Vol. 5 Issue 6 – Research Paper: ‘Using Children’s Literature to Explore the Issue of Exclusion: Language Learning Through Personal Connections, Multiple Perspectives and Critical Reflections’ by Hsiang-Ni Lee

Socio-cultural constructivism views reading as a holistic experience in which readers actively seek identity and make meaning of the world. Socio-cultural constructivist reading instruction recognizes the impact of one’s socio-economic background on comprehension and interpretation of a text. It also acknowledges one’s ability to identify, deconstruct and reconstruct self-positioning by critically examining the text’s messages. Although receiving more well-deserved attention in Western language education, such a constructivist notion has not yet seemed to be equally appreciated or practiced in Taiwanese EFL (English as a Foreign Language) classrooms.

Vol. 5 Issue 6 – Research Paper: ‘The Effects of Bilingual Instruction on the Literacy Skills of Young Learners’ by Lalaine F. Yanilla Aquino

This research focused on the effects of bilingual instruction on the acquisition of literacy skills of preschoolers. An experimental design was used, with language of instruction as the independent variable and the different literacy skills as dependent variables. The sample consisted of preschool children belonging to an urban poor community in the Philippines.

Vol. 5 Issue 6 – Research Paper: ‘Spirituality in the poetry of S.L. Peeran’ by Dr.Lilly Fernandes

English remains an often confusing and difficult language to learn (and teach!) for many reasons. The common “gap” between how a word is spelled and how it sounds is one challenge. Another source of confusion and many headaches remains the surprisingly large number of homonyms and homophones, different words with the same sound. Just as computer speech software programs like Siri on the iPhone find it difficult to distinguish the number 2 from the preposition “to” from the word “too”, so do many listeners.

Vol. 5 Issue 5 – Research Paper: ‘Using Facebook to Extend Learning into Students’ Digital Lives’ by Chris Harwood & Brad Blackstone

English remains an often confusing and difficult language to learn (and teach!) for many reasons. The common “gap” between how a word is spelled and how it sounds is one challenge. Another source of confusion and many headaches remains the surprisingly large number of homonyms and homophones, different words with the same sound. Just as computer speech software programs like Siri on the iPhone find it difficult to distinguish the number 2 from the preposition “to” from the word “too”, so do many listeners.

Vol. 5 Issue 5 – Article: ‘Homophones Can Haunt: A Minor Mistake in Miner Valley’ by Eric Roth

English remains an often confusing and difficult language to learn (and teach!) for many reasons. The common “gap” between how a word is spelled and how it sounds is one challenge. Another source of confusion and many headaches remains the surprisingly large number of homonyms and homophones, different words with the same sound. Just as computer speech software programs like Siri on the iPhone find it difficult to distinguish the number 2 from the preposition “to” from the word “too”, so do many listeners.

Vol. 5 Issue 5 – Research Paper: ‘Pedagogical Blogging: Promoting Tertiary Level Students’ Critical Thinking by Using Socratic Questions’ by Zahra Shahsavar & Tan Bee Hoon

English remains an often confusing and difficult language to learn (and teach!) for many reasons. The common “gap” between how a word is spelled and how it sounds is one challenge. Another source of confusion and many headaches remains the surprisingly large number of homonyms and homophones, different words with the same sound. Just as computer speech software programs like Siri on the iPhone find it difficult to distinguish the number 2 from the preposition “to” from the word “too”, so do many listeners.

Vol. 5 Issue 3 – Mobigam: Language on the Move in Gujarat

Some English students make learning English even more difficult by expecting themselves to speak “perfect”, with “no accent” just like ” a real native English speaker.” May I suggest that this noble goal is both very difficult to achieve – especially for adults – and often even unwise.

Vol. 5 Issue 2 – Article: ‘Don’t Let Perfectionism Silence You!’ by Eric Roth

Some English students make learning English even more difficult by expecting themselves to speak “perfect”, with “no accent” just like ” a real native English speaker.” May I suggest that this noble goal is both very difficult to achieve – especially for adults – and often even unwise.

Vol. 5 Issue 2 – Article: Technology is starting to change language-learning

THE teacher who corrects your correspondent’s awful Mandarin is soft-spoken, authoritative and far away. Thanks to Skype, you can have face-to-face lessons with native speakers of more or less any language without stirring from your chair. Technology may one day make language-learning redundant (see article); meanwhile, it makes it easier.

Vol. 4 Issue 53 – Research Article: 'Education' by V.Radhika

Education doesn’t mean merely cramping some facts and figures but to understand how it can be used for solving the problems in our life. Swami Vivekananda, a patriotic, Hindu monk, and also an educationist says, “Education is the manifestation of the perfection already in man”. It is the only wealth which cannot be robbed or fired. The answer for all national problems comes in a single word “EDUCATION”.