An Empirical Contribution to the Identification of Second Language Skills

1979 ◽  
Vol 9 (1-2) ◽  
pp. 9-15
Author(s):  
J.C. Chamberlain
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Language Skills ◽  
First Language ◽  
Language Ability ◽  
Department Of Education ◽  
First Year ◽  
Language Abilities ◽  
First Year Students ◽  
Training Schools ◽  
The Common

Two mutually exclusive hypotheses about the nature of second language skills are investigated. Hypothesis 1 (H1) states that second language skill is separable into components related to linguistically defined categories. Hypothesis 2 (H2) is that second language ability is mainly a unitary factor so that once the common variance on a variety of language tasks is explained, essentially no meaningful unique variance attributable to separate components will remain. Previous studies suggest greater support for H2. However, studies of first language abilities favour H1. Data from 547 first-year students at teacher training schools of the Department of Education and Training do not give unambiguous support to either hypothesis. The results suggest that the differentiation of second language ability into separately identifiable skills is related to the level of proficiency attained. The higher level of proficiency results in greater differentiation of separate language skills. Results are regarded as suggestive of further research, but in no way definitive.

scholarly journals Error Analysis of Students Essays: A Case of First Year Students of the University of Health and Allied Sciences

2017 ◽  
Vol 6 (4) ◽  
pp. 54
Author(s):  
Benjamin Amoakohene
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Error Analysis ◽  
Language Learning ◽  
Academic Writing ◽  
First Year ◽  
First Year Students ◽  
Communicative Skills ◽  
Daunting Task ◽  
Integral Role ◽  
The University

Writing is considered as a daunting task in second language learning. It is argued by most scholars that this challenge is not only limited to second language speakers of English but even to those who speak English as their first language. Thus, the ability to communicate effectively in English by both native and non-native speakers requires intensive and specialized instruction. Due to the integral role that writing plays in students’ academic life, academic literacy has garnered considerable attention in several English-medium universities in which Ghanaian universities are no exception. It is therefore surprising that prominence is not given to Academic Writing and Communicative Skills at the University of Health and Allied Sciences (UHAS). In this paper, I argue for much time and space to be given to Academic Writing and Communicative Skills, a programme that seeks to train students to acquire the needed skills and competence in English for their academic and professional development. This argument is based on the findings that came out after I explored the errors in a corpus of 50 essays written by first year students of  UHAS. The findings revealed that after going through the Communicative Skills programme for two semesters, students still have serious challenges of writing error-free texts. Out of the 50 scripts that were analyzed, 1,050 errors were detected. The study further revealed that 584 (55.6%) of these errors were related to grammatical errors, 442 (42.1%) were mechanical errors and 24 (2.3%) of the errors detected were linked to the poor structuring of  sentences. Based on these findings, recommendations and implications which are significant to educators, policy makers and curriculum developers are provided. This study has implications for pedagogy and further research in error analysis. 

scholarly journals Research on the Role of Situational Teaching in Second Language Teaching

2019 ◽  
Vol 3 (2) ◽  
pp. 59
Author(s):  
Lijuan Gao
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Teaching Method ◽  
Language Teaching ◽  
Language Skills ◽  
Colleges And Universities ◽  
Language Ability ◽  
Second Language Teaching ◽  
The Times ◽  
Different Levels

<p>With the development of society and the progress of the times, it is very important for people to master a second language. Nowadays, the development of our country is becoming more and more international. Under such an environment, the application of second language is becoming more and more popular. At present, various colleges and universities have listed second language as a compulsory course, mainly to attract students' attention. In the process of second language teaching, in order to effectively enhance students' language skills and promote the teaching results of second language, the author believes that language teaching and situational teaching should be fully combined to effectively enhance students' second language ability. On this basis, the application of situational teaching method in second language teaching is discussed and analyzed in details from different levels.</p>

scholarly journals ARE COMMUNICATION STRATEGIES FREQUENTLY USED IN SPEAKING CLASS?

2014 ◽  
Vol 2 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Agung Wicaksono
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Communication Strategies ◽  
Communication Strategy ◽  
First Year ◽  
English Department ◽  
First Year Students ◽  
Systematic Technique ◽  
English Class ◽  
The Right

<p>Communication strategy is the way to help the speakers when facing difficulties in communication using English as a second language. This case study, at the first year students of English Department, aims to know the most frequent students’ strategies to communicate in speaking activity in speaking class. It is  found that thirteen communication strategies were used by the students in speaking English class, but not all of the communication strategies were used in every conversation, but only certain communication strategy was used. It depends on  the materials difficulties. Furhermore, the most frequent  communication strategies is stalling or time gaining strategy. As they need some time to think and then continue talking after they find the right words they need to communicate. This findings is in line with the propossed theory stated that communication strategy is defined as a systematic technique employed by a speaker to express his or her meaning when facing certain difficulties in communication.</p>

scholarly journals Investigating Cohesion and Coherence Discourse Strategies of Chinese Students with Varied Lengths of Residence in Canada

2012 ◽  
Vol 29 ◽  
pp. 157 ◽  
Author(s):  
Krista Leo
Keyword(s):  
Academic Writing ◽  
First Language ◽  
Chinese Students ◽  
Discourse Markers ◽  
Generation 1.5 ◽  
First Year ◽  
Writing Proficiency ◽  
First Year Students ◽  
Cohesive Devices ◽  
Discourse Strategies

This study examines how three age-on-arrival (AOA) groups of Chinese-background ESL students use two types of cohesive devices on a standardized essay exam. A discourse analysis of 90 first-year students’ expository writing samples was conducted to ascertain how factors such as first language (L1) and length of residence (LOR) in Canada influence a student’s ability to create cohesive and coherent writing. The study uses both quantitative and qualitative methods to explore how Canadian-born Chinese (CBC) students use lexical and referential discourse markers. Twelve essay features of this group of Generation 1.5 students are compared with those of two other cohorts of Chinese students with a shorter LOR. Key writing variables that measure academic writing proficiency were quantitatively analyzed to compare the expository writings of the CBC cohort with those of the later AOAs. Results indicate that synonymy and content words distinguish the writings of the CBC students from those of their later-arriving peers. A qualitative analysis of one CBC essay reveals that a more flexible and contextualized approach to evaluating writing by longterm Generation 1.5 students is required to acknowledge fully the productive lexical and discoursal strengths of these students.

scholarly journals Syntactical interference of Katigan language to Indonesian language in SMP Negeri 1 at Katingan Tengah regency at Central Kalimantan

2017 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
pp. 82
Author(s):  
Irni Cahyani ◽  
Lili Agustina
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Second Language Acquisition ◽  
Language Learning ◽  
Language Learners ◽  
Language Contact ◽  
Second Language Learners ◽  
Language Skills ◽  
First Language ◽  
Foreign Language Learners ◽  
Word Change

Syntactical interference of Language of Katingan to Indonesian in Katingan Tengah School at Katingan Tengah regency has been a focus of some language research recently. The research was aimed at recognizing and identifying interference in second language acquisition. The term interference refers to two different linguistic phenomena, namely psychological interference and sociolinguistic interference. Psychological interference refers to the influence of old habits as a result of learning something against something being studied[1]. While sociolinguistic interference refers to the interaction of the language, such as loan or word change. Factors that cause interference is the factor of contact language and language skills. Interference is caused by language contact factors in bilingual societies and an unsteady language mastery factor in second language learners or foreign language learners [2]. This is in accordance with the teacher's opinion that there are still errors in the language, whether it's talking and writing activities. That's what makes researchers interested in doing this. Based on the above problems, it  can be identified some points, namely the influence of the first language habit of Katingan in using a second language, Indonesian language, language skills that have not been steady in the second language learning and errors in the language, because of the influence of the first language. The result of research on the syntactic interference aspects of Katingan language to Indonesian language was found in two types of syntactic interference which was contained in oral and written language of students of SMPN 1 Katingan Tengah, such as: (1) Interference phrase to Indonesian language and (2) Interference sentence to Indonesian language.

scholarly journals DIFFERENCES IN LANGUAGE SKILLS FIRST GRADE STUDENTS IN RELATION TO THE LENGTH OF ATTENDING KINDERGARTEN

2016 ◽  
Vol 6 (2) ◽  
pp. 8-14
Author(s):  
Leila Begić ◽  
◽  
Mirela Duranovića ◽  
Karagić Samrab ◽  
◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Elementary Schools ◽  
Bosnia And Herzegovina ◽  
Language Skills ◽  
First Grade ◽  
First Year ◽  
First Year Students ◽  
Linguistic Development ◽  
School Year ◽  
Development Period ◽  
Significant Difference

Aim of this research was to examine differences in linguistic abilities of first year students in elementary schools depending on time spent in kindergarten. In research, sample of surveyed students consisted of 190 first year students in elementary schools, both genders and ages between 72 and 89 months. The research was conducted in elementary schools on the territory of municipality Maglaj in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Results of this research have shown that during the evaluation of differences in linguistic abilities of first year students in elementary schools depending on time spent in kindergarten, there is statistically significant difference in grammatical variable that describes morphological completion. Children that attended kindergarten more than three school years, showed statistically better results with recognition abilities, understanding and usage of common morphological forms of Bosnian language, compared to children who attended kindergarten only for legally obliging preschool time (minimal 150 hours during one school year). We have to point out that respondents who attended kindergarten more than three school years showed better results in almost every variable that describes linguistic abilities but obtained difference did not appear as statistically significant. Professionals who deal with education and rehabilitation of children in development period should educate and stimulate parents to enroll their children in kindergarten in order to stimulate their speaking - linguistic development and other areas that children are developing in.

scholarly journals Impact of mother tongue on construction of notes and first-year academic performance

2016 ◽  
Vol Volume 112 (Number 11/12) ◽  
Author(s):  
Shalini Dukhan ◽  
Ann Cameron ◽  
Elisabeth Brenner ◽  
◽  
◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Academic Performance ◽  
Second Language ◽  
Critical Thinking ◽  
Academic Success ◽  
Mother Tongue ◽  
First Language ◽  
First Year ◽  
Language Students ◽  
The University

Abstract The purpose of this study was to identify whether there are any differences in the quality of the notes constructed in English between students for whom English is a first language and those for whom it is a second language. Subsequently we assessed whether this difference, if any, affected their grades. Unsurprisingly, the first-language students produced better structured and more detailed notes; they also performed better academically than their second-language peers. However, when students were provided with training that focused on using writing as a means to promote critical thinking, there was an improvement in the personalisation of their notes. The improvement in grades was significant for second-language students. Thus the university has a pivotal role to play in preparing students for academic success by providing them with supportive measures to aid their transition into first year.

Language competencies of future teachers – Design and results of an empirical study

2014 ◽  
Vol 5 (2) ◽  
pp. 401-423
Author(s):  
Dirk Scholten-Akoun ◽  
Anna Mashkovskaya ◽  
Daniel Tischmeyer
Keyword(s):  
Training Programs ◽  
Language Skills ◽  
Measuring Method ◽  
First Year ◽  
Future Teachers ◽  
First Year Students ◽  
Testing Tools ◽  
Teacher Training Programs ◽  
First Results ◽  
Language Competencies

AbstractThis article introduces a measuring method, with which linguistic deficits of first-year students can be recognized. Many problems which lead to extended study times, to difficulties or even to giving up studies are linguistically induced. The testing tools introduced here focus on the (written) language skills of first-years students of degree programs for future teachers. The aim is to precisely identify linguistic deficits and to subsequently develop and offer training programs alongside studies.In the first test-stage modified C-tests are used to allow a general assessment of students' academic language skills. In the second stage the students have to deal with a writing task on an educational topic, which forms the basis for describing the students' linguistic deficits in qualitative terms. This study is based on the test data of 2891 students in teacher-training programs from three different universities in North Rhine-Westphalia and provides first results, especially with regard to a differentiated comparison of the language skills of students with and without migration background.

scholarly journals GOOD LANGUAGE LEARNERS AND THEIR STRATEGIES: AN INSIGHT

2017 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Kumaresen Mahalingam ◽  
Melor Md. Yunus
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Language Learning ◽  
Learning Strategies ◽  
Language Learners ◽  
Second Language Learning ◽  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
English Language ◽  
Language Skills ◽  
Language Ability ◽  
Language Learning Strategies

The Malaysian Education Blueprint is aimed to ensure every child is proficient in English Language besides Bahasa Malaysia. Thus the English Language syllabus is geared to mould learners to become successful language learners. However, not all learners are capable of being successful language learners despite years of schooling. Therefore, this study aims to investigate language learning strategies used by good language learners in learning English as their second language. To achieve the aim of the study, a questionnaire was used to collect the quantitative data. 30 pupils with good language ability from a rural primary school in Sabah were selected to participate in this study. The findings of the study indicated that different language learners prefer different learning strategies to improve their second language learning.  The learning strategies also vary based on the language skills they are learning. The findings of the study are hoped to provide significant impact to the pupils, teachers and curriculum planners to integrate language learning strategies in teaching and learning to assist successful language learning.

scholarly journals Second Language Writing Tasks: The Gains of the Cognitive-Mentalist Error Analysis in Essay Writings

2019 ◽  
Vol 7 (2) ◽  
pp. 135
Author(s):  
Dr. Akinwamide Timothy Kolade
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Second Language Writing ◽  
Mother Tongue ◽  
Language Skills ◽  
First Language ◽  
Cognitive Activity ◽  
Sentence Structure ◽  
Sequential Order ◽  
Language Writing ◽  
Written Form

<p><em>Writing is a skill, which demands that students plan and organize their imagination clearly and in sequential order to fulfill the essence of writing which is </em><em>communicative</em><em>. Teaching the writing skill is more difficult than teaching and practicing other language skills because of its generative tendency. It is an extremely complex cognitive activity in which the writer is required to demonstrate the control of a number of variables simultaneously and intelligently to achieve the communicative goal. By implication, it means the writer must plan the content, format, sentence structure, vocabulary, punctuation, spelling and formation of ideas. Successful writing is an end product of intelligent reasoning and good planning. </em></p><p><em>It is from the complexity platform above that one can rightly view the audrous task of students of English as a Second Language (ESL) extraction. The interference from the First Language (FL) or Mother Tongue (MT) is inevitable at this trying stage. Interaction goes on globally and there is the need to be able to interact verbally and in the written form acceptably. The approach offers in the Cognitive Mentalist submission is the focus of this paper. The students are expected to express their views, imagination, experience and observations freely unmindful of errors. This approach is primarily expressive and laden with errors of the writers. The searchlight is therefore beamed on how the analysis of errors committed can be of benefits to both the ESL learner and teacher.</em></p>

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