Exploring the effects of foreign language instructional practices on student proficiency development

2019 ◽  
Vol 52 (1) ◽  
pp. 45-65
Author(s):  
Reuben Vyn ◽  
Pamela M. Wesely ◽  
Diane Neubauer
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Language ◽  
Instructional Practices ◽  
Student Proficiency

scholarly journals The Effects of a CLIL Programme on Linguistic Progress at Two Different Points in Time

2021 ◽  
pp. 173-191
Author(s):  
Marta Segura ◽  
Helena Roquet ◽  
Carmen Pérez-Vidal
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Language ◽  
Reading Skills ◽  
Target Language ◽  
Integrated Learning ◽  
Older Students ◽  
Efl Learners ◽  
The Past ◽  
Learning Contexts ◽  
Student Proficiency

In an attempt to explore the effects of different kinds of English as a Foreign Language (EFL) learning contexts, content and language integrated learning (CLIL) have been at the centre of FL acquisition research over the past decade. Studies have focused on the features and gains this setting brings, whether content is learnt at the same level of success as when taught in the learners’ L1, and whether that L1 is negatively affected by CLIL. However, to our knowledge, very little attention has been brought to how the seniority of the programme affects learner progress in the target language. This study aims to fill such a gap in the understanding that the programme will have developed and improved in terms of quality of exposure and interaction, and that learners’ EFL performance will be higher. To do that, we measured the efficacy of a long-standing CLIL programme in Barcelona twelve years after it was launched and examined the reading, writing, and lexico-grammatical abilities of CLIL EFL learners aged 8, 11, and 14 compared with results obtained by learners measured at the onset of the programme in 2005. The results showed that the quality of the programme has increased over the last decade, guaranteeing a higher level of EFL student proficiency when raw scores are considered, but not in terms of linguistic gains, in which only improvement in older students’ grammar and reading skills can be observed.

scholarly journals Cross-country comparison of EFL teacher preparedness to include dyslexic learners: Validation of a questionnaire

2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (4) ◽  
pp. 779-805
Author(s):  
Joanna Nijakowska ◽  
Dina Tsagari ◽  
George Spanoudis
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Language ◽  
Instructional Practices ◽  
Principal Component ◽  
Teacher Preparedness ◽  
Efl Learners ◽  
Country Comparison ◽  
Efl Teacher ◽  
Service Training ◽  
Cross Country ◽  
Training Schemes

The aim of this study was to validate a 24-item TEPID (Teachers of EFL Preparedness to Include Dyslexics) scale measuring the beliefs of 546 pre-service and in-service teachers of English as a foreign language (EFL) across three countries (Cyprus, Greece, and Poland) on their preparedness to include learners with dyslexia in mainstream foreign language (FL) classes. Principal component analysis of the scale led to a two-factor structure, that is, knowledge and self-efficacy in implementing inclusive instructional practices with dyslexic EFL learners, and stance towards inclusion. The analysis of measurement invariance confirmed the generalizability of the TEPID across all subgroups and allowed valid comparisons between factor variances and covariances. The scale is a useful tool for investigating perceived teacher preparedness to include dyslexic learners and variables that influence TEPID, comparing the results across countries, and designing tailored pre-service and in-service training schemes on inclusion.

Employing Latino Value Orientations to Facilitate Success in Stuttering Treatment

2008 ◽  
Vol 18 (3) ◽  
pp. 111-118
Author(s):  
Lourdes Ramos-Heinrichs ◽  
Lynn Hansberry Mayo ◽  
Sandra Garzon
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Language ◽  
Therapeutic Relationship ◽  
Service Provider ◽  
Speech Therapy ◽  
Cross Cultural ◽  
Value Orientations ◽  
Collaborative Partnership ◽  
The Family ◽  
Therapy Services ◽  
Cultural Connections

Abstract Providing adequate speech therapy services to Latinos who stutter can present challenges that are not obvious to the practicing clinician. This article addresses cultural, religious, and foreign language concerns to the therapeutic relationship between the Latino client and the clinician. Suggestions are made for building cross-cultural connections with clients and incorporating the family into a collaborative partnership with the service provider.

Eye Movements of Children and Adults While Reading Television Subtitles

2007 ◽  
Vol 12 (3) ◽  
pp. 196-205 ◽  
Author(s):  
Géry d'Ydewalle ◽  
Wim De Bruycker
Keyword(s):  
Eye Movements ◽  
Foreign Language ◽  
Age Differences ◽  
Information Sources ◽  
Native Language ◽  
Verbal Information ◽  
Single Text ◽  
Grade 5 ◽  
Reading Patterns ◽  
Attentional System

Abstract. Eye movements of children (Grade 5-6) and adults were monitored while they were watching a foreign language movie with either standard (foreign language soundtrack and native language subtitling) or reversed (foreign language subtitles and native language soundtrack) subtitling. With standard subtitling, reading behavior in the subtitle was observed, but there was a difference between one- and two-line subtitles. As two lines of text contain verbal information that cannot easily be inferred from the pictures on the screen, more regular reading occurred; a single text line is often redundant to the information in the picture, and accordingly less reading of one-line text was apparent. Reversed subtitling showed even more irregular reading patterns (e.g., more subtitles skipped, fewer fixations, longer latencies). No substantial age differences emerged, except that children took longer to shift attention to the subtitle at its onset, and showed longer fixations and shorter saccades in the text. On the whole, the results demonstrated the flexibility of the attentional system and its tuning to the several information sources available (image, soundtrack, and subtitles).

Use of the TOEFL as a Standard for University Admission: A Position Statement by the Canadian Psychological Association

1998 ◽  
Vol 14 (3) ◽  
pp. 261-265 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marvin L. Simner
Keyword(s):  
Academic Achievement ◽  
Foreign Language ◽  
Position Statement ◽  
Considerable Evidence ◽  
Canadian Universities ◽  
Weak Relationship ◽  
University Admission ◽  
Canadian Psychological Association

Nearly all Canadian universities employ, as a standard for university admission, the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL). In light of considerable evidence indicating only a weak relationship between TOEFL scores and academic achievement, the Canadian Psychological Association recently issued a report containing a position statement that called upon Canadian universities to refrain from employing the TOEFL in this manner. Because the concerns raised in the report are likely to apply to many universities outside Canada, the entire report is reproduced in this article.

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