Crossing Boundaries In Researching Understanding And Improving Language Education

This volume brings together original papers from language education scholars from around the world to explore, exemplify, and discuss the multiplicity of boundary crossing in language education. It emphasizes the potential of boundary crossing for expansive learning, and aims to generate new insights, through boundary crossing, into the complexity of language education and approaches to innovative practices. This volume also underscores the important role of expert boundary crossers. In particular, it aims to honor G. Richard Tucker, Paul Mellon University Professor Emeritus of Applied Linguistics at Carnegie Mellon University, celebrating his distinguished scholarship on language education and paying tribute to the inspiration and mentorship he has given to the contributors of this volume to cross boundaries academically and professionally. This volume is organized into four sections, namely, language learning and development; teachers and instructional processes; program innovation, implementation, and evaluation; and language-in-education policy and planning. These sections or themes, which are necessarily cross-cutting, also represent the major areas of scholarship where Prof. Tucker has made distinguished contributions for over half a century.

This title presents new research on teaching reading in a second language. Controversy abounds across many aspects of second language reading instruction despite much research on the subject. This volume attempts to bring together the competing perspectives on second language reading research and instruction to tackle these questions: should second language reading instruction be comprehension-oriented, or should it be language-oriented? What types of knowledge and skills are necessary for improving reading comprehension? What elements of language can be learned through reading? Is it possible to integrate grammar training into comprehension training, and if so, how may that be achieved in the classroom?By crossing the boundaries between diverse conceptual and pedagogical practice this volume appeals to second language reading researchers, teachers, curriculum developers, materials writers, and graduate students of second language education interested in reading.

The book contains a selection of papers reflecting cutting-edge developments in the field of learning and teaching second and foreign languages. The contributions are devoted to such issues as classroom-oriented research, sociocultural aspects of language acquisition, individual differences in language learning, teacher development, new strands in second language acquisition research as well as methodological considerations. Because of its scope, the diversity of topics covered and the adoption of various theoretical perspectives, the volume is of interest not only to theorists and researchers but also to methodologists and practitioners, and can be used in courses for graduate students.

Boundary work studies examine how boundaries of knowledge are formed, maintained, broken down and reconfigured. This text investigates the claims, activities and institutional structures that define and legitimate interdisciplinary practices.

There is an increasing proliferation of service-learning courses in colleges and universities in the U.S. and internationally, and research in the field has seen significant growth in diverse geographic areas in the past decade. Membership organizations now exist to convene scholars and practitioners across the globe. Chapters in this volume are based on presentations given at the 2010 annual conference of the International Association for Research on Service Learning and Community Engagement held in Indianapolis, IN. The conference theme “International Perspectives: Crossing Boundaries through Research” was chosen to highlight ways in which research crosses all kinds of boundaries: disciplinary boundaries, cultural boundaries, and national boundaries. Although service-learning is valued as an active learning strategy across the globe, little is known about the ways that service-learning is similar or different in varied contexts. Understanding service-learning and community engagement from cross-cultural and crossdisciplinary perspectives will improve both research and practice. Together, these chapters represent the diversity, complexity, and creativity evident by scholars and practitioners in this field of study.

In an increasingly interconnected world, where distances dwindle and cultures interweave, the role of communication gains renewed significance. Language, our primary form of expression and comprehension, acts both as a border and a bridge for ideas, knowledge, and experiences. Amidst this complex linguistic interplay, this volume finds its purpose. Chapters herein delve into communication surpassing geographic and linguistic boundaries. As language professionals, educators, and researchers, we navigate the challenges of this landscape where languages blend and merge. These chapters analyse and inspire queries that arise whenever linguistic borders are crossed. From exploring the functions of intercomprehension to examining the impact of digital tools on borderless language education, each chapter reveals a facet of the theme. Topics span language methodologies, language acquisition, linguistic landscapes, and the growing importance of technology in teaching, to name but a few. Readers are invited to join us in exploring how communication shapes and is shaped by diverse linguistic environments. Together, we illuminate the threads that determine global interaction, delivering insight into the functioning of language in our interconnected world.

Learning English and Chinese is becoming increasingly important to the prospects of young people. This book compares English as a Foreign Language teaching in Taiwan with Chinese as a Foreign Language education in England in order to highlight how classroom activities are embedded within multiple settings, including ethnic or other social group cultures, family and community resources and school visions or goals. The book illustrates how in Taiwan different ethnic groups recognise, access and value English language learning to varying extents. Its findings illuminate why some ethnic groups are highly motivated to learn English and are able to gain privileged economic positions in the job market. In England, access to Chinese is marked by social class, and the book argues that this could augment an ‘educational apartheid’ that already exists in language teaching in secondary schools, thereby exacerbating existing inequality.

Ray Bradbury's Fahrenheit 451 depicts a dystopian society where technology, particularly in the form of mass media and censorship, plays a central role in controlling and manipulating the populace. However, the novel also explores the paradoxical relationship between technology and human connection, highlighting both its potential for liberation and its capacity for oppression. This research paper aims to analyze the multifaceted portrayal of technology in Fahrenheit 451, examining its role in fostering isolation and conformity while also exploring its subversive potential as a tool for resistance and introspection. Through a close reading of the novel's themes, characters, and narrative structure, this paper elucidates Bradbury's nuanced commentary on the complex interplay between technology, knowledge, and freedom.