MinneTESOL/WITESOL Journal, Volume 28 (2011)

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Now showing 1 - 12 of 12

Future: English for results (Level 5), by B. Diaz, R. Magy, and F. Salas-Isnardi (Review)
(Minnesota and Wisconsin Teachers of English to Speakers of Other Languages, 2011) Yang, Dongming
Review of Diaz, B., Magy, R., and Salas-Isnardi, F. Future: English for results (Level 5) (2010)
World English: Intro, by Martin Milner (Review)
(Minnesota and Wisconsin Teachers of English to Speakers of Other Languages, 2011) Vang, Caroline
Review of Milner, M. World English: Intro (2010)
Teaching ESL to adults: classroom approaches in action (video series) by Mary Ann Florez and Betsy Parrish (Review)
(Minnesota and Wisconsin Teachers of English to Speakers of Other Languages, 2011) Salehi, Nima
Review of Florez, M.A., and Parrish, B., Teaching ESL to adults: classroom approaches in action (video series)(2011)
Writers at work: from sentence to paragraph, by L. Blass and D. Gordon (Review)
(Minnesota and Wisconsin Teachers of English to Speakers of Other Languages, 2011) Nguyen, Ly
Review of Blass, L., and Gordon, D. Writers at work: from sentence to paragraph (2010)
The Hmong language in Wisconsin by S.M. Burt and M. Ratliff
(Minnesota and Wisconsin Teachers of English to Speakers of Other Languages, 2011) Mieder, Gregor
Review of Burt, S.M., and Ratliff, M., The Hmong language in Wisconsin: Language Shift and Pragmatic Change (2010)
The Touchstone Series by Michael McCarthy, Jeanne McCarten and Helen Sandiford
(Minnesota and Wisconsin Teachers of English to Speakers of Other Languages, 2011) Lazaraton, Anne
Review of Touchstone series from Cambridge University Press (2005-2009)
Every teacher's toolkit by K. Kawaguchi (Review)
(Minnesota and Wisconsin Teachers of English to Speakers of Other Languages, 2011) Kramer, Deirdre Bird
Review of Kawaguchi, K. Every teacher's toolkit: closing the achievement gap for English learners (2010)
Contemporary Topics edited by M. Rost (Review)
(Minnesota and Wisconsin Teachers of English to Speakers of Other Languages, 2011) Carr, Karen; Dornbush, Martha; Waite, Kiley
Review of Contemporary Topics: Academic Listening and Note-taking Skills (2009), volumes Intro, 1, 2, and 3
Teaching adult English language learners to mitigate requests: a pilot study
(Minnesota and Wisconsin Teachers of English to Speakers of Other Languages, 2011) Petree, Rhonda
This study examined the effectiveness of teaching adult English language learners (ELLs) how to mitigate requests in the workplace and elsewhere. The participants represented 12 different countries and 11 languages and were enrolled in a high-intermediate level ELL class in a large-urban Adult Basic Education (ABE) program. Participants’ pragmatic ability with regard to making requests was assessed through a discourse completion test (DCT) administered as a pretest, followed by instruction in pragmatics (with a focus on requesting) and then by another DCT similar to the first one serving as a posttest. The pre- and posttest results were compared with the analysis focusing on the relative frequency of explicitly taught lexical phrases and forms. Participants’ responses to a course evaluation questionnaire were also collected and analyzed. Findings indicated that while participants were aware of the use of modal verbs to show politeness prior to instruction, there was a noticeable increase in forms virtually absent in the pretest data, namely, the past continuous tense and understaters such as just (a minute), and a little (bit). Additionally, findings showed high attendance contributed to an increased use of those phrases and forms. Participants responded favorably to the instructional techniques. The results of this instructional pragmatics study contribute to a relatively small body of literature involving the effectiveness of teaching second-language (L2) pragmatics to an ABE English language learner population.
Learner strategies for performing intercultural pragmatics
(Minnesota and Wisconsin Teachers of English to Speakers of Other Languages, 2011) Cohen, Andrew D.
This article focuses on the strategies that learners employ in an effort to ensure that the input that they process is pragmatically comprehensible to them. Likewise, attention is given to the strategies that learners can make use of so that their output is comprehensible pragmatically to their interlocutors. This entails taking a close look at specific examples of what comprehensibility of language at the level of intercultural pragmatics actually means in terms of intercultural pragmatics. In looking at both the comprehension and production of pragmatic material, the strategies that might be called on in order to avoid pragmatic failure are considered. Focus is first given to what it might take strategically in order to effectively comprehend input pragmatically, whether the input is through language, through gestures, or through silence. Then focus is given to strategies for diminishing threats to comprehensible output, such as negative transfer of norms from the L1 or another language, limited L2 grammar ability, overgeneralization of perceived L2 pragmatic norms, the effect of instruction or instructional materials, and resistance to perceived L2 norms. The ultimate concern is to identify strategies that might assist learners in their efforts to have their conversational partners correctly interpret the intended pragmatics in their communications, and on the role that ESL teachers can play in facilitating this process.
Yes, But arguing in reading and writing
(Minnesota and Wisconsin Teachers of English to Speakers of Other Languages, 2011) Nelson, Eric
From the Editors
(Minnesota and Wisconsin Teachers of English to Speakers of Other Languages, 2011) Anderson, Mike; Ibele, Gail; Poulos, Andrea; Swierzbin, Bonnie