Abstract
Dear Readers
This has been a memorable year for the Regional Language Centre (RELC) as 2018 has celebrated the 50th anniversary of our establishment. As part of our year-long celebrations of this milestone, the RELC Journal has had not one, but two Special Issues.
We started the year with the April 2018 Special Issue, ‘Teaching English as an International Language (TEIL): Realistic of Idealistic?’. In the Editorial, entitled ‘Revisiting the Pedagogy of English as an International Language’, Roby Marlina and his World Englishes/English as a Lingua Franca colleagues problematized various misconceptions of (teaching) EIL and the recurring view of it being an ideological fantasy. The full Editorial is available free-to-view at: http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/0033688218765831
Following the April 2018 Special Issue, in August 2018 we published a 50 th Anniversary Special Issue, edited by Jack C. Richards. A number of distinguished scholars were invited to provide state-of-the-art surveys of key issues in TESOL. The issue included articles pertaining to the ASEAN region as well as international coverage of digital trends, teacher education and professional development. Throughout this celebratory year we have kept the full articles available free-to-view online.
This brings us now to this current issue which is the final issue of the year. Here we include seven research articles, two ‘Viewpoint’ articles and two book reviews in the areas of language teaching, language testing, and teacher and learner perceptions. The first article ‘Drama for L2 speaking and Language Anxiety: Evidence from Brazilian EFL Learners’ by Angelica Galante found that the use of drama can help to increase comfort levels in L2 speaking. In the next article, ‘Principles of Teaching Cohesion in the English Language Classroom’, Yin Zihan suggests a set of principles to guide the teaching and learning of linking adverbials. The third article is rather unusual in that it is not related to the teaching of English but the teaching, more specifically the testing, of Mandarin. In ‘Validation of the Mandarin Version of the Vocabulary Size Test’, Zhao Ping and Ji Xiaoli report on validation of a shortened Mandarin version of the Vocabulary Size Test. Although the article is not about the English language per se, the process of validation described in the article will be helpful to readers interested in test construction.
The next three articles address the thorny issue of language proficiency of English teachers, especially those for whom English is not the mother tongue. In an evocative article entitled ‘A2 is Normal’ – Thai Secondary School English Teachers’ Encounters with the CEFR’, Jens Franz and Adisa Teo report on a case study which captures the experiences and perceptions of Thai teachers on the implementation of the CEFR in four Thai schools and associated teacher training activities. Following this, in ‘General English Proficiency or English for Teaching? The Preferences of In-service Teachers’, Pham Thi Hong Nhung argues in favour of an approach to developing teachers’ language proficiency that is specific to classroom language. The third article, though focussed on the experiences and perceptions of learners in an English medium programme, also relates to teachers’ language proficiency. In ‘What Makes an Effective English-Medium Course in China? Experiences and Perspectives of International Undergraduates’, Zhang Hao reports that learners regard their lecturer’s English proficiency as an important factor, along with personality, commitment to teaching and students, teaching approach, and language use.
In the next section, we feature two Viewpoint articles, the first by Shin Dong-Shin and Kang Hyun-Sook which considers ‘Online Language Teacher Education (OLTE): Practices and Possibilities’. The authors review emerging patterns in OLTE, illuminating critical issues and future directions. Finally, ‘Taking Stock of Corpus-Based Instruction in Teaching English as an International Language’ by Huang Li-Shih addresses using corpora as a possible tool for teaching English as an International Language. Replete with screenshots, this article shows readers step-by-step how to apply corpora in their teaching.
Finally, we have two book reviews, one of Ian McGrath’s recent publication Materials Evaluation and Design for Language Teaching (Second Edition) written by Gail Steele, and the second of Gregory Hadley’s Materials Evaluation and Design for Language Teaching written by Colin Walker.
The issue concludes with a ‘Call for Abstracts’ for a Special Issue of the RELC Journal, to be published in April 2020, on the theme of English for Academic Purposes in the Digital Era. The issue will be guest edited by Christoph A. Hafner and Jack Pun, both from the Asia-Pacific Language for Specific Purposes (LSP) & Professional Communication Association.
As you can see from the articles published in these three issues, the RELC Journal supports RELC’s mission of developing language education by providing opportunities for established and emerging scholars from all over the world to share their research and views on topics and issues that matter to our profession.
As the year draws to an end, especially this milestone for us at Southeast Asian Ministers of Education Organisation (SEAMEO) Regional Language Centre (RELC), and as we celebrate the RELC Journal’s achievements, we must not forget to thank those who have played an important part in our continued growth and success. I would like to thank the members of our Editorial Board, who voluntarily give their time to review articles. Through your efforts, the RELC Journal is able to maintain the highest standards of transparency and discernment in selection of high-quality articles. I would also like to thank authors for choosing to publish with the RELC Journal. The RELC Journal’s average time to first decision is a very creditable 27 days, and we will strive to maintain or improve upon this. Finally, thank you to all of our readers for your interest in our journal. We hope that the articles will provide valuable takeaway messages that will make a real difference to you and your learners. Wishing you all the best in 2019!