Author: Pearson

Conference Report: What’s Hot in Technology for English LanguageLearning?

Posted on | by Pearson

Conference Report: What’s Hot in Technology for English Language Learning?


With
the fall ESOL conference season at an end, it’s time to summarize some
trends. This year, there were far fewer presentations on CD-ROM based
tools like PowerPoint and far more sessions on online learning for
language learning. What’s hot right now? What should you watch out
for?Â

What’s
Hot?Â

Grammar:
Several conference papers described the advantages of online software
for mastering grammar. Software that allows students to develop
grammatical accuracy in all four skills also allows teachers to focus
more on communicative, fluency-based activities in the face-to-face
classroom.Â

Listening/Speaking:
Another favorite this fall was expanding online opportunities to
develop listening and speaking skills. …

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How to Improve Student Writing

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How
to Improve Student Writing

Writing teachers don’t want to
waste their time. They have a stack of papers to correct and they want
to give the kind of feedback that will improve student writing. Recent
research suggests that the best feedback is comprehensive, and recent
advances in technology make it easier for teachers to follow this
advice.

Most
Effective Feedback

Bitchener and Knoch (2008) conducted a study
in which students received different amounts of feedback on their
writing. Their research found that student writing improved the most
when they received a combination of

  • direct feedback on specific problems in
    their writing,
  • meta-feedback on how to improve the
    organization of their essays, and
  • oral feedback on their progress. …

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Recent Research in Teaching Grammar

Posted on | by Pearson

Recent
Research in Teaching Grammar

How important is grammatical knowledge? How
can we balance grammatical accuracy with communicative fluency? Can
grammar even be taught? These questions have been debated for as long
as language has been taught. Two recent articles provide new insight on
the role of grammar in language classrooms.

Grammar
Can Be Taught (Without Hurting Fluency)Â

Research conducted by Mochizuki and Ortega
(2008) revealed that teaching grammar to students results in more
accurate speaking in communicative tasks. Furthermore, the students who
studied grammar performed as well as the control group in measures of
fluency. This groundbreaking study offers hard evidence that studying
grammar will help students improve their English
significantly. …

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