scholarly journals The Plasticity of Students’ Language Learning Beliefs: The Interplay of Gender, Grade and Educational Level

2019 ◽  
Vol 5 (4) ◽  
pp. 36-53
Author(s):  
Vildana Dubravac ◽  
Esma Latić
Keyword(s):  
Second Language Acquisition ◽  
Language Learning ◽  
Educational Level ◽  
Epistemological Beliefs ◽  
English Language ◽  
Learning Experience ◽  
English Language Teaching ◽  
Learning Beliefs ◽  
Main Effect ◽  
Language Learning Beliefs

Understanding learners’ epistemological beliefs as one of the core segments underlying one’s learning experience is of cardinal importance both from the point of conveying as well as acquiring new knowledge. In English language teaching studying language learning beliefs has aroused a widespread research interest, with its genesis found in the seminal paper by Horwitz (1987), whose instrument (BALLI) was employed to collect the data in the present paper. In the under-researched context of Bosnia and Herzegovina the current study explores language learning beliefs of 233 elementary school and university students, taking into account the main and interaction effect of three factors: gender, grade and educational level. Through ANOVA and MANOVA statistical analyses, the results revealed an insignificant main effect of gender and grade on the BALLI while the latter significantly affected one of the subscales. Conversely, educational level demonstrated a significant main effect on both the BALLI and one subscale. Most importantly, the study showed interesting interplay of the three factors on the shaping of learners’ stances. These findings bring a significant realization of the complexity of the beliefs as well as their ever-changing nature with relevant pedagogical implications for the field of second language acquisition.

scholarly journals Language Learning in the Time of COVID-19: ELT Students’ Narrated Experiences in Guided Reflective Journals

2021 ◽  
Vol 26 (3) ◽  
pp. 571-585
Author(s):  
Amanda Wilson ◽  
M. Martha Lengeling
Keyword(s):  
Second Language Acquisition ◽  
Language Learning ◽  
English Language ◽  
Learning Experience ◽  
Comparative Method ◽  
Bachelor's Degree ◽  
English Language Teaching ◽  
Reflective Journals ◽  
Complex Emotions ◽  
Constant Comparative Method

This article presents the results of a qualitative study of the lived experiences and emotional responses regarding language learning of 29 students in a bachelor's degree in English language teaching (elt) offered at a public university in central Mexico. The study was grounded in sociocultural theory and was carried out at a time when the students' classes changed overnight to online learning due to the worldwide covid-19 pandemic. In this program, students learn a foreign language within a theoretical framework of second language acquisition (sla) and document their language learning experience (lle) through reflective journals. One month into the new online modality, they were asked to write in their journals about a historical artifact that would represent their experience dur­ing the pandemic for a historian 100 years in the future. A constant comparative method of analysis of their narrated stories reveals the challenges faced and ensu­ing emotions: from overwhelming anxiety to youthful optimism. These results provide an appreciation of students’ complex emotions regarding their language learning process while in the midst of a worldwide pandemic and highlight the importance of creating activities that promote reflection.

scholarly journals Language Learning Beliefs of Second Language Learners at Graduate Level in Pakistan

2020 ◽  
Vol V (I) ◽  
pp. 104-112
Author(s):  
Qurratulain Ershad ◽  
Maria Shiraz ◽  
Shahzada Qaisar
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Second Language Acquisition ◽  
Graduate Students ◽  
Language Acquisition ◽  
Language Learning ◽  
English Language ◽  
Second Language Learners ◽  
Learning Beliefs ◽  
Language Learning Beliefs ◽  
The Stability

The current research aimed at examining the beliefs of Pakistani graduate students towards English language learning and assessing the stability of their beliefs after six weeks. In the process of language learning beliefs play a pivotal role. Students beliefs about second language acquisition need to be studied so that appropriate approach can be adopted. To collect data, sixty graduate students were selected by purposive sampling. BALLI (Beliefs about Language Learning Inventory, Horwitz, 1987) tool was adopted and administered twice to collect the data. The results showed that the learners are motivated and keen to acquire English language. The respondents were apprised of the significance of foreign language acquisition and highlighted the importance of pronouncing the words correctly, meanings of new words, and the benefits of drills. The results also depicted that there is stability in most of students beliefs after six weeks.

Investigating education students’ language learning beliefs and motivation for learning English

2021 ◽  
Vol 54 (1) ◽  
pp. 95-121
Author(s):  
PraysGod Mhlongo ◽  
Colleen Du Plessis ◽  
Albert Weideman
Keyword(s):  
Second Language Acquisition ◽  
Language Learning ◽  
Learning Strategies ◽  
Intermediate Phase ◽  
Language Learning Strategies ◽  
Education Students ◽  
Learning Beliefs ◽  
Motivation For Learning ◽  
Language Learning Beliefs ◽  
Learning English

Institutions responsible for the training of educators have a duty to ensure that students develop adequate mastery of subject content and pedagogy. This paper investigates the language learning beliefs (LLBs) of pre-service Foundation and Intermediate Phase  educators and their alignment with language learning principles from applied linguistics research on second language acquisition (SLA). The study also examines the students’ motives for learning English since motivation plays a part in sustaining language learning. Gardner’s socio-educational model and Dörnyei’s L2 motivational self system are used as theoretical frameworks in addition to the work of scholars such as Horwitz, Griffiths, and Weideman and Lepota on language learning strategies and beliefs. The results of a  cross-sectional survey using the Beliefs About Language Learning and Motivation Inventory Modified (BALLMI-M) are analysed. The findings show that students are highly motivated to master English but do not wish to integrate with the English speech community. Furthermore, they lack understanding about the nature of language skills and have conflicting LLBs that should be addressed in futureamendments to the language curriculum. Keywords: language learning motivation, additional language teaching, literacy levels of Education students, language learning beliefs, language learning strategies 

scholarly journals Message from editor

2017 ◽  
Vol 12 (2) ◽  
pp. 46
Author(s):  
Cigdem Hursen
Keyword(s):  
Language Learning ◽  
Quantitative Research ◽  
English Language ◽  
Serious Game ◽  
English Language Learning ◽  
Guidance And Counseling ◽  
Application Process ◽  
Learning Beliefs ◽  
Educational Sciences ◽  
Language Learning Beliefs

From the Editors Huseyin Uzunboylu, Cigdem Hursen Dear Colleagues It is a great honour for us to welcome you as Editors of Cypriot Journal of Educational Sciences which has accepted publications indexed in qualified databases since 2006. Our main aim is to increase the quality of the journal day by day. We are ready to publish the new issue of Cypriot Journal of Educational Sciences which has 5 articles written by authors from Cyprus, Portugal and Turkey.   The aim of this issue is to give the researchers an opportunity to share their academic studies. First of all, I would like to thank all authors who have contributed to this issue. There are different focuses in the articles. For example, Sibel Ersel Kaymakamoğlu aimed to explore the English language learning beliefs of the students studying in the Guidance and Counseling Department at one of the Universities in Northern Cyprus. It also explored if the participants’ perceptions about English language learning showed differences according to gender and age. The findings revealed significant differences between the male and female participants’ perceptions about English language learning beliefs. On the other hand, İshak Kozikoğlu aim of this research is to analyze the studies concerning challenges faced by novice teachers in terms of various aspects and compare challenges according to location of the studies conducted in Turkey and abroad. Another study conducted by Fernando Almeida. They describe the experience of using a serious game in the entrepreneurship field in the context of the classroom. For that, they adopt a quantitative research technique based on a survey research to measure the different characteristics experienced by higher education students when using serious games in the classroom to learn entrepreneurship. The students have multidisciplinary competences, coming from courses with strong emphasis in the area of management and technology. The use of the serious game allowed students to develop skills mainly in terms of innovation, leadership, strategic thinking, problem solving, business launch and risk management. Also, Belkıs Tekmen aim of this study is to review and discuss some of these components of preschool teacher education in the Turkish context such as the student selection policy, faculty development, recruitment policies and competencies of the graduates. Finally, Huseyin Bicen and Senay Kocakoyun aimed to determine the opinions of students who participated in the development and application process of an Android application named NEU-CEIT about the mobile learning environment, educational and sharing structure of the developed application. According to the results, it was revealed that outcomes related with the usage structure of the developed application were positive, educational structure of the application is appropriate to follow the curriculum, it is rich in terms of materials and it might be one of the applications that students can use for communication. I would like to express my thanks to all authors preferring Cypriot Journal of Educational Sciences to publish their articles, and also all reviewers working seriously in this process.  Best regards, Editor-in-Chief Prof. Dr. Huseyin Uzunboylu Executive Editor Assoc. Prof. Dr. Cigdem Hursen

scholarly journals Grammar teaching in ELT: A cross-national comparison of teacher-reported practices

2020 ◽  
pp. 136216882096413
Author(s):  
Alexandra Schurz ◽  
Marion Coumel
Keyword(s):  
Second Language Acquisition ◽  
Educational Level ◽  
English Language ◽  
English Language Teaching ◽  
Online Questionnaire ◽  
Secondary English ◽  
Grammar Teaching ◽  
National Differences ◽  
Instructed Second Language Acquisition ◽  
Deductive Instruction

Today, the Common European Framework of Reference (2009), and with it the action-based approach, underlies English Language Teaching (ELT) curricula throughout Europe. However, actual teaching practices are likely to vary according to factors such as the educational level and supra-national differences, including legal guidelines and the level of extramural English, i.e. out-of-school use of English (Sundqvist, 2009). Those factors presumably influence the role of grammar teaching in foreign language classrooms, which has been the subject of continuous debate (see Graus & Coppen, 2016; Thornbury, 1999; Ur, 2011). Such potential differences in teacher-reported ELT practices across Europe have not yet been investigated in instructed second language acquisition research. Therefore, the present study aims to compare the type of instruction in lower vs. upper secondary school in Sweden, Austria, and France, countries ranking differently in the EF Proficiency index (Education First, 2019). 615 secondary English teachers across the three countries filled in an online questionnaire designed to assess their use of planned vs. incidental form focus, implicit vs. explicit, and inductive vs. deductive instruction (Ellis, 2001a, 2009; Long, 1991). Results seem to indicate that (1) in lower secondary, Swedish teachers teach less explicitly than teachers in Austria and France; (2) Sweden provides ELT that is more implicit-fluency-based than does Austria and France; (3) incidental (rather than planned) grammar teaching is more dominant in upper than in lower secondary across countries and in Sweden and France as compared to Austria; and (4) French teachers differ from the other groups in their application of more inductive rather than deductive instruction. We argue that both the educational level and a country’s language policies and ideologies – and consequently also the extent to which they encourage use and exposure to extramural English – may be determining factors in the type of instruction applied in ELT.

scholarly journals Saudi University Undergraduates’ Beliefs about Language Learning along Gender Lines

2018 ◽  
Vol 8 (4) ◽  
pp. 39 ◽  
Author(s):  
Choudhary Zahid Javid ◽  
Eidah Abdullah Al-malki
Keyword(s):  
Language Learning ◽  
English Language ◽  
Arab World ◽  
Language Teachers ◽  
Learning Beliefs ◽  
Foreign Language Aptitude ◽  
Beliefs About Language Learning ◽  
Language Learning Beliefs ◽  
Gender Based ◽  
Teaching Learning

A growing mass of research has reported that each human being is different like a signature and particular characteristics based on their specific personalities have a strong effect on their language learning possibilities. Research posits that identification of EFL learners’ beliefs about language learning positively affects language learning process as it helps the teachers to address to their students’ learning effectively and also bears positive overbearing in case they bear some less positive beliefs. The study in hand is an attempt to investigate the beliefs of Saudi undergraduates along gender lines by using Horwitz’s (1987) BALLI. The comparative analyses generated by Independent-sample T-test reveal that male participants have assigned comparatively higher values to the majority of the questionnaire items as compared to their female counterparts. The participants of this survey have exhibited the greatest gender-based differences in their beliefs about “motivation and expectations”. Beliefs about “learning and communication strategies” and “the nature of language learning” have shown medium gender-based differences whereas male and female participants have seen eye to eye to each other in their perceived beliefs related to “foreign language aptitude” and difficulty of language learning. The findings of this empirical study have several pedagogical implications to revisit and modify teaching/learning practices of English language in Saudi Arabia in particular and Arab world in general. The findings will help English language teachers teaching in the KSA to understand the gender-based dimensionality of the language learning beliefs which will help them align their teaching methods to their learners’ beliefs; thus, maximizing the possibilities of much sought after goal of effective and efficient ELT in the KSA.

scholarly journals The contribution of customized lessons with cultural content in the learning of EFL among undergraduates

2019 ◽  
Vol 1 (21) ◽  
pp. 15-43
Author(s):  
Hans Humberto Oviedo Gómez ◽  
Henry Alberto Álvarez Guayara
Keyword(s):  
Second Language Acquisition ◽  
Learning Styles ◽  
Language Learning ◽  
Learning Strategies ◽  
English Language ◽  
Cultural Knowledge ◽  
English Language Teaching ◽  
Self Assessment ◽  
Field Notes ◽  
Cultural Content

This qualitative descriptive action research study explores the contribution of customized lessons with cultural content in the learning of English as a Foreign Language (EFL).. This study was conducted with a group of 17 undergraduates from the English Language Teaching (ELT) program at a state university in south-eastern Colombia. Data were collected via students’ artefacts (EFL lessons developed by the participants) with corresponding self-assessment, teachers’ field notes, and surveys on students’ perceptions. Findings suggest that designing customized lessons anchored in principles of second language acquisition results in more effective language learning. Additionally, using cultural content in the lessons makes communication more meaningful as undergraduates develop cultural knowledge and understanding. Finally, addressing learning styles and providing learning strategies in the lessons greatly contribute to EFL learning among undergraduates.

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