scholarly journals Rhetorical Structure Theory and coherence break identification

2020 ◽  
Vol 40 (1) ◽  
pp. 99-124
Author(s):  
Sophia Skoufaki
Keyword(s):  
Language Learners ◽  
Significant Contribution ◽  
Hybrid Models ◽  
Language Teachers ◽  
Structure Theory ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Rhetorical Structure ◽  
The Creation ◽  
Training Resources

AbstractThis article examines the claim of Rhetorical Structure Theory (RST) that violations of RST diagram formation principles indicate coherence breaks. In doing so, this article makes a significant contribution to the testing of RST. More broadly, it indicates that examining the coherence-break identification potential of coherence theories could help specify each theory’s purview and, in the long term, lead to the creation of hybrid models of coherence. Moreover, it paves the way for the development of training resources on discourse (in)coherence for language teachers, exam markers and language learners. 84 paragraphs written by Taiwanese learners of English were analysed according to RST and coherence measures were calculated on the basis of this analysis. The results suggest that the violation of any diagram-formation principle indicates coherence breaks, thus corroborating this RST claim. Inter- and intrajudge agreement in terms of both RST coding and coherence measures calculated on the basis of coherence breaks are reported and discussed. The kinds of coherence breaks which are and are not located by RST analysis are discussed and exemplified. The paper concludes with a discussion of implications for pedagogy and future research.

scholarly journals FROM INLAND TO OUTLAND: EXPERIENCES OF NON-NATIVE EXPATRIATE TEACHERS TEACHING IN A FOREIGN CONTEXT

2019 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
pp. 24-37
Author(s):  
Remart Padua Dumlao ◽  
Trixia Mengorio
Keyword(s):  
English Language Learners ◽  
Language Learners ◽  
Personal Development ◽  
Cultural Awareness ◽  
English Language ◽  
Linguistic Diversity ◽  
Language Teachers ◽  
Future Research ◽  
English Speaking ◽  
Native English Speaking

The numbers of English language learners and limited domestic English language teachers have grown exponentially in Indonesia, Thailand and Vietnam, as well as to the ASEAN region over the past decades due to the demand of globalization. Given the huge cultural and linguistic diversity among learners, educating these populations of English language learners can be a challenging but also beneficial for foreign language teachers. This study aimed to analyse the experiences of fifteen Non-native English Speaking Foreign Teachers (NNESFT) teaching in Indonesia, Thailand and Vietnam. The results of this study suggested that although teachers’ reasons in teaching English language in a foreign classroom were more extrinsic reasons rather that intrinsic and altruistic. NNESFT recognized benefits of teaching in foreign classroom, namely, financial aspects, personal development, and building cultural awareness. Meanwhile, challenges were reported include as a non-native English speaking teachers in a foreign classroom, on the part of textbooks and curriculum, and cultural differences in the classroom. Implications were discussed in light of the findings and recommendations formulated for future research directions.

scholarly journals The Long-term Effects of Instruction on EFL Learners' Use of Complaining Formulas

10.29007/5xsb ◽  
2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alicia Martínez-Flor ◽  
Esther Usó-Juan
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Language ◽  
Language Learners ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Long Term Effects ◽  
Positive Role ◽  
Efl Learners ◽  
Foreign Language Learners ◽  
Over Time

Studies analysing the positive role of pragmatic instruction in formal settings have increased over the last decades. Within this area of interventional pragmatics, some studies have particularly examined whether the effectiveness of the instruction implemented is sustained over time. In order to shed more light on the long-term effects of instruction, this research investigates English as a Foreign Language learners’ use of complaining formulas not only after immediately receiving instruction, but also two months later. Results show that learners keep using a variety of appropriate complaining formulas two months after having participated in the instructional period. These findings are discussed and directions for future research suggested.

scholarly journals The Influence of Blue Ocean Strategy on Organizational Performance

2019 ◽  
Vol 8 (2) ◽  
pp. 91-104
Author(s):  
Md. Habibur Rahman ◽  
Sabbrina Choudhury
Keyword(s):  
Organizational Performance ◽  
Critical Analysis ◽  
Significant Contribution ◽  
Jel Classification ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Research Areas ◽  
The Creation

The study deals with the blue ocean strategy (BOS) that offers users a framework for making uncontested market space and diverts the outlooks from the existing competition to the creation of innovative value and demand. The purpose of the study is to determine the influence of BOS on organizational performance. In this study, we systematically examine previous research on these topics of BOS. The findings show that there is a significant contribution of BOS to the enhancement of organizational performance. The study recommends that the policymakers should perform a critical analysis of BOS before implementation to see its suitability in the desired organization. Additionally, we identify future research areas that provide scholars opportunities to push theoretical boundaries and offer further insights into the study of BOS. JEL Classification Codes: M31, L25

Language Simulations for Fostering Language Acquisition and Communicative Competence in Adult Second- Language Learners

2010 ◽  
pp. 210-222
Author(s):  
Angelene McLaren
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Language Acquisition ◽  
Language Learning ◽  
Language Learners ◽  
Second Language Learners ◽  
Communicative Competence ◽  
Language Teachers ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Teachers And Students ◽  
Traditional Language

Language teachers and students are making a mass exodus in theory and practice in the field of secondlanguage instruction. They are leaving behind boring drills, nonsensical memorizations and endless strings of grammatical rules and are demanding a shift from traditional language learning to modern language acquisition. Language acquisition means being culturally literate and commutatively competent in a language (Byrnes, 2001). This change requires finding effective ways to facilitate this paradigm shift. This chapter will try to answer the following questions: Can language simulations foster language acquisition and communicative competence in adult second-language learners? It will also explore: what language acquisition is and how it is obtained; theoretical foundations of language acquisition; learning simulations and what makes them effective; language simulations – how and why they work; what simulations can do to promote communicative competence; a practical example; future applications and importance of language simulations; and what future research is necessary to fulfill this promise.

scholarly journals Reading Online in Foreign Languages: A Study of Strategy Use

2016 ◽  
Vol 17 (6) ◽  
Author(s):  
Richard Tsan-Jui Cheng
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Language ◽  
Language Learners ◽  
Reading Strategies ◽  
Online Survey ◽  
Language Teachers ◽  
Foreign Languages ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Online Reading ◽  
Foreign Language Learners ◽  
Significant Difference

<p class="3">Scores of studies have established that when learning online, students must be equipped with different sets of strategies and skills than in a physical classroom setting (Anderson, 2003; Broadbent &amp; Poon, 2015; Coiro, 2007; Leu et al., 2007; Michinov, Brunot, Le Bohec, Juhel, &amp; Delaval, 2011; Salmon, 2013).  The present study, by virtue of exploring foreign language learners’ online reading experience, aimed to identify the reading strategies that learners would use when engaged in online reading activities in the target foreign languages.  Thirty-two foreign language learners whose native language was English participated in the study.  The Online Survey of Reading Strategies (OSORS) designed by Anderson (2003) was administered to investigate the following four research questions: (1) What are the strategies that language learners would or would not use when reading online in foreign languages? (2) Would foreign language learners use some of the online reading strategies more frequently than other strategies? (3) Would different levels of foreign language proficiencies influence language learners’ use of the strategies?  (4) What could foreign language teachers do in their instruction to help students acquire and broaden their repertoire of online reading strategies?  Data analysis demonstrated the most and least frequently used strategies of the foreign language learners and uncovered a significant difference in the frequency of use among the strategies.  However, there was no significant difference found between the use of online reading strategies and learners’ foreign language proficiencies.  Implications and suggestions for future research and practice were proposed accordingly.      </p>

Language Simulations for Fostering Language Acquisition and Communicative Competence in Adult Second-Language Learners

2011 ◽  
pp. 1954-1966
Author(s):  
Angelene McLaren
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Language Acquisition ◽  
Language Learning ◽  
Language Learners ◽  
Second Language Learners ◽  
Communicative Competence ◽  
Language Teachers ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Teachers And Students ◽  
Traditional Language

Language teachers and students are making a mass exodus in theory and practice in the field of secondlanguage instruction. They are leaving behind boring drills, nonsensical memorizations and endless strings of grammatical rules and are demanding a shift from traditional language learning to modern language acquisition. Language acquisition means being culturally literate and commutatively competent in a language (Byrnes, 2001). This change requires finding effective ways to facilitate this paradigm shift. This chapter will try to answer the following questions: Can language simulations foster language acquisition and communicative competence in adult second-language learners? It will also explore: what language acquisition is and how it is obtained; theoretical foundations of language acquisition; learning simulations and what makes them effective; language simulations – how and why they work; what simulations can do to promote communicative competence; a practical example; future applications and importance of language simulations; and what future research is necessary to fulfill this promise.

Physical and Psychological Benefits of Written Emotional Expression

2015 ◽  
Vol 20 (4) ◽  
pp. 242-251 ◽  
Author(s):  
Éva Kállay
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Expressive Writing ◽  
Mental Health Problems ◽  
Cost Effective ◽  
Health Problems ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Psychological Benefits ◽  
Cost Effective Treatment ◽  
Meta Analyses

Abstract. The last several decades have witnessed a substantial increase in the number of individuals suffering from both diagnosable and subsyndromal mental health problems. Consequently, the development of cost-effective treatment methods, accessible to large populations suffering from different forms of mental health problems, became imperative. A very promising intervention is the method of expressive writing (EW), which may be used in both clinically diagnosable cases and subthreshold symptomatology. This method, in which people express their feelings and thoughts related to stressful situations in writing, has been found to improve participants’ long-term psychological, physiological, behavioral, and social functioning. Based on a thorough analysis and synthesis of the published literature (also including most recent meta-analyses), the present paper presents the expressive writing method, its short- and long-term, intra-and interpersonal effects, different situations and conditions in which it has been proven to be effective, the most important mechanisms implied in the process of recovery, advantages, disadvantages, and possible pitfalls of the method, as well as variants of the original technique and future research directions.

Using the Change4Life Disney Branded 10-minute Shake Ups During the COVID-19 ‘Lockdown’

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Emily Budzynski-Seymour ◽  
James Steele ◽  
Michelle Jones
Keyword(s):  
Perceived Exertion ◽  
Affective Responses ◽  
Online Resources ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Affective States ◽  
Perceived Effort ◽  
Qualitative Feedback ◽  
Bidirectional Relationship ◽  
The Uk

Physical activity (PA) is considered essential to overall health yet it is consistently reported that children are failing to meet the recommended levels. Due to the bidirectional relationship between affective states and PA, affective responses are a potential predictor to long term engagement. Since late March 2020 the UK government enforced ‘lockdown’ measures to help control the spread of Coronavirus (COVID-19); however, this has impacted children’s PA. Using online resources at home to support PA is now common. The primary aim of this research was to investigate the use of the Change4Life 10-minute Shake Ups to support PA by examining the effects of Disney branding upon children’s (n=32) post activity affective responses and perceived exertion. The secondary was to investigate the effect of the lockdown on PA habits. Children had similar positive affective responses and perceived effort to activities; however, branding was considered to be a key contributing factor based upon qualitative feedback from parents. Children’s PA levels dropped slightly since ‘lockdown’ was imposed; though online resources have been utilised to support PA. The use of immersive elements such as characters and narrative in PA sessions, as well as utilising online resources during ‘lockdown’ appear potentially promising for future research.

Standing in Dorothy’s Shoes: What Can Language Teachers Learn from Dorothy Heathcote? Part One: Where Dorothy Came From, What She Did, and How It Can Support Language Development

2013 ◽  
Vol 2 (1) ◽  
pp. 4-12
Author(s):  
Ben Cowburn
Keyword(s):  
Language Development ◽  
Language Learners ◽  
Language Teachers ◽  
Process Drama ◽  
Drama Education ◽  
Educational Drama ◽  
Language Classrooms ◽  
Dorothy Heathcote ◽  
The 1960S ◽  
The Many

From the 1960s onwards, Dorothy Heathcote became a highly influential figure in UK drama education. Her practice, based around unscripted, participatory dramas in which students were often guided by a teacher working ‘in role’, helped to shape the way drama is taught in schools today, particularly within the process drama approach. Influenced by a range of educational theorists and practitioners, Heathcote developed a style of educational drama that she saw as being distinct from ‘theatre’, and more concerned with experiencing drama than performing it. To this end, she developed a number of dramatic techniques, such as ‘Teacher in Role’ and ‘Mantle of the Expert’, to help students inhabit dramatic contexts and learn through the direct imagined experience of a particular place, time or problem to be solved. These techniques have much to offer language teaching, particularly when communication is the main goal. Placing students in dramatic contexts is claimed to enhance motivation and engagement and lead to more truly authentic communication than is often found in language classrooms. Using a framework based on Heathcote’s techniques, and those developed by other process drama educators, language teachers can begin to explore the many benefits drama can offer language learners.

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