Alexandria, VA (June 2007)—Teachers of English to Speakers of Other Languages, Inc. (TESOL), introduces Language Teacher Research in the Middle East , edited by Christine Coombe and Lisa Barlow.

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An openness to new ways of teaching and learning is vital for growth among English language teachers, teacher educators, teachers in training, and students.

This volume in the Language Teacher Research Series (Thomas S. C. Farrell, series editor) shares the studies and reflections of teacher researchers working in Middle Eastern countries with students from a variety of cultural backgrounds. These teachers explore aspects of their own practice in university settings, secondary school classrooms, and professional language training institutes. Despite the varied settings, the authors all have a common desire to improve their practice by looking critically at their teaching approaches and their students’ attitudes toward learning. These studies unearth assumptions made in different teaching contexts, and shine a light on factors of perception and motivation.

Some of the topics covered in these chapters are:

• How students’ perceptions of teachers’ language expertise can affect the learning environment.
• How interaction among students using technology, small groups, or peer feedback can promote new insights.
• What roles personal anxiety and culturally imposed norms play in classroom dynamics.
• Ways to facilitate metacognition, responsibility, and motivation among students so that they learn how to learn more effectively.

Each chapter examines a specific teaching and learning environment and analyzes avenues for improvement in that particular context. However, the overall goal of this volume and the series is to share teacher researchers’ findings so that colleagues can extract their own interpretations and plan action steps for improving student learning in other contexts throughout the Middle East and the world.

TESOL’s Language Teacher Research Series:

Language Teacher Research in Asia
Language Teacher Research in Europe
Language Teacher Research in the Americas
Language Teacher Research in the Middle East
Language Teacher Research in Australia and New Zealand
Language Teacher Research in Africa

Language Teacher Research Series Editor: Thomas S. C. Farrell

Volume Editors: Christine Coombe and Lisa Barlow
Product No.:      417
Pages:               208 pp.
Year:                 2007
ISBN:                 9781931185417
Price:                 non-member        USD$29.95 
                          member               USD$22.45

Audience: Teacher Education

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Acknowledgments

Series Editor’s Preface

CHAPTER 1:  Language Teacher Research in the Middle East (196 KB PDF)
                    -- Christine Coombe and Lisa Barlow

CHAPTER 2:  How Does Language Anxiety Affect Performance in the English Language Classroom? (United Arab Emirates)
                    -- Margaret Agbalizu

CHAPTER 3:  L2 Learners and Student Evaluations of Teaching: Issues of Language Comprehension (United Arab Emirates)
                    -- Ahmad Al-Issa and Hana Sulieman

CHAPTER 4:  Spelling Errors of Arab Learners: Evidence for Intergraphemic Mapping (Saudi Arabia)
                    -- Maher Bahloul

CHAPTER 5:  What Makes a Good Teacher? Investigating the Native-Nonnative Speaker Issue in the Arabian Gulf (Kuwait and United Arab Emirates)
                    -- Christine Coombe and Mashael Al-Hamly

CHAPTER 6:  Multicultural, Coeducational Group Work Experiences: Creative Collaboration or Problematic Partnership? (United Arab Emirates) (527 KB PDF)
                    -- Cindy Gunn

CHAPTER 7:  To Mediate or Not to Mediate: Surviving in an Exam-Based EFL Context (United Arab Emirates)
                    -- Naziha Ali Jafri

CHAPTER 8:  The Effectiveness of Learning Contracts With Arab Learners of English (United Arab Emirates)
                    -- Paul MacLeod

CHAPTER 9:  Six Hats for Discussion and Writing (United Arab Emirates)
                    -- David Palfreyman and Fran Turner

CHAPTER 10: Teacher and Student Perceptions of Best Practices in Teaching (Tunisia)
                     -- Ali H. Raddaoui

CHAPTER 11: The Effect of Group and Individual Peer Feedback on Student Writing in an EFL Gulf Context (Saudi Arabia)
                     -- Ali Shehadeh

CHAPTER 12: Negotiating With Multiple Repeaters (United Arab Emirates)
                     -- Salah Troudi

CHAPTER 13: Moodling in the Middle East (United Arab Emirates)
                     -- Jason M. Ward

References

Index