Self-Assessment of and for Young Learners’ Foreign Language Learning

2016 ◽  
pp. 291-315 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yuko Goto Butler
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Language ◽  
Language Learning ◽  
Foreign Language Learning ◽  
Self Assessment ◽  
Young Learners

The Role of Social-emotional skills among kindergarteners in Foreign Language Learning

2015 ◽  
Vol 1 (4) ◽  
pp. 364
Author(s):  
Chalak Ghafoor Raouf ◽  
Ranjdar Hama Sharif
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Foreign Language ◽  
Language Learning ◽  
Second Language Learning ◽  
English Language ◽  
Foreign Language Learning ◽  
Social Emotional ◽  
Emotional Skills ◽  
Young Learners

Nowadays, second language learning among young learners is considered to be one of the main subjects in the field of education around the world. A lot of researches dealt with this subject, and focused on the processes of second language learning among young learners. Researchers were trying to understand and diagnose young language learners’ strengths and weaknesses. They came up with some evidences which show that language aptitude, gender, age, creativity, and motivation are among the elements that make a young student be different from other students. Unlike the other researches, this paper investigated the role of social-emotional skills among young learners in second language learning. It examined the influences of these skills in the process of foreign language learning. For this study a kindergarten was chosen, and 20 children were randomly selected as representatives of the 60 children who applied for an English language course in this kindergarten. Thirteen of the selected children were male learners, while the rest were females, and the age of the participants were between 4-5 years old. At the beginning of the English course a group of socialworkers conducted a pretest to measure the young learners’ social and emotional skills, and after the English course a group of English language teachers conducted the second test to measure the learners’ language proficiency. After the data collection, the finding showed a significant relationship between social-emotional skills and foreign language learning. Those students who showed a high level of social-emotional skills were more active in learning the new language, and passed the test of English proficiency with high degrees, while those students who showed a low level of social-emotional skills couldn’t pass the English proficiency test or passed with low degrees.

Young Students' Success and Failure Attributions in Language Learning

2011 ◽  
Vol 39 (7) ◽  
pp. 879-885 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sehnaz Sahinkarakas
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Language ◽  
Language Learning ◽  
Causal Attributions ◽  
Language Teachers ◽  
Self Assessment ◽  
Young Learners ◽  
Specific Focus ◽  
Young Students ◽  
Students Success

The factors that affect young students' successes and failures in learning a foreign language with specific focus on the role of perceived causal attributions were examined. The content of self-assessment papers of 52 young learners studying English was analyzed to investigate the students' success and failure attributions. It was found that both attributions were linked mostly to internal and unstable factors, with listening to the teacher and doing homework being the most significant. The results highlight the importance of language teachers' awareness of their students' attributions.

scholarly journals Selected Determinants of Pronunciation Anxiety

2021 ◽  
Vol 21 (1) ◽  
pp. 93-113
Author(s):  
Małgorzata Baran-Łucarz ◽  
Jang Ho Lee
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Language ◽  
Language Learning ◽  
Detrimental Effect ◽  
Foreign Language Learning ◽  
Willingness To Communicate ◽  
Target Language ◽  
Foreign Languages ◽  
Self Assessment ◽  
Efl Learners ◽  
Studying Abroad

Empirical research shows that language anxiety has a detrimental effect on foreign language learning and its use. Several studies suggest that anxiety related to mastering and using foreign languages is skill-specific. This study examined pronunciation anxiety and attempted to determine its significant correlates. The included factors ranged from learning experiences with native-speaking teachers, previous studying abroad experience, and enjoyment of learning the target language, to willingness to communicate in the target language. A questionnaire was administered to two groups of EFL learners of different majors and different self-perceived levels. Hierarchical multiple regression analyses for both groups showed that willingness to communicate in English was the strongest determinant of pronunciation anxiety, while foreign language enjoyment the second meaningful correlate, but only in the case of the group whose self-assessment of general proficiency in English was lower.

scholarly journals Exploring the Strength of the Process Writing Approach as a Pedagogy for Fostering Learner Autonomy in Writing Among Young Learners

2019 ◽  
Vol 12 (9) ◽  
pp. 42
Author(s):  
Marine Yeung
Keyword(s):  
Language Learning ◽  
Foreign Language Learning ◽  
Learner Autonomy ◽  
Process Approach ◽  
Teaching Beliefs ◽  
Educational Goal ◽  
Esl Writing ◽  
Cultural Backgrounds ◽  
Self Assessment ◽  
Young Learners

Learner autonomy is widely recognized as a desirable educational goal in second or foreign language learning. However, the generality of the concept often makes it difficult to either nurture or measure the related traits. The present study focused on learner autonomy in the area of writing, exploring the use of the process approach as a means to foster its development in terms of students’ emerging writing skills. The study was conducted in the naturalistic settings of three secondary school ESL writing classrooms in Hong Kong involving 70 student participants. Data gathered quantitatively with a questionnaire and qualitatively through self-assessment forms, learners’ journals and case studies suggest that the process approach can reduce students’ reliance on the teacher and their tendency to seek help from others, while leading to growth in their metacognitive knowledge about writing and their knowledge of themselves as writers. These developments are all signs of the emergence of learner autonomy in these young ESL writers. Overall, the findings suggest that the process approach can bring about similar changes in young writers despite variations in the cultural backgrounds and teaching beliefs of its implementers. It is argued that the strength of the process approach may lie in the stimulation of the growth of autonomous skills and attitudes in writing in young learners, and such a strength should be recognized by language educators who view learner autonomy as a major educational goal.

Online games for young learners' foreign language learning

ELT Journal ◽  
2014 ◽  
Vol 68 (3) ◽  
pp. 265-275 ◽  
Author(s):  
Y. G. Butler ◽  
Y. Someya ◽  
E. Fukuhara
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Language ◽  
Language Learning ◽  
Foreign Language Learning ◽  
Online Games ◽  
Young Learners

Learner autonomy: a guiding principle in designing a CD-ROM for intonation practice

ReCALL ◽  
2001 ◽  
Vol 13 (2) ◽  
pp. 179-190 ◽  
Author(s):  
GUNTHER KALTENBÖCK
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Language ◽  
Language Learning ◽  
Learning Process ◽  
Foreign Language Learning ◽  
Learner Autonomy ◽  
Independent Learning ◽  
Self Assessment ◽  
Self Monitoring ◽  
Cd Rom ◽  
Guiding Principle

Building on the experience of developing a CD-ROM for English intonation practice, this article explores some advantages and limitations of this medium for the teaching of suprasegmentals. Despite their undeniable potential for foreign language learning, computers prove to be rather limited in their feedback to pronunciation, especially in terms of error identification and correction, which calls into question one of their very strengths, viz. that of teacher-independent learning. As a possible solution to this dilemma, the present paper proposes to build into the design of a CD-ROM for intonation teaching the concept of learner autonomy, i.e. transferring to an increased degree responsibility for the learning process from the teacher (computer) to the learner. Drawing on the discussion of autonomy by, e.g. Broady & Kenning (1996) and Little (1999), it is demonstrated how incorporating a metacognitive level (by offering the learner the choice to access intonation in different ways) and a metalinguistic level helps to make the CD-ROM users more autonomous in their learning and equip them with the necessary tools for self-assessment and self-monitoring, which in turn can make up for the lack of computerised diagnostic feedback.

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