scholarly journals Tolerance of Ambiguity and the Linguistic Intervention Program

2018 ◽  
Vol 1 (2) ◽  
pp. 14
Author(s):  
Eva Stranovská ◽  
Silvia Hvozdíková

The study examines the process of foreign language learning. The aim was to investigate dynamics and stability of the variable tolerance of ambiguity in the process of learning a foreign language through the means of specifically designed linguistic intervention program. The investigation aimed to find out the impact of the intervention called The Linguistic Intervention Program in the process of foreign language learning and tolerance of ambiguity in the foreign language performance. Moreover, the purpose was to investigate long-lasting changes in the selected periods, after one year. The focus was put on the ability to create a cognitive structure, especially the ability to achieve cognitive structuration. The linguistic intervention program represented a method of active social learning, and autonomous learning.The approaches we used were the following: relaxation, cooperative techniques, communication techniques, and the techniques aimed at social perception and intercultural communication in a foreign language. The linguistic intervention program was based on the natural approach of foreign language acquisition. The research method called the scale of the ability to achieve cognitive structure AACS was used on the sample of 256 college students enrolled for the foreign languages teaching programs. The results showed unique findings in the process of dynamics and stability of the examined variable, tolerance of ambiguity through the means of the linguistic intervention. They showed statistically significant higher score in AACS and statistically significant score in long-lasting changes in time. AACS appeared to be a stabile characteristic in the foreign language learning.

2014 ◽  
Vol 971-973 ◽  
pp. 2677-2680
Author(s):  
Di Jiao

Factors affecting students’ English learning performances are always debated among language researchers. This research is carried out in art colleges to figure out the students’ preferences in learning styles and learning strategies as well as the relationship between them. Questionnaires have been applied and data have been dealt with by SPSS. This research has shown that students in the art college tend to be visual and individual learners, and thus they prefer to adopt metacognitive, memory and affective strategies.


Author(s):  
Barbara Schmenk

Book reviews reflect the views and opinions of the respective reviewers and do not necessarily represent the position of SCENARIO. Helga Tschurtschenthaler’s study is one of the most important scholarly contributions in recent years to the field of drama-based foreign language teaching. She conducted her research in an EFL class in an upper secondary school in multilingual South Tyrol and presents a plethora of data that demonstrates the impact of drama in foreign language education on students’ sense of self as emerging multilingual subjects (Kramsch 2009). What stands out about this study, besides its detailed presentation and analysis of student data, is the fact that Tschurtschenthaler succeeds in connecting recent theoretical contributions to the fields of language education and identity to more practical considerations. Overcoming the gap between theory and practice in this domain is one of her signal achievements. “You are not you when you speak Italian. It’s as if you become someone else when you change into Italian. You don’t only sound different, but you even behave differently. Then, you’re not the person I know.” (11) These are the opening lines of the book, leading the reader directly to its main subject. Tschurtschenthaler explains that it was a ...


Author(s):  
А.И. Дубских

Стремительное развитие информационно-коммуникационных технологий, расширение международных связей в области экономики, науки, культуры и образования сделало владение иностранным языком одним из ключевых компонентов профессиональной компетентности специалиста. Иностранный язык в вузе превращается из просто дисциплины в инструмент получения профессиональной информации. Предметно-языковое интегрированное обучение (Content and Language Integrated Learning - CLIL) представляет один из целесообразных способов, позволяющих успешно устанавливать связи между профилирующими дисциплинами, а также осуществлять эффективную подготовку будущего специалиста к ведению профессионального общения с коллегами на иностранном языке, что и определяет актуальность нашей работы. В статье описываются принципы предметно-языкового интегрированного обучения, его преимущества и проблемы использования в учебном процессе. Цель статьи - определить влияние CLIL на улучшение изучения учащимися лексики и выяснить, есть ли разница между прогрессом студентов, применявших CLIL на занятиях, и теми, кто опирался на традиционные методы. Для проведения исследования были отобраны студенты, которые прошли обучение в экспериментальной и контрольной группах. Студенты экспериментальной группы активно использовали методы CLIL. Результаты показали, что студенты экспериментальной группы демонстрируют более высокий уровень квалификации и более высокую коммуникативную компетентность, чем их сверстники. Однако в процессе использования методики CLIL и преподаватели, и учащиеся столкнулись с рядом трудностей. Тем не менее автор приходит к выводу, что у CLIL есть потенциал для лучшего понимания профессионального контента при изучении иностранного языка. Полученными выводами могут воспользоваться преподаватели, методисты, исследователи, разработчики образовательных программ. The rapid development of information and communication technologies, the expansion of international ties in the field of economy, science, culture and education have made foreign language knowledge one of the key components in a specialist’s professional competence. Foreign language in the university is transformed from simply discipline into a tool for obtaining professional information. Content and Language Integrated Learning (CLIL) is one of the most expedient ways to successfully establish links between majoring disciplines, as well as effectively prepare a future specialist to conduct professional communication with colleagues in a foreign language, which determines the relevance of our work. The article describes the principles of students’ Content and Language Integrated Learning, their advantages and problems of implementation. The purpose of the article is to determine the impact of CLIL on improving students’ study of vocabulary and to find out if there is a difference between the progress in students’ using CLIL in classes and those who have relied on traditional methods. The study selected students who were trained in experimental and control groups. Students in the experimental group actively used CLIL methods. The results showed that students in this experimental group demonstrate higher skill levels and higher communicative competence than their peers. However, in the process of using the CLIL methodology, both teachers and students faced a number of difficulties. The author concludes that CLIL has the potential to better understand professional content through foreign language learning. These results can be used by teachers, methodologists, researchers, and developers of educational programs.


2017 ◽  
Vol LXXVIII (1) ◽  
pp. 17-27
Author(s):  
Ewa Domagała-Zyśk ◽  
Agnieszka Kłos-Dacka

Learning a foreign language is a special challenge for students with hearing impairments as it requires not only developing necessary strategies to learn all language skills in another language, but also overcoming specific perceptual and performance difficulties. The methodology of foreign language teaching to students with hearing impairments describes this process with reference to deaf and hard-of-hearing students of various ages who have various degrees of hearing impairment and who use various communication techniques. However, experiences relating to foreign language learning by people with cochlear implants have not been studied so far. These are students with unique characteristics whose hearing impairments are usually severe or profound and, at the same time, whose functioning is similar to the functioning of hard-of-hearing people thanks to their cochlear implants. It is assumed that their full inclusion in education in mainstream schools and social integration are possible.The article presents the issue of teaching the English language as a foreign language to students with hearing impairments who use cochlear implants (three case studies), especially in the context of the level of independent learning, beliefs concerning foreign language learning, foreign language classroom anxiety or lack of anxiety, and the scope of learning to read, write, speak and listen in a foreign language. In the study, a questionnaire designed by the authors was used as well as the scale FLCAS (Horwitz, Horwitz, Cope, 1986), autonomous scale (Macaskill, Taylor, 2010) and subscale BALLI (Horowitz, 1999).


2016 ◽  
Vol 18 (1) ◽  
pp. 167-181 ◽  
Author(s):  
Juan Sebastián Basallo Gómez

<p><span>This paper is about the impact of systematic reading selection used to promote English as foreign language learning in adult students. A qualitative action research methodology was used to carry out this project. Ten class sessions were designed to provide students an opportunity to select texts according to criteria based upon their language levels and personal/professional interests. The findings align with three categories of influence: motivation, engagement, and contextualization/interpretation of readings. The main objective of this project was to see how the students’ text selection processes, guided by systematically designed criteria and elaborated strategies, influenced learning and acquisition in terms of motivation, perceptions, and opinions towards reading in English.</span></p>


2012 ◽  
Vol 45 (4) ◽  
pp. 515-526 ◽  
Author(s):  
Eileen W. Glisan

The Standards for Foreign Language Learning in the 21st Century (SFLL) (National Standards in Foreign Language Education Project [NSFLEP]), originally published in 1996, were envisioned by many as the panacea for providing a new and exciting direction for foreign language education in the United States. The perceived impact of these National K-16 Student Standards has been witnessed throughout more than a decade by scholarly works that have acknowledged their role as ‘a veritable change agent’ (Sharpley-Whiting 1999: 84), ‘a vision for foreign language education in the new century’ (Allen 2002: 518), and, more recently, as ‘a blueprint and framework for change’ (Terry 2009: 17). The research that has been done on the Standards since their inception has attempted to provide concrete ways for the field to embrace this new framework and thereby realize a Standards-based curriculum and perhaps even revolutionize language education. This work has consisted largely of (1) implementational research (both with and without experimental design) that proposes specific strategies for addressing the Standards in planning, teaching, and assessment (Schwartz & Kavanaugh 1997; Abbott & Lear 2010); (2) survey research that analyzes self-reported information regarding teachers' pedagogical beliefs about the Standards and ways in which they claim to be addressing Standards in their classrooms (Allen 2002; ACTFL 2011), and (3) White papers that disseminate opinions and insights by leaders in the field regarding the impact that the Standards are having in areas such as language instruction, curriculum and course design, and educational policy (Sharpley-Whiting 1999; Donato 2009; Glisan 2010).


2018 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
pp. 43-65
Author(s):  
David Felipe Espinosa Torres ◽  
Iván Camilo González Bejarano ◽  
Juliana Moreno Restrepo

Feedback is a powerful tool that has a significant influence on student success. Its meaningful impact on learning and teaching processes has been well-documented. However, there is minimal research concerning the impact of feedback strategies on foreign language learning. This article seeks to provide a theoretical and practical understanding of the impact of feedback on foreign language teaching and learning processes. This is done through a case study research conducted in a private institution in Bogotá, Colombia. The evidence demonstrates that the feedback strategies used and the manner in which they are administered influence their effectiveness. Three main strategies were observed and analyzed: corrective, motivational, and developmental. This article concludes with a suggestion to make feedback an explicit policy of teachers’ education programs in the country.


2018 ◽  
Vol 20 (2) ◽  
pp. 185-195
Author(s):  
Alba Milena Flórez González

This action research study sought to incorporate students’ local identity as the set of traditions, language, history and norms of conduct as a potential element to enhance the foreign language learning process. The purpose of this study was to strengthen local cultural identity in high school students, facilitating a meaningful foreign language learning process and promoting the active participation of students in their local communities (Sharkey, Clavijo, & Ramirez, 2016), through inter-generational dialogue. The research questions proposed were: a) what were the perceptions students had about their local identity? and b) how did high school students strengthen their identity by writing chronicles in English class about their family history? Findings posit the impact of the study on students’ perception about their local identity, how they proudly identify themselves as Villanuevas (people from Villanueva), their active involvement in the community by fostering an intergenerational communication, the improvement on the students’ L2 competence as well as the impact of the sutdy on the researcher teaching process and its cross curricular influence. 


Author(s):  
Aubrey Statti ◽  
Kelly M. Torres

The following chapter will discuss the impact of technology use and mobile learning, specifically augmented reality (AR), in the process of learning a second or foreign language, namely English and Spanish. The chapter will begin with an overview of AR and then include a discussion of the theoretical framework, language learning contexts, as well as AR tools and applications in the process of second or foreign language learning. An overview of the benefits of AR in language learning will also be included, as well as an introduction to AR applications and specific AR systems, platforms, and case studies in language learning. The research will also provide a discussion of the challenges of using AR in language learning contexts, including specific attention to challenges with AR and learning, AR and language learning, and mobile learning as a whole. The chapter will conclude with final thoughts from the authors in terms of potential areas of AR development that are in need of further attention.


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