Alexander Nanni

This article introduces the CIPP Model (Context, Input, Process, and Product) and explains its application in the evaluation of language programs. The model has long been used in various fields to evaluate programs both before they begin (e.g., by assessing the alignment of the contexts and input) and after they are complete (e.g., by evaluating how well the process has been implemented and whether the product is up to standard). The flexibility of the model is a major strength. In the field of language teaching, this model is highly relevant to curriculum development and can be applied at both the course level and the program level. This paper first introduces competing models of language program evaluation. It then introduces the CIPP Model and explains its applicability in the field of language education, providing suggestions for the application of the model. The CIPP Model has the potential to assist TESOL professionals-teachers and administrators-in improving their professional practice, curriculum design, and program evaluation. Educators in a variety of contexts would benefit from furthering their knowledge of this widely applied evaluation model.

This paper outlines a practical approach for professional language teachers in secondary and adult-learning contexts to enhance their reflective teaching practices through conversation analysis-based action research. Conversation analysis (CA) can provide English as a foreign or second language (EFL/ESL) teachers with insights into not only classroom-discourse dynamics but also the language-learning processes of their learners. As exposure to CA becomes increasingly common in language teacher education programs, there is an opportunity to integrate CA with the broader curricular trends in teacher development and reflection. Action research is widely taught in such programs as its goal is to enhance teacher-awareness and lead to improved classroom practices. The paper will provide a framework for teachers to follow that is coherent, achievable, and above all, practical. Practicing ESL/EFL teachers present examples of their own classroom-based, CA action research from Japan, Thailand and the U.S. conducted with the aim of improving their own pedagogical awareness and situated classroom practices.

Sustainability is a major and growing concern worldwide. The topic has received significant media attention, and innumerable organizations have released sustainability goals. In 2015, the United Nations published the seventeen interrelated Sustainable Development Goals, that promote economic, social, and environmental sustainability (United Nations, n.d.). The Association of Southeast Asian Nations recently affirmed similar goals in a June 2019 statement (“ASEAN leaders’ vision statement,” 2019). This report introduces a project designed in response to this need to introduce students to sustainability and explores the impact of this project on students’ environmental worldview. The project was implemented in an intensive English for academic purposes (EAP) course at a university in Thailand. This 10-week course prepares students to enter an English-medium bachelor’s degree program. The main goals of the program are to develop language proficiency; however, this is accomplished through engagement with meaningful real-world content. This could be classified as the weak form of “Content and Language Integrated Learning” (CLIL), which has the goal of helping “learners develop their target language competency as a primary aim and their subject/theme/topic knowledge as a secondary aim” (Ikeda, 2013, p. 32). The principles of Project-Based Learning (PBL), which is gaining recognition as an effective approach to learning (Chen & Yang, 2019), informed the design of the project. After reviewing relevant literature on PBL, this report explains the New Ecological Paradigm (NEP) scale. It then provides the results of pre- and post-project administrations of the NEP to students in the intensive English program and interprets the results. Finally, it discusses implications for further iterations of the same project and for projects implemented in other contexts.

This paper reports on a pilot study investigating one approach to developing Thai learners’ reading skills. The study was conducted in an intensive upper-intermediate level EAP class at a Thai university over the course of several weeks in one 10-week academic term. During this time, 25 learners completed Millet’s (2017) “Speed Readings for ESL Learners 3000 BNC,” which consists of 20 graded texts of 400 words each and associated comprehension questions. The intervention resulted in a 19.7% increase in reading speed, from 136.36 words per minute to 163.27 words per minute. After a brief review of the literature on fluency and speed reading, this paper describes the methodology used in the pilot study. It then discusses the results of the study and recommends avenues for further study.

For the most part, teachers and students agree that WCF is an important part of language learning (Corpuz, 2011); however, there is disagreement about the type of feedback that best facilitates students' development. This disagreement extends both to the typology of WCF (i.e., direct, indirect, metalinguistic) and to the question of whether feedback should be comprehensive or focus on specific error types (Ellis, 2009). Many studies (e.g., Biber, Nekrasova, & Horn, 2011; Kang & Han, 2015) have investigated the effectiveness of WCF in improving writing; however, few researchers have studied teachers' and students' perceptions of the usefulness of feedback on specific categories of error. These perceptions impact instruction, particularly when they are not aligned. Students may believe that their teachers have failed to address the most crucial errors in their writing. Conversely. teachers may believe that students have disregard important feedback. This report describes an investigation of preferences in WCF, examining the importance that teachers and students ascribe to five categories of feedback: content, grammar, organization, spelling, and vocabulary. These categories encompass the major areas of WCF. Based on a review of the literature and the state of language education in Thailand, we hypothesized that teachers' and students' preferences regarding WCF in the five areas studied would differ.

This study investigates the preferences and justifications of teachers and students on written corrective feedback (WCF) at a tertiary institution in Thailand and is aimed at expanding on prior similar studies conducted with smaller data sets in different contexts. Quantitative and qualitative questionnaire data were collected from 262 intermediate students and 21 teachers in order to test two hypotheses: (1) teachers' and students' WCF preferences would differ significantly, and (2) their justifications for their preferences would differ significantly. The hypotheses were confirmed: teachers rated indirect feedback with metalinguistic comment as being most useful while students most preferred direct feedback with metalinguistic comment. This trend extended to all types of direct feedback being preferred by students while teachers preferred all types of indirect feedback. The most common explanation for the teachers' preferences was the development of metacognitive skills, while accuracy was the greatest concern for students. The pedagogical implications of the results regarding expectations, student agency, and self-efficacy are discussed.

This paper introduces an approach to teaching students about human rights, a term- long project that is being implemented in an intensive English for academic purposes (EAP) program at a Thai university. The objectives of the project are to improve students’ language skills while also cultivating their knowledge of human rights. The project is informed by the theories of project-based learning, emphasizing student autonomy and constructive investigations. It introduces students to the history and development of human rights, focusing particularly on the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the Four Freedoms. Students are each assigned a different country to research, and they analyze current issues in that country through the lens of the Four Freedoms. Under the guidance of a faculty advisor, the students prepare a term paper and presentation highlighting their most significant findings. Through engagement with human rights issues in countries around the world, students are able to transcend their learning space and become better citizens of Thailand, ASEAN, and the global community. The contents of this paper will be of special interest to language teachers, but a similar project could be applied in a range of courses across the high school or university curriculum.

Being asked to conduct academic research comes as a shock for many undergraduates, especially when the research is to be conducted in a second language. This paper puts forward an engaging and practical method of introducing research theory and practice to undergraduate students participating in an intensive English for academic purposes program at an international university. The research is couched in a human rights context, therefore serving the dual purpose of exposing students to the wider world and the human rights issues that many people face globally. Students are required to research a country’s human rights record based on Franklin D. Roosevelt’s Four Freedoms. Having researched their country, they then use a process writing approach to produce a minimum 1,200-word term paper, incorporating evidence from academic sources to support their findings and conclusions. Understanding what human rights are, where to find reliable information, and how to analyze and use evidence in their writing all present a steep learning curve for students; however, they are carefully guided through each stage of the process with handouts, explanations, and exercises before applying those same skills to their term paper. This paper will be of interest to teachers (EFL or otherwise) interested in developing their students’ understanding of human rights and introducing their students to the practice of academic research.

Sustainability is a key aim of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), particularly in areas such as environmental management, employment options, and socio-economic development; however, many Southeast Asian students lack a clear understanding of the meaning of sustainability. Even students who do understand sustainability may be unable to discuss this topic in English, the working language of ASEAN. The imminent integration of the ASEAN Economic Community, scheduled for 2015, lends urgency to the task of resolving these issues. This paper will outline an upper-intermediate level language project designed to teach Southeast Asian English-language learners about sustainability. This project, created in an intensive English for academic purposes (EAP) program at a Thai university, is structured around Elkington’s Triple Bottom Line framework, which assesses sustainability in terms of people, planet, and profit. Over a semester, each student evaluates a particular multinational corporation by referring to the three aspects of the Triple Bottom Line. In addition to improving their language skills, the goals are to prepare students to become more responsible members of the global community and to provide students with the language that they need to engage in meaningful dialogue about sustainability. This paper will describe the project in comparison to three other approaches to education for sustainability, drawing insights from each to provide directions for further development of the project. The paper will be of interest to language educators who wish to introduce elements of sustainability and social responsibility into their courses.

In Roadmap for an ASEAN Community, the ASEAN Secretariat spells out the need for employment, education, and development to be sustainable; however, many citizens of ASEAN countries would struggle to meaningfully define sustainability. In this presentation, two teachers from an intensive English for academic purposes program at a major Thai university will explain one approach to developing students’ understanding of sustainability: a term-long investigation into the sustainability of a multinational company. At the beginning of the term, teachers develop students’ understanding of the triple bottom line framework, which was coined by Elkington in 1994. This framework assesses the sustainability of a company by examining the company’s performance in three interrelated areas: people, planet, and profit. Following the principles of project-based learning (PBL), this assignment allows students significant autonomy; however, teachers advise the students as they move through the research process. All of the students’ source materials are authentic, creating a link between the classroom and the global community, a link that is strengthened by students’ recommendations for sustainable corporate practices. The project culminates in a 1,400-word paper and 5-7 minute presentation in which the students share their findings. This project, which can be adapted to suit the language proficiency of the students, will be of interest to educators in a variety of contexts.

As the countries of South-East Asia continue to broaden their horizons and coalesce into a single ASEAN community, numerous transformations are taking place that will radically alter the educational landscape. The ASEAN Secretariat emphasizes sustainable development as a goal to permeate the changes ahead, which will require the voices and experiences of all the stakeholders involved. Current university students in Thailand will graduate during the integration of the ASEAN Economic Community and will face social change in all aspects of society. Preparing students for the challenges ahead is the context for this paper’s focus: a term-long project that combines business studies and EFL. The project uses content-based language instruction and transformative pedagogy to engage students in study of the Triple Bottom Line framework developed by John Elkington. In addition to improving students’ language skills, the aim of the project is to provide students with a richer understanding of social responsibility and business ethics — an understanding that they develop themselves through exploration and critical thinking. Determining the successfulness of a company by researching and analyzing its effects on the environment and society in addition to its profitability offers students the opportunity to rethink corporations’ role in society as well as their own. Student autonomy is emphasized through independent research, peer editing, and negotiating meaning of sustainability. The project described in this paper can be adapted to suit a wide range of content and should therefore be of interest to language teachers in diverse contexts.

As is the case in many educational systems worldwide, secondary education in Thailand is largely teacher-centered. Students transitioning from this educational system to liberal arts universities in Thailand and beyond face serious disadvantages. The liberal arts model, which emphasizes enquiry, problem solving, and critical analysis, stands in stark contrast to teacher-centered models of education, which value passivity, obedience, and memorization. This paper presents various educational technologies that are utilized to prepare students to enter an English-medium liberal arts program at a Thai university. These tools include online resources such as Google Drive, Hangouts on Air, and VoiceThread. These technologies have the potential to change many aspects of language teaching. Students collaborate to conduct research and to create content that is relevant to their own experience, practicing their language skills and engaging meaningfully with their peers. In the process of researching, discussing, and presenting their findings, students construct their own understanding of contentious topics and controversial current events. Through this process of exploration and interaction, students are empowered to take greater responsibility for their own learning, beginning a personal transformation that will continue throughout their time in the liberal arts program. This paper will present several applications of educational technology in the EFL classroom and, using the RAT — Replacement, Amplification, and Transformation framework, assess the degree to which these applications transform learning.