scholarly journals Second language learning in knowledge forums: an analysis of L2 acquisition of students participating in the knowledge building international project

Author(s):  
Marni Manegre ◽  
Mar Gutiérrez-Colón

This study presents the results of an experiment designed to determine whether knowledge building can facilitate foreign language acquisition. We examined how groups of Catalan students in secondary schools worked together on collaborative writing tasks in English, their foreign language. The students were participating in the Knowledge Building International Project (KBIP), which is based on the concept that students can learn while working together in computer-assisted learning environments. The quantitative data was collected through a pre-test and post-test. The pre- and post-tests were divided into four sections, which were grammar, vocabulary, long answer, and multiple-choice. The results show an increase overall in the performance of the foreign language, English. In particular, the analysis determined that the comprehension of the subject matter and writing abilities in the L2 showed an increase at high confidence levels, however, there are challenges in determining whether the students have acquired new vocabulary or developed a better understanding of grammatical rules, since it is difficult to predict which words and sentence structures they will use when participating in this project.

2019 ◽  
Vol 27 (1) ◽  
pp. 3 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marni Manegre ◽  
Mar Gutiérrez-Colón ◽  
Mercè Gisbert

<p>This paper presents the first phase of a study conducted to analyze Knowledge Building forums for evidence of second language acquisition. This study is an analysis of the posts within an existing forum in search of evidence of foreign language learning. The analysis found that the collaborative writing project shows evidence that the students passed through the stages of construction of knowledge within their foreign language classroom, however factors, such as confounding variables, inconsistencies in error types, and the small number of posts by the participants made it challenging to determine whether there is evidence of language acquisition for each student. The forum posts show evidence of knowledge acquisition, but further investigation is required to determine whether collaborative writing in knowledge forums is effective for foreign language acquisition.</p>


2014 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
pp. 10
Author(s):  
Kåre Nitter Rugesæter

Norwegian children in the 21st century are quite massively exposed to English as an L2, primarily through subtitled television programmes, films and various computer-based activities. The article investigates to what extent this passive exposure influences their basic phonological competence in the L2 by analyzing their ability to actively distinguish between certain phoneme pairs in English which are considered difficult for Norwegian learners, mainly due to interference from the phonemic system in their L1. The data material was collected through 136 recordings of 11-16 year old pupils in ten Norwegian state schools. By comparing the results to similar studies made in Norway 20-35 years ago, at a time when young people's exposure to English was considerably more limited, the article discusses the effects of incidental foreign language acquisition on young people's L2 competence. The discussion is also placed in the light of recent, international research in this field. By critically investigating some of the findings of that research, the article furthermore attempts at problematizing the concept of L2 acquisition by focusing on the distinction between active and passive language competence. The findings indicate that basic L2 phonological competence is in no way automatically enhanced by passive exposure to the language. The article points to the necessity of structured teaching programmes to counterweight the complexity and variations in the L2 input that young people encounter in their media based exposure to the L2.


2021 ◽  
Vol 5 (1) ◽  
pp. 174-186
Author(s):  
Kartika Marta Budiana ◽  

While listening comprehension is the heart of language, but it is the least understood and researched skill. This is the reason why particular attention must be given to listening comprehension as a skill required in foreign language acquisition and especially in part played by listening skills. This study aims to see the effect of computer assisted language learning (CALL) applied to students` listening performance. This study adopts a qualitative approach. Data were collected using questionnaires. The findings in this study reveals Students`-perceptions and feedback on CALL. It shows that many of the students feel easier in understanding the listening material using CALL. It also shows that many of the teachers interested using CALL but not interested with the LMS provided. It can be concluded that most of the students have a positive impression about the use of CALL in English learning, especially for Listening.


Author(s):  
Atif Obaid M Alsuhaymi

The present study aims to research the influences of games through Computer-Assisted Language Learning (CALL) compared to Teacher-Centered Instruction (TCI) on teenagers' achievement in English language education in Saudi Arabia. Two groups of students tested, before and after instruction, so to determine success of the application of pedagogies. The full sample consisted of 22 teenagers, divided randomly, into two equal groups. The first group was the control (TDI) group, which used a school textbook. The second group was the experimental group (CALL), which given a CALL application, based on the game ‘Kahoot.’ Two types of tests were conducted, a pre-test and a post-test, at each of two periods for each group. The pre-test administered before instruction, and the post-test taken after the instructional period. Findings indicate that both groups increased their proficiencies with English object pronouns. However, performance on the post-test by the experimental (CALL) group significantly exceeded that of the control (TCI) group.


2021 ◽  
Vol 2 (1) ◽  
pp. 87-98
Author(s):  
Rizki Anugrah Putri Rahayu

Abstract:   This study aims to investigate collaborative writing combined with blog online learning on the writing skill of Indonesian English foreign language (EFL) learners’ across their motivation. This research included a quasi experimental with the comparative time series. A quasi experimental study was employed by involving 61 learners of Senior High School. This research applied in into two groups: experimental and control. The treatment was conducted at 7 sessions, including the pre-test and post-test. The scores of pre-test and post-test in writing were used as a base of quantitative data analysis whereas the learners’ responses to motivation questionnaire were used to categorize their motivation. The result revealed that the collaborative writing combined with blog online learning on the writing was effective to enhance the learners’ writing skill. In addition, to apply the combination of collaborative writing and online blog learning, teacher should not worry about different levels of motivation among students where the students were motivated to use language.  


2019 ◽  
Vol 10 ◽  
pp. 1488-1522 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hosni M. El-Dali

Although linguistics provides a useful perspective on L2 learning, it must be remembered that linguistics is only one of the disciplines that SLA research can draw on.  With this in mind, this study provides a thumbnail sketch of some currently prevalent theories which try to explain how foreign languages are learned.  It, also, spells out some alternatives to the linguistics-based approach to foreign language acquisition research.  More specifically, some limitations of linguistic theories in addressing the role of mental processes in L2 acquisition are identified and recent theoretical developments in cognitive psychology that can be applied to L2 acquisition are outlined. Moreover, this study reports the results of an empirical investigation carried out by the author on 200 Egyptian University students enrolled in the department of English, Faculty of education, Minufiya University. They were divided into two groups according to their academic status: 1) Beginners (N=100); and 2) Advanced learners (N=100). It attempts to answer three interrelated questions: 1) to what extent does the advanced students’ performance in listening tasks differ from that of the beginning students before and after training? 2) how can two types of training (intensive listening vs. improving learners’ linguistic skills) affect L2 learners’ listening comprehension skill?, and 3) what does students’ performance, before and after the training, tell us about their abilities to transfer?  The instruments used are (1) pre-test; (2) classroom instruction sessions; (3) post-test, and (4) interviews. The data analysis has a quantitative and a qualitative, interpretative part.  Results are obtained and discussed, and pedagogical applications are suggested.


2016 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
pp. 02 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tutku Basöz ◽  
Dilek Tüfekci Can

Semiotics in foreign language learning has recently achieved some prominence as a theoretical foundation for language teaching and learning. Although there have been a number of research on the semiotics in foreign language learning, the practical use of semiotics in preschool classroom environment still remains unanswered. What is more, the effectiveness of computers on vocabulary learning among preschool children is still an obscure area, which attracts the attentions of researchers, scholars and practitioners. Thus, the present study aims to investigate whether there is a significant difference in preschool children’s vocabulary gain depending upon the computer assisted vocabulary instruction or the traditional vocabulary instruction both adopting a semiotic approach. The sample group of the study included 35 preschool children (5-years) who are studying at Balıkesir University Necatibey Faculty of Education Kindergarten. In this quasi-experimental study, the children were assigned to computer assisted vocabulary instruction group (16) or traditional vocabulary instruction group (19), which were the experimental and control groups. Before the experiment, the children were given a pre-test, which measured the number of target vocabulary the children had already known. While the experimental group learned the target vocabulary through computer-assisted instruction, the control group was taught the same target vocabulary via traditional vocabulary instruction. After the experiment, the same test was given to the children as the post-test. The results of the study showed that both instruction types were successful in teaching vocabulary and there was no significant difference between the groups in terms of their vocabulary gain. Keywords: Vocabulary learning; semiotic approach; computer assisted vocabulary instruction; preschool children; foreign language learning 


2017 ◽  
Vol 2 (1) ◽  
pp. 273
Author(s):  
Muzakki Bashori

The integration of computer in the service of FL (Foreign Language) learning is expected to be inevitable in the future. It is seemingly due to (a) its considerable affordances for EFL (English as a Foreign Language) learners, (b) the characteristics of today�s learners as the Generation Z (Gonz�lez-Lloret & Ortega, 2014), and (c) the widespread use of the internet in the 21st century. This situation then leads to transforming CALL (Computer-Assisted Language Learning) into WFLL (Web-Facilitated Language Learning) as an alternative paradigm for EFL teachers and learners. Furthermore, TBLT (Task-Based Language Teaching) is likely to serve as a pedagogical framework in designing the Web for the purpose of FL learning. The present study was therefore mainly aimed at (a) developing a particularly teacher-designed learning website, namely I Love Indonesia, and (b) investigating high school learners of English in Indonesia with different attitudes towards CALL (positive/moderate/negative) in correlation with how they perceive WFLL (agree/disagree) and perform web-based activities. Descriptive Statistics, IF Function in Excel, Correlation Analysis, and Independent-samples t-test were employed in the study. Finally, the findings of the study showed that (a) the website seems to benefit EFL learners in some certain aspects, and (b) positive attitude learners are likely to perceive more positively (agree) than moderate and negative attitude learners (disagree) on the use of the website for the purpose of language learning. A greater number of learners over a longer period of time should be taken into account when conducting further studies on the effectiveness of the website for EFL learners in order to be able to shed some light on learners� language development.�Keyword: attitude, perception, task-based language teaching, web-facilitated language learning


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