Blue, George M.
This paper reports on a research project that examined nonnative Southampton University (England) students' attitudes to continued language learning and the importance of language learning and cultural adaptation. A survey was administered to pre-sessional and in-sessional students that included information on background, past and present language…
Snow, Catherine E
A major challenge to students learning science is the academic language in which science is written. Academic language is designed to be concise, precise, and authoritative. To achieve these goals, it uses sophisticated words and complex grammatical constructions that can disrupt reading comprehension and block learning. Students need help in learning academic vocabulary and how to process academic language if they are to become independent learners of science.
Full Text Available There is little profiling academic research on discourse studies in relation to second language learning from a regional perspective. Thisstudy aims at unveiling what, when, where and who constitute scholarly work in research about these two interrelated fields. A dataset wasconfigured from registers taken from Dialnet and studied using specialized text-mining software. Findings revealed myriad research interests,few prolific years and the lack of networking. It is recommended to trace out our research as an ELT community locally and globally.
Shawer, Saad Fathy
This article examines the differences in language learning strategies (LLS) use between preservice teachers of English as a foreign language (EFL) and Arabic as a second language (ASL). It also examines the relationship between LLS use and language performance (academic achievement and four language skills) among ASL students. The study made use…
Haager, Diane; Osipova, Anna V.
An increasing number of children worldwide attend schools where the language of instruction does not match their native language, presenting significant challenges with learning the content and vocabulary of academic content areas (e.g., social studies, science). In the U.S., these students are designated as English language learners…
Guided by positioning theory and poststructural views of second language learning, the two descriptive case studies presented in this article explored the links between social positioning and the language learning experiences of two talkative students in an academic ESL classroom. Focusing on the macro- and micro-level contexts of communication,…
Gose, Robin Margaretha
English language learners (EL) are the fastest growing sub-group of the student population in California, yet ELs also score the lowest on the science section of the California Standardized Tests. In the area of bilingual education, California has dramatically changed its approach to English learners since the passage of Proposition 227 in 1998, which called for most EL instruction to be conducted in English (Cummins, 2000; Echevarria, Vogt, & Short, 2008). In reality, this means that EL students are often placed in programs that focus on basic language skills rather than rigorous content, meaning that they are not getting access to grade level science content (Lee & Fradd, 1998). As a result, many EL students exit eighth grade without a strong foundation in science, and they continue to score below their English-speaking peers on standardized achievements. While the usefulness of the academic language construct remains controversial (Bailey, 2012), the language used in science instruction is nevertheless often unfamiliar to both EL and English proficient students. The discourse is frequently specialized for discipline-specific interactions and activities (Bailey, 2007; Lemke, 1990). This qualitative case study examined academic language instruction in three middle school science classrooms at a dual language charter school. The goal was to understand how teachers integrate academic language and content for linguistically diverse students. The findings fom this study indicate that targeting language instruction in isolation from science content instruction prohibits students from engaging in the "doing of science" and scientific discourse, or the ability to think, reason, and communicate about science. The recommendations of this study support authentically embedding language development into rigorous science instruction in order to maximize opportunities for learning in both domains.
Tuncer, Murat; Dogan, Yunus
This study was carried out in order to identify to what extent the Turkish students' English classroom anxiety affects their academic achievement in English language. In this quantitative descriptive study, a correlational survey model was employed, and the convenience sampling was done. In order to collect data, the Foreign Language Classroom…
This research aimed to investigate; students' English academic achievement, beliefs about English language learning, English language learning strategies, and the relationship of them. Descriptive and correlational design, quantitative methods were applied in this research. The students' final English scores of the first year, BALLI, and SILL were…
Andrew D. Cohen
Full Text Available This paper first considers what it means to become truly proficient in a language other than the native one. It then looks briefly at the evolution of dual language programs. Next, it focuses on the issue of whether the first language (L1 or the second language (L2 serves as the language of mediation. Other dual language program issues are then discussed, such as how proficient learners actually become in academic and social language in the L2, their proficiency in grammar and pronunciation, and possible administrative constraints in the design and execution of such programs. Finally, attention is given to a guidebook written directly for dual language learners and for their teachers in which learners are encouraged to take a proactive role to ensure that they make the most of their dual program language learning and use experiences.
Gose, Robin Margaretha
English language learners (EL) are the fastest growing sub-group of the student population in California, yet ELs also score the lowest on the science section of the California Standardized Tests. In the area of bilingual education, California has dramatically changed its approach to English learners since the passage of Proposition 227 in 1998,…
Carter, Hannah; Crowley, Kimberly; Townsend, Dianna R.; Barone, Diane
This article explores the changing beliefs and practices of 25 secondary teachers participating in a yearlong professional learning (PL) partnership. To demonstrate differences in teachers' approaches to and understandings resulting from that PL, the authors looked more closely at three teachers and found that their ideas about academic language…
Noorlela Binti Noordin
Full Text Available This study was aimed to evaluate the Malay proficiency among students in Form Two especially non-Malay students and its relationship to academic achievement History. To achieve the purpose of the study there are two objectives, the first is to look at the difference between mean of Malay Language test influences min of academic achievement of History subject among non-Malay students in Form Two and the second is the relationship between the level of Malay proficiency and their academic achievement for History. This study used quantitative methods, which involved 100 people of Form Two non-Malay students in one of the schools in Klang, Selangor. This study used quantitative data were analyzed using descriptive statistics and statistical inference with IBM SPSS Statistics v22 software. This study found that there was a relationship between the proficiency of Malay language among non-Malay students with achievements in the subject of History. The implications of this study are discussed in this article.
Cognitive Academic Language Learning Approach (Project CALLA) was a federally funded program serving 960 limited-English-proficient students in 10 Manhattan (New York) elementary schools in 1992-93 its third year of operation. The project provided instruction in English as a Second Language (ESL), mathematics, science, and social studies in…
Amigud, Alexander; Arnedo-Moreno, Joan; Daradoumis, Thanasis; Guerrero-Roldan, Ana-Elena
This paper presents the results of integrating learning analytics into the assessment process to enhance academic integrity in the e-learning environment. The goal of this research is to evaluate the computational-based approach to academic integrity. The machine-learning based framework learns students' patterns of language use from data,…
Solak, Ekrem; Cakir, Recep
The purpose of this study was to determine the use of language learning strategies of e-learners and to understand whether there were any correlations between language learning strategies and academic achievement. Participants of the study were 274?e-learners, 132 males and 142 females, enrolled in an e-learning program from various majors and…
Michael Luna, Sara
Developing and scaffolding academic language is an important job of preschool teachers. This Teaching Tip provides five strategies that extend the topic of academic language by integrating previous research and field-based data into classroom practice.
De Jesus, Olga Noemi
Many institutional programs are changing to incorporate more online opportunities as a way to meet the needs of their students. Therefore, international English language learners are being encouraged to take online courses in order to complete their programs of study at United States colleges or universities (Tan, Lee, & Steven, 2010). In this…
Murphy, Caroline; Hermann, Charlotte; Andersen, Signe Hvalsøe; Grigalauskyte, Simona; Tolsgaard, Mads; Holmegaard, Thorbjørn; Hajaya, Zaedo Musa
This study examines the concept of second language learning in Denmark with focus on how second language learners negotiate their identities in relation to language learning and integration. By investigating three language learners’ acquisition of Danish through key theories on the field of second language learning, focus is centred on the subjects’ lived experiences of the learning process within their everyday lives and in the classroom. Through interviews and observations it can be conclud...
Full Text Available Introduction: Self-directed learning is originated from adult education which has currently gained a special place in educational systems and is influenced by many variables such as teaching self-efficacy and self-directed learning. This research investigated the relationship of teachers’ teaching with academic self-efficacy and self-directed learning from English language students' perspectives. Methods: The study population comprised of all bachelor, master and Ph.D. English language students of Allameh Tabataba’i University (2014-2015 who had passed at least one semester. A total of 159 students were selected as study sample using Cochran formula and proportional stratified sampling. The data were collected through three standard questionnaires with confirmed validity and reliability. Data were analyzed by one-sample t-test, Pearson correlation and multiple regression. Results: With regard to teaching efficiency, content presentation, learning evaluation and class management skills were higher than average and lesson planning and control over content skills were at an average level. Also, all dimensions of academic self-efficacy and self-directed learning were significantly higher than average. The correlation between teaching efficiency and self-efficacy (r=0.367 and self-directed learning (r=0.571, and between self-efficacy and self-directed learning (r=0.523 was statistically significant (P<0.01. Moreover, a combination of teaching efficiency dimensions could predict different dimensions of self-efficacy and all components of self-directed learning. Furthermore, self-efficacy dimensions were good predictors of self-directed learning. Conclusion: Success in the realm of academia and organizational learning depends on the learners’ updated knowledge and skills and self-directed learning. Also, it seems teachers’ efficient teaching affects students’ academic self-efficacy, orienting them toward self-directed learning.
Pepin, Gina M.
Although the implementation of the No Child Left Behind Act in 2001 created new instructional intervention practices, reading and writing scores across K-12 and postsecondary levels continue to reflect stagnant achievement outcomes. The research questions in this study concerned the effect of a northern Michigan middle school language arts…
Chau, Juliana; Lee, Alfred
The range and number of technologies currently available have yielded both opportunities and challenges for language educators. This study aims to review recent technology-enhanced language learning (TeLL) research, and to examine their potential relevance to EAP pedagogy, curricula, assessment and instruction. The results of this study show TeLL…
Grabe, William; Zhang, Cui
Reading and writing relations, as this concept applies to academic learning contexts, whether as a major way to learn language or academic content, is a pervasive issue in English for academic purposes (EAP) contexts. In many cases, this major link between reading/writing and academic learning is true even though explicit discussions of this…
Barnes, Erica M.; Grifenhagen, Jill F.; Dickinson, David K.
This article defines academic language by examining the central features of vocabulary, syntax, and discourse function. Examples of each feature are provided, as well as methods of identifying them in oral language and printed text. We describe a yearlong study that found teachers used different types of academic language based on instructional…
It is no exaggeration to say that language learning is the very foundation of global competence and the most deeply effective way for students to be able to "investigate the world, recognize perspectives, communicate ideas, and take action," which is the definition of global competence developed by Asia Society Vice President for…
Fryer, Luke K.; Oga-Baldwin, W. L. Quint
Self-efficacy is an essential source of motivation for learning. While considerable research has theorised and examined the how and why of self-efficacy in a single domain of study, longitudinal research has not yet tested how self-efficacy might generalise or transfer between subjects such as mathematics, native and foreign language studies. The…
Luz María Muñoz de Cote
Full Text Available This paper presents the findings of a qualitative research project set to investigate the piloting process of an innovative language program for university students. It challenges traditional English language teaching courses celebrating a view centered on learning; classes become spaces for students to understand the language they are learning through the development of small projects. The approach moves from a teaching transmission paradigm to one where the most important agent is each student who has to engage with a topic of his or her interest. Students are seen as individuals whose knowledge and understanding of the world is valued and not as people whose lack of language skills prevents themfrom engaging in discussions of complex topics. The objective of this innovation is to enhance students’ understanding and use of academic English in their field of interest. In this project, we argue that knowledge and understanding of the mother tongue and culture play key roles in the development of a second language. A number of studies suggest that students who had strong first language literacy skills achieved higher proficiency levels in their second language. Based on this argument and Vygotsky’s sociocultural learning theory, we designed disciplinary content language learning workshops for first-degree students. The main tenet is that students can develop academic English given that they know about their discipline. Findings so far reveal the difficulty of students to take distance from their previous learning experiences. They also show that students’ ideas expressed in English are far more complex than what would be expected of them given their second language skills. The complexity is not only related to thecontent, but to the way they construct their paragraphs and the understanding of how the register of their field may be used.
Mery Luz Vega-Vaca
Full Text Available This study is expected to determine the impact of a program based on the cooperative learning methodology. This, in comparison to a traditional learning situation in both mathematics and language achievement. The study was carried out on a group of fourth grade students of primary school. In addition, it tried to find the differential impact according to the cognitive style in the field dependence-independence dimension. This work was carried out with 76 students of the Colegio José Martí I.E.D. (Bogotá-Colombia ranging from 8-12 years of age. The control group received a traditional teaching methodology and the experimental group received the cooperative learning program, composed of 35 sessions (from July to November 2009. All the participants were tested in mathematics and language performance, before and after the intervention. All of them were tested in cognitive style as well. The results suggested that the cooperative learning methodology benefited importantly the academic achievement of the students in mathematics in contrast to the competitive and individualist situations. The results also suggested that the three cognitive style groups were positively affected from the cooperative learning situation. These results were not found in the language area.
Navigating Hybridized Language Learning Spaces through Translanguaging Pedagogy: Dual Language Preschool Teachers' Languaging Practices in Support of Emergent Bilingual Children's Performance of Academic Discourse
Gort, Mileidis; Sembiante, Sabrina Francesca
In recent years, there has been a growing interest among policymakers, practitioners, and researchers in early bilingual development and the unique role of the educational setting's language policy in this development. In this article, we describe how one dual language preschool teacher, in partnership with two co-teachers, navigated the tensions…
Janus, Magdalena; Labonté, Chantal; Kirkpatrick, Ryan; Davies, Scott; Duku, Eric
This study addressed the implications of experiencing early speech-language pathologies (SLPs) in kindergarten on special education needs (SEN) and academic outcomes in grade three. Early Development Instrument (EDI) kindergarten data on development and the presence or absence of SLPs were matched with grade three school-system standardised tests of reading, writing and maths, and SEN classification in Ontario, Canada for 59 015 students. Children were classified as having a Persistent speech language pathology (SLP), Remittent SLP, Latent SEN or as a typically developing Control. Even though 72.3% of children's SLPs remitted by grade three, kindergarten SLPs conveyed higher likelihood of having an SEN, and of lower achievement levels in grade three. The degree of impact varied between Persistent and Remittent groups. Children in the Latent group had lower scores in kindergarten on all five EDI domains than Control children. These population level results provide strong evidence to indicate that all children who present with an SLP in kindergarten face further academic challenges, even if their SLP resolves over time. Findings have implications for early intervention and treatment for children with early SLPs.
Wong, Lung-Hsiang; Chai, Ching Sing; Aw, Guat Poh
This conceptual paper describes a language learning model that applies social media to foster contextualized and connected language learning in communities. The model emphasizes weaving together different forms of language learning activities that take place in different learning contexts to achieve seamless language learning. it promotes social…
... DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION Office of English Language Acquisition; Overview Information; Language... Acquisition, Language Enhancement, and Academic Achievement for Limited English Proficient Students (OELA) may... Secretary and Director, Office of English Language Acquisition, Language Enhancement, and Academic...
Wong, Lung-Hsiang; Sing-Chai, Ching; Poh-Aw, Guat
This conceptual paper describes a language learning model that applies social media to foster contextualized and connected language learning in communities. The model emphasizes weaving together different forms of language learning activities that take place in different learning contexts to achieve seamless language learning. It promotes social interactions with social media about the learners’ day-to-day life using the targeted second or foreign language. The paper first identifies three ke...
Despite its importance of academic language, research on academic language is often limited to academic vocabulary and focused on the English language learners. Informed by systemic functional linguistics, this study examined adolescents' use of academic language and the relationships between its use and students' reading ability and their writing…
Tatiana M. Gulaya
Full Text Available This paper presents results of the surveyperformed in MESI, in academic groupsmajoring in “World Economy”. The surveywas conducted on three foreign languagelearning websites that use Web 2.0 technology to gain an understanding of how current users of language learning websitesuse them for learning English and Frenchand explore the pedagogical and technicalusability and effectiveness of these sites.
The results for that intervention show that the hypothesis was correct and students need more time and structure if they are to improve their language competence sufficiently. Keywords: language learning interventions, English for specific purposes, language competence, fossilization. Journal for Language Teaching Vol.
Hammerman, Myrna Lynn
A thorough investiqation is attempted of efforts to apply hypnosis and suggestive learning techniques to education in general and specifically to second language learning. Hypnosis is discussed in terms of its dangers, its definition, and its application. Included in this discussion is a comparison of auto- and hetero-hypnosis, an overview of the…
Full Text Available The paper deals with the peculiarities of ESP learning motivation. The meaning of motivation and three main approaches to motivational psychology: expectancy-value theory, goal-directed theory and the self-determination theory are presented, two distinct orientations for learning a language: integrative and instrumental are described in the paper. The importance of needs analysis to ESP learning is stressed and the main conditions (interest in the topic and activity; relevance to the students’ lives; expectancy of success and feelings of being in control and satisfaction in the outcome for motivation are described. The skills that ESP learners need to develop are specified. The description of approaches to motivational psychology is proposed, as motivation is of great significance in foreign language learning.
Gençtürk, Abdullah Tarik; Korucu, Agah Tugrul
It is observed that teacher candidates receiving education in the department of Computer and Instructional Technologies Education are not able to gain enough experience and knowledge in "Programming Languages" lesson. The goal of this study is to analyse the effects of web 2.0 technologies usage in programming languages lesson on the…
Guapacha Chamorro, Maria Eugenia; Benavidez Paz, Luis Humberto
This paper reports an action-research study on language learning strategies in tertiary education at a Colombian university. The study aimed at improving the English language performance and language learning strategies use of 33 first-year pre-service language teachers by combining elements from two models: the cognitive academic language…
Vega, Mery Luz; Hederich M., Christian
This study is expected to determine the impact of a program based on the cooperative learning methodology. This, in comparison to a traditional learning situation in both mathematics and language achievement. The study was carried out on a group of fourth grade students of primary school. In addition, it tried to find the differential impact…
Full Text Available The advent of web 2.0 and the developments it has introduced both in everyday practice and in education have generated discussion and reflection concerning the technologies which higher education should rely on in order to provide the appropriate e-learning services to future students. In this context, the Virtual Learning Environments (VLEs, which are widely used in universities around the world to provide online courses to every specific knowledge area and of course in foreign languages, have started to appear rather outdated. Extensive research is under progress, concerning the ways in which educational practice will follow the philosophy of web 2.0 by adopting the more learner-centred and collaborative approach of e-learning 2.0 applications, without abandoning the existing investment of the academic institutions in VLEs, which belong to the e-learning 1.0 generation, and, thus, serve a teacher- or coursecentred approach. Towards this direction, a notably promising solution seems to be the exploitation of web 2.0 tools in order to form Personal Learning Environments (PLEs. These are systems specifically designed or created by the combined use of various external applications or tools that can be used independently or act as a supplement to existing VLE platforms, creating a personalized learning environment. In a PLE, students have the opportunity to form their own personal way of working, using the tools they feel are most appropriate to achieve their purpose. Regarding the subject of foreign language, in particular, the creation of such personalized and adaptable learning environments that extend the traditional approach of a course seems to promise a more holistic response to students’ needs, who, functioning in the PLE, could combine learning with their daily practice, communicating and collaborating with others, thus increasing the possibilities of access to multiple sources, informal communication and practice and eventually
Full Text Available The advent of web 2.0 and the developments it has introduced both in everyday practice and in education have generated discussion and reflection concerning the technologies which higher education should rely on in order to provide the appropriate e-learning services to future students.In this context, the Virtual Learning Environments (VLEs, which are widely used in universities around the world to provide online courses to every specific knowledge area and of course in foreign languages, have started to appear rather outdated. Extensive research is under progress, concerning the ways in which educational practice will follow the philosophy of web 2.0 by adopting the more learner-centred and collaborative approach of e-learning 2.0 applications, without abandoning the existing investment of the academic institutions in VLEs, which belong to the e-learning 1.0 generation, and, thus, serve a teacher- or coursecentred approach.Towards this direction, a notably promising solution seems to be the exploitation of web 2.0 tools in order to form Personal Learning Environments (PLEs. These are systems specifically designed or created by the combined use of various external applications or tools that can be used independently or act as a supplement to existing VLE platforms, creating a personalized learning environment. In a PLE, students have the opportunity to form their own personal way of working, using the tools they feel are most appropriate to achieve their purpose.Regarding the subject of foreign language, in particular, the creation of such personalized and adaptable learning environments that extend the traditional approach of a course seems to promise a more holistic response to students’ needs, who, functioning in the PLE, could combine learning with their daily practice, communicating and collaborating with others, thus increasing the possibilities of access to multiple sources, informal communication and practice and eventually acquiring
This mix-methods study examined the language anxiety levels that the Chinese international students perceived in second language (L2) academic context at four universities in the northeastern region of the United States of America; it explored the impact of language anxiety that these students perceived on their academic learning; it also…
Chun, Dorothy; Smith, Bryan; Kern, Richard
This article offers a capacious view of technology to suggest broad principles relating technology and language use, language teaching, and language learning. The first part of the article considers some of the ways that technological media influence contexts and forms of expression and communication. In the second part, a set of heuristic…
This exploratory case study of two undergraduates links vocabulary learning approaches with lexical quality measured in academic writing. Employing an array of qualitative data, it is shown that in a "semi-language-rich" learning context, Chinese learners may dispense with rote learning and engage in a more natural learning approach in which…
Language learning and teaching of endangered languages have many features and needs that are quite different from the teaching of world languages. Groups whose languages are endangered try to turn language loss around; many new language teaching and learning strategies are emerging, to suit the special needs and goals of language revitalization.…
Motivation, which is one of the individual differences, contributes a lot to the success and failure in second language learning. This essay focus on the discussion of the definition, types, effect and implications of motivation in second language learning with the aim of promoting learners' learning proficiency.
Full Text Available This paper looks at the important elements of language learning and teaching i.e. the role of teachers as well as the attitude and motivation of learners. Teachers undoubtedly play crucial roles in students’ language learning outcome which could ignite or diminish students’ motivation. Positive attitudes and motivation – instrumental or integrative and intrinsic or extrinsic – are key to successful learning. Therefore it is paramount for language teachers as well as learners to know these roles and nurture the best possible ways where language teaching and learning will thrive. This paper also suggested that both stake-holders should be open to holistic approach of language learning and that other factors such as the environment could play an important part in language teaching and learning success.
Cavazos, Alyssa Guadalupe
"Latina/os in Rhetoric and Composition: Learning from their Experiences with Language Diversity" explores how Latina/o academics' experiences with language difference contributes to their Latina/o academic identity and success in academe while remaining connected to their heritage language and cultural background. Using qualitative…
It is commonplace to discourage people affected with dyslexia from learning foreign languages. But the condition occurs on a wide spectrum affecting individuals in unique ways. That is why directing dyslexic people away from language learning solely on the basis of their dyslexia, is scientifically unfounded. In this article, we will take a linguistic perspective on this issue, that is to say that we will present the scientific facts about language learning and dyslexia.
This study investigated the relationship between latent components of academic English language ability and test takers' study-abroad and classroom learning experiences through a structural equation modeling approach in the context of TOEFL iBT® testing. Data from the TOEFL iBT public dataset were used. The results showed that test takers'…
This article is an attempt to the work on language learning strategies(LLS) in second & foreign language acquisiton (SFLA) research, and to give suggestions for future language learning strategies research. In the first section, I will discuss briefly the background of language learning strategies reserch, and in the ensuing sections, I will review articles on: (i) the identification & classification of language learning strategies; (ii) the variables affecting the use of language learning st...
Spatial language constitutes part of the basic fabric of language. Although languages may have the same number of terms to cover a set of spatial relations, they do not always do so in the same way. Spatial languages differ across languages quite radically, thus providing a real semantic challenge for second language learners. The essay first…
Full Text Available This study explores the self-regulated learning (SRL experiences of international students in developing English language academic literacy essential for successful transition to university. The participants in this study were a small, diverse group of first year undergraduate students who sought academic support from the Academic Skills Centre at an Australian university. They were given the opportunity to independently access an online program, Study Skills Success, over the duration of one semester to develop their academic literacy in English. Data for this study were collected from a pre- and post-program questionnaire, interviews, a focus group discussion, and reflective online learning logs. These sources gathered information regarding the participants’ motivation and attitudes, their online learning experiences and strategy use, and the perceived benefits of SRL online. The findings from this study have implications for supporting the transition of first year students to university by developing essential academic skills through independent online learning.
Language Training; Tel. 73127; Andrée Fontbonne; Tel. 72844
This bilingual seminar is for anyone who would like to develop learning strategies and skills for learning a foreign language. Languages: French and English. Length: 3 days, 7 hours per day. Dates: 4, 5, 6 March 2002. Price: 460 CHF per person (for a group of 8 people). If you are interested, please enrol through our Web pages: http://cern.ch/Training
Language Training; Tel. 73127; Andrée Fontbonne; Tel. 72844
This bilingual seminar is for anyone who would like to develop learning strategies and skills for learning a foreign language. Languages: French and English. Length: 3 days, 7 hours per day. Dates: 5, 6, 7 November 2001. Price: 460 CHF per person (for a group of 8 people). If you are interested, please enrol through our Web pages: http://cern.ch/Training
Greller, W. (2010). Language Technologies for Lifelong Learning. In S. Trausan-Matu & P. Dessus (Eds.), Proceedings of the Natural Language Processing in Support of Learning: Metrics, Feedback and Connectivity. Second Internationl Workshop - NLPSL 2010 (pp. 6-8). September, 14, 2010, Bucharest,
Language training; tel. 78582
This bilingual seminar is for anyone who would like to develop learning strategies and skills for learning a foreign language. Languages: French and English. Length: 3 days, 7 hours per day. Dates: 4, 5, 6 March 2002. Price: 460 CHF per person (for a group of 8 people). If you are interested, please enrol through our Web pages: http://cern.ch/Training
Kuen, Yoong Li; Embi, Mohamed Amin
The main objective of the study was to examine the English language learning strategies (LLS) used by Lower Six students in secondary schools who are sitting for their MUET test. It analyzed the language learning strategies that students use in order to prepare for the MUET test. Data were collected using a survey questionnaire with 300 students.…
This bilingual seminar is for anyone who would like to develop learning strategies and skills for learning a foreign language. Languages: French and English. Length: 3 days, 7 hours per day. Dates: 4, 5, 6 March 2002. Price: 460 CHF per person (for a group of 8 people). If you are interested, please enrol through our Web pages: http://cern.ch/Training Language Training Moniek Laurent Tel. 78582 email@example.com
Wallon, Robert C; Jasti, Chandana; Hug, Barbara
The activity described in this article is designed to provide biology students with opportunities to engage in a range of academic language as they learn the discipline-specific meanings of the terms "drug," "poison," "toxicant," and "toxin." Although intended as part of an introductory lesson in a comprehensive unit for the high school level, this approach to teaching academic language can be adapted for use with older or younger students and can be modified to teach other terms.
Gökçe DİŞLEN DAĞGÖL
Full Text Available Language learning has become an essential need in today’s world. From academic to social settings, humans need to communicate in a different language to survive in their community. However, despite this increasing importance of language, it is difficult to say we have attained successful language learning on a large scale since there are a lot of factors in language learning process. Language attitudes, one of these factors, influence this process both positively and negatively, depending on how we view learning a foreign language. Therefore, this study deals with the issue of language attitudes to uncover learners’ language conceptions and probable effects on their learning. Moreover, this study aims to reveal the potential role of past learning experiences on the development of language beliefs positively or negatively. Thus, 35 university students in their 1st, 2nd, 3rd and 4th years constitute the participants of the study. Based on mixed research design, the study is comprised of both quantitative and qualitative data. Quantitative data were gathered through Attitude Scale towards English Course, and the analyses were performed with Statistical Packages for Social Sciences (SPSS 17.0 version for Windows. The qualitative data were collected from students’ reports of their own autobiographies regarding their previous language learning experiences in elementary, secondary, high school and university years, and were subjected to the content analysis. The study showed language attitudes from behavioural, cognitive and affective perspectives and found out different factors in shaping their learning conceptions.
Saidi, Tamana; Djurhuus, Terji; Egeslund, Søren Due; Oikonomou, Anna Maria; Pietilä, Minerva
This project aims to display how the process differs when acquiring a first language, two first languages simultaneously or a second language. The linguistic elements are presented in First Language and Second Language and in bilingualism. We will be looking at Chomsky’s Nativist approach, as well as Behaviorism by Skinner. Also, socio-cultural theory by Vygotsky and the cognitive approach are used. A study will be conducted to find out whether bilinguals can perform as well as native speaker...
Learning Environment And Pupils Academic Performance: Implications For Counselling. ... facilities as well as learning materials to make teaching and learning easy. In addition, teachers should provide conducive classroom environment to ...
The main goal consisted in identifying and bringing together strategies of multilinguals as a particular learner group. Therefore, research was placed in the intersection of the three fields: language learning strategies (LLS), third language acquisition (TLA), and the didactics of plurilingualism. First, the paper synthesises the major findings…
McTigue, Erin; Liew, Jeffrey
Academic self-efficacy contributes to students' motivation and persistence for learning. However, motivation for reading and learning, and students' self-efficacy in school often declines in adolescence. This manuscript presents research-based strategies for facilitating students' motivations within the context of language arts classes.
Academic performance at universities in South Africa is a cause of concern. It is widely acknowledged that there are a variety of factors that contribute to poor academic performance, but language is regarded as one of the most important issues in this discussion. In this article, the relationship between language and ...
Nowakowski, Matilda E.; Cunningham, Charles E.; McHolm, Angela E.; Evans, Mary Ann; Edison, Shannon; St. Pierre, Jeff; Boyle, Michael H.; Schmidt, Louis A.
We examined receptive language and academic abilities in children with selective mutism (SM; n = 30; M age = 8.8 years), anxiety disorders (n = 46; M age = 9.3 years), and community controls (n = 27; M age = 7.8 years). Receptive language and academic abilities were assessed using standardized tests completed in the laboratory. We found a…
Bardovi-Harlig, Kathleen, Ed.; Félix-Brasdefer, J. César, Ed.
This volume contains a selection of papers presented at the 2014 International Conference of Pragmatics and Language Learning at Indiana University. It includes fourteen papers on a variety of topics, with a diversity of first and second languages, and a wide range of methods used to collect pragmatic data in L2 and FL settings. This volume is…
Eskildsen, Søren; Rehm, Matthias
To help facilitate language learning for immigrants or foreigners arriving to another culture and language, we propose a context-aware mobile application. To expand on the known elements like location, activity, time and identity, we investigate the challenges on including cultural awareness to e...
Language Training; Tel. 73127; Andrée Fontbonne; Tel. 72844
This bilingual seminar is for anyone who would like to develop learning strategies and skills for learning a foreign language. Languages: French and English. Length: 3 days, 7 hours per day. Dates: 7, 8, 9 March 2001. Price: 462 CHF per person (for a group of 8 people). If you are interested, please enrol through our Web pages: http://training.web.cern.ch/Training/LANG/lang0_F.html
Formation en Langues; Andrée Fontbonne - Tél. 72844; Language Training; Françoise Benz - Tel. 73127; Andrée Fontbonne - Tel. 72844
This bilingual seminar is for anyone who would like to develop learning strategies and skills for learning a foreign language. It is particularly recommended for those wishing to sign up for a 3-month self-study session in the Resource Centre. Languages: French and English. Length: 5 hours a day for one week. Dates: 27 November to December 2000. Price: 490 CHF per person (for a group of 8 people). If you are interested, please enrol through our Web pages.
Onnis, Luca; Thiessen, Erik
What are the effects of experience on subsequent learning? We explored the effects of language-specific word order knowledge on the acquisition of sequential conditional information. Korean and English adults were engaged in a sequence learning task involving three different sets of stimuli: auditory linguistic (nonsense syllables), visual non-linguistic (nonsense shapes), and auditory non-linguistic (pure tones). The forward and backward probabilities between adjacent elements generated two equally probable and orthogonal perceptual parses of the elements, such that any significant preference at test must be due to either general cognitive biases, or prior language-induced biases. We found that language modulated parsing preferences with the linguistic stimuli only. Intriguingly, these preferences are congruent with the dominant word order patterns of each language, as corroborated by corpus analyses, and are driven by probabilistic preferences. Furthermore, although the Korean individuals had received extensive formal explicit training in English and lived in an English-speaking environment, they exhibited statistical learning biases congruent with their native language. Our findings suggest that mechanisms of statistical sequential learning are implicated in language across the lifespan, and experience with language may affect cognitive processes and later learning. PMID:23200510
Bartolotti, James; Marian, Viorica
Learning a new language involves substantial vocabulary acquisition. Learners can accelerate this process by relying on words with native-language overlap, such as cognates. For bilingual third language learners, it is necessary to determine how their two existing languages interact during novel language learning. A scaffolding account predicts transfer from either language for individual words, whereas an accumulation account predicts cumulative transfer from both languages. To compare these accounts, twenty English-German bilingual adults were taught an artificial language containing 48 novel written words that varied orthogonally in English and German wordlikeness (neighborhood size and orthotactic probability). Wordlikeness in each language improved word production accuracy, and similarity to one language provided the same benefit as dual-language overlap. In addition, participants' memory for novel words was affected by the statistical distributions of letters in the novel language. Results indicate that bilinguals utilize both languages during third language acquisition, supporting a scaffolding learning model.
Indiana Department of Education, 2015
The "Foundations" (English/language arts, mathematics, social emotional skills, approaches to play and learning, science, social studies, creative arts, and physical health and growth) are Indiana's early learning development framework and are aligned to the 2014 Indiana Academic Standards. This framework provides core elements that…
The number of English Language Learners (ELLs) is rapidly growing. Teachers continue facing challenges in providing effective content instruction to ELLs while helping them learn English. New and improved approaches are necessary to meet the individual learning needs of this diverse group of students and help them progress academically while…
Ocvirk, Aleksandra; Trunk Širca, Nada
This paper deals with attributing time value to academic workload from the point of view of an HEI, management of teaching and an individual. We have conducted a qualitative study aimed at analysing documents on academic workload in terms of its definition, and at analysing the attribution of time value to components of academic work in relation to the proportion of workload devoted to teaching in the sense of ensuring quality and effectiveness of learning, and in relation to financial implic...
The article provides an example of psycho-societal analysis of work related learning. Initially a conceptual framework of learning and life experience is established drawing on Alfred Lorenzer and Oskar Negt, and the interactional development of psychoanalysis. A case of learning experience from...... process, which is related to a career shift enforced by labor market transition requiring male workers to retrain for a social work profession which used to be female, and more widely to a reconfiguration of the societal relation between work and gender. The final section discusses the methodological...... framework for analyzing learning processes by means of interpreting language use. The notion of language game connects the level of unconscious social engagements and level of formal learning and knowledge, and the opportunity for a deeper understanding of professional learning and identity is indicated...
In this paper, I discuss language learning in Wittgenstein and Davidson. Starting from a remark by Bakhurst, I hold that both Wittgenstein and Davidson's philosophies of language contain responses to the problem of language learning, albeit of a different form. Following Williams, I hold that the concept of language learning can explain…
Maria Eugenia Guapacha Chamorro
Full Text Available This paper reports an action-research study on language learning strategies in tertiary education at a Colombian university. The study aimed at improving the English language performance and language learning strategies use of 33 first-year pre-service language teachers by combining elements from two models: the cognitive academic language learning approach and task-based language teaching. Data were gathered through surveys, a focus group, students’ and teachers’ journals, language tests, and documentary analysis. Results evidenced that the students improved in speaking, writing, grammar, vocabulary and in their language learning strategies repertoire. As a conclusion, explicit strategy instruction in the proposed model resulted in a proper combination to improve learners’ language learning strategies and performance.
Dietz, Franziska; Hofer, Manfred; Fries, Stefan
Background: Academic procrastination, the tendency to postpone learning activities, is regarded as a consequence of postmodern values that are prominent in post-industrialized societies. When students strive for leisure goals and have no structured routines for academic tasks, delaying strenuous learning activities becomes probable. Aims: The…
Young, Richard F.
This chapter is framed by the three questions related to learning in Practice Theory posed by Johannes Wagner (2008): (1) What is learned?; (2) Who is learning?; and (3) Who is participating in the learning? These questions are addressed in two learning theories: Language Socialization and Situated Learning theory. In Language Socialization, the…
This research collection presents a critical review of the materials used for learning English around the world. The first section includes a discussion of materials for specific learners and purposes, such as young learners, self-study, academic writing and general proficiency. The second section presents a detailed study of the materials used in Europe, Asia, North America, South America, Africa and Australia, and critically evaluates their effectiveness in the teaching of English to speakers of other languages. Taking both the teacher's and the learner's needs into consideration, the book m
Full Text Available How can other languages be used in conjunction with English to further intercultural and multilingual learning when teachers and students participate in computer-based global learning networks? Two portraits are presented of multilingual activities in the Orillas and I*EARN learning networks, and are discussed as examples of the principal modalities of communication employed in networking projects between distant classes. Next, an important historical precedent --the social controversy which accompanied the introduction of telephone technology at the end of the last century-- is examined in terms of its implications for language choice in contemporary classroom telecomputing projects. Finally, recommendations are offered to guide decision making concerning the role of language choice in promoting collaborative critical inquiry.
Full Text Available Institutions of higher learning carry a burden of inculcating a culture of academic ethical behaviour among students as part of their responsibility to produce citizens of high calibre. In fact, this burden is more expedient and pronounced because of aberrant behaviours such as cheating that can affect institutions’ credibility. This paper therefore looks into potentially the prevalent attitude towards cheating among students in a University College in Oman. The research is carried out qualitatively through video recording a testing session and through unstructured interviews in order to gather evidence of cheating and to establish reasons why students cheat. Most importantly, it seeks to address this attitude by advocating the role that English Language Teaching (ELT plays in dealing with this problem. The main reasonbehind cheating, which seems to reflect the prevailing socio-cultural dimension, is highlighted and measures to address the attitude are put forward.
This article addresses the inclusion of immigrant minority language students in Content and Language Integrated Learning (CLIL) bilingual education programmes. It reviews results of research on (1) the reasons, beliefs and attitudes underlying immigrant minority language parents' and students' choice for CLIL programmes; (2) these students' proficiency in the languages of instruction and their academic achievement; and (3) the effects of first language typology on their second and third language proficiency. The author explores conditions and reasons for the effectiveness of CLIL pedagogy, as well as the comparative suitability of CLIL programmes for immigrant minority language students. The review shows that CLIL programmes provide a means to acquire important linguistic, economic and symbolic capital in order to effect upward social mobility. Findings demonstrate that immigrant minority language students enrolled in CLIL programmes are able to develop equal or superior levels of proficiency in both languages of instruction compared to majority language students; with previous development of first language literacy positively impacting academic language development. CLIL programmes are found to offer immigrant minority language students educational opportunities and effective pedagogical support which existing mainstream monolingual and minority bilingual education programmes may not always be able to provide. In light of these findings, the author discusses shortcomings in current educational policy. The article concludes with recommendations for further research.[Figure not available: see fulltext.
Jung, Karl Gerhard
Academic language is the language that students must engage in while participating in the teaching and learning that takes place in school (Schleppegrell, 2012) and science as a content area presents specific challenges and opportunities for students to engage with language (Buxton & Lee, 2014; Gee, 2005). In order for students to engage authentically and fully in the science learning that will take place in their classrooms, it is important that they develop their abilities to use science academic language (National Research Council, 2012). For this to occur, teachers must provide support to their students in developing the science academic language they will encounter in their classrooms. Unfortunately, this type of support remains a challenge for many teachers (Baecher, Farnsworth, & Ediger, 2014; Bigelow, 2010; Fisher & Frey, 2010) and teachers must receive professional development that supports their abilities to provide instruction that supports and scaffolds students' science academic language use and development. This study investigates an elementary science teacher's engagement in an instructional coaching partnership to explore how that teacher planned and implemented scaffolds for science academic language. Using a theoretical framework that combines the literature on scaffolding (Bunch, Walqui, & Kibler, 2015; Gibbons, 2015; Sharpe, 2001/2006) and instructional coaching (Knight, 2007/2009), this study sought to understand how an elementary science teacher plans and implements scaffolds for science academic language, and the resources that assisted the teacher in planning those scaffolds. The overarching goal of this work is to understand how elementary science teachers can scaffold language in their classroom, and how they can be supported in that work. Using a classroom teaching experiment methodology (Cobb, 2000) and constructivist grounded theory methods (Charmaz, 2014) for analysis, this study examined coaching conversations and classroom
The prevalence of academic procrastination has long been the subject of attention among researchers. However, there is still a paucity of studies examining language learners since most of the studies focus on similar participants such as psychology students. The present study was conducted among students trying to learn English in the first year…
Sergio Di Carlo
Full Text Available Over time, definitions and taxonomies of language learning strategies have been critically examined. This article defines and classifies cognitive language learning strategies on a more grounded basis. Language learning is a macro-process for which the general hypotheses of information processing are valid. Cognitive strategies are represented by the pillars underlying the encoding, storage and retrieval of information. In order to understand the processes taking place on these three dimensions, a functional model was elaborated from multiple theoretical contributions and previous models: the Smart Processing Model. This model operates with linguistic inputs as well as with any other kind of information. It helps to illustrate the stages, relations, modules and processes that occur during the flow of information. This theoretical advance is a core element to classify cognitive strategies. Contributions from cognitive neuroscience have also been considered to establish the proposed classification which consists of five categories. Each of these categories has a different predominant function: classification, preparation, association, elaboration and transfer-practice. This better founded taxonomy opens the doors to potential studies that would allow a better understanding of the interdisciplinary complexity of language learning. Pedagogical and methodological implications are also discussed.
Norton, Bonny; Toohey, Kelleen
In this review article on identity, language learning, and social change, we argue that contemporary poststructuralist theories of language, identity, and power offer new perspectives on language learning and teaching, and have been of considerable interest in our field. We first review poststructuralist theories of language, subjectivity, and…
Whiteside, Katie E; Gooch, Debbie; Norbury, Courtenay F
Children learning English as an additional language (EAL) often experience lower academic attainment than monolingual peers. In this study, teachers provided ratings of English language proficiency and social, emotional, and behavioral functioning for 782 children with EAL and 6,485 monolingual children in reception year (ages 4-5). Academic attainment was assessed in reception and Year 2 (ages 6-7). Relative to monolingual peers with comparable English language proficiency, children with EAL displayed fewer social, emotional, and behavioral difficulties in reception, were equally likely to meet curriculum targets in reception, and were more likely to meet targets in Year 2. Academic attainment and social, emotional, and behavioral functioning in children with EAL are associated with English language proficiency at school entry. © 2016 The Authors. Child Development published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc. on behalf of Society for Research in Child Development.
Perfors, Amy; Fehér, Olga; Samara, Anna; Swoboda, Kate; Wonnacott, Elizabeth
Linguistic universals arise from the interaction between the processes of language learning and language use. A test case for the relationship between these factors is linguistic variation, which tends to be conditioned on linguistic or sociolinguistic criteria. How can we explain the scarcity of unpredictable variation in natural language, and to what extent is this property of language a straightforward reflection of biases in statistical learning? We review three strands of experimental work exploring these questions, and introduce a Bayesian model of the learning and transmission of linguistic variation along with a closely matched artificial language learning experiment with adult participants. Our results show that while the biases of language learners can potentially play a role in shaping linguistic systems, the relationship between biases of learners and the structure of languages is not straightforward. Weak biases can have strong effects on language structure as they accumulate over repeated transmission. But the opposite can also be true: strong biases can have weak or no effects. Furthermore, the use of language during interaction can reshape linguistic systems. Combining data and insights from studies of learning, transmission and use is therefore essential if we are to understand how biases in statistical learning interact with language transmission and language use to shape the structural properties of language. This article is part of the themed issue ‘New frontiers for statistical learning in the cognitive sciences’. PMID:27872370
Smith, Kenny; Perfors, Amy; Fehér, Olga; Samara, Anna; Swoboda, Kate; Wonnacott, Elizabeth
Linguistic universals arise from the interaction between the processes of language learning and language use. A test case for the relationship between these factors is linguistic variation, which tends to be conditioned on linguistic or sociolinguistic criteria. How can we explain the scarcity of unpredictable variation in natural language, and to what extent is this property of language a straightforward reflection of biases in statistical learning? We review three strands of experimental work exploring these questions, and introduce a Bayesian model of the learning and transmission of linguistic variation along with a closely matched artificial language learning experiment with adult participants. Our results show that while the biases of language learners can potentially play a role in shaping linguistic systems, the relationship between biases of learners and the structure of languages is not straightforward. Weak biases can have strong effects on language structure as they accumulate over repeated transmission. But the opposite can also be true: strong biases can have weak or no effects. Furthermore, the use of language during interaction can reshape linguistic systems. Combining data and insights from studies of learning, transmission and use is therefore essential if we are to understand how biases in statistical learning interact with language transmission and language use to shape the structural properties of language.This article is part of the themed issue 'New frontiers for statistical learning in the cognitive sciences'. © 2016 The Authors.
Evaluating the nature and extent of the influence of Computer Assisted Language Learning (CALL) on the quality of language learning is highly problematic. This is owing to the number and complexity of interacting variables involved in setting the items for teaching and learning languages. This paper identified and ...
Park, Jaeuk; Seedhouse, Paul; Seedhouse, Rob; Kiaer, Jieun
The study draws on the digital technology which allows users to be able to learn both linguistic and non-linguistic skills at the same time. Activity recognition as well as wireless sensor technology, similar to a Nintendo Wii, is embedded or attached to the equipment and ingredients, allowing users to detect and evaluate progress as they carry…
Full Text Available Taking into account severa1 limitations of communicative language teaching (CLT, this paper calls for the need to consider research on language use and learning through communication as a basis for language teaching. It will be argued that a reflective approach towards language teaching and learning might be generated, which is explained in terms of the need to develop a context-sensitive pedagogy and in terms of teachers' and learners' development.
Full Text Available Designing libraries that can thrive in changing, chaotic environments is a continuous challenge for today’s managers. Academic libraries must now be agile, flexible, and able to adjust to the changing world. One system that can help managers in today’s environment is that of the learning organization. In these organizations, staff are encouraged to continuously learn new skills. However, for learning to be effective, the learning must result in improvements in the organization’s operations.The article will begin with the management issues of academic libraries in the changing environment, followed by the concept of learning organization; issues about leadership and learning organization, diversity and learning organization; changing technology and learning organization; and criteria for examining a learning library.[Article content in Chinese
Gardner, David; Yung, Kevin W. H.
This paper reports on the findings of a study looking at students' motivation to engage in self-access language learning (SALL) while taking an English for Academic Purposes course which contains a substantial integrated SALL component. To-date there has been limited research into the motivation of such students but it is an important area of…
Recent research has explored the complex, situated process by which students from different cultural and linguistic backgrounds become socialized into academic discourses and practices. As part of a multiple case study involving seven international students, this study provides an in-depth analysis of the academic discourse socialization…
Hopman, Elise W M; MacDonald, Maryellen C
Language learners often spend more time comprehending than producing a new language. However, memory research suggests reasons to suspect that production practice might provide a stronger learning experience than comprehension practice. We tested the benefits of production during language learning and the degree to which this learning transfers to comprehension skill. We taught participants an artificial language containing multiple linguistic dependencies. Participants were randomly assigned to either a production- or a comprehension-learning condition, with conditions designed to balance attention demands and other known production-comprehension differences. After training, production-learning participants outperformed comprehension-learning participants on vocabulary comprehension and on comprehension tests of grammatical dependencies, even when we controlled for individual differences in vocabulary learning. This result shows that producing a language during learning can improve subsequent comprehension, which has implications for theories of memory and learning, language representations, and educational practices.
Please, cite this publication as: Kremenska, A. (2006). Computer Assisted Language Learning (CALL): Using Internet for Effective Language Learning. Proceedings of International Workshop in Learning Networks for Lifelong Competence Development, TENCompetence Conference. March 30th-31st, Sofia,
To, Carol K S; Law, Thomas; Li, Xin-xin
Multilingualism can bring about various positive outcomes to typically developing children. Its effect on children with language difficulties is not yet clear. The aim of this study was to examine the effects of multilingual learning as a medium of instruction (MOI) on first language (L1) acquisition of children with language disorders (LD). Nineteen Cantonese-speaking students aged 5;8-6;8 who were diagnosed with LD were recruited from a school that used Putonghua (an alternative Chinese dialect) as the MOI when learning Chinese language and were compared with 18 age-and-gender-matched Cantonese-speaking students with LD from a school that used Cantonese as the MOI when learning Chinese language. All the students also learned English (L2) as a subject at school. Proficiency in Cantonese was tested at the beginning and the end of the semester in Grade One in terms of: (1) grammar, (2) expressive vocabulary, (3) auditory textual comprehension, (4) word definition and (5) narration. Mixed-model ANOVAs revealed an effect of time on language proficiency indicating positive gains in both groups. Interaction effects between time and group were not significant. There was a trend that children learning Putonghua showed slightly more improvement in auditory textual comprehension. Proficiency gains were similar across groups. The study found no evidence that a multilingual learning environment hinders the language proficiency in L1 in students who have LD. © 2011 Royal College of Speech and Language Therapists.
Pot, Anna; Weideman, Albert
Following the observation that a large number of postgraduate students may not possess an adequate level of academic language ability to complete their studies successfully, this study investigates postgraduate students' strengths and weaknesses in academic literacy, with a specific focus on
why people enjoy different degrees of success in second language learning,given similar opportunities.in the presence of overly negative emotions such as anxiety,fear,stress,anger or depression,our optimal learning potential maybe compromised.the affective domain refers to the emotional domain that has to do with the emotional behavior of human beings.it includes such factors as self-confidence,extroversion,anxiety,attitudes and motivation.three major factors are introduced here:self-confidence,anxiety and motivation.
Yoong Li Kuen
Full Text Available The main objective of the study was to examine the English language learning strategies (LLS used by Lower Six students in secondary schools who are sitting for their MUET test. It analyzed the language learning strategies that students use in order to prepare for the MUET test. Data were collected using a survey questionnaire with 300 students. The instrument used in this study called “MUET Preparation Language Strategy Use Inventory” is an adapted and bilingual questionnaire designed by Cohen, Oxford and Chi (2005 known as Language Strategy Use Inventory. Forty items were analyzed and they comprised of the four skills tested in MUET which is listening, speaking, reading and writing. Data were analyzed by performing frequency analysis. The findings revealed that the listening skill is the most frequently used, while the writing skill is the least frequently used. Only the listening skill has high frequency of use, while the reading, speaking and writing skills fall under the range of moderate frequency of use. There were variations in responses with regard to the use of LLS among Form Six students in secondary schools. The findings had practical implications.
Full Text Available This paper explores the phenomena of academic multiliteracy (the habit of writing academically in more than one language and of L2 monoliteracy (that of only writing academically in a language that is not one’s own and their impact on policy. Based on interviews and surveys conducted with 33 multiliterate and 15 L2 monoliterate scholars connected to one university in Central Europe between 2010 and 2014, I show how incentives to publish in English constructed by educational policies often push ambitious young researchers whose first language is not English away from engaging in academic and societal debates in their first language community. They may thus disengage from the national community, with negative consequences for the interaction between global and local that is essential for good governance. To overcome the difficulty young scholars encounter in writing in their native languages, they should be taught writing both in their native language and in English. Furthermore, university and state policies should reward scholars for writing not only for the international community but also for local society.
Moloney, Robyn; Harbon, Lesley
While languages education (Liddicoat, 2002) is being transformed by intercultural language learning theory, there is little illustration of either how students are achieving intercultural learning or how to assess it. This article reports on a study of high school language students in Sydney, Australia. Its findings make visible student…
Sparks, Richard; Ganschow, Leonore
Review research on foreign language aptitude and its measurement prior to 1990. Describes research areas in the 1990s, including affective variables, language learning strategies, learning styles as contributors to aptitude and aptitude as a cognitive construct affected by language variables. Reviews research on individual differences and the…
There has been an increased interest in personality traits (especially the five-factor model) in relation to education and learning over the last decade. Previous studies have shown a relation between personality traits and learning, and between personality traits and academic achievement. The latter is typically described in terms of Grade Point…
There are abundant possibilities for using smart phones and tablet computers for foreign language learning. However, if there is an emphasis on memorization or on technology, language learners may not develop proficiency in their target language. Therefore, language teachers should be familiar with strategies for facilitating creative…
Hall, Robert A., Jr.
This text focuses on the nature of language learning in the light of modern linguistic analysis. Common linguistic problems encountered by students of eight major languages are examined--Latin, Greek, French, Spanish, Portuguese, Italian, German, and Russian. The text discusses the nature of language, building new language habits, overcoming…
Opdenakker, Marie-Christine; Minnaert, Alexander
The relationship between learning environment characteristics and academic engagement of 777 Grade 6 children located in 41 learning environments was explored. Questionnaires were used to tap learning environment perceptions of children, their academic engagement, and their ethnic-cultural
Full Text Available Language and gesture are highly interdependent systems that reciprocally influence each other. For example, performing a gesture when learning a word or a phrase enhances its retrieval compared to pure verbal learning. Although the enhancing effects of co-speech gestures on memory are known to be robust, the underlying neural mechanisms are still unclear. Here, we summarize the results of behavioral and neuroscientific studies. They indicate that the neural representation of words consists of complex multimodal networks connecting perception and motor acts that occur during learning. In this context, gestures can reinforce the sensorimotor representation of a word or a phrase, making it resistant to decay. Also, gestures can favor embodiment of abstract words by creating it from scratch. Thus, we propose the use of gesture as a facilitating educational tool that integrates body and mind.
This paper describes a structured attempt to integrate flip teaching into language classrooms using a WebQuest active learning strategy. The purpose of this study is to examine the possible impacts of flipping the classroom on English language learners' academic performance, learning attitudes, and participation levels. Adopting a…
This study examines academic language in early childhood. It covers children’s exposure to academic language in early childhood, children’s early production of academic language, the development of academic language proficiency and the co-construction of academic language by children and adults.The
Kontio, Janne; Sylvén, Liss Kerstin
The present article deals with language choice as communicative strategies in the language learning environment of an English-medium content and language integrated learning (CLIL) workshop at an auto mechanics class in a Swedish upper secondary school. The article presents the organisation and functions of language alternations (LAs) which are…
Parviz Ajideh; Mohammad Zohrabi; Kazem Pouralvar
The present study investigated the relationship between Art and Science students’ learning styles and their ESP reading strategies in academic settings. Learning styles are defined as general orientations learners take toward their learning experiences. This notion has recently obtained attention in the area of language learning. Strategies are also defined as specific behaviours or techniques learners employ towards leaning in order to achieve their learning goals. The strategies chosen are ...
This paper selects one of classifications of motivation in foreign language learning,that is,instrumental and integrative motivation.By analyzing such a distinction,it hopes to direct foreign language teaching in China.
Dietz, Franziska; Hofer, Manfred; Fries, Stefan
Academic procrastination, the tendency to postpone learning activities, is regarded as a consequence of postmodern values that are prominent in post-industrialized societies. When students strive for leisure goals and have no structured routines for academic tasks, delaying strenuous learning activities becomes probable. The model tested in this study posits that postmodern value orientations are positively related to procrastination and to a lack of daily routines concerning the performance of academic activities. In contrast, modern values are negatively related to procrastination and positively to learning routines. Academic procrastination, in-turn, should be associated with the tendency to prefer leisure activities to schoolwork in case of conflicts between these two life domains. Seven hundred and four students from 6th and 8th grade with a mean age of 13.5 years participated in the study. The sample included students from all tracks of the German educational system. Students completed a questionnaire containing two value prototypes as well as scales on learning routines and procrastination. Decisions in motivational conflicts were measured using two vignettes. Results from structural equation modelling supported the proposed model for the whole sample as well as for each school track. A planned course of the day can prevent procrastination and foster decisions for academic tasks in case of conflicts. Students' learning takes place within a societal context and reflects the values held in the respective culture.
Language learning is a very complex process, which is related to many factors, either internal or external. Affective factors plays an important role in a second language learning. If only we realize such affective factors, we can overcome the emotional barriers effectively and have a successful learning.
This article reports findings from a study that investigated the ways in which first-grade dual language teachers drew on various resources to instructionally support academic language development among Spanish-English emergent bilingual students. Classroom observations, semistructured interviews, and document collection were conducted over a…
The mastery of English learning is influenced by some variables, one of them is motivation. Motivation in learning second language is classified as integrative motivation and instrumental motivation. Some experts of language teaching also categorized motivation into two types namely intrinsic motivation and extrinsic motivation. This paper discusses about kinds of motivation and how it takes a role in influencing students mastery in learning language. It was literature study that focused to f...
Full Text Available This paper describes discipline-specific transition support utilised to follow-up the Post-Entry Language Assessment (PELA recently introduced at Edith Cowan University as one strategy to address declining rates of English language proficiency. Transition support was embedded within a first year core unit and emphasis was placed on assisting students to develop spoken and written communicative competencies by scaffolding assessment tasks and providing other academic supports that used contextualised examples. While general satisfaction with the academic support offered during the course was high, the program achieved limited success in encouraging at-risk students to seek support. Further investigation into methods of encouraging student participation is required, along with research into strategies for extending effective academic socialisation support into the online learning environment.
Caviedes, Lorena; Meza, Angélica; Rodriguez, Ingrid
This paper presents a qualitative case study that involved three groups of English as a foreign language pre-service teachers at a Colombian private university. Each group attended tutoring sessions during an academic semester. Along these sessions, students were asked to work collaboratively in the editing process of some chapters of their thesis…
Menninga, Astrid; van Dijk, Marijn; Wetzels, Anna; Steenbeek, Henderien; van Geert, Paul
This study aims at gaining insight into the academic language use of teachers and their pupils in science education in Kindergarten. Using videotaped classroom observations of a video feedback coaching intervention study (Author Citation, 2012), teachers’ (intervention n = 5, controls n = 5) and
Particular attention is given to the students' ability to engage successfully in the academic discourse by employing effective listening skills in their second language. Listening tasks were developed within the theoretical and practical framework of active listening. The discussion will focus on the theoretical approach and ...
Full Text Available In bilingual communities, mixing languages is avoided in formal schooling: even if two languages are used on a daily basis for teaching, only one language is used to teach each given academic subject. This tenet known as the one subject-one language rule avoids mixing languages in formal schooling because it may hinder learning. The aim of this study was to test the scientific ground of this assumption by investigating the consequences of acquiring new concepts using a method in which two languages are mixed as compared to a purely monolingual method. Native balanced bilingual speakers of Basque and Spanish-adults (Experiment 1 and children (Experiment 2-learnt new concepts by associating two different features to novel objects. Half of the participants completed the learning process in a multilingual context (one feature was described in Basque and the other one in Spanish; while the other half completed the learning phase in a purely monolingual context (both features were described in Spanish. Different measures of learning were taken, as well as direct and indirect indicators of concept consolidation. We found no evidence in favor of the non-mixing method when comparing the results of two groups in either experiment, and thus failed to give scientific support for the educational premise of the one subject-one language rule.
In bilingual communities, mixing languages is avoided in formal schooling: even if two languages are used on a daily basis for teaching, only one language is used to teach each given academic subject. This tenet known as the one subject-one language rule avoids mixing languages in formal schooling because it may hinder learning. The aim of this study was to test the scientific ground of this assumption by investigating the consequences of acquiring new concepts using a method in which two languages are mixed as compared to a purely monolingual method. Native balanced bilingual speakers of Basque and Spanish—adults (Experiment 1) and children (Experiment 2)—learnt new concepts by associating two different features to novel objects. Half of the participants completed the learning process in a multilingual context (one feature was described in Basque and the other one in Spanish); while the other half completed the learning phase in a purely monolingual context (both features were described in Spanish). Different measures of learning were taken, as well as direct and indirect indicators of concept consolidation. We found no evidence in favor of the non-mixing method when comparing the results of two groups in either experiment, and thus failed to give scientific support for the educational premise of the one subject—one language rule. PMID:26107624
Full Text Available Learning Greek as a second or foreign language has drawn the attention of many researchers throughout time. A dictionary is amongst the first things a foreign language student uses. Reading comprehension is significantly improved by the use of a dictionary, especially when this includes the way words are pronounced. We developed a assistance software for learning the Greek Language via Greeklish. Since, the basic vocabulary of a language is the basis of understanding the language itself, the dictionary proposed aims to make the basic Greek words easier to pronounce as well as to give the explanation of the word in English. The aim of this software is to provide a useful tool to learn the Greek language individually. Moreover, it aims to be involved, as an assistance tool for learning Greek as a second or foreign language.
Full Text Available We present findings of a project that investigated the potential of an online tandem program to enhance the foreign language learning of two groups of school-aged beginner learners, one learning English in Colombia and the other learning Spanish in New Zealand. We assessed the impact of the project on students’ learning with a free writing activity done as pretest and posttest and used a semi-structured interview to explore their attitudes towards language learning and their perceived development of their native language. Data analysis indicated statistically significant gains in foreign language writing and positive attitudinal changes toward foreign and native language learning.
Some individuals more readily develop learned helplessness in the classroom, so it is necessary for the educational system to acknowledge it and develop teaching methods to prevent it. Creating awareness among educators of this condition could greatly decrease its occurrence. Children who have a high risk of developing learned helplessness,…
As an initial step toward understanding which features of academic language make science-based expository text difficult for students with different English language proficiency (ELP) designations, this study investigated fifth-grade students' thoughts on text difficulty, their knowledge of the features of academic language, and the relationship between academic language and reading comprehension. Forty-five fifth-grade students participated in the study; 18 students were classified as Engli...
Curcio, Giuseppe; Ferrara, Michele; De Gennaro, Luigi
At a time when several studies have highlighted the relationship between sleep, learning and memory processes, an in-depth analysis of the effects of sleep deprivation on student learning ability and academic performance would appear to be essential. Most studies have been naturalistic correlative investigations, where sleep schedules were correlated with school and academic achievement. Nonetheless, some authors were able to actively manipulate sleep in order to observe neurocognitive and behavioral consequences, such as learning, memory capacity and school performance. The findings strongly suggest that: (a) students of different education levels (from school to university) are chronically sleep deprived or suffer from poor sleep quality and consequent daytime sleepiness; (b) sleep quality and quantity are closely related to student learning capacity and academic performance; (c) sleep loss is frequently associated with poor declarative and procedural learning in students; (d) studies in which sleep was actively restricted or optimized showed, respectively, a worsening and an improvement in neurocognitive and academic performance. These results may been related to the specific involvement of the prefrontal cortex (PFC) in vulnerability to sleep loss. Most methodological limitations are discussed and some future research goals are suggested.
The debate about the subject specificity of university language tuition has been going on for decades; it has mostly been discussed in the context of English for Academic Purposes. This paper considers the case for disciplinary specificity with regard to languages other than English. Few, if any, developed curricula, syllabuses, suitable textbooks…
Salamonson, Yenna; Koch, Jane; Weaver, Roslyn; Everett, Bronwyn; Jackson, Debra
This paper reports a study which evaluated a brief, embedded academic support workshop as a strategy for improving academic writing skills in first-year nursing students with low-to-medium English language proficiency. Nursing students who speak English as a second language have lower academic success compared with their native English-speaking counterparts. The development of academic writing skills is known to be most effective when embedded into discipline-specific curricula. Using a randomized controlled design, in 2008 106 students pre-enrolled in an introductory bioscience subject were randomized to receive either the intervention, a 4-day embedded academic learning support workshop facilitated by two bioscience (content) nursing academics and a writing and editing professional, or to act as the control group. The primary focus of the workshop was to support students to work through a mock assignment by providing progressive feedback and written suggestions on how to improve their answers. Of the 59 students randomized to the intervention, only 28 attended the workshop. Bioscience assignment results were analysed for those who attended (attendees), those randomized to the intervention but who did not attend (non-attendees), and the control group. Using anova, the results indicated that attendees achieved statistically significantly higher mean scores (70.8, sd: 6.1) compared to both control group (58.4, sd: 3.4, P = 0.002) and non-attendees (48.5, sd: 5.5, P = 0.001). A brief, intensive, embedded academic support workshop was effective in improving the academic writing ability of nursing students with low-to-medium English language proficiency, although reaching all students who are likely to benefit from this intervention remains a challenge.
Loo, Alfred; Chung, C. W.; Lam, Alan
Students will speak a second language with an accent if they learn the language after the age of six. It does not matter how motivated and clever they are, the accent will not go away. Only a few gifted students can speak a second language flawlessly. The exact reasons for this phenomenon are unknown. Although a large number of hypotheses have…
THE OBJECTIVES OF SECOND LANGUAGE TEACHING, AND SPECIFIC DIRECTIONS FOR PRESENTING AND DRILLING STRUCTURES BY THE USE OF CERTAIN GESTURES, WERE PRESENTED. RECOMMENDATIONS FOR CONCENTRATING EFFORTS ON THE ESSENTIALS OF LANGUAGE LEARNING REVOLVED AROUND AN EMPHASIS ON THE TEACHING OF THE LANGUAGE ITSELF RATHER THAN ABOUT ITS HISTORY, VOCABULARY,…
Ambler, Trudy; Harvey, Marina; Cahir, Jayde
The use of mentoring for staff development is well established within schools and the business sector, yet it has received limited consideration in the higher education literature as an approach to supporting learning for academics. In this study located at one metropolitan university in Australia, an online questionnaire and one-on-one…
The study investigated relationship between learning resources and student's academic achievement in science subjects in Taraba State Secondary Schools. A total of 35 science teachers and 18 science head of departments from 6 schools from three geopolitical zones of Taraba State were involved in the study.
This paper explores empirically implications of language use for MNCs’ learning from subsidiaries. Drawing on sociolinguistic literature, the article argues that while employing a single corporate language facilitates quick and direct communication of explicit knowledge, such a language design...... is insufficient to leverage contextually specific and culturally embedded knowledge. This indicates the need for disentangling language and culture. The paper further argues for the need to go beyond national language to consider how prevailing kinds of corporate talk may curb headquarters potential for learning...
The role of motivation in language learning has been studied since the 1960s. It is indeed one of the most important areas of linguistics. This paper suggests strategies of motivating language learners and focuses on the role which motivation can play in language learning. The concept of motivation from different points of view is defined, a number of suggestions on how to motivate language learners are presented and the role of motivation based on various motivational theories are highlighted. With regard to the role of motivation in language learning, it is concluded that motivation plays an increasingly important role in many aspects, such as identifying with the target language society, achieving long-term and short-term goals, improving language learners' internal and external powers and exerting a group force. It also indicates that there should be more research areas to be examined and a long way is probably requlred to go in future theoretical and practical study.
Scarino, Angela; Liddicoat, Anthony J.
Understanding and working with the complexity of second language learning and use in an intercultural orientation necessitates a re-examination of the different theories of learning that inform the different schools of second language acquisition (SLA). This re-examination takes place in a context where explicitly conceptualizing the nature of…
Tuttle, Harry Grover
College professors can transform their modern language classes through mobile devices. Their students' learning becomes more active, more personalized, more contextual, and more culturally authentic as illustrated through the author's modern language mobile learning classroom examples. In addition, their students engage in many diverse types of…
Maggioli, Gabriel Diaz
Teaching Language Teachers: Scaffolding Professional Learning provides an updated view of as well as a reader-friendly introduction to the field of Teaching Teachers, with special reference to language teaching. By taking a decidedly Sociocultural perspective, the book addresses the main role of the Teacher of Teachers (ToT) as that of scaffolding the professional learning of aspiring teachers.
Zarei, Abbas, Ali; Baharestani, Nooshin
To investigate the use of language learning strategies (LLS) by Iranian EFL learners across proficiency levels, a total of 180 Iranian adult female EFL learners were selected and divided into three different proficiency level groups. To collect data, Oxford's (1990) Strategy Inventory for Language Learning (SILL) was used. One-way ANOVA procedures…
It's important to master a foreign language, English in particular.But the problem is how students should learn in order to communicate well with the native speakers and even become members of the target language community.The author narrates two incidents related to the Chinese study and English study experiences, pointing out that language study can't be separated from culture study.In line with the research results by some language experts about culture, language is the carrier of culture as literature is accomplished through languages,therefore language learning and teaching in isolation from culture is impossible.The author argues that language should be taught and learnt in a cultural approach.But as a sword with double blades, cultural approach may lead to culture invasion, culture inequality and the loss of culture diversity.
KARTAL, Erdogan; UZUN, Levent
In the present study we call attention to the close connection between languages and globalization, and we also emphasize the importance of the Internet and online websites in foreign language teaching and learning as unavoidable elements of computer assisted language learning (CALL). We prepared a checklist by which we investigated 28 foreign language teaching websites (4 from each of seven languages including English, French, German, Italian, Russian, Spanish and Turkish). The participants ...
Full Text Available This paper explores the different factors that appear to affect the on-going construction of second language authorial identity in a professional academic environment in Mexico. Through narrative research methodology from a qualitative paradigm, the everyday struggles of two university professors to maintain their professional status in second language writing are explored. The areas of study for these two are chemistry and penal law. With data the learning processes of entering into a community of second language writers are studied as well as the problems they faced and how they resolved them. Finally, the process of negotiating an authorial identity in a second language seems to be a constant underlying struggle composed of a variety of psychological factors.
The languages of Klingon and Na'vi, both created for media, are also languages that have garnered much media attention throughout the course of their existence. Speakers of these languages also utilize social media and information technologies, specifically websites, in order to learn the languages and then put them into practice. While teaching a…
Bregman, Micah R; Creel, Sarah C
Traditional conceptions of spoken language assume that speech recognition and talker identification are computed separately. Neuropsychological and neuroimaging studies imply some separation between the two faculties, but recent perceptual studies suggest better talker recognition in familiar languages than unfamiliar languages. A familiar-language benefit in talker recognition potentially implies strong ties between the two domains. However, little is known about the nature of this language familiarity effect. The current study investigated the relationship between speech and talker processing by assessing bilingual and monolingual listeners' ability to learn voices as a function of language familiarity and age of acquisition. Two effects emerged. First, bilinguals learned to recognize talkers in their first language (Korean) more rapidly than they learned to recognize talkers in their second language (English), while English-speaking participants showed the opposite pattern (learning English talkers faster than Korean talkers). Second, bilinguals' learning rate for talkers in their second language (English) correlated with age of English acquisition. Taken together, these results suggest that language background materially affects talker encoding, implying a tight relationship between speech and talker representations. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
Imagine a child who has never seen or heard language. Would such a child be able to invent a language? Despite what one might guess, the answer is "yes". This chapter describes children who are congenitally deaf and cannot learn the spoken language that surrounds them. In addition, the children have not been exposed to sign language, either by their hearing parents or their oral schools. Nevertheless, the children use their hands to communicate--they gesture--and those gestures take on many of the forms and functions of language (Goldin-Meadow 2003a). The properties of language that we find in these gestures are just those properties that do not need to be handed down from generation to generation, but can be reinvented by a child de novo. They are the resilient properties of language, properties that all children, deaf or hearing, come to language-learning ready to develop. In contrast to these deaf children who are inventing language with their hands, hearing children are learning language from a linguistic model. But they too produce gestures, as do all hearing speakers (Feyereisen and de Lannoy 1991; Goldin-Meadow 2003b; Kendon 1980; McNeill 1992). Indeed, young hearing children often use gesture to communicate before they use words. Interestingly, changes in a child's gestures not only predate but also predict changes in the child's early language, suggesting that gesture may be playing a role in the language-learning process. This chapter begins with a description of the gestures the deaf child produces without speech. These gestures assume the full burden of communication and take on a language-like form--they are language. This phenomenon stands in contrast to the gestures hearing speakers produce with speech. These gestures share the burden of communication with speech and do not take on a language-like form--they are part of language.
Ludke, Karen M; Ferreira, Fernanda; Overy, Katie
This study presents the first experimental evidence that singing can facilitate short-term paired-associate phrase learning in an unfamiliar language (Hungarian). Sixty adult participants were randomly assigned to one of three "listen-and-repeat" learning conditions: speaking, rhythmic speaking, or singing. Participants in the singing condition showed superior overall performance on a collection of Hungarian language tests after a 15-min learning period, as compared with participants in the speaking and rhythmic speaking conditions. This superior performance was statistically significant (p sing" learning method can facilitate verbatim memory for spoken foreign language phrases.
White, Lisa J; Alexander, Alexandra; Greenfield, Daryl B
Early childhood marks a time of dynamic development within language and cognitive domains. Specifically, a body of research focuses on the development of language as related to executive functions, which are foundational cognitive skills that relate to both academic achievement and social-emotional development during early childhood and beyond. Although there is evidence to support the relationship between language and executive functions, existing studies focus mostly on vocabulary and fail to examine other components of language such as syntax and language learning skills. To address this gap, this study examined the relationship between executive functioning (EF) and three aspects of language: syntax, vocabulary, and language learning. A diverse sample of 182 children (67% Latino and 33% African American) attending Head Start were assessed on both EF and language ability. Findings demonstrated that EF related to a comprehensive latent construct of language composed of vocabulary, syntax, and language learning. EF also related to each individual component of language. This study furthers our understanding of the complex relationship between language and cognitive development by measuring EF as it relates to various components of language in a sample of preschoolers from low-income backgrounds. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
Dooly, Melinda; Masats, Dolors
This state-of-the-art review provides a critical overview of research publications in Spain in the last ten years in three areas of teaching and learning foreign languages (especially English): context and language integrated learning (CLIL), young language learners (YLL), and technology-enhanced language learning (TELL). These three domains have…
The terms "interactional competence" and "learning" are discussed in the context of recent research in the areas of cognitive science and ethnomethodological conversation analysis studies of language learning. Two data excerpts from a longitudinal case study of a beginning learner of English are presented to illustrate (1) the…
Introducing new physics phenomena through inquiry labs has been a staple of the successful physics teacher for years. Introducing new vocabulary through lab work, however, is less common. This paper offers an example of a simple and short lab that does just that, and one that I have found to be quite useful in my college prep physics courses to help students construct (and retain) functional definitions of the oft-transposed terms distance and displacement. A standard definition for displacement is a change in an object's position, while distance would be the entire path traveled by the object, yet my students were using the two terms interchangeably, often saying distance when they really should have referred to displacement. I wanted them to be able to clearly distinguish between the two terms, so I designed a brief experiment that allows students the chance to engage with the concept. My colleagues and I have found that putting the students in charge of their learning with this simple activity helps the students better understand the difference between these two terms.
Kartal, Erdogan; Uzun, Levent
In the present study we call attention to the close connection between languages and globalization, and we also emphasize the importance of the Internet and online websites in foreign language teaching and learning as unavoidable elements of computer assisted language learning (CALL). We prepared a checklist by which we investigated 28 foreign…
Institutions of higher learning carry a burden of inculcating a culture of academic ethical behaviour among students as part of their responsibility to produce citizens of high calibre. In fact, this burden is more expedient and pronounced because of aberrant behaviours such as cheating that can potentially affect institutions' credibility. This…
Clifford, Vanessa; Rhodes, Anthea; Paxton, Georgia
Australia is a diverse society: 26% of the population were born overseas, a further 20% have at least one parent born overseas and 19% speak a language other than English at home. Paediatricians are frequently involved in the assessment and management of non-English-speaking-background children with developmental delay, disability or learning issues. Despite the diversity of our patient population, information on how children learn additional or later languages is remarkably absent in paediatric training. An understanding of second language acquisition is essential to provide appropriate advice to this patient group. It takes a long time (5 years or more) for any student to develop academic competency in a second language, even a student who has received adequate prior schooling in their first language. Refugee students are doubly disadvantaged as they frequently have limited or interrupted prior schooling, and many are unable to read and write in their first language. We review the evidence on second language acquisition during childhood, describe support for English language learners within the Australian education system, consider refugee-background students as a special risk group and address common misconceptions about how children learn English as an additional language. © 2013 The Authors. Journal of Paediatrics and Child Health © 2013 Paediatrics and Child Health Division (Royal Australasian College of Physicians).
Tokunaga, Masahiko; 徳永, 昌彦
Student enthusiasm would seem to be a fundamental aspect of learning, yet it is a difficult concept to define because it takes in a range of different behaviours on the part of students. Nevertheless, it is important to consider just what student enthusiasm for learning is. This concept will be explored before comparing how the various theories of learning treat it. Finally, theories that are most useful for maximising student enthusiasm for learning particularly related to language learning,...
Kieffer, Michael J.; Lesaux, Nonie K.
Many students arrive at middle school without the academic language skills they need to read sophisticated texts with comprehension. In particular, English language learners and students from low-income backgrounds attending underresourced, urban middle schools lack opportunities to learn the thousands of academic words they need to succeed. To…
O'Rourke, Bernadette; DePalma, Renée
In this article, we examine the experiences of 18 Galician language learners who participated in what Garland [(2008). "The minority language and the cosmopolitan speaker: Ideologies of Irish language learners" (Unpublished PhD thesis). University of California, Santa Barbara] refers to as a "language-learning holiday" in…
Motivation is the indispensable condition for a student's learning success. As a foreign language teacher, they should motivate the second language learners by promoting positive language-related values. Dornyei identifies three value dimensions. They are intrinsic value, integrative value and instrumental value. In China, the Communicative Language Teaching is an innovation approach and learner- centered. The CLT approach and curriculum have motivated students' interest, appreciation and values in learning English. In English classroom, the teacher should establish the cooperative situation rather than the competitive environment in order to arouse the students' motivation and reduce the psychological pressure.
Valle, Antonio; Cabanach, Ramón G; Núnez, José C; González-Pienda, Julio; Rodríguez, Susana; Piñeiro, Isabel
The type of academic goals pursued by students is one of the most important variables in motivational research in educational contexts. Although motivational theory and research have emphasised the somewhat exclusive nature of two types of goal orientation (learning goals versus performance goals), some studies (Meece, 1994; Seifert, 1995, 1996) have shown that the two kinds of goals are relatively complementary and that it is possible for students to have multiple goals simultaneously, which guarantees some flexibility to adapt more efficaciously to various contexts and learning situations. The principal aim of this study is to determine the academic goals pursued by university students and to analyse the differences in several very significant variables related to motivation and academic learning. Participants were 609 university students (74% women and 26% men) who filled in several questionnaires about the variables under study. We used cluster analysis ('quick cluster analysis' method) to establish the different groups or clusters of individuals as a function of the three types of goals (learning goals, performance goals, and social reinforcement goals). By means of MANOVA, we determined whether the groups or clusters identified were significantly different in the variables that are relevant to motivation and academic learning. Lastly, we performed ANOVA on the variables that revealed significant effects in the previous analysis. Using cluster analysis, three groups of students with different motivational orientations were identified: a group with predominance of performance goals (Group PG: n = 230), a group with predominance of multiple goals (Group MG: n = 238), and a group with predominance of learning goals (Group LG: n = 141). Groups MG and LG attributed their success more to ability, they had higher perceived ability, they took task characteristics into account when planning which strategies to use in the learning process, they showed higher persistence
Alt, Mary; Arizmendi, Genesis D; Beal, Carole R
The present study examined the relationship between mathematics and language to better understand the nature of the deficit and the academic implications associated with specific language impairment (SLI) and academic implications for English language learners (ELLs). School-age children (N = 61; 20 SLI, 20 ELL, 21 native monolingual English [NE]) were assessed using a norm-referenced mathematics instrument and 3 experimental computer-based mathematics games that varied in language demands. Group means were compared with analyses of variance. The ELL group was less accurate than the NE group only when tasks were language heavy. In contrast, the group with SLI was less accurate than the groups with NE and ELLs on language-heavy tasks and some language-light tasks. Specifically, the group with SLI was less accurate on tasks that involved comparing numerical symbols and using visual working memory for patterns. However, there were no group differences between children with SLI and peers without SLI on language-light mathematics tasks that involved visual working memory for numerical symbols. Mathematical difficulties of children who are ELLs appear to be related to the language demands of mathematics tasks. In contrast, children with SLI appear to have difficulty with mathematics tasks because of linguistic as well as nonlinguistic processing constraints.
Ester J. de Jong
Full Text Available With few exceptions, accountability systems for programs for English language learners (ELLs have focused on the achievement patterns of ELLs who are still considered “limited English proficient” and program evaluations have been unable to answer the question whether ELLs actually catch up with English proficient peers after attending a bilingual or English as a Second Language (ESL program. Disaggregating data for former ELLs can therefore provide important information for long-term district and program accountability. The study was concerned with the achievement patterns in English language arts, Math, and Science of former ELLs who attended a bilingual and a English as a Second Language (ESL program. It also explored whether length of program participation and grade level exited played a significant role in predicting academic achievement patterns for these exited students. Results indicate that 4th grade students more closely paralleled non- ELL students’ achievement patterns than 8th grade students, particularly for the BE students. While length of program participation is not a significant predictor of former ELLs’ academic success, exit grade does emerge as an important variable to take into consideration in setting exit guidelines.
With the proliferation of online courses nowadays, it is necessary to ask what defines the success of teaching and learning in these new learning environments exactly. This paper identifies and critically discusses a number of factors for successful implementation of online delivery, particularly as far as online language learning is concerned.…
Full Text Available There are many reasons for students of Sport Science to use English. Yet, knowing the importance of learning English is sometimes not enough to encourage them to learn English well. Based on the experience in teaching them, erroneous belief seems to be held by many of them. It arouses curiosity about the beliefs which might be revealed to help the students to be successful in language learning. By investigating sport science students‘ beliefs about language learning, it is expected that types of the beliefs which they hold can be revealed. Understanding students‘ beliefs about language learning is essential because these beliefs can have possible consequences for second language learning and instruction. This study is expected to provide empirical evidence. The subjects of this study were 1st semester students majoring in Sport Science of Sport Science Faculty. There were 4 classes with 38 students in each class. There were approximately 152 students as the population of the study. The sample was taken by using random sampling. All members of the population received the questionnaire. The questionnaire which was later handed back to the researcher is considered as the sample. The instrument in this study is the newest version of Beliefs About Language Learning Inventory (BALLI, version 2.0, developed by Horwitz to asses the beliefs about learning a foreign language.
Liu, Hui-ju; Chen, Chien-wei
This study aimed to investigate EFL learner language anxiety and learning motivation of high school students. Subjects included 155 students from the same private senior high school in central Taiwan, 60 in academic track and 95 in vocational track. The majority of the participants started taking English lessons either before entering elementary…
Computer-assisted language learning (CALL) is an approach to language teaching and learning in which computer technology is used as an aid to the presentation, reinforcement and assessment of material to be learned, usually including a substantial interactive element. This books provides an up-to date and comprehensive overview of…
This paper addresses language learner strategy research. It arises from two sources: firstly, an individual background in research and writing about Language Learning Strategy research in the context of Modern Foreign Language Learning and Teaching in the UK over the past decades; secondly, a newly constituted British based interest group dedicated to this area of applied linguistics - UK Project on Language Learner Strategies (UKPOLLS). The aim of this SIG paper is to introduce and present t...
experiences, preferred modality of learning, and other factors deemed to influence language acquisition in modern society. The results indicated that the majority of learners achieved within the average range. There were significant differences between the male and female participants and the junior phase ESL males ...
This research compared the relative impact of different preschool activities on the development of bilingual students' English-language skills. The study investigated whether bilingual preschool children would engage more, and use more of their second language (English), during free-play (non-academic) versus teacher-structured (academic)…
Laakkonen, Ilona; Taalas, Peppi
This article provides readers with an understanding of the concept of the personal learning environment (PLE). It suggests that PLEs can be used in two complementary ways: as a developmental lens for integrating ICT and creating new pedagogical practices and digital literacies for academic language learning, and as a context in which learners can…
Tseng, Wen-Ta; Liu, Heidi; Nix, John-Michael L
Self-regulated learning has been a widely researched subject for decades in educational psychology. Different instruments have been developed to understand learners' self-regulated learning in a specific subject domain. This study developed a measurement scale to assess English-as-a-foreign-language learners' self-regulatory capacity in English language learning and further examined the effects of gender on English-as-a-foreign-language learners' self-regulatory capacity. A series of psychometric analyses including exploratory factor analysis, confirmatory factor analysis, and full structural equation modeling were undertaken to answer the research questions raised. The findings suggest that the scale can attain high reliability and strong validity in two different samplings, and the underlying construct of self-regulation in English language learning is shown to be multidimensional with a significant impact by gender. Theoretical and pedagogical implications are further put forward in light of the research findings.
Full Text Available This paper investigates the use of Facebook for out-of-class, informal language learning. 190 New Zealand university language students (Chinese, German, French, Japanese and Spanish completed an anonymous online questionnaire on (1 their perceptions of Facebook as a multilingual environment, (2 their online writing practices and (3 their views on the educational value of their experiences. Findings indicate that language students are using a range of Facebook features to expose themselves to the languages they study (L2 and to communicate in their L2 with native speaker Facebook friends. The use of the social networking site varied according to proficiency-levels of the participants (beginner, intermediate and advanced levels, strength of social ties with native speaker Facebook friends and personal attitudes towards the site. Learning experiences on Facebook were not perceived as useful for the formal language learning context which suggests the need for bridging strategies between informal and formal learning environments.
Surastina; Dedi, Fransisca S. O.
Motivation determines students' success in academic writing. The current study adopted 28 items of the academic writing motivation questionnaire by Payne (2012) translated into Indonesian language to explore students' motivation in academic writing. This study involved 120 prospective Indonesian language teachers at STKIP PGRI Bandar Lampung that…
Erlich, Richard J.; Russ-Eft, Darlene F.
We investigated whether the social cognitive theory constructs of self-efficacy and self-regulated learning apply to academic advising for measuring student learning outcomes. Community college students (N = 120) participated in an individual academic-advising session. We assessed students' post-intervention self-efficacy in academic planning and…
McLellan, Chelsea K.; Jackson, Dennis L.
The current study explored the relation between the Big-Five personality domains, self-regulated learning, and academic entitlement. Academic entitlement is defined as the tendency to possess expectations of unearned academic success, unearned/undeserved academic services, and/or the expectation of unrealistic accommodation (Chowning and Campbell…
is insufficient to leverage contextually specific and culturally embedded knowledge. This indicates the need for disentangling language and culture. The paper further argues for the need to go beyond national language to consider how prevailing kinds of corporate talk may curb headquarters potential for learning...... from cultural and contextual diversity....
learning and recommends ways in which foreign language students and teachers can exploit the ... languages at university level in the Ugandan context. ... management and catering, the hospitality industry and international relations. .... Especially in the era of globalization, there is an increasing demand for intercultural.
MaCoy, Katherine W.
The methods used and the results obtained by means of the accelerated language learning techniques developed by Georgi Lozanov, Director of the Institute of Suggestology in Bulgaria, are discussed. The following topics are included: (1) discussion of hypermnesia, "super memory," and the reasons foreign languages were chosen for purposes…
Thompson, Amy S.; Erdil-Moody, Zeynep
This study is an examination of language learning motivation and multilingual status in the Turkish English as a foreign language (EFL) context. Using Dörnyei's L2 Motivational Self System (L2MSS) framework, specifically the ideal and ought-to L2 selves, this study examines the relationship between motivation and two operationalizations of…
Coffin, Caroline; Hewings, Ann
Guest editorial - article outline\\ud 1. Why is language significant?\\ud 2. Research settings\\ud 2.1. School age students: \\ud (i) text-based conferencing \\ud (ii) multimodal writing\\ud 2.2. University students: \\ud (i) text-based conferencing \\ud (ii) web-based literacy support\\ud 2.3. Informal adult learning: web-based reading\\ud 3. Methodologies for exploring language and learning\\ud \\ud
Full Text Available Academics who are not competent in communication skills, particularly language skills, will develop less compared to those who are. Communication skills in general and language skills in particular will foster professionalism since professionals will spend less time doing and more time managing as experience grows. Professionalism grows from qualities that can be learned and developed as well as information learned and acquired. Negotiating skills will enable them to win deals more readily. Moreover, internet based realms of communications are mostly English speaking creations, which vary in terms of level of formality and choice of words. In this paper the writer shares her experience in materials preparations and a classroom-centered research done on a group of academics of non-English majors who came to ITS Language Centre to improve their English language competence for career development and further studies.
Hernández, Cesar; Pulido, Jose L; Arias, Jorge E
To develop a technological tool that improves the initial learning of sign language in hearing impaired children. The development of this research was conducted in three phases: the lifting of requirements, design and development of the proposed device, and validation and evaluation device. Through the use of information technology and with the advice of special education professionals, we were able to develop an electronic device that facilitates the learning of sign language in deaf children. This is formed mainly by a graphic touch screen, a voice synthesizer, and a voice recognition system. Validation was performed with the deaf children in the Filadelfia School of the city of Bogotá. A learning methodology was established that improves learning times through a small, portable, lightweight, and educational technological prototype. Tests showed the effectiveness of this prototype, achieving a 32 % reduction in the initial learning time for sign language in deaf children.
Full Text Available This research paper tends to focus on comparison and contrast between first and second language learning. It investigates the different factors that have inhibiting influences on the language learning process of the learners in the two different environments. There are many factors involved in this respect. The age factor is one of the vital factors that influence the progress of learners in the language learning process. The other factor between first and second language learning, which mostly influences the performance of second language learners, is language input in terms of the quantity and quality in both cases of the limitations of the second language learning in classroom. This research study also studies the language input in both cases and limitations of second language learning in classroom. The present research also investigates the individual differences between first and second language learning, covering aptitude of the language learner, motivation of teacher and classmates, language anxiety and language ego. This research paper suggests that motivation of the teacher and other class fellows, aptitude of learner and teacher’s instructions and teaching methodology as well as classroom setting may help the second language learners to overcome their language anxiety and language ego in the classroom. Keywords: First language learning, Second language Learning, Age Factor, Individual Differences, Language Input, Language Anxiety and Language Ego
Shoval, Ella; Sharir, Tal; Arnon, Michal; Tenenbaum, Gershon
The aim of this study was to test the notion that integrating movement into the learning environment contributes to the academic achievements of kindergarten students. One hundred and sixty 4-6 year-old kindergarten students participated in the study for 145 days, which included pre- and post-intervention tests in language, mathematics, and…
Hautopp, Heidi; Hanghøj, Thorkild
experiences with the central goals in communicative language teaching (CLT). The paper is based on a study of The Danish Simulator when integrated in a game‐based language course with 15 students at a language center in Copenhagen during spring, 2013. The Danish Simulator consists of language drills......, the analysis presents preliminary findings in relation to students’ different experiences of The Danish Simulator and the teacher’s redesign of the game based teaching. It is concluded that the meaningful use of The Danish Simulator in a game‐based language course for bilingual adults depends on the students......What happens when a single‐player training game enters a classroom context? The use of training activities in game‐based learning (GBL) has often been criticized for letting players perform mechanical operations with no reflection upon the learning experiences involved (e.g. Egenfeldt‐Nielsen, 2005...
Throughout time, healers, philosophers, scientists, and teachers have recognized the place of music for therapeutic and developmental functions (Bancroft,1985:3-7). Researchers over the last twenty years have made astounding advances in the the⁃ory of language acquisition. Many find the pedagogical conjoining of language and music compelling. The first part of this review focuses on the historical and developmental proofs of music’ s relationship with language learning. In part two, neurological the⁃ory on music and the mind are covered. Part three summarizes scholarly inquiry on the use of music for learning languages, espe⁃cially those studies that could prove most instructive both for language teachers and for music therapists in the development of curricula.
von der Emde, Silke; Schneider, Jeffrey; Kotter, Markus
Draws on experiences from a 7-week exchange between students learning German at an American college and advanced students of English at a German university. Maps out the benefits to using a MOO (multiple user domains object-oriented) for language learning: a student-centered learning environment structured by such objectives as peer teaching,…
Kuhl, Patricia K
Explaining how every typically developing child acquires language is one of the grand challenges of cognitive neuroscience. Historically, language learning provoked classic debates about the contributions of innately specialized as opposed to general learning mechanisms. Now, new data are being brought to bear from studies that employ magnetoencephalograph (MEG), electroencephalograph (EEG), magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), and diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) studies on young children. These studies examine the patterns of association between brain and behavioral measures. The resulting data offer both expected results and surprises that are altering theory. As we uncover what it means to be human through the lens of young children, and their ability to speak, what we learn will not only inform theories of human development, but also lead to the discovery of neural biomarkers, early in life, that indicate risk for language impairment and allow early intervention for children with developmental disabilities involving language. Copyright © 2014 Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Press; all rights reserved.
Kim, Daesang; Ruecker, Daniel; Kim, Dong-Joong
The purpose of this study was to investigate the benefits of learning with mobile technology for TESOL students and to explore their perceptions of learning with this type of technology. The study provided valuable insights on how students perceive and adapt to learning with mobile technology for effective learning experiences for both students…
This paper presents a case study of using blended learning to enhance students' language skills and learner autonomy in an Asian university environment. Blended learning represents an educational environment for much of the world where computers and the Internet are readily available. It combines self-study with valuable face-to-face interaction…
Basaran, Süleyman; Cabaroglu, Nese
The ubiquitous use of Internet-based mobile devices in educational contexts means that mobile learning has become a plausible alternative to or a good complement for conventional classroom-based teaching. However, there is a lack of research that explores and defines the characteristics and effects of mobile language learning (LL) through language…
Orpet, Brian R.
Describes a visit made to Sweden to ascertain why Swedish citizens speak such excellent English. Motivation was a key factor. Describes observations of the methods of teaching English as a second language in Swedish schools. Makes recommendations for foreign language teaching in Great Britain based on these observations. (SED)
Awang, H.; Samad, N. Abd; Faiz, N. S. Mohd; Roddin, R.; Kankia, J. D.
The individual learning differences that have been much explored relate to differences in personality, learning styles, strategies and conceptual of learning. This article studies the learning style profile exhibited by students towards the academic achievement in Malaysian Polytechnic. The relationship between learning styles of Polytechnic students and their academic achievement based on VARK learning styles model. The target population was international business students of Malaysian Polytechnic. By means of randomly sampling method, 103 students were selected as sample of research. By descriptive - survey research method and a questionnaire adapted from VARK Learning Style Index, required data were collected. According to the results, no significantly difference between learning style and academic achievement of students. Students academic achievement was quite similar to their individual learning styles. These facts reveal that each learning style has its own strengths and weaknesses.
Full Text Available The digital explosion of information on the Internet has resulted in a need for a new and up-to-date way for Digital Natives to learn English. Educators have reported numerous benefits of using weblogs in English language learning. This article presents a small scale study on the use of weblogs for English language learning at tertiary level in Malaysia. Twenty six students kept weblogs for a duration of a semester. This study investigated how students perceived the use of weblogs for English language learning. A questionnaire which was made up of both close-ended and open-ended questions was administered at the end of the study. A mixture of quantitative and qualitative methods was used to analyse the students’ responses to the questionnaire. The study found that students were aware of their audience when they blogged and that they geared their writing towards their audience. In addition, they also interacted with others through the use of the comment feature on their weblogs. Furthermore, the majority of the students enjoyed blogging and found weblogs useful for English language learning. This study found that weblogs are promising interactive tools for English language learning.
Callahan, Rebecca; Wilkinson, Lindsey; Muller, Chandra
The 1974 Lau decision requires that U.S. public schools ensure a meaningful education for students learning English. English as a Second Language (ESL) placement is an institutional response to the linguistic needs of these students; however, its academic implications remain largely unexplored. Using nationally representative data from the Educational Longitudinal Study (ELS), the effects of ESL placement on college preparatory course enrollment and academic achievement of language minority students are estimated, first with fixed effects regression models and then with multi-level propensity score matching techniques. While numerous school and individual level factors beyond language proficiency predict ESL placement, a significant negative estimated effect of ESL placement on science enrollment and cumulative GPA is consistently found. Perhaps more important, however, no positive effects of ESL placement on the achievement of language minority youth are found when accounting for English proficiency and other potential covariates.
The digital explosion of information on the Internet has resulted in a need for a new and up-to-date way for Digital Natives to learn English. Educators have reported numerous benefits of using weblogs in English language learning. This article presents a small scale study on the use of weblogs for English language learning at tertiary level in Malaysia. Twenty six students kept weblogs for a duration of a semester. This study investigated how students perceived the use of weblogs for Eng...
Tolosa, Constanza; Ordóñez, Claudia Lucía; Guevara, Diana Carolina
We present findings of a project that investigated the potential of an online tandem program to enhance the foreign language learning of two groups of school-aged beginner learners, one learning English in Colombia and the other learning Spanish in New Zealand. We assessed the impact of the project on students' learning with a free writing…
Sun, Lei; Wallach, Geraldine P.
This article takes readers along the pathway of language learning and disorders across childhood and adolescence, highlighting the complex relationship between early (preschool) language disorders and later (school age) learning disabilities. The discussion starts with a review of diagnostic labels widely used in schools and other professional…
contacts and experiences can be enhanced and brought back into the classroom to study and learn from them. How can the ‘wild’ language be practically supported to become the ‘food chain’ of language acquisition? The paper will present an example of language encounters ‘in the wild’ and analyze the sense......When adult newcomers arrive in a new society, the new language encroaches immediately into their everyday lives. As a minimum, newcomers are overhearers of and eavesdroppers to encounters in public life, education, at workplaces, or in the media and they meet texts wherever they go. In daily life......, there are ample daily opportunities for engaging with the language of the society. It has a paramount presence in the daily life of newcomers even before they have acquired the nuts and bolts for using it actively. Language encounters ‘in the wild’ happen in a sometimes chaotic, sometimes repetitive environment...
Nguyen, Trang Thi Thuy
This paper discusses the issue of learner outcomes in learning culture as part of their language learning. First, some brief discussion on the role of culture in language teaching and learning, as well as on culture contents in language lessons is presented. Based on a detailed review of previous literature related to culture in language teaching…
Theatrical activities are widely used by language educators to promote and facilitate language learning. Involving students in production of their own video or a short movie in the target language allows a seamless fusion of language learning, art, and popular culture. The activity is also conducive for creating an authentic learning situation…
By using data from an online language learning beliefs survey (n?=?841), defining language learning experience in terms of participants' multilingualism, and using a domain-specific language learning locus of control (LLLOC) instrument, this article examines whether more experienced language learners can also be seen as more autonomous language…
Attempts will be made in this paper to examine what we mean by language, language teaching and learning, resources and resourcefulness in language teaching and learning and the benefit of teachers being resourceful in language teaching and learning to both the learners, the teachers, the society and the nation at ...
The purpose of this study is to determine the reasons of anxiety levels of high school students who learn French as a second foreign language. The sample of the study consisted of four hundred fifty-six students from two high schools in Denizli province in 2015-2016 academic year. In this study, the effects of variables such as learners' gender,…
Jarvis, Huw; Krashen, Stephen
In this article, Huw Jarvis and Stephen Krashen ask "Is CALL Obsolete?" When the term CALL (Computer-Assisted Language Learning) was introduced in the 1960s, the language education profession knew only about language learning, not language acquisition, and assumed the computer's primary contribution to second language acquisition…
It has long been the assumption of many in the field of second language teaching that learning a second language helps to promote and enhance native language skill development, and that this correlation is direct and positive. Language professionals have assumed that learning a second language directly supports the development of better skills,…
Research on communication in classrooms is reviewed to provide implications for the writing process. Studies address language, social identity, and teacher expectation. The importance of meaning as the focus of writing is stressed. (CL)
Álvarez Valencia, José Aldemar
Social networking has compelled the area of computer-assisted language learning (CALL) to expand its research palette and account for new virtual ecologies that afford language learning and socialization. This study focuses on Busuu, a social networking site for language learning (SNSLL), and analyzes the views of language that are enacted through…
Full Text Available The author discusses some psycho linguistic conditions for second language learning based on a preference rr ode! in linguistics. The outcome of second language learning depends on a number of conditions. Second language learning takes place in a social context, and social conditions determine a learner's attitudes. These attitudes are twofold in nature, namely those towards the community speaking the target language and those towards the learning situation. The two kinds of attitudes lead to motivation. The social context also provides opportunities for language learning and can be divided into formal and informal situations. There are also individual conditions of the learner. The author is concerned with the exploration of several specific psycholinguistic factors, as well as the kinds of rules which they contribute to the theory. Die skrywer bespreek enkele psigolinguistiese voorwaardes vir die aanleer van 'n tweede taal, gebaseer op 'n voorkeurmodel in die l!nguistiek. Die aanleer van 'n tweede taal geskied bin ne 'n sosiale konteks, en sosiale omstandighede bepaal 'n leerder se houding. Hierdie houding kan bestaan ten opsigte van die gemeenskap wat die teikentaal praat, sowel as ten opsigte van die leersituasie. Motivering word bepaal deur hierdie tweeledige houding. Die sosiale konteks bepaal ook geleenthede vir die aanleer van 'n taal en kan verdeel word in forme le en informele situasies. Verder is daar die individuele omstandighede van elke leerder. Die skrywer hou horn besig met 'n verkenning van spesifieke psigolinguistiese faktore, sowel as die soort reels wat hydra tot die teorie.
Success in learning a second language nevertheless an African language has proven a tremendous effort on the part of foreign adult learners enrolled in universities. Motivation and attitude as well as the strategies used by the learners themselves play an important role. However, the greatest challenge for this group of ...
Full Text Available The purpose of this study is to determine the effects on motivation and success within the application of blended learning environments in the foreign language class. The research sample is formed by third grade students studying in the tourism and hotel management programs of the faculty for tourism and the faculty of economics and administrative sciences at the Nevsehir Hacı Bektas Veli University (Turkey in fall semester of the 2012-2013 academic year. The research group consists of 62 students and there of 35 students belong to the experimental group and the other 27 persons belong to the control group. While the experimental group was subject to 14 hours online and 6 hours traditional face to face learning, the control group was subject to only 6 hours traditional face to face learning. The research has been completed after a 10 week application. The data on the research have been collected with German course achievement tests via the German Language Learning Motivation Scale. The results reveal that the experimental group of students attending the German classes in blended learning environments has more success and higher motivation compared to the control group attending German language classes in the traditional learning environment. Even if the learners achieve certain success and motivation findings in the classroom and face to face environments performed along with teaching-learning activities mainly in control of the instructor, the success and motivation effect of the blended learning environment could not be achieved.
Full Text Available There is abundant research confirming that we pass through three stages on the path to full development of literacy, which includes the acquisition of academic language. The stages are: hearing stories, doing a great deal of self-selected reading, followed by reading for our own interest in our chosen specialization. At stages two and three, the reading is highly interesting or compelling to the reader. It is also specialized; there is no attempt to cover a wide variety. The research confirms that the library, in particular school library, makes a powerful contribution at all three stages: for many living in poverty it is the only place to find books for recreational reading or specialized interest reading, with the librarian serving as the guide on how to locate information as well as supplier of compelling reading. The expertise of certified librarians is pivotal for compelling reading in a foreign language, such as EFL worldwide and ELLs in the US, as well as compelling reading in children’s heritage languages.
The topics of autonomy and independence play an increasingly important role in language education. They raise issues such as learners' responsibility for their own learning, and their right to determine the direction of their own learning, the skills which can be learned and applied in self-directed learning and capacity for independent learning and the extents to which this can be suppressed by institutional education. This volume offers new insights into the principles of autonomy and independence and the practices associated with them focusing on the area of EFL teaching. The editors' introduction provides the context and outlines the main issues involved in autonomy and independence. Later chapters discuss the social and political implications of autonomy and independence and their effects on educational structures. The consequences for the design of learner-centred materials and methods is discussed, together with an exploration of the practical ways of implementing autonomy and independence in language ...
Ag. Bambang Setiyadi
Full Text Available Many studies have been conducted to explore language learning strategies (Rubin, 1975, Naiman et . al ., 1978; Fillmore, 1979; O'Malley et . al ., 1985 and 1990; Politzer and Groarty, 1985; Prokop, 1989; Oxford, 1990; and Wenden, 1991. In the current study a total of 79 university students participating in a 3 month English course participated. This study attempted to explore what language learning strategies successful learners used and to what extent the strategies contributed to success in learning English in Indonesia . Factor analyses, accounting for 62.1 %, 56.0 %, 41.1 %, and 43.5 % of the varience of speaking, listening, reading and writing measures in the language learning strategy questionnaire, suggested that the questionnaire constituted three constructs. The three constructs were named metacognitive strategies, deep level cognitive and surface level cognitive strategies. Regression analyses, performed using scales based on these factors revealed significant main effects for the use of the language learning strategies in learning English, constituting 43 % of the varience in the posttest English achievement scores. An analysis of varience of the gain scores of the highest, middle, and the lowest groups of performers suggested a greater use of metacognitive strategies among successful learners and a greater use of surface level cognitive strategies among unsuccessful learners. Implications for the classroom and future research are also discussed.
Ankara : The Institute of Economic and Social Sciences Bilkent Univ., 2000. Thesis (Master's) -- Bilkent University, 2000. Includes bibliographical references leaves 54-58 This study investigated the relationship between students’ perceptual learning style preferences, language learning strategies and English language vocabulary size. It is very important for teachers to be aware of students’ preferences in learning to help them be more successful and to avoid conflicts when...
Scudder, Mark R; Federmeier, Kara D; Raine, Lauren B; Direito, Artur; Boyd, Jeremy K; Hillman, Charles H
Event-related brain potentials (ERPs) have been instrumental for discerning the relationship between children's aerobic fitness and aspects of cognition, yet language processing remains unexplored. ERPs linked to the processing of semantic information (the N400) and the analysis of language structure (the P600) were recorded from higher and lower aerobically fit children as they read normal sentences and those containing semantic or syntactic violations. Results revealed that higher fit children exhibited greater N400 amplitude and shorter latency across all sentence types, and a larger P600 effect for syntactic violations. Such findings suggest that higher fitness may be associated with a richer network of words and their meanings, and a greater ability to detect and/or repair syntactic errors. The current findings extend previous ERP research explicating the cognitive benefits associated with greater aerobic fitness in children and may have important implications for learning and academic performance. Published by Elsevier Inc.
Science as a second language: Analysis of Emergent Bilinguals performance and the impact of English language proficiency and first language characteristics on the Colorado measures of academic success for science
Bruno, Joanna K.
In an age when communication is highly important and states across the nation, including Colorado, have adopted Common Core State Standards, the need for academic language is even more important than ever. The language of science has been compared to a second language in that it uses specific discourse patterns, semantic rules, and a very specific vocabulary. There is a need for educators to better understand how language impacts academic achievement, specifically concerning Emergent Bilinguals (EBs). Research has identified the need to study the role language plays in content assessments and the impact they have on EBs performance (Abedi, 2008b; Abedi, Hofestter & Lord, 2004; Abedi & Lord, 2001). Since language is the means through which content knowledge is assessed, it is important to analyze this aspect of learning. A review of literature identified the need to create more reliable and valid content assessments for EBs (Abedi, 2008b) and to further study the impact of English proficiency on EBs performance on standardized assessments (Solorzano, 2008; Wolf, & Leon, 2009). This study contributes to the literature by analyzing EBs performance on a state-level science content assessment, taking into consideration English language proficiency, receptive versus productive elements of language, and students' home language. This study further contributes by discussing the relationship between language proficiency, and the different strands of science (physical, life, and earth) on the state science assessment. Finally, this study demonstrates that home language, English language proficiency, and receptive and productive elements of language are predictive of EBs' achievement on the CMAS for science, overall and by strand. It is the blending of the social (listening and speaking) with the academic (reading and writing) that is also important and possibly more important.
Zaki, Arlina Ahmad; Yunus, Melor Md
The potentials of mobile learning in teaching academic writing skills for ESL students are explored in this paper. Although there have been studies on MALL to improve writing skills, academic writing was never really touched. Few aspects are covered like the changes in educational technology, defining MALL, identifying issues in academic writing…
Carmichael, Jessica A.; Fraccaro, Rebecca L.; Miller, Daniel C.; Maricle, Denise E.
Reading, writing, and math are academic skills involving a number of different executive functions, particularly working memory. Children with specific learning disabilities (SLD) may present myriad academic difficulties, depending on their specific area(s) of processing weakness. is study examined differences in academic achievement and working…
Full Text Available This study investigates international students’ perceptions of the issues they face using English as a second language while attending American higher education institutions. In order to fully understand those challenges involved in learning English as a Second Language, it is necessary to know the extent to which international students have mastered the English language before they start their study in America. Most international students experience an overload of English language input upon arrival in the United States. Cultural differences influence international students’ learning of English in other ways, including international students’ isolation within their communities and America’s lack of teaching listening skills to its own students. Other factors also affect international students’ learning of English, such as the many forms of informal English spoken in the USA, as well as a variety of dialects. Moreover, since most international students have learned English in an environment that precluded much contact with spoken English, they often speak English with an accent that reveals their own language. This study offers informed insight into the complicated process of simultaneously learning the language and culture of another country. Readers will find three main voices in addition to the international students who “speak” (in quotation marks throughout this article. Hong Li, a Chinese doctoral student in English Education at the University of Missouri-Columbia, authored the “regular” text. Second, Roy F. Fox’s voice appears in italics. Fox is Professor of English Education and Chair of the Department of Learning, Teaching, and Curriculum at the University of Missouri-Columbia. Third, Dario J. Almarza’s voice appears in boldface. Almarza, a native of Venezuela, is an Assistant Professor of Social Studies Education at the same institution.
The objective of the study is threefold. Firstly, the study explores the learning approaches adopted by students in completing their Business Finance. Secondly, it examines the impact that learning approaches has on the student's academic performance. Finally, the study considers gender differences in the learning approaches adopted by students and in the relationship between learning approaches and academic performance. The Approaches and Study Skills Inventory for Students (ASSIST) was used...
As e-learning in the academic sector serves as a crucial driving force in the development of e-learning in Thailand, this article looks at e-learning readiness in Thailand with a focus on the academic sector. The article is divided into four parts: (1) a brief history of e-learning in Thailand; (2) the infrastructure related to e-learning…
Ismail, Wail; Zailani, Muhammad Azhar; Awad, Zakaria Alcheikh Mahmoud; Hussin, Zaharah; Faisal, Mohd; Saad, Rahimi
Nowadays, more and more countries are paying attention to graduates' language skill and sending their students abroad to learn languages. As an Islamic country, Malaysia has sent many students to learn Arabic language and Islamic knowledge. This paper aims at examining the level of practice of Arabic language among Malaysian students in Jordanian…
Bice, Kinsey; Kroll, Judith F
Research on proficient bilinguals has demonstrated that both languages are always active, even when only one is required. The coactivation of the two languages creates both competition and convergence, facilitating the processing of cognate words, but slowing lexical access when there is a requirement to engage control mechanisms to select the target language. Critically, these consequences are evident in the native language (L1) as well as in the second language (L2). The present study questioned whether L1 changes can be detected at early stages of L2 learning and how they are modulated by L2 proficiency. Native English speakers learning Spanish performed an English (L1) lexical decision task that included cognates while event-related potentials were recorded. They also performed verbal fluency, working memory, and inhibitory control tasks. A group of matched monolinguals performed the same tasks in English only. The results revealed that intermediate learners demonstrate a reduced N400 for cognates compared with noncognates in English (L1), and an emerging effect is visually present in beginning learners as well; however, no behavioral cognate effect was present for either group. In addition, slower reaction times in English (L1) are related to a larger cognate N400 magnitude in English (L1) and Spanish (L2), and to better inhibitory control for learners but not for monolinguals. The results suggest that contrary to the claim that L2 affects L1 only when L2 speakers are highly proficient, L2 learning begins to impact L1 early in the development of the L2 skill.
This article examined about the important of using dictionary in English language learning. We cannot deny in learning a foreign language, we need to consult a dictionary. It is supported by Laufer in Koca believes that when word looks familiar but the sentence in which it is found or its wider context makes no sense at all, the learner should be encouraged to consult a dictionary. Sometimes the learners are reluctant to find out the other meaning of word from dictionary, as a result the mea...
Full Text Available Drawing on a lengthier review completed for the US National Institute for Literacy, this paper examines emerging technologies that are applicable to self-access and autonomous learning in the areas of listening and speaking, collaborative writing, reading and language structure, and online interaction. Digital media reviewed include podcasts, blogs, wikis, online writing sites, text-scaffolding software, concordancers, multiuser virtual environments, multiplayer games, and chatbots. For each of these technologies, we summarize recent research and discuss possible uses for autonomous language learning.
Salamonson, Yenna; Weaver, Roslyn; Chang, Sungwon; Koch, Jane; Bhathal, Ragbir; Khoo, Cheang; Wilson, Ian
To compare health and science students' demographic characteristics and learning approaches across different disciplines, and to examine the relationship between learning approaches and academic performance. While there is increasing recognition of a need to foster learning approaches that improve the quality of student learning, little is known about students' learning approaches across different disciplines, and their relationships with academic performance. Prospective, correlational design. Using a survey design, a total of 919 first year health and science students studying in a university located in the western region of Sydney from the following disciplines were recruited to participate in the study - i) Nursing: n = 476, ii) Engineering: n = 75, iii) Medicine: n = 77, iv) Health Sciences: n = 204, and v) Medicinal Chemistry: n = 87. Although there was no statistically significant difference in the use of surface learning among the five discipline groups, there were wide variations in the use of deep learning approach. Furthermore, older students and those with English as an additional language were more likely to use deep learning approach. Controlling for hours spent in paid work during term-time and English language usage, both surface learning approach (β = -0.13, p = 0.001) and deep learning approach (β = 0.11, p = 0.009) emerged as independent and significant predictors of academic performance. Findings from this study provide further empirical evidence that underscore the importance for faculty to use teaching methods that foster deep instead of surface learning approaches, to improve the quality of student learning and academic performance. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
T. P. Rasskazova
to develop and are difficult to acquire, university teachers demonstrate a different trend: the worst developed skill is listening, then comes reading, writing and speaking. Practical significance. The research provided in the article gives additional understanding of specifics of English training for adults, namely academic teaching staff, and features of their cognitive age processes when foreign language skills acquisition. The materials of the presented publication will be useful to teachers of a foreign language and higher education institution authorities while organizing additional learning foreign languages education in the conditions of artificial bilingualism, also, when teaching programmes updating for the purpose of strengthening of its efficiency.
Japan's Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT) wants English language education to be more communicative. Japanese teachers of English (JTEs) need to adapt their instructional practices to meet this goal; however, they may not feel confident enough to teach speaking themselves. Using technology, JTEs have the ability…
Ionescu, Thea; Ilie, Adriana
In Romanian preschool settings, there is a tendency to use abstract strategies in language-learning activities. The present study explored if strategies based on an embodied cognition approach facilitate learning more than traditional strategies that progress from concrete to abstract. Twenty-five children between 4 and 5 years of age listened to…
High stress levels in nursing students may affect memory, concentration, and problem-solving ability, and may lead to decreased learning, coping, academic performance, and retention. College students with higher levels of learned resourcefulness develop greater self-confidence, motivation, and academic persistence, and are less likely to become anxious, depressed, and frustrated, but no studies specifically involve nursing students. This explanatory correlational study used Gadzella's Student-life Stress Inventory (SSI) and Rosenbaum's Self Control Scale (SCS) to explore learned resourcefulness, stressors, and academic performance in 53 baccalaureate nursing students. High levels of personal and academic stressors were evident, but not significant predictors of academic performance (p = .90). Age was a significant predictor of academic performance (p = learned resourcefulness scores than females and Caucasians. Studies in larger, more diverse samples are necessary to validate these findings.
Adzmi, Nor Aslah; Bidin, Samsiah; Ibrahim, Syazliyati; Jusoff, Kamaruzaman
The purpose of this study was to analyse the academic English language lacks and needs of Industrial Design students in Universiti Teknologi MARA Kedah (UiTM). It highlights the lacks and needs for English for Academic Purposes in helping the students to succeed in the program through the usage of English language. The research tools used were in…
Hooper, Michaela D. Willi; Scharf, Emily
This literature review is intended to examine transformative learning within the context of academic libraries and its applications for librarians. Although the main audience is academic librarians who facilitate student learning, it may also be of interest to other practitioners and researchers who are interested in applying transformative…
A study investigated the correlation between students' learning styles and their academic achievement on report cards and standardized tests. Subjects were 58 fifth-grade students in a suburban middle school. The "Learning Style Inventory" by Brown and Cooper was administered to this population, and students' academic averages and…
Gonen, Ayala; Grinberg, Keren
Background: Learning disabilities (LD) are lifelong disabilities that affect all facets of a person's life. Aim: Identifying the relationship between academic students' attitudes toward learning disability, self-image, and selected factors. Methods: A questionnaire was distributed to 213 students from an academic center in Israel. Two different…
Yang, Ya-Ting C.; Wu, Wan-Chi I.
The purpose of this study was to explore the impact of Digital storytelling (DST) on the academic achievement, critical thinking, and learning motivation of senior high school students learning English as a foreign language. The one-year study adopted a pretest and posttest quasi-experimental design involving 110 10th grade students in two English…
Figueiredo, Sandra; Silva, Carlos Fernandes da; Monteiro, Sara
A compelling body of evidence shows a strong association between psychological, affective and learning variables, related also with the age and gender factors, which are involved in the language learning development process. Children and adolescents with migratory experience (direct/indirect) can develop behaviours at risk in their academic learning and psychosocial adaptation, according to several stressors as anxiety, low motivation, negative attitudes, within a stressed internal l...
Khoiru Rakhman Abidin
Full Text Available The aims of the study are (1 the concepts of language learning in behaviorism perspective, (2 the relation between language and learning in behaviorism perspective, (3 the influence of behaviorism in language learning. This is a descriptive qualitative study. The results showed that (1 behaviorism theories of languages also give good contribution in language learning process that describes a child can learn language from their environments, (2 behaviorism perspective defines as change of behavior through experience, it means human learn something from their environments, (3 human uses language for communication in the world and he also spreads his culture with his language so human gets knowledge of language through learning.
Metaphor is an important teaching tool in our teaching history. In this essay, I try to explain how to play a lesson around metaphor, and how to use metaphor for students' memory aids or vocabulary learning.
Compton, Donald L; Fuchs, Lynn S; Fuchs, Douglas; Lambert, Warren; Hamlett, Carol
The purpose of this study was to examine the cognitive and academic profiles associated with learning disability (LD) in reading comprehension, word reading, applied problems, and calculations. The goal was to assess the specificity hypothesis, in which unexpected underachievement associated with LD is represented in terms of distinctive patterns of cognitive and academic strengths and weaknesses. At the start of 3rd grade, the authors assessed 684 students on five cognitive dimensions (nonverbal problem solving, processing speed, concept formation, language, and working memory), and across Grades 3 through 5, the authors assessed performance in each academic area three to four times. Based on final intercept, the authors classified students as LD or not LD in each of the four academic areas. For each of these four LD variables, they conducted multivariate cognitive profile analysis and academic profile analysis. Results, which generally supported the specificity hypothesis, are discussed in terms of the potential connections between reading and mathematics LD.
The recruitment of international academic staff is viewed as one of the strategies to internationalise the universities. International academic staff, however, usually encounter many challenges when in a foreign context. This study aims to investigate the challenges of Chinese academic staff teaching in the UK in terms of language, relationships…
Enever, Janet, Ed.; Lindgren, Eva, Ed.
This is the first collection of research studies to explore the potential for mixed methods to shed light on foreign or second language learning by young learners in instructed contexts. It brings together recent studies undertaken in Cameroon, China, Croatia, Ethiopia, France, Germany, Italy, Kenya, Mexico, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Tanzania and…
This article examines a study of seven learners who logged their experiences on the language leaning social networking site Livemocha over a period of three months. The features of the site are described and the likelihood of their future success is considered. The learners were introduced to the Social Networking Site (SNS) and asked to learn a…
Heift, Trude; Schulze, Mathias
"Sometimes maligned for its allegedly behaviorist connotations but critical for success in many fields from music to sport to mathematics and language learning, 'practice' is undergoing something of a revival in the applied linguistics literature" (Long & Richards 2007, p. xi). This research timeline provides a systematic overview of…
Hallett, Terry L.
Introduces educators to inexpensive, commercially-available CD-ROM software that combines speech, text, graphics, sound, video, animation, and special effects that may be incorporated into classroom activities for both normally developing and language learning disabled children. Discusses three types of multimedia CD-ROM products: (1) virtual…
Chang, Benjamin; Sheldon, Lee; Si, Mei; Hand, Anton
Virtual reality has long been used for training simulations in fields from medicine to welding to vehicular operation, but simulations involving more complex cognitive skills present new design challenges. Foreign language learning, for example, is increasingly vital in the global economy, but computer-assisted education is still in its early stages. Immersive virtual reality is a promising avenue for language learning as a way of dynamically creating believable scenes for conversational training and role-play simulation. Visual immersion alone, however, only provides a starting point. We suggest that the addition of social interactions and motivated engagement through narrative gameplay can lead to truly effective language learning in virtual environments. In this paper, we describe the development of a novel application for teaching Mandarin using CAVE-like VR, physical props, human actors and intelligent virtual agents, all within a semester-long multiplayer mystery game. Students travel (virtually) to China on a class field trip, which soon becomes complicated with intrigue and mystery surrounding the lost manuscript of an early Chinese literary classic. Virtual reality environments such as the Forbidden City and a Beijing teahouse provide the setting for learning language, cultural traditions, and social customs, as well as the discovery of clues through conversation in Mandarin with characters in the game.
There has been a substantial increase in recent years in the interest in using digital games for language learning. This coincides with the explosive growth in multiplayer online gaming and with the proliferation of mobile games for smart phones. It also reflects the growing recognition among educators of the importance of extramural, informal…
Lamb, Terry; Murray, Garold; Gao, Xuesong
In this volume researchers from Asia, Europe, the Middle East and North and South America employ a variety of theoretical perspectives and methodological approaches in their exploration of the links between identity, motivation, and autonomy in language learning. On a conceptual level the authors explore issues related to agency, metacognition,…
Figueroa Flores, Jorge Francisco
One major competence for learners in the 21st century is acquiring a second language (L2). Based on this, L2 instruction has integrated new concepts to motivate learners in their pursue of achieving fluency. A concept that is adaptable to digital natives and digital immigrants that are learning a L2 is Gamification. As a pedagogical strategy,…
The metaphor of education as a conversation that is currently popular is attractive in many respects and it continues to be explored and applied in philosophy of education. This article seeks to consider that aspect of education that involves the literal conversation required to learn other languages. The burden of the argument is that language…
Job Summary Plans and coordinates human resources services in the areas of Learning, Official Languages (OL) and Employment Equity (EE) while ensuring that management's needs are met. Provides operational services and advises managers and employees in determining their needs, analyzing problems, ...
When I was invited to give one of the keynote talks at the Second International Conference on Telecollaboration in Higher Education, my first thought was that I should decline. It is true that for thirty years I was responsible for Trinity College Dublin's self-access language learning facilities and resources; true also that around the turn of…
This timeline looks at explicit uses of corpora in foreign or second language (L2) teaching and learning, i.e. what happens when end-users explore corpus data, whether directly via concordancers or integrated into CALL programs, or indirectly with prepared printed materials. The underlying rationale is that such contact provides the massive…
Ettlinger, Marc; Morgan-Short, Kara; Faretta-Stutenberg, Mandy; Wong, Patrick C. M.
Artificial language learning (ALL) experiments have become an important tool in exploring principles of language and language learning. A persistent question in all of this work, however, is whether ALL engages the linguistic system and whether ALL studies are ecologically valid assessments of natural language ability. In the present study, we…
Evaluating evidence-based health care teaching and learning in the undergraduate human nutrition; occupational therapy; physiotherapy; and speech, language and hearing therapy programs at a sub-Saharan African academic institution.
Schoonees, Anel; Rohwer, Anke; Young, Taryn
It is important that all undergraduate healthcare students are equipped with evidence-based health care (EBHC) knowledge and skills to encourage evidence-informed decision-making after graduation. We assessed EBHC teaching and learning in undergraduate human nutrition (HN); occupational therapy (OT); physiotherapy (PT); and speech, language and hearing therapy (SPLH) programs at a sub-Saharan African university. We used methodological triangulation to obtain a comprehensive understanding of EBHC teaching and learning: (1) through a document review of module guides, we identified learning outcomes related to pre-specified EBHC competencies; we conducted (2) focus group discussions and interviews of lecturers to obtain their perspectives on EBHC and on EBHC teaching and learning; and we (3) invited final year students (2013) and 2012 graduates to complete an online survey on EBHC attitudes, self-perceived EBHC competence, and their experience of EBHC teaching and learning. We reviewed all module outlines (n = 89) from HN, PT and SLHT. The OT curriculum was being revised at that time and could not be included. Six lecturers each from HN and OT, and five lecturers each from PT and SLHT participated in the focus groups. Thirty percent (53/176) of invited students responded to the survey. EBHC competencies were addressed to varying degrees in the four programs, although EBHC teaching and learning mostly occurred implicitly. Learning outcomes referring to EBHC focused on enabling competencies (e.g., critical thinking, biostatistics, epidemiology) and were concentrated in theoretical modules. Key competencies (e.g., asking questions, searching databases, critical appraisal) were rarely addressed explicitly. Students felt that EBHC learning should be integrated throughout the four year study period to allow for repetition, consolidation and application of knowledge and skills. Lecturers highlighted several challenges to teaching and practising EBHC, including lack of
This book explores how using small groups in second language classrooms supports language learning. Chappell's experience as a language teacher equips him to present a clear, evidence-based argument for the powerful influence group work has upon the opportunities for learning, and how it should therefore be an integral part of language lessons.
The present study investigated whether English language teachers were aware of the innovative language learning methodologies in language learning, how they made use of these methodologies and the learners' reactions to them. The descriptive survey method was employed to disclose the frequencies and percentages of 175 English language teachers'…
Plante, Elena; Almryde, Kyle; Patterson, Dianne K.; Vance, Christopher J.; Asbjørnsen, Arve E.
For the majority of the population, language is a left hemisphere lateralized function. During childhood, a pattern of increasing left lateralization for language has been described in brain imaging studies, suggesting this trait develops. This development could reflect change due to brain maturation or change due to skill acquisition, given that children acquire and refine language skills as they mature. We test the possibility that skill acquisition, independent of age-associated maturation can result in shifts in language lateralization in classic language cortex. We imaged adults exposed to unfamiliar language during three successive fMRI scans. Participants were then asked to identify specific words embedded in Norwegian sentences. Exposure to these sentences, relative to complex tones, resulted in consistent activation in the left and right superior temporal gyrus. Activation in this region became increasingly left lateralized with repeated exposure to the unfamiliar language. These results demonstrate that shifts in lateralization can be produced in the short-term within a learning context, independent of maturation. PMID:25285756
Albeg, Loren Jennifer
Latino adolescents, especially English language learners (ELLs) are considered to be a highly vulnerable group in our schools today. Despite their apparent need for additional social-emotional and academic learning (SEAL) supports, there is very little research to inform the type of cultural modifications (if any) needed to make SEAL interventions more appropriate for this population. Accordingly, this study focused on identifying the effects of acculturative stress (a culturally specific str...
Lin, Tsun-Ju; Lan, Yu-Ju
This study investigated the research trends in language learning in a virtual reality environment by conducting a content analysis of findings published in the literature from 2004 to 2013 in four top ranked computer-assisted language learning journals: "Language Learning & Technology," "CALICO Journal," "Computer…
Hsiao, Indy Y. T.; Lan, Yu-Ju; Kao, Chia-Ling; Li, Ping
Language learning occurring in authentic contexts has been shown to be more effective. Virtual worlds provide simulated contexts that have the necessary elements of authentic contexts for language learning, and as a result, many studies have adopted virtual worlds as a useful platform for language learning. However, few studies so far have…
Altan, Mustafa Zulkuf
Beliefs are central constructs in every discipline which deals with human behaviour and learning. In addition to learner beliefs about language learning, language teachers themselves may hold certain beliefs about language learning that will have an impact on their instructional practices and that are likely to influence their students' beliefs…
Shaalan, Khaled F.
This paper describes the development of an intelligent computer-assisted language learning (ICALL) system for learning Arabic. This system could be used for learning Arabic by students at primary schools or by learners of Arabic as a second or foreign language. It explores the use of Natural Language Processing (NLP) techniques for learning…
In the dynamic and interactive academic learning environment, students are required to have qualified information literacy competencies while critically reviewing print and electronic information. However, many undergraduates encounter difficulties in searching peer-reviewed information resources. Scholarly Information Discovery in the Networked Academic Learning Environment is a practical guide for students determined to improve their academic performance and career development in the digital age. Also written with academic instructors and librarians in mind who need to show their students how to access and search academic information resources and services, the book serves as a reference to promote information literacy instructions. This title consists of four parts, with chapters on the search for online and printed information via current academic information resources and services: part one examines understanding information and information literacy; part two looks at academic information delivery in the...
Ivana Đurđević Babić
Full Text Available Academic motivation is closely related to academic performance. For educators, it is equally important to detect early students with a lack of academic motivation as it is to detect those with a high level of academic motivation. In endeavouring to develop a classification model for predicting student academic motivation based on their behaviour in learning management system (LMS courses, this paper intends to establish links between the predicted student academic motivation and their behaviour in the LMS course. Students from all years at the Faculty of Education in Osijek participated in this research. Three machine learning classifiers (neural networks, decision trees, and support vector machines were used. To establish whether a significant difference in the performance of models exists, a t-test of the difference in proportions was used. Although, all classifiers were successful, the neural network model was shown to be the most successful in detecting the student academic motivation based on their behaviour in LMS course.
Brookes, David T.
Many studies in PER suggest that language poses a serious difficulty for students learning physics. These difficulties are mostly attributed to misunderstanding of specialized terminology. This terminology often assigns new meanings to everyday terms used to describe physical models and phenomena. In this dissertation I present a novel approach to analyzing of the role of language in learning physics. This approach is based on the analysis of the historical development of physics ideas, the language of modern physicists, and students' difficulties in the areas of quantum mechanics, classical mechanics, and thermodynamics. These data are analyzed using linguistic tools borrowed from cognitive linguistics and systemic functional grammar. Specifically, I combine the idea of conceptual metaphor and grammar to build a theoretical framework that accounts for: (1) the role and function that language serves for physicists when they speak and reason about physical ideas and phenomena, (2) specific features of students' reasoning and difficulties that may be related to or derived from language that students read or hear. The theoretical framework is developed using the methodology of a grounded theoretical approach. The theoretical framework allows us to make predictions about the relationship between student discourse and their conceptual and problem solving difficulties. Tests of the theoretical framework are presented in the context of "heat" in thermodynamics and "force" in dynamics. In each case the language that students use to reason about the concepts of "heat" and "force" is analyzed using the theoretical framework. The results of this analysis show that language is very important in students' learning. In particular, students are (1) using features of physicists' conceptual metaphors to reason about physical phenomena, often overextending and misapplying these features, (2) drawing cues from the grammar of physicists' speech and writing to categorize physics
In his work with schools and other workplaces, psychologist Paul White has learned that many programs designed to appreciate employees fall flat because the appreciation is too generic or involves something the employees don't want (such as getting up in front of a group). Effective appreciation is (1) offered regularly, (2) valued by the…
Carroll, Fiona; Kop, Rita; Thomas, Nathan; Dunning, Rebecca
Mobile devices and the interactions that these technologies afford have the potential to change the face and nature of education in our schools. Indeed, mobile technological advances are seen to offer better access to educational material and new interactive ways to learn. However, the question arises, as to whether these new technologies are…
In categorial systems with a fixed structural component, the learning problem comes down to finding the solution for a set of typeassignment equations. A hard-wired structural component is problematic if one want to address issues of structural variation. Our starting point is a type-logical
Seidenberg, Mark S.; MacDonald, Maryellen C.
This article reviews the important role of statistical learning for language and reading development. Although statistical learning--the unconscious encoding of patterns in language input--has become widely known as a force in infants' early interpretation of speech, the role of this kind of learning for language and reading comprehension in…
Qi, Zhenghan; Beach, Sara D; Finn, Amy S; Minas, Jennifer; Goetz, Calvin; Chan, Brian; Gabrieli, John D E
Language learning aptitude during adulthood varies markedly across individuals. An individual's native-language ability has been associated with success in learning a new language as an adult. However, little is known about how native-language processing affects learning success and what neural markers of native-language processing, if any, are related to success in learning. We therefore related variation in electrophysiology during native-language processing to success in learning a novel artificial language. Event-related potentials (ERPs) were recorded while native English speakers judged the acceptability of English sentences prior to learning an artificial language. There was a trend towards a double dissociation between native-language ERPs and their relationships to novel syntax and vocabulary learning. Individuals who exhibited a greater N400 effect when processing English semantics showed better future learning of the artificial language overall. The N400 effect was related to syntax learning via its specific relationship to vocabulary learning. In contrast, the P600 effect size when processing English syntax predicted future syntax learning but not vocabulary learning. These findings show that distinct neural signatures of native-language processing relate to dissociable abilities for learning novel semantic and syntactic information. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
Qi, Zhenghan; Beach, Sara D.; Finn, Amy S.; Minas, Jennifer; Goetz, Calvin; Chan, Brian; Gabrieli, John D.E.
Language learning aptitude during adulthood varies markedly across individuals. An individual’s native-language ability has been associated with success in learning a new language as an adult. However, little is known about how native-language processing affects learning success and what neural markers of native-language processing, if any, are related to success in learning. We therefore related variation in electrophysiology during native-language processing to success in learning a novel artificial language. Event-related potentials (ERPs) were recorded while native English speakers judged the acceptability of English sentences prior to learning an artificial language. There was a trend towards a double dissociation between native-language ERPs and their relationships to novel syntax and vocabulary learning. Individuals who exhibited a greater N400 effect when processing English semantics showed better future learning of the artificial language overall. The N400 effect was related to syntax learning via its specific relationship to vocabulary learning. In contrast, the P600 effect size when processing English syntax predicted future syntax learning but not vocabulary learning. These findings show that distinct neural signatures of native-language processing relate to dissociable abilities for learning novel semantic and syntactic information. PMID:27737775
Fluhr, Christian Yves Andre
This research thesis concerns the field of artificial intelligence. It addresses learning algorithms applied to automatic processing of languages. The author first briefly describes some mechanisms of human intelligence in order to describe how these mechanisms are simulated on a computer. He outlines the specific role of learning in various manifestations of intelligence. Then, based on the Markov's algorithm theory, the author discusses the notion of learning algorithm. Two main types of learning algorithms are then addressed: firstly, an 'algorithm-teacher dialogue' type sanction-based algorithm which aims at learning how to solve grammatical ambiguities in submitted texts; secondly, an algorithm related to a document system which structures semantic data automatically obtained from a set of texts in order to be able to understand by references to any question on the content of these texts
Full Text Available E-communication places new demands on language, leading to interesting variations in written language use. E-mail, chats, online discussions and SMS messages use a language marked by traits of both informal speech and formal writing, a host of text-based icons and acronyms for handling social interaction and modifications in spelling norms. Objectives: The purpose of this article is to provide a framework on individuals’ possibilities to learn a foreign language using e-communication technologies. Approach: It shows the specialty literature that focuses on e-learning, with priority to e-communication. Results: Proper use of new technologies allows a more systematic integration of language, content and culture, and gives individuals unprecedented opportunities for autonomous learning. E-communication not only helps teachers and students to exceed linguistic, geographical and time barriers, but also to build bridges between native and foreign language programs. Implications: This research work is important for academics and students who use online technologies to teach or learn another language. Value: In this paper, we have identified that the use of new technologies consents learners to engage in forms of online communication, thus research becoming vital for success in their academic and professional pursuits.
Shah, Mohamed Ismail Ahamad; Ismail, Yusof; Esa, Zaleha; Muhamad, Ainon Jariah
Studies on strategy research have shown the usefulness and importance of language learning strategies (LLS) for ESL and EFL learners. However, research on content-based learners in relation to English for Academic Purposes (EAP) and English for Occupational Purposes (EOP) has yet to be undertaken. This study, therefore, investigated the learning…
Buescher, Eileen M.
This dissertation explores the experiences of middle childhood pre-service teachers (PST) across two academic years as they learn to teach English language arts to diverse students from conflicting sociocultural contexts. To help PSTs navigate the tensions across contexts, this study introduced culturally relevant (Ladson-Billings, 1995; 2014) and…
Jauregi, Kristi; Banados, Emerita
This paper describes an intercontinental project with the use of interactive tools, both synchronous and asynchronous, which was set up to internationalize academic learning of Spanish language and culture. The objective of this case study was to investigate whether video-web communication tools can contribute to enriching the quality of foreign…
It is an increasingly popular trend in the language field that people become bilingual or even multilingual, which expos-es the fact that people are strongly motivated to learn another language in addition to their mother tongue. A large-scale of re-search has confirmed that motivation, serving as the internal impulse and initiative taste for second language learning, is among on of the key factors in second language acquisition and learning. The paper reviews the recent available literature on motivation of second language learning from both theoretical and empirical perspectives, with the purpose of neatening the important theories and relevant empirical studies in the field of second language motivation.
Full Text Available In these days of standardized assessments in education that seek to measure the rate of learning in all subject matters, the question is seldom asked, “Just how long does it take to become proficient?” No matter the subject, we all agree that some amount of practice is necessary for basic proficiency and that more will be needed to really master a skill or subject area. But how much is difficult to say because different individuals come to the task with different levels of motivation and opportunity to learn. In the case of learning a second or foreign language different theories predict that a two to five year “structured exposure” is needed for either a basic communication or an academic level of proficiency (Cummins, 1980 respectively. This paper proposes that the range can be described in terms of hours. Based on the concept from Outliers by Gladwell (2008, this paper proposes that 10,000 hours is the target “time-on-task” required for academic proficiency in second language learning. The implications for school language study is readily apparent. If we want academically proficient second language speakers, those individuals will need to have access to the target language in numbers vastly greater than school can provide in its standard curriculum. Keywords: Second language learning, curriculum development, foreign language learning, time-on-task, international education, exchange programs, English as a foreign language 1. Introduction
Henrichs, Lotte F.; Leseman, Paul P. M.
Early science instruction is important in order to lay a firm basis for learning scientific concepts and scientific thinking. In addition, young children enjoy science. However, science plays only a minor role in the kindergarten curriculum. It has been reported that teachers feel they need to prioritize language and literacy practices over science. In this paper, we investigate whether science lessons might be integrated with learning the language functional for school: academic language. The occurrence of scientific reasoning and sophisticated vocabulary in brief science lessons with 5-year-olds is evaluated. The aim of the study was twofold: first, to explore the nature of kindergarten science discourse without any researcher directions (pre-intervention observation). Second, in a randomized control trial, we evaluated the effect on science discourse of a brief teacher training session focused on academic language awareness. The science lessons focussed on air pressure and mirror reflection. Analyses showed that teachers from the intervention group increased their use of scientific reasoning and of domain-specific academic words in their science discourse, compared to the control group. For the use of general academic words and for lexical diversity, the effect was task-specific: these dependent measures only increased during the air pressure task. Implications of the study include the need to increase teachers' awareness of possibilities to combine early science instruction and academic language learning.
Marta Szabo White
Full Text Available Inspired by the intersection of character, emotions, and logic, much like a Hungarian Rhapsody which is beautifully sad; this paper explores ethos, pathos, and logos in the context of Academic Globalization. As students of the world, an inter-disciplinary language is pivotal for inter-disciplinary communication. Given that the current state of the world stems primarily from miscommunications, it is imperative to launch a cognitive language tool which underscores global commonalities and mitigates cultural differences. Such a platform would foster interdisciplinary research, education, and communication. New paradigms would evolve, grounded in ethos, pathos, and logos. Like yin and yang, these states are interrelated, interacting, and interchanging learning spheres. Just as day and night blend at some point; just as the Parthenon epitomized Greek thought, celebrated the birthplace of democracy, and for the first time, depicted everyday citizens in friezes- underscoring their impactful role- ethos, pathos, and logos represent cross-disciplinary communication devices which synergistically transform and ignite academic globalization. The Literature Review links the concepts of ethos, pathos, and logos with the seminal work Lewis and his LMR framework, which has given birth to Cultureactive and subsequently to ICE [InterCultural Edge]. http://www.fuqua.duke.edu/ciber/programs/we_organize/ice/ Accessed February 14, 2014
Full Text Available Language environment is highlighted as an important area in the early childhood education sector. The term language environment refers to language-promoting aspects of education, such as preschool staff’s use of verbal language in interacting with the children. There is a lack of research about language learning in outdoor environments; thus children’s language learning is mostly based on the indoor physical environment. The aim of this study is therefore to explore, analyse, and describe how preschool staff perceive language learning in outdoor environments. The data consists of focus-group interviews with 165 preschool staff members, conducted in three cities in Sweden. The study is meaningful, thus results contribute knowledge regarding preschool staffs’ understandings of language learning in outdoor environments and develop insights to help preschool staff stimulate children’s language learning in outdoor environments.
Lorri M. Johnson-Perrodin
Full Text Available For culturally and linguistically diverse learners, scaffolded instruction is important for not only content learning but for second language learning. In this case study of two bilingual education teachers and their third grade students, we expand the traditional concept of scaffolded instruction (e.g., experts, tools, routines to include Krashen's notion of comprehensible input (1982 as a scaffold for acquiring a second language yielding an effective transfer of first language (L1 academic language development to second language (L2 academic language development. A variety of scaffolds were used as multiple support systems that facilitated the biliteracy learning process for the students. Peer interactions, expert/ novice groupings, and literacy tools and routines were some of the scaffolds used to facilitate biliteracy instruction. Key to transfer from L1 to L2 was the teaching the tools and routines in the students' L1 prior to biliteracy instruction. Considerations for students with language/learning disabilities (LLD were included in this case study. Results suggest that by scaffolding for L2 development using previously acquired knowledge from first language (L1 instruction, students including those with LLD efficiently transferred cognitive academic skills from L1 to L2. Educational implications are discussed. Para alumnos cultural y linguisticamente diversos, la instrucción basada en el andamiaje es importante no unicamente para el contenido del aprendizaje sino para el aprendizaje de un segundo idioma. En este estudio de caso de dos profesores bilingües y sus alumnos de tercer curso, ampliamos el tradicional concepto de instrucción mediante andamiaje (e.g.,expertos, herramientas, rutinas incluyendo la noción de Krashen de entrada comprensiba (1982 como un apoyo para adquirir un segundo lenguaje produciendo un transfer efectivo del primer idioma desarrollado academicamente (L1 al segundo (L2. Una gran variedad de andamiajes fueron
Andrey, Jean; Joakim, Erin; Schoner, Vivian; Hambly, Derrick; Silver, Amber; Jayasundera, Rohan; Nelson, Allen
This study explores the linkages between students' sense of entitlement and their approaches to learning, based on survey research at a large public university in Canada. Through literature review and pilot testing, a questionnaire instrument was developed that measures four constructs: academic entitlement, deep learning, surface learning and…
Tan, Lin Mei; Laswad, Fawzi
This study examines the impact of learning styles on academic performance using major assessment methods (examinations and assignments including multiple-choice and constructed response questions (CRQs)) in an introductory accounting course. Students' learning styles were assessed using Kolb's Learning Style Inventory Version 3.1. The results…
This article reports on a case study that investigates the learning preferences and strategies of Chinese students learning English as a second language (ESL) in Canadian school settings. It focuses on the interaction between second language (L2) learning methods that the students have adopted from their previous learning experience in China and…
Kuama, Settha; Intharaksa, Usa
This study aimed to examine online language learning strategies (OLLS) used and affection in online learning of successful and unsuccessful online language students and investigate the relationships between OLLS use, affection in online learning and online English learning outcomes. The participants included 346 university students completing a…
Orawiwatnakul, Wiwat; Wichadee, Saovapa
The concept of learner autonomy is now playing an important role in the language learning field. An emphasis is put on the new form of learning which enables learners to direct their own learning. This study aimed to examine how undergraduate students believed about autonomous language learning in a university setting and to find out whether some…
Our aim was to determine whether learning approaches and academic motivation together predict academic success of classroom teaching students. The sample of the study included 536 students (386 female, 150 male) studying at the Classroom Teaching Division of Canakkale 18 Mart University. Our research was designed as a prediction study. Data was…
The purpose of this study was to determine whether academic motivation and academic self-regulated learning predicted students' GPAs in the Early Childhood Education Department. The study participants consisted of 166 early childhood education majors enrolled in the 2014 spring semester at Georgia Southern University, USA. Data were gathered using…
McInerney, Dennis M.; Cheng, Rebecca Wing-yi; Mok, Magdalena Mo Ching; Lam, Amy Kwok Hap
This study examined the prediction of academic self-concept (English and Mathematics) and learning strategies (deep and surface), and their direction of effect, on academic achievement (English and Mathematics) of 8,354 students from 16 secondary schools in Hong Kong. Two competing models were tested to ascertain the direction of effect: Model A…
Meghan P. McCormick
Full Text Available Social-emotional learning (SEL programs have demonstrated positive effects on children’s social-emotional, behavioral, and academic outcomes, as well as classroom climate. Some programs also theorize that program impacts on children’s outcomes will be partially explained by improvements in classroom social processes, namely classroom emotional support and organization. Yet there is little empirical evidence for this hypothesis. Using data from the evaluation of the SEL program INSIGHTS, this article tests whether assignment to INSIGHTS improved low-income kindergarten and first grade students’ math and reading achievement by first enhancing classroom emotional support and organization. Multilevel regression analyses, instrumental variables estimation, and inverse probability of treatment weighting (IPTW were used to conduct quantitative analyses. Across methods, the impact of INSIGHTS on math and reading achievement in first grade was partially explained by gains in both classroom emotional support and organization. The IPTW method revealed that the program impact on reading achievement in first grade was partially explained through an improvement in classroom organization. Implications for research and practice are discussed.
Lyon, C.E.; Nehaniv, C. L.; Saunders, Joe
Co-development of action, conceptualization and social interaction mutually scaffold and support each other within a virtuous feedback cycle in the development of human language in children. Within this framework, the purpose of this article is to bring together diverse but complementary accounts...... of research methods that jointly contribute to our understanding of cognitive development and in particular, language acquisition in robots. Thus, we include research pertaining to developmental robotics, cognitive science, psychology, linguistics and neuroscience, as well as practical computer science...... the humanoid robot iCub are reported, while human learning relevant to developmental robotics has also contributed useful results. Disparate approaches are brought together via common underlying design principles. Without claiming to model human language acquisition directly, we are nonetheless inspired...
Vandeventer Faltin, Anne
Full Text Available This paper illustrates the usefulness of natural language processing (NLP tools for computer assisted language learning (CALL through the presentation of three NLP tools integrated within a CALL software for French. These tools are (i a sentence structure viewer; (ii an error diagnosis system; and (iii a conjugation tool. The sentence structure viewer helps language learners grasp the structure of a sentence, by providing lexical and grammatical information. This information is derived from a deep syntactic analysis. Two different outputs are presented. The error diagnosis system is composed of a spell checker, a grammar checker, and a coherence checker. The spell checker makes use of alpha-codes, phonological reinterpretation, and some ad hoc rules to provide correction proposals. The grammar checker employs constraint relaxation and phonological reinterpretation as diagnosis techniques. The coherence checker compares the underlying "semantic" structures of a stored answer and of the learners' input to detect semantic discrepancies. The conjugation tool is a resource with enhanced capabilities when put on an electronic format, enabling searches from inflected and ambiguous verb forms.
Given the emerging focus on the intercultural dimension in language teaching and learning, language educators have been exploring the use of information and communications technology ICT-mediated language learning environments to link learners in intercultural language learning communities around the globe. Despite the potential promise of…
Natalia Alexandrovna Kameneva
Full Text Available This article analyzes the use of information technologies in the context of a blended technology approach to learning foreign languages in higher education institutions. Distance learning tools can be categorized as being synchronous (webinar, video conferencing, case-technology, chat, ICQ, Skype, interactive whiteboards or asynchronous (blogs, forums, Twitter, video and audio podcasts, wikis, on-line testing. Sociological and psychological aspects of their application in the educational process are also considered.DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.12731/2218-7405-2013-8-41
Hasegawa, Masashi; Ohtani, Nobuyo; Ohta, Mitsuaki
Simple Summary For humans and dogs to live together amiably, dog training is required, and a lack of obedience training is significantly related to the prevalence of certain behavioral problems. To train efficiently, it is important that the trainer/owner ascertains the learning level of the dog. Understanding the dog’s body language helps humans understand the animal’s emotions. This study evaluated the posture of certain dog body parts during operant conditioning. Our findings suggest that ...
Gannon, Sam C.
Academic medical centers are well-known for their emphasis on teaching, research and public service; however, like most large, bureaucratic organizations, they oftentimes suffer from an inability to learn as an organization. The role of the research administrator in the academic medical center has grown over time as the profession itself has…
Ettlinger, Marc; Morgan-Short, Kara; Faretta-Stutenberg, Mandy; Wong, Patrick C M
Artificial language learning (ALL) experiments have become an important tool in exploring principles of language and language learning. A persistent question in all of this work, however, is whether ALL engages the linguistic system and whether ALL studies are ecologically valid assessments of natural language ability. In the present study, we considered these questions by examining the relationship between performance in an ALL task and second language learning ability. Participants enrolled in a Spanish language class were evaluated using a number of different measures of Spanish ability and classroom performance, which was compared to IQ and a number of different measures of ALL performance. The results show that success in ALL experiments, particularly more complex artificial languages, correlates positively with indices of L2 learning even after controlling for IQ. These findings provide a key link between studies involving ALL and our understanding of second language learning in the classroom. Copyright © 2015 Cognitive Science Society, Inc.
Scott, Jessica; Hinton, Christina
The rise of globalisation makes language competencies more valuable, both at individual and societal levels. This book examines the links between globalisation and the way we teach and learn languages. It begins by asking why some individuals are more successful than others at learning non-native languages, and why some education systems, or countries, are more successful than others at teaching languages. The book comprises chapters by different authors on the subject of language learning. There are chapters on the role of motivation; the way that languages, cultures and identities are interc
TAN KHYE CHUIN; SARJIT KAUR
This study investigated the types of language learning strategies used by 73 English majors from the School of Humanities in Universiti Sains Malaysia. Using questionnaires adopted from Oxford’s (1990) Strategy Inventory of Language Learning (SILL) and focus group interviews, the study also examined the English major students’ perceptions of using language learning strategies while learning English. The results revealed that the English majors were generally high users of all six types of lan...
This work is focused on cooperative learning in foreign language teaching. It brings knowledge about cooperative learning, about methods of didactics in foreign language and their suitability for using cooperative learning. It deals with the news that appeared in cooperative learning in a foreign language teaching. The research that is part of this work was qualitative and it was completed by quantitative research, too. The aim of the research was to understand the teachers' point of view and...
Libao, Nhorvien Jay P.; Sagun, Jessie John B.; Tamangan, Elvira A.; Pattalitan, Agaton P.; Dupa, Maria Elena D.; Bautista, Romiro Gordo
This study was designed to analyze the relationship of students’ learning motivation and their academic performances in science. The study made use of 21 junior and senior Biological Science students to conclude on the formulated research problems. The respondents had a good to very good motivation in learning science. In general, the extent of their motivation do not vary across their sex, age, and curriculum year. Moreover, the respondents had good academic performances in science. Aptly, e...
This study analyses the behavior and the preferences of the Greek learners of Turkish language, who use a particular e-learning website in parallel with their studies, namely: http://turkish.pgeorgalas.gr. The website offers free online material in Greek and English language for learning the Turkish language and grammar. The traffic of several…
Full Text Available The present study aimed at presenting the historical background of the emergence of culture in language learning and how it can be correlated with the language learners. In fact, by providing various definitions of culture and the role it might play in the process of language learning, whether directly or indirectly, this research provides a clear-cut overview of culture and its application among the people as well as their communication in the society. Moreover, the relationship between culture and language learning is also taken into account. To this end, basic definitions of culture in different research studies are investigated moving toward finding a path to make a connection between language and culture. Therefore, a review of studies on the relationship between language learning and culture is provided to account for the possible effectiveness of benefiting from culture in the language learning process in that the learning context (i.e. foreign or second language can be affected by the culture of the teachers as well as the learners. This demands that both teachers and learners should be aware of cultural issues surrounding the language and the fact that it can be beneficial for the process of language learning. If learner are consciously involved in the culture of the language they are learning, they certainly can have better performance and understand the language more tangibly.
In the editorial of "The Language Learning Journal" of July 2011, readers' attention is drawn to the decline in language teaching and learning in British schools and universities, and to the attempt of the British Academy to promote language teaching against this decline. The British Academy paper makes seven recommendations of which the…
Bahrani, Taher; Sim, Tam Shu
Based on the informal language learning theory, language learning can occur outside the classroom setting unconsciously and incidentally through interaction with the native speakers or exposure to authentic language input through technology. However, an EFL context lacks the social interaction which naturally occurs in an ESL context. To explore…
Gokaydin, Beria; Baglama, Basak; Uzunboylu, Huseyin
This study aims to carry out a content analysis of the studies on language learning of gifted individuals and determine the trends in this field. Articles on language learning of gifted individuals published in the Scopus database were examined based on certain criteria including type of publication, year of publication, language, research…
Bekleyen, Nilüfer; Selimoglu, Figen
The purpose of the present study was to investigate the learners' behaviors and perceptions about autonomous language learning at the university level in Turkey. It attempts to reveal what type of perceptions learners held regarding teachers' and their own responsibilities in the language learning process. Their autonomous language learning…
Simon, Charlann S.
This participant observer report reviews research on how dyslexia complicates learning a second language, a description of how dyslexia has affected educational experiences, personal experiences learning a foreign language, and recommendations to individuals with dyslexia who are faced with fulfilling a foreign language requirement and their…
Jones, Alexander Harris
This paper critiques discourse surrounding language learning strategies within Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL) and argues for the creation of new definitions of language learning strategies that are rooted in the socio-political and socio-economic contexts of the marginalized. Section one of this paper describes linguistic…
Sadat, Jasmin; Pureza, Rita; Alario, F.-Xavier
Can an early learned second language influence speech production after living many years in an exclusively monolingual environment? To address this issue, we investigated the consequences of discontinued early bilingualism in heritage speakers who moved abroad and switched language dominance from the second to the primary learned language. We used…
The present paper is a review of literature in relation to formulaic sequences and the implications for second language learning. The formulaic sequence is a significant part of our language, and plays an essential role in both first and second language learning. The paper first introduces the definition, classifications, and major features of…
In this paper I propose an agenda for researching language learning motivation "through a small lens", to counteract our tendency in the second language (L2) motivation field to engage with language learning and teaching processes at a rather general level. I argue that by adopting a more sharply focused or contextualized angle of…
Eisenberg, Nancy; Sadovsky, Adrienne; Spinrad, Tracy L.
Research suggests that the development of emotional regulation in early childhood is interrelated with emotional understanding and language skills. Heuristic models are proposed on how these factors influence children’s emerging academic motivation and skills.
Eisenberg, Nancy; Sadovsky, Adrienne; Spinrad, Tracy L.
Research suggests that the development of emotional regulation in early childhood is interrelated with emotional understanding and language skills. Heuristic models are proposed on how these factors influence children's emerging academic motivation and skills. (Contains 2 figures.)
Full Text Available Abstract: Becoming competent in a language involves more than just academic success, but also multi-faceted aspects of self in a situated context. The core of the study is to explore a participant’s experience as a marginalized student in a Filipino American community and the trajectories of learning a foreign language over time and space. Narratives from the participant reflect his approach toward language learning (LL as well as his motivation behind language learning. This study highlights the impact of foreign language learning experience upon the participant’s conflict, negotiation, and transformation of identity. Following his positioning analysis, the paper closely looks at how evaluation by other Filipinos within the community contributes to the participant’s ongoing (reconstruction and negotiation of identity. How these evaluations encourage or impede his access to heritage language and culture is analyzed based on the participant’s use of reported speech. The paper explored whether or not LL can be a way of negotiating and gaining agency, as well as how LL helps a marginalized learner to choose where and how he wants to belong to. The paper also looks at how marginalization motivates language learning, through which the participant seeks to reposition himself. The study also examines how power relationship (marginalized student in a situated context plays a role in the process of negotiation of identity and meaning-making of self. Results from this study conclude that through experiences in foreign language learning as well as negotiating meanings for being a Japanese as a Foreign Language (JFL student, the participant gradually shifts to belong to a different community prior to his language learning experience in which he can practice agency and is no longer a marginalized member of his heritage community.
The biases of individual language learners act to determine the learnability and cultural stability of languages: learners come to the language learning task with biases which make certain linguistic systems easier to acquire than others. These biases are repeatedly applied during the process of language transmission, and consequently should effect the types of languages we see in human populations. Understanding the cultural evolutionary consequences of particular learning biases is therefore central to understanding the link between language learning in individuals and language universals, common structural properties shared by all the world’s languages. This paper reviews a range of models and experimental studies which show that weak biases in individual learners can have strong effects on the structure of socially learned systems such as language, suggesting that strong universal tendencies in language structure do not require us to postulate strong underlying biases or constraints on language learning. Furthermore, understanding the relationship between learner biases and language design has implications for theories of the evolution of those learning biases: models of gene-culture coevolution suggest that, in situations where a cultural dynamic mediates between properties of individual learners and properties of language in this way, biological evolution is unlikely to lead to the emergence of strong constraints on learning.
Mullender-Wijnsma, Marijke J,; Hartman, Esther; de Greeff, Johannes W.; Doolaard, Simone; Bosker, Roel J.; Visscher, Chris
OBJECTIVES: Using physical activity in the teaching of academic lessons is a new way of learning. The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of an innovative physically active academic intervention ("Fit & Vaardig op School" [F&V]) on academic achievement of children. METHODS: Using
Norbahira Mohamad Nor
Full Text Available This paper reviews three main theoretical perspectives on language learning and acquisition in an attempt to elucidate how people acquire their first language (L1 and learn their second language (L2. Behaviorist, Innatist and Interactionist offer different perspectives on language learning and acquisition which influence the acceptance of how an L2 should be taught and learned. This paper also explicates the relationship between L1 and L2, and elaborates on the similarities and differences between the two. This paper concludes that there is no one solid linguistic theory which can provide the ultimate explanation of L1 acquisition and L2 learning as there are many interrelated factors that influence the success of language acquisition or language learning. The implication is that teachers should base their classroom management practices and pedagogical techniques on several theories rather than a single theory as learners learn and acquire language differently. It is hoped that this paper provides useful insights into the complex process involved in language acquisition and learning, and contributes to the increased awareness of the process among the stakeholders in the field of language education. Keywords: behaviorist, innatist, interactionist, language acquisition, second language learning
Gong, Tao; Lam, Yau W; Shuai, Lan
Psychological experiments have revealed that in normal visual perception of humans, color cues are more salient than shape cues, which are more salient than textural patterns. We carried out an artificial language learning experiment to study whether such perceptual saliency hierarchy (color > shape > texture) influences the learning of orders regulating adjectives of involved visual features in a manner either congruent (expressing a salient feature in a salient part of the form) or incongruent (expressing a salient feature in a less salient part of the form) with that hierarchy. Results showed that within a few rounds of learning participants could learn the compositional segments encoding the visual features and the order between them, generalize the learned knowledge to unseen instances with the same or different orders, and show learning biases for orders that are congruent with the perceptual saliency hierarchy. Although the learning performances for both the biased and unbiased orders became similar given more learning trials, our study confirms that this type of individual perceptual constraint could contribute to the structural configuration of language, and points out that such constraint, as well as other factors, could collectively affect the structural diversity in languages.
Gong, Tao; Lam, Yau W.; Shuai, Lan
Psychological experiments have revealed that in normal visual perception of humans, color cues are more salient than shape cues, which are more salient than textural patterns. We carried out an artificial language learning experiment to study whether such perceptual saliency hierarchy (color > shape > texture) influences the learning of orders regulating adjectives of involved visual features in a manner either congruent (expressing a salient feature in a salient part of the form) or incongruent (expressing a salient feature in a less salient part of the form) with that hierarchy. Results showed that within a few rounds of learning participants could learn the compositional segments encoding the visual features and the order between them, generalize the learned knowledge to unseen instances with the same or different orders, and show learning biases for orders that are congruent with the perceptual saliency hierarchy. Although the learning performances for both the biased and unbiased orders became similar given more learning trials, our study confirms that this type of individual perceptual constraint could contribute to the structural configuration of language, and points out that such constraint, as well as other factors, could collectively affect the structural diversity in languages. PMID:28066281
Pascual y Cabo, Diego; Prada, Josh; Lowther Pereira, Kelly
This study examined the effects of participation in a community service-learning experience on Spanish heritage language learners' attitudes toward their heritage language and culture. Quantitative and qualitative data from heritage language learners demonstrated that engagement in community service-learning activities as part of the Spanish…
Hamrick, Phillip; Lum, Jarrad A G; Ullman, Michael T
Do the mechanisms underlying language in fact serve general-purpose functions that preexist this uniquely human capacity? To address this contentious and empirically challenging issue, we systematically tested the predictions of a well-studied neurocognitive theory of language motivated by evolutionary principles. Multiple metaanalyses were performed to examine predicted links between language and two general-purpose learning systems, declarative and procedural memory. The results tied lexical abilities to learning only in declarative memory, while grammar was linked to learning in both systems in both child first language and adult second language, in specific ways. In second language learners, grammar was associated with only declarative memory at lower language experience, but with only procedural memory at higher experience. The findings yielded large effect sizes and held consistently across languages, language families, linguistic structures, and tasks, underscoring their reliability and validity. The results, which met the predicted pattern, provide comprehensive evidence that language is tied to general-purpose systems both in children acquiring their native language and adults learning an additional language. Crucially, if language learning relies on these systems, then our extensive knowledge of the systems from animal and human studies may also apply to this domain, leading to predictions that might be unwarranted in the more circumscribed study of language. Thus, by demonstrating a role for these systems in language, the findings simultaneously lay a foundation for potentially important advances in the study of this critical domain.
Atabekova, Atabekova; Gorbatenko, Rimma; Belousov, Aleksandr; Grebnev, Ruslan; Sheremetieva, Olga
The paper explores the ways in which non-formal content and language integrated learning within university studies can affect students' academic progress. The research has included theoretical and empirical studies. The article focuses on the observation of students' learning process, draws attention to challenges and benefits students experienced…
Introduction. The use of three-five languages is of the greatest importance in order to form varied cooperative networks for the creation of new knowledge. Aim of the paper is to analyze the synergy between language acquisition and language learning. Materials and Methods. The search for the synergy between language acquisition and language…
Sajavaara, Kari, Ed.; And Others
Papers include: (1) "Language Acquisitional Universals: L1, L2, Pidgins, and FLT" (Henning Wode); (2) "Language Acquisition, Language Learning and the School Curriculum" (Norman F. Davies); (3) "Language Teaching and Acquisition of Communication" (Kari Sajavaara, Jaakko Lehtonen); (4) "On the Distinction between…
Méndez López Mariza G.
Full Text Available The present article reports on a study that explores the effects of the emotional experiences of Mexican language learners on their motivation to learn English. In this qualitative research we present how emotions impact the motivation of university language learners in south Mexico. Results suggest that emotions, both negative and positive, contribute to enhancing and diminishing motivation. Althoughnegative emotions may be considered detrimental to foreign language learning, the findings of this study show that negative emotions serve as learning enhancers. Results also evidence that Mexican language learners perceive negative emotions as positive for their language learning process.En este artículo se presenta una investigación en la que se exploran los efectos que causan las experiencias emocionales en la motivación de estudiantes mexicanos al aprender inglés. Con base en un estudio cualitativo se presenta cómo las emociones inciden en la motivación de estudiantes universitarios en el sur de México. Los resultados sugieren que las emociones, tanto positivas como negativas, contribuyen a potenciar y disminuir su motivación. Se encontró que a pesar de que las emociones negativas pueden afectar el aprendizaje de una lengua extranjera, estas actúan incluso como potenciadoras del aprendizaje. Los resultados también indican que los estudiantes mexicanos perciben las emociones negativas como positivas en su proceso de aprendizaje.
Hasegawa, Masashi; Ohtani, Nobuyo; Ohta, Mitsuaki
Simple Summary For humans and dogs to live together amiably, dog training is required, and a lack of obedience training is significantly related to the prevalence of certain behavioral problems. To train efficiently, it is important that the trainer/owner ascertains the learning level of the dog. Understanding the dog’s body language helps humans understand the animal’s emotions. This study evaluated the posture of certain dog body parts during operant conditioning. Our findings suggest that certain postures were related to the dog’s learning level during operant conditioning. Being aware of these postures could be helpful to understand canine emotion during learning. Abstract The facial expressions and body postures of dogs can give helpful information about their moods and emotional states. People can more effectively obedience train their dogs if we can identify the mannerisms associated with learning in dogs. The aim of this study was to clarify the dog’s body language during operant conditioning to predict achievement in the test that followed by measuring the duration of behaviors. Forty-six untrained dogs (17 males and 26 females) of various breeds were used. Each session consisted of 5 minutes of training with a treat reward followed by 3 minutes of rest and finally an operant conditioning test that consisted of 20 “hand motion” cues. The operant tests were conducted a total of nine times over three consecutive days, and the success numbers were counted. The duration of the dog’s behavior, focusing on the dog’s eyes, mouth, ears, tail and tail-wagging, was recorded during the operant conditioning sessions before the test. Particular behaviors, including wide-eyes, closed mouth, erect ears, and forward and high tail carriage, without wagging or with short and quick wagging, related to high achievement results. It is concluded that dogs' body language during operant conditioning was related to their success rate. PMID:26479883
Goodnight, Melissa Rae
For this multivariate regression study I utilized data from the Cooperative Institutional Research Program (CIRP) surveys of freshman and senior undergraduates to examine the language-related academic self-confidence (LRASC) of noncitizen students in relationship to college environmental factors like academic disengagement and assertiveness.…
Im-Bolter, Nancie; Zadeh, Zohreh Yaghoub; Ling, Daphne
Studies have demonstrated the association between parenting style and children's academic achievement, but the specific mechanisms underlying this relationship remain unclear. The development of skills that lay the foundation for academic success might be found in early parent-child interactions that foster language competence. Early negative…
This study examined the relations between 8-12-year-olds' perceived attachment security to father, academic self-concept and school performance in language mastery. One hundred and twenty two French students' perceptions of attachment to mother and to father were explored with the Security Scale and their academic self-concept was assessed with…
McCauley, Stewart M; Christiansen, Morten H
Second-language learners rarely arrive at native proficiency in a number of linguistic domains, including morphological and syntactic processing. Previous approaches to understanding the different outcomes of first- versus second-language learning have focused on cognitive and neural factors. In contrast, we explore the possibility that children and adults may rely on different linguistic units throughout the course of language learning, with specific focus on the granularity of those units. Following recent psycholinguistic evidence for the role of multiword chunks in online language processing, we explore the hypothesis that children rely more heavily on multiword units in language learning than do adults learning a second language. To this end, we take an initial step toward using large-scale, corpus-based computational modeling as a tool for exploring the granularity of speakers' linguistic units. Employing a computational model of language learning, the Chunk-Based Learner, we compare the usefulness of chunk-based knowledge in accounting for the speech of second-language learners versus children and adults speaking their first language. Our findings suggest that while multiword units are likely to play a role in second-language learning, adults may learn less useful chunks, rely on them to a lesser extent, and arrive at them through different means than children learning a first language. Copyright © 2017 Cognitive Science Society, Inc.
Novia Tri Febriani
Full Text Available Language learning belief and language learning strategies are two essential predictors that have significant effect toward students’ language proficiency. Learners’ belief is dealing with what comes from inside the learners in learning the language, such as foreign language aptitude; difficulty of language learning; nature of language learning; learning and communication strategies; and motivation. Meanwhile, language learning strategies are learners’ plan in achieving certain goals or mastering the target language. A preliminary research was conducted in order to find what strategy mostly used by the learners. It turned out that the strategy mostly used by them was metacognitive strategies. Thus, this study aims to investigate about the correlation between metacognitive strategies and certain belief’ variables in students’ language learning which are foreign language aptitude and motivation. Moreover, twenty postgraduate students of English education department participated in this study. This study used correlational research, in which the BALLI (Beliefs about Language Learning Inventory and SILL (Strategies Inventory for Language Learners questionnaires were adopted as the instruments in collecting the data. The findings of this study indicated that there is negative linear correlation between metacognitive strategy and foreign language aptitude (rXY = -0,049 while there is significant positive linear correlation between metacognitive and motivation (rXY =+0,79 in students’ language learning. Furthermore, this study also provide some recommendations, which is it is expected that there will be more researches use studies using different respondents with various contexts. Secondly, the further research will use both of quantitative and qualitative data relating to this issue in order to make a more accurate data.
Full Text Available Theatrical activities are widely used by language educators to promote and facilitate language learning. Involving students in production of their own video or a short movie in the target language allows a seamless fusion of language learning, art, and popular culture. The activity is also conducive for creating an authentic learning situation where the real world becomes a part of the educational experience and necessitates the use of an authentic language by the learners. This article describes a video project carried out by Russian language learners at Universiti Malaysia Sabah (UMS. It examines how the work on the project created and supported authenticity of the learning experience. Though the article focuses on the video project done in the context of language learning and teaching this activity could be successfully implemented in teaching various subjects at both secondary and tertiary levels.
Stockwell, Glenn, Ed.
Computer-assisted language learning (CALL) is an approach to teaching and learning languages that uses computers and other technologies to present, reinforce, and assess material to be learned, or to create environments where teachers and learners can interact with one another and the outside world. This book provides a much-needed overview of the…
Darmi, Ramiza; Albion, Peter
Mobile learning (m-learning) is gradually being introduced in language classrooms. All forms of mobile technology represent portability with smarter features. Studies have proven the concomitant role of technology beneficial for language learning. Various features in the technology have been exploited and researched for acquiring and learning…
Maizatulliza, M.; Kiely, R.
In the field of English language teaching and learning, there is a long history of investigating students' performance while they are undergoing specific learning programmes. This research study, however, focused on students' evaluation of their English language learning experience after they have completed their programme. The data were gathered…
Yunus, Melor Md; Sulaiman, Nur Ainil; Embi, Mohammed Amin
Many studies have been done on language learning strategies employed by different type of learners and in various contexts. However, very little studies have been done on gifted students regarding language learning. Gifted students have unique characteristics and have different ways of thinking and learning. These characteristics affect how they…
Paper shows that Wittgenstein, in discussing ostensive definition, understanding, and the private language argument, attacks Saint Augustine's notion of learning. Recently, the Augustinian conception has been resurrected in cognitive theories postulating an innate language of thought, making Wittgenstein's claims that this conception of learning…
Full Text Available Working memory (WM is often poorer for a second language (L2. In low noise conditions, people listening to a language other than their first language (L1 may have similar auditory perception skills for that L2 as native listeners, but do worse in high noise conditions, and this has been attributed to the poorer WM for L2. Given that WM is critical for academic success in children and young adults, these speech in noise effects have implications for academic performance where the language of instruction is L2 for a student. We used a well-established Speech-in-Noise task as a verbal WM (vWM test, and developed a model correlating vWM and measures of English proficiency and/or usage to scholastic outcomes in a multi-faceted assessment medical education program. Significant differences in Speech-Noise Ratio (SNR50 values were observed between medical undergraduates who had learned English before or after five years of age, with the latter group doing worse in the ability to extract whole connected speech in the presence of background multi-talker babble (Student-t tests, p < 0.001. Significant negative correlations were observed between the SNR50 and seven of the nine variables of English usage, learning styles, stress, and musical abilities in a questionnaire administered to the students previously. The remaining two variables, Perceived Stress Scale (PSS and the Age of Acquisition of English (AoAoE were significantly positively correlated with the SNR50 , showing that those with a poorer capacity to discriminate simple English sentences from noise had learnt English later in life and had higher levels of stress – all characteristics of the international students. Local students exhibited significantly lower SNR50 scores and were significantly younger when they first learnt English. No significant correlation was detected between the SNR50 and the students’ Visual/Verbal Learning Style (r = −0.023. Standard multiple regression was
Mann, Collette; Canny, Benedict J; Reser, David H; Rajan, Ramesh
Working memory (WM) is often poorer for a second language (L2). In low noise conditions, people listening to a language other than their first language (L1) may have similar auditory perception skills for that L2 as native listeners, but do worse in high noise conditions, and this has been attributed to the poorer WM for L2. Given that WM is critical for academic success in children and young adults, these speech in noise effects have implications for academic performance where the language of instruction is L2 for a student. We used a well-established Speech-in-Noise task as a verbal WM (vWM) test, and developed a model correlating vWM and measures of English proficiency and/or usage to scholastic outcomes in a multi-faceted assessment medical education program. Significant differences in Speech-Noise Ratio (SNR50) values were observed between medical undergraduates who had learned English before or after five years of age, with the latter group doing worse in the ability to extract whole connected speech in the presence of background multi-talker babble (Student-t tests, p learning styles, stress, and musical abilities in a questionnaire administered to the students previously. The remaining two variables, Perceived Stress Scale (PSS) and the Age of Acquisition of English (AoAoE) were significantly positively correlated with the SNR50, showing that those with a poorer capacity to discriminate simple English sentences from noise had learnt English later in life and had higher levels of stress - all characteristics of the international students. Local students exhibited significantly lower SNR50 scores and were significantly younger when they first learnt English. No significant correlation was detected between the SNR50 and the students' Visual/Verbal Learning Style (r = -0.023). Standard multiple regression was carried out to assess the relationship between language proficiency and verbal working memory (SNR50) using 5 variables of L2 proficiency, with the
Huerta, Margarita; Tong, Fuhui; Irby, Beverly J.; Lara-Alecio, Rafael
The authors of this quantitative study measured and compared the academic language development and conceptual understanding of fifth-grade economically disadvantaged English language learners (ELL), former ELLs, and native English-speaking (ES) students as reflected in their science notebook scores. Using an instrument they developed, the authors…
Hufford, Jon R.
Several components of a campus culture affect learning, yet assessments regularly neglect some of them. Academic librarians should evaluate how they impact courses and student learning through their support of these neglected components. Assessment goals to address some of the components include measuring the level of support for courses with…
The main intent of this study was to identify the impact of using learning log as a learning strategy on the academic performance of university students. Second year psychology students were included as subjects of this study. In the beginning of the study, the students were divided into two: experimental group (N = 60) and ...
The aim of the research was to determine the relationships which exist between academic success, learning strategies and locus of control. In order to achieve this aim a small-scale quantitative study, utilising two inventories, was done. The first measuring instrument is the Learning and Study Strategies Inventory, which is ...
This study aimed to investigate the relationship between social studies pre-service teachers' (SSPTs) learning style, test anxiety and academic achievement. A total of 315 SSPTs participated in the study. Data were collected using Turkish versions of Grasha-Reichmann learning style scale (GRLSS) and test anxiety scale (TAS) by Spielberger.…
Libao, Nhorvien Jay P.; Sagun, Jessie John B.; Tamangan, Elvira A.; Pattalitan, Agaton P., Jr.; Dupa, Maria Elena D.; Bautista, Romiro G.
This study was designed to analyze the relationship of students' learning motivation and their academic performances in science. The study made use of 21 junior and senior Biological Science students to conclude on the formulated research problems. The respondents had a good to very good motivation in learning science. In general, the extent of…
Full Text Available The objectives of the research were (1 to investigate the most dominant language learning strategies (LLS used by sixth semester students of English Department of Tarbiyah Faculty at UIN Alauddin Makassar and (2 to find out the differences of using LLS between high achieving students and low achieving students. The result of the quantitative data through questionnaire showed that (1 metacognitive strategies was the most dominant LLS used, and (2 the high achieving students used metacognitive strategies with the highest preference and low achieving students used compensation strategies with the highest preference. The result of the qualitative data through think aloud showed that (1 the most dominant LLS employed by students were listening music, utilizing time for practicing and self-evaluating, (2 the most dominant LLS used by high achieving students were utilizing time for practicing, practicing English together and self-evaluating, whereas the most dominant LLS used by low achieving students were listening music, asking friend and selecting topic. The data were collected through documentation used to classify high achieving students and low achieving students based on their grade point average. It is concluded that the most dominant language learning strategies employed by students was metacognitive strategies. High achieving students employed different strategy than low achieving students. High achieving students used learning strategies more frequently than low achieving students.
Linda Joy Mesh
Full Text Available Sustainable support for educational development using new technologies in higher education depends on having a basic roadmap that links current demands for developmental support to a plan for ways in which longer term needs will be recognized and met. The growing demand for lifelong learning of a second language is evident within the workplace where new technologies offer flexible solutions. In order to meet the special needs of working adults, the University of Siena Language Center (CLA has developed a multiple-level series of blended English courses from beginner to intermediate level for both university technical-administrative personnel and the hospital staff of the Azienda Ospedaliera Universitaria Senese (AOUS. The pedagogical approach takes into consideration both the needs of adults who are working full-time and the aims of the curriculum, which are to develop the four linguistic abilities of reading, writing, listening and speaking up to the Common European Framework of Reference (CEFR Level B1. Taking into consideration a constructive use of both teaching hours and classrooms, as well as the limited time available to adult learners, a blended approach was chosen. The face-to-face (f2f lessons provide activities concentrating on the development of speaking and listening skills. The online lessons provide a collaborative workspace for interaction in the second language and present a flexible solution for working adults who can structure their study time when and where it is most convenient. This paper will attempt to draw several conclusions regarding the effectiveness of blending approaches for lifelong learning of a second language based on both learner and teacher interviews as well as quantitative and qualitative data collection through questionnaires and end of course evaluation.
Marianela Noriega Biggio
Full Text Available This paper discusses the results of research on factors affecting academic performance and attrition in a sample of 1,500 freshman students majoring in architecture, design and urbanism at the Universidad de Buenos Aires, Argentina [University of Buenos Aires, Argentina] who were enrolled in a drafting course. The hypotheses we tested concern the mediating role of learning styles on the relationship between spatial competence and academic performance, learning-style differences by gender and cohort, and the relationship between attrition, spatial competence level and learning style. Statistical analysis of the data was performed and spatial competence enhanced by motivational profile was found to predict final achievement. Educational implications are identified, highlighting the need to promote in students those academic behaviors that characterize a self-regulated learning style and encourage the use of specific intellectual abilities.
This paper reviews the learning theories, focusing to the strong interest in technology use for language learning. It is important to look at how technology has been used in the field thus far. The goals of this review are to understand how computers have been used in the past years to support foreign language learning, and to explore any research evidence with regards to how computer technology can enhance language skills acquisition
Narasimhamurthy, Uma; Al Shawkani, Khuloud
This article describes a model for teaching Java Programming Language through Dynamic Learning Objects. The design of the learning objects was based on effective learning design principles to help students learn the complex topic of Java Programming. Visualization was also used to facilitate the learning of the concepts. (Contains 1 figure and 2…
Stevenson, Megan P.; Liu, Min
This paper presents the results of an online survey and a usability test performed on three foreign language learning websites that use Web 2.0 technology. The online survey was conducted to gain an understanding of how current users of language learning websites use them for learning and social purposes. The usability test was conducted to gain…
Full Text Available The authors describe the method of global learning of foreign languages, which is based on the principles of neurolinguistic programming (NLP. According to this theory, the educator should use the method of the so-called periphery learning, where students learn relaxation techniques and at the same time they »incidentally « or subconsciously learn a foreign language. The method of global learning imitates successful strategies of learning in early childhood and therefore creates a relaxed attitude towards learning. Global learning is also compared with standard methods.
Berlanga, A. J. (2011). Providing Formative Feedback: Language Technologies for Lifelong Learning CONSPECT tool. Presentation given at the Onderwijslunch, University of Maastricht. January, 18, 2011, Maastricht, The Netherlands.
Alvarez Valencia, Jose Aldemar
Recent progress in the discipline of computer applications such as the advent of web-based communication, afforded by the Web 2.0, has paved the way for novel applications in language learning, namely, social networking. Social networking has challenged the area of Computer Mediated Communication (CMC) to expand its research palette in order to…
Moreira, J. António; Mendes, Alexandra
Institutions of Higher Education in Portugal face today unique challenges. Aware of the change, in general, these institutions have presented reform initiatives covering in their strategic plans new frames ofoperation, where e-learning and/or b-learning are recognized. The present study aims mainly to know the impact that b-learning and the implementation of some pedagogical models adapted to these environments may have on academic performance of students in higher education. Data analysis, r...
Juliana Beatriz Stover
Full Text Available The aim of this study consists in testing a predictive model of academic achievement including motivation and learning strategies as predictors. Motivation is defined as the energy and the direction of behaviors; it is categorized in three types of motivation –intrinsic, extrinsic and amotivation (Deci & Ryan, 1985. Learning strategies are deliberate operations oriented towards information processing in academic activities (Valle, Barca, González & Núñez, 1999. Several studies analysed the relationship between motivation and learning strategies in high school and college environments. Students with higher academic achievement were intrinsically motivated and used a wider variety of learning strategies more frequently. A non-experimental predictive design was developed. The sample was composed by 459 students (55.2% high-schoolers; 44.8% college students. Data were gathered by means of sociodemographic and academic surveys, and also by the local versions of the Academic Motivation Scale –EMA, Echelle de Motivation en Éducation (Stover, de la Iglesia, Rial Boubeta & Fernández Liporace, 2012; Vallerand, Blais, Briere & Pelletier, 1989 and the Learning and Study Strategies Inventory –LASSI (Stover, Uriel & Fernández Liporace, 2012; Weinstein, Schulte & Palmer, 1987. Several path analyses were carried out to test a hypothetical model to predict academic achievement (Kline, 1998. Results indicated that self-determined motivation explained academic achievement through the use of learning strategies. The final model obtained an excellent fit (χ2=16.523, df= 6, p=0.011; GFI=0.987; AGFI=0.955; SRMR=0.0320; NFI=0.913; IFI=0.943; CFI=0.940. Results are discussed considering Self Determination Theory and previous research.
Cotterall, Sara; Cohen, Robin
Describes how a group of intermediate learners of English were guided through the process of producing their first academic essays in English. The approach applied the concept of scaffolding to the academic writing process by proving flexible support for the learners throughout the writing of their essays. (Author/VWL)
This study examines the academic motivation, in a Turkish context, of Turkish pre-service English teachers to contribute field research. Students (n=287) completed the Academic Motivation Scale (AMS) and a demographic questionnaire. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, a one-way ANOVA, independent sample t-test, and Pearson product…
Millberg, Lena German; Berg, Linda; Brämberg, Elisabeth Björk; Nordström, Gun; Ohlén, Joakim
The aim was to explore the major concerns of specialist nurses pertaining to academic learning during their education and initial professional career. Specialist nursing education changed in tandem with the European educational reform in 2007. At the same time, greater demands were made on the healthcare services to provide evidence-based and safe patient-care. These changes have influenced specialist nursing programmes and consequently the profession. Grounded Theory guided the study. Data were collected by means of a questionnaire with open-ended questions distributed at the end of specialist nursing programmes in 2009 and 2010. Five universities were included. Further, individual, pair and group interviews were used to collect data from 12 specialist nurses, 5-14 months after graduation. A major concern for specialist nurses was that academic learning should be "meaningful" for their professional future. The specialist nurses' "meaningful academic learning process" was characterised by an ambivalence of partly believing in and partly being hesitant about the significance of academic learning and partly receiving but also lacking support. Specialist nurses were influenced by factors in two areas: curriculum and healthcare context. They felt that the outcome of contribution to professional confidence was critical in making academic learning meaningful. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
Petersen, Karen Bjerg
For decades foreign and second language teachers have taken advantage of the technology development and ensuing possibilities to use e-learning facilities for language training. Since the 1980s, the use of computer assisted language learning (CALL), Internet, web 2.0, and various kinds of e-learning technology has been developed and researched…
Full Text Available In this paper, we explore presence of collocational relations in the computer-assisted language learning systems and other language resources for the Japanese language, on one side, and, in the Japanese language learning textbooks and wordlists, on the other side. After introducing how important it is to learn collocational relations in a foreign language, we examine their coverage in the various learners’ resources for the Japanese language. We particularly concentrate on a few collocations at the beginner’s level, where we demonstrate their treatment across various resources. A special attention is paid to what is referred to as unpredictable collocations, which have a bigger foreign language learning-burden than the predictable ones.
Alberto A. Alegre
Full Text Available The aim of this research was to determine the relationship between academic self-efficacy, self-regulated learning and academic performance of first-year university students in the Metropolitan Lima area. An assessment was made of 284 students (138 male and 146 female students admitted to a private university of Lima for the 2013-2 term by using a non-probability and incidental procedure and the General Academic Self-Efficacy Questionnaire, the University Academic Self-Regulated Learning Questionnaire; and for the academic performance of every student, their registered weighted GPA was taken into account. Formulated hypothesis was accepted as correlation coefficients resulting from academic selfefficacy; self-regulated learning and academic performance were both positive and significant, but low. In addition, the correlation between academic selfefficacy and self-regulated learning were positive, significant and moderate.
The importance of contrastive analysis in foreign language learning with ... In the South African context, knowledge of English plays a significant part, but can ... on in the learning process should result in positive transfer of Zulu while curbing ...
Nhorvien Jay P. Libao
Full Text Available This study was designed to analyze the relationship of students’ learning motivation and their academic performances in science. The study made use of 21 junior and senior Biological Science students to conclude on the formulated research problems. The respondents had a good to very good motivation in learning science. In general, the extent of their motivation do not vary across their sex, age, and curriculum year. Moreover, the respondents had good academic performances in science. Aptly, extrinsic motivation was found to be related with their academic performances among the indicators of motivations in learning science.
Lucieer, Susanna M; Jonker, Laura; Visscher, Chris; Rikers, Remy M J P; Themmen, Axel P N
Medical schools aim to graduate medical doctors who are able to self-regulate their learning. It is therefore important to investigate whether medical students' self-regulated learning skills change during medical school. In addition, since these skills are expected to be helpful to learn more effectively, it is of interest to investigate whether these skills are related to academic performance. In a cross-sectional design, the Self-Regulation of Learning Self-Report Scale (SRL-SRS) was used to investigate the change in students' self-regulated learning skills. First and third-year students (N = 949, 81.7%) SRL-SRS scores were compared with ANOVA. The relation with academic performance was investigated with multinomial regression analysis. Only one of the six skills, reflection, significantly, but positively, changed during medical school. In addition, a small, but positive relation of monitoring, reflection, and effort with first-year GPA was found, while only effort was related to third-year GPA. The change in self-regulated learning skills is minor as only the level of reflection differs between the first and third year. In addition, the relation between self-regulated learning skills and academic performance is limited. Medical schools are therefore encouraged to re-examine the curriculum and methods they use to enhance their students' self-regulated learning skills. Future research is required to understand the limited impact on performance.
Mei, Leilei; Xue, Gui; Lu, Zhong-Lin; Chen, Chuansheng; Zhang, Mingxia; He, Qinghua; Wei, Miao; Dong, Qi
Learning a new language entails interactions with one׳s prior language(s). Much research has shown how native language affects the cognitive and neural mechanisms of a new language, but little is known about whether and how learning a new language shapes the neural mechanisms of prior language(s). In two experiments in the current study, we used an artificial language training paradigm in combination with an fMRI to examine (1) the effects of different linguistic components (phonology and semantics) of a new language on the neural process of prior languages (i.e., native and second languages), and (2) whether such effects were modulated by the proficiency level in the new language. Results of Experiment 1 showed that when the training in a new language involved semantics (as opposed to only visual forms and phonology), neural activity during word reading in the native language (Chinese) was reduced in several reading-related regions, including the left pars opercularis, pars triangularis, bilateral inferior temporal gyrus, fusiform gyrus, and inferior occipital gyrus. Results of Experiment 2 replicated the results of Experiment 1 and further found that semantic training also affected neural activity during word reading in the subjects׳ second language (English). Furthermore, we found that the effects of the new language were modulated by the subjects׳ proficiency level in the new language. These results provide critical imaging evidence for the influence of learning to read words in a new language on word reading in native and second languages. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
The current longitudinal study examines the similarities and differences between primary and secondary foreign language curricula and pedagogy along with the development of motivation for language learning and second language proficiency. Data from 26 English learners of French (aged 10-11) were collected across three times points over a 12-month…
Despite universities' enthusiasm for internationalization, international academic mobility requires considerable institutional and cultural adjustment in terms of teaching and supervision styles, research expectations, and departmental relationships. Although language competency underpins these practices, research on international academics has…
Genc, Bilal; Bada, Erdogan
Language is a phenomenon which can hardly be viewed separate from its very inherent component, culture. This component does by all means play a significant role in enabling the language to gain a global status. No doubt, some prominent issues do contribute to this process: political, economic, and military supremacy, to name but a few. This study…
Gundersen, David E.; Capozzoli, Ernest A.; Rajamma, Rajasree K.
The authors analyzed the reactions of various academic-level respondent groups to 14 short scenarios reflecting ethical dilemmas in higher education and research. As the authors hypothesized, groups differed in their views of the dilemmas presented. The results did not support a 2nd hypothesis predicting a linear relationship between academic…
Talero-Gutiérrez, C; Sánchez-Torres, J M; Velez-van-Meerbeke, A
Although cognitive and learning disorders have been described in patients with epilepsy, very few studies focus on specific disorders such as absence epilepsy. The aim of this study was to evaluate learning skills and academic performance in children and adolescents with absence epilepsy. Observational case-control study. Cases were chosen from the Central League against Epilepsy's clinic in Bogotá, Colombia. Controls were selected from a private school and matched with cases by age, school year, and sex. Medical history, seizure frequency, antiepileptic treatment, and academic performance were assessed. Academic abilities were tested with Batería de Aptitudes Diferenciales y Generales (BADyG) (a Spanish-language test of differential and general aptitudes). Data were analysed using Student t-test. The sample consisted of 19 cases and 19 controls aged between 7 and 16. In 15 patients, seizures were controlled; all patients had received antiepileptic medication at some point and 78.9% were actively being treated. Although cases had higher rates of academic failure, a greater incidence of grade retention, and more therapeutic interventions than controls, these differences were not significant. Similarly, there were no significant differences on the BADyG test, except for the immediate memory subcategory on which cases scored higher than controls (P=.0006). Children treated pharmacologically for absence epilepsy, whose seizures are controlled, have normal academic abilities and skills for their age. Copyright © 2013 Sociedad Española de Neurología. Published by Elsevier Espana. All rights reserved.
Dennaoui, Kamelia; Nicholls, Ruth Jane; O'Connor, Meredith; Tarasuik, Joanne; Kvalsvig, Amanda; Goldfeld, Sharon
Evidence suggests that early proficiency in the language of school instruction is an important predictor of academic success for bilingual children. This study investigated whether English-proficiency at 4-5 years of age predicts academic language and literacy skills among Australian bilingual children at 10-11 years of age, as part of the Longitudinal Study of Australian Children ( LSAC, 2012 ). The LSAC comprises a nationally representative clustered cross-sequential sample of Australian children. Data were analysed from a sub-sample of 129 bilingual children from the LSAC Kindergarten cohort (n = 4983), for whom teachers completed the Australian Early Development Index (AEDI) checklist (a population measure of early childhood development) and the Academic Rating Scale (ARS) language and literacy subscale. Linear regression analyses revealed that bilingual children who commenced school with stronger English proficiency had higher academic language and literacy scores at the end of primary school (β = 0.45). English proficiency remained a significant predictor, even when accounting for gender and socio-economic disadvantage (β = 0.38). The findings indicate that bilingual children who begin school without English proficiency are at risk of difficulties with academic language and literacy, even after 6 years of schooling. Risk factors need to be identified so early support can be targeted towards the most vulnerable children.
Full Text Available The purpose of this study is to evaluate the effectiveness of blended learning on the academic achievement of students in the University of Jordan. To gain in depth understanding of the phenomena under investigation, survey method is employed to collect natural data. For the sake of respondent convince all the questions asked in this survey are directed in Arabic language. Conventional sampling technique is employed due to the subjectivity of the issue. A sample of (427 students from King Abdulla II School for Information Technology at Jordan University are randomly selected. SPSS10 software is used to make statistical analysis. The robust checks of the result are made through arithmetic average, standard deviation statistics and Pearson correlation matrix. Statistical results of the study report that there is a significant and positive impact of blended learning on academic achievement of the students in university of Jordan.
A SYSTEM OF PROCEDURES BY PROJECTS FOR THE TEACHING-LEARNING PROCESS OF READING COMPREHENSION IN FOREIGN LANGUAGES FOR ACADEMIC PURPOSES / SISTEMA DE PROCEDIMIENTOS POR PROYECTOS PARA EL PROCESO DE ENSEÑANZA-APRENDIZAJE DE LA COMPRENSIÓN LECTORA EN LENGUAS EXTRANJERAS CON FINES ACADÉMICOS
Ana Velia Domínguez León
Full Text Available The dynamics of the teaching-learning process of reading comprehension in foreign languages for academic purposes in Cuban universities leads to search for didactic alternatives for its improvement. Hence, in the present work, it is proposed a system of procedures through the method of project work, which allowed students to process textual information from different sources in an effective way and communicate this knowledge in diverse formative contexts. It was also carried out a partial exemplification of this contribution, whose process of evaluation corroborated the feasibility and relevancy for its application, as well as its possibility of adaptation and implementation in other subjects of the English Language Discipline and other foreign languages studied in Cuban Higher Education. In this sense, the qualitative interpretation of the reached results showed an evolution in the teaching-learning process object of investigation, strengthening this way, the apprentices’ level of access to information through the analysis and contextualization, in order to achieve a better academic and professional formation. RESUMEN La dinámica del proceso de enseñanza-aprendizaje de la comprensión lectora en lenguas extranjeras con fines académicos en las universidades cubanas conlleva a una búsqueda de alternativas didácticas para su perfeccionamiento. Es por ello, que en el presente trabajo se propone un sistema de procedimientos a través del método de trabajo por proyectos, que les permitió a los estudiantes procesar información textual proveniente de diferentes fuentes de manera efectiva y comunicar estos conocimientos en diversos contextos formativos. Se realizó, de igual forma, una ejemplificación parcial de dicho aporte, cuyo proceso evaluativo corroboró la factibilidad y pertinencia para su aplicación, así como su posibilidad de adaptación e implementación en otras asignaturas de la Disciplina Idioma Inglés y otras lenguas
Full Text Available The purpose of this study was to determine the motivational level of the participants in a language classroom towards course materials designed in accordance with augmented reality technology and to identify the correlation between academic achievement and motivational level. 130 undergraduate students from a state-run university in Turkey participated in this study and Turkish version of Material Motivational Survey was used to determine the undergraduate students’ motivational level about the materials which were designed with AR technology to teach English words at the elementary level. The results of this study suggested that AR technology materials had positive impact on increasing undergraduate students’ motivation towards vocabulary learning in language classroom. This study also signified that a positive significant correlation was found between academic achievement and the motivation in the use of AR technology in language classroom.
Once considered a stylistic issue, metaphor is now considered a critical component of everyday and specialized language and most importantly, a fundamental mechanism of human conceptualizations of the world. The use of metaphor in language, thought and communication has been examined in second language (L2) learning. The body of literature that…
The factors that influence the students. effective learning of the English Language as second language learners, the attitude of students towards the study of the English language, the nature of teacher/student interaction, the methods of teaching and the availability of teaching aids in Nigeria secondary schools are looked ...
Full Text Available Language learning in the United States suffers from a culture of low expectations. Lacking bilingual role models around them, students often view language class as, at best, a way to become a tourist in a country with a language different from their own. Monolingual policymakers assume that learning another language fluently is impossible and inconsequential, since they themselves are capable professionals with one language. Educators, discouraged by years of inadequate funding and support, have come to hope for nothing more than incremental improvements. The National Flagship Language Program (NFLP aims to break this cycle of low expectations and low results by providing funding to institutions willing to accept the challenge of producing Superior (Level 3 language users through a radical re-engineering of the language learning enterprise. The need for fundamental change in language education is longstanding, but the events of September 11 brought the importance of this need to the awareness of national policymakers. Due to the emphasis of critical languages, responsibility for carrying out this fundamental re-examination of language learning has fallen to those engaged in the less commonly taught languages. 1
Bringing Foreign Language Learning into the 21st Century. The different challenges facing foreign language lecturers are considered as well as the different methods used to teach a foreign language. Technology and multimedia are proposed not only as tools and supports but also as a possible solution. With the change ...
Sabourin, Laura; Stowe, Laurie A; de Haan, Ger J
In this article second language (L2) knowledge of Dutch grammatical gender is investigated. Adult speakers of German, English and a Romance language (French, Italian or Spanish) were investigated to explore the role of transfer in learning the Dutch grammatical gender system. In the first language
Full Text Available The article deals with language courses offered by private language schools in Slovenia. It examines who the people in charge of the language schools are, what criteria new teachers have to meet to become an employee of a school, whether the methodology applied (if any has been carefully chosen, what the teaching techniques are and who chooses them. Second language method discoveries have been subjected to perennial criticism and scepticism over the last half of century. Teachers around the globe have been confused by the constant shifts in the popularity of different methods. The article examines the con sequences of the abovementioned circumstances. The 15 interviews conducted with private language schools’ managers have generated valuable information on the level of professionalism in this area of business. The results have shown that most of the randomly chosen schools are managed by language professionals or by economists who employ a linguist for controlling the teaching and learning processes and that the majority of schools does adopt a particular approach or method of teaching. Teacher trainees receive a lot of support and guidance prior to teaching in a school. In most cases, teachers are free to choose techniques of teaching according to their preferences, providing the techniques are not in conflict with the general schools’ principles. The criteria for employment vary considerably. Nearly all managers would employ a professional language teacher with experience only, but others demand that the teacher be a native speaker regardless of his/her education. Several stress the importance of personal characteristics and would consider employing only lighthearted and energetic teachers. Teachers’ work and students’ progress are often evaluated.
Denizer, Elif Nur
Mother tongue largely refers to not only the language one learns from one’s mother but also the speaker’s dominant and home language. It’s also called native language. This study was conducted to find whether mother tongue interferences in second-language learning, and if so; whether it affects the learners’ performance in four language skills, and also in which skill(s) it has the biggest effect. Data collection tool included a questionnaire by which participants were asked to rate the quest...
Çakir, Ismail; Baytar, Birtan
Pronunciation is one of the controversial topics in the field of English language teaching as a second or foreign language. The aim of this study is to understand the attitudes of prep class students at Kastamonu University (state university) in Turkey towards the importance of pronunciation in language learning. Therefore, a pronunciation…
Gullberg, M.; Robert, L.; Dimroth, C.; Veroude, K.; Indefrey, P.
Despite the literature on the role of input in adult second-language (L2) acquisition and on artificial and statistical language learning, surprisingly little is known about how adults break into a new language in the wild. This article reports on a series of behavioral and neuroimaging studies that
Semaan, Gaby; Yamazaki, Kasumi
This article examines the relationship between global competence and second language learning motivation in critical language classrooms. Data were collected from 137 participants who were studying critical languages (Arabic, Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Persian) at two universities on the East and West Coasts of the United States, using a 30-item…
claims that modelling, offering a critique of think- ing out aloud .... Maxwell, 1994) by writing a sentence beginning with 'I want ... because when you talk to people in a language which is ..... workshop as “most successful”, particularly as it .... Baltimore: The John Hopkins ... Coffin C, Curry MJ, Goodman S, Hewings A, Lillis TM.
João A. TELLES
Full Text Available ABSTRACT Teletandem is a virtual, collaborative, and autonomous context in which two speakers of different languages use the text, voice, and webcam image resources of VOIP technology (Skype to help each other learn their native language (or language of proficiency. This paper focuses on learners' studying processes and their responses to teletandem. We collected quantitative and qualitative data from 134 university students through an online questionnaire. Results show the content of students' learning processes, resources, activities, and strategies. We conclude with a critical discussion of the results and raise pedagogical implications for the use o-f teletandem as a mode of online intercultural contact to learn foreign languages.
Full Text Available This study aims to carry out a content analysis of the studies on language learning of gifted individuals and determine the trends in this field. Articles on language learning of gifted individuals published in the Scopus database were examined based on certain criteria including type of publication, year of publication, language, research discipline, countries of research, institutions of authors, key words, and resources. Data were analyzed with the content analysis method. Results showed that the number of studies on language learning of gifted individuals has increased throughout the years. Recommendations for further research and practices are provided.
Shafie, Latisha Asmaak; Mansor, Mahani
Some public universities in developing countries have traditional language learning environments such as classrooms with only blackboards and furniture which do not provide conducive learning environments. These traditional environments are unable to cater for digital learners who need to learn with learning technologies. In order to create…
Bishara, Saied; Kaplan, Shani
The goal of the research was to examine executive functioning and figurative language comprehension among students with learning disabilities as compared to students without learning disabilities. As part of the research, we examined 20 students with learning disabilities and 21 students with no learning disabilities, both groups of students…
English as the language of learning, the acquisition of English as second (or even third) language, as well as OBE has been researched before. This study is unique in the way that it addresses the direct influence of the OBE approach on the teaching and learning process in Grade 8 EFAL classrooms. Keywords: English ...
This research study explores the learning potential of a computer-assisted language learning (CALL) activity. Research suggests that the dual emphasis on content development and language accuracy, as well as the complexity of L2 production in natural settings, can potentially create cognitive overload. This study poses the question whether, and…
Bahrani, Taher; Sim, Tam Shu
The present paper focuses on the role of audio/visual mass media news in language learning. In this regard, the two important issues regarding the selection and preparation of TV news for language learning are the content of the news and the linguistic difficulty. Content is described as whether the news is specialized or universal. Universal…
Gamble, Craig; Wilkins, Michael
This research provides insight into Japanese students' perceptions and attitudes of participating in activities through Facebook for language learning. In addition, the authors discuss the overall implications of and potential uses for Facebook in the field of second language learning and teaching. Ninety-seven students from three private…
Dunn, Peter K.; Carey, Michael D.; Richardson, Alice M.; McDonald, Christine
Learning statistics requires learning the language of statistics. Statistics draws upon words from general English, mathematical English, discipline-specific English and words used primarily in statistics. This leads to many linguistic challenges in teaching statistics and the way in which the language is used in statistics creates an extra layer…
Kukulska-Hulme, Agnes; Viberg, Olga
This paper presents a review of mobile collaborative language learning studies published in 2012-16 with the aim to improve understanding of how mobile technologies have been used to support collaborative learning among second and foreign language students. We identify affordances, general pedagogical approaches, second- and foreign-language…
Different generations are constituted depending on social changes and they are designed sociologically as traditional, baby boomer, X, Y and Z. Many studies have been reported on understanding of foreign language learning generation Y. This study aims to realise the gap in and contribute to the research on language learning understanding of…
Sepasdar, Mansoreh; Soori, Afshin
Since age plays an important role in learning a second or foreign language, the present study investigated how different students in different age groups used language learning strategies. The participants of this study were 94 Iranian EFL students from four educational levels and different age groups as, primary (10-12), guidance (13-15), high…
Chuin, Tan Khye; Kaur, Sarjit
This study investigated the types of language learning strategies used by 73 English majors from the School of Humanities in Universiti Sains Malaysia. Using questionnaires adopted from Oxford's (1990) Strategy Inventory of Language Learning (SILL) and focus group interviews, the study also examined the English major students' perceptions of using…
Akhter, Javed; Amin, Muhammad; Saeed, Faria; Abdullah, Shumaila; Muhammad, Khair
This research paper tends to focus on comparison and contrast between first and second language learning. It investigates the different factors that have inhibiting influences on the language learning process of the learners in the two different environments. There are many factors involved in this respect. The age factor is one of the vital…
Raoofi, Saeid; Tan, Bee Hoon; Chan, Swee Heng
This study reviews the empirical literature of self-efficacy, a central component of social cognitive theory, in the area of second language learning by focusing on two research questions: first, to what extent, has self-efficacy, as a predicting variable, been explored in the field of second language learning? Second, what factors affect…
Cincotta, Madeline Strong
Outlines the preferred learning styles of students studying second languages, offering suggestions for their application in second-language classrooms. The paper describes the right-brain/left-brain theory and how the two brain hemispheres are involved in learning; presents four classroom strategies (diversification, contextualization,…
Ghonsooly, Behzad; Showqi, Sara
The present study investigates the possible influence of foreign language learning on individuals' divergent thinking abilities. Unlike the large body of research devoted to unfolding the effect of bilingualism on cognitive functions, foreign language learning has gained little attention. This study aimed at bringing into attention the distinctive…
Zou, Bin; Xing, Minjie; Wang, Yuping; Sun, Mingyu; Xiang, Catherine H.
Computer-Assisted Foreign Language Teaching and Learning: Technological Advances highlights new research and an original framework that brings together foreign language teaching, experiments and testing practices that utilize the most recent and widely used e-learning resources. This comprehensive collection of research will offer linguistic…
This paper examines opportunities for language learning in a cleaning job, which is a typical entry-level job for immigrants. An ethnographic case study approach is taken to investigate examples of the conditions that allow or prevent language learning for the focal participant, a sub-Saharan man who works as a cleaner in Finland. This case…
Gardner, David; Miller, Lindsay
This paper is based on a research project looking at the management of self-access language learning (SALL) from the perspective of the managers of self-access centres. It looks at the factors which influence the practice of seven managers of self-access language learning in tertiary institutions in Hong Kong. The discussion centres around five…
Full Text Available Perceived to be two important affective variables, anxiety and motivation have been found to be highly correlated to second/foreign language acquisition. In order to examine the relationship between foreign language anxiety, English learning motivation, and performance in English, the present study investigated 980 undergraduate students from three universities in China who answered a 76-item survey. Analyses of the data revealed that (1 the respondents generally did not feel anxious in English and were moderately motivated to learn English, (2 foreign language anxiety and English learning motivation were significantly negatively correlated with each other, and (3 both foreign language anxiety and English learning motivation were significantly correlated with students' performance in English. Among the scales, foreign language classroom anxiety (FLCAS, intrinsic motivation (IntrinM, instrumental motivation (InstruM, fear of being negatively evaluated (FLCAS1, and interest in foreign languages and cultures (IFLC proved to be powerful predictors for the latter.
Full Text Available Abstract Through research and classroom observation undertaken while conceptualizing and implementing the Intensive French program in Canada, many new insights were gained into the development of communication skills in a classroom situation. Five lessons learned about the development of spontaneous oral communication are presented in this article: the ineffectiveness of core French in primary school; the minimum number of intensive hours necessary to develop spontaneous oral communication; the need to develop implicit competence rather than explicit knowledge; the distinction between accuracy as knowledge and accuracy as skill; and the importance of teaching strategies focusing on language use. These lessons have implications for our understanding of how oral competence in an L2 develops and for the improvement of communicative language pedagogy.
Full Text Available The special track “Young Academics in E-Learning Research”, shortly YAER2012, took place within the “International Conference on Interactive Collaborative Learning” (ICL 2012 in Villach, Austria. The conference slot aims to invite young researchers in the field of Technology Enhanced Learning (TEL to present their thesis or ongoing work. We asked for contributions, which address the interdisciplinary research field. YAER 2012 provided an excellent space for discussions in order to improve learning and teaching of tomorrow. Education without technology seems to be nearly impossible and this issue helps to increase the impact of technology for learning.
Chai, Ching Sing; Wong, Lung-Hsiang; King, Ronnel B.
Seamless language learning promises to be an effective learning approach that addresses the limitations of classroom-only language learning. It leverages mobile technologies to facilitate holistic and perpetual learning experiences that bridge different locations, times, technologies or social settings. Despite the emergence of studies on seamless…
Pareja-Lora, Antonio; Arús-Hita, Jorge; Read, Timothy; Rodríguez-Arancón, Pilar; Calle-Martínez, Cristina; Pomposo, Lourdes; Martín-Monje, Elena; Bárcena, Elena
In this short paper, we present some initial work on Mobile Assisted Language Learning (MALL) undertaken by the ATLAS research group. ATLAS embraced this multidisciplinary field cutting across Mobile Learning and Computer Assisted Language Learning (CALL) as a natural step in their quest to find learning formulas for professional English that…
Ganschow, L; Sparks, R L
The study of foreign language (FL) learning for individuals who have found learning to read and write in their first language extremely problematic has been an under-researched area throughout the world. Since the 1980s, Leonore Ganschow and Richard Sparks have conducted pioneering research into the nature of difficulties, why they are encountered and how they can be minimized. In this paper the authors trace the development of their research on foreign language difficulties for students with language learning problems. They provide a summary of their findings and suggest new questions and directions for the field.
Goldberg, Michelle; Corson, David
Many immigrants, refugees, and aboriginal Canadians learn their own languages in the normal, informal way. These minority languages learned informally are not valued as a skill that yields returns in the labor market in the same way the official languages or formally learned languages do. What counts as a skill in a society, in a given point in…
Baharudin, Mazlina; Ikhsan, Siti Ajar
The interesting teaching and learning of Malay languages is a challenging effort and need a relevant plan to the students' needs especially for the foreign students who already have the basic Indonesian Malay language variation that they have learned for four semesters in their own country, Germany. Therefore, the variety of teaching and learning…
Lin, Angel M. Y.; Lo, Yuen Yi
There has been a rich literature on the role of language in learning and on its role in knowledge (co-)construction in the science classroom. This literature, rooted in social semiotics theories and sociocultural theories, discussed research conducted largely in contexts where students are learning content in their first language (L1). In this…
Dynamic systems theory (DST) is presented in this article as a suitable approach to research the acquisition of second language (L2) because of its close alignment with the process of second language learning. Through a process of identifying and comparing the characteristics of a dynamic system with the process of L2 learning, this article…
The developments in the last ten years in the form of DVD, streaming video, video on demand, interactive television and digital language laboratories call for an assessment of the research into language teaching and learning making use of these technologies and the learning paradigms underpinning them. This paper surveys research on language…
This article is devoted to the innovative model for language education Content and Language Integrated Learning (CLIL) which has gained in immense popularity all over the world. Based on communicative approach, CLIL provides progress in language and in the content subject, creativity and independence in language using, developing higher order thinking skills. A successful CLIL lesson should combine such elements as content, communication, cognition and culture
Full Text Available Verbal language is the most widespread mode of human communication, and an intrinsically social activity. This claim is strengthen by evidence emerging from different fields, which clearly indicate that social interaction influences human communication, and more specifically, language learning. Indeed, research conducted with infants and children shows that interaction with a caregiver is necessary to acquire language. Further evidence on the influence of sociality on language comes from social and linguistic pathologies, in which deficits in social and linguistic abilities are tightly intertwined, as it is the case for Autism, for example. However, studies on adult second language learning have been mostly focused on individualistic approaches, partly because of methodological constraints especially of imaging methods. The question as to whether social interaction should be considered as a critical factor impacting upon adult language learning still remains underspecified. Here, we review evidence in support of the view that sociality plays a significant role in communication and language learning, in an attempt to emphasize factors that could facilitate this process in adult language learning. We suggest that sociality should be considered as a potentially influential factor in adult language learning and that future studies in this domain should explicitly target this factor.
Verga, Laura; Kotz, Sonja A
Verbal language is the most widespread mode of human communication, and an intrinsically social activity. This claim is strengthened by evidence emerging from different fields, which clearly indicates that social interaction influences human communication, and more specifically, language learning. Indeed, research conducted with infants and children shows that interaction with a caregiver is necessary to acquire language. Further evidence on the influence of sociality on language comes from social and linguistic pathologies, in which deficits in social and linguistic abilities are tightly intertwined, as is the case for Autism, for example. However, studies on adult second language (L2) learning have been mostly focused on individualistic approaches, partly because of methodological constraints, especially of imaging methods. The question as to whether social interaction should be considered as a critical factor impacting upon adult language learning still remains underspecified. Here, we review evidence in support of the view that sociality plays a significant role in communication and language learning, in an attempt to emphasize factors that could facilitate this process in adult language learning. We suggest that sociality should be considered as a potentially influential factor in adult language learning and that future studies in this domain should explicitly target this factor.
Martin Ebner; Ortrun Gröblinger; Stephan Waba; Kai Erenli; Erwin Bratengeyer; Reinhard Staber
The special track “Young Academics in E-Learning Research”, shortly YAER2012, took place within the “International Conference on Interactive Collaborative Learning” (ICL 2012) in Villach, Austria. The conference slot aims to invite young researchers in the field of Technology Enhanced Learning (TEL) to present their thesis or ongoing work. We asked for contributions, which address the interdisciplinary research field. YAER 2012 provided an excellent space for discussions in order to improve l...
Hen, Meirav; Goroshit, Marina
Academic procrastination has been seen as an impediment to students' academic success. Research findings suggest that it is related to lower levels of self-regulated learning and academic self-efficacy and associated with higher levels of anxiety, stress, and illness. Emotional intelligence (EI) is the ability to assess, regulate, and utilize emotions and has been found to be associated with academic self-efficacy and a variety of better outcomes, including academic performance. Students with learning disabilities (LD) are well acquainted with academic difficulty and maladaptive academic behavior. In comparison to students without LD, they exhibit high levels of learned helplessness, including diminished persistence, lower academic expectations, and negative affect. This study examined the relationships among academic procrastination, EI, and academic performance as mediated by academic self-efficacy in 287 LD and non-LD students. Results indicated that the indirect effect of EI on academic procrastination and GPA was stronger in LD students than in non-LD students. In addition, results indicated that LD students scored lower than non-LD students on both EI and academic self-efficacy and higher on academic procrastination. No difference was found in GPA.
Amaral, Luiz A.; Meurers, Detmar
This paper explores the motivation and prerequisites for successful integration of Intelligent Computer-Assisted Language Learning (ICALL) tools into current foreign language teaching and learning (FLTL) practice. We focus on two aspects, which we argue to be important for effective ICALL system development and use: (i) the relationship between…
Katushemererwe, Fridah; Nerbonne, John
This study presents the results from a computer-assisted language learning (CALL) system of Runyakitara (RU_CALL). The major objective was to provide an electronic language learning environment that can enable learners with mother tongue deficiencies to enhance their knowledge of grammar and acquire writing skills in Runyakitara. The system…
Kennedy, Teresa J.
Cognitive sciences are discovering many things that educators have always intuitively known about language learning. However, the important point is actively using this new information to improve both students learning and current teaching practices. The implications of neuroscience for educational reform regarding second language (L2) learning…
Liu, M.; Abe, K.; Cao, M. W.; Liu, S.; Ok, D. U.; Park, J.; Parrish, C.; Sardegna, V. G.
Although educators are excited about the potential of social network sites for language learning (SNSLL), there is a lack of understanding of how SNSLL can be used to facilitate teaching and learning for English as Second language (ESL) instructors and students. The purpose of this study was to examine the affordances of four selected SNSLL…
Ardasheva, Yuliya; Wang, Zhe; Adesope, Olusola O.; Valentine, Jeffrey C.
This meta-analysis synthesized recent research on strategy instruction (SI) effectiveness to estimate SI effects and their moderators for two domains: second/foreign language and self-regulated learning. A total of 37 studies (47 independent samples) for language domain and 16 studies (17 independent samples) for self-regulated learning domain…
Margreat Aloysious Anthony
Full Text Available According to Horwitz (1987 learners’ belief about language learning are influenced by previous language learning experiences as well as cultural background. This study examined the English Language Learning Strategies between local and international Chinese students who share the same cultural background but have been exposed to different learning experiences. Given the significant number of local and international Chinese students enrolled in educational institutions, there is a need to understand the differences and similarities in the learning strategies of these two groups. The sample for the study comprised of 60 local and 50 international Chinese students currently enrolled at a local private college. The Oxford Strategy Inventory for Language Learning (SILL was administered as a measure of learning strategy preferences. The study reveals that language learning experiences as well as socioeconomic status impact the learning strategy adopted by both local and international Chinese students. The findings of this study point to the need to address the needs of these students in order to enhance their English language learning experience in Malaysia.
Two of the most important outcomes of learning analytics are predicting students’ learning and providing effective feedback. Learning Management Systems (LMS), which are widely used to support online and face-to-face learning, provide extensive research opportunities with detailed records of background data regarding users’ behaviors. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of undergraduate students’ LMS learning behaviors on their academic achievements. In line with this pur...
Nosarti, Chiara; Mechelli, Andrea; Green, David W; Price, Cathy J
The relationship between orthography (spelling) and phonology (speech sounds) varies across alphabetic languages. Consequently, learning to read a second alphabetic language, that uses the same letters as the first, increases the phonological associations that can be linked to the same orthographic units. In subjects with English as their first language, previous functional imaging studies have reported increased left ventral prefrontal activation for reading words with spellings that are inconsistent with their orthographic neighbors (e.g., PINT) compared with words that are consistent with their orthographic neighbors (e.g., SHIP). Here, using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) in 17 Italian-English and 13 English-Italian bilinguals, we demonstrate that left ventral prefrontal activation for first language reading increases with second language vocabulary knowledge. This suggests that learning a second alphabetic language changes the way that words are read in the first alphabetic language. Specifically, first language reading is more reliant on both lexical/semantic and nonlexical processing when new orthographic to phonological mappings are introduced by second language learning. Our observations were in a context that required participants to switch between languages. They motivate future fMRI studies to test whether first language reading is also altered in contexts when the second language is not in use.
The experience of applying academic service learning within the discipline of speech pathology and audiology at a South African university. ... The argument put forward is that this type of pedagogy would appear to be applicable across a broad range of disciplines and represents one strategy for assisting higher education ...
Shanti, T.I.; Janssens, J.M.A.M.; Setiadi, B.N.
The main purpose of this study was to examine relationships between university support and academic performance, as mediated by motivation to learn and emotional adjustment among freshmen of X University. Data were collected from 327 X University's freshmen at the end of their first year. Results
Background. Most instruments, including the well-known Motivated Strategies for Learning Questionnaire (MSLQ), have been designed in western homogeneous settings. Use of the MSLQ in health professions education is limited. Objective. To assess the MSLQ and its association with the academic performance of a ...
This study examined the impact of e-learning strategies on students' academic performance at Strathmore University. The purpose of the study was to investigate the methodology, ideologies, output and ecology of ICT strategies and their impact on students' performance. This was done through comparing students' mean ...
Macher, Daniel; Paechter, Manuela; Papousek, Ilona; Ruggeri, Kai
The present study investigated the relationship between statistics anxiety, individual characteristics (e.g., trait anxiety and learning strategies), and academic performance. Students enrolled in a statistics course in psychology (N = 147) filled in a questionnaire on statistics anxiety, trait anxiety, interest in statistics, mathematical…
Gulnara Faritovna Kalganova
Full Text Available This study explores language anxiety which has shown a substantially negative impact on performance. This paper reveals four related levels of language anxiety such as communication apprehension, test anxiety, fear of negative evaluation, level of language performance, and their correlations with macro and micro social variables like age, gender, bilingual environment.A total 103 male and female English-language learners of the Economic faculty, Federal Kazan University, completed two questionnaires: a background questionnaire and the Foreign Language Classroom Anxiety Scale.The results showed that girls experience greater psychological discomfort in the process of foreign language learning; the greatest concern of students is language anxiety in test situations; first-year students as a whole are more susceptible to language anxiety.The task of a teacher is to create a favorable psychological climate in the classroom of a foreign language in order to removing barriers to development and a better perception of the subject matter.
Horzum, Mehmet Baris; Kaymak, Zeliha Demir; Gungoren, Ozlem Canan
The relationship between online learning readiness, academic motivations, and perceived learning was investigated via structural equation modeling in the research. The population of the research consisted of 750 students who studied using the online learning programs of Sakarya University. 420 of the students who volunteered for the research and…
A study into how academics learn to assess student performance affirms the significance of context in understanding learning in the academic workplace. The study involved three case studies in academic departments with significant differences in the teaching, research and professional dimensions of academic life.
Despite major advances in research on language learning strategies, there are still areas that have received only scant attention, and one of them is undoubtedly learning grammar. The paper contributes to the paucity of empirical investigations in this domain by presenting the findings of a study which sought to investigate the relationship between the use of grammar learning strategies (GLS) reported by 142 English Department students and target language attainment, operationalized as their ...
Roseberry, Sarah; Hirsh-Pasek, Kathy; Golinkoff, Roberta Michnick
Language learning takes place in the context of social interactions, yet the mechanisms that render social interactions useful for learning language remain unclear. This paper focuses on whether social contingency might support word learning. Toddlers aged 24- to 30-months (N=36) were exposed to novel verbs in one of three conditions: live interaction training, socially contingent video training over video chat, and non-contingent video training (yoked video). Results sugges...
Language learning is a resilient process, and many linguistic properties can be developed under a wide range of learning environments and learners. The first goal of this review is to describe properties of language that can be developed without exposure to a language model - the resilient properties of language - and to explore conditions under which more fragile properties emerge. But even if a linguistic property is resilient, the developmental course that the property follows is likely to vary as a function of learning environment and learner, that is, there are likely to be individual differences in the learning trajectories children follow. The second goal is to consider how the resilient properties are brought to bear on language learning when a child is exposed to a language model. The review ends by considering the implications of both sets of findings for mechanisms, focusing on the role that the body and linguistic input play in language learning.
Van Houtven, Tine; Kerkhofs, Goele; Peters, Elke
Research has shown that many students (Dutch L1/L2) do not meet academic language requirements upon entering Flemish higher education (Peters, Van Houtven, El Morabit, 2010). Many universities feel compelled to help their first-year students bridge the gap between secondary and tertiary education. This paper reports on a case study at the Integrated Faculty of Business and Economics of the University of Leuven that investigated how a language-sensitive instructional approach could improve bus...
Wight, Mary Caitlin S.
This examination of the literature on foreign, or second, language learning by native English-speaking students with disabilities addresses the benefits of language learning, the practices and policies of language exemption, the perceptions of students and educators regarding those practices, and available resources for supporting students with…
Tagarelli, Kaitlyn M.; Ruiz, Simón; Vega, José Luis Moreno; Rebuschat, Patrick
Second language learning outcomes are highly variable, due to a variety of factors, including individual differences, exposure conditions, and linguistic complexity. However, exactly how these factors interact to influence language learning is unknown. This article examines the relationship between these three variables in language learners.…
Full Text Available The present study investigated the relationship between Art and Science students’ learning styles and their ESP reading strategies in academic settings. Learning styles are defined as general orientations learners take toward their learning experiences. This notion has recently obtained attention in the area of language learning. Strategies are also defined as specific behaviours or techniques learners employ towards leaning in order to achieve their learning goals. The strategies chosen are often linked to the individual's learning style. The purpose of this study was to identify Art and Science students’ major learning style preferences and their strategies they employ to tackle their reading materials in ESP courses at Tabriz Islamic Art University. To this end, 313 Art and Science students at Tabriz Islamic Art University answered two self-report questionnaires (PLSPQ and SORS to identify their major and minor learning styles as well as their reading strategies in ESP reading. In order to find any relationship between the students’ preferred learning style (s and their reading strategies in ESP, Pearson Product Moment Coefficient r was used to analyze the participants’ answers to the questionnaires. The results showed that Art students favored Kinesthetic, Auditory, Visual and Tactile learning styles as their major learning styles while Science students showed preference to only Kinesthetic Learning style as their major learning style and other learning styles as their minor ones. It was also found that the most dominant reading strategies both Art and Science students apply in reading their ESP texts was cognitive strategies. Correlational analyses of their major learning styles and their reading strategies are discussed.
Full Text Available Abstract Background Early language delay is a high-prevalence condition of concern to parents and professionals. It may result in lifelong deficits not only in language function, but also in social, emotional/behavioural, academic and economic well-being. Such delays can lead to considerable costs to the individual, the family and to society more widely. The Language for Learning trial tests a population-based intervention in 4 year olds with measured language delay, to determine (1 if it improves language and associated outcomes at ages 5 and 6 years and (2 its cost-effectiveness for families and the health care system. Methods/Design A large-scale randomised trial of a year-long intervention targeting preschoolers with language delay, nested within a well-documented, prospective, population-based cohort of 1464 children in Melbourne, Australia. All children received a 1.25-1.5 hour formal language assessment at their 4th birthday. The 200 children with expressive and/or receptive language scores more than 1.25 standard deviations below the mean were randomised into intervention or ‘usual care’ control arms. The 20-session intervention program comprises 18 one-hour home-based therapeutic sessions in three 6-week blocks, an outcome assessment, and a final feed-back/forward planning session. The therapy utilises a ‘step up-step down’ therapeutic approach depending on the child’s language profile, severity and progress, with standardised, manualised activities covering the four language development domains of: vocabulary and grammar; narrative skills; comprehension monitoring; and phonological awareness/pre-literacy skills. Blinded follow-up assessments at ages 5 and 6 years measure the primary outcome of receptive and expressive language, and secondary outcomes of vocabulary, narrative, and phonological skills. Discussion A key strength of this robust study is the implementation of a therapeutic framework that provides a standardised
Full Text Available Nowdays, learning through e-learning is going rapidly, including the application BeSmart UNY. This application is providing collaborative method in teaching and learning. The aim of this study was to determine the effectiveness of the Collaborative Academic Online Based Learning method in teaching and learning toward students’ Self-Regulated Learning (SRL on Vocational School Chemistry courses. This study was quasi-experimental research method with one group pretest posttest design. Instruments used in this study were lesson plan and questionnaire of students’ SRL. This questionnaire is filled by students through BeSmart UNY. In determining the differences SRL before and after teaching and learning processes, the data was analized by stastitical method. The results showed that the implementation of the Collaborative Academic Online Based Learning method in teaching and learning was effective for improving students’ SRL.
Mobile learning and high-profiling language education. The number of students learning a second or foreign language and participating in instruction in languages other than English has been in decline for some time. There seems to be such a general tendency across nations albeit for a variety...... of reasons idiosyncratic to the particular national conditions. This paper gives an account of a diversified national project designed to infuse foreign language learning classes in upper secondary schools in Denmark with renewed enthusiasm through systematically experimenting with the new media by taking...... advantage of the social side in their application. The aim has been to make language classes attractive and relevant and to highlight the attractiveness and fun in learning through web 2.0 and mobile units. The overall project was supported by the Danish ministry of education as well as the individual...
Kaliyadan, Feroze; Thalamkandathil, Nazer; Parupalli, Srinivas Rao; Amin, Tarek Tawfik; Balaha, Magdy Hassan; Al Bu Ali, Waleed Hamad
All medical schools in Saudi Arabia have English as the primary official medium of instruction. Most of the high school education, however, is delivered in Arabic and hence the transition to an English based learning environment tends to be difficult for some students. Our study aims to correlate English language proficiency with academic performance among medical students in their preparatory year. A cross-sectional study design was used. Test scores of 103 preparatory year students (54 female and 49 male) were analyzed after the students completed an English language course and medical introductory course in their preparatory year. The total score obtained in the English course assessment was compared to each component of the medical content assessment. A significantly positive correlation (Spearman's Rho, at 0.01 levels) was seen between the scores of the English exam and the written exam (P English exam score was not obtained for the other components of the medical assessment, namely; student assignments, presentations and portfolios. English language proficiency is an important factor in determining academic proficiency of medical students in our college at the preparatory year level.
Rohmani Nur Indah
Full Text Available This paper questions the urgency of foreign language learning at early age by covering some arguments on the acquisition and bilingualism. Nowadays in Indonesia, under the interest of education, bilingual learning is undertaken by adopting the theory of bilingual acquisition referring to Chomsky’s ideas. In fact, the foreign language learning is not always in line with the principle of language acquisition especially for the early age children. The globalization era requires foreign language mastery so that for many institutions of children education have got the bilingual learning. As the example, some of Islamic educational institutions at the level of playgroup have applied the instruction in English and teaching Arabic words, by considering that the earlier foreign language learning is the better, and the fact that the golden age of brain development occurs at the first five years. This needs to be analyzed further, because there is also important task to have mother tongue language acquisition. For the community of multilingual such as in Indonesia, the acquisition of many languages is unavoidable. Therefore, parents are faced with two choices: To prior the mother tongue and bahasa Indonesia as second language or encourage the bilingual learning of Arabic and English.
Raghunath, Riyukta; Anker, Connie; Nortcliffe, Anne
Ownership of smartphones and tablets among the student population is growing. Students are using their devices to support their learning. Employers and employees are increasingly bringing their own smart devices into private and public organisations to support their business. This is leading to employees driving the Bring Your Own Device (BYOD)…
George M Jacobs
Full Text Available This article presents, explains and organizes ideas for promoting students’ use of their second language (this term includes foreign language when they work together in cooperative learning groups. The first part of the article reviews arguments as to whether students of second languages should be encouraged to use their second language with classmates when doing group activities. These arguments are discussed with reference to Second Language Acquisition (SLA theory. Practical issues are also explored. Next, the majority of the article presents ideas on how to promote second language use during peer interaction. Twenty-nine of these ideas are explained. The ideas are organized into five categories: a role for the L1; understanding the issue; creating a conducive climate; providing language support; and the task. It is recommended that teachers use ideas from the literature on cooperative learning when they ask students to interact.
Full Text Available This study investigates the relationship between metacognitive language learning strategies (MLLS and gender and achievement of EFL students. Metacognitive language learning strategies are crucial for students of English as a foreign language to learn effectively. The theoretical issues discuss metacognitive language learning strategies in particular, and language learning strategies (LLS in general. The practical research took place at the English language department at Farhat Abbes University, Sétif, Algeria, with third year students learning English as a foreign language. The study hypothesized that there is a positive correlation between metacognitive language learning strategies use and achievement. Two main parts following a qualitative design constitute the body of the present research. The first part uses the Metacognitive Language Learning Strategies Questionnaire (MLLSQ to account for differences in the reported frequency of metacognitive strategies use across all the students, and across gender differences. The second part uses interviews to account for the use of these strategies at the individual level, in their relation to the students’ gender and achievement in language learning. The results of the first part revealed a significant use of metacognitive strategies among all the students and significant differences between male students and female students in the frequency of use of these strategies. Moreover, the results of the second part reflected more significant differences in the use of Metacognitive strategies at the level of gender and learning achievement. The study concludes by bringing together key findings and some suggestions for further research.
Success at school depends heavily on language and literacy skills. Research indicates that pre-school children whose parents read storybooks to them have a linguistic and literacy head start over other children when they start school. In contrast, learners who come to school with few literacy skills are at a disadvantage.
Jeong, Hyeonjeong; Sugiura, Motoaki; Sassa, Yuko; Wakusawa, Keisuke; Horie, Kaoru; Sato, Shigeru; Kawashima, Ryuta
Second language (L2) acquisition necessitates learning and retrieving new words in different modes. In this study, we attempted to investigate the cortical representation of an L2 vocabulary acquired in different learning modes and in cross-modal transfer between learning and retrieval. Healthy participants learned new L2 words either by written translations (text-based learning) or in real-life situations (situation-based learning). Brain activity was then measured during subsequent retrieval of these words. The right supramarginal gyrus and left middle frontal gyrus were involved in situation-based learning and text-based learning, respectively, whereas the left inferior frontal gyrus was activated when learners used L2 knowledge in a mode different from the learning mode. Our findings indicate that the brain regions that mediate L2 memory differ according to how L2 words are learned and used. Copyright 2009 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
Valle, Antonio; Núñez, José C; Cabanach, Ramón G; González-Pienda, Julio A; Rodríguez, Susana; Rosário, Pedro; Muñoz-Cadavid, María A; Cerezo, Rebeca
In this paper, the relations between academic goals and various indicators that define the quality of the learning process are analyzed. The purpose was to determine to what extent high, moderate, or low levels of academic goals were positively or negatively related to effort regulation, the value assigned to academic tasks, meta-cognitive self-regulation, self-efficacy, beliefs about learning control, and management of time and study environment. The investigation was carried out with a sample of 632 university students (70% female and 30% male) and mean age of 21.22 (SD=2.2).The results show that learning goals, or task orientation, are positively related to all the indictors of learning quality considered herein. Although for other kinds of goals-work-avoidance goals, performance-approach goals, and performance-avoidance goals-significant relations were not found with all the indicators, there was a similar tendency of significant results in all cases; the higher the levels of these goals, the lower the levels of the indicators of learning quality.
Genc, Zubeyde Sinem; Aydin, Fulya
The purpose of this study is to investigate Turkish students' (n = 462) motivation and attitudes toward learning English as a foreign language at a state university in Turkey and the relation between their attitudes, motivation and the variables such as gender, parental involvement, their fields of study at university, and academic achievement. It…
Rivers, Susan E.; Brackett, Marc A.
This article introduces The RULER Approach ("RULER") to social and emotional learning, with a particular focus on its Feeling Words Curriculum. Through this curriculum, RULER contributes to the ultimate goals of an English language arts education--preparing students to achieve personal, social, and academic goals and to be engaged and contributing…
Roseberry, Sarah; Hirsh-Pasek, Kathy; Golinkoff, Roberta M
Language learning takes place in the context of social interactions, yet the mechanisms that render social interactions useful for learning language remain unclear. This study focuses on whether social contingency might support word learning. Toddlers aged 24-30 months (N = 36) were exposed to novel verbs in one of three conditions: live interaction training, socially contingent video training over video chat, and noncontingent video training (yoked video). Results suggest that children only learned novel verbs in socially contingent interactions (live interactions and video chat). This study highlights the importance of social contingency in interactions for language learning and informs the literature on learning through screen media as the first study to examine word learning through video chat technology. © 2013 The Authors. Child Development © 2013 Society for Research in Child Development, Inc.
Roseberry, Sarah; Hirsh-Pasek, Kathy; Golinkoff, Roberta Michnick
Language learning takes place in the context of social interactions, yet the mechanisms that render social interactions useful for learning language remain unclear. This paper focuses on whether social contingency might support word learning. Toddlers aged 24- to 30-months (N=36) were exposed to novel verbs in one of three conditions: live interaction training, socially contingent video training over video chat, and non-contingent video training (yoked video). Results suggest that children only learned novel verbs in socially contingent interactions (live interactions and video chat). The current study highlights the importance of social contingency in interactions for language learning and informs the literature on learning through screen media as the first study to examine word learning through video chat technology. PMID:24112079
Francesca Romero Forteza
Full Text Available Nowadays there are many approaches aimed at helping learners acquire knowledge through the Internet. Virtual Learning Environments (VLE facilitate the acquisition and practice of skills, but some of these learning platforms are not evaluated or do not follow a standard that guarantees the quality of the tasks involved. In this paper, we set out a proposal for the standardization of the evaluation of VLEs available on the World Wide Web. Thus, the main objective of this study is to establish an evaluation template with which to test whether a VLE is appropriate for computer-assisted language learning (CALL. In the methodology section, a learning platform is analysed and tested to establish the characteristics learning platforms must have. Having established the design of the template for language learning environments, we concluded that a VLE must be versatile enough for application with different language learning and teaching approaches.
Educational Inequality and Academic Achievement in England and. France. ... the process of symbol learning for young children with disabilities. Introduction ... mains an important issue in facilitating integration and participation in society.
Full Text Available The present paper aims at exploring the potential role that social media technologies play in learning foreign languages. For this purpose, a survey was carried out to examine students’ and language learners’ perceptions and attitudes about using these platforms. Results of the research study revealed that the great majority of the respondents actually use these web-based applications to enhance their language skills. Most importantly, they noted that social media contribute in improving their listening, reading, speaking and writing skills. Accordingly, we strongly recommend that instructors use these online tools in distant, blended, or face-to-face language learning settings.
Zevenbergen, Andrea A.; Ryan, Meghan M.
This study examined the relationship between attention problems and expressive language and academic readiness skills in preschool-aged children from middle-class families. Forty-three children (44% female) were assessed individually for expressive language skills and knowledge of basic academic concepts (e.g. colours, letters and numbers). The…
Islam, Nurul; Beer, Martin; Slack, Frances
Over the last two decades the use of E-learning technology increased to such an extent that the role of the traditional academic has been forced to change. Focusing on academics' views, this study examines their interactions in the E-learning environment and whether online learning applications have increased academic workload (Eynon, 2005;…
Collie, Rebecca J.; Ginns, Paul; Martin, Andrew J.; Papworth, Brad
A primary goal our study was to explore whether relations between academic anxiety and students' use of a range of learning strategies (memorisation, elaboration, personal best [PB] goals and cooperation) were mediated by academic buoyancy. We were also interested in extending knowledge of anxiety and its role in students' learning strategy use.…
Trigwell, Keith; Ashwin, Paul; Millan, Elena S
In separate studies and research from different perspectives, five factors are found to be among those related to higher quality outcomes of student learning (academic achievement). Those factors are higher self-efficacy, deeper approaches to learning, higher quality teaching, students' perceptions that their workload is appropriate, and greater learning motivation. University learning improvement strategies have been built on these research results. To investigate how students' evoked prior experience, perceptions of their learning environment, and their approaches to learning collectively contribute to academic achievement. This is the first study to investigate motivation and self-efficacy in the same educational context as conceptions of learning, approaches to learning and perceptions of the learning environment. Undergraduate students (773) from the full range of disciplines were part of a group of over 2,300 students who volunteered to complete a survey of their learning experience. On completing their degrees 6 and 18 months later, their academic achievement was matched with their learning experience survey data. A 77-item questionnaire was used to gather students' self-report of their evoked prior experience (self-efficacy, learning motivation, and conceptions of learning), perceptions of learning context (teaching quality and appropriate workload), and approaches to learning (deep and surface). Academic achievement was measured using the English honours degree classification system. Analyses were conducted using correlational and multi-variable (structural equation modelling) methods. The results from the correlation methods confirmed those found in numerous earlier studies. The results from the multi-variable analyses indicated that surface approach to learning was the strongest predictor of academic achievement, with self-efficacy and motivation also found to be directly related. In contrast to the correlation results, a deep approach to learning was
Stackhouse, Omega N.
The problem addressed in this study was that little was known about the impact on student academic achievement, when grouped by learning style, in a multiple intelligence based science curriculum. The larger problem was that many students were frequently unengaged and, consequently, low achieving in their science courses. This quantitative study used an ex post facto research design to better understand the impact of student learning style on the academic success of students in a Multiple Intelligence Theory based course room. Gardner's work on Multiple Intelligence served as the conceptual framework for this study. The research question for this study asked if academic instruction that employs multiple intelligence theories has a relationship with students' academic achievement differently according to their learning style group (auditory, visual, and kinesthetic). Existing data from 85 students were placed into 1 of 3 groups: (a) Auditory, (b) Visual, or (c) Kinesthetic Learning Style) using existing data from a student inventory instrument. The independent variable was existing data from student inventories of learning style and the dependent variable was existing student scores from the Physical Science End of Course Test. Existing data were taken from students that were all taught with the same strategies in similar classroom environments. The Physical Science End of Course Test was developed with stringent measures to protect validity by the developer, McGraw-Hill. Cronbach's Alpha was conducted to determine the internal reliability coefficient of the student inventory. The impact for social change is that adding to the body of knowledge regarding student learning style and science curriculum provides valuable information for teachers, administrators, and school policy makers. This will allow teachers to better prepare to engage their students' and to prepare them for their place in society.
Full Text Available In interactive multimedia environments, different digital elements (i. e. video, audio, visuals, text, animations, graphics and glossary can be combined and delivered on the same digital computer screen (TDM 1997: 151, CCED 1987, Brett 1998: 81, Stenton 1998: 11, Mangiafico 1996: 46. This also enables effectively provision and presentation of feedback in pedagogically more efficient ways, which meets not only the requirement of different teaching and learning theories, but also the needs of language learners who vary in their learning-style preferences (Robinson 1991: 156, Peter 1994: 157f.. This study aims to bring out the pedagogical and design principles that might help us to more effectively design and customise feedback in interactive multimedia language learning environments. While so doing, some examples of thought out and customized computerised feedback from an interactive multimedia language learning environment, which were designed and created by the author of this study and were also used for language learning purposes, will be shown.
Watson, Marcus R; Chromý, Jan; Crawford, Lyle; Eagleman, David M; Enns, James T; Akins, Kathleen A
According to one theory, synaesthesia develops, or is preserved, because it helps children learn. If so, it should be more common among adults who faced greater childhood learning challenges. In the largest survey of synaesthesia to date, the incidence of synaesthesia was compared among native speakers of languages with transparent (easier) and opaque (more difficult) orthographies. Contrary to our prediction, native speakers of Czech (transparent) were more likely to be synaesthetes than native speakers of English (opaque). However, exploratory analyses suggested that this was because more Czechs learned non-native second languages, which was strongly associated with synaesthesia, consistent with the learning hypothesis. Furthermore, the incidence of synaesthesia among speakers of opaque languages was double that among speakers of transparent languages other than Czech, also consistent with the learning hypothesis. These findings contribute to an emerging understanding of synaesthetic development as a complex and lengthy process with multiple causal influences. Copyright © 2016. Published by Elsevier Inc.
Abdous, M'hammed; Camarena, Margaret M.; Facer, Betty Rose
Integrating Mobile Assisted Language Learning (MALL) technology (personal multimedia players, cell phones, and handheld devices) into the foreign language curriculum is becoming commonplace in many secondary and higher education institutions. Current research has identified both pedagogically sound applications and important benefits to students.…
Dahm, Rebecca; De Angelis, Gessica
The present study examines the multilingual benefit in relation to language learning and mathematical learning. The objective is to assess whether speakers of three or more languages, depending on language profile and personal histories, show significant advantages in language learning and/or mathematical learning, and whether mother tongue…
Lantz-Andersson, Annika; Vigmo, Sylvi; Bowen, Rhonwen
The amount of time that people, especially young people, spend on communicative activities in social media is rapidly increasing. We are facing new arenas with great potential for learning in general and for language learning in particular, but their impact on learning is not yet acknowledged as such in educational practice (e.g., Conole, 2010;…
The scholarly literature about the process of second language (L2) learning has focused to a considerable extent on cognitive processes. Left aside are questions about how emotions fit into an understanding of L2 learning. One goal of this plenary is to demonstrate that we have limited our understanding of L2 learning by failing to take into…
Tse, Andrew Yau Hau
Just a few Malaysian universities offer self-access language learning activities to students. The objective of this study is to investigate if self-access learning can promote self-directed or autonomous learning in a public Malaysian technical university. Data collection is by means of interviewing the Director, lecturers, and students in a…
Kubler, Cornelius C.
This article discusses principles involved in developing course materials for technology-mediated Chinese language learning, with examples from a new course designed to take into account the needs of distance and independent learners. Which learning environment is most efficient for a given learning activity needs to be carefully considered. It…
Full Text Available The aim of language learning is not only to achieve an academic success carried out by a fluent speaking; mastering the grammar and vocabulary but it should also focus on the psychological comfort and the intrinsic readiness of the students to participate in their education - to receive and perform. The learners’ self-esteem plays the fundamental role in any language classroom but gaining it is the task on its own and can be quite a challenge for the teachers. How students feel is closely related to their ability to learn. Teachers’ task is thus not only to provide knowledge and information but first of all they should immerse themselves into the student’s mind and discover the best way to awake learner’s will to communicate. This paper focuses on two kinds of aspects participating on the emotional state of the learner, academic and psychological. The students of two different levels of English have answered the questionnaire, assessing their attitude, anxiety and motivation towards learning English. Each opinion has been evaluated and put into relationship with the ability to relax, understand, learn and enjoy at the same time. Their analyses have become the base of several teaching techniques that would build and encourage the students’ confidence as the main condition to start any cognitive process. If confidence is the cause or the outcome of mastering a foreign language was the question asked and answered in this work. Confidence mastery has thus played the fundamental role in the present survey.
Sara Kashefian Naeeini
Full Text Available In order to meet the demands of the changing world, students should become endowed with the ability to learn perpetually and regard learning as a life-long enterprise. This study investigated those learners belief which showed learners’ predispositions toward autonomy and some social factors such as gender, academic achievement, marital status and age were taken into consideration. All BA and MA students majoring in English Literature at the department of Foreign Languages of Shiraz University of Iran were involved. The data were collected through a questionnaire the items of which were obtained from two questionnaires by Cotterall (1995 and Cotterall (1999 which were incorporated into a five-point Likert-type rating scale. Factor analysis of responses of students revealed the existence of five underlying factors for learner autonomy which were learner independence, dependence on the teacher, learner confidence, attitudes towards language learning and self-assessment. Based on t-test for independent samples and Analysis of Variance it came to light that age and gender did not have impact on students’ readiness for autonomy while martial statues influenced students’ self-assessment. Moreover, good academic achievement positively influenced their predispositions towards autonomous language learning.
Full Text Available The paper presents a meta-analysis of 37 scientific papers dealing with the use and adoption of ICT for learning and teaching Chinese as a foreign language. It has shown that systematic content reviews providing overall insight into the nature and level of development in the field are rare. The author tries to fill this content gap by answering three research questions: 1 What is the overall state of research in the field of ICT-assisted learning of CFL in terms of language teaching methods? 2 Which learning technologies are in use for the specific teaching and learning methods for Chinese as a foreign language? 3 Are some learning technologies used more often for practis ng specific language skills than others?
Full Text Available Using an ethnographic case study design, this study investigates language learners' socialization into the cultural values of Uzbek language. Informed by a language socialization theoretical framework, the study focuses on the classroom routines and interactions that socialize students into certain social values through mini-lectures that are beyond the linguistic objectives of the curriculum. The research questions addressed are: What social values are being taught implicitly or explicitly? What cultural values are students being socialized into? What constitutes valuable cultural knowledge as claimed by the teacher? In the audio and video recorded observation data, a selected excerpt of typical classroom interactions is analyzed adopting discourse analysis methods. The findings of the study could be implemented in teacher education programs and in designing textbooks and curriculum for less commonly taught languages.
Language teaching and learning has many different cultural dimensions, and over the years more and more of these have been the subject of research. The first dimension to be explored was that of content: the images of target language countries and the world that were offered in textbooks...... and presented in class. The next dimension was that of the learner: the (inter)cultural learning, competence and identity of the learner or subject. The next dimension was context: the situation and role of language teaching and learning in society and in the world....
Full Text Available The aim of this paper is to present methods that will improve teaching as regards second language learning in order to motivate students in their learning process and to maintain their motivation constantly alert. The discussion also introduces and explains amotivation, in close connection with motivation and demotivation. Teachers have to continuously interract with their students effectively, be alert to their feedback, and constantly improve their methods of teaching a second language by staying connected with all the innovations in the field, and taking into consideration all the aspects of the teaching process that can decrease students’ motivation in second language learning classes.
Full Text Available The aim of this paper is to present methods that will improve teaching as regards second language learning in order to motivate students in their learning process and to maintain their motivation constantly alert. The discussion also introduces and explains amotivation, in close connection with motivation and demotivation. Teachers have to continuously interract with their students effectively, be alert to their feedback, and constantly improve their methods of teaching a second language by staying connected with all the innovations in the field, and taking into consideration all the aspects of the teaching process that can decrease students’ motivation in second language learning classes.
In the modern age of exponential knowledge growth and accelerating technological development, the need to engage in lifelong learning is becoming increasingly urgent. Successful lifelong learning, in turn, requires learner autonomy, or "the capacity to take control of one's own learning" (Benson, 2011, p. 58), including all relevant…
Davie, Neil; Hilber, Tobias
This project examines mobile-assisted language learning (MALL) and in particular the attitudes of undergraduate engineering students at the South Westphalia University of Applied Sciences towards the use of the smartphone app Quizlet to learn English vocabulary. Initial data on attitudes to learning languages and to the use of mobile devices to do…
Noels, Kimberly A.; Clement, Richard
A study of college students' motivation for learning, and other social-psychological aspects of second language learning, found students learn German for instrumental, friendship, travel, identification/influence, and knowledge reasons. Fluency was related to motivation, and students of German heritage had higher self-confidence in the German…
Bai, Li; Millwater, Jan; Hudson, Peter
Research capacity building has become a prominent theme in higher education institutions in China and across the world. However, Chinese Teaching English as a Foreign Language academics' research output has been quite limited. In order to build their research capacity, it is necessary to understand their perceptions about research. This case study…
Campisi, Lisa; Serbin, Lisa A.; Stack, Dale M.; Schwartzman, Alex E.; Ledingham, Jane E.
The current investigation examined whether inter-generational transfer of risk could be revealed through mothers' and preschool-aged children's expressive language, and whether continuity of risk persisted in these children's academic abilities, 3 years later. Participating families were drawn from the Concordia Longitudinal Risk Project, a…
Shim, Jenna Min
Using Pierre Bourdieu's concept of "habitus," this work analyzes five teachers' beliefs about English language learners' academic challenges. In reference to reproductive and inventive qualities of "habitus," this article argues that teachers' beliefs that are linked to their socio-cultural backgrounds can delimit or enhance…
The study reports on challenges related to the use of the language of attribution in academic essay writing by Post-Graduate Certificate in Education (PGCE) students at Rhodes University, as a microcosm of similar challenges faced by university students elsewhere. The study content-analysed 150 essays written by 50 PGCE students taking the course…
Dokter, Nanke; Aarts, Rian; Kurvers, J.J.H.; Ros, Anje; Kroon, Sjaak
Mastering academic language (AL) by elementary school students is important for achieving school success. The extent to which teachers play a role in stimulating students’ AL development may differ. Two types of AL stimulating behavior are distinguished: aimed at students’ understanding and at
Rian Aarts; Jeanne Kurvers; Sjaak Kroon; Anje Ros; Nanke Dokter
Mastering academic language (AL) by elementary school students is important for achieving school success. The extent to which teachers play a role in stimulating students’ AL development may differ. Two types of AL stimulating behavior are distinguished: aimed at students’ understanding and at