scholarly journals Individual Multilingualism of Students and Their Commitment to Learning German: A Pilot Study of the Faculty of Philology at Vilnius University

Verbum ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 12 ◽  
pp. 3
Author(s):  
Diana Babušytė ◽  
Justina Daunorienė

The importance of promoting individual multilingualism is repeatedly emphasised worldwide in didactic, sociolinguistic and psycholinguistic studies. The prior knowledge of the learners and the networking of languages is pointed out in the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages. For this reason, the principles and methods of multilingual didactics play an important role in foreign language teaching due to their positive effects. Therefore, the question is increasingly being addressed how individual differences and progress of the learners regarding their linguistic backgrounds can be taken into account in language teaching.This article examines the question of whether and how Lithuanian university students see their multilingual repertoire as a resource for learning German. For this purpose, a survey was carried out among the Philology students of Vilnius University who study German as an optional course. The aim of this pilot study was to find out whether the students' previous knowledge of other languages helps them to learn German, or whether they see the influences of their mother tongue and other foreign languages as an obstacle that affects them negatively. The data obtained from the questionnaire presents the students' attitudes towards multilingualism, their multilingual skills and language awareness, as well as their language-related experience in acquiring German as a foreign language. The respondents' answers were processed using the method of the qualitative content analysis with a deductive-inductive approach. The results of the survey show that the majority of the students encountered the methods of multilingual didactics and see the multilingual competence as an important advantage for learning other foreign languages. Despite the language interference, the benefits of language skills outweigh the learning process. The students give examples based on their experience of how they use other languages for learning German and show well-developed metalinguistic awareness (e.g. language comparisons) and metacognitive skills (e.g. learning strategies).It is planned to continue this study by interviewing students from other faculties of Vilnius University (Medicine, Law, etc.) comparing their multilingual skills and metalinguistic awareness with the Philology students.

Verbum ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 12 ◽  
pp. 3
Author(s):  
Diana Babušytė ◽  
Justina Daunorienė

The importance of promoting individual multilingualism is repeatedly emphasised worldwide in didactic, sociolinguistic and psycholinguistic studies. The prior knowledge of the learners and the networking of languages is pointed out in the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages. For this reason, the principles and methods of multilingual didactics play an important role in foreign language teaching due to their positive effects. Therefore, the question is increasingly being addressed how individual differences and progress of the learners regarding their linguistic backgrounds can be taken into account in language teaching.This article examines the question of whether and how Lithuanian university students see their multilingual repertoire as a resource for learning German. For this purpose, a survey was carried out among the Philology students of Vilnius University who study German as an optional course. The aim of this pilot study was to find out whether the students' previous knowledge of other languages helps them to learn German, or whether they see the influences of their mother tongue and other foreign languages as an obstacle that affects them negatively. The data obtained from the questionnaire presents the students' attitudes towards multilingualism, their multilingual skills and language awareness, as well as their language-related experience in acquiring German as a foreign language. The respondents' answers were processed using the method of the qualitative content analysis with a deductive-inductive approach. The results of the survey show that the majority of the students encountered the methods of multilingual didactics and see the multilingual competence as an important advantage for learning other foreign languages. Despite the language interference, the benefits of language skills outweigh the learning process. The students give examples based on their experience of how they use other languages for learning German and show well-developed metalinguistic awareness (e.g. language comparisons) and metacognitive skills (e.g. learning strategies).It is planned to continue this study by interviewing students from other faculties of Vilnius University (Medicine, Law, etc.) comparing their multilingual skills and metalinguistic awareness with the Philology students.


Author(s):  
Olena Ivashko

The article tackles the problem of teaching foreign languages to seniors. The general trends in FL education for the third-age learners are outlined. The institutions in which seniors can study foreign languages in Poland are enumerated. The psychological, physiological, methodological and social peculiarities of teaching a foreign language to the third agers are analyzed. Special emphasis is laid upon educational needs of the Third Age learners. Some language learning strategies which help seniors’ foreign language learning are suggested.


Neofilolog ◽  
2019 ◽  
pp. 43-57
Author(s):  
Magdalena Dańko ◽  
Ewa Wieszczeczyńska

This paper presents the results of a pilot study conducted in 60 selected companies located in Wrocław and Lower Silesia. The main objective of the study was to get information about prospective employers’ expectations of graduates of humanities with foreign language knowledge and skills, should those companies decide to employ them. It was found that according to employers social and personal competencies are as important as skills in using specialized language and new technologies. Preferred are graduates who are fluent in two foreign languages (English and German) and who have extensive general knowledge.


Author(s):  
SIRANUSH GHAZARYAN

The article touches upon the problems of teaching English as a third foreign language in higher educational institutions of the Republic of Armenia. The students’ mother tongue, in this case, is Armenian. Russian is the first foreign language and French is the second one. Considering the fact that the students’ 2nd (French) and 3rd (English) foreign languages have significant similarities that can cause both positive transfer and negative interference, the teaching/learning process of English should be organized by paying special attention to the similarities and taking into account certain peculiarities. Accordingly, the use of correctly selected exercises can help in organizing the teaching/learning process more quickly and effectively. The author also introduces some “dangerous” language phenomena that may bring about undesirable interference in learning English after French. In addition, a number of exercise samples are provided that might be used to develop the students’ lexical, grammatical and phonological competences in teaching/learning English as a third foreign language.


10.29007/wzmn ◽  
2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Heather Adams ◽  
Laura Cruz-García

This paper presents some of the findings from research carried out among language teachers on translation and interpreting (T&I) degree courses in Spain, who responded to a questionnaire aiming to obtain a clearer idea of how foreign language teaching in this field of studies differed from approaches in other areas. The main purpose was to compile data based on actual practice, rather than theoretical notions. While the questions posed tended to be framed in such a way as to draw conclusions more for translation than for interpreting, a number of them were conducive to eliciting responses relating to aural and oral performance. Our paper will set forth the ensuing findings that can be applied to the development of language- and culture-based competences for subsequent interpreting courses and practices, as well as exploring possible further areas of study in the area of the teaching of both foreign languages and the mother tongue based on the specific language competences required in the different modalities of interpreting. We are, of course, immensely grateful to all those teachers who took the time and trouble to answer our questions.


2018 ◽  
pp. 217
Author(s):  
Rafael Guzmán Tirado

Resumen: La hipótesis principal que planteamos en el presente artículo consiste en que el estudio contrastivo de las lenguas puede ser de gran utilidad en la enseñanza de las lenguas extranjeras, pues permite al profesor descubrir los errores provocados durante su aprendizaje por la interferencia de la lengua materna del estudiante, lo que será esencial para seleccionar y organizar el material didáctico necesario. Para demostrar esta hipótesis nos hemos planteado como objetivo realizar un estudio de las principales particularidades de la enseñanza de la lengua española a los estudiantes de habla rusa y analizar los problemas y dificultades con las que se encuentran durante el proceso de aprendizaje del español, debido a las interferencias mencionadas. Estos datos permitirán a los profesores de ELE y de los diversos niveles educativos adoptar las estrategias y medidas correspondientes, así como establecer las estrategias necesarias y elaborar los materiales que permitan superarlas.Abstract: The main hypothesis in our article is that the contrastive study of languages can be very useful in the teaching of foreign languages, since it allows the teacher to discover the errors produced by the interference of the student's mother tongue, what will be essential to select and organize the necessary teaching materials. Starting from that principle, the objective of the present work is to carry out a study of the main peculiarities of the teaching of the Spanish language to Russian-speaking students, and analyze the problems and difficulties which these students find during the process of learning our language, due to the interference of their mother tongue. This will allow teachers of Spanish as a foreign language and teachers of the different education levels to adopt the corresponding strategies and measures.


2020 ◽  
Vol 9 (29) ◽  
pp. 516-529
Author(s):  
Nataliia Borysko ◽  
Alina Dolyna ◽  
Elvira Bondarenko ◽  
Iryna Korniiko

The problem of developing grammatical competence of pre-service philologists, teachers, interpreters, and translators while learning German after English is quite urgent nowadays as it is a typical second foreign language after English. The reasons for students’ unacceptable level of German are examined by analyzing the results of the survey of 437 students and 37 academics from nine Ukrainian universities and singling out the five groups of factors. The study is based on the following research methods: critical analysis of local and foreign scientific works; generalizing the teaching experience of German as a foreign language after English, scientific observation of teaching process; analysis of local and authentic programs and courses/textbooks, and survey of students and academics. This research reveals the main problems of teaching German as a second foreign language: the insufficient amount of modern local methodological research projects for higher education; improper methodological, psychological, and pedagogical preparation of teachers; lack of teaching and learning materials; low level of students’ learning autonomy, language, and metalinguistic awareness, and motivation. The aim of the article is to study the possibilities and ways of solving the given problems.   The main aspects of interaction and mutual influence between the two foreign languages and native language are considered. The solutions for the singled out problems of teaching and learning German after English are suggested. The article presents and justifies the hierarchy of teaching principles: general methodological principles of teaching any foreign language, special principles of teaching second foreign languages, and particular principles of German grammatical competence development. The study offers the means for applying the last group of principles into practice.


Neofilolog ◽  
1970 ◽  
pp. 257-268
Author(s):  
Lesław Tobiasz

The article presents results of an inquiry made among the students of English philology who learn German mostly as L3 in addition to English as L2 in a special translation program. The inquiry shows through many examples that English is a source both for complex positive transfer into German as well of interference. The answers of the students indicate the very important role of individual characteristics in the process of language learning. The author concludes that effective leaning of a foreign language requires the use of individual learner strategies and appropriate reference to knowledge both in the mother tongue and in other foreign languages.


2019 ◽  
Vol 2018 (1) ◽  
pp. 305
Author(s):  
Rieko Nishigai ◽  
Noriko Kobayashi

従来型の一斉読解授業のみで個々の読解力を育成することには限界があるとして、近年、多読を授業に取り入れる教育機関が増えており、英語教育及び日本語教育における実践研究報告も数多くなされている。本稿では外国語専門学校における、レベル差のある日本語学習者を対象に行った多読授業の実践、及び授業外活動として目標言語の異なる学習者を対象として行った多読活動を紹介する。両活動後の記述および聞き取り調査の結果から、多読は学習者の自律的な学びを促し、総合的な言語能力を高める上で教育的な効果が高いと判断した。また、授業外活動で中国語、韓国語等の多言語による多読を取り入れた結果、多読は第二言語だけではなく外国語学習においても、同様の効果を期待し得ると結論付けた。さらに、絵本など言語外の情報から、ことばの背景にある文化への関心を引き出し、多文化理解を促すという相乗効果も期待できると言えよう。 Because reading ability is difficult to teach in a large class, extensive reading (ER) has been incorporated in both English and Japanese classes, and many studies report on ER activities. This report introduces two types of ER activities conducted at a language school: ER as a classroom activity for Japanese (L2) learners with various levels and ER as an extracurricular activity for learners of foreign languages. Postactivity feedback reports indicated that ER activities foster autonomous learning and they are effective in enhancing overall abilities of target languages. Authors also concluded that ER in different languages such as Chinese and Korean, which was done as an extracurricular activity, exerts positive effects not only on L2 learning but also on foreign language learning. In addition, extralinguistic information such as pictures brings out learners’ interest in foreign cultures, which encourages their multicultural understanding.


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