30.2086, Review: Applied Linguistics: Atar (2018)

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LINGUIST List: Vol-30-2086. Thu May 16 2019. ISSN: 1069 - 4875.

Subject: 30.2086, Review: Applied Linguistics: Atar (2018)

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Date: Thu, 16 May 2019 16:07:18
From: Laura Dubcovsky [lauradubcovsky at gmail.com]
Subject: Cutting-Edge Topics and Approaches in Education and Applied Linguistics

 
Discuss this message:
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Book announced at http://linguistlist.org/issues/29/29-4652.html

EDITOR: Cihat  Atar
TITLE: Cutting-Edge Topics and Approaches in Education and Applied Linguistics
PUBLISHER: Cambridge Scholars Publishing
YEAR: 2018

REVIEWER: Laura Dubcovsky, University of California, Davis

SUMMARY

The edited book “Cutting-Edge Topics and Approaches in Education and Applied
Linguistics” addresses a variety of subjects, methodologies and perspectives
in the educational and the linguistic fields.  Rather than focusing on one
particular aspect across chapters, the editor is more interested in providing
updated information that involves general and local aspects of teaching second
and foreign languages.  Atar offers a book with a clear layout, organized
around two sections that comprise Studies in Education (first five chapters)
and Studies in Applied linguistics (last four chapters). As expressed in the
introduction, he has the intention of transforming the text into a reference
book for interested students, practitioners and researchers.

The section on education discusses relevant topics in the Turkish context,
such as role and characteristics of primary and middle school principals,
flaws in the honor system, employment opportunities  (or lack of them) after
graduation from higher educational institutions, and relationships between
current media literacy, critical thinking, and democratic attitudes. Chapter 1
focuses on “School principals’ leadership styles from teachers’ perspectives.”
S. Akkaş and F. Denkci Akkaş investigate the changing role of school
principals in terms of leadership, before and after the Turkish educational
reform that took place in 2012.  Based on the full-range leadership theory
(Antonankis et al., 2003) the authors contrast three main types of leadership:
transformational, transactional and laissez faire.  They interview 240
elementary and middle school teachers, taking into account variants of gender,
school type, field, and years of experience.  

Akkaş and Denkci Akkaş do not find significant differences according to the
variants of gender and years of experience (less than 5, between 6-11, between
12-20, and more than 21 years).  However, when they look at leadership
considering the field variant (different disciplinary areas), they notice that
social sciences teachers perceive a more transactional type of principal than
science and math teachers, who view principals as more laissez-faire leaders.
The most important difference is found in the school-type variant.  The
authors observe that in the past most principals were still perceived as
transformational leaders, while after the educational reform, primary school
principals are still regarded as transformative, but middle school principals
become transactional, and even a few even laissez faire leaders. Akkaş and
Denkci Akkaş explain that the contrastive style might be influenced by the new
Turkish curriculum implemented at elementary schools only. While the current
plans demand that principals adopt a strong transformative style to lead
teachers and manage current changes, middle schools still maintain a
centralized organization. The latter requires that principals show a
transactional style, being prone to act according to stricter regulations, and
with limited legal power and autonomy.  

In Chapter 2 Avci describes the “‘Honour code’ as part of a teacher
preparation program class curriculum.”  As indicated in the subtitle, the
author proposes “A phenomenological study” with the aim of describing the
pervasive cheating pattern, without taking any prescriptive or normalized
viewpoint (Vandehey et al., 2007).  The author succinctly explains the 
background of the dishonest behavior and highlights the limited number of
studies that addresses the unwanted conduct within the Turkish academic
context.  Being one of the instructors in the pedagogical formation program at
a state university, Avci introduces a take-home exam to his students. Then he
interviews ten volunteer participants across disciplines -- psychology,
history, Turkish language and literature-- who express their reactions to the
newly implemented honor system, which was implemented freely, without
disciplinary or punitive deterrents.  

Avci uses a qualitative method to analyze students’ comments and classifies
their reactions into five major thematic categories: (1) elevated self-worth
that embraces issues of self-esteem, (2) less anxiety due to lack of time
pressure, especially helpful to non-traditional students who need more time to
succeed, (3) stress due to the felt burden of trust, (4) responsibility, and
(5) promoted learning that highlights higher order of thinking and critical
learning, instead of rote memory.  Although findings clearly favor the honor
code system, the author acknowledges some limitations in his study, such as
his double role of researcher and instructor, lack of consistency between the
one-time take-home exam and the generalized use of proctored exams at the
institutional level, and the absence of comparative results between proctored
and home-take exams within the same group of students.

Chapter 3 reviews, “Graduate Employability Programmes in Malaysian Higher
Learning Institutions.” Rahman explains how developing countries like Malaysia
struggle to ensure employability after graduation, as these societies do not
seem to design academic preparation programs that meet the expectations of
current competitive market world. First the author summarizes the existing
literature on most “Salient Components of Employability: Knowledge, Skills,
Abilities, and Other Characteristics” (Table 3-1, pp. 50-2). Then he describes
the Graduate Employability Programme (GEP), a specific intervention conducted
in Malaysia, driven by a combination of forces: individual development,
institutional effort, university community synergy, and national level (Table
3-2, pp 53-4). Rahman shows that the joint project brings about better results
in preparing “ready-made” graduates. Among many positive effects, the
intervention enables stronger collaborations between higher learning
institutions and the industry, promotes industrial training during the
educational years, establishes career centers for professional development,
and recruits professionals linked to private sectors. The author concludes
that the GEP study may help other scholars interested in conducting similar
projects to enhance graduates’ preparation. He highly recommends supporting
higher learning institutions by creating collaborative programs that integrate
individual, communal and national trends to meet current employability
demands.

The following two chapters focus on the development of higher levels of
thinking to better manage the surrounding multimodal literacy. In Chapter 4
Erdem describes “The relationship between media literacy and critical
thinking” through “A theoretical and empirical review.”  First the author
summarizes key definitions and characteristics of each construct separately,
and then he stresses the strong relationship between the two, as well as the
key role played by schools to raise students’ critical awareness.  Erdem
illustrates “the reciprocal relationship between media literacy and critical
thinking” (León, 2016, Figure 4-1 p.74) in studies that focus on different
areas of knowledge, contexts, ages and educational levels. For example,
Feuerstein (1999) describes a reading intervention program that encourages
higher levels of thinking among Israeli students aged 10-12, Arke and Primack
(2009) analyze assessments chosen to evaluate literacy knowledge and critical
thinking at college level, and Scharrer (2009) examines an intervention on
media literacy to prevent violence among sixth grade students.  In light of
the reviewed literature, Erdem claims that it is the school’s role to pursue
the systematic integration of media literacy and critical thinking across the
curriculum, so students can be prepared to navigate current and future types
of literacy, and manage potential challenges consciously and responsibly. 

Chapter 5 continues the previous topic, closing the educational section with
“An investigation of the relationship between critical pedagogy approaches and
democratic attitudes of prospective teachers.”  Kaplan, Karameşe and Başoǧlu
emphasize teachers’ behavior to develop media literacy among their students
through critical tools of analysis.  The authors use scales and principles
drawn from the relational screening model (Karasar, 2004) to measure teachers’
democratic attitudes.  Although results do not yield significant differences
according to age and gender variants, they show variation across disciplines
(field variant).  For example, prospective science teachers show lower
democratic attitudes than those in the departments of psychological
counselling and guidance, social science, and Turkish language teaching (Table
5-2, pp. 91-2). Likewise Kaplan, Karameşe and Başoǧlu find some differences
within the sub-dimension variants of education system (Table 5-4, p. 93),
school functions (Table 5-6, pp.94-5), and liberalizing school (Table 5-7, p.
95) , and attempt to explain the results. For example, special education
teachers seem slightly more inclined to the liberalizing school sub-dimension,
probably due to the concentration of courses on special needs and the emphasis
on educational rights for all persons. 

The second section of the book is devoted to topics of applied linguistics
specifically related to the teaching of foreign languages, such as vocabulary
size, incidental and intentional learning, use of technology, and task-based
projects in the classroom.  In Chapter 6 Park introduces “The latest
development of a real-world learning environment: Digital kitchen to teach
second languages.”  The author claims that kitchen-related activities can be
meaningful and highly motivating in a foreign language classroom. This
communal experience usually evokes sensory memories (food’s tastes and
smells), verbal exchanges (familial stories and anecdotes), and even
non-verbal and cultural reactions (table routines, food sharing, specific
meals, etc.). Moreover the constellation of memories, communication, culinary
traditions and emotions can also provoke rich conversations in the foreign
language, driven by a powerful task- project.  The author explains that real
kitchen experiences can be easily transferred into digitalized scenarios,
suitable to be implemented in the foreign language class. Thanks to increasing
collaborations between linguists and computer programmers, sophisticated
programs of computer-assisted language learning and human computer
interaction, are gradually introduced in current classrooms to enable the
creation of more meaningful situations and participatory activities (Seedhouse
& Almutairi, 2009).   

The digital kitchen is an exemplary model, because it condenses task-based and
technological projects, driven by the language, culture and cuisine learning,
and providing interactive contexts. The rising use of multimedia and updated
resources in the foreign language classroom not only encourages students’
interaction with computers and technological devices, but also students’
social and linguistic skills, as they need to communicate with peers and
teachers. Therefore it becomes a valuable experience that helps develop
learners’ presentational, reflective and transactional abilities.  Finally
Park summarizes participants’ testimonies, most of which show great
satisfaction of combining task –oriented methodologies with digital projects.
Students appreciate learning by doing, through sensory and hands-on
activities, as well as the improvement of their language skills and
technological knowledge. In Park’s words, “This unique integration of
technological and pedagogical properties has the potential to be a vehicle not
only to disseminate a pervasive learning environment, but also to advance our
understanding of pragmatic aspects of SLA” (p113). 

In Chapter 7 Szabo focuses on lexicon and proposes a holistic framework for
“Measuring vocabulary size in multiple languages.”  The author aims at
analyzing second language vocabulary in a more comprehensive manner, including
quantitative and qualitative perspectives.  To achieve his purpose, he first
offers a tripartite model that comprises cognitive, linguistic and social
factors. He explains that while vocabulary size usually considers number and
frequency of lexical tokens only, the three joined factors point at a deeper
understanding of the second language lexicon.  Among others, the author refers
to cognitive notions of transferability and accessibility, linguistic
occurrences of cognates, word borrowings and internationalisms, and social
variants of age, gender, background knowledge, and educational level, which
help determine the breadth and depth of the bilingual/multilingual vocabulary.
Then Szabo applies his tripartite framework to study Hungarian students’
vocabulary size in Romanian (second language) and English (third language). He
shows that the combination of cognitive, linguistic and social factors enables
better understanding of  the lexical complexity composed by form, meaning, and
use (Nation, 2013). After examining the decisive role of cognates in second
language acquisition,  the author concludes that cognate knowledge in one
language is not only a strong predictor of cognate knowledge in the other, but
it also helps predict the overall lexical knowledge.  

Chapter 8 balances “Incidental learning or intentional learning: A
compromising and complementary account.”  Atar reviews notions of incidental
and intentional learning largely discussed in the literature of foreign and
second language teaching.  He highlights that traditional pedagogies, such as
grammar-translation and audio-lingual methods, are linked to intentional ways
of learning, while more modern trends, such as the communicative approach,
favor incidental and more spontaneous processes of acquiring second and
foreign languages.  The author discusses how countries like Turkey still
continues using explicit and directed methods that stress form, grammatical
rules and memorization, over meaningful and authentic communication in the
foreign language classroom. While Atar acknowledges the benefits of holistic
methodologies based on low-affective filter, natural acquisitional order, and
great amount of comprehensible input (Krashen, 1985), he also finds some
advantages in providing students with intentional teaching, through explicit
instructions and rational explanations of linguistic structures and
expressions.  Therefore, the author proposes a balanced methodology that
includes both incidental and intentional ways of teaching foreign languages.
He notices, for example, that extended reading alone seems not to be enough to
increase the vocabulary size or deepen the linguistic knowledge, as students
may overlook words and simplify lexicon.  On the other hand, intentional
teaching focused on form, rote memorization and repetition, results in boring
and meaningless classrooms. Therefore the combination of enjoyable and
incidental activities with intentional opportunities for noticing particular
forms, paying attention to idiosyncratic expressions, and enforcing
understanding through written production and text redundancy may bring about
more productive results (Ellis, 2006).  

In the last chapter Yalçin addresses, “Use and importance of games in foreign
language teaching.” She first explains the relevance of using games, as they
tend to transform the learning process into a more engaging and participatory
experience, making it accessible for all, and usually tapping on a broad range
of different types of intelligences (Gardner, 1999).  The author highlights
those games’ features that resonate with foreign language pedagogy, from
conveying meaningful communication to raising language awareness.  She
observes how games do not only address students’ essential abilities of
speaking, listening, reading and writing (Kupeckova, 2010), but they also
awaken higher levels of thinking and emotions needed in the second/foreign
language classroom (Talak-Kiryk, 2010).  Moreover Yalçin claims that using
games in the classroom enables changes in traditional pedagogy. For example,
teachers leave behind a centralized position and become facilitators of the
activity, while students assume active and leading roles, participating
actively in the learning process. 

The game theory provides different ways of classifying games, according to the
uses of different materials, focusing on specific topics, developing
particular language skills or activities, etc.  More importantly than the
simple game categorization, teachers should incorporate games that serve well
to the lesson purposes and content, reflect students’ language level and
developmental stage, in seamlessly integrated manner.  The author finally
comments on the use of games in Turkish foreign languages classes. Teachers
seem torn between the theoretical understanding of using games to increase
students’ motivation, participation and responsibility, and the practical
daily routine, by which instructors still follow a traditional form- focused
approach, with little or no room for games.   Yalçin encourages her colleagues
to bridge the current gap by integrating well-selected games that will favor
students’ language proficiency and participation, while offering a more
relaxing environment, and reducing high levels of anxiety. 

EVALUATION

Atar’s book, “Cutting-Edge Topics and Approaches in Education and Applied
Linguistics,” is a valuable summary of current topics in foreign language
teaching, combining educational and linguistic aspects. The well-organized
sequence and clear style throughout the chapters make the reading accessible
for lay and specialized audiences. More importantly, the editor is committed
to gathering theoretical and empirical studies, most of them conducted in
Turkish educational settings. Readers may compare commonalities between the
different educational contexts, as well as identify unique topics, approaches
and methodologies addressed in the nine chapters. Additionally, the final list
of contributors (pp.177-180) will be greatly appreciated by Western students,
practitioners and researchers, with little or no knowledge of the authors,
affiliations and work.

Overall the book fulfills the driving goals of communicating current concerns
in Turkish language and education. It is evident that authors made a huge
effort to write their articles in English in order to disseminate their ideas,
frameworks and interventions more broadly. It would have been advisable to
have the chapters polished by English speaking experts to secure a consistent
style throughout the book.  Furthermore , some contributors include references
in the text that are later not cited in the final reference list, or
conversely others include some references in the final bibliography that have
not been used in the text,  while other authors include the wrong year of
publication, or some other incomplete reference. These lapses could have been
avoided through a more careful revision of each and all chapters. The
observation is especially relevant, because the Turkish bibliography
constitutes a major contribution of this book. Overall “Cutting-Edge Topics
and Approaches in Education and Applied Linguistics” represents a valuable
attempt to condense main issues and expose the current state-of-the-art in
teaching foreign languages in Turkey. 

REFERENCES

Antonakis, J., Avolio, B., & Sivasubramaniam, N. (2003). Context and
leadership: An examination of the nine factor full-range leadership theory
using the Multifactor Leadership Questionnaire. The Leadership quarterly,
14(3), 261-295.  

Arke, E., & Primack, B. (2009). Quantifying media literacy: Development,
reliability and validity of a new measure. Educational Media International,
46(1), 53-65. 

Ellis, N. (2006). Selective attention and transfer phenomenon in L2
acquisition: Contingency, cue competition, salience, interference,
overshadowing, blocking, and perceptual learning. Applied Linguistics, 27(2),
164-194. 

Feuerstein, M. (1999). Media literacy in support of critical thinking. Journal
of Educational Media, 24(1), 43-54.  

Gardner, H. (1999). Intelligence reframed: Multiple intelligences for the 21st
century. New York, NY: Basic Books. 

Karasar, N. (2004). Scientific Research Methods. Ankara: Nobel Yayin Dagitim

Krashen, S. (1985). The input hypothesis: Issues and implications. London:
Longman. 

Kupeckova, L. (2019). Game-like activities. ( Bachelor thesis ), Masaryk
University Faculty of Education Department of English language and literature.

León, Y. (2016). Media literacy to promote critical thinking in the EFL
classroom. Universidad Distrital Francisco José de Caldas, Colombia.   

Nation, I. (2013). Learning vocabulary in another language. Cambridge:
Cambridge University Press.

Scharrer, E. (2009 ). Measuring effects of a media literacy program on
conflict and violence. Journal  of Media Literacy Education, 1, 12-27. 

Seedhouse, P., & Almutairi, S. (2009). A holistic approach to task-based
interaction. International Journal of Applied Linguistics, 19(3), 311-338. 

 Talak-Kiryk, A. (2010). Using games in a foreign language classroom. MA TESOL
Collection, Paper 484. 

 Vandehey, M., Diekhoff, G., & LaBeff, E. (2007). College cheating. A
twenty-year follow- up and the addition of an honor code. Journal of College
Student Development, 48, 468-480.


ABOUT THE REVIEWER

Laura Dubcovsky is a retired lecturer and supervisor from the Teacher
Education Program in the School of Education at the University of California,
Davis. With a Master’s in Education and a PhD in Spanish linguistics /with
special emphasis on second language acquisition, her interests tap topics of
language and bilingual education. She has taught a pre-service bilingual
teachers’ course that addresses communicative and academic traits of Spanish,
needed in a bilingual classroom for more than ten years. She is currently
helping in- service bilingual teachers with oral and written use of Spanish
for educational purposes. She also volunteers as interpreter in
parent/teachers conferences at schools and often translates school letters,
minutes, and announcements programs and flyers. She volunteers at the Crocker
Art Museum by translating artists’ captions and brochures, and in sporadic
translations for emergency programs (STEAC) and the Davis Art Center. She is a
long-standing reviewer for the Linguistic list- serve, the Southern California
Professional Development Schools and more recently for the Journal of Latinos
and Education. She published “Functions of the verb decir (‘to say’) in the
incipient academic Spanish writing of bilingual children in Functions of
Language, 15(2), 257-280 (2008) and the chapter, “Desde California. Acerca de
la narración en ámbitos bilingües” in ¿Cómo aprendemos y cómo enseñamos la
narración oral? (2015). Rosario, Homo Sapiens: 127- 133.





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