scholarly journals PRAGMATICS: WHY USE AUDIOVISUAL INPUT IN SECOND AND FOREIGN LANGUAGE LEARNING CONTEXTS?

2020 ◽  
Vol 4 (3) ◽  
pp. 161-178
Author(s):  
Manuel Rodríguez Peñarroja

The teaching and acquisition of pragmatics in second and foreign language learning contexts has been traditionally reduced to coursebooks’ decontextualized dialogue samples and static images with almost no effects on learners’ communicative competence. This paper outlines rationale on the teaching of pragmatics since it has become of essential importance as specified in different language proficiency paradigms i.e. the CEFR. Thus, attention is centered on the use of audiovisual materials as a rich input source used for that aim. With this in mind, a review of studies appraising for the validity of language used in audiovisual genres is provided. In addition, an overview of its applicability and effects as a part of the general education curricula and in second and foreign language instruction is presented. Results from the studies reviewed reported overall advantageous outcomes when using this type of input for different instructional aims and more specifically with pragmatics’ acquisition purposes.

2020 ◽  
Vol 88 ◽  
pp. 02005
Author(s):  
Anna Melkonyan ◽  
Armine Matevosyan

The article goes along the lines of language learning in the digital age. Technology and the advancement of digital media not only have the potential to change the way we learn languages, but also the way foreign language teachers learn to teach. Managing learning platforms, using learning software and educational apps effectively, designing complex web–based tasks are just a few examples of digital media use in the foreign language instruction of today’s schools. The article aims at showing of what types of skills and knowledge language teachers need to become digitally literate. Also we will focus on some challenges that an educator faces while teaching foreign language in the digital age.


2018 ◽  
Vol 2 (02) ◽  
pp. 123
Author(s):  
Basori Basori

<p align="center"><strong>ABSTRACT</strong>. Blended learning is gaining popularity as an effective method to deliver courses. Foreign language instruction is adopting opportunities to apply blended learning. This paper looks at the essence of blended learning and foreign language instruction by defining those two terms. The literature has clearly unveiled the principles of each learning method that constitutes foreign language delivered via blended learning. It leads to major elements that need to be considered when designing blended foreign language instruction. Sufficient input, adequate interaction, plenty of feedback, and meaningful tasks are major components of building blended foreign language courses. Some recent studies have successfully implemented those principles in designing blended learning foreign language instruction; however, the studies also disclose some challenges. </p><p> </p><p><strong>Keywords:</strong> Blended learning, foreign language learning, foreign language instructions  </p><p> </p><div class="WordSection1"><p align="center"><strong>ABSTRAK</strong></p><p> </p><p><em>Blended learning</em> semakin populer sebagai metode yang efektif dalam kegiatan pengajaran. Metode ini juga diterapkan dalam pengajaran bahasa asing. Artikel ini membahas esensi <em>blended learning</em> dan pengajaran bahasa asing dengan mendefinisikan kedua istilah tersebut. Telah banyak studi literatur yang membahas dan mendiskusikan tentang prinsip-prinsip metode pembelajaran bahasa asing yang disampaikan melalui <em>blended learning</em>. Ini mengarah pada elemen-elemen inti yang perlu dipertimbangkan dalam merancang pengajaran bahasa asing yang disampaikan melalui <em>blended learning</em>. Input yang cukup, interaksi yang memadai, adanya umpan balik yang memadai, dan tugas yang bermakna adalah komponen-komponen utama yang perlu diperhatikan dalam pengajaran bahasa asing yang menerapkan <em>blended learning</em>. Beberapa studi terbaru telah berhasil menerapkan prinsip-prinsip tersebut dalam merancang pembelajaran bahasa asing yang menerapkan <em>blended learning</em>. Di sisi yang lain, artikel ini juga memaparkan beberapa tantangan pengajaran bahasa asing yang menerapkan metode <em>blended learning</em>.</p><p> </p><p><strong>Kata kunci</strong>: <em>blended learning</em>, pembelajaran bahasa asing, pengajaran bahasa asing</p></div><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p>


2021 ◽  
pp. 136216882110450
Author(s):  
Eva Olsson

Although research on content and language integrated learning (CLIL) has shown that CLIL instruction may enhance students’ second or foreign language learning compared to regular foreign language instruction, there are also studies that have indicated similar language development between CLIL and non-CLIL students. However, CLIL can be organized and implemented in many different ways and thus, it is necessary to identify the specific features of various CLIL contexts when comparing learning outcomes. In this study, CLIL implementation at three Swedish upper secondary schools was explored and compared. Further, students’ development of second language (L2) English productive academic vocabulary was compared over three years between CLIL groups at different schools as well as between CLIL and non-CLIL groups ( n = 230), using corpus-based methods. The results revealed significant differences in the progression of L2 academic vocabulary between CLIL groups that may be attributed to substantial differences in CLIL implementation, e.g. with regard to the time allotted for CLIL, teacher availability and the balance between first language (L1) and L2. At the school where the CLIL group’s L2 productive academic vocabulary progressed more than in other groups, both Swedish and English were languages of instruction, increasing the proportion of English over the three years; in the third year, English dominated as the language of instruction. The results indicated similar development of L2 academic vocabulary between CLIL and non-CLIL groups when CLIL implementation was very limited in scale and scope. Further, the results showed that apart from vocabulary, CLIL teachers of non-language subjects generally paid very little attention to other aspects of language.


2020 ◽  
Vol 66 (1) ◽  
pp. 72-83
Author(s):  
Biljana Radić-Bojanić

The focus of this paper is one of the methods of foreign language learning called Total Physical Response, which falls in line with neurolinguistic principles and naturalness of language acquisition. In the paper we identify the neurolinguistic background on which this method of foreign language instruction rests, namely we discuss how the acquisition of the mother tongue is mirrored in Total Physical Response – the teacher uses imperatives and body movements, which students then imitate, just like children observe their parents speaking and doing things. Furthermore, we discuss the role of left and right hemispheres of the brain in Total Physical Response and how this method develops and emphasizes the creative, physical side of language acquisition thus avoiding simultaneous reception and production. In addition, we also try to present some of the principles that teachers rely on in the teaching process and types of the TPR method in the classroom, depending on the materials used. Finally, we attempt to identify certain drawbacks of this method, which essentially present its limitations.


2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (2) ◽  
pp. 781
Author(s):  
Maria-Anca Maican ◽  
Elena Cocoradă

During the COVID-19 pandemic, the online learning of foreign languages at higher education level has represented a way to adapt to the restrictions imposed worldwide. The aim of the present article is to analyse university students’ behaviours, emotions and perceptions associated to online foreign language learning during the pandemic and their correlates by using a mixed approach. The research used the Foreign Language Enjoyment (FLE) scale and tools developed by the authors, focusing on task value, self-perceived foreign language proficiency, stressors and responses in online foreign language learning during the pandemic. Some of the results, such as the negative association between anxiety and FLE, are consistent with those revealed in studies conducted in normal times. Other results are novel, such as the protective role of retrospective enjoyment in trying times or the higher level of enjoyment with lower-achieving students. Reference is made to students’ preferences for certain online resources during the pandemic (e.g., preference for PowerPoint presentations) and to their opinions regarding the use of entirely or partially online foreign language teaching in the post-COVID period. The quantitative results are fostered by the respondents’ voices in the qualitative research. The consequences of these results are discussed with respect to the teacher-student relationship in the online environment and to the implications for sustainable online foreign language learning.


2011 ◽  
Vol 44 (2) ◽  
pp. 181-211 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christiane Dalton-Puffer ◽  
Renate Faistauer ◽  
Eva Vetter

This overview of six years of research on language learning and teaching in Austria covers a period of dynamic development in the field. While all the studies reviewed here illustrate research driven by a combination of local and global concerns and theoretical frameworks, some specific clusters of research interest emerge. The first of these focuses on issues connected with multilingualism in present-day society in terms of language policy, theory development and, importantly, the critical scrutiny of dominant discursive practices in connection with minority and migrant languages. In combination with this focus, there is a concern with German as a second or foreign language in a number of contexts. A second cluster concerns the area of language testing and assessment, which has gained political import due to changes in national education policy and the introduction of standardized tests. Finally, a third cluster of research concerns the diverse types of specialized language instruction, including the introduction of foreign language instruction from age six onwards, the rise of academic writing instruction, English-medium education and, as a final more general issue, the role of English as a dominant language in the canon of all foreign and second languages in Austria.


1979 ◽  
Vol 1 (2) ◽  
pp. 91-115 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. A. Sharwood Smith

It has become increasingly evident in recent years that what is by convention termed ‘applied linguistics’, in that it has to do with foreign language learning and instruction, should be as much applied PSYCHOLOGY as applied linguistics to say nothing of other possible types of application. Still, it is by no means unfortunate that linguistics has established itself as the primary discipline since it is, after all, LANGUAGE that is being taught and learned. It is admittedly symptomatic of this, dare one say, historical bias in applied linguistics that a good theory of language applied with a minimal knowledge of psychological theory (plus, one hopes a large amount of common sense) is probably more generally regarded as acceptable than a way of working based on a sound knowledge of psychology and only a brief acquaintance with linguistics. However it would be extremely unwise to presume that by applying just linguistics to problems of second language instruction or learning one had all that one needed as far as sources (content and techniques) are concerned. This would be to ignore all past and present theorising and experimentation within the field of instructional and learning psychology. The bias needs to be corrected.


2012 ◽  
Vol 2012 ◽  
pp. 1-10 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hossein Bozorgian

Current English-as-a-second and foreign-language (ESL/EFL) research has encouraged to treat each communicative macroskill separately due to space constraint, but the interrelationship among these skills (listening, speaking, reading, and writing) is not paid due attention. This study attempts to examine first the existing relationship among the four dominant skills, second the potential impact of reading background on the overall language proficiency, and finally the relationship between listening and overall language proficiency as listening is considered an overlooked/passive skill in the pedagogy of the second/foreign language classroom. However, the literature in language learning has revealed that listening skill has salient importance in both first and second language learning. The purpose of this study is to investigate the role of each of four skills in EFL learning and their existing interrelationships in an EFL setting. The outcome of 701 Iranian applicants undertaking International English Language Testing System (IELTS) in Tehran demonstrates that all communicative macroskills have varied correlations from moderate (reading and writing) to high (listening and reading). The findings also show that the applicants’ reading history assisted them in better performing at high stakes tests, and what is more, listening skill was strongly correlated with the overall language proficiency.


2014 ◽  
Vol 3 (1) ◽  
pp. 85-111 ◽  
Author(s):  
Franziska Lys ◽  
Alison May ◽  
Jeanne Ravid

Abstract In order to enhance mobility, competitiveness, and opportunities for work, the European Union lists the ability to communicate in a foreign language and to understand another culture as an important objective in their language education policy. Knowledge of a foreign language is also an important objective for many American universities, which require students to study a foreign language as a prerequisite to graduate. Students with documented disabilities affecting the learning of a foreign language or students with poor foreign language learning skills, therefore, pose a significant challenge, since a foreign language requirement may prevent such students from graduating unless universities are willing to make special arrangements such as having students graduate without fulfilling the requirement or letting them take substitution classes. The question of what to do with such students is at the heart of this article. It describes how one mid-sized private university with a two-year language proficiency requirement has approached the problem to ensure that policies are implemented fairly. Rather than pulling students out of the foreign language classroom, the university succeeded in keeping students engaged with foreign language study through advising and mentoring across departments


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