Haga clic aquí para la traducción al español (Google Translate) Introduction In Computer-Assisted Language Learning (CALL), curriculum design decisions increasingly occur in technology-saturated environments where platforms, tools, & analytics promise efficiency & innovation. Instructional designers are persistently bombarded with demands by pundits & the EdTech industry to adopt the latest buzzword technology or risk becoming… Continue reading Backward design vs. technology-first adoption, or why EdTech will not save you
Category: Methodology
Report: The cognitive & pedagogical implications of generative AI in education
Haga clic aquí para la traducción al español (Google Translate) Introduction This report synthesises findings from recent research on the application & impact of Large Language Models (LLMs) in educational settings. The evidence indicates that while LLMs present opportunities for efficiency, their integration poses significant cognitive hazards for learners & complex pedagogical challenges for educators.… Continue reading Report: The cognitive & pedagogical implications of generative AI in education
Integrating extramural English: Developing stronger communicative proficiency in universities & colleges
Haga clic aquí para la traducción al español (Google Translate) Introduction As universities & colleges seek to internationalise, English is becoming established as the de facto common medium of instruction, communication, & participation. English language teachers in EAP departments frequently note that students have broad repertoires of vocabulary & can parse complex grammar structures with… Continue reading Integrating extramural English: Developing stronger communicative proficiency in universities & colleges
Why traditional EFL coursebooks fail to develop communicative & linguistic competence
Haga clic aquí para la traducción al español (Google Translate) Introduction Despite decades of development & innovation in language pedagogy, most commercial EFL coursebooks continue to present English through a linear, grammar-based syllabus organised around discrete structures introduced in a fixed sequence. This article argues that such materials are fundamentally misaligned with the actual nature… Continue reading Why traditional EFL coursebooks fail to develop communicative & linguistic competence
Explicit instruction vs. corrective feedback
Haga clic aquí para la traducción al español (Google Translate) Introduction Feedback is often portrayed as the pedagogical heart of writing instruction. Orthodox “process writing” practices encourage teachers to respond extensively to student drafts, conference individually, & guide students through multiple rounds of revision. However, this model implicitly assumes that learning happens primarily after students… Continue reading Explicit instruction vs. corrective feedback
Rethinking grammar instruction: Why usage-based, Construction Grammar-informed language learning outperforms skill-acquisition approaches
Haga clic aquí para la traducción al español (Google Translate) Introduction For decades, second & foreign language pedagogy has been dominated by skill-acquisition theory, which views learning as the gradual automation of explicit knowledge through repeated practice (Anderson, 1982; DeKeyser, 2006). According to this model, students first acquire declarative knowledge, “knowing that,” about grammatical rules… Continue reading Rethinking grammar instruction: Why usage-based, Construction Grammar-informed language learning outperforms skill-acquisition approaches
Rethinking error correction: More effective pathways for grammatical development
Haga clic aquí para la traducción al español (Google Translate) Introduction The role of error correction in second language (L2) instruction has long divided scholars & practitioners. On one side, researchers such as Dana Ferris (1995, 1997, 1999, 2012; Ferris & Roberts, 2001) contend that selective & focused corrective feedback can promote accuracy & aid… Continue reading Rethinking error correction: More effective pathways for grammatical development
Making It Stick: Towards more effective vocabulary practice in language learning
Haga clic aquí para la traducción al español (Google Translate) Introduction Vocabulary is foundational to language competence. Yet the ways learners practise & internalise new vocabulary often fall short of the complex demands of actual language use. Traditional techniques such as pre-taught vocabulary, memorisation of decontextualised word lists, or single-sentence definitions neglect the fact that… Continue reading Making It Stick: Towards more effective vocabulary practice in language learning
Why teaching needs to be more scientific & what that really means
Haga clic aquí para la traducción al español (Google Translate) Introduction In an activity concerned with care, relationships, & creativity, talk of science can sound clinical, rigid, or even irrelevant. Many teachers & school leaders reasonably ask: Can research really capture the complexity of teaching? Doesn’t experience matter more? Shouldn’t we trust our professional instincts?… Continue reading Why teaching needs to be more scientific & what that really means
Why education experts resist evidence-based practices & embrace fads: A call for professional maturity
Haga clic aquí para la traducción al español (Google Translate) Abstract Despite decades of educational research, evidence-based practices remain marginalised in teacher training, curriculum design, & classroom implementation. Instead, unproven fads continue to dominate. This article argues that education’s failure to mature into a profession grounded in empirical research (unlike medicine, accounting, or engineering) is… Continue reading Why education experts resist evidence-based practices & embrace fads: A call for professional maturity