Full Description
Society and the Language Classroom provides a new perspective on classroom research. Through a series of case studies, it examines the ways that learners and teachers behave in English language classrooms in different parts of the world, including Australia, South Africa, Indonesia, Japan, Kenya, China and Pakistan, and at primary, secondary and tertiary level. Thought-provoking issues emerging from the case studies include the possibility that: - learners' expectations of what behaviour is appropriate in the classroom may thwart teachers' attempts to bring about change; - innovation may have unpredictable consequences unless careful study of classroom behaviour has been carried out. This approach to the interpretation of classroom behaviour has important implications, particularly for teachers, teacher educators and curriculum planners.
Contents
1 Autonomy and ideology in the English language classroom; 2 Safe-talk: collusion in apartheid education; 3 English language education in Japan; 4 Shadow puppets and language lessons: Interpreting classroom behaviour in its cultural context; 5 Large and small class cultures in Egyptian university classrooms: a cultural justification for curriculum change; 6 Learner resistance to innovation in classroom methodology; 7 The effect of institutional and national cultures on examinations: the university in Kenya; 8 Through language to learning: preparing overseas students for study in western universities; 9 Cultures of Learning: Language Classrooms in China; 10 Social and pedagogic pressures in the language classroom: the role of socialisation
