ELT in Japan Issue #3 (August 2010) Feature 3: Writing Systems Across Languages and Cultures: Implications for Language Teaching and Learning

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Note: this is a different version of the articles on the implications of writing systems for EFL literacy. This article includes specific discussion of classroom activities and content for materials writing. It also has enhanced graphics which are better than previous versions.  

ELT in Japan, Issue #3 (August 2010)
Feature 3: Writing systems across languages and cultures: Implications for language teaching and learning
Charles Jannuzi, University of Fukui, Japan

Introduction

TESOL practitioners anticipate some degree of interference from the native language of their students. The explanatory power of L1 interference and contrastive analysis has been de-emphasized in recent theory and research. Nor can we think that all linguistic, meta-linguistic and literacy transfer effects have a negative impact on L2 acquisition. However, if the students' first language is not closely related to English nor English widely used in the native culture (i.e., EFL situations or in some ESL countries where English is a minority or socially limited language), we might reasonably expect a longer initial 'latent' stage.

To read the rest of the paper as a googledoc, click on the link below. For best results in displaying the document (.pdf), download it from googledocs and open with Adobe Acrobat Reader. 

Read the entire article, "Writing systems across languages and cultures: Implications for language teaching and learning" here.

Download .pdf here:

https://docs.google.com/uc?export=download&id=1Bo3BSEjeYX6gmJsuLXtocCTuPs_HBPSDYBDCwDNeZad-xaqWYJLuTtXqLZNR

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