scholarly journals Investigating the beliefs of Turkish as a foreign language learners after target-culture integrated language courses

2013 ◽  
Vol 3 (2) ◽  
pp. 25-36 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ömer Koçer
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Language ◽  
Language Learners ◽  
Cultural Awareness ◽  
Language Skills ◽  
Positive Influence ◽  
Foreign Language Learners ◽  
Language Courses ◽  
Target Culture ◽  
Culture And Language

This study was carried out with 15 university students who came from different European countries to Turkey within ERASMUS mobility program, for the purpose of learning Turkish as a Foreign Language in a Turkish University in one month period. It was, then, aimed to determine the participants' beliefs on the Turkish courses which were integrated with target culture. To that end, one open-ended and four close-ended questions were asked to participants at the end of the courses, so as to determine their perceptions related to language skills, cultural awareness, attitude towards target culture, evaluation upon current courses. Within qualitative paradigm, by adopting a case study design, the data which were derived from close-ended questions were digitized in a descriptive manner. The data related to one open-ended question were analyzed by inductive content analysis with QSR NVivo 8 software. As a result, it was revealed that there was a meaningful conceptual similarity between scholars' views and participants' beliefs concerning the effects of culture-integrated language courses on success, cultural awareness, and attitude towards target society. Hence, it can be asserted that culture-integrated language courses have a positive influence on TFL learners' motivation, language skills, cultural awareness, and attitude towards target society. The results of this study are also in parallel with the scholar views which assert the necessity of target culture in foreign language teaching. It can also be mentioned that this study would be a seminal research with regard to those of culture and language in this newly founded discipline which is titled as Turkish as a Foreign Language (TFL).

scholarly journals Teaching Sociolinguistics: A Medium for Cultural Awareness of Indonesian University Foreign Language Learners

Humaniora ◽  
2014 ◽  
Vol 5 (1) ◽  
pp. 192
Author(s):  
Agnes Herawati
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Language ◽  
Language Learners ◽  
Cultural Awareness ◽  
Target Language ◽  
Language Usage ◽  
Research Results ◽  
Foreign Language Learners ◽  
Language Classrooms

This paper tries to show the evidences that indicate how teaching Sociolinguistics can result in a number of valuable outcomes, including helping students understand and appreciate other cultures different from theirs. Sociolinguistics provides useful examples of language usage in different genres, including how culture influences people in using a language. The opportunities of learning other cultures through language will take the students to the higher level of appreciation of the culture of the target language. To determine how this outcome can be achieved in the language classrooms, this paper provides a review of closely connected literature about how to bridge the gap between cultures in particular. However, to increase its completeness and relevance, this paper also provides some research results that reveal how teaching Sociolinguistics has taken its new applicability and importance, and furthermore adds the effects on how students become more proficient and enthusiastic about their learning. 

A COGNITIVE PERSPECTIVE FOR COMPREHENDING PARONYMS

2020 ◽  
pp. 104-110
Author(s):  
L.A. Furs ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Language ◽  
Language Learners ◽  
Cognitive Approach ◽  
Cognitive Perspective ◽  
Foreign Language Learners ◽  
Evaluative Meaning ◽  
Study Support ◽  
The Difference ◽  
The Given

Paronyms as words, derived from the same root, are an intriguing linguistic issue. The purpose of this article is to present a cognitive approach to revealing the difference in their usage so that foreign language learners and teachers, as well as translators can have a practical guide to avoid errors in using paronyms. We investigate Russian paronyms дружеский, дружественный, дружный ‘friendly’ from the cognitive perspective. This involves analysis of deeply embedded conceptual structure which shows the evaluative meaning, profiled by paronyms and evaluated objective features, profiled by nouns which go with the given paronyms. We present an empirical analysis to suggest that these paronyms are not interchangeable. The results of the case study support the proposed approach and show that the comprehension of confusable paronyms can be achieved through understanding cognitive structures which underlie their meaning. The study of conceptual features of both paronyms and nouns, which go with them, offers sufficient ground for comprehending differences in their usage. Another implication is related to practical issues of translation and methods of illustrating the given paronyms to learners of Russian as a foreign language.

scholarly journals Foreign Language Learners’ Anxiety in Language Skills Learning: A Case study at Universitas Kristen Indonesia

2018 ◽  
Vol 4 (3) ◽  
pp. 170
Author(s):  
Hendrikus Male
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Language ◽  
Language Learning ◽  
Language Learners ◽  
Learning Process ◽  
English Education ◽  
Language Skills ◽  
Higher Learning ◽  
Foreign Language Learners ◽  
Skills Learning ◽  
Keywords Anxiety

Anxiety has been a matter of substantial concern in foreign language (FL) learning setting for educators since it is a major obstacle learners need to overcome (Ellis, 2008; Wu, 2010).This study was aimed at finding out students’ language anxiety in learning the four language skills at a university level in English as a FL context. The participants were 71 students of the English education Department of Universitas Kristen Indonesia. Data was collected by administering a set of questionnaire. To support the data, interview was conducted to some of the respondents. Findings showed that the majority of the students were more anxious on writing skill, followed by reading, speaking and listening in their language learning process. It is highly recommended that the teachers or faculties be more creative in making the language skills classes atmosphere more fun and relaxing so that the students could achieve higher learning results. Keywords: anxiety, non-native learners, language learning process

scholarly journals A case study of Readers Theatre in a primary Norwegian EFL class

2016 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Anders Myrset ◽  
Ion Drew
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Language ◽  
Language Learners ◽  
Fairy Tales ◽  
Sixth Grade ◽  
Struggling Learners ◽  
Teacher Interviews ◽  
Foreign Language Learners ◽  
Readers Theatre ◽  
Motivation And Confidence

This article presents research on a case study of the use of Readers Theatre (RT), a group reading aloud activity in which a text is divided into small segments, in a sixth grade English as a Foreign Language (EFL) class in Norway. A mixed ability class of 27 readers, divided into groups of five to six pupils, rehearsed and performed fairy tales adapted for RT. The aims were to find out how the teachers and pupils experienced RT and how it influenced the development of the pupils’ reading, motivation and confidence. Data collection was through two teacher interviews, post-project pupil journals, lesson observations and video recordings of the first rehearsals and performances of three of the groups. Gains were recorded in pupils’ pronunciation, word recognition and fluency, especially among the struggling learners in the class. Gains were also recorded in pupils’ motivation and confidence to read. Both the cognitive and affective gains support research on RT among young learners in first language contexts and add to the sparse research on RT among young foreign language learners.

scholarly journals Developing Students’ Intercultural Competence among Moroccan EFL students: Focus on raising their Cross-cultural Awareness

2020 ◽  
Vol 2 (3) ◽  
pp. 43-56
Author(s):  
Driss Benattabou
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Language ◽  
Intercultural Communication ◽  
Language Learners ◽  
Intercultural Competence ◽  
Cultural Awareness ◽  
Cross Cultural ◽  
Communication Course ◽  
Foreign Language Learners ◽  
Deep Culture ◽  
Efl Students

         The goal of this paper is to consider alternative ways to incorporate an intercultural communication course as an integral part of the curriculum designed for Moroccan learners of EFL. Some aspects of what comes to be dubbed as ‘deep culture’ should find room in the contents of the EFL course so as to alert Moroccan learners about the potential intercultural barriers they are far more likely to face. It is proposed that for an effective intercultural communication to take place, the English course should help foreign language learners explicitly understand what target linguistic forms might be and how their meanings may differ across cultures. The analysis of some instances of intercultural misunderstandings may surely give more credence to the vital importance of implementing a multicultural approach to education. This paper offers some teaching strategies to assist Moroccan learners of EFL overcome these intercultural barriers.

scholarly journals Using Games to Promote English as a Foreign Language Learners’ Willingness to Communicate: Potential Effects and Teachers’ Attitude in Focus

2021 ◽  
Vol 12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Fei Liu ◽  
Balachandran Vadivel ◽  
Ehsan Rezvani ◽  
Ehsan Namaziandost
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Language ◽  
Language Learners ◽  
Positive Influence ◽  
Willingness To Communicate ◽  
Control Group ◽  
Foreign Language Learners ◽  
Item Questionnaire ◽  
Language Classes ◽  
Students Attitudes

This study aims to find out the role of games in promoting students’ willingness to communicate (WTC) and their teachers’ attitude toward it. In order to collect the data, the researchers employed a 28-item questionnaire which was given to 60 English as a Foreign Language (EFL) learners in an English institute. Then, the students were randomly divided into two groups of 30 learners functioning as control and experimental groups. The students in the experimental group received games in their language lessons and classes, while control group learners did not. At the end of the term, the same questionnaire was given to the students to know if playing games had a significant impact on their WTC. In addition, the teachers were asked to answer a 30-item questionnaire to investigate their attitudes toward playing games in language classes. The results showed that most of the teachers in this study believe that games have a positive influence on the students’ attitudes towards learning English and that using them in class serves many educational purposes. In addition, games played a significant role in improving the EFL leaners’ willingness to communicate. In the light of these findings, the researchers suggested using games as energizers and practical activities at the end of class not only to improve enthusiasm for learning, but also to improve the learners’ WTC.

scholarly journals The Influence of Classroom Illumination Environment on the Efficiency of Foreign Language Learning

2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (6) ◽  
pp. 1901
Author(s):  
Ting Liu ◽  
Takaya Yuizono ◽  
Zhisheng Wang ◽  
Haiwen Gao
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Language ◽  
Language Learning ◽  
Language Learners ◽  
Language Skills ◽  
Subjective Evaluation ◽  
Foreign Language Learning ◽  
Objective Evaluation ◽  
Color Temperature ◽  
Learning Space ◽  
Foreign Language Learners

This paper investigated foreign language learning efficiency in four different illumination environments (in different illuminance and color temperatures), focusing on the influence of the illumination environment on foreign language learners’ sentimental status, by means of foreign language skills testing in mind-map, objective evaluation of physiological reaction, and subjective evaluation of psychological reaction. It was shown that in different illumination environments, the language skills of foreign language learners were different, and their psychological and physiological reactions varied, which influenced the efficiency of foreign language learning. The results indicated that the ideal learning space was in high illuminance and low color temperature, which increased the stimulation in foreign language learners; promoted the formation of optimistic sentiment; and enhanced their interest in, and the quality and efficiency of, foreign language learning.

Differences In Native Language Skills Between Moreand Less-Proficient Foreign Language Learners

2006 ◽  
Vol 75 ◽  
pp. 67-77
Author(s):  
Tal Caspi
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Language ◽  
Language Learners ◽  
Native Language ◽  
Word Identification ◽  
Language Skills ◽  
Ongoing Debate ◽  
Foreign Language Learners ◽  
Learner Differences ◽  
Linguistic Coding ◽  
Foreign Language Achievement

This paper describes a study of native language (Dutch) word identification skills conducted in two groups of high school foreign language learners. The study focused on the differences between the groups with two main aims. The first was to examine the Linguistic Coding Difficulties Hypothesis (LCDH), a prevailing theory of individual learner differences allocating weaker foreign language achievement to weaker native language skills. The second aim was to determine the nature of these differences and inspect the claims that native language word identification skills differentiate weak and normal foreign language learners. This was done by investigating the effect of context on weak FL learners, who over-rely on context in compensation for weaker phonological and orthographical skills, according to the LCDH. In pursuing its aims, the study became involved in an ongoing debate surrounding the issue of native language reading.

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