Applying“First Principles of Instruction”as a Design Theory of the EFL Classroom:Findings from an Empirical Study

How to benefit the learners learning English as a foreign language(EFL)from the aspect of instructional design aroused the concerns of many teachers and researchers.The main purpose of this study is to address the question of how teachers can design and implement EFL classroom that benefit the learners.Specifically,the“First Principles of Instruction,”advocated by Merrill(2002),was applied by the English teachers to conduct their day-to-day pedagogical practices.The corresponding effects of this theory in designing EFL classroom activities were reported in this study.Two research questions are formulated as follows:(1)Does the“First Principles of Instruction”benefit the EFL classroom designing in the aspect of student achievement?If yes,what is the effect?(2)How do the English teachers perceive the“First Principles of Instruction”to design EFL classroom?While observing the EFL classroom activities and interviewing the college English teachers,an empirical study was done to perceive how college English teachers could best apply these principles to design EFL classroom activities.

Communicative Approach in Teaching Reading in Chinese EFL Classrooms

How to teach reading has become a cornerstone of teachers in China as they develop overall teaching strategies in EFL classrooms.In this paper,firstly the author will introduce the context of teaching reading;thereafter clarify the concept of communicative language teaching(CLT) and its implications in EFL teaching;next illustrate the teaching context in China where CLT is encouraged to be implemented in classrooms;furthermore,reading with a purpose and the relevant teaching techniques will be introduced,in line with the important characteristics of communicative tasks.Finally the author will demonstrate some communicative tasks for purposeful reading in the EFL classroom of a senior high school in China.

Backwash Effects of Language Testing in EFL Classrooms

The article presents some major researches concerning the concept of backwash effect of language testing; analyses both the positive and negative effects and their implications in EFL classrooms; then provides some suggested ways to be followed when creating positive backwash effects on teaching and learning.

How to Teach Target Culture in EFL Classrooms More Effectively

Teaching culture in foreign language class is already a concept accepted by language teachers all over the world since language and culture are closely connected and inseparable,and this concept has been put into practice for a long time.However,the application of integrating the target culture teaching into EFL classrooms is far from being satisfactory.Therefore,how to incorporate culture into the foreign language classroom and how to teach culture for effective language learning has become a top priority for language teachers.This paper attempts to explore how to teach target culture effectively in EFL classrooms from multiple perspectives in the hope of helping students grasp cultural knowledge,improve their communicative competence,and enrich their linguistic knowledge as well.

Encouraging Active Learning Method in EFL Classroom

In active-learning classroom,the students play an active role in learning,and they are not only actively participating in classroom activities,but are interacting with the teacher and their peers.The teachers shoul try to avoid a noisy class with no real effects at all and they should help those who are poor at expressing in English.They should be encouraged to express themselves.To conclude,active-study method has brought us reward.

Factors Influencing Students＇ WTC in a Chinese EFL Classroom： From the Ecological Perspective

Given the dynamic traits of willingness to communicate or WTC and focusing on L2 learners' individual elements from the ecological perspective, this article involves an analysis of the variables impacting students' WTC in a Chinese EFL classroom to help promote their WTC and provide some insights for English instructors to optimize their English language teaching.

Error Making Analysis in EFL Classroom

In the traditional education environment,the view of a good teacher is measured in the learners’results of examination.The higher the score,the less the learners’errors are made.Consequently,in English as a foreign language(EFL)classroom,faced with the requirements of good academic performance,it tends to be no escaping issue on the emphasis of right or wrong on the learners’performance since teaching goals require sensitivity to their errors.For this reason,the paper intends to probe into stu-dents’errors in the EFL learning from different perspectives.

Causes of Vocational College Students'Reticence in EFL Classrooms of China's Mainland-based on Panxi Vocational College

This article reports on a study of students' reticence in English as a Foreign Language(EFL)classrooms in Panxi Vocational College in Sichuan Province of China's Mainland.Forty-one students answered a 28-item questionnaire.The students' reticence levels,general tendency of unwillingness-to-speak,and their learning behaviors were identified.Individual and social factors contributing to the reticence phenomenon in the vocational college's EFL classrooms were also determined.The results suggested that culture have strong influences on Chinese vocational college students'reticence.However,their habitual classroom behaviors that have been established for a long time should be taken into account in regard to their reticence.

An Analysis of Teacher Talk in an EFL Classroom

In order to promote the efficiency of teachers’teaching and students’learning,based on the naturalistic inquiry,the study mainly describes the typical features of teacher talk.High quality language input rely on the teaching materials and curricu⁃lum design,more importantly,it relies on the teacher talk to express and explain language knowledge.The teacher talk has an influ⁃ence on learners’learning attitude,classroom performance and the learning process.If used appropriately,the teacher talk can pro⁃mote the communication as well as inspire students to participate the classroom interaction.

How to Teach Speaking Skills in Chinese EFL Classroom?

This paper will explore some efficient methods of teaching oral English in China’s classrooms.Three case studies will be illustrated to show some problems in the classroom when the Chinese learner meets western pedagogy.This paper will put for⁃ward some proposals to solve the cultural problems in Chinese EFL classroom.

Rethinking on Matching Teachers' Teaching Styles with Students' Learning Styles in ESL/EFL Classrooms

Teaching styles and learning styles play important parts in ESL/EFL classrooms. However, is it necessary for language teachers to match their teaching styles with their students' learning styles?Is it feasible for the teachers to match their teaching styles to every individual student's learning styles?Because of the incompatible learning and teaching styles, suggestions on how to deal with the difficulties in the matching of these two styles will be given.

Study on the Teacher Talk in EFL Classroom

As a distinctive professional language,teacher's language deserves a linguistic analysis.By class observation and interview,the article aims to analyze the feature of teacher talk in EFL class from the perspectives of discourse,the way of offering questions,feedback and so on.Finally,the author concludes the study with some suggestions to make teacher talk more effective.

Group Dynamics and Willingness to Communicate in EFL Classrooms

This study explores how group dynamics(such as group cohesiveness and group norms)influence learners’willingness to communicate(WTC)in an EFL classroom.The results from the 236 questionnaires showed that there was a significant correlation between group dynamics and WTC in an EFL classroom.A dozen students who participated in this study were interviewed for more in-depth information and the data revealed that most interviewees acknowledged the importance of the class group.The qualitative data also showed the importance of their own determination to learn in establishing their WTC.

What Type of Teacher Leadership Function Effectively in ESL/EFL Classrooms?

Based on the comparison of different teacher leaderships at present, this article elaborated how the transformational teacher lead ership functions effectively in ESL/EFL classrooms. With the discussion of the prerequisites and the characteristics of the transformational teacher leadership, the writer also described how teachers could achieve this leadership in their classrooms and bring impact on student self-awareness, self-development, and their learning success.

The Basic Value of Phonetics in College EFL Classroom

In college EFL learning, teachers have commonly attracted significant attention to improve 5 skills of listening, speaking, reading, writing and translating instead of pronouncing when students are taught EFL in the classroom. As a matter of fact,most students have serious trouble in pronunciation before entering college due to their enjoying involving in reading comprehension for English silently in their spare time. Teachers in college trust their students who have the ability to pronounce precisely any English so that they ignore seriously to enhance their basic value of the perfect and standard speech sounds. Teachers believe the acceptable pronunciation is the best way to learn foreign language. It gives a comprehensive opinion on phonetics during the process of learning EFL in college in order to potentially impede that teachers in college recognize its basic and important position so that they can help their students improve the ability of pronouncing to practice 5 advanced skills.

An Analysis of Reasons for Student Reticence in EFL Classrooms at Tertiary Level in China

It is generally accepted that students' oral participation plays a crucial role in the EFL classrooms. However, students' apparent reticent behavior in English classes is found to become a common phenomenon in China. With the increasing importance of English speaking skills, there is a pressing need for teachers in universities to be aware of the reasons for student reticence, help students to adopt an active participatory role in class and provide them with more opportunities to practice their oral English.