Theron Muller

Waseda University, Faculty of Human Science, Faculty Member

The Open University, CREET, Part-time PhD Student

University of Birmingham, ELAL (English Language and Applied Linguistics), Adjunct

Followers

327

Following

205

Co-authors

Public Views

Theron Muller is a teacher and researcher based in Japan. He is lead editor of Innovating EFL Teaching in Asia, Palgrave Macmillan. He is interested in academic literacy and TEFL/TESL classroom-based research.
Supervisors: Theresa Lillis and Ann Hewings

less

InterestsView All (18)

Uploads

Books by Theron Muller

Exploring EFL Fluency in Asia, Chief Editor

While individual teachers interpret fluency differently, most working in EFL agree that it has a ... more While individual teachers interpret fluency differently, most working in EFL agree that it has a considerable influence on the success or failure of students' language learning. In EFL contexts, the absence of fluency-based practice opportunities can lead to low self-confidence, low language learning motivation, and limitations in learners' productive skills. This volume explores fluency in all fours skills (speaking, writing, reading and listening) and through a number of different perspectives to build upon existing research and to expand the fluency discussion to include consideration of classroom strategies for fluency development in EFL contexts. The definition of fluency as a trait of speaking is expanded to encompass all four language skills in an effort to illustrate its importance to all aspects of language learning. This volume includes a mixture of literature review chapters outlining the research paradigm for ongoing fluency research and empirical investigations into fluency development and measurement in the EFL classroom, making it relevant to both researchers and practitioners of EFL.

Innovating EFL Teaching in Asia, Chief Editor

Papers by Theron Muller

Promoting Strategy Teaching as an Innovative Practice in the Asian EFL Oral Classroom

Developing learners’ oral skills is particularly daunting to English as a foreign language (EFL) ... more Developing learners’ oral skills is particularly daunting to English as a foreign language (EFL) teachers in Asia, where English does not have immediate social and communicative functions within the community where it is learned and speaking is often neglected in EFL classrooms. In view of this, this chapter proposes oral communication strategy teaching as an innovative practice to promote teaching speaking skills in Asia and beyond.

Reviewer feedback on multilingual scholars’ writing for English Publication: Perspectives from the ‘Periphery’

Writing & Pedagogy, 2016

Studies into multilingual, ‘periphery’ scholars’ experiences of English publication for academic ... more Studies into multilingual, ‘periphery’ scholars’ experiences of English publication for academic purposes suggest that they face a number of obstacles in seeking publication in EFL and applied linguistics language journals (Belcher, 2007; Canagarajah, 1996). Some journals located outside of the Anglophone center have sought to adapt their review processes to be more accommodating toward these generally less experienced, potentially ‘off-networked’ (Swales, 1996: 45) scholars (Nunn and Adamson, 2007; Adamson and Muller, 2012). Yet the literature to date tends to approach this topic from one of two perspectives; exploring the editorial, journal review process from the perspective of editors (Adamson, 2012; Belcher, 2007) or author-focused explorations of writing for academic publication practice (Lillis and Curry, 2010; Okamura, 2006). This paper seeks to bridge this gap by outlining the efforts of one Asian-based journal, Asian EFL Journal, to raise awareness among reviewers and editors of the needs of multilingual scholars and data from an investigation into Japan-based authors’ practices of writing for academic publication. How our findings can inform journal policy and implications for reviewing practice more broadly in light of reviewer and author experiences is considered.

Joint autoethnography of teacher experience in the academy: exploring methods for collaborative inquiry

International Journal of Research & Method in Education, 2017

This manuscript uses a joint autoethnographic methodology to explore the experiences of two langu... more This manuscript uses a joint autoethnographic methodology to explore the experiences of two language teacher scholars working in the academy outside the global centre in Japan. Emphasis is given to how the methodology used, cycles of reflective writing, reveals commonalities and differences in our respective experiences of working in the Japanese academy. Our accounts are interlinked with literature on global flows of labour and the marginalized position of non-Japanese within the Japanese academy. We present our reflective methodology as a tool of empowerment that allows for otherwise marginalized voices to be explored, heard, and shared with the larger academic community.

Download

Epilogue: Description and Evaluation of the Process of Creating this Book

Innovating EFL Teaching in Asia, 2012

The theme of this book has been empowering the voices of teacher-researchers in Asia to help them... more The theme of this book has been empowering the voices of teacher-researchers in Asia to help them to better define for themselves what teaching and working in this diverse geographical area means. While the contributions may have demonstrated more diversity throughout Asia than commonality within and between contexts, perhaps this picture of variation among students, teachers, local classrooms, and national contexts is more illustrative of the reality of the Asian context (and likely other contexts) than is implied by Hofstede’s (1980) quantitative separation of nationalities according to different cultural attributes.

From assignments toward publication: Brokering academic writing

This paper considers conversations of the disciplines (Bazerman, 1980) regarding disciplinary wri... more This paper considers conversations of the disciplines (Bazerman, 1980) regarding disciplinary writing norms. Traditionally, English for Specific Purposes (ESP) and English for Academic Purposes (EAP) instruction focuses on academic skills generally relevant to the classroom. Our intention is to bridge the academic writing classroom (EAP) with writing for publication (ESP). We realize such a perspective provides a challenge for students and teachers unfamiliar with publishing norms, particularly field-specific norms, which include editorial expectations for the presentation of manuscripts, talk around texts such as author email correspondence, and expectations regarding revision and co-construction of research following editorial review. We feel the keys to overcoming these challenges lie in linking the classroom roles of teacher-as-writer and student-as-writer with a network of supportive literacy brokers. The implications of this are intra- and interdisciplinary in nature, calling ...

Introduction to Part A

Innovating EFL Teaching in Asia

Journal editors' perceptions of academic publishing outside major publishing houses

by Dr. John L Adamson, Theron Muller, and Naeema Hann

ESBB Journal, 2021

Abstract Despite increasing demands to publish in English, publishing in private publishing house... more Abstract
Despite increasing demands to publish in English, publishing in private publishing houses’ small number of prestige journals remains a benchmark of journal and manuscript quality. How such journals have responded to increasing demand for English language publication has been well-documented. However, the perspectives of editors working in non-prestige journals not affiliated with large, private publishing houses remain underrepresented, particularly concerning academic editorial work. To better present a diversity of editors’ perceptions, this collaborative autoethnography explored the views of five applied linguistics and TESOL journal editors working in journals unaffiliated with private publishing houses. Issues explored included our respective journals’ struggle to compete, such as in bibliometric assessment and maintaining quality review processes. Our explorative narratives of editorial perceptions revealed issues internal and external to journal editorial practice. Internally, ‘quality’ in blind and non-blind reviewing, evaluation criteria, reviewer bias, and field-specific norms of academic writing were problematized. Externally, issues of open access, author publication fees, bibliometric indexing, and our journals’ positionings in their fields were raised. We believe that sharing our views through this collaborative narrativization can help broaden understanding of editorial practices and, by highlighting issues of interest to editors more broadly, can help to foster a sense of common purpose

Key words: collaborative autoethnography, editorial practices, journal editors’ perceptions, non-prestige journals

Download

Faculty Publication Trends in a Japanese National University’s Medical Faculty: A Preliminary Diachronic Comparison

The Journal of Liberal Arts and Sciences, University of Toyama, 2021

This paper presents a diachronic analysis of publication frequency and language medium for a Japa... more This paper presents a diachronic analysis of publication frequency and language medium for a Japanese national university's medical faculty. Studies of trends in global writing for academic publication tend to implicate English language publication frequency increasing at the expense of publishing in national languages (Bennet, 2014). However, while increases in English language publication have been demonstrated (Fire & Guestrin, 2019), there remains little quantitative analysis of how the language publication practices of university faculty from outside the Anglophone center of higher education have changed, with Kyvik (1990, 2003), Daizen (2015), and Huang (2015) being notable exceptions. Here we diachronically analyze publication reports for a Japanese university's medical faculty, examining annual university publication reports across two time periods, 1979 to 1980 and 2017 to 2018 for three medical subspecialties; biochemistry, internal medicine, and pathology. Across the subspecialties, English language publication in the most prestigious publication type, original journal articles, has largely come at the expense of Japanese language publication, with Japanese publications and English publications switching places in terms of frequency of publication between 1979 to 1980 and 2017 to 2018. However, less prestigious publication types have increased for both Japanese and English, suggesting that professional communication in Japanese remains important.

Download

TEFL/TESL Practitioners Writing for Academic Publication in Japan : Two Case Studies(Collaboration and Relativization in English Language Education)

by Atsushi Iida and Theron Muller

Jacet全国大会要綱, Aug 30, 2013

Reviewer feedback on multilingual scholars' writing for English Publication: Perspectives from the 'Periphery' Reflections on Practice

by Dr. John L Adamson and Theron Muller

Studies into multilingual, 'periphery' scholars' experiences of English publication for academic ... more Studies into multilingual, 'periphery' scholars' experiences of English publication for academic purposes suggest that they face a number of obstacles in seeking publication in EFL and applied linguistics language journals (Belcher, 2007; Canagarajah, 1996). Some journals located outside of the Anglophone center have sought to adapt their review processes to be more accommodating toward these generally less experienced , potentially 'off-networked' (Swales, 1996: 45) scholars (Nunn and Adamson, 2007; Adamson and Muller, 2012). Yet the literature to date tends to approach this topic from one of two perspectives; exploring the editorial, journal review process from the perspective of editors (Adamson, 2012; Belcher, 2007) or author-focused explorations of writing for academic publication practice (Lillis and Curry, 2010; Okamura, 2006). This paper seeks to bridge this gap by outlining the efforts of one Asian-based journal, Asian EFL Journal, to raise awareness among reviewers and editors of the needs of multilingual scholars and data from an investigation into Japan-based authors' practices of writing for academic publication. How our findings can inform journal policy and implications for reviewing practice more broadly in light of reviewer and author experiences is considered.

Download

Joint autoethnography of teacher experience in the academy: exploring methods for collaborative inquiry

by Dr. John L Adamson and Theron Muller

This manuscript uses a joint autoethnographic methodology to explore the experiences of two langu... more This manuscript uses a joint autoethnographic methodology to explore
the experiences of two language teacher scholars working in the
academy outside the global centre in Japan. Emphasis is given to how
the methodology used, cycles of reflective writing, reveals
commonalities and differences in our respective experiences of working
in the Japanese academy. Our accounts are interlinked with literature on
global flows of labour and the marginalized position of non-Japanese
within the Japanese academy. We present our reflective methodology as
a tool of empowerment that allows for otherwise marginalized voices to
be explored, heard, and shared with the larger academic community.

Download

Epilogue: Description and Evaluation of the Process of Creating this Book

by Theron Muller and Dr. John L Adamson

Innovating EFL Teaching in Asia, 2011

Exploring the Practices and Experiences of Japan-based Language Educators: Writing for Academic Publication: Examining Authors’ Interactions with Editors

This paper draws on data from a larger project investigating the experiences of language teachers... more This paper draws on data from a larger project investigating the experiences of language teachers based in Japan, both Japanese and non-Japanese, who are relatively new to writing for academic publication as they seek to publish their work. The principle focus of this paper is on the email interaction between authors and “literacy brokers” (Lillis & Curry, 2006, p. 3) during the process of negotiating changes to manuscripts after they have been submitted to publications for review. The genre of the submission letter to the editor was first examined by Swales (1996) from a discourse analysis perspective, focusing on defining and describing genre norms. While such genre analysis investigations have led to a number of insights regarding the structure and organization of academic texts, how interaction between editor and author is locally constructed between particular interlocutors has not been investigated in detail to date. Research into how manuscripts have been altered post submission has shown the significant impact review and editing have on published manuscripts (see, for example, Lillis & Curry, 2010), but how authors and editors negotiate and mediate these changes remains largely “occluded” (Swales, 1996, p. 46). In examining the co-construction of the editor-author relationship, interactions between two authors, a Japan-based Anglophone author and a non-Anglophone author and their editors surrounding submission of their manuscripts for publication are analyzed and discussed. The emphasis is on how relationships are constructed and negotiated, how roles and responsibilities are assigned, and how Habermas’ (1984) system versus lifeworld dichotomy may assist in understanding interactions, with rhetorical movement between formation of social relationships and addressing the technical process of revision and editor-author expectations regarding the progression of manuscripts from submission to publication or rejection.

Download

Evolving academic journal editorial systems

by Theron Muller and Dr. John L Adamson

Download

Free writing in medical ESP: Exploring issues of research methods for intact classroom research

The Journal of Liberal Arts and Sciences (University of Toyama, Sugitani Campus), Dec 2014

Download

From Assignments toward Publication: Brokering Academic Writing

by Dr. John L Adamson and Theron Muller

OnCue 7(2), pp. 76-85, Dec 2013

Download

Creating and sustaining a local research community in a Japanese context

by Theron Muller and Dr. John L Adamson

Brunelli, T., Cowie, N., & Fujishima, N. (Eds.) Professional Development in Language Teaching. (pp.77-82), Conference Proceedings of the Okayama University/JALT Teacher Education SIG Conference, 2007

This paper describes the creation of a research group for postgraduate EFL teacher- researchers w... more This paper describes the creation of a research group for postgraduate EFL teacher- researchers working in a local Japanese tertiary context. It critically analyses the rationale for the group’s existence, including how it is run and sustained. The literature review considers teacher collegiality and development in Japan, and how non-institutional support groups are organized. The methodology is a triangulation of a quantitative analysis of a ‘Yahoo!’ mailing list’s web traffic and qualitative analysis of members’ written reflective narratives and semi-structured interviews. Conclusions specific to the findings will be drawn and implications for further research will be addressed.

Download

Critical Discourse Analysis in a Medical English Course: Examining Learner Agency through Student Written Reflections

Theorizing and Analyzing Agency in Second Language Learning

This paper examines and describes students’ written critical reflections during a medical ESP cou... more This paper examines and describes students’ written critical reflections during a medical ESP course, analyzing how they respond to issues raised during the course, asserting their agency and constructing their “future selves” (Markus & Nurius, 1986, p. 957) as medical doctors. The course is intended to bridge the “what” with the “how” (Watson Todd, 2003, p. 148) of ESP course content, introducing selected issues identified through critical discourse analysis from the medical literature and asking students to reflect on the doctor-patient discourse models derived from such research, including topics such as lifeworld versus medical “voice” (Barry, Stevenson, Britten, Barber, and Bradley, 2001, p. 495). The intention of the course is to promote student agency in understanding and evaluating the doctor-patient discourse literature by first introducing key concepts and then asking students to react and respond to those concepts in writing. The purpose of this chapter is to examine students’ reflective essays for evidence of developing agency and construction of their identities as future medical doctors. Analysis of their writing describes how they build an image of themselves as future medical professionals, demonstrate agency in describing the kind of doctors they hope to become, explain the kind of doctor-patient relationships they hope to have, and react and respond to the conclusions of the medical discourse literature. Their reflections demonstrate that they do not simply accept the assertions of the literature, but instead interpret and evaluate the conclusions of the literature based on their life experiences and understanding, coming to their own conclusions regarding how doctors should approach patient communication and the unequal power relationship inherent between doctor and patient. This paper will use student texts to describe their journey of developing an understanding of what critical discourse analysis is and how it can be applied to interactions in health care provider situations. The focus will be on examining the critical understanding students demonstrate through their writing and how they project, predict, and describe their future selves as medical professionals. Conclusions will highlight implications for encouraging student agency in an ESP context and how this might inform language teaching and learning more generally.

References
Barry, C. A., Stevenson, F. A., Britten, N., Barber, N., & Bradley, C. P. (2001). Giving voice to the lifeworld. More humane, more effective medical care? A qualitative study of doctor-patient communication in general practice. Social Science & Medicine, 53, 487-505.
Markus, H., & Nurius, P. (1986). Possible selves. American Psychologist, 41 (9), 954-969.
Watson Todd, R. (2003). EAP or TEAP? Journal of English for Academic Purposes, 2, 147-156.

Download

Theron Muller

Uploads

Books by Theron Muller

Papers by Theron Muller

Log In