scholarly journals The Effects of a CLIL Programme on Linguistic Progress at Two Different Points in Time

2021 ◽  
pp. 173-191
Author(s):  
Marta Segura ◽  
Helena Roquet ◽  
Carmen Pérez-Vidal
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Language ◽  
Reading Skills ◽  
Target Language ◽  
Integrated Learning ◽  
Older Students ◽  
Efl Learners ◽  
The Past ◽  
Learning Contexts ◽  
Student Proficiency

In an attempt to explore the effects of different kinds of English as a Foreign Language (EFL) learning contexts, content and language integrated learning (CLIL) have been at the centre of FL acquisition research over the past decade. Studies have focused on the features and gains this setting brings, whether content is learnt at the same level of success as when taught in the learners’ L1, and whether that L1 is negatively affected by CLIL. However, to our knowledge, very little attention has been brought to how the seniority of the programme affects learner progress in the target language. This study aims to fill such a gap in the understanding that the programme will have developed and improved in terms of quality of exposure and interaction, and that learners’ EFL performance will be higher. To do that, we measured the efficacy of a long-standing CLIL programme in Barcelona twelve years after it was launched and examined the reading, writing, and lexico-grammatical abilities of CLIL EFL learners aged 8, 11, and 14 compared with results obtained by learners measured at the onset of the programme in 2005. The results showed that the quality of the programme has increased over the last decade, guaranteeing a higher level of EFL student proficiency when raw scores are considered, but not in terms of linguistic gains, in which only improvement in older students’ grammar and reading skills can be observed.

An exploration of target L2 morphemes in the oral production of young EFL learners in Croatia

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jelena O'Reilly ◽  
Eva Jakupčević
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Language ◽  
Research Area ◽  
Simple Construction ◽  
L2 Acquisition ◽  
Efl Learners ◽  
Oral Production ◽  
The Past ◽  
Base Form ◽  
Production Study ◽  
Efl Students

Although the second language (L2) acquisition of morphology by late L2 learners has been a popular research area over the past decades, comparatively little is known about the acquisition and development of morphology in children who learn English as a foreign language (EFL). Therefore, the current study presents the findings from a longitudinal oral production study with 9/10-year-old L1 Croatian EFL students who were followed up at the age of 11/12. Our results are largely in line with the limited research so far in this area: young EFL learners have few issues using the be copula and, eventually, the irregular past simple forms, but had considerable problems with accurately supplying the 3rd person singular -s at both data collection points. We also observed a be + base form structure, especially at the earlier stage, which appears to be an emergent past simple construction.

scholarly journals The influence of a Lesson Study cycle on a 2nd grade EFL picture book-based teaching practice lesson in Norway

2015 ◽  
Vol 3 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Deborah Larssen ◽  
Ion Drew
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Language ◽  
Student Teachers ◽  
Lesson Study ◽  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
Teaching Practice ◽  
Picture Book ◽  
Target Language ◽  
Educational Method ◽  
Efl Learners ◽  
Video Recordings

This study aims to explore the influence of Lesson Study on the teaching of a 2nd grade English as a foreign language (EFL) picture book-based lesson conducted by a group of student teachers during teaching practice in Norway. Lesson Study is an investigative educational method originating in Japan. A group of teachers plan a research lesson which one of them teaches and the others observe, their attention focussing on a few selected pupils. The lesson is reviewed, re-planned and re-taught to a different class. The data presented here was collected through video-recordings of two lessons (a lesson taught and the same lesson re-planned and re-taught) and their corresponding pre-, mid-and post-supervision sessions. Lesson Study appeared to have had an influence on the activities, especially the type and number of questions being asked by the teacher, the timing of activities, and the use of the target language. It also appeared to have had an influence on the attitudes of both the mentors and students to using picture books with young EFL learners. Lesson Study has previously been little used and researched in foreign language teaching. This study demonstrates its potential to enhance teaching and learning in that context.

scholarly journals Post-Reading Comprehension Questions and Task Types in Vision: A Locally Developed Textbook for Teaching English as a Foreign Language

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mavadat Saidi ◽  
Nilufar Karami ◽  
Morteza Marooy
Keyword(s):  
Reading Comprehension ◽  
Foreign Language ◽  
Reading Skills ◽  
Kappa Coefficient ◽  
Dominant Type ◽  
Significant Difference ◽  
Explicit Content ◽  
Task Types ◽  
And Task

Abstract Responding to the call for perusing the post-reading comprehension questions in various EFL textbooks, the current study aimed to investigate the post-reading comprehension questions and task types in the Vision series including three student books and their accompanying workbooks in light of Freeman’s (2014) taxonomy. Following a descriptive content analysis procedure, the post-reading comprehension questions in each student books and its accompanying workbook were categorized and counted by the researchers and the Kappa coefficient was 0.97. The results revealed that Content questions were the most dominant type in all the student books and workbooks except for Vision 3 in which Language questions were the most frequent of all. The results also showed that the highest frequency of post-reading comprehension questions belonged to Explicit (Content) and Form (Language) in student books and Explicit and Implicit (Content), Form (Language), and Personal Response (Affect) in workbooks. The results of Kruskal Wallis test of independent samples indicated a significant difference in terms of Affect type across the student books and workbooks of Vision series. The findings raise the EFL material developers’ awareness of the existing post-reading comprehension questions and tasks to enhance the quality of reading sections of EFL textbooks. The results also help the teachers to supplement the books with the missing types and take a comprehensive approach to developing the learners’ reading skills.

Using Blogs to Motivate English as a Foreign Language Writers

2020 ◽  
pp. 257-278
Author(s):  
Selami Aydin ◽  
Emrah Özdemir
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Language ◽  
Language Learners ◽  
Target Language ◽  
Writing Achievement ◽  
Learning Context ◽  
Efl Writing ◽  
Efl Learners ◽  
Writing Motivation ◽  
Post Test ◽  
Motivation Level

Not many studies have been present on the effects of blogging, particularly with respect to English as a Foreign Language (EFL) writing motivation. Those studies did not focus on the effect of the use of blogs on Turkish EFL learners' writing motivation. Thus, this chapter examines how the use of blogs affects EFL writing motivation among EFL learners in a Turkish EFL learning context. A questionnaire interrogating demographic information, a pre-test and a post-test measuring writing achievement were administered to a group of participants including 48 language learners. According to results, blogging on its own does not increase motivation; however, the process-based writing instruction mainly has positive influences on EFL learners' motivation in both traditional pen-paper and blog environments. Thus, EFL teachers need to know that the use of blogs does not increase motivation among Turkish EFL learners. To increase their motivation level, it is also recommended that teachers should use a writing environment where their students are encouraged to write in the target language.

scholarly journals Collocational Differences Between L1 and L2: Implications for EFL Learners and Teachers

2009 ◽  
Vol 26 (2) ◽  
pp. 100 ◽  
Author(s):  
Karim Sadeghi
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Language ◽  
Language Learners ◽  
Teaching Experience ◽  
Target Language ◽  
Linguistic Knowledge ◽  
Private Language ◽  
Efl Learners ◽  
North West ◽  
The North ◽  
L1 And L2

Collocations are one of the areas that produce problems for learners of English as a foreign language. Iranian learners of English are by no means an exception. Teaching experience at schools, private language centers, and universities in Iran suggests that a significant part of EFL learners’ problems with producing the language, especially at lower levels of proficiency, can be traced back to the areas where there is a difference between source- and target-language word partners. As an example, whereas people in English make mistakes, Iranians do mistakes when speaking Farsi (Iran’s official language, also called Persian) or Azari (a Turkic language spoken mainly in the north west of Iran). Accordingly, many beginning EFL learners in Iran are tempted to produce the latter incorrect form rather than its acceptable counterpart in English. This is a comparative study of Farsi (Persian) and English collocations with respect to lexis and grammar. The results of the study, with 76 participants who sat a 60-item Farsi (Persian)- English test of collocations, indicated that learners are most likely to face great obstacles in cases where they negatively transfer their linguistic knowledge of the L1 to an L2 context. The findings of this study have some immediate implications for both language learners and teachers of EFL/ESL, as well as for writers of materials.

scholarly journals Cultural issues in Syrian EFL classrooms

2016 ◽  
Vol 13 (3) ◽  
pp. 4117
Author(s):  
Ömer Gökhan Ulum
Keyword(s):  
Social Sciences ◽  
Foreign Language ◽  
Research Design ◽  
Target Language ◽  
Cultural Issues ◽  
Cultural Elements ◽  
Efl Learners ◽  
Descriptive Research ◽  
Long Time ◽  
Efl Students

Whether we should teach culture or not when we teach English as a Foreign Language has been great concern for a long time. Which one should be contained in EFL course books? The culture of the target language or the own culture of EFL learners? Regarding this issue, many researchers have a diversity of opinions, however; this study was conducted having resource to descriptive research design, in that it aims to understand the perspectives of the Syrian EFL students on cultural elements in their course books. A questionnaire and an interview,which were administered to 103 Syrian EFL students,were used in order to gather the required data. SPSS(v20.0), aStatistical Program for Social Sciences was employed in order to analyze the collected data. As a result of the findings, it was found out that Syrian EFL students had generally positive perspectives on the cultural elements of the target language contained in their course books

scholarly journals Un percorso di accostamento precoce al bilinguismo in ambito formativo Il modello e gli strumenti utilizzati

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alberta Novello
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Language ◽  
Personal Development ◽  
Early Age ◽  
Language Competence ◽  
Childhood Education ◽  
Young Learners ◽  
The Past ◽  
Significant Opportunity

The advantages of teaching a foreign language from an early age has been demonstrated in the past years. However, only few schools in Italy offer bilingual programmes. Early bilingual childhood education represents a significant opportunity for the personal development of the child and for the quality of his/her language competence. This paper describes a model used to teach a foreign language to very young learners (aged 0-6) in schools and it presents and discusses some documents which have been devised in order to gather information about this model.

scholarly journals The Impact of Class Size on Teaching and Learning English as a Foreign Language: The Case of the Department of English at Abdelhamid Ibn Badis University

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Arab World English Journal ◽  
Hayat Aoumeur
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Language ◽  
Class Size ◽  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
Huge Number ◽  
Large Classes ◽  
The Past ◽  
Quality Of Teaching ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Learning English

This paper is devoted to the study of the impact of class size on teaching and learning English as a foreign language. The investigation was conducted at the department of English at Abdelhamid Ibn Badis University. The department has witnessed a huge increase in the enrolment figure in the past decade which resulted into an increase in class sizes. This has created problems for staff and students alike. Despite the steps taken by the administrators to reduce the number of students, the problem of class crowding still persists. The department of English, alone, has an enrolment of almost 3000 students, it is a huge number indeed if we take into consideration the availability of facilities and resources. The aim of this study is to explore the organizational and pedagogical difficulties that are frequently encountered by the teachers dealing with large classes and the effects on student learning. Additionally, this paper proposes some suggestions on how to deal with class overcrowding. As part of our research, we have given questionnaires to 200 students and 40 teachers. The findings of the survey clearly demonstrate that large class sizes have an adverse impact on the quality of teaching and learning.

Intensifying constructions in French-speaking L2 learners of English and Dutch

2019 ◽  
Vol 5 (1) ◽  
pp. 63-103 ◽  
Author(s):  
Isa Hendrikx ◽  
Kristel Van Goethem ◽  
Stefanie Wulff
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Language ◽  
Language Education ◽  
Foreign Language Education ◽  
Target Language ◽  
Longitudinal Impact ◽  
Integrated Learning ◽  
L2 Learners ◽  
French Speaking ◽  
The Cross

Abstract We investigate the cross-linguistic influence and the (longitudinal) impact of Content and Language Integrated Learning (CLIL) on the acquisition of intensifying constructions, using corpora of written French, Dutch, and English productions by L1 speakers, and L2 English and L2 Dutch produced by French-speaking learners in CLIL and traditional foreign language education. We hypothesize that learners will benefit from similarities between the L1 and target language (TL) intensifying constructions, and secondly, that more input and use (through CLIL) will lead to a more target-like use of intensifying constructions. The analyses include quantitative measures of frequency and productivity, and covarying analyses (Gries, 2007). Our findings suggest that, as expected, CLIL students produce intensifying constructions in a more target-like manner. The effect of the duration of TL learning, however, is more apparent in English than in Dutch.

Effects of Reading-Listening Integrated Dictation on Chinese EFL Students’ Listening Performance

2021 ◽  
Vol 44 (3) ◽  
pp. 417-429
Author(s):  
Haiyan Miao
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Language ◽  
Target Language ◽  
First Year ◽  
College Level ◽  
Learning Gains ◽  
Text Difficulty ◽  
Efl Learners ◽  
Efl Students

Abstract This study examines the effects of reading-listening integrated dictation on Chinese college-level English as a foreign language (EFL) learners’ listening. Different from previous research that explored reading while listening for listening development, this study combined the two skills in dictation in which listening was a continuation of reading. Participants were two groups of first-year Chinese EFL learners who were exposed to the target language under two conditions: the traditional dictation (i. e., listening-only) and the reading-listening integrated dictation in a counterbalanced order. Three datasets were collected: listening performance, perception questionnaires and follow-up interviews. Results indicated that the reading-listening integrated dictation was superior in terms of learning gains from listening and that their effect was commensurate with dictation text difficulty. The findings also showed that the reading-listening integrated dictation could enhance EFL students’ confidence and interest and make the use of strategies possible during listening.

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