Language ecology is defined as the study of the interactions between any given language and its environment. It is primarily determined by the people who learn it, who use it, and more important than the previous ones...Language ecology is defined as the study of the interactions between any given language and its environment. It is primarily determined by the people who learn it, who use it, and more important than the previous ones by the people who transmit it to the others; that is, language teachers. English language is used as an additional language almost all over the world and an indispensable part of the ecology of this international language is culture. Thus, an ecological perspective demands a particular view of the practice of the culture of English language as situated and localized. Exploring such practice within the diverse contexts of the use of English language should be based on the genesis underpinning English language teachers＇ thoughts and practice. Therefore, the purpose of the present study was to explore Iranian English language teachers＇ attitudes, knowledge, and skills of teaching culture in light of Vygotsky＇s genotypic approach. To do so, semi-structured interviews were conducted with 35 English language teachers in Iran. Their records were analyzed and discussed in terms of four different and interrelated spans, namely phylogenetic, cultural-historic, ontogenetic, and microgenetic. Phylogenetic span focuses on the development of language teachers as natural species and their physical evolution. The cultural historic span concerns the development of language teachers based on social, cultural, and historic bases. Ontogenetic domain investigates the role of language teachers across their human life span. Microgenetic span is related to a set of roles, activities, and interpersonal relations experienced by the developing person in a given setting. The findings of the study have indicated that there is a sharp contrast between Iranian English language teachers＇ attitudes towards teaching culture and their practice in the classroom which is due to the divergence between the their ontogenetic development of culture teaching on one hand and the policies of the English language institutes develop within the cultural historic span on the other hand.展开更多
The difficulties in learning Chinese faced by non-Chinese students are the subjects of concern in the education sector, especially in writing Chinese characters. We write the characters with strokes and dots, more or ...The difficulties in learning Chinese faced by non-Chinese students are the subjects of concern in the education sector, especially in writing Chinese characters. We write the characters with strokes and dots, more or less strokes or dots will represent different words and different meanings. Students found these very complicated and confused, thus it leads them to lose their motivation and interest in learning Chinese language. From the beginning of the 1990s, I began using origami as one of the activities to promote the teaching of Chinese in the state school in Melbourne Australia with remarkable results. Program got widely reported by Medias. In 1995, I got the ＂National Excellence in Teaching Awards＂. After I took up the position as the curriculum development officer in University of Hong Kong in 2007, I worked closely with the teachers and students using origami as the theme base learning in Chinese. It helps to increase their understanding of the radicals and parts, so as to improve their confidence in writing Chinese characters.展开更多
Chinese language teaching in new curriculum reform not only inherits and develops the old teaching mode, but also teaches the spirit of Chinese in the curriculum reform and cultivates the students＇ Chinese cultivatio...Chinese language teaching in new curriculum reform not only inherits and develops the old teaching mode, but also teaches the spirit of Chinese in the curriculum reform and cultivates the students＇ Chinese cultivation. This article mainly deals with the cultivation of Chinese self-restraint under the background of new curriculum reform, according to students＇ self - cultivation, emotion and rational interest.展开更多
文摘Language ecology is defined as the study of the interactions between any given language and its environment. It is primarily determined by the people who learn it, who use it, and more important than the previous ones by the people who transmit it to the others; that is, language teachers. English language is used as an additional language almost all over the world and an indispensable part of the ecology of this international language is culture. Thus, an ecological perspective demands a particular view of the practice of the culture of English language as situated and localized. Exploring such practice within the diverse contexts of the use of English language should be based on the genesis underpinning English language teachers＇ thoughts and practice. Therefore, the purpose of the present study was to explore Iranian English language teachers＇ attitudes, knowledge, and skills of teaching culture in light of Vygotsky＇s genotypic approach. To do so, semi-structured interviews were conducted with 35 English language teachers in Iran. Their records were analyzed and discussed in terms of four different and interrelated spans, namely phylogenetic, cultural-historic, ontogenetic, and microgenetic. Phylogenetic span focuses on the development of language teachers as natural species and their physical evolution. The cultural historic span concerns the development of language teachers based on social, cultural, and historic bases. Ontogenetic domain investigates the role of language teachers across their human life span. Microgenetic span is related to a set of roles, activities, and interpersonal relations experienced by the developing person in a given setting. The findings of the study have indicated that there is a sharp contrast between Iranian English language teachers＇ attitudes towards teaching culture and their practice in the classroom which is due to the divergence between the their ontogenetic development of culture teaching on one hand and the policies of the English language institutes develop within the cultural historic span on the other hand.
文摘The difficulties in learning Chinese faced by non-Chinese students are the subjects of concern in the education sector, especially in writing Chinese characters. We write the characters with strokes and dots, more or less strokes or dots will represent different words and different meanings. Students found these very complicated and confused, thus it leads them to lose their motivation and interest in learning Chinese language. From the beginning of the 1990s, I began using origami as one of the activities to promote the teaching of Chinese in the state school in Melbourne Australia with remarkable results. Program got widely reported by Medias. In 1995, I got the ＂National Excellence in Teaching Awards＂. After I took up the position as the curriculum development officer in University of Hong Kong in 2007, I worked closely with the teachers and students using origami as the theme base learning in Chinese. It helps to increase their understanding of the radicals and parts, so as to improve their confidence in writing Chinese characters.
文摘Chinese language teaching in new curriculum reform not only inherits and develops the old teaching mode, but also teaches the spirit of Chinese in the curriculum reform and cultivates the students＇ Chinese cultivation. This article mainly deals with the cultivation of Chinese self-restraint under the background of new curriculum reform, according to students＇ self - cultivation, emotion and rational interest.
