Abstract

In general, eclecticism in language teaching holds that although no single language teaching method manages to meet all the teaching and learning needs, many methods have valuable insights that should be drawn on. But it has been criticized for its lack of principles. Thus principled eclecticism and teaching by principles have been pursued. This study investigated the attitudes and perceptions of the College Englishteachers in China towards eclecticism and principled eclecticism in their teaching inthe intensive English language program, and the methods or approaches and teachingtechniques they employ; and, through a case study, it probed whether the real teachingpractice of principled eclecticism was as eclectic and principled as the proponentsdescribed at the theoretical level. After analyzing the questionnaire from 155 teachersand 51 students, a 12-week classroom observation, and person-to-person interviews, the authors find that eclecticism does exist and is widely practiced by College English teachers and is warmly welcomed by the students. 

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A Faircloughian approach to CDA: Principled eclecticism or a method searching for a theory?

Abstract

For researchers wanting to take up critical discourse analysis as an analytical tool, Norman Fairclough’s (1989) early work provided a stepby-step approach that he called ‘a guide not a blueprint.’   In response to calls for a more explicit theoretical justification, Chouliaraki and Fairclough (1999) attempted to theoretically ‘ground’ CDA and to spell out its underpinning theories ‘explicitly and systematically’.  Their recommendation for a ‘shifting synthesis’ of theoretical sources, however, has been criticised, raising significant questions about the extent to which this work is method-driven and theoretically-framed.   This paper explores some of the issues, considerations and advantages that surfaced as the author drew on a Faircloughian approach to CDA, its theory and method in researching literacy learning.

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