Volume 2 (2011) Issue 1    ( PDF) 

Table of Contents

Editorial

Foreword to the Issue

I. Articles

Rebeca Bataller (Gettysburg (PA), USA) / Rachel Shively (Normal, (IL), USA):

Role Plays and Naturalistic Data in Pragmatics Research: Service Encounters during Study Abroa (15-51)

Abstract (English)

The purpose of this study is to investigate the validity of role-play data in pragmatics research through a comparison of role-play and naturalistic interactions by L2 learners of Spanish in the service-encounter context. The data for this comparison come from two independent studies (Bataller 2010; Shively 2011), each of which analyzed the pragmatic development in service encounters of L2 learners studying abroad in Spain for one semester. While both studies shared the same pragmatic aspect which was investigated, they differed on the primary method of data collection employed: Bataller (2010)  employed an open role play, while Shively (2011) collected naturalistic data. The results of this comparative study indicate that the role-play data resembled the naturalistic data in many respects, but that there were also differences which may have been due to the method of data collection employed.

Resumen (Español)

El objetivo de este estudio es analizar la validez del role-play como método de recolección de datos de elementos pragmáticos de la lengua. En el estudio se comparan interacciones naturales con interacciones simuladas realizadas a través de un role-play por dos grupos de estudiantes de español como segunda lengua. Los datos comparados provienen de dos estudios independientes (Bataller (2010); Shively (2011)). Ambos estudios analizan el desarrollo de la habilidad pragmática de estudiantes de español como segunda lengua que estudiaron en España durante un semestre. Aunque los dos estudios analizan el mismo aspecto pragmático, se diferencian en el método de recolección de datos utilizado. Bataler (2010) utilizó un ‘role-play’ y el Shively (2011) utilizó datos naturales, recogidos principalmente a través de grabaciones de interacciones. Los resultados de este estudio comparativo indican que los datos recogidos a través del role-play son similares a los datos naturales en muchos aspectos, pero también difieren en otros, lo cual parece indicar que el método de recolección de datos es un factor importante que puede influir en los resultados encontrados en estudios de pragmática.

Carolin Fuchs (New York, USA):

Successful Task Negotiation via Moodle –

A Cross-Institutional Case Study in Teacher Education (51-84) 

Abstract  (English)

This paper provides an in-depth analysis of one group of ESL student teachers in the U.S. and EFL student teachers in Germany who successfully negotiated their task of creating joint task-based language teaching (TBLT) units via computer-mediated communication (CMC). Groups were asked to redesign a textbook unit based on TBLT principles and to expand the unit to include a cultural component. Data triangulation involved CMC transcripts, wikis, pre-course questionnaires, and post-course questionnaires. Based on Breen & Littlejohn’s framework (2000), the CMC-based negotiation among groups of student teachers in light of the groups’ task outcome was analyzed. The data suggest that one group proved particularly successful in their task negotiation. By the same token, the wiki tool turned out difficult to use for students and the cultural component of the task remained underexplored.  

Abstract  (Deutsch)

In dieser Fallstudie wird eine Gruppe von angehenden ESL Lehrern in den USA und EFL Lehramtsstudierenden in Deutschland untersucht, die gemeinsam erfolgreich eine Textbucheinheit entwickelten, welche auf den Prinzipien des aufgabenorientierten Lernens (Task-Based Language Teaching oder TBLT) beruhte. Die Aushandlung der Textbucheinheit erfolgte durch computervermittelte Kommunikation. Die Gruppen hatten, den TBLT-Prinzipien folgend, jeweils eine Textbucheinheit zu überarbeiten und eine interkulturelle Komponente einzubauen. Die Datenerhebungsinstrumente beinhalteten Transkripte, Wikis und Fragebögen. Basierend auf Breen & Littlejohns Aushandlungsprinzipien (2000), wurde die computervermitelte kommunikative Aushandlung innerhalb der Gruppe untersucht und in Hinblick auf das Endprodukt analysiert. Die Ergebnisse lassen darauf schliessen, dass eine Gruppe besonders erfolgreich abschloss, wobei der Umgang mit dem Wiki sich als schwierig herausstellte. Die interkulturelle Komponente der Aufgabe wurde dabei nur am Rande behandelt.   

Abdullah Coskun (Bolu, Turkey):

Investigation of the Application of Communicative Language Teaching in the English Language Classroom – A Case Study on Teachers’ Attitudes in Turkey (85-109)

Abstract

This qualitative study aimed to reveal whether teachers’ classroom practices overlap with their attitudes towards certain features of Communicative Language Teaching (CLT) such as pair and group-work activities, fluency and accuracy, error correction and the role of the teacher. Before conducting an open-ended questionnaire with two teachers of English teaching a group of intermediate students to reveal their attitudes towards CLT, the researcher had observed each participating teacher’s lesson for an hour during which they cover a speaking warm-up, a listening extract and grammar presentation with its practice. The findings have indicated that there is a discrepancy between teachers’ classroom practices and the attitudes they expressed. The major challenges in the implementation of CLT from both teachers’ perspective are found to be large class size, traditional grammar-based examinations and the little time available to prepare communicative materials.

Andrzej Cirocki (Gdansk, Poland):

The Importance of Learners' Ability to Communicate in English and the Implementation of the Communicative Approach in the Polish Context of Language Teaching (111-127)

Abstract

The communicative approach (CA), revolving around the theory of language as communication, focuses on developing communicative competence (CC), which, in turn, is a complex phenomenon consisting of grammatical, sociolinguistic, strategic, and discourse competences. From this, it follows that foreign language (FL) instruction not only faces challenging tasks, but also requires diverse techniques to enable language learners to achieve various learning outcomes specified in the syllabus. In consequence, this article concentrates on two aspects: What is meant by the ability to communicate? and How should teachers develop their students’ ability to communicate in a foreign language?. The awareness of both facets is bound to help EFL teachers to understand how to approach communicative language teaching (CLT) in their classrooms, simultaneously encouraging them to explore and reflect on their own ideology and practices in language instruction. Despite the fact that the article refers to the Polish EFL context, its practical and comprehensive implications are universal in their nature, and thus easily applicable to other language education frameworks.

Matthias Schoormann (Münster, Germany) / Torsten Schlak (Berlin, Germany):

Die Unterrichtskonzeption der counterbalanced instruction (129-168)

Abstract (English) 

The cognitive-interactionist approach to second language acquisition research assumes that in the communicative, meaning-oriented classroom, certain formal structures are not acquired unless they receive special attention. To what extent and in which way the focus on form has to be put into practice still remains controversial. One contribution to this controversy, which has, to this day, gone relatively unnoticed in the German-speaking countries, is Roy Lyster’s counterbalanced instruction. This approach proposes the use of different instructional techniques and corrective feedback strategies that act as a counterbalance to the predominant communicative orientation of the classroom. To direct the learner’s attention from meaning to form and backwards promotes the noticing of the relevant linguistic elements, which is supposed to be the precondition for their integration into the learner’s language system. In this article, Lyster’s instructional approach is presented and critically evaluated with respect to its relevance for the second language classroom. The authors conclude that even ‘traditional’, form-oriented instruction could benefit from the implementation of the counterbalanced approach.

Abstract (Deutsch)

Die kognitiv-interaktionistisch ausgerichtete Fremdsprachenforschung geht heute davon aus, dass im kommunikativen, bedeutungsorientierten Unterricht bestimmte formale Strukturen unvollständig erworben werden, sofern diesen keine besondere Aufmerksamkeit geschenkt wird. In welchem Umfang und auf welche Weise die Formenfokussierung erfolgen sollte, ist allerdings umstritten. Einen im deutschsprachigen Raum bisher kaum beachteten Beitrag zu dieser Kontroverse liefert Roy Lyster mit seiner Unterrichtskonzeption der counterbalanced instruction. Diese sieht vor, sich verschiedenster Vermittlungstechniken zu bedienen, um zur jeweils vorherrschenden kommunikativen Ausrichtung des Unterrichts ein Gegengewicht zu bilden. Das beständige Umlenken der Aufmerksamkeit der Lernenden von Inhalten auf Formen und wieder zurück ermöglicht das Gewahrwerden problematischer zielsprachlicher Elemente, das als Voraussetzung für deren Erwerb gilt. Im vorliegenden Artikel wird Lysters Unterrichtskonzeption einschließlich ihrer theoretischen Grundlagen vorgestellt und im Hinblick auf ihre Praxisrelevanz kritisch diskutiert. Die Autoren kommen dabei zu dem Ergebnis, dass auch eher „traditionell“ ausgerichteter, formenbezogener Unterricht von der Anwendung des Prinzips der Gegengewichtung profitieren könnte.

Thomas Tinnefeld (Saarbrücken, Germany):

Die Erlernung typologisch ferner Fremdsprachen mit Hilfe geeigneter mnemotechnischer Methoden – am Beispiel des Sprachenpaares Deutsch-Chinesisch (169-194)

Abstract (English)

In the present article, strategies for learning a typologically different language on a functional basis are described. These strategies are exemplified by Chinese as an internationally upcoming language, with German representing the L1. Three different methods, whose active combination is postulated, are outlined: the keyword method, the lexeme-analysis method, and the collocation method. Although applying the keyword method to closely related languages may be debatable, it represents a valuable tool for the learning of typologically distant languages. The advantages of the lexeme-analysis method and the collocation method reside in their trans-lexical orientation as they enable the learner to functionally memorise lexemes and to internalise them mnemonically. Based on the author’s personal experience, the three methods described here are strongly recommended for use in the 

Abstract (Deutsch)

In dem vorliegenden Beitrag werden Möglichkeiten der funktionalen Erlernung typologisch ferner Fremdsprachen – hier am Beispiel des Chinesischen als einer im internationalen Kontext aufstrebenden Sprache - für deutsche Muttersprachler aufgezeigt. Zu diesem Zweck werden drei verschiedene Methoden dargestellt, deren Kombination in der Anwendung postuliert wird: Die Schlüsselwortmethode, die Lexemanalysemethode und die Kollokationsmethode. Während die Anwendung der Kollokationsmethode auf typologisch eng verwandte Sprachen durchaus problematisch sein kann, ist sie für typologisch weit voneinander entfernte Fremdsprachen durchaus in Betracht zu ziehen. Die Vorteile der Lexemanalysemethode und der Kollokationsmethode liegen in ihrer trans-lexikalischen Orientierung, da sie es ermöglichen, Lexeme funktional zu erlernen und auf diese Weise mnemotechnisch zu verankern. Die Verwendung aller drei behandelten Methoden sollte zum Wohl der Lerner sowohl im Chinesisch-Unterricht wie auch in der Konzeption von Lehrwerken zum Chinesischen Berücksichtigung finden.

Zahir Mumin (Albany (New York), USA):

Clearing Up Native English-Speaking Students’ Semantic and Morphosyntactic Confusion with Spanish por and para (195-214)

Abstract        

Native English-speaking students continue to face major language acquisition problems when learning how to use the Spanish prepositions por and para for various different reasons which include L1 English interference of the preposition for as a literal or dynamic equivalent of L2 Spanish por and para and memorizing and translating English prepositions and prepositional phrases such as in order to, by, and to in the case of para, and because of, through, and in in the case of por. Teachers make students’ language acquisition process even more difficult by providing them with and having them memorize long lists of semantic categories and isolated sentence examples of por and para. Lam (2009) argues that instructors should teach por and parasimultaneously, using explanatory approaches, whereas Pinto & Rex (2006) favor teaching these prepositions independently with non-explanatory approaches. Although these opposing arguments foster substantial insight, the fields of linguistics and language teaching have not developed a simplified approach which allows students to acquire the aforementioned Spanish prepositions more easily. This paper provides an original contribution to linguistics and language teaching by creating and proposing a new semantic conceptual model and by linguistically applying this model to a wide variety of cases of por and para to demonstrate why and how it facilitates and enhances students’ acquisition of these prepositions.

Resumen        

Los alumnos angloparlantes siguen enfrentándose a problemas graves de adquisición lingüística cuando aprenden a usar las preposiciones por y para en español por varias razones diferentes que incluyen la interferencia lingüística de la preposición for del inglés (L1) como una equivalencia literal o dinámica de por y para en español (L2) y el aprendizaje de memoria y la traducción de preposiciones y frases preposicionales inglesas como in order to, by, y to en casos de para ybecause of, through e in en casos de por. Los profesores hacen que el proceso de adquisición lingüística de los alumnos sea aún más difícil, proporcionándoles listas largas de categorías semánticas y ejemplos de por y para usados en oraciones aisladas y obligándoles a que aprendan de memoria dichas listas y ejemplos. Lam (2009) discute que los profesores deben enseñar por y para simultáneamente, empleando acercamientos explicativos en tanto que Pinto y Rex (2006) favorecen la enseñanza de estas preposiciones independientemente con acercamientos no explicativos. Aunque estos argumentos opuestos proveen perspicacia importante, los campos de lingüística y enseñanza de lenguas no han desarrollado un acercamiento simplificado que permita que los alumnos adquieran más fácilmente antedichas preposiciones en español. Este trabajo escrito les proporciona a la lingüística y a la enseñanza de lenguas una contribución original, creando y proponiendo un modelo semántico nuevo de conceptualización y aplicando lingüísticamente este modelo a una gran variedad de casos de pory para para demostrar por qué y cómo facilita y realiza la adquisición estudiantil de estas preposiciones.

II. Reviews

Heinz-Helmut Lüger (Koblenz-Landau, Germany):

Claus Ehrhardt / Eva Neuland (Hrsg.): Sprachliche Höflichkeit in interkultureller Kommunikation und im DaF-Unterricht. Frankfurt/M.: Lang 2009. 304 Seiten. (217-225)

Frank Kostrzewa (Karlsruhe, Germany):

Madalena Cruz-Ferreira (ed.): Multilingual Norms. Frankfurt am Main u.a. 2010. Peter Lang Verlag. 419 pp. (227-236)

Journal of Linguistics and Language Teaching

Volume 2 (2011) Issue 1
pp. 7 - 8

Editorial

The present issue opens up the second year of the Journal of Linguistics and Language Teaching. We are proud to present another six articles and two book reviews which are of interest for the academic world and will potentially inspire language teaching.

During the first 16 months of its existence, a high number of manuscripts have reached us, out of which 18 articles could be published so far. In view of all these manuscripts – inclusive of those which are still being under review and those which will be published in one of the forthcoming issues, JLLT presently has a publication rate of around 50 percent, a figure which hints at the high quality standards applied in the Journal. 

The constant flow of manuscripts, which we have received and which we continue receiving, has not only assured the Journal’s existence but shows that JLLT represents an academic organ which has been given serious attention since its very creation.

In this context, I would like to point to our readers and the parts of the world they originate from, this perspective giving some further insight into the development of JLLT up to the present day. There has been a constantly rising, high-level quantitative interest in JLLT, which shows that JLLT fills a gap in the academic market because it responds to the requirements of modern publishing as well as to the wishes of authors and readers.

The geographic distribution of our readers provides further information on the Journal’s development. According to our statistical information, the largest group of readers originates from the United States of America, the second-largest coming from Germany. Altogether, JLLT’s readers are present in nearly the whole world, with South-America and Africa still representing regions in which JLLT’s presence leaves some room for improvement.

As far as the geographic origins of our authors are concerned, all the continents, apart from Australia, are represented, with Europe ranking first and America second. In terms of countries, Germany presently ranks first, the U.S. ranks second, with nine countries from which articles have been published. From the productive point of view, JLLT’s coverage is, thus, to be seen most positively.

This short description of the academic history of the Journal of Linguistics and Language Teaching shows that we are on a good way and that this new academic organ does represent an interesting platform for those researchers who would like to publish their findings in a functional and modern way.

All these factors provide us with a huge motivation not only to keep on working, but to do so even more intensively than before, as we know that our work does make sense and that it is indeed needed – for linguistics, for language teaching, and by many colleagues who would like publish their academic findings in JLLT.

Thomas Tinnefeld

JLLT

Editor

Journal of Linguistics and Language Teaching

Volume 2 (2011) Issue 1
pp. 9 - 11

Foreword to the Issue

This first issue of the second volume of JLLT comprises articles of different linguistic and methodological backgrounds. Altogether, they represent a number of interesting views and perspectives which are worthwhile reflecting and  possibly engender new research, inspiring our readers.

In the first article of the issue, Carolin Fuchs (New York, USA) investigates task negotiation between two groups of student teachers, one located in the U.S., the other one located in Germany. The platform used for negotiation was Moodle and the objective consisted in redesigning a given textbook unit via the Internet. The author’s results suggest the potential functionality of the tool used and computer-mediated communication in toto, although not all the groups analysed coped well with the device. Yet, this may be added here, Internet communication does prove to be successful  whenever long distances have to be covered.

Abdullah Coskun (Bolu, Turkey) investigates into teachers’ attitudes concerning the implementation of Communicative Language Teaching and its actual application in Turkey. Do teachers’ attitudes and their concrete behaviour in the English language classroom match, are they consistent? These are the central questions dealt with by the author, and he finds some illuminating results which hint at a discrepancy between the two ends of the continuum. Our readers may wonder for themselves whether these results may be transferred to countries other than Turkey and, in some respects, be characteristic of teacher behaviour in general. The author points out to some problematic constellations which favour the discrepancy between teacher’s optimal ideas on the one hand and their real teaching on the other, implicitly suggesting that the modification of the latter might lead to an improvement of the overall situation.

In his article, Andrzej Cirocki (Gdansk, Poland) presents an empirical investigation as well, examining the implementation of the communicative approach in English language teaching in Poland. The author not only deals with what it means to communicate, but also reflects on how teachers should develop students’ communicative abilities in a foreign language. These reflexions may be of help to teachers of English to explore their ideas and reflect on their actual teaching practice. Again, the results presented may be of general interest, going beyond the Polish context examined.

In their article, published in German, Matthias Schoormann (Münster, Germany) and Torsten Schlak (Berlin, Germany) present and analyse Roy Lyster’s counterbalanced-instruction approach, which has remained relatively unnoticed in the German-speaking countries. The objective of this approach consists in offering some room for form-based language instruction in an otherwise rather communication-oriented second-language classroom. The authors conclude that not only communication-oriented, but even form-oriented instruction may well gain from the application of the counterbalanced approach.

Whereas the previous articles tackle English as the target language to be learnt, Thomas Tinnefeld (Saarbrücken, Germany) deals with Chinese, which represents an internationally more and more important foreign language to be learnt or acquired, his perspective being that of German as the first language. In his article, consequently published in German, the author describes three mnemonic methods – the keyword method, the lexeme-analysis method, and the collocation method – and points to their advantages for memorising Chinese words and sytagmas, recommending their use in the Chinese-language classroom as well as in the design of modern textbooks of Chinese.

In the last article presented in the present issue, a clearly defined lexical item is examined: Zahir Mumin (Albany (New York), USA) hints to a possible way through a confusion English-speaking learners of Spanish generally suffer from, i.e. the distinction to be made between the prepositions por and para. The author describes and evaluates his own surprisingly simple, but functional model by means of which it is possible to reliably differentiate these two prepositions so as to use them correctly. We may add in this respect that not only English-speaking learners of Spanish may benefit from this model, but also all those learners whose mother tongues do not provide the same or a similar distinction between two given prepositions. In this context, the author clearly shows the potential of linguistics to make language learning more accessible.

As has been the case for all the articles published in JLLT so far, our readers may get some inspiration studying and reflecting on them, which may lead to an improvement of their own teaching practice. If this effect were reached here and there, this already would represent an important raison d’être of JLLT.

Thomas Tinnefeld

JLLT

Editor