scholarly journals Second language listening comprehension: The role of anxiety and enjoyment in listening metacognitive awareness

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (4) ◽  
pp. 491-515
Author(s):  
Lanxi Wang ◽  
Peter MacIntyre
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Second Language Acquisition ◽  
Language Learning ◽  
Listening Comprehension ◽  
Metacognitive Awareness ◽  
Negative Effects ◽  
Holistic View ◽  
Listening Anxiety ◽  
Second Language Listening ◽  
L2 Listening

Emotion in second language acquisition (SLA) has recently received greater attention because it is largely implicated in daily conversations, which may affect second or foreign language (L2) use including listening comprehension. Most research into emotion and L2 listening comprehension is focused exclusively on anxiety, with an attempt to reduce its negative effects on individuals’ listening performance. With the arrival of positive psychology in SLA, researchers began to take a holistic view of a wider range of emotions including enjoyment that language learners experience during their L2 communication. The current study explored the relationships among listening anxiety, enjoyment, listening comprehension performance, and listening metacognitive awareness among a group of 410 international students in a Canadian university. Correlational analyses showed that listening anxiety was negatively correlated with enjoyment. However, these two variables shared only 18% of their variance, indicating that listening anxiety and enjoyment are related but independent emotions. This study suggests that anxiety and enjoyment in L2 listening are not the opposite ends of the same emotional continuum, but each serves a different purpose. L2 learners should work to find intriguing and enjoyable experiences in language learning, rather than focusing merely on reducing anxiety.

scholarly journals The Effect of Listening Strategy Instruction on Second Language Listening Anxiety and Self-Efficacy of Iranian EFL Learners

SAGE Open ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (2) ◽  
pp. 215824402093387
Author(s):  
Jalil Fathi ◽  
Ali Derakhshan ◽  
Saeede Torabi
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Self Efficacy ◽  
Listening Comprehension ◽  
Strategy Instruction ◽  
Control Group ◽  
Listening Anxiety ◽  
Comprehension Ability ◽  
Second Language Listening ◽  
L2 Listening ◽  
Experimental Group

The aim of the present study was to evaluate the effectiveness of listening strategy instruction on second language (L2) listening comprehension ability, listening anxiety, and listening self-efficacy of Iranian English as a foreign language (EFL) learners. To this end, a sample of 52 English major learners of two intact classes from a university in Iran was employed as the participants of the study. The intact groups were randomly assigned to an experimental group and a control group. The experimental group ( N = 27) received the listening strategy instruction based on the framework proposed by Yeldham and Gruba, whereas the participants in the control group ( N = 25) were instructed traditionally without receiving any strategy instruction. To collect the required data, the listening section of the International English Language Testing System (IELTS), Foreign Language Listening Anxiety Scale (FLLAS), and Second Language Listening Self-Efficacy Questionnaire (SLLSQ) were administered to assess the listening comprehension, listening anxiety, and listening self-efficacy of the learners before and after the intervention. The findings of the study indicated that listening strategy instruction significantly improved learners’ listening comprehension ability and reduced learners’ L2 listening anxiety. However, it was revealed that listening strategy intervention failed to significantly improve L2 listening self-efficacy of the learners. In light of the gained results, the implications of this study are discussed with respect to L2 teachers, learners, and curriculum developers.

Testing learner reliance on caption supports in second language listening comprehension multimedia environments

ReCALL ◽  
2013 ◽  
Vol 25 (2) ◽  
pp. 199-214 ◽  
Author(s):  
Aubrey Neil Leveridge ◽  
Jie Chi Yang
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
High School Students ◽  
Language Learning ◽  
Listening Comprehension ◽  
Target Language ◽  
School Students ◽  
Learning Interference ◽  
Second Language Listening ◽  
High Level ◽  
Second Language Listening Comprehension

AbstractListening comprehension in a second language (L2) is a complex and particularly challenging task for learners. Because of this, L2 learners and instructors alike employ different learning supports as assistance. Captions in multimedia instruction readily provide support and thus have been an ever-increasing focus of many studies. However, captions must eventually be removed, as the goal of language learning is participation in the target language where captions are not typically available. Consequently, this creates a dilemma particularly for language instructors as to the usage of captioning supports, as early removal may cause frustration, while late removal may create learning interference. Accordingly, the goal of the current study was to propose and employ a testing instrument, the Caption Reliance Test (CRT), which evaluates individual learners’ reliance on captioning in second language learning environments; giving a clear indication of the learners’ reliance on captioning, mirroring their support needs. Thus, the CRT was constructed comprised of an auditory track, accompanied by congruent textual captions, as well as particular incongruent textual words, to provide a means for testing. It was subsequently employed in an empirical study involving English as a Foreign Language (EFL) high school students. The results exhibited individual variances in the degree of reliance and, more importantly, exposed a negative correlation between caption reliance and L2 achievement. In other words, learners’ reliance on captions varies individually and lower-level achievers rely on captions for listening comprehension more than their high-level counterparts, indicating that learners at various comprehension levels require different degrees of caption support. Thus, through employment of the CRT, instructors are able to evaluate the degree to which learners rely on the caption supports and thus make informed decisions regarding learners’ requirements and utilization of captions as a multimedia learning support.

scholarly journals Training teachers for English Medium Instruction: lessons from research on second language listening comprehension

2017 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
pp. 55 ◽  
Author(s):  
María Ángeles Martín del Pozo
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Language Learning ◽  
Listening Comprehension ◽  
Language Skills ◽  
English For Academic Purposes ◽  
English For Specific Purposes ◽  
Second Language Listening ◽  
English Medium Instruction ◽  
Key Issues ◽  
Second Language Listening Comprehension

CLIL (Content and Language Integrated Learning) and EMI (English Medium Instruction) practices have outpaced theory and teacher training. There is a need to provide answers to some of the key issues such as the language requirements. This paper aims to show that knowledge from English for Specific Purposes and English for Academic Purposes, fields which have provided effective teaching practices and materials, could now be used in CLIL/EMI. The paper focuses on two of these. First, the issues related to second language academic listening comprehension and, secondly, the findings from research on it and their implications for student / lecturer training and materials design. These implications and suggestions are summarized. The paper concludes providing some language learning resources originally targeted to students but which could become tools for (self) training of those teachers who need to update their language skills for CLIL.<p> </p>

Partial and synchronized captioning: A new tool to assist learners in developing second language listening skill

ReCALL ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 29 (2) ◽  
pp. 178-199 ◽  
Author(s):  
Maryam Sadat Mirzaei ◽  
Kourosh Meshgi ◽  
Yuya Akita ◽  
Tatsuya Kawahara
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Listening Comprehension ◽  
Speech Rate ◽  
Listening Skills ◽  
Word Level ◽  
Proficiency Level ◽  
Listening Skill ◽  
Second Language Listening ◽  
L2 Listening ◽  
Word Selection

AbstractThis paper introduces a novel captioning method, partial and synchronized captioning (PSC), as a tool for developing second language (L2) listening skills. Unlike conventional full captioning, which provides the full text and allows comprehension of the material merely by reading, PSC promotes listening to the speech by presenting a selected subset of words, where each word is synched to its corresponding speech signal. In this method, word-level synchronization is realized by an automatic speech recognition (ASR) system, dedicated to the desired corpora. This feature allows the learners to become familiar with the correspondences between words and their utterances. Partialization is done by automatically selecting words or phrases likely to hinder listening comprehension. In this work we presume that the incidence of infrequent or specific words and fast delivery of speech are major barriers to listening comprehension. The word selection criteria are thus based on three factors: speech rate, word frequency and specificity. The thresholds for these features are adjusted to the proficiency level of the learners. The selected words are presented to aid listening comprehension while the remaining words are masked in order to keep learners listening to the audio. PSC was evaluated against no-captioning and full-captioning conditions using TED videos. The results indicate that PSC leads to the same level of comprehension as the full-captioning method while presenting less than 30% of the transcript. Furthermore, compared with the other methods, PSC can serve as an effective medium for decreasing dependence on captions and preparing learners to listen without any assistance.

Language Ideology and Second Language Learning

2008 ◽  
Vol 155 ◽  
pp. 95-115 ◽  
Author(s):  
Theresa McGarry
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Second Language Acquisition ◽  
Language Acquisition ◽  
Language Learning ◽  
Language Ideology ◽  
Second Language Learning ◽  
Classroom Practices ◽  
Explanatory Power

AbstractThe increasing recognition of the concept language ideology and the corresponding increasing use of the term have not yet been matched by applications in the field of second language acquisition. However, applications of the concept in analysis of actual classroom practices have shown it to have considerable explanatory power. Greater consideration of language ideology in SLA is necessary not only to achieve greater understanding of the role of ideology in various areas but also to show connections between these areas that may yield important generalizations and to impel the application of the concept in areas where it has been neglected by highlighting its uneven treatment.

Learning opportunities in peer-peer interaction: A case study of two L2 Mandarin Chinese learners

2020 ◽  
Vol 9 (2) ◽  
pp. 199-226
Author(s):  
Dan Jiang
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Second Language Acquisition ◽  
Language Learning ◽  
Mandarin Chinese ◽  
Learning Opportunities ◽  
French Immersion ◽  
Chinese Learners ◽  
Instructed Second Language Acquisition ◽  
Negotiation For Meaning

AbstractThe roles of interaction have been studied for several decades. Recent studies have turned to investigate “the details of which components of interaction might be more or less effective in which contexts with which learners” (Loewen, Shawn & Masatoshi Sato. 2018. Interaction and instructed second language acquisition. Language Teaching 51(3). 285–329: 286). This case study, based on three unstructured interactions outside the classroom between two L2 Mandarin Chinese learners, investigates the learning opportunities these interactions brought about in terms of helping them to increase in control over forms that had already been encountered inside the classroom. Using the concept of the language-related episode (Swain, Merrill & Sharon Lapkin. 1998. Interaction and second language learning: Two adolescent French immersion students working together. The Modern Language Journal 82(3). 320–337), this study sets focus on learning opportunities for lexis- and grammar-related items. It finds learning opportunities arise as the two peers negotiate for meaning motivated by the need to comprehend, strive to use the L2 to express/co-express themselves, and improve their form through the other’s feedback. In addition, lexis-related learning is found to be very positive in this study. The dictionary played an indispensable role in facilitating the learners when they encountered lexis-related issues. Further, it enabled the learners to learn new vocabulary when driven by communicative needs. In comparison, the grammar-related learning is found to be relatively complicated. And the fact the learners had nowhere to resort to concerning grammatical issues attributed to it. In terms of the different types of interactions, compared to learning through negotiation for meaning and feedback, output and co-construction/collaboration were found to be most productive in promoting the learning.

scholarly journals Studying individual differences in the social environment to better understand language learning and processing

2016 ◽  
Vol 2 (s1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Shiri Lev-Ari
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Individual Differences ◽  
Second Language Acquisition ◽  
Language Acquisition ◽  
Language Learning ◽  
Social Environment ◽  
Native Speakers ◽  
Linguistic Performance ◽  
The Social

AbstractPeople learn language from their social environment. Therefore, individual differences in the input that their social environment provides could influence their linguistic performance. Nevertheless, investigation of the role of individual differences in input on performance has been mostly restricted to first and second language acquisition. In this paper I argue that individual differences in input can influence linguistic performance even in adult native speakers. Specifically, differences in input can affect performance by influencing people’s knowledgebase, by modulating their processing manner, and by shaping expectations. Therefore, studying the role that individual differences in input play can improve our understanding of how language is learned, processed and represented.

APTITUDE AND SECOND LANGUAGE ACQUISITION

2005 ◽  
Vol 25 ◽  
pp. 46-73 ◽  
Author(s):  
Peter Robinson
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Second Language Acquisition ◽  
Language Acquisition ◽  
Language Learning ◽  
Cognitive Abilities ◽  
Theoretical Frameworks ◽  
Aptitude Tests ◽  
Advanced Level ◽  
Learning Success ◽  
And Performance

Recent second language acquisition (SLA) research into the cognitive abilities implicated in implicit, incidental, and explicit learning, and in learning and performance on tasks differing in their information processing demands has prompted new theoretical frameworks for conceptualizing L2 aptitude. This research is reviewed and related to measures of abilities operationalized in existing aptitude tests, as well as to measures of abilities that are the focus of more recent research in cognitive psychology. Finally, prospects for developing aptitude tests to serve the purposes of predicting both early and advanced level language learning success are discussed in the light of the SLA findings and aptitude frameworks reviewed.

Constructing a Second Language

2009 ◽  
Vol 7 ◽  
pp. 111-139 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nick C. Ellis ◽  
Teresa Cadierno
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Second Language Acquisition ◽  
Language Learning ◽  
Corpus Linguistics ◽  
Special Section ◽  
Functional Interpretation ◽  
Linguistic Evidence ◽  
Cognitive Principles ◽  
Conceptual Transfer ◽  
Language Meaning

This Special Section brings together researchers who adopt a constructional approach to Second Language Acquisition (SLA) as informed by Cognitive and Corpus Linguistics, approaches which fall under the general umbrella of Usage-based Linguistics. The articles present psycholinguistic and corpus linguistic evidence for L2 constructions and for the inseparability of lexis and grammar. They consider the psycholinguistics of language learning following general cognitive principles of category learning, with schematic constructions emerging from usage. They analyze how learning is driven by the frequency and frequency distribution of exemplars within construction, the salience of their form, the significance of their functional interpretation, the match of their meaning to the construction prototype, and the reliability of their mappings. They explore conceptual transfer and the acquisition of second language meaning. They consider the implications of these phenomena for L2 instruction.

(In)Commensurable Discourse: Researchers and Practitioners Bring Pragmatics to Language Learning

2010 ◽  
Vol 3 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Julie M. Sykes
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Second Language Acquisition ◽  
Language Acquisition ◽  
Language Learning ◽  
Empirical Research ◽  
Primary Component ◽  
Theory And Practice ◽  
Language Classroom ◽  
Growing Body ◽  
Valuable Role

AbstractThe recent surge in a growing body of empirical research is evidence of a strong theoretical push towards L2 pragmatic acquisition in the field of second language acquisition; yet, the reality is that we see very little evidence of pragmatics instruction in L2 contexts, suggesting a notable disconnect between theory and practice. This viewpoints article explores the valuable role both researchers and practitioners play in bridging the gap between theory and practice with the intention of bringing pragmatics to the forefront of the language classroom. It briefly discusses the importance of including pragmatics as a primary component of second language (L2) learning and then explores various obstacles to pragmatics instruction, paying special attention to the role both researchers and practitioners can play in overcoming them. Examples from current projects related to L2 Spanish pragmatics are presented where relevant.

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