scholarly journals TOWARDS AUTONOMY IN LANGUAGE LEARNING: THEORETICAL IMPLICATIONS AND PRACTICAL APPLICATIONS

Verbum ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 8 (8) ◽  
pp. 51
Author(s):  
John Christopher Wade
Keyword(s):  
Language Learning ◽  
New Technologies ◽  
Language Learner ◽  
Problem Solver ◽  
First Year ◽  
Practical Applications ◽  
Starting Point ◽  
E Learning ◽  
Transition From High School ◽  
Good Learner

It is the purpose of this paper to examine some aspects of autonomy in language learning with a specific focus on the transition from high school to the first year at university. This transition can be problematic, in that study at a university level requires a degree of independence and initiative which is not generally required in the supportive learning environment of the school system. Our starting point is identifying those characteristics which make a good language learner (Naiman et al. 1978; Johnson 2001; Maftoon and Seyyedrezaei 2012) and to demonstrate that these characteristics are largely an innate capacity of some and not all learners. Among these characteristics there is the ability to establish a systematic and autonomous approach to the learning process on the basis of personal inclinations and individual life-skills (Dublin Descriptors 2005). In this sense the good learner is not a passive participant in the process, but, as Schön (1987) claims, acts as a ‘problem-solver’, able to make decisions and put those decisions into practice. That is to say, learning is ‘the creation of knowledge’ (Kolb 1984). Finally, an approach to developing learner autonomy is illustrated, based on the personal experience of the author within the context of a first year ESP course in Communication Studies at the University of Cagliari (Italy). The course makes extensive use of the new technologies through a Moodle platform. It will be demonstrated that a blend of traditional teaching and e-learning can provide a ‘bridge’ between school and university, allowing the learner to move within a flexible environment and acquire the skills necessary for successful learning.

Research on foreign language teaching in Poland 2000–2006

2008 ◽  
Vol 41 (1) ◽  
pp. 57-92 ◽  
Author(s):  
Teresa Siek-Piskozub ◽  
Aleksandra Wach ◽  
Anna Raulinajtys
Keyword(s):  
Second Language Acquisition ◽  
Foreign Language ◽  
Language Learning ◽  
Teacher Development ◽  
Cultural Awareness ◽  
New Technologies ◽  
Language Learner ◽  
Teaching Methodology ◽  
Ministry Of Education ◽  
Cultural Issues

This is an overview of research on foreign language (FL) teaching published by Polish researchers in the years of 2000–2006. We begin with an outline of the history and the current sociopolitical situation of FL teaching in Poland, which prepares the ground for further discussion. Next, we focus on studies concerned with the evaluation of the recent teaching methodology. The analysis of bilingual programmes and multilingual competence is discussed in ‘Bilingual education and multilingualism’, the process of learning different aspects of language competence is explored in ‘FL learning and second language acquisition’, and cultural issues under a separate heading, ‘Cultural awareness’. In ‘The language learner’, we review studies investigating learner variables which have an important impact on language learning. With new educational directives from the Ministry of Education, emphasising the need for a more reliable assessment, new concepts and studies evaluating them are discussed in ‘Testing and evaluation’. The availability of computers has produced studies assessing various uses of computers in fostering language learning, presented in ‘Application of new technologies’. Finally, in ‘Teacher education’, we report on studies related to FL teacher development.

Improving Learning Strategies for Mathematics through E-Learning

2013 ◽  
pp. 673-680 ◽  
Author(s):  
Cristina Bardelle
Keyword(s):  
Learning Strategies ◽  
First Year ◽  
Science Students ◽  
Passive Learning ◽  
Online Tools ◽  
E Learning ◽  
Online Activities ◽  
Transition From High School ◽  
Written Test ◽  
Pragmatic Aspects

This chapter describes an experience concerning a mathematics course offered at university for first-year science students. The course, realized in a blended format, is aimed at supporting students in the critical stage of transition from high school to university. Beside standard materials and resources, students were provided with online tools for the achievement of learning strategies mainly based on semiotic and pragmatic aspects of mathematical language. The online activities are an effective tool from the cognitive and metacognitive perspective, promoting a shift from passive learning (listening to lectures and taking notes) to more active modalities of learning where the students were engaged in student-instructor or student-computer interaction activities. Overall, more than half of the students participated in the optional online activities, and a positive relationship between this participation and the results in the final written test serve to verify the potential effectiveness of this form of study.

scholarly journals Developing the proficient language learner: motivation, strategies, and the learning experience of Irish learners of French in a university setting

2019 ◽  
Vol 22 ◽  
pp. 28-52
Author(s):  
Rachel Hoare
Keyword(s):  
Language Learning ◽  
Learning Strategies ◽  
Language Proficiency ◽  
Undergraduate Students ◽  
Learning Experience ◽  
Language Learner ◽  
First Year ◽  
Learner Motivation ◽  
Motivation For Learning ◽  
French Grammar

The purpose of this study is to simultaneously examine the relationships between motivation for learning French, preferences for class activities, language learning strategies, and language proficiency for a cohort of first-year Irish university undergraduate students of French. More specifically, it examines these relationships with reference to the attitudes of the learners towards, and their motivation for, learning French grammar. The research was stimulated by both practical and theoretical concerns.

scholarly journals PERSPECTIVES AND PRACTICES FROM INDONESIAN EFL TEACHERS ON LANGUAGE ADVISORS’ ROLES IN FOSTERING LEARNER AUTONOMY

JURNAL SPHOTA ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (2) ◽  
pp. 39-51
Author(s):  
Muhamad Ahsanu ◽  
Dyah Wijayawati
Keyword(s):  
Language Learning ◽  
Classroom Practice ◽  
Classroom Practices ◽  
Learner Autonomy ◽  
Language Learner ◽  
Reflective Practitioner ◽  
Problem Solver ◽  
Knowledge And Skills ◽  
Common Term ◽  
Efl Teachers

Every teaching practitioner seemingly has come to a common term that language advising is essential in language learning especially in fostering language learner autonomy. However, the issue as to whether a teacher also plays the roles of an advisor or vice versa is still in controversy. This writing is not trying to claim which one is right and which one is not. This paper is just a little lantern on how actually the roles of a language advisor (LA) are exercised by teachers within the context of Indonesian EFL classrooms. Based on the data collected via interview suggest that they realized their role as a LA informally be it inside or outside their classroom practice. In actuating such LA roles, the teachers transformed into a motivator, awareness builder, student-teacher reflective practitioner, controller, and many times co-problem-solver. Presumably, the advising teachers in Indonesian setting not only feel responsible for transmitting knowledge and skills, but also for transforming ideas, advice, morality, values, etc. into their learners within and beyond classroom practices. The inkling of this paper is to descriptively address both theoretical and practical account of LA within the spectrum of learner autonomy.  

Effectively Incorporating Blogs for the L2 Literacy Development of Teenage Language Learners

2020 ◽  
pp. 108-124
Author(s):  
Christina Nicole Giannikas
Keyword(s):  
Language Learning ◽  
Language Learners ◽  
Literacy Development ◽  
New Technologies ◽  
Language Education ◽  
Language Learner ◽  
Learning And Teaching ◽  
Teachers And Students ◽  
The Impact ◽  
L2 Literacy

Digital technologies have become an important part of language learning and teaching across the globe at various levels of education. The advances in question have altered texts and tools available to teachers and students and have given practitioners and researchers a new understanding of L2 literacy development. More specifically, the successful attempts of integrating the blogosphere in language education suggest the improvement of L2 writing. Through blogging, students are given the opportunity to use the new language they are learning and new technologies to strengthen social bonds and express their thoughts and reflections on the online platform. This chapter elaborates on the use of the blog in teenage learners' L2 literacy in the digital age, and examines the impact that blogs have on the authorship, personal expression, writing fluency, and confidence of the L2 teenage language learner. The chapter also offers a theoretical, practical scope to establish the full perspective of integrating blogs into the language classroom.

scholarly journals Significance of E-Learning Tools in Teaching English

2020 ◽  
Vol 8 (5) ◽  
pp. 144
Author(s):  
Dr. K Latha
Keyword(s):  
Language Learning ◽  
Classroom Environment ◽  
English Language ◽  
New Technologies ◽  
Teaching Methodology ◽  
Learning Tools ◽  
Information And Communications Technologies ◽  
E Learning ◽  
Ict Tools ◽  
Conventional Classroom

We are living in a world where technology is omnipresent. Due to the ubiquitous presence of technology the pedagogy of teaching methodology has also undergone a sea-change. The phrase “e-Learning” or “Technology in Education” has become the buzz word in every educational environment. Infusing technology into education is really important as it caters the needs of the contemporary learners. The classroom environment, today, is completely different from the conventional classroom. The traditional methods, which are mainly based on lecturing and rote learning reduce, English language learning to mechanical memorization and miserably fail in developing English language as a skill among the learners. New technologies like Internet, YouTube, Skype, tweeter, blogs, mobile phones, interactive boards and many more have added not only stimulus but also learners’ communication and true interactivity within the classroom. Learning is, of course, the main purpose of education. It is the goal of every student and the task of every teacher to increase knowledge and understanding in the classroom. The teachers can engage the learners to become skilled at English Language by using the innovative ELT techniques like English songs, movie clippings, dramatics, advertisements, sports commentaries and many more. This paper stresses on the need to make English language lessons easy and enjoyable through innovative ELT methods. This is done first by giving a brief review about the traditional teaching methods in India and further the focus will be on instilling Information and Communications technologies (ICT) tools in ELT. Thus this study confers the availability of various tools of ICT and their practical uses.

scholarly journals LANGUAGE LEARNER AUTONOMY AND LANGUAGE LEARNING OPPORTUNITIES INSIDE AND OUTSIDE CLASSROOM

2019 ◽  
Vol 35 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Hoang Nguyen Thu Trang
Keyword(s):  
Quantitative Analysis ◽  
Language Learning ◽  
Learning Opportunities ◽  
Learning Processes ◽  
Language Learner ◽  
First Year ◽  
First Year Students ◽  
English Major ◽  
Degree Of Control ◽  
Emerging Themes

This study aims at investigating the degree of control that non-English major first-year students exercise over their learning processes, resources and contexts in and out of the classroom. Data were obtained from questionnaires with 63 students, 30-to-60-minute interviews with three students, and the researcher’s notes of her observation during classroom lessons. The results from quantitative analysis for Mean and frequency and content analysis for emerging themes of the data reveal variation among the learners and withing each learnerregarding the degree of their control over their language learning processes and resources in different contexts of learning and using the language. This suggests the need of helping learners to create learning opportunities both inside and outside the classrooms.

Improving Learning Strategies for Mathematics through E-Learning

2015 ◽  
pp. 734-741
Author(s):  
Cristina Bardelle
Keyword(s):  
Learning Strategies ◽  
First Year ◽  
Science Students ◽  
Passive Learning ◽  
Online Tools ◽  
E Learning ◽  
Online Activities ◽  
Transition From High School ◽  
Written Test ◽  
Pragmatic Aspects

This chapter describes an experience concerning a mathematics course offered at university for first-year science students. The course, realized in a blended format, is aimed at supporting students in the critical stage of transition from high school to university. Beside standard materials and resources, students were provided with online tools for the achievement of learning strategies mainly based on semiotic and pragmatic aspects of mathematical language. The online activities are an effective tool from the cognitive and metacognitive perspective, promoting a shift from passive learning (listening to lectures and taking notes) to more active modalities of learning where the students were engaged in student-instructor or student-computer interaction activities. Overall, more than half of the students participated in the optional online activities, and a positive relationship between this participation and the results in the final written test serve to verify the potential effectiveness of this form of study.

scholarly journals COVID-19 and Higher Education: First-Year Students’ Expectations toward Distance Learning

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (4) ◽  
pp. 1889 ◽  
Author(s):  
Karina Cicha ◽  
Mariia Rizun ◽  
Paulina Rutecka ◽  
Artur Strzelecki
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Distance Learning ◽  
Technology Acceptance ◽  
Self Efficacy ◽  
Computer Anxiety ◽  
Equation Modeling ◽  
First Year ◽  
First Year Students ◽  
Starting Point ◽  
E Learning

The article deals with distance education, which as a teaching method had to be suddenly introduced in schools and higher education institutions as a result of the global pandemic situation. The paper captures the second wave of Poland’s pandemic situation in relation to global circumstances and the methods of conducting distance learning used across the globe. The purpose of this study was to investigate first-year students’ expectations about the education shift to distance learning. GETAMEL, which is the adapted General Extended Technology Acceptance Model for E-Learning, was used in the study. The study analyzed the influence of Experience, Subjective Norms, Enjoyment, Computer Anxiety, and Self-Efficacy on students’ expectations in the context of distance learning during the COVID-19 pandemic. To test the research model presented during the research, The Partial Least Squares method of Structural Equation Modeling was used. An online survey was created to conduct the research, which collected data from 670 Polish first-year undergraduate students. The acquired data were analyzed using the SmartPLS 3 software. The results of the research indicated that the most important factors that influence the feelings of students and can convince them to change from teaching in the classroom to teaching in the distance learning model are the feeling of pleasure in this form of education and a sense of self-efficacy. The results of this study may be of particular interest to education practitioners, including teachers, and a starting point for further research on e-learning models, including, in particular, the understanding of students’ expectations regarding distance learning.

Corpus Research Applications in Second Language Teaching: A Look into Corpus-informed Materials Development

2020 ◽  
Vol 4 (2) ◽  
pp. 15
Author(s):  
Norwati Roslim ◽  
Muhammad Hakimi Tew Abdullah ◽  
Anealka Aziz ◽  
Vahid Nimehchisalem ◽  
Azhani Almuddin
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Language Learning ◽  
Corpus Linguistics ◽  
Teaching Materials ◽  
Materials Development ◽  
Practical Applications ◽  
Reference Grammar ◽  
Corpus Studies ◽  
Reference Corpus ◽  
Clear Guideline

Numerous corpus studies have suggested that teaching materials design could greatly benefit from the empirical information about language use provided by corpus linguistics. In spite of the awareness that corpus-based research can offer valuable insights for materials development, still relatively small number of studies report on the practical applications of corpus data for teaching materials development. There is no clear guideline or framework on how corpora and corpus studies could assist in developing teaching materials. Hence, this study focusses on one grammatical item which poses problems to Malaysian learners, that is, prepositions. The objectives are (i) to identify prepositions in the British National Corpus as a reference corpus and the descriptions offered by linguists and grammarians as a reference grammar, and (ii) to provide a framework to use reference corpus, reference grammar and corpus-based research, as a resource for developing materials in the teaching of prepositions. In order to meet the objectives, content analysis was used as the methodology throughout this study. The findings showed that reference corpus, reference grammar and corpus-based research could be used systematically as guidance to develop corpus-informed materials. It is hoped that this contribution of knowledge could have an impact on second language learning-teaching.

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