In this paper, we argue that second language (L2) reading research, which has been informed by studies involving first language (L1) alphabetic English reading, may be less relevant to L2 readers with non-alphabetic reading backgrounds, such as Chinese readers with an L1 logographic (Chinese character) learning history. We provide both…

Awareness of structures may be conscious or unconscious in the expert user of a language: this paper contends that insufficient conscious awareness of a language structure in teachers of English may impair the teaching and learning of that structure, even when considerable classroom time is invested in it. Phrasal verbs are extensively covered in…

Reviews the nature of processing instruction (PI) and the research that has been conducted on it since 1993. Concludes that Batstone's (2002a) analysis and critique of PI is unfounded and that PI captures his given-to-new principle via the feedback learners get during instruction. (Author/VWL)

Argues that young Danes are changing the notion of standard Danish. Data gathered in the Danish town of Naestved indicated standard Danish is moving in the direction of low Copenhagen speech. Suggests that young Danes operate with two standards when it comes to language: one for school where excellence is perceived in terms of superiority; and one…

Emphasizes the goal-directedness of activity in relation to the intentionality of those involved, both individually and collectively, and with regard to sociohistorical and sociocultural contexts. Adapts and applies previous research to investigate the retention of new second language vocabulary. The study was carried out in a third semester…

Discusses the question of what is critical in critical language awareness by drawing on Hans Georg Gadamer's development of the dialectic of experience, historically effected consciousness, and the dialectic of question and answer. The openness found to characterize these three events initiates the space of distance by which the critical instance…

Argues the need to develop students' and their teachers critical awareness of literature as a discipline, training its subjects in ways of reading, writing and talking about their own experiences and the worlds they inhabit in terms that may be detrimental to their own best interests. (Author/VWL)

Describes the workings of one cognitive model for the development of literary knowledge. The model derives from current discussions of the role of conscious processes in language learning. (Author/VWL)

Demonstrates the need for a more democratic and pluralist model of reader that may take into account cultural and linguistic differences. Shows why interpretations produced by student readers may be considered as valid as those of critics or teachers if the students ground their response on an explicit account of the language patterning.…

Examines the characteristics of the teaching and learning of English as a Foreign Language (EFL) in secondary schools. Seeks to define language awareness and its role in the context of EFL. Discusses what literature can offer to enhance language awareness. Offers examples of tasks that identify and illustrate aspects of language awareness in a…

Presents a case in point to illustrate the use of subject-related artistic manifestations as an effective strategy to stimulate critical reading in English-as-a-Foreign-Language students of English literature. Suggests a step-by-step procedure that enables students to appropriate a poem without the usual over-deference toward second language in…

Discusses key issues of late modern society that help make a case for critical awareness of discourse: the relationship between discourse, knowledge, and social change in the information or knowledge-based society; the "textually-mediated" nature of contemporary social life; the relationship between discourse and social difference; the…

Reviews the Initial Teacher Training National Curriculum for Primary English, which specifies what students who are intending to become primary school teachers must be taught about the English language. It also discusses two other key policy texts: the "National Curriculum for English" for primary school pupils, and the "National Literacy…

Examines key principles of critical language awareness with reference to a class on critical reading that was taught to advanced foreign language learners. Argues that critical language awareness needs to be located within critical pedagogy, and that critical pedagogy is conceptualized around three major principles: teaching as emancipatory,…

Discusses the use of student journals as a means of assessing the intellectual journey taken by students through a postgraduate course in critical language awareness. Shows how students construct their multiple identities in their journals and how these identities are transformed or conserved as they enter a new discourse community. (Author/VWL)