocabulary notebooks and test and exam reviews. The study examined whether the approach would affect their causal attributions for lack of success. Students attended computer laboratory sessions where they used language learning software. They were also provided with directed grammar activities that emphasized meaning and grammar points and meaning. In the approach, the students were also required to keep a Reading and Vocabulary Notebook to inculcate responsibility. Class lessons also placed an emphasis on recognizing past semester exam questions and format. A pre and post test was carried out to assess the effectiveness of the instruction and hence the ability of the students to self help. This paper will discuss the findings of the study and offer recommendations for helping students who have fallen far behind due to many reasons.

This paper reports on a comparative study what English language learning classroom activities Chinese EFL learners liked, and then compares these preferences with the activity preferences that their teachers thought the learners held. The study makes use of questionnaires to survey 210 university-level English majors and 50 Chinese English-language teachers of English majors from two universities in China. They enquire about 39 classroom activities (including communicative and non-communicative), language learning strategies and attitudes towards learning culture in the EFL programme. The results show that teachers were able to gauge their learners' preferences with accuracy for 41%. The study has implications for English classroom instruction, syllabus and material design. The finding is also helpful for English native-speaker teachers who are engaged in teaching Chinese students in their home countries.

This research is a classroom-based, exploratory and descriptive study to better understand how error treatment during communicative synchronous computer mediated communication (S-CMC) tasks in EFL classroom happens. 42 learners participated in S-CMC tasks, and their chatscripts were analyzed according to the error treatment sequence. Particularly, the analysis focused on the frequency distribution of the different error types, the availability of corrective feedback, uptake and repair, and the effects of corrective feedback. The findings support the idea, which has been demonstrated by preceding studies, that when language learning is solely experiential and focused on communicative success, some linguistic features may not develop to targetlike accuracy. In addition, this study shows that S-CMC may offer us great chances for error treatment in that learners’ synchronous interactions are recorded. It emphasizes the role of language teachers, especially in a communicative EFL setting, and it suggests the need for the study to examine the post-treatment of errors in S-CMC tasks.

This study, using the adapted version of Oxford’s (1990, pp. 283-291) 80-item Strategy Inventory for Language Learning (SILL), examined the relationship between gender, academic major and the self-reported language learning strategy (LLS) use of 217 university students learning English in the Chinese context. The study differed from previous SILL studies in that the data were interpreted from social and educational perspectives. Results showed that the frequency of overall strategy used by female students was significantly higher than that by male students. However, male students surpassed female students in the use of individual strategies. As regards academic major, social science students employed LLS with greater frequency than science students in the use of overall strategy, strategy categories and individual strategies. Analysis of these findings revealed some distinctive features in the students’ use of learning strategies which could be linked to some factors concerning their social and educational background. Interpretation of these results and pedagogical implications are presented.