Conversation Analysis Conversation Analysis Like ‘discourse analysis’, Conversational Analysis provides a tool for conducting micro-analyses of classroom discourse and, in particular, for examining the sequential development of classroom talk. CA derives from a branch of sociology-ethnomethodology. Seedhouse identified five key principles of this method of enquiry: Indexicality, i.e. the use that interactants make of shared…
Communicative Language Testing Communicative Language Testing The advent of communicative language testing saw a growing preference for face-to-face interaction as the context in which the assessment of spoken language skills would occur. In communicative language testing, the target of test inferences is performance of a set of communicative tasks in various contexts of use. The…
Sociocultural Theory in Language Learning Sociocultural theory is based on work by the Russian psychologist, Vygotsky, and represents a fundamentally different way of looking at language and learning. Sociocultural theory is grounded in the ontology of the social individual. A sociocultural approach considers language and, by extension, second language acquisition as contextually situated and is…
Distance Learning | An IELTS Essay Sample Distance Learning | An IELTS Essay Sample Topic Thanks to considerable advancements in technology, particularly the internet, distance learning is increasing at an incredibly rapid pace. Do you think e-learning will have outgrown traditional learning taking place in face-to-face classes by the end of the 21st century? Support your…
Family Disintegration | An IELTS Essay Sample Family Disintegration | An IELTS Essay Sample Topic Nowadays, families are not as close as in the past and a lot of people have become used to this. Explain the reasons for this and discuss any possible effects it may have on society. The Essay Written by LELB…
Small Talk | A Listening Practice Course Small Talk | A Listening Practice Course Listen to this audio file. Questions about the Listening Track Do we need conversation starters for intrapersonal or interpersonal interactions? What is the most common conversation starter? What is the most effective conversation starter, and why? What questions increase the likelihood…
IELTS – TOEFL Preparation Course | Session 8 Writing Task Topic: With an increasing population communicating via the internet and text messaging, face-to-face communication will become a thing of the past. To what extent do you agree? Paragraph on online communication In modern society, people have more choices ways to communicate each other such as…
IELTS Speaking Practice on People Skills with interesting activities for advanced ESL students Key Words: people skills, communication skills, interaction, interpersonal relationship, social skills, socialization, etc. Questions about people skills Can you describe a situation where strong people skills helped someone achieve a goal, even if they didn’t have the most technical expertise? 2. In…
Zone of Proximal Development or ZPD in second language learning from a sociolinguistic point of view Zone of Proximal Development The Actual Developmental Level: According to Vygotsky (1978, p. 85), it is the level of development of the child’s mental functions that has been established as a result of certain already completed developmental cycles. The…
Discourse analysis and pragmatics in second language acquisition Discourse Analysis and Pragmatics Discourse analysis serves as a device for systematically describing the kinds of interactions that occur in language classrooms. Drawing on initial work on content classrooms by Bellack (1966) and by the Birmingham School of linguistics (Sinclair & Coulthard (1975) discourse analysts give attention…