Asian Journal of English Language Studies

1-24

Authors: Bilal Genç; Volkan Darmaz

This paper presents the initial language teacher education policy adopted in Turkey and describes a study that examines English Language Teaching (ELT) student-teachers’ perceptions on the main components of initial teacher education and their contribution to the student-teachers’ future profession. To achieve these, the present study adopts the four dimensions of the European Profile for Language Teacher Education—A Frame of Reference (Kelly, Grenfell, Allan, Kriza, & McEvoy, 2004), which identifies the 40-item essential elements in foreign language teacher education. The sample includes 123 student-teachers in their second, third, and fourth year of studies for a bachelor’s degree in the Department of English Language Teacher Education at the Inonu University of Malatya in Turkey. Findings regarding the student-teachers’ perceptions on the main components and features of the ELT curriculum in all its dimensions (i.e., structure, knowledge and understanding, strategies and skills, and values) reveal that the students-teachers believe in the importance of practicum, collaboration with other universities and research institutes, and knowledge about the target culture. They, however, have some doubts regarding the necessity for using the European Language Portfolio (ELP) and the European Portfolio for Student Teachers of Languages (EPOSTL) (Newby, Allan, Fenner, Jones, Komorowska, & Soghikyan, 2007) and for being subjected to peer evaluation during their preservice education.

57-83

Authors: John Paul O. Dela Rosa; Rachelle B. Lintao

Evaluation of a curriculum and all other aspects related to it, including the use of materials for both teachers and learners, is meant to refine educational programs and later use the results as inputs toward improved teaching and learning. This paper reports on a textual evaluation of the existing curriculum guide in 10th grade English under the newly implemented K to 12 Basic Education Program in the Philippines. A total of 30 Grade 10 English teachers from selected public secondary schools in Tarlac Province, the Philippines evaluated the content of the curriculum material using the criteria set by the National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE) intended for English Language Arts (ELA) curriculum guides. The evaluation revealed that the material generally suffices the criteria needed for a language curriculum guide. However, it was found that the reading content of the curriculum guide hardly meets the criteria for the ELA reading component and that the design of the material needs more clarity in relation to the language used and to its overall presentation or format. Other problems identified include overlapping, repetitive, and too many objectives for each language strand that do not match the time allotted in teaching English 10 in the Philippines. Inadequacy on the content in terms of developing learners’ multilingual, multiliteracies (specifically media literacy), multicultural, and grammar skills were also perceived as problems by the teachers. The study finally underscores the importance of involving classroom teachers in the processes of creating, selecting, and evaluating curriculum materials, which are considered as integral phases in the language-curriculum-development process.

115-156

Authors: Paulyene Adrienne S. Cayco; Josephine B. Alarcon

One of the observable ways the Light Rail Manila Corporation (LRMC) uses to ensure order and safety inside the LRT premises is through its publication materials at the entrances and platforms of each station, and inside the train wagons. In the Philippines, no previous studies have been published that analyzed multimodality employed in railway publication materials. Thus, this study, through a Systemic-functional Multimodal Discourse Analysis, explored LRMC’s use of semiotic resources, such as metafunctions and modes of language, in its publication materials. Thirty (30) publication materials, which were gathered through purposive sampling, were analyzed quantitatively and qualitatively. By utilizing Halliday’s (1978) three metafunctions and incorporating Kress and van Leeuwen’s (2001) three strata of meaning-making, both language and visuals were analyzed to discover the meaning-making process in the publication materials and to determine how meanings were conveyed through specific semiotic modes. Further, van Leeuwen’s (2005a, 2005b) communicative acts were employed to examine the coherence between and among the metafunctions and semiotic modes to convey the communicative goals of the publication materials. The present study found that the main language choice of LRMC is the material process in imperative mood that is cohesively integrated through elliptical form as a way to communicate safety instructions to train passengers. Moreover, the imposition of rules and promotion of travel safety of LRMC was expressed through a narrative representation, which consists of specific modes such as image, gaze, social distance, and layout as the materials functionally instruct the discourse of safety.

177-198

Authors: Donna Bel F. Sy

Social Cognitive Theory explicates that teachers’ efficacy beliefs shape the kind of environment that they create as they instill the culture of learning among their students (Bandura, 1977). Accordingly, every teacher education program offered in various colleges and universities aims to produce self-efficacious preservice teachers with high expectations that they can affect both the kind of context they build and the various pedagogical activities they present in the classroom. It is therefore the purpose of this study to determine the relationships among the perceived levels of preservice English-language teachers’ self-efficacy beliefs, language proficiency, and pedagogical strategies. Findings revealed that the respondents have a moderate level of self-efficacy beliefs, and this is significantly associated to their speaking proficiency. Results also showed that their classroom management is linked to their writing self-efficacy; whereas, their communicative strategies are correlated to classroom and outcome efficacy. Recommendations to offer language-training programs that will help boost the levels of language proficiency and self-efficacy of preservice English-language teachers are likewise presented.