Social theorists have engaged religion as a social agent and submitted that it has the capacity to foster positive and negative changes in the society. Milton Yinger, Emile Durkheim, and Karl Marx lead the pack among ...Social theorists have engaged religion as a social agent and submitted that it has the capacity to foster positive and negative changes in the society. Milton Yinger, Emile Durkheim, and Karl Marx lead the pack among other sociologists. The need to therefore interrogate religion as an agent of social engineering cannot be overemphasized normatively and functionally. One of the implications of such engagement is that religion; study and practice need to respond to issues in the society. Basic challenges facing the Nigerian nation are issues of poverty, diseases, corruption, and illiteracy. However, in Nigerian universities, the situation posits that religion is studied with theological intentions based on the curriculum bequeathed by the missionaries that laid the foundation for the academic study of religion in Nigeria leading to exclusive and reductionist approaches to its study. There is also government policy that placed emphasis on science and management courses for development. The situation has led to reduction in students＇ enrolments for the study of religion in Nigerian universities. Therefore, this paper seeks explanations for the non-functional design（s） of the curriculum for the academic study of religion in universities, southwest of Nigeria. Descriptive and analytic methods were adopted in the study to pursue the thesis that the academic study of religion in Nigeria should be rebranded and repackaged to respond and interrogate social challenges/problems, such as the scourge of HIV/AIDS plaguing the society thereby recreating a new social identity and relevance for its study.展开更多
The paper first gives a brief overview of the use of statistical methods in sociology in order to show the continuity and importance of these methods in the development of sociology as a science. Therefore, education ...The paper first gives a brief overview of the use of statistical methods in sociology in order to show the continuity and importance of these methods in the development of sociology as a science. Therefore, education of sociologists requires, among other things, training in statistical methods applicable in data processing and analysis in sociological research. Then the research continues with a comparative analysis of the curricula of undergraduate academic studies of sociology, and especially the presence of statistics teaching in them, in the Republic of Serbia and the neighbouring countries. Different programs of the Department of Sociology of the Faculty of Philosophy in Novi Sad are analyzed together with the results of the students＇ evaluations for the academic years 2007/2008 and 2009/2010.展开更多
This study investigates the communicative competence of Chinese students in a British university, and the main purposes of the study are to find out more about Chinese students＇ difficulties in communication and to e...This study investigates the communicative competence of Chinese students in a British university, and the main purposes of the study are to find out more about Chinese students＇ difficulties in communication and to explore learning strategies of developing communicative competence. The research results show that Chinese students had both linguistic and socio-cultural problems in communication. Two case studies are presented of good and less good communicators to show up different patterns of communicative performance and learning strategies. In conclusion, a range of findings support the statement that attitudes, motivation and immersion were important in the development of communicative competence.展开更多
Hedging is a common practice in academic discourse.Thisarticle investigates the underlying reasons for the use of hedging,its linguistic representations,and its pedagogical applications.
Teacher identity has emerged as a central topic in educational research since 1990s. Professional identity among university EFL teachers is however understudied, especially those were engaged in in-service PhD study. ...Teacher identity has emerged as a central topic in educational research since 1990s. Professional identity among university EFL teachers is however understudied, especially those were engaged in in-service PhD study. Drawing on the interviews with nine EFL teachers in a Chinese university, this qualitative case research explored the changes of their professional identity with in-service PhD study experience. Positive changes were reported by all nine teachers, although with varied loci. Consistent with prior studies, the nine teachers demonstrated multi-leveled, achievement-oriented and discipline-focused professional identities. This research highlights the powerful influence of policy upon their identity changes. Their professional identities are shaped and reshaped in the process of negotiating and balancing between personal beliefs and rules at different levels. Teachers with non-English PhD academic background displayed conflicting professional identity, with institutional pressure being the important sources of their struggle and dilemma.展开更多
The production-oriented approach （POA） has been developed over a decade. It is driven by the need to improve English classroom instruction for university students in China （Wen, 2016）. It is also motivated by the ...The production-oriented approach （POA） has been developed over a decade. It is driven by the need to improve English classroom instruction for university students in China （Wen, 2016）. It is also motivated by the aspiration to enhance the quality of foreign language education in other similar pedagogical contexts outside China. A volume of research has been done by Wen Qiufang and her research team, to formulate the theory of POA and to test its effectiveness in classroom pedagogy （e.g. Wen, 2016, 2015; Yang, 2015; Zhang, 2015）. At the moment, the POA is still at an early stage of theory building and almost all empirical research is done in the Chinese context. In order to improve the quality of this theory and to make it intelligible to the international academic community, a one-day symposium was held in Beijing Foreign Studies University on May 15, 2017. The symposium was entitled ＇The first international forum on innovative foreign language education in China： Appraisal of the POA＇. In the forum, leading experts in applied linguistics were invited to discuss the strengths and weaknesses of the POA and the directions for its future development. The symposium was the first attempt for the POA research team to discuss its latest work with international scholars. This Viewpoint section collects the responses of four experts who participated in the symposium, listed in alphabetical order. The collection of articles covers three topics related to the POA： its pedagogical application, its use for teacher training, and its research. Alister Cumming is Professor Emeritus and the former Head of the Centre for Educational Research on Languages and Literacies, University of Toronto, Canada. His article focuses primarily on POA research as an exemplary case of design-based research. Rod Ellis is Research Professor in the School of Education at Curtin University, Australia. He discusses POA in terms of pedagogy, teacher training and research, with both critiques and constructive suggestions. Paul Kei Matsuda is Professor of English and Director of Second Language Writing at Arizona State University, the writed states. He responds to POA from the perspective of an expert researcher and teacher of L2 writing. Charlene Polio is Professor and Associate Chair in the Department of Linguistics ＆ Germanic, Slavic, Asian ＆ African Languages atMichigan State University, the writed states. She conceptualises POA as a useful method to address some issues in pre-service teacher development. Overall, the articles in this section are insightful and reader-friendly. They are not only useful for the development of POA in particular, but may also be valuable to a broad range of researchers as they touch upon pertaining issues, as well as emerging topics, in the field of applied linguistics. We therefore find it necessary to make them accessible to a wide readership.展开更多
文摘Social theorists have engaged religion as a social agent and submitted that it has the capacity to foster positive and negative changes in the society. Milton Yinger, Emile Durkheim, and Karl Marx lead the pack among other sociologists. The need to therefore interrogate religion as an agent of social engineering cannot be overemphasized normatively and functionally. One of the implications of such engagement is that religion; study and practice need to respond to issues in the society. Basic challenges facing the Nigerian nation are issues of poverty, diseases, corruption, and illiteracy. However, in Nigerian universities, the situation posits that religion is studied with theological intentions based on the curriculum bequeathed by the missionaries that laid the foundation for the academic study of religion in Nigeria leading to exclusive and reductionist approaches to its study. There is also government policy that placed emphasis on science and management courses for development. The situation has led to reduction in students＇ enrolments for the study of religion in Nigerian universities. Therefore, this paper seeks explanations for the non-functional design（s） of the curriculum for the academic study of religion in universities, southwest of Nigeria. Descriptive and analytic methods were adopted in the study to pursue the thesis that the academic study of religion in Nigeria should be rebranded and repackaged to respond and interrogate social challenges/problems, such as the scourge of HIV/AIDS plaguing the society thereby recreating a new social identity and relevance for its study.
文摘The paper first gives a brief overview of the use of statistical methods in sociology in order to show the continuity and importance of these methods in the development of sociology as a science. Therefore, education of sociologists requires, among other things, training in statistical methods applicable in data processing and analysis in sociological research. Then the research continues with a comparative analysis of the curricula of undergraduate academic studies of sociology, and especially the presence of statistics teaching in them, in the Republic of Serbia and the neighbouring countries. Different programs of the Department of Sociology of the Faculty of Philosophy in Novi Sad are analyzed together with the results of the students＇ evaluations for the academic years 2007/2008 and 2009/2010.
文摘This study investigates the communicative competence of Chinese students in a British university, and the main purposes of the study are to find out more about Chinese students＇ difficulties in communication and to explore learning strategies of developing communicative competence. The research results show that Chinese students had both linguistic and socio-cultural problems in communication. Two case studies are presented of good and less good communicators to show up different patterns of communicative performance and learning strategies. In conclusion, a range of findings support the statement that attitudes, motivation and immersion were important in the development of communicative competence.
文摘Hedging is a common practice in academic discourse.Thisarticle investigates the underlying reasons for the use of hedging,its linguistic representations,and its pedagogical applications.
文摘Teacher identity has emerged as a central topic in educational research since 1990s. Professional identity among university EFL teachers is however understudied, especially those were engaged in in-service PhD study. Drawing on the interviews with nine EFL teachers in a Chinese university, this qualitative case research explored the changes of their professional identity with in-service PhD study experience. Positive changes were reported by all nine teachers, although with varied loci. Consistent with prior studies, the nine teachers demonstrated multi-leveled, achievement-oriented and discipline-focused professional identities. This research highlights the powerful influence of policy upon their identity changes. Their professional identities are shaped and reshaped in the process of negotiating and balancing between personal beliefs and rules at different levels. Teachers with non-English PhD academic background displayed conflicting professional identity, with institutional pressure being the important sources of their struggle and dilemma.
文摘The production-oriented approach （POA） has been developed over a decade. It is driven by the need to improve English classroom instruction for university students in China （Wen, 2016）. It is also motivated by the aspiration to enhance the quality of foreign language education in other similar pedagogical contexts outside China. A volume of research has been done by Wen Qiufang and her research team, to formulate the theory of POA and to test its effectiveness in classroom pedagogy （e.g. Wen, 2016, 2015; Yang, 2015; Zhang, 2015）. At the moment, the POA is still at an early stage of theory building and almost all empirical research is done in the Chinese context. In order to improve the quality of this theory and to make it intelligible to the international academic community, a one-day symposium was held in Beijing Foreign Studies University on May 15, 2017. The symposium was entitled ＇The first international forum on innovative foreign language education in China： Appraisal of the POA＇. In the forum, leading experts in applied linguistics were invited to discuss the strengths and weaknesses of the POA and the directions for its future development. The symposium was the first attempt for the POA research team to discuss its latest work with international scholars. This Viewpoint section collects the responses of four experts who participated in the symposium, listed in alphabetical order. The collection of articles covers three topics related to the POA： its pedagogical application, its use for teacher training, and its research. Alister Cumming is Professor Emeritus and the former Head of the Centre for Educational Research on Languages and Literacies, University of Toronto, Canada. His article focuses primarily on POA research as an exemplary case of design-based research. Rod Ellis is Research Professor in the School of Education at Curtin University, Australia. He discusses POA in terms of pedagogy, teacher training and research, with both critiques and constructive suggestions. Paul Kei Matsuda is Professor of English and Director of Second Language Writing at Arizona State University, the writed states. He responds to POA from the perspective of an expert researcher and teacher of L2 writing. Charlene Polio is Professor and Associate Chair in the Department of Linguistics ＆ Germanic, Slavic, Asian ＆ African Languages atMichigan State University, the writed states. She conceptualises POA as a useful method to address some issues in pre-service teacher development. Overall, the articles in this section are insightful and reader-friendly. They are not only useful for the development of POA in particular, but may also be valuable to a broad range of researchers as they touch upon pertaining issues, as well as emerging topics, in the field of applied linguistics. We therefore find it necessary to make them accessible to a wide readership.
