Teaching styles of Malaysian ESL instructors: an investigation into current practices and implications to English Language Teaching (ELT)
Research studies (Felder and Silverman, 1988; Lawrence, 1993; Oxford, Ehrman and Lavine, 1991; Schmeck, 1988) have pointed out the problems associated with serious mismatches always possible for the teaching styles of teachers to match that of students, considering that in a class there are stude...
| Main Authors: | , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Pusat Pengajian Bahasa dan Linguistik, FSSK, UKM
2005
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| Online Access: | http://journalarticle.ukm.my/3118/ http://journalarticle.ukm.my/3118/ http://journalarticle.ukm.my/3118/1/1.pdf |
| Summary: | Research studies (Felder and Silverman, 1988; Lawrence, 1993; Oxford, Ehrman and Lavine,
1991; Schmeck, 1988) have pointed out the problems associated with serious mismatches always
possible for the teaching styles of teachers to match that of students, considering that in a class
there are students with a variety of learning styles. However, it is crucial for ESL (English as
Second Language) teachers to be aware of the students' different learning styles and to adapt
their teaching styles accordingly (Kinsella, 1995; Kinsella and Sherak, 1998; Thang, 2003). In
addition, it is crucial for ESL teachers to possess knowledge of current theories and thinking in
ESL teaching and learning and to help students inculcate strategies and processes for effective
and autonomous language learning (Oxford, 1990; Oxford and Ehrman, 1995; Rossi-Le, 1995).
This study is undertaken on a group of ESL instructors teaching English for Specific Purposes
(ESP) courses in a public university in Malaysia to find out (1) to what extent ESL instructors
apply current theories and thinking on ESL teaching and (2) to what extent they consider the
learning styles of their students in their teaching and help their students to be aware of the
appropriate language learning strategies and processes for autonomous language learning. A
questionnaire was used to collect data for the study and the results were analyzed quantitatively.
Pedagogical implications of the findings would also be discussed. |
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