Recent Publications

Contijoch, C. / Burns, A. / Candlin, C.N. (2012). ‘Feedback in the Mediation of Learning in Online Language Teacher Education.’

Copland, F. / Garton, S. (2012). ‘Life after on-line learning.’

Garton, S. / Edge, J. (2012). ‘Why Be an Online Learner in TESOL?’

in: England, L. (ed.) (2012). Online Language Teacher Education: TESOL Perspectives. New York: Routledge.

From the publisher: More and more, ESL/EFL teachers are required by their employers to obtain a Master’s degree in TESOL. Thousands of ESL/EFL teachers are acquiring professional skills and knowledge through online and distance education instructional models. Filling a growing need and making an important contribution, this book is a forerunner in addressing some of the issues and problems for online distance learning and instructional delivery in TESOL and applied linguistics departments in universities around the world. Carefully addressing the complexity of the field, this volume includes primary research and case studies of programs where a variety of online distance models are used. Structured in a logical sequence, the readable and accessible content represents the collected expertise of leading language teacher educators. Each chapter brings the reader a better understanding and ability to apply knowledge about online distance TESOL education.

Copland F. (2012) 'Legitimate talk in feedback conferences'. Applied Linguistics 33/1, 1-20.

Abstract:
Feedback on performance is a feature of professional training. Much feedback is delivered in post-observation conferences where a ‘trainer’ will discuss the ‘trainee's’ performance with him/her. What transpires in these conferences, however, is ‘hidden from view’ (Heritage and Sefi 1992: 362) and the norms of interaction are largely unexamined in the literature. Even less is known about feedback conducted in groups, yet many teachers training to teach English experience feedback in this way. This article provides a discourse analysis of four extracts from group feedback conferences on a pre-service programme for teachers of English language. Drawing on the concept of ‘legitimate talk’, the analysis shows how topics and speaking rights are established and negotiated and how participants orientate to and contest both the forms of knowledge that emerge and the speaking rights. While the study was not initially designed to support trainers in their professional development, the argument is made that data from linguistic ethnographic studies can be used by research participants and others for these purposes, thus enhancing the relationship between the researcher and the researched.

Reershemius, G. (2012). 'Research cultures and the pragmatic functions of humor in academic research presentations: A corpus-assisted analysis'. Journal of Pragmatics 44, 863-875.

Abstract: 
Based on a corpus of English, German, and Polish spoken academic discourse, this article analyzes the distribution and function of humor in academic research presentations. The corpus is the result of a European research cooperation project consisting of 300,000 tokens of spoken academic language, focusing on the genres research presentation, student presentation, and oral examination. The article investigates difference between the German and English research cultures as expressed in the genre of specialist research presentations, and the role of humor as a pragmatic device in their respective contexts. The data is analyzed according to the paradigms of corpus-assisted discourse studies (CADS). The findings show that humor is used in research presentations as an expression of discourse reflexivity. They also reveal a considerable difference in the quantitative distribution of humor in research presentations depending on the educational, linguistic, and cultural background of the presenters, thus confirming the notion of different research cultures. Such research cultures nurture distinct attitudes to genres of academic language: whereas in one of the cultures identified researchers conform with the constraints and structures of the genre, those working in another attempt to subvert them, for example by the application of humor.

Schäffner, C. (2012). Translation Competence: Training for the Real World. Pp.30-44.

in: Hubscher-Davidson, S. & M. Borodo (eds.) (2012). Global Trends in Translator and Interpreter Training. Continuum Advances in Translation. London: Continuum Publishing.

From the publisher: This book looks at translator and interpreter training, focusing on mediation and culture in a global context. It updates numerous research currents in translator and interpreter education by situating them in relation to broader curricular and technological discussions. Particular attention is given to the way in which translator and interpreter training relates both to other topics on university curricula, and to recent developments in the professional sphere of language mediation. These include the new European standard for translation services and the ethical training of interpreters.

Barnard, R. & Burns, A. (eds) (2012). Researching Language Teacher Cognition and Practice. International Case Studies. Bristol / Buffalo, NY: Multilingual Matters

Burns, A. & Richards, J.C. (2012). The Cambridge Guide to Pedagogy and Practice in Second Language Teaching. Cambridge: CUP

From the CUP website: This collection of original articles provides a state-of-the-art overview of key issues and approaches in contemporary language teaching. Written by internationally prominent researchers, educators, and emerging scholars, the chapters are grouped into five sections: rethinking our understanding of teaching, learner diversity and classroom learning, pedagogical approaches and practices, components of the curriculum, and media and materials. Each chapter covers key topics in teaching methodology such as reflective pedagogy, teaching large classes, outcomes-based language learning, speaking instruction, and technology in the classroom. Chapters assume no particular background knowledge and are written in an accessible style.

Labeau, E. & Saddour, I. (eds) (2012). Tense Aspect and Mood in first and second Language. Amsterdam: Rodopi

From the publisher: Tense, aspect and mood have attracted much attention in the areas of both first and second language acquisition, but scholars in the two disciplines often fail to learn from each other. Western European languages have also been the focus of most studies, but there would be lessons to learn from less studied languages.
This volume offers new insights on tense, aspect and mood by bringing together the findings of first and second language acquisition, and comparing child and adult, monolingual and multilingual learning processes that are approached from various theoretical points of view. In addition, it spans over a wide range of less studied languages (Bulgarian, Hebrew, Korean, Russian), and Western European languages are studied from new angles.

Goh, C. & Burns, A. (2012). Teaching Speaking - A Holistic Approach. Cambridge: CUP

From the CUP website: This book provides theoretical and pedagogical perspectives on teaching speaking within a coherent methodological framework. Teaching Speaking A Holistic Approach brings together theoretical and pedagogical perspectives on teaching speaking within a coherent methodological framework. The framework combines understandings derived from several areas of speaking research and instruction. By explaining, interpreting, evaluating, and synthesizing these diverse perspectives from linguistics and language learning, the text offers a comprehensive and versatile approach for teaching speaking. Different types of learning tasks are explained and illustrated with examples, and each chapter includes short tasks and ends with a number of tasks that enable readers to extend their ideas.

Burns, A. & Richards, J. C. (2012). Tips for Teaching Listening:  A Practical Approach.  New York:Pearson

Tips for Teaching Listening introduces English language teachers to contemporary research and specific techniques for teaching listening. Topics include listening processes, skills, text types, academic listening, course planning, and assessment.

Copland, F., Garton, S. (2011). Crazy Animals and other activities for teaching young learners. British Council Publications.

From the publisher: This is a book for primary school teachers of English written by primary school teachers of English. It brings together the experience and expertise of teachers from around the world to provide a range of stimulating and exciting classroom activities for the primary classroom. There are 50 tried and trusted activities which have been refined and improved over the years by teachers working in diverse contexts and environments. Children will enjoy practising their English through these stimulating and motivating activities.
Over 1 000 teachers were contacted and asked to send their favourite activities for teaching English to young learners. The most original and creative activities received were selected for this book. This book grew out of an Aston University - British Council research project called ‘Investigating Global Practices in Teaching English to Young Learners’.
This publication is free to download.

Copland, F. (2011) Teaching English to Young Learners: what is happening in Japan? The Language Teacher, 35/4, 36-40.

Schäffner, C. / Bassnett, S. (eds) (2010). Political Discourse, Media and Translation. Newcastle upon Tyne: Cambridge Scholars Publishing.

From the publisher: This volume addresses the role played by translation in international political communication and news reporting and brings to light the usually invisible link between politics, media, and translation. The contributors explore the interrelationship between media in the widest sense and translation, with a focus on political texts, institutional contexts, and translation policies. These topics are explored from a Translation Studies perspective, thus bringing a new disciplinary view to the investigation of political discourse and the language of the media. The first part of the volume focuses on textual analysis, investigating transformations that occur in translation processes, and the second part examines institutional contexts and policies, and their effects on translation production and reception.

Burns, A. (2010). Doing Action Research in English Language Teaching: A Guide for Practitioners. New York: Routledge   

This hands-on, practical guide for ESL/EFL teachers and teacher educators outlines, for those who are new to doing action research, what it is and how it works. Straightforward and reader friendly, it introduces the concepts and offers a step-by-step guide to going through an action research process, including illustrations drawn widely from international contexts.

Clark, U. (2011) What is English For?: Language Structure and the Curriculum for English. Changing English. Studies in Culture and Education,18 (2).

Abstract:
This article uses Bernstein’s theory of pedagogic discourse to account for both the processes by which curriculum change occurs and the failure of efforts to introduce meaningful attention to language structure into national curricula.

Garton, S. / Copland, S. (2011)  'Global Practices in Teaching Young Learners'. Project funded by the British Council.

Copland, F. and Garton, S. (2011). ‘I felt that I do live in the UK now’: international students’ self-reports of their English language speaking experiences on a pre-sessional programme. Language and Education 25:3, 241-255.

Abstract:
This article focuses on the English language experiences of a group of pre-sessional students, an under-represented group in the literature on language and education. In particular, it investigates the opportunities that such students have to use English outside the classroom, shown to be a key factor in student satisfaction with their study abroad experience. Drawing on data from questionnaires, interviews and on-line diaries, we show that students have a variety of opportunities to use English; however, these opportunities may require students to engage in complex negotiations right from the beginning of their sojourn in the UK. Micro-analysis of the data shows that agency is a key construct in understanding students’ representations of their English encounters as they begin their lives in the UK. The article concludes with some suggestions as to how pre-sessional courses may develop students’ linguistic and socio-cultural skills in order that they may interact successfully in English outside the classroom.

Edge, J. and Garton, S. (2009). From Experience to Knowledge in ELT. Oxford: Oxford University Press

From the publisher: How can you turn your teaching experience into practical knowledge that will make you a better teacher in the future?
Using extracts from classroom language and published coursebooks as examples, From Experience to Knowledge in ELT shows you strategies and ideas that will work with your students and that will help you to develop your own personal teaching style.

Reviewed here. 

Garton, S. / Copland, F. (2010). ‘I like this interview; I get cakes and cats!’: the effects of prior relationships on interview talk.’ Qualitative Research 10/5:533-551

Abstract:
Research interviews are a form of interaction jointly constructed by the interviewer and interviewee, what Silverman (2001: 104) calls ‘interview-as-local-accomplishment’. From this perspective, interviews are an interpretative practice in which what is said is inextricably tied to where it is said, how it is said and, importantly, to whom it is said (Holstein and Gubrium, 2004). The relationship between interviewer and interviewee, then, is fundamental in research interviews. But what happens when the relationship between interviewer and interviewee is not only that of researcher-informant but also involves other roles such as colleague and friend? In this article we will show how prior relationships are invoked and made relevant by both parties during educational research interviews and how these prior relationships therefore contribute to the ‘generation’ (Baker, 2004: 163) of interview data.

Read the full paper here.

Garton, S. and Richards, K (eds). (2008) Professional Encounters in TESOL: Discourses of Teachers in Teaching. Basingstoke, Palgrave Macmillan

Professional Encounters in TESOL investigates the developing discourses of English Language teachers in a variety of international contexts. By analysing how professional development takes place through participation in professional discourse, the chapters shed light on what teachers do and why they do it.
The book is organised in four sections, reflecting the stages in an English language teacher's career: 'Starting Out' focuses on initial teacher training, 'Becoming Experienced' looks inside their classroom, 'New Horizons' shifts the perspective to the professional development of experienced teachers, and 'Passing on Knowledge' investigates the discourses of experienced teachers as they contribute to the professional development of their peers. Each section is followed by reflections on the chapters written by a teacher from an international context at the particular stage in their professional development reflected in the section.
The book should have particular appeal to all those working in the area of teacher development and will also be of interest to practising teachers.

Reviewed here.