One Does Not Simply Teach Idioms: Meme Creation as Innovative Practice for Virtual EFL Learners

RELC Journal ◽  
2021 ◽  
pp. 003368822110448
Author(s):  
Christopher A Smith
Keyword(s):  
Language Learning ◽  
Critical Discourse Analysis ◽  
Student Attitudes ◽  
Virtual Learning ◽  
Learning Activity ◽  
Multimodal Literacy ◽  
Multimodal Discourse ◽  
Idiomatic Expression ◽  
The World ◽  
Efl Learning

To maximize the advantages of virtual learning, the present study highlights the potential for Internet meme design and creation in English language learning (ELL) courses as an innovative activity that raises student agency, increases multimodal literacy, inculcates intercultural communication, and teaches idiomatic expression. Memes resonate a multimodal feedback loop of popular culture. In the context of language education, multimodal literacy is a necessity for 21st-century education because the affordances of digital learning platforms present the world told alongside the world shown. While some studies feature the usefulness of memes in English as a foreign language (EFL) learning, none have underscored meme creation as a learning activity. To demonstrate the activity in situ, a vignette at two Korean universities features two instructors who ask their respective students ( N = 49) to design one meme using an idiom discovered in their ELL materials from a prescribed list, then asks: 1) What common power relations and ideologies emerge in the multimodal discourse of the collected pool of student “idiomemes”? 2) What do the findings tell us about student attitudes and engagement with the activity? 3) What do the findings tell us about the importance of multimodal discourse in EFL learning? Using a multimodal critical discourse analysis of the student-created Internet memes, the findings reveal that students chose culturally familiar images to complete the assignment, suggesting that their engagement and understanding of multimodal, English discourse increases commensurately with content intuitive to their culture. The implications suggest that empowering students with a measure of agency in expressing culturally relevant, multimodal discourse in ELL course content increases their engagement in virtual classrooms. Designing idiomemes, as a virtual learning activity, is further explored as a curricular augmentation that increases the value of a student's language-learning investment.

scholarly journals Students’ Motivation to Acquire English through Virtual Learning Midst Covid-19 Pandemic

2021 ◽  
Vol 15 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Eisha Jamila Qomariyah Ikhwan ◽  
Erna Andriyanti
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Language ◽  
Language Learning ◽  
Virtual Learning ◽  
Learning Activity ◽  
Pearson’S Correlation ◽  
Pearson's Correlation ◽  
Instrumental Motivation ◽  
Level Of Significance ◽  
Level Of Motivation ◽  
Situational Motivation

This research aimed to find out students’ motivation to acquire English as a foreign language through virtual learning midst Covid-19 pandemic. It involved 202 students spread throughout Indonesia. Data were collected by means of motivation questionnaires adopted from the Situational Motivation Scale (SIMS) of students’ motivation, i.e., instrumental motivation and integral motivation. The data were analyzed with descriptive statistics and Pearson’s Correlation on SPSS 22. The result shows that the students have a low level of motivation both for integrative and instrumental motivation to acquire English. The statistical calculation reveals that there is a correlation between the students’ motivation and virtual learning activity as shown by the level of significance 0,000<0,05 with the coefficient Pearson’s correlation of 0,282. There is no correlation between the students’ motivation and the Covid-19 pandemic as depicted by Pearson’s correlation of 0,062 with the significant level of 0,382>0,05. The research implies a need for a more innovative instructional design for virtual language learning to better improve students’ motivation to learn English during the Covid-19 pandemic.

scholarly journals „Sprechen Sie Deutsch? A. Merkel Nori Daugiau Vokiečių Kalbos Europoje“ (Delfi, 19.06.2013): The Image of German in Lithuanian Media Discourse

2018 ◽  
Vol 13 (1) ◽  
pp. 60-90
Author(s):  
Rūta Eidukevičienė
Keyword(s):  
Language Learning ◽  
Critical Discourse Analysis ◽  
Public Discourse ◽  
Large Degree ◽  
German Language ◽  
Argumentation Scheme ◽  
Professional Career ◽  
The World ◽  
The Status ◽  
German Speaking

Summary The paper aims to analyze the attitudes to German language in the Lithuanian public discourse. Texts written on this topic and chosen for the analysis appeared in two news portals – the national news portal delfi.lt and the regional news portal kaunodiena.lt. The database covers the period from 1 January 2011 to 1 March 2017; it consists of 82 articles from both news portals. For studying the image of German, the present study applies the framework of Critical Discourse Analysis taking into account different argumentation strategies for learning or not learning German as a foreign language as well as main topical priorities. The general attitudes towards countries can serve as an important foundation for motivation to language learning, so the analysis starts with the discussion of the specifics attributed to Germany and German-speaking countries (effectiveness governing the world, sympathy, economic success, and reliability). The analysis of the selected texts confirms that the image of Germany in Lithuania is quite positive: Germany, especially on delfi.lt, is presented as a target country for qualified Lithuanian experts, as an economically stable country having a large degree of political and cultural influence in the world. Regarding the status of German, the analyzed texts reveal a more ambiguous picture: on the one hand, it is stated that German is not popular in Lithuania, on the other hand it is emphasized that the popularity of the German language is increasing. The argumentation scheme for learning German consists of several argumentation lines: German is represented as a commodity in such domains as a professional career in Germany, in dealing with bilateral business relations, and to some extent in building a professional career in one’s home country and upholding cultural relations.

The Impact of Mobile Gadget in EFL Learning: Perceptions of EFL Undergraduates

2018 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Imam - Fauzi
Keyword(s):  
Self Report ◽  
Fourth Generation ◽  
Learning Activity ◽  
Advanced Country ◽  
Innovative Methods ◽  
Phone Calls ◽  
Teachers And Students ◽  
Efl Students ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Efl Learning

AbstractMost of young people are enthusiasticin having the most recent mobile gadgets just to boast among their peers. They likely utilize them to make phone calls, take pictures, listen to songs, watch videos, or surf the internet access for learning or just entertainment. In a technologically advanced country like Indonesia, the third and fourth generation (3G, 4G) mobile devices are available at affordable prices, and people of all streams find it necessary to own a mobile gadget for connecting and communicating.  Moreover, it has become a common trend among undergraduates to carry a mobile gadget to the classroom as well.In this paper, the researcher emphasize the potential of mobile gadgets as a learning tool for students and have incorporated them into the learning environment.The present study examines the application of mobile gadgetin EFL learning and investigates the perceptions of EFL students about mobile gadget in learning activity.  A field study was conducted on thirty undergraduatestudents majoring in accounting study Serang Raya University.  The methodology of data collection included a self-report for students and teachers’ and students’ questionnaire. Findings of the research are significant for EFL teachers and researchers for introducing innovative methods and helpful materials for the English classroom.Keywords: Mobile gadget, students’ perception, teachers’ perception..

scholarly journals Enacting alternatives to nationalist essentialising in language learning: Students’ voices

2021 ◽  
pp. 001458582098650
Author(s):  
Gloria De Vincenti ◽  
Angela Giovanangeli
Keyword(s):  
Language Learning ◽  
Critical Discourse Analysis ◽  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
Social Contexts ◽  
Critical Discourse ◽  
Innovative Teaching ◽  
Language And Culture ◽  
Theoretical Approaches ◽  
Alternative Approaches

Researchers examining nationalistic conceptions of language learning argue that nationalist essentialism often shapes the way languages are taught by educators and understood by learners. While numerous studies focus on how frameworks informed by Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA) and intercultural education offer alternative approaches to national stereotyping, these studies tend to focus on theoretical approaches, teacher perspectives or innovative teaching and learning resources. The literature to date, however, does not provide case studies on student responses to activities designed by the teacher to open up the classroom with opportunities that move beyond essentialist representations. This article responds to the need for such scholarship and presents a case study involving a focus group with tertiary students in an Italian language and culture subject. It reveals some of the ways in which students enacted and reflected upon alternatives to nationalist essentialising as a result of language learning activities that had been informed by the discursive processes of CDA. The findings suggest that students demonstrated skills and attitudes such as curiosity, subjectivities and connections with broader social contexts. Some of the data also indicates student engagement in critical inquiry and their potential for social agency.

Person reference and recognition in shift handovers: An analysis of interactions between Japanese and international care workers

Multilingua ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 0 (0) ◽  
Author(s):  
Junko Mori ◽  
Chiharu Shima
Keyword(s):  
Language Learning ◽  
Conversation Analysis ◽  
Common Ground ◽  
Healthcare Facility ◽  
Learning Activity ◽  
Professional Activity ◽  
Dual Purpose ◽  
Care Workers ◽  
Person Reference ◽  
Central Mode

AbstractThe current study examines how Japanese and international care workers at a geriatric healthcare facility in Japan manage one of the most fundamental elements of handover interactions – person reference and recognition to identify a particular care receiver and discuss their specific conditions and needs. By using Conversation analysis (CA) as a central mode of inquiry, this study examines how the participants approach the establishment of referential common ground while simultaneously attending to the progressivity of ongoing activity, and how written records on care receivers are incorporated into the process. The juxtaposition of three international care workers’ performances effectively illustrates how the international care workers’ performative competence is co-constructed with their Japanese colleagues in this interactive process and how the participants exhibit different kinds of orientations towards the activity arranged for the dual purpose of actual handover and for the international care workers’ language learning and socialization. As a contribution to a growing body of CA studies of second language talk at work, this study considers possible tensions between engaging in a language-learning activity regarding specific linguistic elements during a particular professional activity and learning to become a competent actor in the particular activity.

scholarly journals Identity, language learning, and social change

2011 ◽  
Vol 44 (4) ◽  
pp. 412-446 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bonny Norton ◽  
Kelleen Toohey
Keyword(s):  
Social Change ◽  
Language Learning ◽  
Language Learners ◽  
Digital Technologies ◽  
Review Article ◽  
Gender And Sexuality ◽  
Imagined Communities ◽  
Learning And Teaching ◽  
Language Identity ◽  
The World

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 positioning and explain sociocultural theories of language learning. We then discuss constructs ofinvestmentandimagined communities/imagined identities(Norton Peirce 1995; Norton 1997, 2000, 2001), showing how these have been used by diverse identity researchers. Illustrative examples of studies that investigate how identity categories like race, gender, and sexuality interact with language learning are discussed. Common qualitative research methods used in studies of identity and language learning are presented, and we review the research on identity and language teaching in different regions of the world. We examine how digital technologies may be affecting language learners' identities, and how learner resistance impacts language learning. Recent critiques of research on identity and language learning are explored, and we consider directions for research in an era of increasing globalization. We anticipate that the identities and investments of language learners, as well as their teachers, will continue to generate exciting and innovative research in the future.

Multimodal discourse analysis in the blended teaching of college English flipped class

2021 ◽  
pp. 002072092110042
Author(s):  
Qiang Dou
Keyword(s):  
Discourse Analysis ◽  
Curriculum Reform ◽  
English Language ◽  
Wearable Technology ◽  
Multimodal Literacy ◽  
College English ◽  
New Era ◽  
English Teaching ◽  
Multimodal Discourse ◽  
Teachers And Students

With the development of the new curriculum reform in China, the traditional college English teaching model is no longer suitable for the needs of college English teaching tasks in the new era. The multimodal literacy teaching in the college English multimodal teaching mode is to help students internalize their English language skills after learning and understanding English knowledge, thus improving the efficiency of English learning. The hot spots and topics in the information age are always inseparable from technological innovation. Wearable technology is becoming more and more popular, the scope of research is expanding, and innovations are constantly emerging, showing interdisciplinary and integrated features. This paper introduces the wearable technology in detail, and takes the college English teaching as an opportunity. Through the questionnaire survey of teachers and students, this paper analyzes the survey data. The results of the survey show that wearable technology can stimulate academic interest in college English. This research attempts to conduct interdisciplinary research on multi-modal semiotics and humanistic teaching methods in the following areas, which expands the scope of research and, to a certain extent, enhances the vitality of multi-modal discourse analysis.

Government Discourses on Entrepreneurship: Issues of Legitimization, Subjugation, and Power

2005 ◽  
Vol 29 (2) ◽  
pp. 173-184 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lew Perren ◽  
Peter L. Jennings
Keyword(s):  
Critical Discourse Analysis ◽  
Critical Discourse ◽  
Government Policies ◽  
Government Power ◽  
The World ◽  
New Business ◽  
Government Involvement ◽  
Market Driven ◽  
Government Websites ◽  
The Impact

The belief in market–driven ideology and the assumption that new business ventures create jobs and foster innovation has embedded entrepreneurship into political discourse. Academics have analyzed government policies on entrepreneurship, but they have tended to share the same underlying beliefs in the function of entrepreneurs within the economic machine. This article explores selected dimensions of the impact of those beliefs by using critical discourse analysis to show how government websites around the world portray entrepreneurs and their role in society. Discourses of government power and self–legitimization are revealed that manifest themselves in a colonizing discourse of entrepreneurial subjugation. The article concludes by challenging government rhetoric on entrepreneurship and questioning the motives underpinning the agenda of government involvement in supporting entrepreneurs.

Anxiety in reading and listening English as a foreign language in Chinese undergraduate students

2017 ◽  
Vol 22 (6) ◽  
pp. 719-738 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bonnie Wing-Yin Chow ◽  
Hey Tou Chiu ◽  
Simpson W. L. Wong
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Language ◽  
Language Learning ◽  
Learning Strategies ◽  
Undergraduate Students ◽  
Learning Motivation ◽  
Behavioral Correlates ◽  
Listening Anxiety ◽  
Mediation Analyses ◽  
Chinese Undergraduates ◽  
Efl Learning

This study tested relationships between foreign language (FL) reading and listening anxiety and learner variables in English as a foreign language (EFL). It tested links between foreign language anxiety (FLA) and its cognitive, affective and behavioral correlates in English (i.e. language learning strategies, learning motivation, and performance). Three-hundred-and-six Chinese undergraduates learning EFL were administered the measures via a questionnaire. Regression analyses indicated that EFL performance and EFL motivation were key factors that uniquely predicted EFL reading and listening anxiety. However, the role of EFL learning strategies was not significant after the effects of EFL performance and EFL motivation were controlled for. Despite this, mediation analyses revealed that EFL learning strategies had a significant indirect effect on EFL reading performance and listening anxiety levels with EFL learning motivation as a mediator. This suggests its secondary role in affecting FL anxieties. These findings provide important implications regarding assessment of students’ FL anxiety level as well as identification of and intervention for those with FL difficulties. These findings have extended past studies by highlighting the relative importance of these cognitive, affective and behavioral correlates on Chinese undergraduates’ EFL anxiety in specific domains.

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