Skip to main content

Tamas Kiss

Sunway University, Centre for English Language Studies, Faculty Member

Followers

749

Following

24

Co-authors

5

Public Views

I am a teacher educator and research who has been working wth teachers in over 25 countries in the past three decades. My main research interests are English language teacher education, creativity, language teaching materials, and complex dynamic systems.

less

Daniel D. Hutto

University of Wollongong

Noel B. Salazar

KU Leuven

The University of Texas at Austin

University of California, Santa Barbara

University of British Columbia

Central European University

Middle East Technical University

Kansas State University

Shaun Gallagher

University of Memphis

Armando Marques-Guedes

UNL - New University of Lisbon

InterestsView All (9)

Uploads

Papers by Tamas Kiss

Multiliteracies and Student-Created Materials Design

by Ken Mizusawa and Tamas Kiss

Routledge eBooks, Jun 14, 2024

School-Based Teacher Learning: A Reflective Approach

Journal of Nusantara Studies (JONUS), 2016

Professional development is an important issue for every teacher. The recent trends in education ... more Professional development is an important issue for every teacher. The recent trends in education favour teacher-centred, participant initiated and managed, school-based teacher development programmes, for example action research, lesson study, communities of practice, etc. Although there is no doubt that such initiatives offer ample learning opportunities for practitioners, it is important that higher level school or institutional development strategies be also considered, besides teachers’ individual learning agendas. This paper argues that it is possible to merge the needs of both individual practitioners and schools through a reflective, school-based developmental programme which is organised and supported by the school administration for the benefit of all involved. Being conceptual, the paper outlines a model for such a professional development course and discusses the principles it should be based on, its knowledge base, including possible content areas, skills, and learning p...

A Dynamic Network Analysis of an L2 Motivation System: The Role of Central Relational Links

Journal for the psychology of language learning, Dec 31, 2022

This study employed dynamic network analysis to investigate the role of central relational links ... more This study employed dynamic network analysis to investigate the role of central relational links within the motivational system of 59 English for Academic Purposes (EAP) learners. The findings suggest that these links are best understood as central relational nodes, which act as hubs that give structure and stability to the network and enable the flow of information between clusters of factors within the second language (L2) motivation system. Results also indicate that while the centrality values of these nodes are dynamic, fluctuating from week to week, these nodes are relatively stable in their roles. Furthermore, although the motivational trajectory of individual learners may differ significantly and various motivational factors and their connections appear, disappear, and reappear in the system, the stability of central relational nodes facilitates an emergence of recurring patterns. This suggests that a shared socio-cultural and educational context may reduce the unpredictability of L2 motivation.

English Language Teacher Agency in Rural Sarawak: Exploiting Teaching Materials

The English Teacher, 2021

This paper explores English language teacher agency in rural Sarawak, Malaysia within the context... more This paper explores English language teacher agency in rural Sarawak, Malaysia within the context of materials exploitation. The introduction of an international textbook series in all primary schools in Malaysia has brought about significant challenges for teachers who work in socially and economically deprived educational settings, where resources are scarce and where the textbook’s cultural references may be alien to the learners. In order for it to be meaningfully used in the classroom, language teachers need to adapt and localize the textbook for their learners. However, diverting from the officially prescribed material and scheme of work may be a risky business and it requires high levels of teacher autonomy and agency. The data show that although research participants find the materials in need of adaptation, not all make changes due to possible deficiencies in their capabilities or their lack of willingness to act. Those who make changes and thus enact their professional bel...

Professional online communities and networking in the EFL context: What makes them work?

This paper aims to explore how a Malaysian English Language (EL) classroom, through the use of a ... more This paper aims to explore how a Malaysian English Language (EL) classroom, through the use of a social media platform, Facebook, can have a global impact, reaching more than 26,000 people across more than 40 countries. By conducting an online survey and collecting network data, we investigated whether the page can be considered an online Community of Practice (CoP), what makes people follow it, what content attracts them, and what posts are shared. We also looked at the network structure of the community to discover its internal structure and the connections which exist within. Our findings indicate that the Facebook page cannot be considered a CoP, but a Community of Interest and that personal as well as virtual connections are vital to make information flow through the community. Certain hubs were identified in the network that allow content generated by the page owner reach way beyond the membership and have a global impact. Finally our research found that the most important par...

Language use and novice teacher identity in an online Community of Practice

This paper investigates how novice Singaporean teachers indicate their professional and personal ... more This paper investigates how novice Singaporean teachers indicate their professional and personal identities through language in an online Community of Practice (CoP). The six research participants were asked to post daily about their professional experiences of teaching using a social networking site and these were analyzed by Alsagoff’s (2010) Cultural Orientation Model which posits that standard and vernacular English use should not be considered as exclusive categories. The findings reveal that novice teachers shift their deployment of linguistic resources alongside a global and local orientation, expressing a multitude of identities. They index themselves as ‘friends’, a semi-professional identity that assumes supporting and encouraging their peers; as ‘beginning teachers’, recognizing the need for development, while at the same time expressing their confidence. Other identities expressed through language are ‘expert’ offering advice to their peers, and ‘insiders’, who converse ...

A Dynamic Network Analysis of an L2 Motivation System: The Role of Central Relational Links

The Journal for the Psychology of Language Learning, 2023

This study employed dynamic network analysis to investigate the role of central relational links ... more This study employed dynamic network analysis to investigate the role of central relational links within the motivational system of 59 English for Academic Purposes (EAP) learners. The findings suggest that these links are best understood as central relational nodes, which act as hubs that give structure and stability to the network and enable the flow of information between clusters of factors within the second language (L2) motivation system. Results also indicate that while the centrality values of these nodes are dynamic, fluctuating from week to week, these nodes are relatively stable in their roles. Furthermore, although the motivational trajectory of individual learners may differ significantly and various motivational factors and their connections appear, disappear, and reappear in the system, the stability of central relational nodes facilitates an emergence of recurring patterns. This suggests that a shared socio-cultural and educational context may reduce the unpredictability of L2 motivation.

Cultural learning in the EFL classroom: the role of visuals

ELT Journal, 2016

Visual texts are part of everyday communication and they have the potential to carry multiple lay... more Visual texts are part of everyday communication and they have the potential to carry multiple layers of meaning. This complexity is what makes them an ideal resource not only for language learning, but also for developing learners’ intercultural communicative competence and cultural awareness. Cultural meanings are not locked into these materials; they are emergent and dependent on cultural and subcultural membership, lived experiences, and the geo-cultural grounding of learners who interact with them. In a small-scale research project, we aimed to explore how the cultural background of language learners influences their meaning-making processes and we found that the meanings learners create operate on three levels: universal meanings, cultural and subcultural meanings, and, finally, individual meanings. The richness of students’ interpretations points to the need to draw on them as resources in the language classroom, as they can provide the basis for negotiating cultural understanding.

A semiotic exploration of cultural potential in EFL textbooks

This paper introduces a Peircean semiotic approach to analysing the cultural content of EFL textb... more This paper introduces a Peircean semiotic approach to analysing the cultural content of EFL textbook materials. It argues that while traditional content analyses may provide valuable insights, they fail to provide a comprehensive picture of the cultural meaning potential of textbooks since they ignore a key element: how language learners interact with texts and visuals imbedded in the framework of a pedagogic task. We demonstrate how cultural meanings can emerge through processes of unguided semiosis, supported by sharing and reflection in a complex, non-linear and essentially dynamic learning environment. For this to happen, however, teachers may need to reconsider their current approaches to teaching culture, embrace complexity, and allow order to emerge from chaos in their classrooms. The paper suggests that collaboratively negotiated and shared (re)presentations of cultural meaning contribute to the development of the learners' global cultural awareness and prepares them for intercultural citizenship in our globalized world.

A Social-psychological Perspective on Singaporean Schoolchildren’s Strategy Use in English Literacy Learning

Despite the plethora of literature concerning language learning strategies, there is a paucity of... more Despite the plethora of literature concerning language learning strategies, there is a paucity of studies pertaining to the influence of social and psychological factors on young English learners' use of literacy learning strategies in the Asian context. As a multilingual and multicultural Asian society which implements a unique bilingual policy of taking English (which is not native to the local people) as the dominant language, Singapore provides a good scenario for the exploration of such issues. As part of a two-year intervention project ...

Socio-psychological Factors and Strategy Use in Singaporean Schoolchildren’s English Literacy Learning

Reflections on English Language Teaching, 2011

Despite the plethora of literature concerning language learning strategies, there is a paucity of... more Despite the plethora of literature concerning language learning strategies, there is a paucity of studies pertaining to the influence of social and psychological factors on young English learners' use of literacy learning strategies in the Asian context. As a multilingual and multicultural Asian society that implements a unique bilingual policy of taking English (which is not native to the majority of the local population) as the dominant language, Singapore provides a good scenario for the exploration of such issues. As part ...

Analyzing culture in foreign/second language textbooks: Methodological and conceptual issues

Introduction The role of culture in foreign language teaching has long been discussed in the prof... more Introduction The role of culture in foreign language teaching has long been discussed in the professional literature and views on what, how, and why language teachers should do in the classroom have changed significantly over the decades. What most scholars agree on is that language and culture cannot be separated from one another even if they disagree on how to determine what culture needs to be studied (e.g. high culture vs. low culture, subcultures of different kinds, national vs. ethnic cultures, etc.) or whether culture(s) can be monopolized or owned by any particular groups in a globalized world. Discussions on the subject often reveal that very often strong ideological perspectives - either in covert or overt ways - influence how language teaching is carried out and what language teaching materials contain. Although the professional literature dealing with teaching culture in the foreign language classroom displays “multiple theoretical and philosophical positions” (Risager, 2011, p. 485), three major periods can be identified in how perceptions about the role of culture have changed (Weninger & Kiss, 2013). The first period stretches from the 1950s till the first years of the 1990s and it is characterized by a view of culture as an object of study. Factual information of national cultures was thought to help learners assimilate into and become a member of the target language society. However, the strengthening globalization processes and changing learner needs in the 1990s brought about a new approach to culture teaching. In this second period authors (e.g. Kramsch, 1993, 1998) pointed out that cultural information needs to be more than facts about famous people, places and historical events in the language learning process. They argued that successful language acquisition entails cultural awareness, thus the cultural behavior, habits, the everyday practices of speakers of the target language - which some called culture with a small “c” (e.g. (Pulverness, 1995; Tomalin & Stempleski, 1993) – should be incorporated in the language curriculum. Others even questioned the validity of talking about a ‘target language culture’ when teaching a global language like English (Prodromou, 1992), and the movements which promoted an inter-, cross-, and trans-cultural approach as opposed to the single, national culture model gained prominence. Byram (1997), for example, argued that the goal of language teaching should be the development of intercultural competence that enables people to successfully communicate with others from different cultural and geographical contexts. Finally, the current trends treat culture as an increasingly complex and hybrid phenomenon. The role of language education is being reinterpreted requiring classroom teachers to move beyond the mere teaching of language structures and vocabulary. Now it is expected that learners are critically reflective (Kumaravadivelu, 2008) and they learn to become politically conscious and engaged citizens (Byram, 2011); a movement which is mirrored in general education by the promotion of 21st century skills (Trilling & Fadel, 2009). The fact that a rather rigid, factual view of culture based on simplified and stereotypical images has been replaced by dynamic and complex interpretations had an impact not only on teaching, but also on language teaching materials, especially on commercially produced language textbooks. Textbooks are often considered as one of the most accessible artifacts of language teaching which lend themselves easily for evaluation and analysis. They are static and observable; they provide an insight into language pedagogy at some point in time (through the activities they offer, the teaching guides they provide, etc.). They are time capsules in that they use texts as representational samples of the language and culture they focus on which, together with the use of visual materials, provide useful information on values, ideologies - the ‘hidden curriculum’ (McGrath, 2002; Snyder, 1970) that they are promoting. Whose values or ideologies these are is difficult to pinpoint given the multiple stakeholders in the publishing industry (textbook authors, publishers - including editors, visual designers, etc., educational authorities). Therefore, it is not surprising that there has been a continuous interest in the analysis of language textbooks to uncover how they promote cultural learning in the language classroom. Before we move on, however, we need to distinguish textbook evaluation from textbook analysis. In this chapter we prefer to use the term ‘textbook analysis’ which implies a more theoretical and principled approach to the examination of language teaching materials. Textbook analysis in our interpretation points further than judging the appropriateness of a particular book in a given educational context for use with specific students in mind. Analysis is concerned with identifying general trends using different theories as the…

A Network Analysis of L2 Motivational Factors: Structure, Connectivity, and Central Relational Links

TESOL Quarterly, 2021

Motivational factors have long attracted the attention of researchers and educators with their po... more Motivational factors have long attracted the attention of researchers and educators with their potential to shed light on what drives effective language learning. Although current research now views language learning motivation as a Complex Dynamic System (CDS), there is a dearth of empirical studies utilizing network analysis to understand how motivational systems operate. This exploratory study investigated the structure and connectivity of a second language (L2) motivational factor network, as well as its central relational links by using network analysis and graph visualizations. Findings suggest that L2 motivational factors rarely act alone and unique communities of L2 motivational factors can be identified. Furthermore, certain factors play a central role by connecting together a multitude of other factors and act as bridges between these communities. Learners' physical and emotional states, as initial conditions in the CDS, were key factors in tying communities together. The findings also indicate that motivating and demotivating factors do not only connect with factors of similar polarity (i.e., motivating or demotivating), they are also well-connected to each other, suggesting their interaction keeps the motivational system dynamic.

A visual model of L2 motivation as a complex dynamic system

ELT Journal, 2022

Learner motivation is an essential ingredient for successful language learning. This article inve... more Learner motivation is an essential ingredient for successful language learning. This article investigates the motivating and demotivating factors affecting the motivation of fifty-eight EAP learners' L2 learning. Guided by complex dynamic systems theory, with a dual focus on both what factors are important and what role these play in the L2 motivational system, this exploratory study utilized network analysis to map out how motivational factors connect to each other and form a L2 motivation factor network. It was found that motivating and demotivating factors, through the connections they share, exert an influence not only on each other, but on the whole motivational system. Based on the findings, suggestions are provided for classroom teachers for how they might steer learners' motivational systems towards more motivated states, including introducing new factors into the system, enhancing connectivity, and increasing learners' awareness of the complex and dynamic nature of motivation.

Culture in English as a Foreign Language (EFL) Textbooks: A Semiotic Approach

TESOL Quarterly, 2013

This article problematizes current, quantitative approaches to the analysis of culture in foreign... more This article problematizes current, quantitative approaches to the analysis of culture in foreign language textbooks as objectifying culture, and offers an alternative, semiotic framework that examines texts, images, and tasks as merely engendering particular meanings in the act of semiosis. The authors take as a point of departure developments within the social sciences that have questioned monolithic conceptualizations of culture as well as recent arguments that stress intercultural citizenship and global cultural consciousness as key goals of (foreign) language learning. The authors argue that such transformative pedagogic agendas require a more dynamic understanding of how culture figures in teaching materials and of the processes through which learners engage with those materials. Through excerpts from two English as a foreign language textbooks written by and for Hungarians, the authors illustrate a semiotic analytic approach that underscores two key insights: (1) that learners' meaning making in the classroom tends to be heavily guided and (2) that images and texts, even those with supposed cultural meaning or focus, seem to foster mainly linguistic competence. The article makes the case that images and texts should be harnessed more explicitly to develop a critical and reflexive understanding of culture, self, and other.

Creativity and language teaching

Mohebbi, H. & Coombe, C. Research questions in language education and applied linguistics, 2021

The Complexity of Teacher Learning: Reflection as a Complex Dynamic System

This paper investigates how learning takes place in an intensive post-graduate Second Language Te... more This paper investigates how learning takes place in an intensive post-graduate Second Language Teacher Education (SLTE) course with participants of different backgrounds and experiences. Complexity Science is adopted as the research framework of the study to provide empirical evidence that learning in a teacher education course is a complex, non-linear experience. Through the analysis of reflective journals, the paper argues that although specific objectives and learning outcomes may be identified by course designers, what participants actually learn is highly unpredictable. The data show that the research participants used an elaborate network of links to events, people or places in their past, present, and future in order to create a personal understanding and meaning of the topics discussed during the course. The findings clearly indicate that participants were selective in what they considered important to mention in their reflective journals, although they were exposed to the s...

Revisiting the Pedagogy of Multiliteracies: Writing Instruction in a Multicultural Context

Changing English

Towards a non-dichotomous view of motivators and demotivators in language learning

International Journal of Applied Linguistics, 2021

This study explores the motivational dynamics and motivational factors of 60 first-year English f... more This study explores the motivational dynamics and motivational
factors of 60 first-year English for Academic Purposes
learners. Data were collected over a 10-week period
by means of motivation journals and focus group discussions.
The findings indicate that students’ motivation levels
changed frequently from day to day and that motivational
factors can serve as both motivators and demotivators as
their strength and polarity change according to initial conditioning
and the complex interactions of factors within and
outside of the classroom context.We argue that the practice
of categorizing contextual factors as motivators or demotivators
be abandoned, and in its place a non-dichotomous
view of motivators and demotivators in language learning be
adopted.

Kiss, T. & Rimbar, H. (2021) English Language Teacher Agency in Rural Sarawak: Exploiting Teaching Materials. The English Teacher, 50(2), 142-156

The English Teacher, 2021

This paper explores English language teacher agency in rural Sarawak, Malaysia within the context... more This paper explores English language teacher agency in rural Sarawak, Malaysia within the context of materials exploitation. The introduction of an international textbook series in all primary schools in Malaysia has brought about significant challenges for teachers who work in socially and economically deprived educational settings, where resources are scarce and where the textbook's cultural references may be alien to the learners. In order for it to be meaningfully used in the classroom, language teachers need to adapt and localize the textbook for their learners. However, diverting from the officially prescribed material and scheme of work may be a risky business and it requires high levels of teacher autonomy and agency. The data show that although research participants find the materials in need of adaptation, not all make changes due to possible deficiencies in their capabilities or their lack of willingness to act. Those who make changes and thus enact their professional beliefs and values are motivated by completely different reasons. The study found that teachers' interpretation of their work context significantly influences their agential roles and that teacher agency emerges from an interaction of individual capability, professional action, and the professional and social contexts in which the teacher operates.

Multiliteracies and Student-Created Materials Design

by Ken Mizusawa and Tamas Kiss

Routledge eBooks, Jun 14, 2024

School-Based Teacher Learning: A Reflective Approach

Journal of Nusantara Studies (JONUS), 2016

Professional development is an important issue for every teacher. The recent trends in education ... more Professional development is an important issue for every teacher. The recent trends in education favour teacher-centred, participant initiated and managed, school-based teacher development programmes, for example action research, lesson study, communities of practice, etc. Although there is no doubt that such initiatives offer ample learning opportunities for practitioners, it is important that higher level school or institutional development strategies be also considered, besides teachers’ individual learning agendas. This paper argues that it is possible to merge the needs of both individual practitioners and schools through a reflective, school-based developmental programme which is organised and supported by the school administration for the benefit of all involved. Being conceptual, the paper outlines a model for such a professional development course and discusses the principles it should be based on, its knowledge base, including possible content areas, skills, and learning p...

A Dynamic Network Analysis of an L2 Motivation System: The Role of Central Relational Links

Journal for the psychology of language learning, Dec 31, 2022

This study employed dynamic network analysis to investigate the role of central relational links ... more This study employed dynamic network analysis to investigate the role of central relational links within the motivational system of 59 English for Academic Purposes (EAP) learners. The findings suggest that these links are best understood as central relational nodes, which act as hubs that give structure and stability to the network and enable the flow of information between clusters of factors within the second language (L2) motivation system. Results also indicate that while the centrality values of these nodes are dynamic, fluctuating from week to week, these nodes are relatively stable in their roles. Furthermore, although the motivational trajectory of individual learners may differ significantly and various motivational factors and their connections appear, disappear, and reappear in the system, the stability of central relational nodes facilitates an emergence of recurring patterns. This suggests that a shared socio-cultural and educational context may reduce the unpredictability of L2 motivation.

English Language Teacher Agency in Rural Sarawak: Exploiting Teaching Materials

The English Teacher, 2021

This paper explores English language teacher agency in rural Sarawak, Malaysia within the context... more This paper explores English language teacher agency in rural Sarawak, Malaysia within the context of materials exploitation. The introduction of an international textbook series in all primary schools in Malaysia has brought about significant challenges for teachers who work in socially and economically deprived educational settings, where resources are scarce and where the textbook’s cultural references may be alien to the learners. In order for it to be meaningfully used in the classroom, language teachers need to adapt and localize the textbook for their learners. However, diverting from the officially prescribed material and scheme of work may be a risky business and it requires high levels of teacher autonomy and agency. The data show that although research participants find the materials in need of adaptation, not all make changes due to possible deficiencies in their capabilities or their lack of willingness to act. Those who make changes and thus enact their professional bel...

Professional online communities and networking in the EFL context: What makes them work?

This paper aims to explore how a Malaysian English Language (EL) classroom, through the use of a ... more This paper aims to explore how a Malaysian English Language (EL) classroom, through the use of a social media platform, Facebook, can have a global impact, reaching more than 26,000 people across more than 40 countries. By conducting an online survey and collecting network data, we investigated whether the page can be considered an online Community of Practice (CoP), what makes people follow it, what content attracts them, and what posts are shared. We also looked at the network structure of the community to discover its internal structure and the connections which exist within. Our findings indicate that the Facebook page cannot be considered a CoP, but a Community of Interest and that personal as well as virtual connections are vital to make information flow through the community. Certain hubs were identified in the network that allow content generated by the page owner reach way beyond the membership and have a global impact. Finally our research found that the most important par...

Language use and novice teacher identity in an online Community of Practice

This paper investigates how novice Singaporean teachers indicate their professional and personal ... more This paper investigates how novice Singaporean teachers indicate their professional and personal identities through language in an online Community of Practice (CoP). The six research participants were asked to post daily about their professional experiences of teaching using a social networking site and these were analyzed by Alsagoff’s (2010) Cultural Orientation Model which posits that standard and vernacular English use should not be considered as exclusive categories. The findings reveal that novice teachers shift their deployment of linguistic resources alongside a global and local orientation, expressing a multitude of identities. They index themselves as ‘friends’, a semi-professional identity that assumes supporting and encouraging their peers; as ‘beginning teachers’, recognizing the need for development, while at the same time expressing their confidence. Other identities expressed through language are ‘expert’ offering advice to their peers, and ‘insiders’, who converse ...

A Dynamic Network Analysis of an L2 Motivation System: The Role of Central Relational Links

The Journal for the Psychology of Language Learning, 2023

This study employed dynamic network analysis to investigate the role of central relational links ... more This study employed dynamic network analysis to investigate the role of central relational links within the motivational system of 59 English for Academic Purposes (EAP) learners. The findings suggest that these links are best understood as central relational nodes, which act as hubs that give structure and stability to the network and enable the flow of information between clusters of factors within the second language (L2) motivation system. Results also indicate that while the centrality values of these nodes are dynamic, fluctuating from week to week, these nodes are relatively stable in their roles. Furthermore, although the motivational trajectory of individual learners may differ significantly and various motivational factors and their connections appear, disappear, and reappear in the system, the stability of central relational nodes facilitates an emergence of recurring patterns. This suggests that a shared socio-cultural and educational context may reduce the unpredictability of L2 motivation.

Cultural learning in the EFL classroom: the role of visuals

ELT Journal, 2016

Visual texts are part of everyday communication and they have the potential to carry multiple lay... more Visual texts are part of everyday communication and they have the potential to carry multiple layers of meaning. This complexity is what makes them an ideal resource not only for language learning, but also for developing learners’ intercultural communicative competence and cultural awareness. Cultural meanings are not locked into these materials; they are emergent and dependent on cultural and subcultural membership, lived experiences, and the geo-cultural grounding of learners who interact with them. In a small-scale research project, we aimed to explore how the cultural background of language learners influences their meaning-making processes and we found that the meanings learners create operate on three levels: universal meanings, cultural and subcultural meanings, and, finally, individual meanings. The richness of students’ interpretations points to the need to draw on them as resources in the language classroom, as they can provide the basis for negotiating cultural understanding.

A semiotic exploration of cultural potential in EFL textbooks

This paper introduces a Peircean semiotic approach to analysing the cultural content of EFL textb... more This paper introduces a Peircean semiotic approach to analysing the cultural content of EFL textbook materials. It argues that while traditional content analyses may provide valuable insights, they fail to provide a comprehensive picture of the cultural meaning potential of textbooks since they ignore a key element: how language learners interact with texts and visuals imbedded in the framework of a pedagogic task. We demonstrate how cultural meanings can emerge through processes of unguided semiosis, supported by sharing and reflection in a complex, non-linear and essentially dynamic learning environment. For this to happen, however, teachers may need to reconsider their current approaches to teaching culture, embrace complexity, and allow order to emerge from chaos in their classrooms. The paper suggests that collaboratively negotiated and shared (re)presentations of cultural meaning contribute to the development of the learners' global cultural awareness and prepares them for intercultural citizenship in our globalized world.

A Social-psychological Perspective on Singaporean Schoolchildren’s Strategy Use in English Literacy Learning

Despite the plethora of literature concerning language learning strategies, there is a paucity of... more Despite the plethora of literature concerning language learning strategies, there is a paucity of studies pertaining to the influence of social and psychological factors on young English learners' use of literacy learning strategies in the Asian context. As a multilingual and multicultural Asian society which implements a unique bilingual policy of taking English (which is not native to the local people) as the dominant language, Singapore provides a good scenario for the exploration of such issues. As part of a two-year intervention project ...

Socio-psychological Factors and Strategy Use in Singaporean Schoolchildren’s English Literacy Learning

Reflections on English Language Teaching, 2011

Despite the plethora of literature concerning language learning strategies, there is a paucity of... more Despite the plethora of literature concerning language learning strategies, there is a paucity of studies pertaining to the influence of social and psychological factors on young English learners' use of literacy learning strategies in the Asian context. As a multilingual and multicultural Asian society that implements a unique bilingual policy of taking English (which is not native to the majority of the local population) as the dominant language, Singapore provides a good scenario for the exploration of such issues. As part ...

Analyzing culture in foreign/second language textbooks: Methodological and conceptual issues

Introduction The role of culture in foreign language teaching has long been discussed in the prof... more Introduction The role of culture in foreign language teaching has long been discussed in the professional literature and views on what, how, and why language teachers should do in the classroom have changed significantly over the decades. What most scholars agree on is that language and culture cannot be separated from one another even if they disagree on how to determine what culture needs to be studied (e.g. high culture vs. low culture, subcultures of different kinds, national vs. ethnic cultures, etc.) or whether culture(s) can be monopolized or owned by any particular groups in a globalized world. Discussions on the subject often reveal that very often strong ideological perspectives - either in covert or overt ways - influence how language teaching is carried out and what language teaching materials contain. Although the professional literature dealing with teaching culture in the foreign language classroom displays “multiple theoretical and philosophical positions” (Risager, 2011, p. 485), three major periods can be identified in how perceptions about the role of culture have changed (Weninger & Kiss, 2013). The first period stretches from the 1950s till the first years of the 1990s and it is characterized by a view of culture as an object of study. Factual information of national cultures was thought to help learners assimilate into and become a member of the target language society. However, the strengthening globalization processes and changing learner needs in the 1990s brought about a new approach to culture teaching. In this second period authors (e.g. Kramsch, 1993, 1998) pointed out that cultural information needs to be more than facts about famous people, places and historical events in the language learning process. They argued that successful language acquisition entails cultural awareness, thus the cultural behavior, habits, the everyday practices of speakers of the target language - which some called culture with a small “c” (e.g. (Pulverness, 1995; Tomalin & Stempleski, 1993) – should be incorporated in the language curriculum. Others even questioned the validity of talking about a ‘target language culture’ when teaching a global language like English (Prodromou, 1992), and the movements which promoted an inter-, cross-, and trans-cultural approach as opposed to the single, national culture model gained prominence. Byram (1997), for example, argued that the goal of language teaching should be the development of intercultural competence that enables people to successfully communicate with others from different cultural and geographical contexts. Finally, the current trends treat culture as an increasingly complex and hybrid phenomenon. The role of language education is being reinterpreted requiring classroom teachers to move beyond the mere teaching of language structures and vocabulary. Now it is expected that learners are critically reflective (Kumaravadivelu, 2008) and they learn to become politically conscious and engaged citizens (Byram, 2011); a movement which is mirrored in general education by the promotion of 21st century skills (Trilling & Fadel, 2009). The fact that a rather rigid, factual view of culture based on simplified and stereotypical images has been replaced by dynamic and complex interpretations had an impact not only on teaching, but also on language teaching materials, especially on commercially produced language textbooks. Textbooks are often considered as one of the most accessible artifacts of language teaching which lend themselves easily for evaluation and analysis. They are static and observable; they provide an insight into language pedagogy at some point in time (through the activities they offer, the teaching guides they provide, etc.). They are time capsules in that they use texts as representational samples of the language and culture they focus on which, together with the use of visual materials, provide useful information on values, ideologies - the ‘hidden curriculum’ (McGrath, 2002; Snyder, 1970) that they are promoting. Whose values or ideologies these are is difficult to pinpoint given the multiple stakeholders in the publishing industry (textbook authors, publishers - including editors, visual designers, etc., educational authorities). Therefore, it is not surprising that there has been a continuous interest in the analysis of language textbooks to uncover how they promote cultural learning in the language classroom. Before we move on, however, we need to distinguish textbook evaluation from textbook analysis. In this chapter we prefer to use the term ‘textbook analysis’ which implies a more theoretical and principled approach to the examination of language teaching materials. Textbook analysis in our interpretation points further than judging the appropriateness of a particular book in a given educational context for use with specific students in mind. Analysis is concerned with identifying general trends using different theories as the…

A Network Analysis of L2 Motivational Factors: Structure, Connectivity, and Central Relational Links

TESOL Quarterly, 2021

Motivational factors have long attracted the attention of researchers and educators with their po... more Motivational factors have long attracted the attention of researchers and educators with their potential to shed light on what drives effective language learning. Although current research now views language learning motivation as a Complex Dynamic System (CDS), there is a dearth of empirical studies utilizing network analysis to understand how motivational systems operate. This exploratory study investigated the structure and connectivity of a second language (L2) motivational factor network, as well as its central relational links by using network analysis and graph visualizations. Findings suggest that L2 motivational factors rarely act alone and unique communities of L2 motivational factors can be identified. Furthermore, certain factors play a central role by connecting together a multitude of other factors and act as bridges between these communities. Learners' physical and emotional states, as initial conditions in the CDS, were key factors in tying communities together. The findings also indicate that motivating and demotivating factors do not only connect with factors of similar polarity (i.e., motivating or demotivating), they are also well-connected to each other, suggesting their interaction keeps the motivational system dynamic.

A visual model of L2 motivation as a complex dynamic system

ELT Journal, 2022

Learner motivation is an essential ingredient for successful language learning. This article inve... more Learner motivation is an essential ingredient for successful language learning. This article investigates the motivating and demotivating factors affecting the motivation of fifty-eight EAP learners' L2 learning. Guided by complex dynamic systems theory, with a dual focus on both what factors are important and what role these play in the L2 motivational system, this exploratory study utilized network analysis to map out how motivational factors connect to each other and form a L2 motivation factor network. It was found that motivating and demotivating factors, through the connections they share, exert an influence not only on each other, but on the whole motivational system. Based on the findings, suggestions are provided for classroom teachers for how they might steer learners' motivational systems towards more motivated states, including introducing new factors into the system, enhancing connectivity, and increasing learners' awareness of the complex and dynamic nature of motivation.

Culture in English as a Foreign Language (EFL) Textbooks: A Semiotic Approach

TESOL Quarterly, 2013

This article problematizes current, quantitative approaches to the analysis of culture in foreign... more This article problematizes current, quantitative approaches to the analysis of culture in foreign language textbooks as objectifying culture, and offers an alternative, semiotic framework that examines texts, images, and tasks as merely engendering particular meanings in the act of semiosis. The authors take as a point of departure developments within the social sciences that have questioned monolithic conceptualizations of culture as well as recent arguments that stress intercultural citizenship and global cultural consciousness as key goals of (foreign) language learning. The authors argue that such transformative pedagogic agendas require a more dynamic understanding of how culture figures in teaching materials and of the processes through which learners engage with those materials. Through excerpts from two English as a foreign language textbooks written by and for Hungarians, the authors illustrate a semiotic analytic approach that underscores two key insights: (1) that learners' meaning making in the classroom tends to be heavily guided and (2) that images and texts, even those with supposed cultural meaning or focus, seem to foster mainly linguistic competence. The article makes the case that images and texts should be harnessed more explicitly to develop a critical and reflexive understanding of culture, self, and other.

Creativity and language teaching

Mohebbi, H. & Coombe, C. Research questions in language education and applied linguistics, 2021

The Complexity of Teacher Learning: Reflection as a Complex Dynamic System

This paper investigates how learning takes place in an intensive post-graduate Second Language Te... more This paper investigates how learning takes place in an intensive post-graduate Second Language Teacher Education (SLTE) course with participants of different backgrounds and experiences. Complexity Science is adopted as the research framework of the study to provide empirical evidence that learning in a teacher education course is a complex, non-linear experience. Through the analysis of reflective journals, the paper argues that although specific objectives and learning outcomes may be identified by course designers, what participants actually learn is highly unpredictable. The data show that the research participants used an elaborate network of links to events, people or places in their past, present, and future in order to create a personal understanding and meaning of the topics discussed during the course. The findings clearly indicate that participants were selective in what they considered important to mention in their reflective journals, although they were exposed to the s...

Revisiting the Pedagogy of Multiliteracies: Writing Instruction in a Multicultural Context

Changing English

Towards a non-dichotomous view of motivators and demotivators in language learning

International Journal of Applied Linguistics, 2021

This study explores the motivational dynamics and motivational factors of 60 first-year English f... more This study explores the motivational dynamics and motivational
factors of 60 first-year English for Academic Purposes
learners. Data were collected over a 10-week period
by means of motivation journals and focus group discussions.
The findings indicate that students’ motivation levels
changed frequently from day to day and that motivational
factors can serve as both motivators and demotivators as
their strength and polarity change according to initial conditioning
and the complex interactions of factors within and
outside of the classroom context.We argue that the practice
of categorizing contextual factors as motivators or demotivators
be abandoned, and in its place a non-dichotomous
view of motivators and demotivators in language learning be
adopted.

Kiss, T. & Rimbar, H. (2021) English Language Teacher Agency in Rural Sarawak: Exploiting Teaching Materials. The English Teacher, 50(2), 142-156

The English Teacher, 2021

This paper explores English language teacher agency in rural Sarawak, Malaysia within the context... more This paper explores English language teacher agency in rural Sarawak, Malaysia within the context of materials exploitation. The introduction of an international textbook series in all primary schools in Malaysia has brought about significant challenges for teachers who work in socially and economically deprived educational settings, where resources are scarce and where the textbook's cultural references may be alien to the learners. In order for it to be meaningfully used in the classroom, language teachers need to adapt and localize the textbook for their learners. However, diverting from the officially prescribed material and scheme of work may be a risky business and it requires high levels of teacher autonomy and agency. The data show that although research participants find the materials in need of adaptation, not all make changes due to possible deficiencies in their capabilities or their lack of willingness to act. Those who make changes and thus enact their professional beliefs and values are motivated by completely different reasons. The study found that teachers' interpretation of their work context significantly influences their agential roles and that teacher agency emerges from an interaction of individual capability, professional action, and the professional and social contexts in which the teacher operates.

Creative ways of teaching grammar

This workshop will look at how grammar – an area of language usually disliked by learners - can b... more This workshop will look at how grammar – an area of language usually disliked by learners - can be taught in an engaging way in the English language classroom. We will start off by exploring grammar itself, then - through a variety of hands on activities - participants will have the chance to experience different approaches to teaching grammar. There will be ample opportunities to discuss the applicability of the activities, and the theories that underlie practice, within the participants’ own teaching contexts. We will also discuss how multimodal text design can enhance students’ understanding of language and encourage them to use grammar as a communicative tool.

Developing intercultural competence in the language classroom: A look at teaching materials

The status of culture in English language teaching has shifted over the past five decades from a ... more The status of culture in English language teaching has shifted over the past five decades from a traditional, static view to a stand which acknowledges it as a complex, dynamic, and emergent phenomenon. Many scholars have argued that language teaching should develop global cultural consciousness (e.g. Kumaravadivelu, 2008) and intercultural citizenship (e.g. Byram, 2008, 2011) should be the key outcome of language learning. They argue that classroom practices must go beyond the mere acquisition of language skills and call for a more holistic approach to develop intercultural competence. But how is it done?
One way of examining how intercultural competence may be developed in the language classroom is by looking at teaching materials, most specifically textbooks. These are often considered to be the most accessible artefacts of language teaching and lend themselves easily to evaluation and analysis. They are static and observable; they present an insight into language pedagogy at some point in time (through the activities they offer, the teaching guides they provide, etc.). They are time capsules in that they use texts as representational samples of the language and culture they focus on, which, together with the use of visual materials, provide insight into the values and ideologies that they are promoting. However, it is not always easy to discover the cultural potential materials carry.
In this talk I will discuss a semiotic approach to analysing the cultural content of EFL/ESL textbook materials. I will argue that while traditional content analyses may provide valuable insights, they overlook the cultural meaning potential since they tend to ignore a key element of classroom pedagogy: how language learners interact with texts and visuals imbedded in the framework of a pedagogic task. I will use research data to show how students create their own meanings from teaching materials and demonstrate how cultural understanding can emerge through processes of unguided semiosis, supported by sharing and reflection in a complex, non-linear and essentially dynamic learning environment. I will conclude that collaboratively negotiated and shared (re)presentations of cultural meaning contribute to the development of the learners’ global cultural awareness and prepares them for intercultural citizenship in our globalized world.
Byram, M. (2008). From foreign language education to education for intercultural citizenship. Essays and reflections. Clevedon: Multilingual Matters.
Byram, M. (2011). Intercultural citizenship from an internationalist perspective. Journal of the NUS Teaching Academy, 1(1), 10-20.
Kumaravadivelu, B. (2008). Cultural globalization and language education. New Haven: Yale University Press.

iPad in tertiary education

Cultural representation in English language teaching materials in Hungary

Close Encounters of the Professional Kind: Teachers’ Co-construction of Professional Identities though Social Networking

Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde in Mentoring: Conflicting Roles and Conflicting Strategies?

The Use of the iPad in Literacy Education

Textbooks, cultures, and complexity in tertiary language teaching: Unexplored opportunities

Everybody talks about the weather but no one does anything about it

How to generate English use in the classroom?

The Most Hated Teacher

All that glitters is not gold: genuine communication in the classroom.

Expectation mismatch? A look at the varying expectations of trainees and mentors towards the nature of teaching support during TP.

Teacher training through video: A Hungarian perspective.

Looking at teaching practice: taking stock of the three year programme in Hungary

Mentoring Across the Language Barrier

Professional Development and Networking: The ELTeCS Story

Group Dynamics in Action: How to Make Groupwork Effective

Getting to Know the ELTeCS Network

Stereotypes in ELT: A Mixed Blessing

Creativity and English language teaching: From inspiration to implementation

This book offers a unique perspective on creativity in an educational environment where there is ... more This book offers a unique perspective on creativity in an educational environment where there is a relative dearth of literature on this subject. The authors link practice and principle to provide a practical and valuable guide for more creative language learning and teaching, using not only theoretical ideas but useful practical advice and recommendations on how better to introduce creativity into teaching and daily life. This innovative volume is sure to become a crucial reference point for teachers and practitioners of language teaching, and anyone interested in the ways in which creativity can be channelled into the teaching and learning process.