ELTWeekly Volume 6, Issue 3
[ELTWeekly Volume 6, Issue 3 | January 27, 2014] Dear readers, We are extremely happy to present the third issue of the ELTWeekly newsletter. Do share the contents of this newsletter…
Article: ‘Language is Power’ by Dharmendra Sheth
[ELTWeekly Volume 6, Issue 3 | January 27, 2014]
Language is power. Everyone knows that. Or ought to, at any rate. We often see some professionals more successful than others, not only because of their competence in their field of work, but also their command of language, whether it is written or spoken, their mother tongue or some other tongue. A good command of language helps one carve a niche for oneself in one’s personal and professional circles. And yet not many take this power of language seriously. And some do pay the price of neglecting it.
That one would love one’s mother tongue seems obvious. But isn’t it a fact that most people speak their mother tongue badly? Their writing skill in their mother tongue too leaves a lot to be desired. If one doesn’t speak or write one’s mother tongue properly, how can we expect one to perform well in another language, foreign or indigenous? (more…)
Research Paper: ‘The Power of Story in the ESL Classroom’ by Bonnie J. Nicholas, Marian J. Rossiter & Marilyn L. Abbott
[ELTWeekly Volume 6, Issue 3 | January 27, 2014]
Although considerable research has examined the use of literature in the second language (L2) classroom, there has been less investigation into the integration of learners’ personal stories in the English as a second language (ESL) classroom. Following Wajnryb’s (2003) categorizations of story as language learning, genre, and the creation of what she termed a “storied classroom,” this study explores the ways in which learners’ stories are used in the ESL classroom. Five ESL instructors and nine adult ESL learners enrolled in ESL classes at a settlement agency in Edmonton were interviewed about the practice, benefits, and challenges of incorporating personal stories into the L2 classroom. (more…)