English as a lingua franca and global identities: Perspectives from four second language learners of English in Hong Kong

2014 ◽  
Vol 26 ◽  
pp. 31-39 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chit Cheung Matthew Sung
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Hong Kong ◽  
Language Learners ◽  
Second Language Learners ◽  
Lingua Franca ◽  
Global Identities

scholarly journals Can non-interactive language input benefit young second-language learners?

2014 ◽  
Vol 42 (2) ◽  
pp. 323-350 ◽  
Author(s):  
TERRY KIT-FONG AU ◽  
WINNIE WAILAN CHAN ◽  
LIAO CHENG ◽  
LINDA S. SIEGEL ◽  
RICKY VAN YIP TSO
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Hong Kong ◽  
Young Children ◽  
Language Learners ◽  
Second Language Learners ◽  
Native Speakers ◽  
Second Graders ◽  
Story Reading ◽  
Linguistic Input ◽  
Children First

ABSTRACTTo fully acquire a language, especially its phonology, children need linguistic input from native speakers early on. When interaction with native speakers is not always possible – e.g. for children learning a second language that is not the societal language – audios are commonly used as an affordable substitute. But does such non-interactive input work? Two experiments evaluated the usefulness of audio storybooks in acquiring a more native-like second-language accent. Young children, first- and second-graders in Hong Kong whose native language was Cantonese Chinese, were given take-home listening assignments in a second language, either English or Putonghua Chinese. Accent ratings of the children's story reading revealed measurable benefits of non-interactive input from native speakers. The benefits were far more robust for Putonghua than English. Implications for second-language accent acquisition are discussed.

scholarly journals Using drama activities to teach beginner’s French to Chinese students at a tertiary institution in Hong Kong: An exploratory case study

2019 ◽  
Vol 9 (4) ◽  
pp. 711-736
Author(s):  
Zarina Marie Krystle M. Abenoja ◽  
Matthew DeCoursey
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Hong Kong ◽  
Learning Environment ◽  
Language Learning ◽  
Language Learners ◽  
Second Language Learners ◽  
Real Life ◽  
Target Language ◽  
Tertiary Institution ◽  
Positive Effects

The exam-oriented education system in Hong Kong has created a language learning environment that is largely confined to traditional classroom settings, which may not take best advantage of students’ abilities to relate what they have learnt in class to real-life scenarios. Such learning environments may have implications for the way second language learners learn a new language. Numerous studies suggest that drama activities used in language classrooms can enhance second language learning. These studies put forward tasks that generate pleasant and rewarding experiences, enhance confidence and subsequently increase motivation to learn a language. By focusing on students studying in a beginning French course at a tertiary institution in Hong Kong, this article reports on how drama activities make a target language more enjoyable and easier to recall. Classroom observations and interviews with students (N = 30) revealed that learning French via drama had a number of positive effects on second language learners especially in terms of their confidence. The learning of French through drama may provide a language learning environment that enables students to apply their French language skills more effectively in real-life situations.

scholarly journals EXPOSURE TO ENGLISHES IN LISTENING CLASSROOMS: THE PERSPECTIVES OF INDONESIAN ESL LEARNERS

2020 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
pp. 49-68
Author(s):  
Reni Kusumaningputri
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Language Learners ◽  
Second Language Learners ◽  
Global Scale ◽  
Lessons Learned ◽  
Lingua Franca ◽  
The Right ◽  
Esl Learners ◽  
Ted Talks ◽  
Single Variety

Due to the global scale of English use, English as a lingua franca (ELF) is at play. Given this reality, exposes to different varieties of English rather than a single variety of English, preparing second language learners to Englishes is paramount for readiness to involve in ELF communication. This paper reports on the classroom instruction of exposing college listeners with Englishes via TED talks using a portfolio to find out how they see these varieties and what they can learn from them. Data were from records of portfolio and questions at the end of the instruction. Using general inductive analysis, there were three lessons learned from the instruction. Acknowledgement of many models of English, Englishes can be the ‘right’ English, and Englishes as a marker of identity were lessons observed to appear from the Englishes exposure. The exposes to Englishes also brought about complexities of wholehearted adoption to Indonesian accent. Pedagogical implications for classroom instructions are also made.

Using a Modified Dictogloss to Improve English as a Second Language Learners’ use of Genre-appropriate Conventions and Style

RELC Journal ◽  
2021 ◽  
pp. 003368822110457
Author(s):  
Lam Ting Chun ◽  
Scott Aubrey
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Hong Kong ◽  
Language Learners ◽  
Current Practice ◽  
Second Language Learners ◽  
Text Type ◽  
Joint Reconstruction ◽  
Based Instruction ◽  
Esl Learners ◽  
Model Texts

This article explores the potential for using a modified dictogloss task to improve ESL learners' use of genre-appropriate conventions and genre-appropriate style in the context of genre-based instruction for writing. Dictogloss has been traditionally used to enhance learners' focus on lexical and grammatical features through discussions during the joint reconstruction of a text. The innovation of the current practice lies in its application to teach generic aspects specific to a particular text type, such as formatting, register, and organization. This practice is potentially important as it is a meaningful, productive task that raises learners' awareness of genre-related features of writing – an often-neglected but important aspect of learning to write. This practice was carried out in a secondary ESL classroom in Hong Kong, and the evaluation was based on an analysis of improvements in learners' genre-specific conventions and genre-specific style. Implications of this practice are discussed in terms of the possibilities for using model texts in dictogloss tasks within a genre-based approach to writing.

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