A recent book bio:
Tim Murphey (mitsmail1@gmail.com) PhD Université de Neuchatel, Switzerland, TESOL’s Professional Development in Language Education series editor, co-author with Zoltan Dörnyei of Group Dynamics in the Language Classroom (CUP), author of Music and Song (OUP), researches Vygotskian socio cultural theory (SCT) with transdisciplinary emphasis on community, play, and music at Kanda University, Japan. His most recent books are Teaching in Pursuit of Wow! (Abax 2012) and Meaningful Action – Earl Stevick’s Influence on Language Teaching (CUP 2013), co-edited with Jane Arnold. He also has a critical novel on the Japanese entrance exam system in Italian, Japanese, and English, The Tale that Wags (Perceptia 2010). He has about 50 short teaching presentation videos available on YouTube, just search “Tim Murphey Tips”. You can browse and download his articles freely at http://kandaeli.academia.edu/TimMurphey He has given plenary presentations in over 20 countries. Phone: 541-263-2956 Address: Tim Murphey River Quest Horse Adventures 78365 Caudle Lane Lostine, OR 97857 USA
Innovation in Language Learning and Teaching; The case of Japan. , 2019
This chapter is a very personal and subjective overview of some potentially harmful aspects of s... more This chapter is a very personal and subjective overview of some potentially harmful aspects of society and education in Japan. Social psychology has warned us for many years about the danger of increasing isolation and individualization (III) along with reactive affiliations (e.g. Nazism) just for the sake of belonging to something. Fromm wrote in his 1941 book Escape from Freedom, “to feel completely alone and isolated leads to mental disintegration just as physical starvation leads to death” (p. 17). More recently, biology (Wilson, 1975/2000) and neuroscience (Lieberman, 2013; Cosolino, 2013; Sapolsky, 2018) have stressed and exposed our social needs. Hari’s recent book Lost Connections (2018) has exposed the billion-dollar antidepressant industry as mostly unnecessary when we learn how to socially reconnect with others and our core values. And most recently the UK has created a minister for loneliness position in their government (BBC 2018) to fight the ill effects of III. Schools it would seem are places where students can go to become more social, but while we teach students in groups we evaluate and score them individually and the amount of social interactions in many classrooms does not often add to a sense of school belonging (Dornyei & Murphey, 2003; Murphey et al. 2010). This chapter looks at ways to innovate and activate “the collaborative social” in general and during assessments in particular so that students can become more sociallyadept at bonding and belonging with others. It is unapologetically a blend of several articles and book chapters beginning 30 years ago with my student-made tests (Murphey 1989). Below I also reflectively note autobiographically seven sources of innovative practices that I fortunately encountered that I think will tell us how to seed many future innovations in education in Japan. This is followed by three waves of activity around innovating testing.
While Inging SPAAFF may sound pretty strange to you (even foreign and un-fluent) as you begin thi... more While Inging SPAAFF may sound pretty strange to you (even foreign and un-fluent) as you begin this article, I hope to show you that it offers familiar concepts that can inform us about fluencing. I also call upon your good will and tolerance to allow my gerundizing and acronymizing of many conventional nouns. The 'inging' of nouns helps us remember that these are indeed developmental processes and not things. Talking about them as simple nouns sometimes clouds over the 'continual becoming' that they go through in our minds. We continually add accumulated meanings to words from our contexts like an ever-upgrading corpus database. Dweck (2000) has found that some people have an entity theory (we are good or bad learners), in contrast to incremental theories (we can try and learn and change continually, i.e. effort makes us different). Entity theories often box us into a static way of looking at others and ourselves (e.g. 'I'm just a test score') rather than seeing people as continually developing in changing worlds. Our daily language usage also entifies our world to a great extent when we speak of processes as nouns. (Some call this nominalization, ironically using a noun to entify the process of nominalizing.) While I seek to switch to a more inging way of expressing myself, I hope you will allow, and notice, my inconsistencies (inconsistencing) at times. Vygosky (1962/1934) hinted at accumulated fluencing when he wrote of how words gather meanings incrementally the more we use and encounter them and how minds are structured from the tools (words, grammar, morphology, metaphors, etc.) we use. Some more recent research has reported how hearing action sentences activated the corresponding motor
If you have any enquiries regarding this discount order form please do not hesitate to email us: ... more If you have any enquiries regarding this discount order form please do not hesitate to email us: info@multilingual-matters.com With a decidedly positive outlook on applied linguistics stemming from positive psychology, this volume piques the interest of teachers and researchers alike by shedding light on language learning and empowerment, happiness, resilience, melody, stress reduction and enjoyment as well as success. No wonder that this book is a joy to read! Kata Csizér, Eötvös Loránd University, Hungary This volume offers a refreshing perspective on the process of learning and teaching new languages, highlighting the diverse ways in which learners and teachers draw on the many positive aspects of the human condition in their development as users of a non-native language. Without understating the difficulties that trouble language learning, this book provides a well-grounded basis for future studies using theoretical perspectives from positive psychology, and inspires teaching practices that recognize the human potential to thrive and grow. Kimberley A. Noels, University of Alberta, Canada Second language learning is a new area for Positive Psychology and these authors have found that it is a surprising and remarkable aide. Martin Seligman, Director of the Penn Positive Psychology Center, University of Pennsylvania, USA and author of Flourish: A New Understanding of Happiness and Well-Being-and How To Achieve Them This book is about the dynamics of happiness in language learning, the ripples that interact with other ripples, not necessarily in unison, but providing a goal and resources for processes of development. The contributions aim to show the positive sides of language teaching and learning without ignoring or denying the negative ones. They strive to reach a balance that allows for human agency to frame existences and hopes. The authors aim to move beyond the 'Don't worry, be happy' level by using carefully defined concepts and rigorous methodology. Kees de Bot, University of Groningen, Netherlands This book explores theories in positive psychology and their implications for language teaching, learning and communication. Chapters examine the characteristics of individuals, contexts and relationships that facilitate learning and present several new teaching ideas to develop and support them.
This is my 1978 Master's Thesis from the University of Florida dealing with Situationally Motivat... more This is my 1978 Master's Thesis from the University of Florida dealing with Situationally Motivated Teacher Produced Texts (SMTPTs). The idea being that teachers who know their students and context well very often can produce more relevant texts and materials than a publisher who is producing things for the masses. The thesis deals with how they can be produced and what their advantages and disadvantages are citing a lot of work from Earl Stevick.
This work explores the importance of meaningful action for language teaching and learning, paying... more This work explores the importance of meaningful action for language teaching and learning, paying tribute to the enduring influence of Earl Stevick. With contributions from 19 ELT authors and influential academics, Meaningful Action draws upon and acknowledges the huge influence of Earl Stevick on language teaching. Stevick's work on 'meaningful action' explored how learners can engage with activities that appeal to sensory and cognitive processes, ensuring that meaning is constructed by the learner's internal characteristics, and by their relationship with other learners and the teacher. This edited volume focuses on meaningful action in three domains: learner internal factors and relationships between the people involved in the learning process; classroom activity; and diverse frameworks supporting language learning. (Edited by Jane Arnold and Tim Murphey)
Brief Review of the Book: By Julie Peters Akey (on Amazon)
Tim Murphey offers a ton of non-tra... more Brief Review of the Book: By Julie Peters Akey (on Amazon)
Tim Murphey offers a ton of non-traditional and creative ways for using music in the ESL classroom in this book. He divides the book into types of activity and indicates language level for each activity. Many of the ideas in this book could be used in the foreign language classroom, as well. I think this book should be in the personal library of any language teacher who wants to add some creativity and fun into his/her language class.
"The Tale that Wags is an engaging tale that lays bare the fundamental unfairness of the universi... more "The Tale that Wags is an engaging tale that lays bare the fundamental unfairness of the university entrance examination system in Japan. Much more than that, it takes on broader issues within the Japanese educational system: lack of gender equity, the backwardness of yakudoku, the place of foreigners in the Japanese educational system, and the passive acceptance of the system by Japanese students, their parents, and most teachers. But this is not just a book that complains. It also offers solutions by showing: the importance of using test data to make better examinations through item analysis; the benefits of providing listening tests on the English tests; the need for increasing assessment literacy among Japanese high school and university teachers; the value of using peer modeling in language teaching; and even the pallative benefits of the Japanese ofuro. Any Japanese high school or university teacher, or member of the general public, who wants to better understand the true nature of Japanese public education and the entrance examination system must read this entertaining book." JD Brown, Professor of Second language Studies, University of Hawaii at Manoa "A fascinating read!" H.Douglas Brown, San Francisco State University
Teacher's resources can often be quite mechanistic - descriptions of a field or of classroom proc... more Teacher's resources can often be quite mechanistic - descriptions of a field or of classroom processes and the like. But sometimes it's good to draw back and consider the big picture and ask the big questions. In the essays in Teaching in Pursuit of Wow!, Tim Murphey does this again and again. In terms of interaction, in terms of identity, how do we get students to plug in to the wow! of learning? If your reaction is at all like mine, you'll get a charge from reading through these explorations and will perhaps even approach the learning process with altered eyes - Hugh Graham-Marr (editor)
The study of 'group dynamics' is a vibrant academic field, overlapping diverse disciplines. It is... more The study of 'group dynamics' is a vibrant academic field, overlapping diverse disciplines. It is also highly relevant to language education because the success of classroom learning is very much dependent on how students relate to each other, what the classroom climate is like, what roles the teacher and the learners play and, more generally, how well students can co-operate and communicate with each other. This innovative book addresses these issues and offers practical advice on how to manage language learner groups in a way that they develop into cohesive and productive teams.
A Pop Song Register: The Motherese of Adolescents as Affective Foreigner Talk should try to allow... more A Pop Song Register: The Motherese of Adolescents as Affective Foreigner Talk should try to allow learners to use their native language.
Abstract: A discussion of the use of music activities in teaching English as a second language de... more Abstract: A discussion of the use of music activities in teaching English as a second language describes experiences with two different teaching environments and examines the reasons for the success of the approach. In one program, children aged 7 to 17 in an international summer camp learned English through songs and other music-related activities. The younger children used actions with songs, and the older children worked on music projects that related to their musical and social interests. The second program was ...
Innovation in Language Learning and Teaching; The case of Japan. , 2019
This chapter is a very personal and subjective overview of some potentially harmful aspects of s... more This chapter is a very personal and subjective overview of some potentially harmful aspects of society and education in Japan. Social psychology has warned us for many years about the danger of increasing isolation and individualization (III) along with reactive affiliations (e.g. Nazism) just for the sake of belonging to something. Fromm wrote in his 1941 book Escape from Freedom, “to feel completely alone and isolated leads to mental disintegration just as physical starvation leads to death” (p. 17). More recently, biology (Wilson, 1975/2000) and neuroscience (Lieberman, 2013; Cosolino, 2013; Sapolsky, 2018) have stressed and exposed our social needs. Hari’s recent book Lost Connections (2018) has exposed the billion-dollar antidepressant industry as mostly unnecessary when we learn how to socially reconnect with others and our core values. And most recently the UK has created a minister for loneliness position in their government (BBC 2018) to fight the ill effects of III. Schools it would seem are places where students can go to become more social, but while we teach students in groups we evaluate and score them individually and the amount of social interactions in many classrooms does not often add to a sense of school belonging (Dornyei & Murphey, 2003; Murphey et al. 2010). This chapter looks at ways to innovate and activate “the collaborative social” in general and during assessments in particular so that students can become more sociallyadept at bonding and belonging with others. It is unapologetically a blend of several articles and book chapters beginning 30 years ago with my student-made tests (Murphey 1989). Below I also reflectively note autobiographically seven sources of innovative practices that I fortunately encountered that I think will tell us how to seed many future innovations in education in Japan. This is followed by three waves of activity around innovating testing.
While Inging SPAAFF may sound pretty strange to you (even foreign and un-fluent) as you begin thi... more While Inging SPAAFF may sound pretty strange to you (even foreign and un-fluent) as you begin this article, I hope to show you that it offers familiar concepts that can inform us about fluencing. I also call upon your good will and tolerance to allow my gerundizing and acronymizing of many conventional nouns. The 'inging' of nouns helps us remember that these are indeed developmental processes and not things. Talking about them as simple nouns sometimes clouds over the 'continual becoming' that they go through in our minds. We continually add accumulated meanings to words from our contexts like an ever-upgrading corpus database. Dweck (2000) has found that some people have an entity theory (we are good or bad learners), in contrast to incremental theories (we can try and learn and change continually, i.e. effort makes us different). Entity theories often box us into a static way of looking at others and ourselves (e.g. 'I'm just a test score') rather than seeing people as continually developing in changing worlds. Our daily language usage also entifies our world to a great extent when we speak of processes as nouns. (Some call this nominalization, ironically using a noun to entify the process of nominalizing.) While I seek to switch to a more inging way of expressing myself, I hope you will allow, and notice, my inconsistencies (inconsistencing) at times. Vygosky (1962/1934) hinted at accumulated fluencing when he wrote of how words gather meanings incrementally the more we use and encounter them and how minds are structured from the tools (words, grammar, morphology, metaphors, etc.) we use. Some more recent research has reported how hearing action sentences activated the corresponding motor
If you have any enquiries regarding this discount order form please do not hesitate to email us: ... more If you have any enquiries regarding this discount order form please do not hesitate to email us: info@multilingual-matters.com With a decidedly positive outlook on applied linguistics stemming from positive psychology, this volume piques the interest of teachers and researchers alike by shedding light on language learning and empowerment, happiness, resilience, melody, stress reduction and enjoyment as well as success. No wonder that this book is a joy to read! Kata Csizér, Eötvös Loránd University, Hungary This volume offers a refreshing perspective on the process of learning and teaching new languages, highlighting the diverse ways in which learners and teachers draw on the many positive aspects of the human condition in their development as users of a non-native language. Without understating the difficulties that trouble language learning, this book provides a well-grounded basis for future studies using theoretical perspectives from positive psychology, and inspires teaching practices that recognize the human potential to thrive and grow. Kimberley A. Noels, University of Alberta, Canada Second language learning is a new area for Positive Psychology and these authors have found that it is a surprising and remarkable aide. Martin Seligman, Director of the Penn Positive Psychology Center, University of Pennsylvania, USA and author of Flourish: A New Understanding of Happiness and Well-Being-and How To Achieve Them This book is about the dynamics of happiness in language learning, the ripples that interact with other ripples, not necessarily in unison, but providing a goal and resources for processes of development. The contributions aim to show the positive sides of language teaching and learning without ignoring or denying the negative ones. They strive to reach a balance that allows for human agency to frame existences and hopes. The authors aim to move beyond the 'Don't worry, be happy' level by using carefully defined concepts and rigorous methodology. Kees de Bot, University of Groningen, Netherlands This book explores theories in positive psychology and their implications for language teaching, learning and communication. Chapters examine the characteristics of individuals, contexts and relationships that facilitate learning and present several new teaching ideas to develop and support them.
This is my 1978 Master's Thesis from the University of Florida dealing with Situationally Motivat... more This is my 1978 Master's Thesis from the University of Florida dealing with Situationally Motivated Teacher Produced Texts (SMTPTs). The idea being that teachers who know their students and context well very often can produce more relevant texts and materials than a publisher who is producing things for the masses. The thesis deals with how they can be produced and what their advantages and disadvantages are citing a lot of work from Earl Stevick.
This work explores the importance of meaningful action for language teaching and learning, paying... more This work explores the importance of meaningful action for language teaching and learning, paying tribute to the enduring influence of Earl Stevick. With contributions from 19 ELT authors and influential academics, Meaningful Action draws upon and acknowledges the huge influence of Earl Stevick on language teaching. Stevick's work on 'meaningful action' explored how learners can engage with activities that appeal to sensory and cognitive processes, ensuring that meaning is constructed by the learner's internal characteristics, and by their relationship with other learners and the teacher. This edited volume focuses on meaningful action in three domains: learner internal factors and relationships between the people involved in the learning process; classroom activity; and diverse frameworks supporting language learning. (Edited by Jane Arnold and Tim Murphey)
Brief Review of the Book: By Julie Peters Akey (on Amazon)
Tim Murphey offers a ton of non-tra... more Brief Review of the Book: By Julie Peters Akey (on Amazon)
Tim Murphey offers a ton of non-traditional and creative ways for using music in the ESL classroom in this book. He divides the book into types of activity and indicates language level for each activity. Many of the ideas in this book could be used in the foreign language classroom, as well. I think this book should be in the personal library of any language teacher who wants to add some creativity and fun into his/her language class.
"The Tale that Wags is an engaging tale that lays bare the fundamental unfairness of the universi... more "The Tale that Wags is an engaging tale that lays bare the fundamental unfairness of the university entrance examination system in Japan. Much more than that, it takes on broader issues within the Japanese educational system: lack of gender equity, the backwardness of yakudoku, the place of foreigners in the Japanese educational system, and the passive acceptance of the system by Japanese students, their parents, and most teachers. But this is not just a book that complains. It also offers solutions by showing: the importance of using test data to make better examinations through item analysis; the benefits of providing listening tests on the English tests; the need for increasing assessment literacy among Japanese high school and university teachers; the value of using peer modeling in language teaching; and even the pallative benefits of the Japanese ofuro. Any Japanese high school or university teacher, or member of the general public, who wants to better understand the true nature of Japanese public education and the entrance examination system must read this entertaining book." JD Brown, Professor of Second language Studies, University of Hawaii at Manoa "A fascinating read!" H.Douglas Brown, San Francisco State University
Teacher's resources can often be quite mechanistic - descriptions of a field or of classroom proc... more Teacher's resources can often be quite mechanistic - descriptions of a field or of classroom processes and the like. But sometimes it's good to draw back and consider the big picture and ask the big questions. In the essays in Teaching in Pursuit of Wow!, Tim Murphey does this again and again. In terms of interaction, in terms of identity, how do we get students to plug in to the wow! of learning? If your reaction is at all like mine, you'll get a charge from reading through these explorations and will perhaps even approach the learning process with altered eyes - Hugh Graham-Marr (editor)
The study of 'group dynamics' is a vibrant academic field, overlapping diverse disciplines. It is... more The study of 'group dynamics' is a vibrant academic field, overlapping diverse disciplines. It is also highly relevant to language education because the success of classroom learning is very much dependent on how students relate to each other, what the classroom climate is like, what roles the teacher and the learners play and, more generally, how well students can co-operate and communicate with each other. This innovative book addresses these issues and offers practical advice on how to manage language learner groups in a way that they develop into cohesive and productive teams.
A Pop Song Register: The Motherese of Adolescents as Affective Foreigner Talk should try to allow... more A Pop Song Register: The Motherese of Adolescents as Affective Foreigner Talk should try to allow learners to use their native language.
Abstract: A discussion of the use of music activities in teaching English as a second language de... more Abstract: A discussion of the use of music activities in teaching English as a second language describes experiences with two different teaching environments and examines the reasons for the success of the approach. In one program, children aged 7 to 17 in an international summer camp learned English through songs and other music-related activities. The younger children used actions with songs, and the older children worked on music projects that related to their musical and social interests. The second program was ...
The Twelve Days of Christmas was always a favourite of mine as a kind because it was easy and eas... more The Twelve Days of Christmas was always a favourite of mine as a kind because it was easy and easy to repeat, and the melody would ring in my head for hours, even if the words were nonsensical. I regretted that the song didn't contain more useful langue for my students, so I wrote other words to the melody. I wanted the lines to suggest ways that students could put themselves into a better emotional state. I also wanted them to be3 able to act out, in a TPR sort of way, what was being suggested so that they could memorise it more easily.
Murphey, T. The top 40 for teachers The Language Teacher 5:3-6 (Japanese Association of Language... more Murphey, T. The top 40 for teachers The Language Teacher 5:3-6 (Japanese Association of Language Teachers) May 1989Why aren't songs and music used more extensively in language classrooms? One reason is the general lack of literature, especially articles that give teachers classroom techniques. The only technique that is well known and consistently used is the cloze passage and it is, for that reason, overused. Also many articles on teaching songs are, in fact, guides for teaching a particular song. An article titled'How I Teach Song X" is helpful as far as it goes, but it doesn't give teachers much help in using other songs.
Murphey and Alber (1985) postulated a pop song (PS) register and described it as the "motherese o... more Murphey and Alber (1985) postulated a pop song (PS) register and described it as the "motherese of adolescents" and as "affective foreigner talk" because of the simple and affective language. THe PS register was further characterized as a "teddy-bear-in- the-ear" to capture its diskless communicative qualities. More detailed analysis of a larger corpus (Murphey 1989, 1990a) have notw been done which support the earlier description and further show PSs to be repetitive, conversation-like and about half the speed of spoken discourse. This simplicity, teir highly affective dialogic features, and their vague references (ghost discourse), allow listeners to use them in personally associative ways. THese discourse features and the song-stuck-in-my-head phenomenon (discussed below) make them potentially rich learning materials in and out of the classroom.
Studies in Second Language Learning and Teaching, Sep 2014
Much research supports the everyday therapeutic and deeper social neurophysiological influence of... more Much research supports the everyday therapeutic and deeper social neurophysiological influence of singing songs alone and in groups (Austin, 2008; Cozolino, 2013; Sacks, 2007). This study looks at what happens when Japanese students teach short English affirmation songlet-routines to others out of the classroom (clandestine folk music therapy). I investigate 155 student- conducted musical case studies from 7 semester-long classes (18 to 29 students per class) over a 4-year period. The assignments, their in-class training, and their results are introduced, with examples directly from their case studies. Each class published their own booklet of case studies (a class publication, available to readers online for research replication and modeling). Results show that most primary participants enjoyed spreading these positive songlets as they became “well-becoming agents of change” in their own social networks. “Well-becoming” emphasizes an agentive action or activity that creates better well-being in others, an action such as the sharing or teaching of a songlet. The qualitative data reveals a number of types of well-becoming such as social and familial bonding, meaning-making, teaching-rushes, and experiencing embodied cognition. The project also stimulated wider network dissemination of these well-becoming possibilities and pedagogical insights.
Conclusion and implications:
Many songs linguistically, cognitively, and affectively resemble me... more Conclusion and implications:
Many songs linguistically, cognitively, and affectively resemble mentions, inner speech, and cell phone novels. The pause structure encourages echoing and invites listeners to sing and shadow along. The auditory environments for most students under 25, when they can choose and control them, are immersed in music either as BGM (back ground music) or BSM (brain synchronizing music) - and they have more choice and control capabilities than ever before to increase their out of classroom language learning (OOCLL) with acquisition rich and exciting listening. As more young people who have been raised with these “music-everywhere-I-go” possibilities become teachers, we will probably see education catch up with the real world and use music as an intensifier of language learning (BGM) and content (DRUCKENBROD, 2006; MURPHEY, 1987). Many songs, especially when chosen by the students themselves, will drive them to seek and make meaning and learn not only the lyrics but about what the lyrics are pointing to, and about the artists and their different worlds, and the language. Interacting with songs in a foreign language is actually the cheapest form of travel and the safest way to be taken out of our comfort zone.
Therese Burton is a recipient of a two-year research scholarship from the Ministry of Education, ... more Therese Burton is a recipient of a two-year research scholarship from the Ministry of Education, Science and Culture (Japan) studying under the supervision of Tim Murphey of the Department of Foreign Languages at Nanzan University (~1994). One aim of their research project is to develop a program to teach music to elementary school pupils in Australia using Japanese as the medium of instruction. To this end, Burton has been observing music classes at elementary schools in Japan (Nagoya and Sapporo) to collect materials and study classroom discourse. The following is a description of a portion of the project and a pilot study at Faulconbridge Public School (FPS) in New South Wales (NSW), Australia in April 1996.
The content-based classroom. Perspectives on Integrating Language and Content -Book, Jan 1, 1997
(Updated Abstract 2015) This 1997 book chapter on the start and continuation of the Content Based... more (Updated Abstract 2015) This 1997 book chapter on the start and continuation of the Content Based Instruction (CLIL) program at Nanzan University in Japan covers five issues that may apply to any new CBI curriculum program: 1) choosing an appropriate methodology, 2) selecting and orienting teachers, 3) selecting courses, 4) convincing students, staff, and administrators of the value of CBI, and 5) encouraging the continuation of CBI in upper level courses to provide continuity.
When students are learning content through English whose value is beyond English, such as science... more When students are learning content through English whose value is beyond English, such as science, economic, or health information that can help them, or when they are using English to enjoy themselves in other ways that are not just “English learning”(playing games, getting to know people, singing songs, telling jokes, etc.), then these activities are adding value to the use of English and are beyond merely learning a school subject (English) for a grade. In other words when the use of English is in the service of other meaningful goals, we would call that “Value Added English.”.
This short article describes Nanzan University’s (Japan) CBI Workshop Classes for first and secon... more This short article describes Nanzan University’s (Japan) CBI Workshop Classes for first and second year students that began in 1992. The article provides a short history of the program that to my knowledge is still running (as of 2015) and looks at five important issues: (a) choosing an approach and methodology; (b) selecting and orienting teachers; (c) selecting courses; (d) convincing students, staff, and administrators of the value of CBI in upper level courses, and (e) encouraging the continuation of CBI in upper level courses to provide continuity.
Content-based instruction (CBI) has grown in popularity for over 20 years and is increasing in EF... more Content-based instruction (CBI) has grown in popularity for over 20 years and is increasing in EFL environments. The four presenters have coordinated content-based instruction (CBI) programs at universities in Japan and taken turns coordinating one program for a fifteen-year span at Nanzan University from 1992-2007. In this paper, we look at coordinator, teacher, and student views over time, suggesting ways to create and sustain CBI programs, with passionate teachers and tasks that attempt optimal learning experiences (flow).
This light description of life and conversation shows how we can auto-ethnographize ourselves in ... more This light description of life and conversation shows how we can auto-ethnographize ourselves in ways that allow us to grasp the influences on our daily lives and our long term passions.
(Last paragraph) This is actually a meta-interactional structure as students and teachers adjust ... more (Last paragraph) This is actually a meta-interactional structure as students and teachers adjust to each other and try to find out what their different perceptions are of what they all think are the same events. It behooves us to remind ourselves that while there might be a reality, we only have a 'conception' of it. "Nothing is that is not conceived, imagined or perceived, and we are all deceived inside a prison-me" (found on the wall of a WC). Egotism is a cognitive liability, interaction forces one into multiperspectivity and higher cognitive processing.
Citation Murphey, T. (1989). Student-made Tests. Modern English Teacher. Winter 1989/90 v17, #1&2, pp. 28-29, 41
The point is that students are artful creatures, unfolding narratives before our eyes. Together w... more The point is that students are artful creatures, unfolding narratives before our eyes. Together we coproduce the classroom (Allwright, 1984). We can produce things resembling prisons or things resembling cooperative artful narratives. Using students, their choices, and their productions makes teaching much easier, and more interesting. With rapport and continued pacing with respect, we can open the doors to many other worlds of literature
Swiss adolescents are in contact with more than 70 minutes a day of English Language Music (ELM) ... more Swiss adolescents are in contact with more than 70 minutes a day of English Language Music (ELM) in their natural environment [in1984, today (2018 posting date) probably double that]. That's more than eight hours a week of contact time. As EFL teachers, what is the importance of these findings. Teachers are usually very interested in what their students' natural uses for the language are. In fact, that is the point of English for Special Purposes (ESP). ESP is designed to relevant to the needs of the students. (Or perhaps, it was adult students who demanded that teachers be relevant.)
It's as old as Aristotle and as new as your present curiosity. It makes you think and wonder and ... more It's as old as Aristotle and as new as your present curiosity. It makes you think and wonder and doubt and look in strange places. It can't happen in a void and isn't innate. It works best when you are with someone like yourself who happens to voice opinions different than yours. It may be called confusing or interesting, and provoke pensive looks and " I don't know " reactions for a while. It could very well be one of the most fruitful ways to describe the process of learning that has ever been formulated. It's call " sociocognitive conflict. " Its basic thesis is that the most striking experience for a " mind " is to face another mind with another point of view that seems equally true. To be willing to lose one's mental (over) security and be unsure, and then to try to regain the balance of understanding from different points of view are the learning processes that it describes. However, this needs to be done in a relatively unthreatening environment or other behavioral patterns might occur instead of learning. And if you disagree with me or feel confused, you may just be proving the thesis. Please continue. Examples (partially fabricated but realistic) Suzy is four years old and goes to nursery school. She's got two different teachers (job-sharing), lots of friends, and when she comes home she's got two loving parents (I am an adopted uncle that Suzy has allowed to observe her in school because I research education). One of her teachers, Mrs. Johnson, always stands when she teaches Suzy her ABCs and Suzy recites them perfectly. In reading and writing them she has some problems with bs and ds and E sometimes comes out as a 3 but this is normal for kids her age. When Mrs. Johnson tells Suzy " That's an E, like in ELEphant, and it comes after D, " Suzy nods her head immediately. Suzy's other teacher, Miss Hatcher, teaches two days a week and has a slightly different approach. Stooping down beside Suzy, Miss Hatcher says, " I have trouble with Es. " Suzy smiles at her, probably realizing this is a game, but nevertheless willing t play. " Teach me, " says Miss Hatcher. Suzy is confused for a moment, first by the new role she takes in the game, but also by how to teach something she hasn't really learned, only accepted. " That's E, " Suzy points, " one, two, three, … " she counts the arms and she writes 3 and looks at both of them. " Well, that's my problem, " says Miss Hatcher, " which is 3 and which is E and how do I know which is which. " Here, Suzy takes a while and Miss Hatcher shows amazing patience. Finally, Suzy tugs at her teacher's sleeve saying, " See, E becomes M when it falls down [and] 3 when it stands up. " She's drawn live letters rolling across the page and becoming a 3. " That's wonderful, can you teach Billy and Johnny that? " Billy is four, but very big and bossy and decides he doesn't want to talk with a little girl. Johnny is five and knows his alphabet with no problems, but he's never seen an E become an M become a 3. He thinks that's stupid. Nevertheless he takes a cardboard E and begins playing with it, rolling it on the table in front of him from an E through to a 3 until he
The article describes the agentive development of a group of first-year Japanese university stude... more The article describes the agentive development of a group of first-year Japanese university students. They first individually wrote their language learning histories to grasp what they had been through in their junior and senior high school English education. They then analyzed the histories in small groups, discussing what motivated and demotivated each person, what students and teachers might learn from their experiences, and what the Ministry of Education (Monbusho) might do to support their learning more. The small groups wrote reports and sent their findings to the Ministry of Education at the end of the year along with a 3-min YouTube video of the major findings. Their reports concluded that Japanese students endure too much test-focused grammar and lectures in their junior and senior high school education and would prefer to learn more from a more orally interactive curriculum with complementary teaching methods. This agency-inviting process that the students progressed through is similar to Weinstein’s (2006) conception of “learners’ lives as curriculum,” echoing Freire’s (1970) and Dewey’s (1938/1963) participatory and experiential learning and community involvement, which invites and encourages more agency from students. doi: 10.1002/tesj.79 [
Emiko Hirosawa got her MA TESOL degree from Kanda University in March, 2017. Her thesis was entit... more Emiko Hirosawa got her MA TESOL degree from Kanda University in March, 2017. Her thesis was entitled " Making Mistakes Meaningful: Making Meaningful Mistakes. " University language teachers who wish to have their students use English and interact with it in their classes want students to speak freely and not be overly stressed. But as we all know, learning a language requires experiencing potentially stressful interactions when we are not sure of what others may be communicating, and not sure that they are understanding what we are trying to say. If students are overly concerned with not making mistakes they often shut down and stop talking. This is where a bit of amygdala whispering might help: " Calm down, everybody makes mistakes, and we learn from them. They are actually treasures. Just talk a lot and you will learn a lot! " The amygdala is the ancient reptilian part of our brains which tells us to take flight or to fight in dangerous situations. Cozolino (2013, 2016) says that teachers and caretakers must often act as amygdala whisperers to calm people down and assure them that the situation is under control and not dangerous so that they can learn more effectively. When the amygdala is very active, it can actually impede learning. www.jaltcue.org/cuecircular
In this article, we initially focus on how the conceptualization of leadership by Knight (2013a) ... more In this article, we initially focus on how the conceptualization of leadership by Knight (2013a) in his leadership seminars became the basis for choosing a project-based learning (PBL) approach. We then consider how soft assembling can enhance the leadership project activities of student teams and group-work in general classes. Soft assembling refers to the assembling of elements during a process that is likely to be useful in conducting the process and achieving a goal. To be effective in soft assembling, students need to be able to adjust their interactive sensitivities in what Murphey (1990, 1996a, 2013a) refers to as zones of proximal adjusting (ZPAs). We conclude that instruction in soft assembling can facilitate the communications in student teams necessary to do what Knight (2013a) describes as the leadership process; that is, the creating of a vision and the achieving of that vision. Introduction Kanda University of International Studies (KUIS) in Chiba, Japan is a private university with undergraduate students majoring in foreign languages and international communication. The graduates of KUIS pursue careers in a variety of fields. For the fiscal years 2012-2014, the majority of KUIS graduates entered the service and media industries (28%) followed by the trading, wholesale, and retail industries (23%), airline, transportation, and logistics (14%), manufacturing (12%), and the travel and hotel industries (8%). In the light of such career choices, an International Business Career (IBC) major was established in the Department of International Communication. A primary attraction of the IBC major for prospective students is that they can study both business and the English language. With the aim to prepare students in the IBC major for success and professional growth in their internships as students and in their international business careers upon graduation, four English for Business Career courses (EBC 1, 2, 3, 4) and leadership seminars were created (Knight, 2013b).
In this chapter we focus on the importance of group s in the language learning process and consid... more In this chapter we focus on the importance of group s in the language learning process and consider how several of the constructs addressed in other chapters of the book function together in group contexts. The general tendency within research in both education psychology and second language education has been to regard the individual as the principal unit of investigation, but here we hope to make the case for a complementary recognition of the role of groups in understanding behaviour and learning. In order to do this we first consider some of the literature relating to the concept of group dynamics. In this chapter we take an intentionally broad view of this concept, which we use as an umbrella term to include, what have been called in the literature, community practices, cooperative practices, and collaborative practices. We then support this discussion of the literature by presenting a research study that we believe offers a pedagogically accessible framework for both teachers and researchers to understand language learning in groups.
While the use of tasks in assessing L2 learners' speaking ability has gained more attention and i... more While the use of tasks in assessing L2 learners' speaking ability has gained more attention and interest among educators, it is still not clear how those tasks influence their speech performance. In our study, we examined the effect of L2 speaking test-tasks on learners' speech performance using a series of statistical analyses. We administered two group oral, four semi-direct, and two interview tasks to 14 L2 learners of varying proficiency and examined their speech performance using the rating scores. In this paper, we report our findings with a specific focus on the extent to which the tasks differ in assessing the participants' speaking ability and if and how the two interview tasks, often employed for high-stakes decision making, differ from each other and against other test-task types we administered. In the correlational analyses, convergent as well as discriminant aspects were revealed of the test tasks and their sub-tests employed in this study. A pedagogical implication of such findings is discussed in the conclusion. Part I entails a Large View Introduction to Task-Based Testing Over the last few years from a wide range of books thanks to our grant (see Appendix 1).
As researchers, we all have our own particular fields of specialization and yet we believe that w... more As researchers, we all have our own particular fields of specialization and yet we believe that we have been able to collaborate and expand our own learning through attempting things we have never done before and reaping the benefits of the “as yet unimagined.” By asking our students and colleagues Appreciative Inquiry type questions (although we certainly did not take them through the whole theoretical practices), we opened the door to their expansive learning and creativity so that they might realize things of value that we may not be giving enough attention. We were able to tap into what Vygosky referred to as the intermental resources of social mediation (SCT) at the large scale of a socially intelligent dynamic system (SINDYS, Murphey, 2013), and thus expand our relatedness, competence, and autonomy (SDT), and discover a type of positivity resonance (Fredrickson, 2013) with our students. We are looking forward to expanding even more with our appreciative inquiries. This article tries to look at Appreciative Inquiry mainly through the lens of Self Determination Theory and Socio Cultural Theory,
This exploratory action research (Smith, 2015) describes a new conception of testing in which stu... more This exploratory action research (Smith, 2015) describes a new conception of testing in which students are directed to evaluate themselves (give themselves grades) at two moments in time: the first after a certain amount of time filling in test answers that they can recall alone; and the second after asking others in the class for mediating help during a socially interactive time period. The first grade represents their own individual efforts, without utilizing their connections in the class. The second grade represents a situated person in a community with their connections in the class. Enacting self-evaluations and particularly the second stage of social testing seems to provoke potentials for expansive learning that may not normally emerge in traditional testing: potentials for self-appropriation of self-evaluation, agency, helpfulness, altruism, social learning, social construction, and the pedagogical learning of scaffolding and implicit mediation rather than explicit mediation (Nicholas, 2014a). I do not propose that these tests are valid for assessing each individual's competence (not that I believe many others are), but that these exploratory procedures enlighten students to different aspects of learning and evaluation, and help teachers to examine different aspects of classroom dynamics and learning potentials. I see these tests as a generative way of continuing student learning. While I do propose a way to test such tests more rigorously following conventional assessment guidelines, I am more concerned here with the expansive learning potentials provoked by the procedure and the parallels that seem to exist with dynamic assessment and socio-cultural theory, particularly the use of the zone of proximal development (ZPD) and the zone of proximal adjustment (ZPA). This social testing attempts to blend learning and assessment, which is an essential trait of dynamic assessment, and to blend theory with practice in praxis as described by Lantolf and Poehner (2014).
In this eight chapter book, Maria de Guerro has produced a comprehensive coverage of research and... more In this eight chapter book, Maria de Guerro has produced a comprehensive coverage of research and theory concerning Vygotskian theorized inner speech in general and more particularly inner speech in a second language, this being the main purpose of the book. She has gathered together a variety of research and perspectives that valuably set the stage for more concerted efforts in the future. Her subtitle " Thinking Words in a Second Language " takes us to the heart of the matter of how, in a second language, we think with words and use words to further our thinking. The first two chapters set the stage for the latter six which are mainly about L2 inner speech. The first chapter provides the in-depth background for understanding inner speech research historically and theoretically. The second chapter looks at what we know about inner speech in the L1, research that has been somewhat scattered across several domains. In chapter one, we find the crucial concepts of language of thought and language for thought that evoke the power that inner speech has to not only display and recall ideation but also to promote the processing of partially acquired language and ideas which stimulate internalization of social tools, i.e. language, pragmatic use, and concepts. Guerrero also usefully defines and limits what inner speech is as well as the plethora of other related terms (verbal thought, self-talk, mental rehearsal, private speech, etc.) In Chapter 2 she divides up the perspectives of inner speech in the L1 into sociocultural (principally the Russian theorists and researchers) and cognitive approaches (more western). She then usefully cites more recent research of brain imaging technology and ends with a list of questions from the L1 research that serve as a basis for the L2 use of inner speech treated in the following six chapters: e.g. " Is egocentric (private) speech a phase in the internalization of the L2? ….What purposes does talking to oneself in the L2 serve? " Spending one quarter of the book setting the stage with the history of inner speech in the L1 may put some L2 interested researchers off at first.
Students’ social networks can become exapted (Johnson, 2010) for the purpose of increasing langua... more Students’ social networks can become exapted (Johnson, 2010) for the purpose of increasing language learning, or any other kind of learning, as well as the promotion of well-being, through what Murphey (2014) calls the well becoming through teaching (WBTT) hypothesis. The WBTT paradigm holds that people not only learn better when teaching others, but approach and maintain their well-being in wider social networks outside the classroom. The present study explored the impact of WBTT-based activities conducted within students’ social networks on their language learning and well-being. The data were collected for 6 years (2010-2015) from students’ action logging and case studies. Language students taking Murphey’s English classes were asked to self-report their experiences and to write reflections after their WBTT-based activities. The qualitative data indicated that both the students in the teaching role and the people who received their lessons deepened their understanding of both the content (message) and form (target language), forming affinity spaces in different social contexts both in and out of class. Most importantly, it was recognized that both groups of people were able to experience exciting learning or teaching rushes through the engagement in the activities. https://sisaljournal.files.wordpress.com/2016/06/murphey_fukada_falout.pdf
Individual differences (IDs) is th notion that each individual person comprises a unique combinat... more Individual differences (IDs) is th notion that each individual person comprises a unique combination of aspects the might determine learning outcomes. The traditional focus depicts these aspects as fixed traits (e.g., personality types of learning preferences that are often measured through scale-based surveys and linked by statistics to other traits or to outcomes-based dimensions (e.g.,proficiency). Recent, emerging understandings instead view IDs as socially interdependent, malleable states developing over time. To describe these dynamics, research methods are also expanding. This entry draws from emerging epistemologies such as dynamic systems (Ushioda), poststructuralism (Norton), and socio-cultural anthropology (Rogoff). Most of the research cited below is the authors' own and has been conducted in Japan with adult learners of English as a foreign language (EFL). This selection contrasts with much research on IDs being conducted in Europe, North America and other Western contexts for EFL, and which is often focused on young learners and on learners from bilingual and bicultural societies. Citing: Murphey, T. & Falout, J. (2013). Individual differences in the classroom. The Encyclopedia of Applied Linguistics, Carol Chapelle (editor). Blackwell Publishing Ltd. DOI:10.1002/9781405198431.wbeal0533
After establishing a journal, it is important to continue to monitor its progress to ensure that ... more After establishing a journal, it is important to continue to monitor its progress to ensure that the principles that underpin its existence continue to be a priority. In this article, the authors report on measures that were used to evaluate the success of two journals published at Kanda University of International Studies, Japan. PeerSpectives and Studies in Self-Access Learning (SiSAL) Journal are two open-access, peer-reviewed journals that were established in 2008 and 2010 respectively. Both journals value diversity, accessibility and quality, so the research was designed to investigate these three principles. The results identified some successful factors such as accessibility and favourable perceptions with relation to quality. However, the results also identified areas that could be improved to further increase diversity and to encourage submissions from more authors based outside Japan. // Citation info: Murphey, T., & Mynard, J. (2014). An Evaluation of the Success of Open-access, Peer-reviewed Journals, 24, p. 63-92.
This article describes various forms of shadowing, more particularly conversational shadowing tha... more This article describes various forms of shadowing, more particularly conversational shadowing that gets listeners to mirror input out loud. The research question is "Does shadowing give rise to the types of conversational adjustments that are thought to positively affect language acquisition?" In the first study, transcriptions of showing show that speakers do modify their input and adjust with many of the strategies and tactics that Long (1983) describes. Moreover, NN listener/shadowing are able to control the speed of NSs, their pauses and length of utterances, and direct more attention to adjustments attuned to their zone of proximal development (Vygotsky 1934). The data reveals that there may be a variety of effective types of shadowing, from those appropriate to skill training leading to more interactive and naturally selective shadowing that includes commenting and questioning. In the second study, students in an advanced class on language acquisition were given the results of the fist study and asked to experiment with a working hypothesis through recording themselves shadowing, in various ways, NSs in their target language. Results from their investigations further reveal the rich potential of some forms of shadowing for some students at particular levels and the limitations of other kinds of shadowing. Finally, I discuss some supporting evidence from related areas and suggest research that might help us understand the potential of shadowing better.
This chapter suggests three beneficial shifts in our thinking concerning change and adaptation in... more This chapter suggests three beneficial shifts in our thinking concerning change and adaptation in the classroom. The first is to shift our thinking from stagnant entity categories to continual incremental adapting processes. Second, while observing, ourselves and others, and interacting help us to adapt, our techniques of observation and interaction can be improved. Third, while developing levels of comfort in homogeneous groups are important, developing abilities to engage and negotiate with diversity are eventually more crucial for stimulating innovation and well adjusted adaptation for a “total human experience.” Finally, I conclude that harmonizing, i.e. being in rapport with others and enjoying a learning flow, is not a thing but an activity which demands continual adjusting to the various changes inside and between participants in a complex world .
Citation: Murphey, T. (2017). Asking Students to Teach: Gardening in the Jungle. In Gregersen, T. and MacIntyre, P. (eds.), Exploring Innovations in Language Teacher Education. Switzerland; Springer.pp. 251-268 BK CHAPTER., 2017
This chapter seeks to describe how we can make teaching and learning more “public and communal” s... more This chapter seeks to describe how we can make teaching and learning more “public and communal” so that we all (teachers and students) learn more. It also suggests that we all learn more when we actually try to teach things that we may not have fully understood yet, and that we could make this a regular part of learning in our classes. My innovation for teachers is for them to ask their students to teach others whatever they learn in class, and in so doing learn more themselves about things expansively beyond any one teacher’s control (i.e. getting the jungle to cultivate itself). I have five years of “class publications” available online with students’ short case studies describing their teaching to others out of class to support this idea. I also offer a recent pilot survey that provides data showing that the more you are involved in teaching, the more you seem to learn. But most heartwarming of all is that many of these students, through this innovation, become altruistically enchanted through what I call the well-becoming through teaching/helping hypothesis. While this may be the beginning of teacher training for many students who get excited at helping others to learn, I contend that it is also a major activity for all teachers who wish for their students to learn better themselves through helping others learn. Ultimately, teaching can often become humanistic altruism at its best and creates an outward mindset (The Arbinger Institute, 2016) that is healthier and more productive for all concerned.
Well-being is a state of general “wellness” which can make us lazy in our efforts to improve the ... more Well-being is a state of general “wellness” which can make us lazy in our efforts to improve the world. I have proposed “well-becoming” as a more active, procedural way to conceptualize the quest for well-being. Inspired by a colloquium recently in Finland I wish to explore how we can “well be-love” or do “well be-loving,” in a Barbara Frederickson positive psychology way that enhances our health and happiness as she describes in her book Love 2.0 (2013). I believe that one of the ways that this happens in my classes is through singing short songlets, with call and response routines, which begin as speed dictations that students help each other with and then turn into short conversational routines. I will be singing with the audience several songlets which basically answer some our most enduring questions in our lives and whose answers give us guidance and hope: How are you? How do you have a good life? How do you succeed? What do you like? What do you love? Who do you love? What should we notice? What is good advice? These can then become call and response short conversation with our students. I will have further documentation about the benefits of singing from a variety of disciplines.
Previous generations of innumerable people created millions of small innovations to this language... more Previous generations of innumerable people created millions of small innovations to this language and this technology/media that I am using now. Centuries of innovations permit me to convey to you that, “we stand on the shoulders of our ancestors and communities.” More importantly, none of these predecessors worked alone, they all used what others before them had created and built upon it, continually collaborating with real and imagined communities. Furthermore, I contend that there is little difference between learning and creating: learning something new is creating new things and possibilities in your minds in your worlds. That is why real learning is so exciting! (Not studying and memorizing things for tests that someone else is choosing for us.) It is creating new possibilities within your worlds. When teachers stimulate creating in students, they are stimulating learning and agency as well. In this Plenary-Workshop I will describe some interesting ways of helping students “own their learning” so they want to “create more of it” and how we all get addicted to “Wow!” and enjoy “expansive learning” in multiple environments in and out of school, using experiential learning. I will finally meld together the Social Neuroscience of Education (Cozolino, 2013), Love 2.0 (Fredrickson, 2013), and Brave (Sarah Bareilles, 2013), to help us create more Wow!s in our classrooms. I will demonstrate much of this by inviting you to sing and move with me as we create. Finally, I will demonstrate as well how improvisation can help students relax, enjoy themselves, and create and learn.
"The discovery of micro-moments of love and connection (even from strangers) and their impact on ... more "The discovery of micro-moments of love and connection (even from strangers) and their impact on us at the biological/cellular level (Fredrickson, 2013), studies on how our body postures change our minds chemically and psychologically (Cuddy, 2012) and that appropriate stress is healthy for us (McGonigal, 2013), all feed into the social neuroscience of education (Cozolino 2013) which I contend allows us to dare greatly (Brown, 2012) as teachers and help students and teachers to be in love. Not necessarily in love with each other (although that is good too), but rather in love with learning, with life, with the environment around us! Amazingly enough, many of these things have been said in the past and are coded in our culture and art. Bringing these aspects of love into our classrooms is proving to be a game-changing phenomena – something accented recently by Sarah Bareilles in her song Brave (2013). [Now available on SlideShareI'm inlovepac murpheyplenary12713 www.slideshare.net]
Agency is normally understood as the capacity to act, to have a degree of self-determination and ... more Agency is normally understood as the capacity to act, to have a degree of self-determination and control over one's self and the world. Altruistic agency is being able to act so that others might themselves have more agency and better chances to be self-determined even though it might mean we have less. This video presentation at the University of Hawaii, National Foreign Language Resource Center builds upon work with my Tokyo research group.
PCOIz theory can be understood as group dynamics 2.0. It holds that we are are always in multiple... more PCOIz theory can be understood as group dynamics 2.0. It holds that we are are always in multiple groups at any point of time and that through our imagining (i.e. approximating knowing) we "construct" our groups and our worlds, or not. When conscious about PCOIz, we can attempt to nurture them and create better environments for their positive orientations. Examples will be given about how this might happen in our classrooms and regular lives.
Looking at our classes as Socially Intelligent Dynamic Systems (SINDYS) can help us to see how st... more Looking at our classes as Socially Intelligent Dynamic Systems (SINDYS) can help us to see how students can help us create a positive and stimulating learning environment. Many dynamic systems are not socially intelligent. For example, we can get information from weather systems, but we cannot give the information back to the weather system and expect it to improve itself. However, people can reflect on data about themselves and learn from it and improve their conditions. Thus, people are socially intelligent dynamic systems. We do this regularly with health and economic data. However, too often in education we are concerned with teaching material that is not about or drawn from the students themselves. I will describe several practical ways that teachers can gather data and information from students and ways to redistribute this data (i.e. loop it back to them) so that students can reflect on it and learn from it. This data is usually more intrinsically motivating because it comes from or is about the students themselves. To a great extent I believe that the content of any class can be at least partially about the people in the class, and that makes “exciting classes.”
Wilga Rivers (1975, p. 96) said:
We must find out what our students are interested in. This is our subject matter. As language teachers we are the most fortunate of teachers—all subjects are ours. Whatever the children want to communicate about, whatever they want to read about, is our subject matter. The “informal classroom” we hear so much of these days is ours if we re willing to experiment… The essence of language teaching is providing conditions for language learning—using the motivation which exists to increase our student’s knowledge of the new language; we are limited only by our own caution, by our own hesitancy to do whatever our imagination suggest to us, to create situations in which students feel involved—individually, in groups, whichever is appropriate for the age level of our students in the situation in which we meet them. We need not be tied to a curriculum created for another situation or another group. We must adapt, innovate, improvise, in order to meet the student where he is and channel his motivation.
As we design our program it should be possible to involve students in the selection of activities according to their personality preferences. Should all students, even the inarticulate, be expected to want to develop primarily the speaking skill? Some children reared on television may feel more at ease if allowed to look and listen with minimal oral participation until they feel the urge to contribute: these children will learn far more if allowed to develop according to their own personality patterns than if they are forced to chatter when they have nothing to say.
Rivers, W. (1975). Speaking in many tongues: Essays in foreign-language teaching. Rowley,Mass.:Newbury House Pub.
For Korean Association of Teachers of English – KATE July 5-7, 2013
The goal of this dissertation is to attempt to explain through both qualitative and quantitative ... more The goal of this dissertation is to attempt to explain through both qualitative and quantitative research why, or why not, PS (pop songs) might be suitable as material to exploit in teaching English as a foreign language. (this file is only the intro, sorry for messy order below, still learning the tools)
If you have any enquiries regarding this discount order form please do not hesitate to email us: ... more If you have any enquiries regarding this discount order form please do not hesitate to email us: info@multilingual-matters.com With a decidedly positive outlook on applied linguistics stemming from positive psychology, this volume piques the interest of teachers and researchers alike by shedding light on language learning and empowerment, happiness, resilience, melody, stress reduction and enjoyment as well as success. No wonder that this book is a joy to read! Kata Csizér, Eötvös Loránd University, Hungary This volume offers a refreshing perspective on the process of learning and teaching new languages, highlighting the diverse ways in which learners and teachers draw on the many positive aspects of the human condition in their development as users of a non-native language. Without understating the difficulties that trouble language learning, this book provides a well-grounded basis for future studies using theoretical perspectives from positive psychology, and inspires teaching practices that recognize the human potential to thrive and grow. Kimberley A. Noels, University of Alberta, Canada Second language learning is a new area for Positive Psychology and these authors have found that it is a surprising and remarkable aide. Martin Seligman, Director of the Penn Positive Psychology Center, University of Pennsylvania, USA and author of Flourish: A New Understanding of Happiness and Well-Being-and How To Achieve Them This book is about the dynamics of happiness in language learning, the ripples that interact with other ripples, not necessarily in unison, but providing a goal and resources for processes of development. The contributions aim to show the positive sides of language teaching and learning without ignoring or denying the negative ones. They strive to reach a balance that allows for human agency to frame existences and hopes. The authors aim to move beyond the 'Don't worry, be happy' level by using carefully defined concepts and rigorous methodology. Kees de Bot, University of Groningen, Netherlands This book explores theories in positive psychology and their implications for language teaching, learning and communication. Chapters examine the characteristics of individuals, contexts and relationships that facilitate learning and present several new teaching ideas to develop and support them.
A conception of social testing is described in which students are directed to give themselves gra... more A conception of social testing is described in which students are directed to give themselves grades at two moments: first, after filling in answers that they recall alone; second, after asking others in the class for mediating help during social interaction. The first grade is an estimate of individual efforts, without social connections. The second grade represents a situated person in a community with developing connections, something neurologists, sociologists, and anthropologists see as an ecological step towards better species well-being. Social testing is one step toward changing an epidemic trend in our schools toward increasing individualization and isolation (III).
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Books by Tim Murphey
2013; Cosolino, 2013; Sapolsky, 2018) have stressed and exposed our social needs. Hari’s recent book Lost Connections (2018) has exposed the billion-dollar antidepressant industry as mostly unnecessary when we learn how to socially reconnect with others and our core values. And most
recently the UK has created a minister for loneliness position in their government (BBC 2018) to fight the ill effects of III. Schools it would seem are places where students can go to become more social, but while we teach students in groups we evaluate and score them individually and the amount of social interactions in many classrooms does not often add to a sense of school belonging (Dornyei & Murphey, 2003; Murphey et al. 2010). This chapter looks at ways to innovate and activate “the collaborative social” in general and during assessments in particular so that students can become more sociallyadept at bonding and belonging with others.
It is unapologetically a blend of several articles and book chapters beginning 30 years ago with my student-made tests (Murphey 1989). Below I also reflectively note autobiographically seven sources of innovative practices that I fortunately encountered that I think will tell us how to seed many future innovations in education in Japan. This is followed by three waves of activity around innovating testing.
Tim Murphey offers a ton of non-traditional and creative ways for using music in the ESL classroom in this book. He divides the book into types of activity and indicates language level for each activity. Many of the ideas in this book could be used in the foreign language classroom, as well. I think this book should be in the personal library of any language teacher who wants to add some creativity and fun into his/her language class.
Song and Music (also see PHD Files) by Tim Murphey
2013; Cosolino, 2013; Sapolsky, 2018) have stressed and exposed our social needs. Hari’s recent book Lost Connections (2018) has exposed the billion-dollar antidepressant industry as mostly unnecessary when we learn how to socially reconnect with others and our core values. And most
recently the UK has created a minister for loneliness position in their government (BBC 2018) to fight the ill effects of III. Schools it would seem are places where students can go to become more social, but while we teach students in groups we evaluate and score them individually and the amount of social interactions in many classrooms does not often add to a sense of school belonging (Dornyei & Murphey, 2003; Murphey et al. 2010). This chapter looks at ways to innovate and activate “the collaborative social” in general and during assessments in particular so that students can become more sociallyadept at bonding and belonging with others.
It is unapologetically a blend of several articles and book chapters beginning 30 years ago with my student-made tests (Murphey 1989). Below I also reflectively note autobiographically seven sources of innovative practices that I fortunately encountered that I think will tell us how to seed many future innovations in education in Japan. This is followed by three waves of activity around innovating testing.
Tim Murphey offers a ton of non-traditional and creative ways for using music in the ESL classroom in this book. He divides the book into types of activity and indicates language level for each activity. Many of the ideas in this book could be used in the foreign language classroom, as well. I think this book should be in the personal library of any language teacher who wants to add some creativity and fun into his/her language class.
Many songs linguistically, cognitively, and affectively resemble mentions, inner speech, and cell phone novels. The pause structure encourages echoing and invites listeners to sing and shadow along. The auditory environments for most students under 25, when they can choose and control them, are immersed in music either as BGM (back ground music) or BSM (brain synchronizing music) - and they have more choice and control capabilities than ever before to increase their out of classroom language learning (OOCLL) with acquisition rich and exciting listening. As more young people who have been raised with these “music-everywhere-I-go” possibilities become teachers, we will probably see education catch up with the real world and use music as an intensifier of language learning (BGM) and content (DRUCKENBROD, 2006; MURPHEY, 1987). Many songs, especially when chosen by the students themselves, will drive them to seek and make meaning and learn not only the lyrics but about what the lyrics are pointing to, and about the artists and their different worlds, and the language. Interacting with songs in a foreign language is actually the cheapest form of travel and the safest way to be taken out of our comfort zone.
Citation
Murphey, T. (1989). Student-made Tests. Modern English Teacher. Winter 1989/90 v17, #1&2, pp. 28-29, 41
what motivated and demotivated each person, what
students and teachers might learn from their experiences, and what the Ministry of Education (Monbusho) might do to support their learning more. The small groups wrote reports and sent their findings to the Ministry of Education at the end of the year along with a 3-min YouTube video of the major findings.
Their reports concluded that Japanese students endure too much test-focused grammar and lectures in their junior and senior high school education and would prefer to learn more from a more orally interactive curriculum with complementary teaching methods. This agency-inviting process that the students progressed through is similar to Weinstein’s (2006) conception of “learners’ lives as curriculum,” echoing Freire’s (1970) and Dewey’s (1938/1963) participatory and experiential learning and community involvement, which invites and encourages more agency from students. doi: 10.1002/tesj.79
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attempting things we have never done before and reaping the benefits of the “as yet unimagined.” By asking our students and colleagues Appreciative Inquiry type questions (although we certainly did not take them through the whole theoretical practices), we opened the door to their expansive learning and creativity so that
they might realize things of value that we may not be giving enough attention. We were able to tap into what Vygosky referred to as the intermental resources of
social mediation (SCT) at the large scale of a socially intelligent dynamic system (SINDYS, Murphey, 2013), and thus expand our relatedness, competence, and
autonomy (SDT), and discover a type of positivity resonance (Fredrickson, 2013) with our students. We are looking forward to expanding even more with our
appreciative inquiries. This article tries to look at Appreciative Inquiry mainly through the lens of Self Determination Theory and Socio Cultural Theory,
years (2010-2015) from students’ action logging and case studies. Language students taking Murphey’s English classes were asked to self-report their experiences and to write reflections after their WBTT-based activities. The qualitative data indicated that both the students in the
teaching role and the people who received their lessons deepened their understanding of both the content (message) and form (target language), forming affinity spaces in different social contexts both in and out of class. Most importantly, it was recognized that both groups of
people were able to experience exciting learning or teaching rushes through the engagement in the activities. https://sisaljournal.files.wordpress.com/2016/06/murphey_fukada_falout.pdf
Wilga Rivers (1975, p. 96) said:
We must find out what our students are interested in. This is our subject matter. As language teachers we are the most fortunate of teachers—all subjects are ours. Whatever the children want to communicate about, whatever they want to read about, is our subject matter. The “informal classroom” we hear so much of these days is ours if we re willing to experiment… The essence of language teaching is providing conditions for language learning—using the motivation which exists to increase our student’s knowledge of the new language; we are limited only by our own caution, by our own hesitancy to do whatever our imagination suggest to us, to create situations in which students feel involved—individually, in groups, whichever is appropriate for the age level of our students in the situation in which we meet them. We need not be tied to a curriculum created for another situation or another group. We must adapt, innovate, improvise, in order to meet the student where he is and channel his motivation.
As we design our program it should be possible to involve students in the selection of activities according to their personality preferences. Should all students, even the inarticulate, be expected to want to develop primarily the speaking skill? Some children reared on television may feel more at ease if allowed to look and listen with minimal oral participation until they feel the urge to contribute: these children will learn far more if allowed to develop according to their own personality patterns than if they are forced to chatter when they have nothing to say.
Rivers, W. (1975). Speaking in many tongues: Essays in foreign-language teaching. Rowley,Mass.:Newbury House Pub.
For Korean Association of Teachers of English – KATE July 5-7, 2013