Beyond the monolingual habitus in game-based language learning: The MElang-E and EU·DO·IT projects in the interstices between linguistics, pedagogy and technology

2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
pp. 67-83 ◽  
Author(s):  
Judith Buendgens-Kosten ◽  
Viviane Lohe ◽  
Daniela Elsner
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Language ◽  
Language Learning ◽  
Target Language ◽  
Preliminary Survey ◽  
Online Game ◽  
Intercultural Learning ◽  
Learning Games ◽  
Learning Game ◽  
Pedagogic Practices ◽  
Do So

Mirroring prevailing monolingual ideologies in foreign language pedagogic practices, the majority of language learning games reflect a monolingual perspective on language and language learning. This article attempts to delineate alternatives to this monolingual habitus in game-based language learning (GBLL). In order to do so, it introduces two Erasmus+ projects that set out to develop multilingual language learning games which go beyond vocabulary drills or match-the-translation activities by encompassing a plurilingual perspective on languages and language learning: MElang-E (Multilingual Exploration of Languages in Europe) and EU·DO·IT (European Digital Online-Game for Intercultural Learning and Translanguaging). The authors will discuss how in projects of this type, the need for sociolinguistic realism and the overarching plurilingual pedagogy have to be actively balanced with the expectations, preferences and needs of learners and teachers. Preliminary survey data on stakeholders’ perspectives on such products shows that there is a widespread scepticism regarding the inclusion of some types of non-target language material in a language learning game. Consequences for the design of multilingual games will be drawn.

scholarly journals Friend or foe? First language (L1) in second/foreign language (L2/FL) instruction & Vygotsky

2017 ◽  
Vol 5 (2) ◽  
pp. 25-39
Author(s):  
Liaquat A. Channa ◽  
Daniel Gilhooly ◽  
Charles A. Lynn ◽  
Syed A. Manan ◽  
Niaz Hussain Soomro
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Language ◽  
Language Learning ◽  
Bilingual Education ◽  
Sociocultural Theory ◽  
Review Paper ◽  
First Language ◽  
Language Education ◽  
Target Language

Abstract This theoretical review paper investigates the role of first language (L1) in the mainstream scholarship of second/foreign (L2/FL) language education in the context of language learning, teaching, and bilingual education. The term ‘mainstream’ refers here to the scholarship that is not informed by sociocultural theory in general and Vygotskian sociocultural theory in particular. The paper later explains a Vygotskian perspective on the use of L1 in L2/FL language education and discusses how the perspective may help content teachers in (a) employing L1 in teaching L2/FL content and (b) helping L2/FL students to become self-regulative users of the target language.

scholarly journals Foreign Language Learners’ Attitudes and Perceptions of L1 Use in L2 Classroom

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Maram S. Almohaimeed ◽  
Huda M. Almurshed
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Language ◽  
Language Learning ◽  
Negative Attitude ◽  
Foreign Language Learning ◽  
Target Language ◽  
Advanced Learners ◽  
English Classes ◽  
English Class ◽  
Attitudes And Perceptions ◽  
Preparatory Year

Whether to avoid learners’ first language (L1) or to make use of it in the second language (L2) classes is a controversial issue. Some studies have challenged the effectiveness of the monolingual approach to foreign language learning. This study investigates Saudi university learners’ attitudes and perceptions towards incorporating their L1(Arabic) in English class. This study also sheds light into the relationship between students’ perceptions and proficiency level in the target language. To this end, Gaebler's questionnaire (2014) was administered to 60 female learners studying in the preparatory year at a Saudi university. They were from three different English proficiency levels. The results showed that advanced learners hold a negative attitude towards the use of L1 in their English classes, whereas elementary and intermediate learners generally perceive the judicious use of their L1 positively.

Bringing Cross-Cultural Communication Analysis Into Foreign Language Classrooms

2019 ◽  
pp. 71-97
Author(s):  
Trudy O'Brien
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Language ◽  
Language Learning ◽  
Intercultural Communication ◽  
Learning Experience ◽  
Cross Cultural ◽  
Target Language ◽  
Complex Nature ◽  
Linguistic Features ◽  
Cross Cultural Communication ◽  
Language Classrooms

The teaching of a second or foreign language has always incorporated some aspect of cultural information, but the full and rather complex nature of cross-cultural and intercultural communication has not always been an explicit pedagogical focus. The chapter outlines the key components of cross-cultural and intercultural communication (CCC/ICC), and reviews some major theories that have dominated the area. It is suggested that providing explicit instruction in CCC/ICC to language learners will prepare them for interacting appropriately in the target language in whatever global context they may wish to use it. Learners need to be not only linguistically and pragmatically but culturally competent as well as they move into multicultural contexts of interaction in that language. Specific elements of cross-/intercultural communication with regards to linguistic features and potential points of confusion in the EFL (English-as-a-foreign language) classroom are discussed as accessible examples. The chapter then relates some ways that cross-/intercultural mindfulness and understanding can form an active part of the teaching of a second/foreign language in order to enhance the full language learning experience and subsequent entry to successful communication.

scholarly journals Applied cognitive linguistics and foreign language learning. Introduction to the special issue

2019 ◽  
Vol 57 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-20 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alberto Hijazo-Gascón ◽  
Reyes Llopis-García
Keyword(s):  
Second Language Acquisition ◽  
Foreign Language ◽  
Language Learning ◽  
Cognitive Linguistics ◽  
Foreign Language Learning ◽  
Target Language ◽  
Human Cognition ◽  
Cognitive Grammar ◽  
Special Issue ◽  
Second Languages

Abstract This introduction provides an overview of the intersection between Applied Cognitive Linguistics and Second/Foreign Language Learning. First, the relevance of Cognitive Linguistics (CL) for Applied Linguistics in general is discussed. The second section explains the main principles of CL and how each relates to the acquisition of second languages: (i) language and human cognition, (ii) language as symbolic, (iii) language as motivated; and (iv) language as usage-based. Section three offers a review of previous literature on CL and L2s that are different from English, as it is one the main aims of this Special Issue to provide state-of-the-art research and scholarship to enhance the bigger picture of the field of Second Language Acquisition beyond English as the target language. Spanish as L2/FL in Applied Cognitive Linguistics is the focus of the next section, which leads to a brief overview of the papers included in the Issue, featuring Spanish as the L2 with L1s such as English, French, German and Italian. Polysemy, Motion Events Typology, Cognitive Grammar and Construction Grammar are the Cognitive Linguistics areas addressed in the contributions here presented.

CSCL – a tool to motivate foreign language learners: The Finnish application

ReCALL ◽  
2003 ◽  
Vol 15 (1) ◽  
pp. 51-67 ◽  
Author(s):  
TUIJA LEHTONEN ◽  
SIRPA TUOMAINEN
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Language ◽  
Language Learning ◽  
Learning Community ◽  
Learning Strategies ◽  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
Learning Experience ◽  
Target Language ◽  
Computer Supported Collaborative Learning ◽  
On Line ◽  
Language Students

This article discusses the applications of the theory of Computer Supported Collaborative Learning (CSCL) to teaching and learning a foreign language, in this case, one of the ‘Less Commonly Taught Languages’, Finnish. The ‘Virtually Finnish’ project was based on the idea of creating a larger, virtual Finnish learning community among the second-year Finnish language students in five US universities during the fall semester, 2001. CSCL was chosen as a base, as its principal goal is to aid the learners in sharing and distributing their knowledge to the whole learning community. In addition to discussing the set up and the content of the project, the students’ feedback about their language learning experience in the CSCL-environment will be examined. Furthermore, the conclusions, and the realization of our goals from the perspective of CSCL, as well as the students’ feedback on the collaborative process will be discussed. Based on the knowledge gained from limited feedback, a discussion of tools to aid language students in becoming a part of motivating and authentic collaboration projects on-line will be discussed. Looking at the students’ work on-line, as well as the feedback received, it was realized that certain skills crucial for communication have been neglected in teaching. Furthermore, it was realized that teaching on-line learning strategies in addition to teaching the target language is crucial. Future plans, and ideas for research in the area of CSCL will be shared in anticipation of inspiring others to undertake further research.

scholarly journals A Case Study on Mobile-Blended Collaborative Learning in an English as a Foreign Language (EFL) Context

2017 ◽  
Vol 18 (7) ◽  
Author(s):  
Hulya Avci ◽  
Tufan Adiguzel
Keyword(s):  
Collaborative Learning ◽  
Foreign Language ◽  
Language Learning ◽  
Instant Messaging ◽  
Project Based Learning ◽  
Vocabulary Knowledge ◽  
Target Language ◽  
Project Work ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Positive Effects

As learning a foreign language poses a number of challenges for the students, it has become indispensable to search for “optimal” conditions to enhance opportunities of engaging in the target language. Within this context, the Mobile-Blended Collaborative Learning model has been integrated in and out of the classroom learning in order to enable language learners to practice English by means of collaborative, authentic language activities based on project-based learning approach. The purpose of this study was to explore the effects of using mobile instant messaging application, WhatsApp on the language proficiency of EFL students.  Participants (N = 85) were enrolled in five upper-intermediate prep classes at a foundation university in Istanbul and took part in a seven-week Project Work. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews and focus group discussions, self- and peer evaluations of group work, a rubric for assessing project work, and log files of WhatsApp conversations. Results revealed practicing English in an authentic setting where the students used the target language for a real purpose facilitated their language learning, improved their communication skills and vocabulary knowledge, and made them recognize colloquial English. Additionally, instant messaging in an informal platform for educational purposes had positive effects on their performance and the quality of their work.

Kommunikation und "Kommunikation" im Schulischen Fremdsprachen -Unterricht

1983 ◽  
Vol 16 (2) ◽  
pp. 122-149
Author(s):  
Henning Bolte
Keyword(s):  
Language Development ◽  
Foreign Language ◽  
Language Learning ◽  
Classroom Interaction ◽  
Foreign Language Learning ◽  
Target Language ◽  
Conversational Analysis ◽  
Functional Perspective ◽  
Response Formats ◽  
Teaching Learning

The article deals with the relationship between verbal communication as a teaching objective and as a medium of teaching/learning. This relationship is of special interest for foreign language teaching/ learning aiming at ccmnunicative competence in spoken language. The article enters into the question in which ways teaching/learning ob-jects are constituted in the course of ongoing interaction, how acti-vities with regard to such objects are stimulated and steered, and what kinds of activities are defined by the participants themselves as LEARNING or count for them as such. Psycholinguistic input-(in-take) output models are being argued against, because classroom learning is not simply characterized by ready-made prestructured in-put and predetermined output, but both have first to be constituted through some strategic form of social interaction. Two examples of foreign language learning in the classroom are pre-sented: first of an EFL lesson, where the distortion of target langu-age function potential is demonstrated and the "staged" production of language prof iciency within a pedagogic interaction pattern is shown; and second of a German FL lesson, where a grammatical item is focussed and exercised. The sequence is an example of rigorous reali-zation of the I(nitiation)-R(esponse)-E(valuation) pattern as the ba-sic pattern of sequential organization in the classroom. It clearly shows how LEARNING is defined/executed as standardized response for-mats and "conditioned" chains of I-R-pairs. Many of the performed linguistic deviations(of the target language)seem due to interaction mechanisms rather than to general principles of language development. Conversational analysis of teaching-learning discourse shows that learning is not merely to be considered as a direct conventionalized consequence of ( initiating ) teaching ( acts ). On the one hand the inter-action pattern is merely a framework wherein "inner" mental processes are evoked and organized, which can manifest themselves in various forms. On the other hand there is a strong tendency for the teacher to control the entire learning process and to make expected outcomes collectively significant and thus for the learner a tendency mainly to adjust to prefabricated response formats, which at the same time serve as evidence for didactically intended cognitions. Hence, the stronger the predetermination and imposing of LEARNING by the teach-er, the more learning tends to become a mere guessing game and pure-ly mechanical. The restrictions of traditional classrooms are obvious from these examples: restrictions with regard to the experience of functional potential of the target language and with regard to the embedding of focussed learning-items into a functional perspective. These re-strictions have to be changed in order to enable learners to parti-cipate in problem-constitution, to bring in own perceptions of con-cepts/problems and to bring in own problem-solving strategies as systematic parts of language development and as systematic parts of official classroom discourse, i.e. as objects of active mutual indication and interpretation. Conversational analysis can be an important tool for the study of such "alternative" structuring of classroom interaction and its con-tribution to a more learner-centered and functionally oriented (foreign)language LEARNING.

Interactive Learning Between Chinese Students Learning English and English Students Leaning Chinese on the Platform of Wiki

2011 ◽  
Vol 1 (3) ◽  
pp. 70-85 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dongshuo Wang ◽  
Bin Zou ◽  
Minjie Xing
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Language ◽  
Language Learning ◽  
Interactive Learning ◽  
Chinese Students ◽  
Foreign Language Learning ◽  
Target Language ◽  
Legitimate Peripheral Participation ◽  
Chinese As Foreign Language ◽  
English Students ◽  
Learning English

This research investigates the interaction between English students learning Chinese in the UK and Chinese students learning English in China via a wiki platform. Activity theory and legitimate peripheral participation theory were employed as a theoretical framework; wiki was embedded as an interactive learning tool. The findings revealed that Chinese native speakers assisted English students learning Chinese as foreign language (CFL) by means of reorganizing word orders and restructuring sentence patterns. The usages of clarification and elaboration were more frequent than the usages of added and deleted information. Both CFL and English as foreign language (EFL) students interacted with each other in attending to language forms through the essay correction and revision process, and the interaction consequently enhanced their target language learning. The study suggests that wiki provides a dynamic platform, which encourages further integration into the syllabus to support foreign language learning.

scholarly journals Collaborative tasks and learning occasions in English as a foreign language

2011 ◽  
Vol 11 (4) ◽  
pp. 837-852 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marília dos Santos Lima
Keyword(s):  
Qualitative Research ◽  
Foreign Language ◽  
Language Learning ◽  
Learning Process ◽  
Foreign Language Learning ◽  
Target Language ◽  
Linguistic Knowledge ◽  
Collaborative Dialogue ◽  
Learning English

The study reported here forms part of a program of qualitative research focusing on the use of collaborative tasks in learning English as a foreign language in Brazil. The research examines the concept of collaborative dialogue (SWAIN, 2000), understood as dialogue that constructs linguistic knowledge within a sociocultural view of language learning. The results indicated that the learners reflected upon the target language, tested hypotheses and reformulated their production in order to promote mutual comprehension in the learning process. The results also revealed that the interaction established during the production of the collaborative dialogue stimulated foreign language learning as the students noticed linguistic gaps in the target language, and sought solutions together.

scholarly journals The Impact of a Cultural Research Course Project on Foreign Language Students’ Intercultural Competence and Language Learning

2017 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
pp. 97 ◽  
Author(s):  
Fang Li ◽  
Yingqin Liu
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Language ◽  
Language Learning ◽  
Mandarin Chinese ◽  
Intercultural Competence ◽  
Learning Experience ◽  
Target Language ◽  
Cultural Research ◽  
Language Students ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Foreign Language Students

This study explores whether using a cultural research course project can positively impact foreign language students’ intercultural competence and language learning. Using a case study method, the researchers recruited 12 student participants from an Intermediate Mandarin Chinese I class and from an Introduction to Mandarin Chinese I class in the Fall 2014 semester at a small public southwest university in USA. The project asked the participants to do a PowerPoint oral presentation on special topics from the target language culture and then to write a reflective cultural comparison English essay on this learning experience during the final exam. The findings show that, through doing the project, the students have improved their intercultural competence in that they have a more positive attitude towards “otherness,” enriched their cultural knowledge of the target language society and  that of their own, and obtained skills in critically appreciating and evaluating both similarities and differences  between the target language culture and their own. The students also expanded their language learning experience beyond the classroom and textbook and acquired better language skills in listening, speaking, and writing Chinese characters while they became more interested in and motivated by learning the target language and culture. Recommendations for future study are discussed.

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