scholarly journals Investigating the Experience of Boredom During Reading Sessions in the Foreign Language Classroom

2021 ◽  
Vol 7 (3) ◽  
pp. 89-103
Author(s):  
Mariusz Kruk
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Language ◽  
English Language ◽  
Negative Emotion ◽  
Individual Characteristics ◽  
School Settings ◽  
Single Reading ◽  
Language Classroom ◽  
Second Year ◽  
Reading Session ◽  
Different Levels

Despite the fact that boredom appears to be one of the most commonly experienced emotions in school settings, this negative emotion remains vastly underappreciated in the field of SLA. This is the gap this article seeks to rectify by reporting the findings of a classroom-based study whose purpose was to investigate changes in the experience of boredom in an English language classroom during reading sessions. The sample consisted of 18 second-year students studying English at a Polish high school. The data were collected by means of session logs, observations and reading session plans. The gathered data were analysed quantitatively and qualitatively. The findings showed that the participants reported different levels of boredom over the course of single reading sessions and from one session to the next. Factors responsible for the detected variation in the levels of boredom were related, among other things, to inactivity, performance of too easy/difficult tasks, teacher’s decisions regarding choice and use of language materials, the design of the reading sessions or individual characteristics of the learner.

Exploring Foreign Language Communication Apprehension among the English Language University Students in the English Language Classroom Setting

2018 ◽  
Vol 5 (2) ◽  
pp. 27-39
Author(s):  
Draženka Molnar ◽  
Gabrijela Crnjak
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Language ◽  
English Language ◽  
Communication Apprehension ◽  
Theoretical Background ◽  
General View ◽  
Total Level ◽  
Foreign Language Acquisition ◽  
The Social ◽  
Language Classroom ◽  
Language Communication

Abstract Over the past few decades the interest in communication apprehension has increased among researchers and teachers in the field of second/foreign language acquisition (SLA/FLA).The present paper is set between the macro perspective of the social-psychological period - by giving a general view of communication apprehension (CA) - and the situation-specific period - by taking into consideration the immediate educational context.The paper focuses on the phenomenon of communication apprehension among the Croatian university level students in a foreign language classroom setting.In particular, it investigates if there is a difference in the total level of communication apprehension between undergraduate and graduate students of English Language and Literature.Furthermore, it explores whether there is a relationship between different aspects of communication apprehension and the total level of communication apprehension and which background factor is the best predictor of communication apprehension among the students.The first part of the paper brings a theoretical background of the main concepts in this research, whereas the second part of the paper reports on the research itself.Two sets of instruments, questionnaires completed by the students and in-depth interviews conducted among the teachers, were used for the purpose of this study.The results show that the year of study is not a significant predictor of the communication apprehension level which students experience.Among all variables included in the analysis, the only significant predictors of communication apprehension are evaluations.

The Science Reading Rooms of the British Library: The User Community and Patterns of Use

1995 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
pp. 61-70 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andrea Reid ◽  
Beryl Leigh
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Language ◽  
English Language ◽  
Survey Methods ◽  
Information Service ◽  
British Library ◽  
Patterns Of Use ◽  
Single Reading ◽  
Science Reading ◽  
The Uk ◽  
Average User

When the British Library in London moves into its new building at St Pancras the reference collections for science, business and patents in the Science Reference and Information Service (SRIS), at present housed in three locations, will be united in a single reading room complex. Much information of value for planning future services and arrangement of stock has been obtained over the years by surveys of users and usage, most recently at the end of 1993. A variety of survey methods was employed. The largest category of users consists of students, whose proportion rose from 28% in 1983 to 40% in 1993, while the patent community fell proportionately from 23% to 13% over the same period. Nearly all users were based in the UK, 92% of them in London and the South-East; but 22% were carrying out work for clients, 38% of whom were based in London, 26% in the rest of the UK and 36% abroad. Patent searchers spent nearly twice as much time in the reading rooms as other readers. English language periodicals received most use (used by 44% of users), but monographs (34%) and foreign language periodicals (7%) also received substantial use. The average user consulted 24 items per visit, and the average number of enquiries per day was 561. These and other findings are being used in planning aspects such as reader admissions procedures, arrangement of open access stock and staffing rotas, to ensure that the SRIS reading rooms in the new building will fulfil the needs of users.

Communicative Constraints in EFL Pre-School Settings: A Corpus-Driven Approach

2001 ◽  
Vol 6 (1) ◽  
pp. 27-46 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jesús Romero-Trillo ◽  
Ana Llinares García
Keyword(s):  
Present Article ◽  
English Language ◽  
School Context ◽  
Target Language ◽  
Classroom Context ◽  
School Settings ◽  
Nursery Schools ◽  
Language Classroom ◽  
L2 Development ◽  
Questions And Responses

The present article investigates the use of interrogatives made by teachers and the responses given by learners in two different (bilingual and non-bilingual) English language classroom contexts in two Spanish nursery schools. The analysis shows the relevance of the type of functions made by the teachers through interrogatives, rather than the quantity of input in the target language. The study classifies the functions of interrogatives in the pre-school context and makes a statistical corpus-driven analysis of the questions and responses in the two schools. Finally, the article makes some suggestions, based on the data, about the kind of questions than can lead to a more natural L2 development in the classroom context.

scholarly journals Syllabus Design for Pre-service English Language Teachers in Spain

2018 ◽  
pp. 26
Author(s):  
Gloria Luque Agulló
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Language ◽  
English Language ◽  
Educational Programs ◽  
Language Teachers ◽  
Teaching Program ◽  
Teaching English ◽  
Educational Law ◽  
Self Confidence ◽  
Language Classroom ◽  
English Language Teachers

This paper describes the steps involved in designing educational programs for pre-service English language teachers in Secondary education within the Spanish context, following the current educational law (LOMCE).  Considering the century-long search for the best method within TEFL (Teaching English as a Foreign Language), and the continuous reforms of educational laws in Spain, pre-service teachers must learn the competences and skills essential for designing of their own teaching program. The series of steps described here will enable teachers to show accountability to educational authorities and increase their self-confidence, subsequently improving their craft in the language classroom.

scholarly journals Students’ Motivation to Learn English as a Foreign Language in the Context of Saudi Arabian Learners

2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (3) ◽  
pp. 242-256
Author(s):  
Hind Aljuaid
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Language ◽  
English Language ◽  
Saudi Arabian ◽  
Motivation To Learn ◽  
Mean Values ◽  
Significant Difference ◽  
Integrative Effort ◽  
Motivation Scale ◽  
The Difference ◽  
Different Levels

Motivation is the major contributor to the students’ learning English as a second language. However, varying reasons have been suggested by different researchers and theorists to explain the reasons and dimensions of this motivation. Therefore, the study aimed to evaluate the motivation to learn English as a foreign language (EFL) among 157 Saudi Arabian university students. The instrument used for the analysis was a modified version of the motivation scale developed by Wen (1997), which measures motivation based on six subscales: integrative, instrumental, effort, valence, expectation, and ability. In addition, students’ motivation was compared among students with different English language levels using multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA) on six motivation subscales. The results of the MANOVA revealed that there was no significant difference among students of different levels of English knowledge when each level was compared separately. Nevertheless, when comparing a merged group of students with English level knowledge of 1st to 3rd with the group of 4th level, the motivation of the latter group was statistically significantly higher. Furthermore, the difference in mean values was significant for integrative, effort, valence, and ability subscales. Thus, the findings of this research depicted that instrumental and integrative motivations could be the main contributor to students’ motivation to learn English as a foreign language.

scholarly journals Enhancing student schematic knowledge of culture through literature circles in a foreign language classroom

2015 ◽  
Vol 3 (1) ◽  
pp. 85-92
Author(s):  
Alastair Graham-Marr
Keyword(s):  
Pilot Study ◽  
Foreign Language ◽  
English Education ◽  
Literature Circles ◽  
Student Understanding ◽  
Target Language ◽  
Classroom Activity ◽  
Language Classroom ◽  
Second Year ◽  
Schematic Knowledge

Abstract Improving student understanding of a foreign language culture is anything but a peripheral issue in the teaching of a foreign language. This pilot study reports on a second year required English course in a university in Japan that took a Literature Circles approach, where students were asked to read short stories out of class and then discuss these stories in class. Although students reported that they did not gain any special insights into the target language culture presented, they did report that reading fiction as source material for classroom activity helps with the acquisition of a vocabulary set that is more closely associated with lifestyle and culture. The results suggest that further study is warranted. Procedures of this pilot study are described and interpreted in the context of the English education system in Japan.

scholarly journals The impact of CLIL on the acquisition of L2 competences and skills in primary education

2016 ◽  
Vol 16 (2) ◽  
pp. 81 ◽  
Author(s):  
Esther Nieto Moreno de Diezmas
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Language ◽  
Primary Education ◽  
English Language ◽  
Communicative Competence ◽  
Selection Process ◽  
Traditional Learning ◽  
School Settings ◽  
The Impact ◽  
New Evidence ◽  
Do So

<p>The aim of this paper is to provide new evidence on the effectiveness of Content and Language Integrated Learning (CLIL) in the acquisition of English language competences (reading, writing, listening and spoken production and interaction) compared to traditional learning of English as a foreign language (EFL) in primary school settings. To do so, results of CLIL and non-CLIL learners enrolled in the 4 th year of primary education (9-10-year-olds) were examined and contrasted. Findings showed that the only communicative competence in which differences in favour of CLIL students were significant was spoken production and interaction. However, significant differences have also been detected in the following indicators: “preparing an outline before writing” (writing), “understanding space-time relations” (reading), and “global comprehension” and “identification of details” (listening). The confined effectiveness of CLIL may be due to the limited time of extra exposure to English, the young age of participants and the absence of any selection process for CLIL learners.</p>

Using Cooperation Scripts and Animations to Teach Grammar in the Foreign Language Classroom

2019 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
pp. 31-50
Author(s):  
Carlee Arnett ◽  
Ferran Suñer ◽  
Daniel Pust
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Language ◽  
Grammatical Structure ◽  
Language Classroom ◽  
Post Test ◽  
German Speaking ◽  
German Speaking Country ◽  
Quasi Experimental ◽  
English Speaking ◽  
Second Year ◽  
And Function

Abstract In order to test the efficacy of using cooperation scripts in combination with animations to teach the passive in an advanced language classroom, we designed an intervention study with two groups. The first group received instruction with animations on the grammatical structure of the passive and the second group received the same instruction and animations as the first group, but in addition they were given a cooperation script to use in their small group work. The study uses a quasi-experimental design with a post-test and delayed post-test. The learners were university students in advanced German who had received classroom instruction and spent time in a German-speaking country. Therefore, they had explicit instruction on the morphology and function of the passive as is customary in first- and second-year textbooks for English-speaking learners. This study shows that students with the cooperation script perform better on open-ended tasks than students who worked independently.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document