Greg Restall - Academia.edu (original) (raw)

Papers by Greg Restall

Research paper thumbnail of Exploring the experience of Year 10 South Korean students’ English language learning in immersive virtual reality

TESOL in Context

A prescribed English language textbook often directs classroom teaching practices in secondary sc... more A prescribed English language textbook often directs classroom teaching practices in secondary school classes in EFL contexts, such as in South Korea. The textbook is often accompanied by multimedia resources which are delivered to students as input at a regulated pace with limited opportunities for communicative interaction or spoken output. Such opportunities are further limited in the community outside of the English classroom. Immersive virtual reality (i-VR) has the potential to situate learners in a real-world context for authentic application of textbook language learning. English teachers in the formal classroom focus on linguistic competence development within time constraints by teaching new vocabulary and grammatical items in decontextualised forms. By comparison, i-VR environments focus on learning to construct meaning in communicative events in contextualised, real-world settings based on students’ existing linguistic knowledge and ability. In a small-scale pilot study,...

Research paper thumbnail of Preparing students for Flipped or Team-Based Learning methods

Journal of Education and Training, Aug 10, 2015

Purpose– Teaching methods such as Flipped Learning and Team-Based Learning require students to pr... more Purpose– Teaching methods such as Flipped Learning and Team-Based Learning require students to pre-learn course materials before a teaching session, because classroom exercises rely on students using self-gained knowledge. This is the reverse to “traditional” teaching when course materials are presented during a lecture, and students are assessed on that material during another session at a later stage. The purpose of this paper is to describe an introductory class session that prepares and engages students to be successful participants in courses requiring pre-learning.Design/methodology/approach– A sequence of seven learning activities drawn from the education literature was implemented in an introductory undergraduate entrepreneurship class. These activities were evaluated using exploratory qualitative research.Findings– Student evaluations of the learning activities showed that they readily identified important aspects of learning, critical factors related to student success, and the learning purposes of the introductory session.Practical implications– The sequence of seven activities develops a positive learning culture where students understand their obligations regarding pre-learning, and are prepared for active engagement in the course. These also give the educator valuable information for understanding the learning motivations, expectations, and perceptions of student learners, that allows teaching approaches to be tailored to the needs of that class.Originality/value– The sequence of learning activities is novel and gives both students and educators insights into learning processes required for effective pre-learning for active engagement in student-centred classes. This approach can be applied in different fields of higher education.

Research paper thumbnail of Learner-Centredness in Teachers’ Beliefs: A Qualitative Multiple-Case Study of Chinese Secondary Teachers of English as a Foreign Language

English Language Teaching, 2020

China’s National English Curriculum Standard, launched in 2001, clearly reflects a philosophy and... more China’s National English Curriculum Standard, launched in 2001, clearly reflects a philosophy and characteristics of learner-centeredness. However, limited evidence is available as to how far the learner-centred philosophy has, through interacting with the local contexts, influenced teachers’ beliefs, which will translate into a core philosophy and culture affecting teacher behaviours and practices at the school and classroom levels. Drawing on semi-structured interview data of a larger project, this study reports on three secondary school teachers’ overall educational beliefs regarding English teaching, the alignment of their beliefs with learner-centredness and factors influencing their beliefs. The analysis uncovers a wide range of English-teaching related beliefs that positions the three teachers variously on a learner-centred continuum. It also unveils the possible factors that influence teacher beliefs and mediate teachers’ application of beliefs. Factors influencing teachers’...

Research paper thumbnail of Teaching Chinese Language for Asia Literacy: Chinese Teachers’ Experiences Teaching Australian Students

Asia Literacy in a Global World, 2018

Despite the increasing focus on Asia in Australian education, little consideration has been given... more Despite the increasing focus on Asia in Australian education, little consideration has been given to the experiences of Asian language teachers teaching in low culturally diverse schools. This paper centres on the experiences of two Chinese language teachers working in a low culturally diverse private school in South Australia. Using their narratives, we have shown how experiences of teaching an Asian language in the context of Asia literacy as a cross-curriculum priority are shaped by contradictions and dilemmas in which experiences of diversity now take place in emergent spaces, associated with dynamic and intersecting cultural and symbolic capital, that transcend national borders. We suggest that this has key implications for thinking about the educational practice of Asia literacy through Asian language teaching.

Research paper thumbnail of Team‐based learning and the community of inquiry model

New Directions for Teaching and Learning, 2021

This chapter presents team‐based learning (TBL) as a teaching strategy to support self‐regulated ... more This chapter presents team‐based learning (TBL) as a teaching strategy to support self‐regulated learning in a community of inquiry. It argues for the inclusion of self‐regulated learning as an essential component of Garrison's community of inquiry model, and illustrates how TBL supports and improves the delivery of this online model.

Research paper thumbnail of Exploring the experience of Year 10 South Korean students’ English language learning in immersive virtual reality

TESOL in Context

A prescribed English language textbook often directs classroom teaching practices in secondary sc... more A prescribed English language textbook often directs classroom teaching practices in secondary school classes in EFL contexts, such as in South Korea. The textbook is often accompanied by multimedia resources which are delivered to students as input at a regulated pace with limited opportunities for communicative interaction or spoken output. Such opportunities are further limited in the community outside of the English classroom. Immersive virtual reality (i-VR) has the potential to situate learners in a real-world context for authentic application of textbook language learning. English teachers in the formal classroom focus on linguistic competence development within time constraints by teaching new vocabulary and grammatical items in decontextualised forms. By comparison, i-VR environments focus on learning to construct meaning in communicative events in contextualised, real-world settings based on students’ existing linguistic knowledge and ability. In a small-scale pilot study,...

Research paper thumbnail of Preparing students for Flipped or Team-Based Learning methods

Journal of Education and Training, Aug 10, 2015

Purpose– Teaching methods such as Flipped Learning and Team-Based Learning require students to pr... more Purpose– Teaching methods such as Flipped Learning and Team-Based Learning require students to pre-learn course materials before a teaching session, because classroom exercises rely on students using self-gained knowledge. This is the reverse to “traditional” teaching when course materials are presented during a lecture, and students are assessed on that material during another session at a later stage. The purpose of this paper is to describe an introductory class session that prepares and engages students to be successful participants in courses requiring pre-learning.Design/methodology/approach– A sequence of seven learning activities drawn from the education literature was implemented in an introductory undergraduate entrepreneurship class. These activities were evaluated using exploratory qualitative research.Findings– Student evaluations of the learning activities showed that they readily identified important aspects of learning, critical factors related to student success, and the learning purposes of the introductory session.Practical implications– The sequence of seven activities develops a positive learning culture where students understand their obligations regarding pre-learning, and are prepared for active engagement in the course. These also give the educator valuable information for understanding the learning motivations, expectations, and perceptions of student learners, that allows teaching approaches to be tailored to the needs of that class.Originality/value– The sequence of learning activities is novel and gives both students and educators insights into learning processes required for effective pre-learning for active engagement in student-centred classes. This approach can be applied in different fields of higher education.

Research paper thumbnail of Learner-Centredness in Teachers’ Beliefs: A Qualitative Multiple-Case Study of Chinese Secondary Teachers of English as a Foreign Language

English Language Teaching, 2020

China’s National English Curriculum Standard, launched in 2001, clearly reflects a philosophy and... more China’s National English Curriculum Standard, launched in 2001, clearly reflects a philosophy and characteristics of learner-centeredness. However, limited evidence is available as to how far the learner-centred philosophy has, through interacting with the local contexts, influenced teachers’ beliefs, which will translate into a core philosophy and culture affecting teacher behaviours and practices at the school and classroom levels. Drawing on semi-structured interview data of a larger project, this study reports on three secondary school teachers’ overall educational beliefs regarding English teaching, the alignment of their beliefs with learner-centredness and factors influencing their beliefs. The analysis uncovers a wide range of English-teaching related beliefs that positions the three teachers variously on a learner-centred continuum. It also unveils the possible factors that influence teacher beliefs and mediate teachers’ application of beliefs. Factors influencing teachers’...

Research paper thumbnail of Teaching Chinese Language for Asia Literacy: Chinese Teachers’ Experiences Teaching Australian Students

Asia Literacy in a Global World, 2018

Despite the increasing focus on Asia in Australian education, little consideration has been given... more Despite the increasing focus on Asia in Australian education, little consideration has been given to the experiences of Asian language teachers teaching in low culturally diverse schools. This paper centres on the experiences of two Chinese language teachers working in a low culturally diverse private school in South Australia. Using their narratives, we have shown how experiences of teaching an Asian language in the context of Asia literacy as a cross-curriculum priority are shaped by contradictions and dilemmas in which experiences of diversity now take place in emergent spaces, associated with dynamic and intersecting cultural and symbolic capital, that transcend national borders. We suggest that this has key implications for thinking about the educational practice of Asia literacy through Asian language teaching.

Research paper thumbnail of Team‐based learning and the community of inquiry model

New Directions for Teaching and Learning, 2021

This chapter presents team‐based learning (TBL) as a teaching strategy to support self‐regulated ... more This chapter presents team‐based learning (TBL) as a teaching strategy to support self‐regulated learning in a community of inquiry. It argues for the inclusion of self‐regulated learning as an essential component of Garrison's community of inquiry model, and illustrates how TBL supports and improves the delivery of this online model.