A Comparison Study of Research Articles Abstracts

The research world is not exempt from experiencing the consequences of globalization and massive exchange of information. Disciplines in both social and natural sciences are constantly developing, and their findings are shared with the different academic and scientific discourse communities through increasing amounts of Research Articles (RAs). Additionally, specialized journals are continuously being launched, not only in hard copy, but also online,. Researchers and professionals have, therefore, to be highly selective in their reading, often focusing on skimming abstracts and key words. Tseng (2011) suggests that “given their important roles and functions, abstracts, a specific genre in its own right, have received considerable attention and have been examined from different perspectives in recent years”(p.27). This paper compares and analyses two abstracts from the education field (King, 2002; Kokonis, 1993) and two abstracts from the medicine field (Becket et al., 2008; Wijeysundera et al., 2010), with the objective of clarifying the sometimes complex genre of RA abstracts.

According to the American Psychological Association (APA, 2010), an abstract is a brief, comprehensive summary of the contents of the original RA, which allows readers to survey the topics quickly in an accurate, non-evaluative, coherent, readable, and concise way. King (2002) and Kokonis (1993) abstracts seem to coincide with APA (2010) notion: a single paragraph containing from about 150 to 250 words. In this respect, Graetz (1982) explains that, an abstract should be a continuous narrative, written in whole sentences, not using separate paragraphs and following the exact order of the organization of the article. Swales and Feak (1994) also agree with this concept of Research Paper (RP) abstracts. They comment that “RP abstracts usually consist of a single paragraph containing from about four to ten full sentences” (p.210). In the case of King’s (2002) abstract, it is composed by five full sentences and Kokonis’ (1993) by seven full sentences.

However, Becket et al. (2008) and Wijeysundera et al. (2010) do not present the traditional format in their abstracts. Both are cases of structured abstracts, with named subheadings, which are common in medical published RAs, and which are gradually being required by many journals specialized in social and humanistic fields (Hartley, 1997; Haynes, Mulrow, Huth, Altman, & Gardner, 1990). According to Mosteller, Nave, and Miech (2004), the structured abstract allows for greater length than APA-style abstracts, providing a detailed and user-friendly framework to organize and display additional information. This structure usually results in a more robust abstract which can be understood independently of the main article. Becket et al. (2008) abstract contains nine sentences and Wijeysundera et al. (2010) eleven sentences. The sentences included in this type of abstract might not be fully complete due to the fact that subheadings already provide information about the content of each section (Mosteller, Nave, & Miech, 2004).

Several authors propose guidelines as to how abstracts should be structured and organized. Swales and Feak (n.d.) mention that, even though recent work in discourse analysis has investigated the number of rhetorical moves in abstracts, the common stages are five, which may vary in terminology, but which typically follow the same order: Move 1 background or introduction, Move 2 present research or purpose, Move 3 methods, materials, subjects, or procedures, Move 4 results or findings, and Move 5 discussion or conclusion. Two of the analysed abstracts, which belong to the education field, differ from the proposed moves. King (2002) presents an extended background move, followed by a purpose move, while Kokonis (1993) begins with a purpose move and continues with a long methods move. The reason for these variations might reside in the fact that both RPs are not experiential, but descriptive in nature.

  In the case of structured abstracts, Haynes, Mulrow, Huth, Altman, and Gardner (1990) introduce detailed instructions for articles reporting original data from investigations with human subjects. They recommend an eight-move abstract with headings for objectives, design, setting, patients or other participants, interventions, main outcome measures, results, and conclusions. In the medicine abstracts analysed in this paper, Wijeysundera et al. (2010) present this structure without deviations, but Becket et al. (2008) seem to adhere to the moves proposed by Hartley (1997) and Swales and Feak (n.d.), since it includes headings for background, methods, results and conclusions. This divergence might reside in the fact that those articles belong to different specialized journals and their requirements regarding format might not be equal. Nakayama, Hirai, Yamazaki, and Naito (2005) indicate that eight-heading structured abstracts, might be more suitable for intervention studies than for observational studies.

Regarding the language of abstracts, Graetz (1982) provides a concise explanation of the main issues:

The abstract is characterized by the use of past tense, third person, passive, and the non-use of negatives. It avoids subordinate clauses, uses phrases instead of clauses, words instead of phrases. It avoids abbreviation, jargon, symbols and other language shortcuts which might lead to confusion. It is written in tightly worded sentences, which avoid repetition, meaningless expressions, superlatives, adjectives, illustrations, preliminaries, descriptive details, examples, footnotes. In short, it eliminates the redundancy which the skilled reader counts on finding in written language and which usually facilitates comprehension. (p.23)

 The studied abstracts seem to accord with some of Graetz’s (1982) statements, but not with all of them. King’s (2002) abstract contains abbreviated words, such as DVD and VHS. Additionally, both medicine abstracts (Becket et al., 2008; Wijeysundera et al., 2010) contain detailed information, a typical feature of structured abstracts (Haynes et al., 1990).

 Swales and Feak (1994) agree with Graetz’s (1982) description, but highlight that tense usage is complicated. The four abstracts (Becket et al., 2008; King, 2002; Kokonis, 1993; Wijeysundera et al., 2010) seem to follow Swales and Feak (1994) delineations: conclusions may be written in the present, opening statements in the present or present perfect, and results in the past tense. In Becket et al. (2008), the background section is written in present and present perfect, the methods and results in past, and the conclusions in present. Wijeysundera et al. (2010) differs, since the entire abstract is written in past, only in the conclusions the present was employed. King‘s (2002) opening statement is written in present perfect, while present is used in the rest of the abstract, and in Kokonis (1993), the whole abstract is written in present. Tseng (2011) notes that verb tense usage might fluctuate across disciplines and authors may vary their choice of verb tense depending on purpose and context.

It is undeniable that abstracts have become a fundamental part of RAs and they have proved to be a helpful resource in the selection of research literature, in order to manage the increasing information flow in the academic and scientific discourse communities. This study examined four RPs across disciplines from several perspectives. It is important to highlight the differences in format that were present in them.  On the one hand, education journal abstracts employed the traditional paragraph-style narrative summary, while medical research journals used structured abstracts with subheadings. The shift in the style of abstracts used in medical journals forces writers to be more explicit about the content of their research, and to do this in a systematic and detailed way. These advantages might lead to major modifications in the education-related journals, since structured abstracts would offer individuals a vehicle to share, access, and communicate research findings though a format that efficiently compresses key information. 

References

American Psychological Association (2010). Publication manual of the American Psychological Association (6^th ed.). Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.

Beckett, N. S., Peters, R., Fletcher, A. E., Staessen, J. A., Liu, L., Dumitrascu, D., . . . Bulpitt, C. J. (2008). Treatment of hypertension in patients 80 years of age or older. The New England Journal of Medicine, 358(18), 1887-1898. doi:10.1056/NEJMoa0801369

Feak, C. B. & Swales, J. M. (n.d.). Journal Article Abstracts. Unpublished manuscript, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA. Retrieved June 2012, from http://turkey.usembassy.gov/uploads/images/

Graetz, N. (1982, August). Teaching EFL students to extract structural information from abstracts. Paper presented at the International Symposium on Language for Special Purposes, Eindhoven, Netherlands. Retrieved June 2012, from ERIC database. (ED224327)

Hartley, J. (1997). Is it appropriate to use structured abstracts in social science journals? Learned Publishing, 10(4), 313-317. Retrieved June 2012, from http://cogprints.org/589/

Haynes, R. B., Mulrow, C. D., Huth, E. J., Altman, D. G., & Gardner, M. J. (1990). More informative abstracts revisited. Annals of Internal Medicine, 113(1), 69-76. Retrieved June 2012, from http://johnstrogerhospital.org/hospitalmedicine/images/resources/

King, J. (2002). Using DVD feature films in the EFL classroom. Computer Assisted Language Learning, 15(5), 509-523. doi:10.1076/call.15.5.509.13468

Kokonis, M. (1993, June). The video in the classroom: Agatha Christie’s “Evil under the sun” and the teaching of narratology through film. Selected readings from the symposium of the International Visual Literacy Association, Delphi, Greece. Retrieved June 2012, from ERIC database. (ED393427)

Mosteller, F., Nave, B., & Miech, E. J. (2004). Why we need a structured abstract in education research. Educational Researcher, 33(1), 29-34. Retrieved June 2012, from ERIC database. (EJ727552)

Nakayama, T., Hirai, N., Yamazaki, S., & Naito, M. (2005). Adoption of structured abstracts by general medical journals and format for a structured abstract. Journal of the Medical Library Association, 93(2), 237-242. Retrieved June 2012, from http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/

Swales, J. M., & Feak, C. B. (1994). Academic writing for graduate students: A course for non-native speakers of English. Ann Harbour, MI: The University of Michigan Press.

Tseng, F.-P. (2011). Analyses of move structure and verb tense of research article abstracts in applied linguistics journals. International Journal of English Linguistics, 1(2), 27-39. doi:10.5539/ijel.v1n2p27

Wijeysundera, D. N., Beattie, W. S., Elliot, R. F., Austin, P. C., Hux, J. E., & Laupacis, A. (2010). Non-invasive cardiac stress testing before elective major non-cardiac surgery: Population based cohort study. British Medical Journal, 340. doi:10.1136/bmj.b5526

Research Articles: Analysis of Results and Discussion Sections

Human life is always changing and developing due to constant advances in natural and social sciences. In this evolution, English has become a medium to communicate and exchange scientific and academic advancements. As a result, Research Articles (RAs) in English have developed into one of the main channels for the progress and distribution of new findings among scholars around the world. To facilitate the reading and writing of RAs, professionals need to be aware of the organizational patterns of discourse conventionally used in their fields of interest.

Research into academic and scientific writing has adopted different perspectives and a variety of features, styles, and genres have been examined. Swales (1990) studied RAs and proposed the Introduction-Method-Results-Discussion (IMRD) model. The last sections of the model usually receive less attention than the Introduction and Methods, but students generally claim to have a greatest degree of difficulty when dealing with them (Dudley-Evans, 1994). The present paper provides a comparative analysis of two articles, one in the education field (Barrs, 2012) and one in the medicine field (Di Angelantonio et al., 2010), with the aim of exploring their Results, Discussions, and Conclusions sections.

The first significant deviation from the IMRD structure (Swales, 1990), which can be visualized in the analysed RAs (Barrs, 2012; Di Angelantonio et al., 2010), is related to the use of headings and subheadings. Barrs (2012) presents a Results section which is divided into first and second periods of action research, each of which contains several subheadings. The last subsection is followed by a Limitations section and a Conclusion and Reflections final section. Di Angelantonio et al. (2010) show a different format, since they include a Results section, with several subheadings, followed by a Discussion section, which contains subheadings for Strengths and Limitations, and Conclusions.

Several authors (Swales, 1990; Swales and Feak, 1994; Weissberg and Buker, 1990; Yang and Allison, 2003) observe that the distinction between Discussion or Conclusions sections is largely conventional, depending on traditions in particular fields and journals. The Results and Discussion sections are sometimes coalesce and some RAs have additional sections labelled Conclusions, Implications, or Applications and so on (Swales, 1990). In this respect, Yang and Allison (2003) conclude that the closing sections of RAs can overlap and that the use of different section headings might be motivated by the primary communicative purposes of each stage, generating a more flexible format towards the end of the RA.

According to Weissberg and Buker (1990), the Results section presents the findings of the study in both figures, which present the findings in numerical terms, and in written text, which helps the reader to focus on the most important aspects and to interpret the findings. Swales and Feak (1994) explain that Results should deal with facts, in a descriptive manner, while Discussions should deal with points, in an interpretive way, but the distinction between both sections is not always sharp, since authors often include evaluative and justification commentaries in Results sections. This additional interpretations might be attributed to the fact that authors tend to be aware of their audience, anticipating what their readers may be thinking or asking.

Thompson (1993) recognizes seven rhetorical moves where authors argue for the validity of facts and knowledge claims: (A) justifications for methodological selections, (B) interpretations of experimental results, (C) evaluative comments on the quality of experimental data, (D) statements citing external consistency, (E) statements explaining experimental discrepancies, (F) statements admitting interpretative perplexities, and (G) calls for further research. These moves are evidenced in the education RA studied in this paper (Barrs, 2012), but in the medical RA (Di Angelantonio et al., 2010), the findings are expressed in a more straightforward and objective fashion, possibly because the medicine-related information does not allow the implementation of the linguistic features which are recurrent in other areas which belong to social sciences.

In relation to the Discussion section, Weissberg and Buker (1990) state that, in this stage, the authors step back and take a broad look at their findings to examine the work in the larger context of the specific field. Swales and Feak (1994) propose a three-move pattern for Discussion sections: In Move 1 the points to consolidate the research space are established (obligatory move), in Move 2 the points to indicate the limitations of the study are introduced (optional, but common move), and in Move 3 the points to identify useful areas of further research are suggested (optional move, only common in some areas).

Di Angelantonio et al. (2010) display this structure without significant modifications. Under the Discussion heading, the main findings are evaluated to consolidate the research space, under the Strengths and Limitations subheading, Move 2 is developed, and under the Conclusion subheading, areas of further research are recommended. In Barrs (2012) this order is not perfectly followed. The Limitations heading is after the Results section, then, under the Conclusion and Reflections heading Move 1 is presented, followed by Move 3. This difference might reside in the fact that medical RAs usually follow a fixed structure that is required by specialized journals, while education journals allow a more flexible organization.

In comparison, Di Angelantonio et al. (2010) appear to coincide with the model proposed by Swales (1990), at least in the sections studied in this paper, while Barrs (2012) displays sections whose boundaries are not strictly limited. Regarding headings, authors seem to split the information into a variable number of sections and subsections, combining generic headings with unconventional or topic-specific ones, particularly in the sections and subsections presenting results and discussing final recommendations or conclusions (Soler-Monreal, Gil-Salom, & Carbonell-Olivares, 2006). This factor might reside in the authors’ willingness to help readers decide whether or not to read a RA by indicating clearly what every section is about.

With respect to Results sections, Di Angelantonio et al. (2010) appear to be more direct in their approach to the reporting of findings. Contrastingly, Barrs (2012) implements other rhetorical moves to argue, justify, evaluate, interpret, and explain the obtained outcomes (Thompson, 1993). Discussion sections seem to allow more freedom regarding stages. Swales and Feak (1994) model seems to be applicable, but the order of the three moves is sometimes altered, as in Barrs (2012). The final sections of RAs are fundamental to accomplish the communicative functions for the evolution and exchange of academic and scientific knowledge. Consequently, it is fundamental to deeply study and understand the rhetoric organization of these stages.

References

Barrs, K. (2012). Fostering computer-mediated L2 interaction beyond the classroom. Language Learning & Teachnology, 16(1), 10-25. Retrieved June 2012, from http://llt.msu.edu/issues/february2012/actionresearch.pdf

Di Angelantonio, E., Chowdhury, R., Sarwar, N., Aspelund, T., Danesh, J., & Gudnason, V. (2010). Chronic kidney disease and risk of major cardiovascular disease and non-vascular mortality: Prospective population based cohort study. British Medical Journal, 341. doi:10.1136/bmj.c4986

Dudley-Evans, T. (1994). Genre analysis: An approach to text analysis for ESP. In M. Coulthard (Ed.), Advances in written text analysis (pp. 219-228). London, UK: Routledge.

Soler-Monreal, C., Gil-Salom, L., & Carbonell-Olivares, M. (2006). A study of section headings in computing, robotics and telecommunication research articles. Revista Electrónica de Lingüística Aplicada, 5. Retrieved June 2012, from http://dialnet.unirioja.es/servlet/articulo?codigo=2254261

Swales, J. M. (1990). Genre analysis: English in academic and research settings. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.

Swales, J. M., & Feak, C. B. (1994). Academic writing for graduate students: A course for non-native speakers of English. Ann Harbour, MI: The University of Michigan Press.

Thompson, D. K. (1993). Arguing for experimental “facts” in science. Written Communication, 10(1), 106-128. doi: 10.1177/0741088393010001004

Weissberg, R., & Buker, S. (1990). Writing up research: Experimental research report writing for students of English. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall.

Yang, R., & Allison, D. (2003). Research articles in applied linguistics: Moving from results to conclusions. English for Specific Purposes, 22(4), 365-385. doi:10.1016/S0889-4906(02)00026-1

An Analysis of Research Articles Introductions and Methods Sections

Research Articles (RAs) are papers written by an investigator to describe a research study that he or she has completed. According to Weissberg and Buker (1990), its purpose is to explain to others in the field what the objectives, methods, and findings of the study were. RAs authors are concerned with showing that their studies are relevant and significant and have some new contribution to make. In this process, they must consider an audience, a purpose, an organization pattern, a style, and a presentation (Swales & Feak, 1994). Regarding organization, RAs tend to follow the Introduction-Method-Results-Discussion (IMRD) structure (Swales, 1990). The purpose of this paper is to compare the introduction and methods sections of two articles, one in the education field (Sun & Chang, 2012) and other in the medicine field (Roth et al., 2009).

The first evident difference relates to the nature of the data exposed. Sun and Chang (2012) provide information which might be understood not only by education-related professionals, but also by a general audience interested in the topic. On the other hand, Roth et al. (2009) aimed their paper at a specialized medical audience which might poses a considerable amount of background knowledge of the topic. Another dissimilarity concerns the use of tenses. Sun and Chang (2012) have mostly chosen present simple verbs in their introduction, while Roth et al. (2009) make use of past simple active and passive forms. In the methods section, Sun and Chang (2012) and Roth et al. (2009) predominantly employ past simple active and passive forms. Hanania and Akhtar (1985) established that while present is the key tense in introduction and discussion sections, the past becomes prevalent in methods and results.

Swales’ (1990) Create A Research Space (CARS) model suggests three moves in RAs’ introductions. Sun and Chang’s (2012) introduction presents well defined moves. Move 1 (establishing a research territory) comprises the first six paragraphs; two of which show that the research area is important (Move 1A) and the remaining four introduce and review items of previous research (Move 1B). The following two sentences are part of Move 2 (establishing a niche), beginning with a negative connector (though). Move 3 (occupying the niche) is composed by the last two sentences, being the first one a descriptive statement about the main feature of the research and the second one a purposive statement. According to Swales and Najjar (1987), “a RA introduction typically closes with a promissory statement, variously identifiable as an offer of a solution, as a clarification of research purpose, or as an advance notice of what is to come” (p.179).

On the contrary, Roth et al. (2009) present a different introduction. It displays a short Move 1A (two sentences), a two-paragraphs Move 1B, followed by Move 2 (in the third paragraph), which indicates the gap and also describes how the study was conducted (Move 3). After these moves, more evidence of previous research is found, ending with a purpose statement. Samraj (2002) found that “the review of literature [in hard sciences] is not just limited to Move 1 and, in fact, can be found in all three moves” (p.7, as cited in Ozturk, 2007). Swales (2004) proposes a modified CARS model in which the review of literature occurs “throughout the introduction and indeed throughout the article as a whole” (p.227, as cited in Ozturk, 2007). By analysing Roth et al.’s (2009) introduction it seems to fit more accurately under Swales’ (2004) new CARS model than under Swales’ (1990) original model.

Thompson (1993) states that “the introduction is where the scientist/writer contextualizes the reported research by arguing for the exigency of such experiments activity” (p.107). For this purpose it is essential to present a relevant literature review as sign of scientific and scholarly responsibility and for the growth of a cumulative science (American Psychological Association [APA], 2010). In Sun and Chang (2012) in-text citations follow APA (2010) style. However, Roth et al. (2009) show what Jacoby (1986, cited in Swales, 1990) calls contrastive references (they go against the conclusions being reached in the sentence itself) and summary references (reference to the state of previous research as a whole can be identified), which are common in scientific areas. Swales (1990) also mentioned that hard sciences tend to implement non-reporting citations, due to the fact that journals in scientific fields usually use numerical/superscript systems.

Sun and Chang ‘s (2012) paper has two extra headings “Study Framework: Constructivism, Collaboration, and Collaborative Dialogue” and “Research Questions”. The former deals with theoretical background, while the latter is concerned with “the basis on which the study is planned and carried out” (Weissberg & Buker, 1990). Holmes (1997) and Crookes (1986, both cited in Ozturk, 2007) observe that most of the introductions in RAs in social sciences are followed by a titled section that deals with theoretical background, previous research, and general topical information, in contrast to natural sciences. This difference might be explained by Bazerman (1981) who stated that in the harder sciences, author and intended readership are likely to share criteria for the judging of a new knowledge claim, but the social science researcher or may well address a situation in which there is little consensus, approaching the text from diverse methodological and ideological viewpoints.

 With reference to methods sections, Swales and Feak (1994) observe that in education, methodology is often a very important issue, but in medical research, standard practices and established methods are much more widely available. This might result in significantly different methods sections in those fields. Sun and Chang’s (2012) methods section has the traditional subsections (participants and procedures), it adds a data analysis subsection but it does not have a materials subsection. The information is clearly exposed, with simple vocabulary and straightforward explanations. Conversely, Roth et al. (2009) have several subsections with field-specific information which seems to be addressed to medicine professionals. This might be evidenced by the use of abbreviations such as BCG and DTP vaccines and specific terms like Koch-like reactions and Kolmogorov-Smirnov-type. Yu, Hripcsak and Friedman (2002) indicate that abbreviations and acronyms are commonly used in biomedical literature.

In relation to this topic, Swales (1990) notes that “the members of this [medical] discourse community would seem to take methodological appropriacy and rigor more for granted than we find to be the case in other communities” (p.167). The medical text might appear to be incoherent, but this is implied by the shared knowledge of these investigative procedures (Bruce, 1983, cited in Swales, 1990). Swales (1990) states that methods section assumes great importance in most psychological and educational research, but can be assigned scant attention in natural sciences because they tend to be enigmatic and presumptive of background knowledge, not designed for easy replication. Swales (1990) also explains that “the careful step-by-step description, massively supported by anaphoric reference and lexical repetition, produces the kind of explicitness that we associate with standard academic description” (p.169).

English has become one of the main channels for distributing and advancing scientific knowledge among scholars world-wide (Kanoksilapatham, 2005), so in the context of globalization, the ability to read and write research articles in English has become crucial for academic and professional success. Native and non-native speakers of English need to be aware of the organization and structure conventionally used in their fields of interest. This paper was aimed at analysing two RAs across disciplines, in the hope that it would shed some light on the sometimes complex understanding of RAs, concerning disciplinary variations in their construction. These differences in organizational structure could be ascribed to a number of features about the two fields. The awareness of the conventions of research articles can empower learners and professionals to become proficient academic readers and writers, conforming to the conventions or expectations of discourse communities.

References

American Psychological Association (2010). Publication manual of the American Psychological Association (6^th ed.). Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.

Bazerman, C. (1981). What written knowledge does: Three examples of academic discourse. Philosophy of the Social Sciences, 11, 361-388.

Hanania E. A. S. & Akhtar K. (1985). Verb form and rhetorical function in science writing: A study of MS theses in biology, chemistry, and physics. English for Specific Purposes, 4(1), 49-58.   

Kanoksilapatham, B. (2005). Rhetorical structure of biochemistry research articles. English for Specific Purposes, 24, 269-292. doi:10.1016/j.esp.2004.08.003

Ozturk, I. (2007). The textual organization of research article introductions in applied linguistics: Variability within a single discipline: English for Specific Purposes, 26(1), 25-38. doi:10.1016/j.esp.2005.12.003

Roth, A. E., Benn, C. S., Ravn, H., Rodrigues, A., Lisse, I. M., Yazdanbakhsh, M., . . . Aaby, P. (2010). Effect of revaccination with BCG in early childhood on mortality: Randomised trial in Guinea-Bissau. British Medical Journal, 340. doi:10.1136/bmj.c671

Sun, Y.-C., & Chang, Y.-J. (2012). Blogging to learn: Becoming EFL academic writers though collaborative dialogues. Language Learning & Technology, 16(1), 43-61.

Swales, J. M. (1990). Genre analysis: English in academic and research settings. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.

Swales, J. M., & Feak, C. B. (1994). Academic writing for graduate students: A course for non-native speakers of English. Ann Harbour, MI: The University of Michigan Press.

Swales, J. M., & Najjar, H. (1987). The writing of research article introductions. Written Communication, 4(2), 175-191.

Thompson, D. K. (1993). Arguing for experimental “facts” in science. Written Communication, 10(1), 106-128.

Weissberg, R., & Buker, S. (1990). Writing up research: Experimental research report writing for students of English. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall.

Yu, H., Hripcsak, G., & Friedman, C. (2002). Mapping abbreviations to full forms in biomedical articles. Journal of the American Medical Informatics Association, 9(3), 262-272. doi:10.1197/jamia.M0913

A New Edition of a Classical Methodology Handbook

If you are involved in Teaching English as Foreign Language (TEFL) training, either as trainer or trainee, you will be familiar with Harmer’s (2007) The Practice of English Language Teaching, first published in 1983. This book belongs to the Longman Handbooks for Language Teachers series. The book is divided into ten chapters with clear sub-headings; each chapter has a valuable list of references and further reading suggestions. This new edition contains an interesting Digital Versatile Disc (DVD) of classroom practice and teacher interviews conducted by Harmer himself, which can be used as a focus for discussion.

There are many positive features in this book. Given the breadth and depth of topics covered, the author has done a remarkably good job, using clear and simple language, suitable for teacher trainees whose first language is not English. Furthermore, it contains many examples of teaching activities that make use of various techniques and resources discussed. Another plus is that the author’s personal preferences do not intrude. Everything is described objectively and clearly, leaving it to the reader to select what may be appropriate to the specific teaching context.

The book has much to recommend it, but there are a few drawbacks. Some explanations tend to be a bit lengthy, so it would have been simpler for a reader to grasp a concept if the text had been aided by visual representations. Another weakness is that the nine lessons presented in the DVD are highly neutral; a wider range of contexts could have been included to reproduce real teaching situations. Additionally, they seem teacher-centred following the Presentation, Practice, Production (PPP) style; this might have been a result of the editing which had reduced each lesson to a ten minutes length.

The book attempts to deal with almost every aspect of English Language Teaching (ELT), a difficult goal, but it has covered all the major basics. Whether teachers dip into this book to follow threads of a particular issue or topic, or whether they read it from cover to cover, they will find it a useful, well-resourced discussion of ELT practice. This edition is offered as a record of where ELT is right now, meeting the challenges of new ideas, new technology and new concerns. The book will undoubtedly continue its strong contribution to the ELT profession.

References

Harmer, J. (2007). The practice of English language teaching (4th ed.). England: Pearson Education Limited.

The Role of Teachers in Adult Education

Learning a new language implies a challenging endeavour at every stage of life. However, adults tend to perceive English as Foreign Language (EFL) instruction in a more complex way than children and teenagers. Consequently, as EFL teachers we must contemplate and understand adults’ needs and individualities. If we fail in achieving this, we may negatively influence the learning process. To illustrate this concept I will make reference to a personal experience I faced while attending Teaching English as a Foreign Language (TEFL) College.

I had to substitute a colleague in an Elementary class of twelve adult learners, which I had not observed before. The lesson started as planned, then break time arrived and the group went out from the classroom, just a woman remained in. She was unsuccessfully trying to solve the activities I had previously presented, so I sat down and began to explain the topic, but the bell rang and the rest of the class came in. Understanding students and addressing their particular needs are essential to integrate the learner into the classroom environment (Kenner & Weinerman, 2011), so I deduced this learner required extra assistance to achieve this.

At the end of the lesson, this woman stayed in the classroom until everyone else was out. Then, she told me that it was extremely difficult for her to understand English, but that when she was given personalized instruction she could perform better. She also expressed that she felt ashamed because her partners were able to use English and she did not, so she preferred not to ask for extra help in front of them. In relation to this topic, Baskas (2011) mentioned that to decrease mistakes-related embarrassment while providing the motivation to continue learning, it is necessary to create a safe and comfortable environment.

When I met the teacher of this group, I informed him about this situation and he replied that this student always behaved in that way, that she was “the stone in his shoe”. In that moment I regretted not having done more to help this woman. According to Wati (2011), “in the challenge of bringing the students to have English competency as International language, teachers must be ready to accept and adapt themselves with many kinds of changes that happen around them” (p. 80). By applying what I was learning in TEFL College, I could have enhanced my classroom practice in the hopes of improving this student’s situation.

Through the analysis of this event, I may conclude that the role and attitude of the permanent teacher did not succeed in fostering motivation. According to the Centre for Mental Health in Schools at UCLA (2011), maintaining learners’ engagement requires minimizing conditions that negatively affect motivation and maximizing conditions that have a positive motivational effect. Moreover, the teacher failed in demonstrating respect towards this student, even though this is an essential component in classroom learning since it encourages motivation, resulting in an increased likelihood of success (Baskas, 2011).

It is important to consider the different aspects that are involved in adult education, both from the learners and teachers’ perspectives. Adult students do need to be motivated and engaged to realize the importance or their learning, so supportive teachers and peers and challenging opportunities for choice are indispensable to achieve a comfortable, affective and effective learning environment. As educators we cannot overlook students’ requirements and learning styles differences. Furthermore, we must acknowledge the responsibilities that our profession demands us.

References

Baskas, R. S. (2011). Adult learning assumptions. Educational Resources Information Centre. Retrieved October 2011, from http://www.eric.ed.gov/PDFS/ED517971.pdf

Baskas, R. S. (2011). Applying adult learning and development theories to educational practice. Educational Resources Information Centre. Retrieved October 2011, from http://www.eric.ed.gov/PDFS/ED519926.pdf

Centre for Mental Health in Schools at UCLA (2011). A resource aid packet on school engagement, disengagement, learning supports & school climate. University of California. Retrieved October 2011, from http://www.eric.ed.gov/PDFS/ED519151.pdf

Kenner, C., & Weinerman, J. (2011). Adult learning theory: applications to non-traditional college students. Journal of College Reading and Learning, 41(2). Retrieved October 2011, from http://www.eric.ed.gov/PDFS/EJ926365.pdf

Wati, H. (2011). The effectiveness of Indonesian English teachers training programs in improving confidence and motivation. International Journal of Instruction, 4(1). Retrieved October 2011, from http://www.eric.ed.gov/PDFS/ED522911.pdf

The Critical Incident Technique (CIT) as a Resource for Classroom Reflection

 

The application of the CIT in different educational contexts provides several benefits in the teaching-learning process, since teachers gain insights that might lead to improvement. I consider that if the technique is carried out objectively and reflectively, the positive outcomes of its implementation may be advantageous for both teachers and learners, promoting awareness of many complex and unpredictable factors that may arise in classrooms.

Flanagan (1954) proposed the CIT as a set of flexible procedures for collecting direct observations of human behaviour, in order to solve practical problems. The variety of situations in which the collection of critical incidents (CIs) proves to be useful is immense; however its usage in the area of education has displayed outstanding consequences, being a worthwhile tool for teachers’ assessment and reflection. According to Khandelwal (2009), the CIT provided sound evidence for selecting, training and evaluating teachers.

The CIT is widely used to show teachers’ points of view by writing about CIs they faced when teaching (Bilbao & Monereo, 2011; Fernández-González, Elórtegui-Escartín & Medina-Pérez, 2003; Kennedy & Wyrick, 1995; Newman, 1987). Kennedy and Wyrick (1995) explained:

We recommend this [CIT] as an action-oriented means of understanding one’s underlying assumptions about teaching in the classroom. . . . Transformative learning takes place only when one compares assumptions in place before the reflective process to those changed assumptions because of the step by step process of asking the what and why questions. (p. 12)

The CIT can also be focused on the learners’ perspective, identifying the types of incidents that students find critical and examining how these influence their learning, promoting students’ autonomy, learning strategies and responsibility (Finch, 2010). The analysis of the CIs attempts to foster constructive learning; Cruickshank and Applegate (1981) stated that “the emphasis is on reflection – helping teachers think about what happened, why it happened and what else could have been done to reach their goals” (p. 553).

The use of the CIT not only presents a detailed insight into teachers’ practices, but also gives students the opportunity to express their experiences as regards positive and negative teachers’ performances. Teachers who practice reflection about their teaching decisions will become lifelong learners who get involved in a continuous self-improvement process. The comparison, sharing and analysis of the CIs offer an invaluable resource for reflective and meaningful teaching and learning.

References

Bilbao, G., & Monereo, C. (2011). Identificación de incidentes críticos en maestros en ejercicio: propuestas para la formación permanente. Revista Electrónica de Investigación Educativa, 13(1). Retrieved October 2011, from http://redie.uabc.mx/vol13no1/contenido-bilbaomonereo.html

Cruickshank, D. R., & Applegate, J. H. (1981). Reflective teaching as a strategy for teacher growth. Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development. Retrieved October 2011, from http://www.ascd.org/ASCD/pdf/journals/ed_lead/el_198104_cruickshank.pdf

Fernández-González, J., Elórtegui-Escartín, N., & Medina-Pérez, M. (2003). Los incidentes críticos en la formación y perfeccionamiento del profesorado de secundaria de ciencias de la naturaleza. Revista Interuniversitaria de Formación de Profesorado, 17(1), 101-112. Retrieved October 2011, from http://redalyc.uaemex.mx/redalyc/src/inicio/ArtPdfRed.jsp?iCve=27417107

Finch, A. (2010). Critical incidents and language learning: sensitivity to initial conditions. Elsevier Ltd. Retrieved October 2011, from http://www.finchpark.com/arts/SYS-1012.pdf

Flanagan, J. C. (1954). The critical incident technique. Psychological Bulletin, 51(4). Retrieved October 2011, from http://www.analytictech.com/mb870/Readings/flanagan.pdf

Kennedy, R. L., & Wyrick, A. M. (1995). Teaching as reflective practice. Paper presented at the Annual Meeting of the Mid-South Educational Research Association (Biloxi, Mississippi, November 1995). Retrieved October 2011, from http://eric.ed.gov/PDFS/ED393850.pdf

Khandelwal, K. A. (2009). Effective teaching behaviours in the college classroom: a critical incident technique from students’ perspective. International Journal of Teaching and Learning in Higher Education, 21(3), 299-309. Retrieved October 2011, from http://www.eric.ed.gov/PDFS/EJ909053.pdf

Newman, J. M. (1987). Learning to teach by uncovering our assumptions. Language Arts, 64(7), 727-737. Retrieved October 2011, from http://www.lupinworks.com/article/learn.html

Shared Features of Discourse Communities (DCs)

The purpose of this paper is to find evidence to support the theory of a basic criterion to recognize a certain group of people as an academic DC. Swales (1987) defines a DC as “a group of people who share a set of social conventions that is directed towards some purpose” (p. 1). The shared characteristics of DCs not only provide the guidelines to identify them, but they also give the necessary information to understand an analytical definition of a DC.

Swales (1987) establishes that a DC should share goals, participatory mechanisms, information exchange, community-specific genres, specialized terminology and a general level of expertise. Following these criteria, it may be stated that the members of college DCs develop a common discourse with a particular structure and style, involving shared knowledge, common purposes, relationships, attitudes, values and principles (Kutz, 1997, cited in Kelly-Kleese, 2001).

As regards communality of interests, Ford (1999) states that the purpose of college DCs should be developing an evaluation process emphasizing quality teaching. In 2003, Hoffman-Kipp, Artiles and Lopez-Torres noted:

Teacher reflection in social context occurs as teachers engage in and share their reflections in diverse ways. . . . Whether through writing, speaking, or simple listening . . .  , teachers are participating in the construction of knowledge as well as crafting identities within the activity system of this inquiring group. (p. 4)

Mechanisms for intercommunication to exchange information and feedback are universal conventions of DCs, being journals or virtual communication frequently used to share and respond to experiences (Blanton, Simmons & Warner, 2001). Journal editors and peer reviewers must provide opportunities for community members to share their perspectives and experiences (Kelly-Kleese, 2004). Wenzlaff and Wieseman (2004) confirm this, encouraging teachers to participate in professional DCs that discuss learning theories, materials and pedagogy.

With reference to the development of community-specific genres, Kelly-Kleese (2004) explains that assessment is crucial, so DC members must understand writing conventions and judgement standards. This quality is related to a specialized terminology, which Kutz (1997) denominates communicative competence and defines it as “what one must know in order to use language appropriately in particular DCs” (as cited in Kelly-Kleese, 2004, p. 4). Furthermore, Zito (1984) claims that only those who are qualified may engage in a DC and be taken seriously (cited in Kelly-Kleese, 2001), giving importance to critical expertise.

The main conclusion that issues from this discussion is that discourse communities must have certain characteristics that distinguish them, in concordance with Swales’ theory. Consequently, the fact that groups have things in common does not imply that they form DCs. In addition, individuals may belong to several DCs and command a variety of different genres with their corresponding terminology. For a DC to exist a collaborative culture is essential in order to promote a communality of interests and reflection.

References

Blanton, W. E., Simmons, E., & Warner, M. (2001). The fifth dimension: Application of cultural-historical activity theory, inquiry-based learning, computers and telecommunications to change prospective teachers’ preconceptions. Journal of Education Computing Research. Retrieved September 2011, from http://faculty.soe.syr.edu/takoszal/IDE800-Adv-ID-and-ET/IDE850_sp06/additional_readings/blanton_simon-CHAT.pdf

Ford, C. V. P. (1999). ERIC review: Scholarship in the community college system. Community College Review. Retrieved September 2011, from http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0HCZ/is_4_26/ai_63323073/?tag=mantle_skin;content

Hoffman-Kipp, P., Artiles, A. J., & Lopez-Torres, L. (2003). Beyond reflection: Teacher learning as praxis. Theory into Practice. Retrieved September 2011, from http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0NQM/is_3_42/ai_108442653

Kelly-Kleese, C. (2001). Editor's choice: An open memo to community college faculty and administrators. Community College Review. Retrieved September 2011, from http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0HCZ/is_1_29/ai_77481463 

Kelly-Kleese, C. (2004). UCLA community college review: Community college scholarship and discourse. Community College Review. Retrieved September 2011, from http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0HCZ/is_1_32/ai_n6361541

Swales, J. (1987). Approaching the concept of discourse community. Paper presented at the Annual Meeting of the Conference on College Composition and Communication (38th, Atlanta, GA, March 19-21, 1987). Retrieved September 2011, from http://eric.ed.gov/PDFS/ED286184.pdf 

Wenzlaff, T. L., & Wieseman, K. C. (2004). Teachers need teachers to grow. Teacher Education Quarterly. Retrieved September 2011, from http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qa3960/is_200404/ai_n9349405