This topic serves three main purposes. The first is to give you a sample of TESOL journals, their features and perspectives, including theoretical interests and the levels at which the topics are developed. The second is to enhance your knowledge of significant perspectives in your field and the kinds of publications through which they are debated and extended. The third purpose is to open the possibilities of your own publication and contributions to your profession through joining your experiences and understandings to debates. For this reason some of the articles are followed by information for contributors. Most journals, not just electronic journals, do have a website in which you will also find such information.

Journals

Some journals are particularly research oriented (Language Learning, for example), while others are more eclectic and publish reports and recounts of classroom practices (Australian Journal of Language and Literacy, for example). Others have sections for short pieces on classroom practices (TESOL in Context, for example, publishes a Readers' Forum). Most journals publish reviews, of different levels and complexity, and these are also represented in your Booklet (See Strand 1).

• Journals represented in your Booklet:

Not represented in your subject is PEN (Primary English Teacher Association (PETA): Newtown). This was because of copyright restrictions, but it is a useful Newsletter and would also be a venue for your own publication. Sometimes a group of teachers publish work developed collaboratively.

• Electronic journals represented in the Subject

A number of electronic journals are linked from your Schedule to give you an overview of the kinds of publications and the current debates in that context.

I foundTESL-EJ http://www.kyoto-su.ac.jp/information/tesl-ej/index.html, particularly useful. It is eclectic, publishing articles from different theoretical standpoints; it gives space for sociocultural standpoints, including systemic articles.

Topics

The topics covered in the subject include those which deal with Second Language Acquisition perspectives, such as the critical period hypothesis, vocabulary development and language learning stages (input^uptake^output). Others are to do with indigenous education, gender, electronic technologies, genre and ways of teaching genre and supporting academic writing. The sociocultural topics have largely been represented with extracts from texts, but they are also represented in the electronic resources in your Schedule and throughout the subject.

To introduce kinds of writing in TESOL contexts we shall begin with those publications which are reports or recounts of day-to-day activities, or reviews of electronic or multimedia resources. The latter should also give you some ideas for using electronic technologies to support your language teaching and of where you might share those ideas.

The first Reading (Young 2000) is an inspirational account of a teacher changing her practices through drama. In Young's community maintaining attendance was a challenge and, drawing on the work of Dorothy Heathcote, she transformed her classroom into a café, with outcomes she could not have predicted. I have included a brief review of the project to which Young's program belongs. Although your challenges will be different, problem solving is a significant aspect of all classrooms and central to that problem solving is the issue of engagement. Young's change of practice demonstrates that function is essential to engagement. Language developments emerged from the meaningful context the teacher created.

&   Please read:

• M. Young (2000). The cafe manymak project. The Australian journal of indigenous education. (Formerly The Aboriginal child. 28, 1, December, pp.31-33. (Included: Guidelines for contributors). (Manymak means good)

• S. Lapp (2000). Using Email to generate communication in an English as a second language classroom. The Australian journal of language and literacy. (Australian Literacy Educators Association ALEA) 23, 1, February, pp.50-62. (Included: Notes for authors, pp.78-80.)

• S. Clayton (2000). Integrating technology in your ESL teaching - issues and strategies. Readers' Forum, in TESOL in context. 10, 1, June, pp.17-18.

• A. Hicks (2000). Integrating information technologies into the New Arrivals Program. TESOL in context. 10, 1, June, p.19.

• M. Lavender (2000). Using powerpoint with ESL students. Readers' Forum, in TESOL in context. 10, 1, June, p.18.

• P. Hackett & B. Kelly (1998). Online English lessons. (www.cit.act.edu.au/courses/online/esl/overview.htm). Prospect: A Journal of Australian TESOL, 14, 3, December 1999, pp.58-59. Reviewed by: P.McPherson.

• F. Wilson & N. Reynolds (1999). Australian multimedia resources: a user's guide. Prospect: A Journal of Australian TESOL. 14, 3, December, pp.60-65.

 
Further Resource Links:

J. Polias, SFL resources for educators. http://users.bigpond.net.au/jpolias/sfl/resources.htm

Systemic Meaning Modelling Group (SMMG) Macquarie University http://minerva.ling.mq.edu.au/ModellingGroup/SMMG.html

Network: Systemic Newsletter  http://minerva.ling.mq.edu.au/Resources/Network/Network.html

SysWorld Information  http://minerva.ling.mq.edu.au/Resources/Network/SysWorld/sysworld.htm Last updated: 06/20/01

Systemic Information Sources  http://minerva.ling.mq.edu.au/Resources/Network/SystemicInfo/SysInfoSource.html (Last updated: 06/20/01)