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Beyond Words Vol. 2, No. 2, November 2014
Widya Mandala Catholic University Surabaya

Editorial

The current Beyond Words Online Journal comes to readers with seven articles consisting 

of two Perspectives, four Research and a Book Review. The Book Review is significant because 

the book reviewed, Narrative Inquiry in Language Teaching and Learning Research, is the first 

book on narrative inquiry research method for Second Language Teaching (SLA). Harumi Kimura 

and George M. Jacobs. presented the contents clearly and critically. 

The first perspective article touches the recent confusing issue. Scholars have been wondering

how editors from “international, indexed” journals know their expertise and email addresses, and 

invite them to write for the journal; and, at the end, inform a certain amount of fee authors must 

contribute, if published. Willy A. Renandya who has been observing these “abracadabra, 

alakazam, hocus pocus” practices for a long time attempts to make us aware of what a bogus 

journal is and mentions “15 reasons why as members of the academic community we should 

shun journals of dubious quality.”  

The second much debated issue is “Should vocabulary be taught in context, as a part of 

reading comprehension, or separately?” Feng Teng who obtained his master degree in TESOL 

from University of Canberra in 2009, and whose research interest is teaching and learning 

vocabulary,  proposes eight strategies to effective vocabulary teaching, among others they 

include high-frequency words appropriate to students’ level;  direct and explicit, not incidental;

foster students’ awareness of the importance of being able to learn vocabulary for speaking and 

writing; adding online materials when it is not available in the textbook.

The third article is a study by Geoffrey M. Maroko and Alice Kiai from Kenya. It is about 

the analyses of the use of tenses in Humanities and Science. Finding that tense usage is 

dependent on the specific field of study, the authors recommended that a Genre-Approach of 



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Academic Writing be applied, accommodating the practical and philosophical requirements of 

the respective field of study.

Natasha H. Chenowith, a Ph.D. candidate at Kent University, found that students 

experienced a sort of indirect marginalization or cultural “othering.”  Her subjects were 

international students from various departments--other than English, but learned English for their

study. She found that the obstacles in learning (fear, shy, silence) were based on the broad 

differences students experience at how they learned at home and in the U.S. She suggested that

students be exposed to both cultures and linguistic system to make English learning more 

effectively.

A prototype computer-based reading comprehension program was proposed and then 

researched by Pannathon Sangarun. A techno savvy herself, she combined modern technology-

based program  for large number of students, and personal-based understanding of meaning 

making during reading comprehension. It also accommodates critical thinking that is a 

significant requirement for the 21st Century learning.

Julia Eka Rini discusses the position of English among other languages in Indonesia.  

English is still the first foreign language. Chinese, or Mandarin, albeit it flourishes in schools and 

business could not compete English for political and psychological reasons.  Which English is 

more popular depends on the background of the users. However, educated English is the one 

used in the academia.

Our big gratitude goes to Anna Siyanova, Ph.D., Victoria University of Wellington, New 

Zealand; Prof. Eugene Sadtono, Ph.D., Ma Chung University, Malang, Indonesia; Prof. Deepti 

Gupta, Ph.D. , Panjab University, India; Prof. Dr. Patrisius Istiarto Djiwandono, Ma Chung 

University, Malang, Indonesia; Willy A. Renandya, Ph.D., NIE, Nanyang Technology 



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University, Singapore;  Mateus Yumarnamto, Ph.D. candidate at Bloomington University, 

Indiana, U.S.A.; for reviewing the articles in the current journal.  Without their expertise, this 

issue will not be as it is now.

Our appreciations to all authors. Your sharing of knowledge is a big contribution to our 

existence as scholars.

The Editors