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Summarising Techniques In The English Language Classroom: An International Perspective, Juan Carlos Palmer Silveira Dec 2003

Summarising Techniques In The English Language Classroom: An International Perspective, Juan Carlos Palmer Silveira

PASAA

Summarising information taken from different source texts has proved to be a difficult activity for many English as a Foreign Language (EFL) students, especially when dealing with complex pieces of discourse. Despite its importance, not many scholars have devoted their efforts to analyse this topic. In this paper, and after showing a brief account of prior research on the topic, we will try to point out how abridging can enhance EFL students' ability to select relevant information from texts, implementing both their reading and writing abilities in a foreign language. Our attempt will be to introduce a set of fifteen …


A Case Study Of Thai Esl Learners' Language And Literacy Learning In An Authentic Situation, Punchalee Wasanasomsitho Dec 2003

A Case Study Of Thai Esl Learners' Language And Literacy Learning In An Authentic Situation, Punchalee Wasanasomsitho

PASAA

Learning is a life-long process. Whether we are at school or not, we are always learning something for some purpose. In fact, society is a large classroom full of rich resources, which allows us to experience, explore, and experiment. As human beings, we all have the capacity to learn to survive and to better our quality of life. We have seen people learn from observing the things and the people around them, from their past experiences, and even from self-reflection, self-exploration, and self-discovery. However, we may wonder why learners learn with different degrees of success. To be more specific, we …


Scrabble Revisited, Patrick Blanche Dec 2003

Scrabble Revisited, Patrick Blanche

PASAA

SCRABBLE is a well-established word game in many countries and is closely connected with the English language, yet it does not seem to be used a lot by EFL/ESL teachers. This article provides explanations for such a paradox, and then outlines what could be done to turn the situation around. SCRABBLE deserves a place in most EFL/ESL classrooms, not only because of the linguistic worthiness of the game, but also because of its social, cultural, intellectual and international value.


Reading Through Multimedia: Wasteful Or Worthwhile, Malinee Chandavimol Dec 2003

Reading Through Multimedia: Wasteful Or Worthwhile, Malinee Chandavimol

PASAA

Nowadays, the pressure is on to produce results in terms of teaching English as a foreign language. Given the time constraints of the curriculum, however, the only way to maximize existing resources is by providing sufficient channels for self-study. In this sense, we are blessed by the advances made in the field of computers over the past 30 years, and in particular the invention of the CD-ROM. Kaufimann (1992) argues that "computers may help to overcome the difficulties posed by a heterogenous class with the provision of a readily available range of materials, diverse in their level of difficulty and …


Welcome To The Club' Means For Developing Language Knowledge For Elt Specialists At The Mittc-Oman, Ali S.M. Al-Issa Dec 2003

Welcome To The Club' Means For Developing Language Knowledge For Elt Specialists At The Mittc-Oman, Ali S.M. Al-Issa

PASAA

This paper describes an innovation program that was implemented at the Muscat Intermediate Teacher Training College (MITTC) - Sultanate of Oman and included 35 student teachers of English. The program combined two modes of language improvement, which I have labelled here as 'General English' and 'Professional English' to help my student teachers develop their English language repertoire. This was achieved via the design and implementation of various language activities, which simultaneously consolidated various fundamental aspects of second language education.


How To Teach Efl/Esl Writing: A Basic Guide For Thai Teachers, Bruce Leeds Dec 2003

How To Teach Efl/Esl Writing: A Basic Guide For Thai Teachers, Bruce Leeds

PASAA

This is an article about teaching writing. More specifically, it is an article about teaching writing in English to people who speak another language. This makes the job of the EFL writing teacher even more difficult than that of the native language writing teacher: not only must she deal with the students' fears towards facing a blank sheet of paper or a blank computer screen; she must also deal with the students' fears of composing their thoughts in a language that they are not comfortable with. In this situation, both the teacher and the student often have to adjust their …


Developing Presentation Skills For Low Proficiency Students, Boonya Wichayathian Dec 2003

Developing Presentation Skills For Low Proficiency Students, Boonya Wichayathian

PASAA

This article discusses two activities I used in the presentation skill module of my Advanced Business Oral Communication (ABOC) classes1 with groups of lower-intermediate third-year Commerce and Accountancy students at Chulalongkorn University. My goal was to help my students develop their presentation skills and have more self-confidence.


Evaluation Of Language Functions Used By Thai Business People, Ruja Pholsward Dec 2003

Evaluation Of Language Functions Used By Thai Business People, Ruja Pholsward

PASAA

The paper reports the evaluation of language functions used by Thai business people, with an emphasis on the language functions of disagreeing, apologizing, questioning, and expressing politeness. The subjects in the study were Thai business people enrolled in a graduate course in language functions for business communication offered at the University of the Thai Chamber of Commerce. They were trained how to use accurate and appropriate forms to function in various business interactions that prompt disagreeing, apologizing, questioning, and expressing various degrees of politeness in their communication tasks. Their performances were evaluated in three stages: (1) Preparation Stage which requires …


Differences Between Speech And Writing: Does It Matter?, Somporn Handee Dec 2003

Differences Between Speech And Writing: Does It Matter?, Somporn Handee

PASAA

On the whole, it has been long known that both speech (spoken language) and writing are different in various aspects; however, not many language teachers are fully able to differentiate between such differences. This paper, therefore, aims to outline and examine some significant differences between these two entities. In addition, the implication of how this understanding might be useful for language teachers will be discussed.


Developing Web-Based Listening Exercises: Pedagogic Principles And Materials Design, Cynthia F.K. Lee Dec 2002

Developing Web-Based Listening Exercises: Pedagogic Principles And Materials Design, Cynthia F.K. Lee

PASAA

This paper describes the pedagogic principles and design of Web-based listening exercises for tertiary-level Chinese EFL learners. Following the claim that videos and multimedia resources assist listening comprehension (e.g., Brett, 2000), as well as the framework for grading listening input suggested by Brown and Yule (1983), the exercises are based on local television and radio programmes, and are graded from static to dynamic to abstract. The exercises carefully guide and prepare the learners from the pre-listening stage to the post-listening stage. A variety of exercises, such as listening for information, opinion and inference, and partial dictation, were developed. The learners …


Macmillan English Dictionary For Advance Learners International Student Edition Dec 2002

Macmillan English Dictionary For Advance Learners International Student Edition

PASAA

MacMillan English Dictionary for Advanced Learner International Student Edition is a monolingual dictionary.


Pronunciation Clinic, Tanyaporn Arya Dec 2002

Pronunciation Clinic, Tanyaporn Arya

PASAA

No abstract provided.


Special Interview With Professor Dr. Anne Burns Dec 2002

Special Interview With Professor Dr. Anne Burns

PASAA

First of all, we would like to know your opinion about action research.


Action Research In Action: Some Practical Examples, Anne Burns Dec 2002

Action Research In Action: Some Practical Examples, Anne Burns

PASAA

In recent years references to action research have become more and more common in the ELT literature and there are now a number of useful publications that provide guidance for doing action research (e.g., Nunan, 1988; Wallace, 1998; Burns, 1999; Edge, 2001). But action research can be a puzzling and unfamiliar concept for many teachers, as Jane Hamilton, a teacher I worked with recently, suggested:


Team English In Adolescent Large Efl Classes, Marguerite G. Macdonald, Zena M. Thiravithul, William Butkulwong, Pranee Kednoi Dec 2002

Team English In Adolescent Large Efl Classes, Marguerite G. Macdonald, Zena M. Thiravithul, William Butkulwong, Pranee Kednoi

PASAA

Teachers attempting to use communicative language teaching in large EFL classes often encounter challenges that are difficult to overcome. In this article, the authors describe a case study using Team English, an approach promoting communicative language learning in groups within a color-coded team organization. The project director and participating teachers addressed ways to implement and manage group work using cooperative learning concepts. The project showed that, while some difficulties persisted, overall Team English provided potential solutions for most of the problems related to large classes.


Developing Video Support Material For Self-Access Language Learning, Nathan Mills Dec 2002

Developing Video Support Material For Self-Access Language Learning, Nathan Mills

PASAA

Self-access learning often involves the use of authentic materials like newspapers and films. However, for students to fully benefit from such materials, language learning support materials are also needed. There are two main types of support materials: specific materials support the use of a single piece of authentic material; global materials support many pieces of authentic material. Each type serves a different purpose. This study focuses on the production of specific support material for video films at a Thai university. The materials design process involved several stages of piloting, feedback, and redesign. Although there are practical concerns, it is possible …


A Review Of Literature On Communication Tasks For Business English Oral Proficiency In An International Context, Sutthirak Sapsirin Dec 2002

A Review Of Literature On Communication Tasks For Business English Oral Proficiency In An International Context, Sutthirak Sapsirin

PASAA

The purpose of the paper is to review the literature on communicative tasks for Business English (BE) oral proficiency of language learners in an international context. The paper is divided into three sections. The first section presents a review of the major frameworks of communicative competence. The second section concerns the aspects of BE oral competency. Finally, the components of BE oral proficiency and BE oral tasks in the global context are discussed.


The Evaluation Of Eap Science New Materials, Walaiporn Pragorbsuk, Iain Moore Dec 2002

The Evaluation Of Eap Science New Materials, Walaiporn Pragorbsuk, Iain Moore

PASAA

English for Academic Purposes (Science), or EAP Science, is a compulsory course for 3rd year Science undergraduates at Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok, Thailand. Our aim with the course was to design an effective skills-based course which appealed to students through contemporary content and a variety of student centred learning techniques. In addition to this, we were looking to a course which would be accessible as a group of self study modules to students of all science oriented faculties, and also other universities outside Chulalongkorn.


Activities For The First Day Of Class, Wisetpong Wongtip Dec 2002

Activities For The First Day Of Class, Wisetpong Wongtip

PASAA

What do you say after you say "hello" to your students on the first day of class? Apparently, a difficult situation for most teachers is the first day of class. It is critical because it sets the tone for the semester. Structuring the first class is as much a part of an instructor's teaching style as lecturing or leading discussions. If you prefer to plunge directly into the subject matter with a lecture or discussion that will set the tone and specify the themes for the entire semester, the first day of class is not much different from any other …


Teaching Reading Comprehension In Large Classes, Pimpan Srivardhana Dec 2002

Teaching Reading Comprehension In Large Classes, Pimpan Srivardhana

PASAA

The teaching of reading in EFL has grown enormously in the last 30 years. We have learned that a skilled reader must be able to make use of sensory, syntactic, semantic and pragmatic information to accomplish his/her task. These various sources of information appear to interact in many complex ways during the process of reading. Thus, increasingly, reading has been viewed as a phenomenon involving both process (comprehending) and product (comprehension).


Twenty Questions About Action Research, Kathleen M. Bailey Dec 2001

Twenty Questions About Action Research, Kathleen M. Bailey

PASAA

For some time now, action research has been used to investigate important issues in language teaching and learning. Still, there is some confusion in our field about what action research is, how it is done, and whether or not it is a legitimate form of academic research. In this brief literature review, a variety of sources will be used to address these concerns.


The Esl Program At The University Of Weissnichtwo, Samue J. Sackett Dec 2001

The Esl Program At The University Of Weissnichtwo, Samue J. Sackett

PASAA

The University of Weissnichtwo, situated on the shores of Lake Wobegon, has received national attention for its championship horseshoe team, but little notice has been given to its success in providing training in English for the international students who have flocked to the campus. These students have not been attracted by the university's academic programs; its most prestigious program, research into cold-climate flax production, has little applicability in Africa, Central America, or Southeast Asia, which supply a full 20 percent of the university's entire student body.


Beliefs About Learning Efl: A Study Of Thai Female High School Students, Ania Saorin Iborra, Miguel F. Ruiz Garrido Dec 2001

Beliefs About Learning Efl: A Study Of Thai Female High School Students, Ania Saorin Iborra, Miguel F. Ruiz Garrido

PASAA

This research describes beliefs about learning English as a foreign language of Thai female high school students and discusses the potential impact of these beliefs on students' expectations and strategies in English language learning. Four aspects of beliefs were studied: beliefs about the difficulty of English language learning, beliefs about foreign language aptitude, beliefs about the nature of language learning, and beliefs about communicative strategies. Questionnaires, adapted from BALLI (Beliefs About Language Learning Inventory), were used to collect the data. In addition, descriptive statistics were used to analyze the data. The results demonstrated that the students held beliefs that are …


How To Make Sure That There Is Something Learnt, Sibporn Sihsobhon Dec 2001

How To Make Sure That There Is Something Learnt, Sibporn Sihsobhon

PASAA

One way to make sure that students understand what teachers are saying is to have teachers constantly get a response from learners.


Is Humour Worth A Try In The Language Classroom, Pramarn Subphadoongchone Dec 2001

Is Humour Worth A Try In The Language Classroom, Pramarn Subphadoongchone

PASAA

For traditional language teaching, activities providing students with various learning routines tend to dominate the class. Though the primary goal of teaching is to have students experience the use of language, it is often detrimental if the class overemphasizes rote learning, especially for lower motivated students. Most language classes suffer from this mode of teaching as it creates tension in class and also a great deal of boredom. This may lead to negative feelings about language learning and in turn hinder learning.


Tales To Tell, Chatraporn Lertvatrakan Dec 2001

Tales To Tell, Chatraporn Lertvatrakan

PASAA

Preparing a lesson plan on "narration" cannot be considered simple since it involves various aspects of language such as tenses, logical thinking, chronology, clause connectors (time markers), or even plots, characters, climaxes etc. How do teachers prepare their students to be good story tellers or writers? Most of the time, we value the product more than the process which generates the product. However, students need some incentive. Giving students tales or stories to read can help them understand the elements of good narrative that will eventually enhance their ability in both narrative writing and story telling. This is because common …


English Curriculum Development For A Technology Institute Of Higher Learing, Achara Wongsothorn Dec 2001

English Curriculum Development For A Technology Institute Of Higher Learing, Achara Wongsothorn

PASAA

The article describes the curriculum developed for a technology institution of higher learning in Thailand by presenting the essential issues in English language curriculum development. The paradigm for developing an English curriculum was derived from the underlying principles which are practical and goal-oriented.


Self-Evaluation Of Language Skills And Non-Linguistic Factors Through Www And E-Mail Tasks, Kanchana Prapphal Dec 2001

Self-Evaluation Of Language Skills And Non-Linguistic Factors Through Www And E-Mail Tasks, Kanchana Prapphal

PASAA

This article aims at studying students' self-evaluation regarding their language skills and non-linguistic factors, i.e. cognitive skills, affect and IT knowledge in performing net tasks. Collaborative learning through the use of web sites and e-mail was tried out with twenty-five first year Engineering students at Chulalongkorn University Language Institute, Thailand in June 1998. The study was repeated in the same year with thirty-two first year Pharmaceutical Science students of the same institute to obtain valid and reliable conclusions. The analysis of both qualitative and quantitative data shows positive feedback of employing two net tasks to supplement the regular English courses.


The Use Of Corpora And Concordancing In Translation, Prima Millikamas Dec 2001

The Use Of Corpora And Concordancing In Translation, Prima Millikamas

PASAA

This paper examines the roles, both theoretical and applied, which corpora1 play in the field of translation. The main emphasis of the paper is on the use of corpora evidence in applied translation studies, which include the teaching of translation in translator training and in foreign language learning. The paper also looks at the use of corpora as valuable resources for translators. Different types of corpora and their applications are reviewed in detail. In the end, the paper discusses the key success factors of corpus-driven translation.


The Genre Of Tourist Leaflets, Ania Saorin Iborra, Miguel F. Ruiz Garrido Dec 2001

The Genre Of Tourist Leaflets, Ania Saorin Iborra, Miguel F. Ruiz Garrido

PASAA

There have been many studies of Genre Analysis justifying the pedagogical implications of the Discourse Analysis system in the ESP classroom. Most of them have focused on research articles, medical texts, legislative documents and business correspondence, but little has been done about tourist texts. Based on the communicative purpose that several authors (Swales, 1990; Bhatia, 1993; Andersen, 1998) take as an essential criterion for defining a genre, we have selected 12 tourist leaflets to analyse their move structure. We have observed whether the stages of each text present a common order and content related to some specific intention for the …