scholarly journals Language Education in Emergencies: A Systematic Review

2021 ◽  
Vol 7 (4) ◽  
pp. 183-197
Author(s):  
Athip Thumvichit ◽  
Savika Varaporn ◽  
Vorakorn Tuvachit

In response to the Covid-19 pandemic, education systems around the globe suspended on-site classes and transitioned instruction to various remote environments, creating a distinctive context for teaching and learning. This systematic review brings together the available research in language education within the current emergency setting to examine the state of affairs, as well as the situation’s inherent challenges and opportunities for language learners and teachers. A total of 38 studies were collected to reflect the current trend, with 16 of these in-depth reviewed. Research focusing on learners was dominant. Most research was conducted at the tertiary level. The studies highlighted digital tools that are capable of engaging language learners in an interactive learning experience, though they are unable to replace face-to-face instruction. Outside-of-class support such as extra channels of communication, self-access language learning (SALL) materials, and advising in language learning (ALL) were all found to complement remote learning. It is recommended that teachers try to retain their teaching principles and put them into practice regardless of the abrupt transition. Teachers’ wellbeing can be promoted when teachers accept the changes and see them as opportunities.

2016 ◽  
Vol 39 (3) ◽  
pp. 272-291 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andrew S. Ross ◽  
Elke Stracke

Within applied linguistics, understanding of motivation and cognition has benefitted from substantial attention for decades, but the attention received by language learner emotions has not been comparable until recently when interest in emotions and the role they can play in language learning has increased. Emotions are at the core of human experience, so a greater understanding of their impact on language learners is critical. In particular, the role and impact of positive emotions on learners and their learning experience has been overlooked in favour of a focus on issues of confidence and anxiety. One particular positive emotion that has a meaningful connection with the learning experience is that of pride. Drawing on qualitative interview data from tertiary English language learners in Australian universities, this article singles out pride as a means of confirming the critical role of positive emotions in language learning. The interviews revealed that pride had a significant impact on the experiences of learners. It was also discovered that within the notion of pride there exists a degree of dimensionality. Pride is felt in communicative contexts whereas a feeling of ‘non-pride’ can occur in learning contexts. The article also presents implications arising from the study concerning the place of emotions in language teaching and learning.


2019 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
pp. 203-221
Author(s):  
Maria Villalobos-Buehner

Abstract Novice learners comprise the majority of language students in higher education, but very few decide to continue their foreign language education beyond the required credits. Educators must develop a deeper understanding of what motivates this group of students so they can design pedagogical practices that will help students shift from a checklist mindset to a lifelong commitment approach to language learning. This qualitative study examines the role that a motivational focus and future-self guides play in the language learning experience of novice language learners, taking a language class for the first time, from the USA, and the role that a grammar-based pedagogy has on the formation of those self-guides. Interviews with ten novice language learners showed that six students exhibited a strong promotion focus with an ideal L2 self available in their professional-self concept. Prevention-focused students with an available ought-to L2 self preferred classroom experiences centered around grammar topics while those with a promotional focus preferred culture-based lessons. This study makes recommendations on how language educators could maximize students’ level of engagement by knowing their students’ motivational focus.


2018 ◽  
Vol 12 (3) ◽  
pp. 4
Author(s):  
Anne Golden ◽  
Guri Bordal Steien

I denne artikkelen har vi en talerfokusert tilnærming til det å lære språk i voksen alder. Målet vårt er å svare på en oppfordring fra flere forskere om at taleres egne erfaringer med og perspektiver på språkinnlæring bør komme fram i andrespråksforskningen. Fokuset vårt er rettet mot en gruppe voksne flyktninger fra Den demokratiske republikken Kongo, og vi ser på hvordan de opplevde den norskopplæringen de fikk som nyankomne til Norge. Et kjennetegn ved disse personene er at de er svært flerspråklige; de hadde allerede bred erfaring med å lære nye språk da de begynte å lære norsk. Vi har studert et utvalg narrativer der de forteller om sine erfaringer fra norskopplæring. Temaene for narrativene er kartlegging for kursplassering, lærernes kvalifikasjoner, antall timer per kurs og norskpraksis på arbeidsplass. Deltakerne stiller seg kritiske til flere aspekter ved den opplæringen de fikk. De fremstår som selvsikre språkinnlærere og framforhandler ulike identiteter. Narrativene gir et innblikk i disse personenes verden, deres egne behov og refleksjoner rundt norskopplæring for flyktninger. De minner oss på det mangfoldet av opplevelser som finnes blant målgruppen for andrespråksopplæring.Nøkkelord: narrativer, norsk som andrespråk, talerfokuserte tilnærminger, identitet, voksne flyktninger“Talk to the wood? Talk to the machine?”Adult refugees’ narratives from Norwegian classesAbstractIn this article, we have a speaker-centered approach to adult additional language learning. Our aim is to answer the call from several researchers to take learners’ own perspectives and experiences into account in research on learning. Our focus is on how a group of adult refugees from the Democratic republic of Congo experienced the language program they attended when they arrived in Norway. A characteristic of the participants is that they are extremely multilingual, and had already extensive language learning experience when they started to learn Norwegian. Our data are narratives where they tell about their experiences from Norwegian classes. The topics of the narratives are assessment, teacher qualifications, number of teaching hours and language internships at workplaces. The participants express criticism towards several aspects of the programs they attended. They seem to be self-confident language learners and negotiate different identities. The narratives give us an insight into their worlds, needs and reflections on education for refugees. They remind us of the multitude of experiences that exist among members of the target group of language education programs.Keywords: narratives, additional language learning, speaker-centered approaches, identity, adult refugees


2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (2) ◽  
pp. 62
Author(s):  
Abdelrahman Abdalla Salih ◽  
Lamis Ismail Omar

The abrupt disruption of the traditional face-to-face language instruction due to the unprecedented COVID-19 pandemic has forced many schools and higher learning institutions in Oman and around the globe to establish a virtual learning environment. This crisis-prompted remote learning has been a new experience for most teachers and students alike, a variable that may affect students' learning. Thus, it is significant to understand the students' experience with online teaching and learning. This study explicitly examines online teaching and learning as perceived by English as a Foreign Language (EFL) students of a higher learning institution in Oman. A total number of (112) undergraduate students in Oman acted as a data source by responding to a computer-assisted survey questionnaire. The survey focused on the following themes: overall first-time online language learning experience; online courses; online learning mode and attainment of graduate attributes; effectiveness of online teaching and delivery; utilization and usefulness of electronic learning devices; and e-learning language skills. The findings highlight the significance of exploring learners' online learning experience and its implications for planning, implementing, teaching, and assessing online language education.


2017 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
pp. 64 ◽  
Author(s):  
Brenda M. Wright

With the ever-increasing development of technology, online teaching is more readily accepted as a viable component in teaching and learning, and blended learning, the combining of online and face-to-face learning, is becoming commonplace in many higher education institutions. Blended learning is, particularly in developing countries, in its early stages and not without its challenges. Asynchronous online lessons are currently still more prevalent in many areas of South-East Asia, perhaps due to potential difficulty in obtaining strong Internet connections, which may deter educators from synchronous options. Technological media have the potential to broaden the scope of resources available in teaching and to enhance the language learning experience. Although research to date shows some focus on blended learning, literature on distance online teaching seems more prevalent. This study exposed 112 Malaysian undergraduate EFL students' responses to an online lesson as part of an English grammar course, and investigates common student perceptions of the online lesson as compared with face-to-face lessons. Questionnaires using qualitative (Likert scale questions) and quantitative (open-ended questions) approaches provided data for content analysis to determine common student perceptions, with particular reference to motivation and interest. In general, more students associated in-class lessons with higher motivation and more interest, due to better understanding, valued classroom interaction with the lecturer and peers, and input from the lecturer. Students preferring the online lesson cited speed and convenience of study and flexibility of time and place of study as reasons for their choice. Skilful implementation of online lessons can enhance a language course but should not undermine the value of face-to-face instruction with EFL teachers.


Author(s):  
N. Tuchyna ◽  
V. Perlova ◽  
O. Chukhno

The temporary introduction of distance education at universities owing to the pandemic leads to the necessity to develop innovative methods of on-line teaching and learning that could become an adequate alternative of on-site teacher-student interaction and improve students’ professional skills. The background of the research states that in tertiary language education whose main aim is to develop students’ professional communicative competence it is of paramount importance to combine synchronous and asynchronous modes of interaction with the former creating an opportunity for live communication and immediate feedback and the latter developing students’ autonomy and being more flexible and convenient. As the two modes have different advantages the indices of their proper balance are still under discussion. The present study aims to explore English trainee teachers' ability to reflect on the ways of on-line language learning and to find out their attitude towards synchronous/asynchronous teaching. The results of the questionnaire completed by 168 students of the Faculty of Foreign Philology at H. S. Skovoroda Kharkiv National Pedagogical University indicate that the majority of trainee teachers are on the whole satisfied with distance teaching and learning, though a great number of students consider the ratio of synchronous and asynchronous modes inappropriate. The findings of the research also suggest that trainee teachers would like more diversity in the tools used in distance education. Moreover, the more learning experience students have, the easier it is for them to adapt to different teaching conditions and the more willing they are to acquire the skills of working with various educational tools.  The received data may serve as the foundation for rationalizing the existing methods and techniques to increase the efficiency of trainee teachers’ distance education.


2012 ◽  
pp. 452-464
Author(s):  
Normah Ismail ◽  
Masdinah Alauyah Md Yusof

There is agreement among language educators that the process of language teaching and learning should aim to develop autonomous language learners. While the advantages of autonomy seem to be quite obvious, fostering autonomy in practice can prove to be difficult for some language learners. This paper describes the use of learning contracts as a strategy for enhancing learner autonomy among a group of ESL learners in a Malaysian university. Through learners’ account of their experiences with the contracts, the study concludes that the learning contract has potential use for language learning and that learners’ positive learning experience remains the key to the success of any endeavour seeking to promote learner autonomy. The paper ends with some implications for teachers and learners who wish to use the contracts as a strategy for language teaching and learning.


In this volume, language learning and professionalization are explored by addressing the existing gap between pressing needs for enhanced soft skills in work environments wherein technology-mediated, multilingual communication is increasingly the norm, and current foreign language teaching and learning offerings in higher education. Considering theoretical, methodological, and pedagogical perspectives for preparing language learners and teachers in/for the 21st century, this volume’s eight chapters underscore that research findings should inform the design of learning experiences so that people’s communication needs in fast-changing work environments are met and the link between language education and professionalization, within a lifelong learning perspective, is sustained.


2016 ◽  
Vol 6 (3) ◽  
pp. 34-49 ◽  
Author(s):  
Donald Richardson

This paper adds to the small but growing body of research into the potential of augmented reality games for teaching and learning English as a foreign language (EFL). It explores the extent to which such games enhance the language learning experience of advanced level EFL learners. The author draws on his work developing Mission not really Impossible, a location-based augmented reality game which uses the Aurasma mobile application to provide a series of challenging language tasks for advanced level learners as they move around the city of Karlsruhe in Germany. The game is evaluated through a mix of observation during gameplay and feedback from participants. Broad approval of the language challenges that had to be completed is evident and Aurasma proves itself to be user-friendly and reliable. The findings affirm the potential of augmented reality games to engage and challenge advanced level language learners.


Author(s):  
Choong Pow Yean ◽  
Sarinah Bt Sharif ◽  
Normah Bt Ahmad

The Nihongo Partner Program or “Japanese Language Partner” is a program that sends native speakers to support the teaching and learning of Japanese overseas. The program is fully sponsored by The Japan Foundation. The aim of this program is to create an environment that motivates the students to learn Japanese. This study is based on a survey of the Nihongo Partner Program conducted on students and language lecturers at UiTM, Shah Alam. This study aims to investigate if there is a necessity for native speakers to be involved in the teaching and learning of Japanese among foreign language learners. Analysis of the results showed that both students and lecturers are in dire need of the Nihongo Partner Program to navigate the learning of the Japanese language through a variety of language learning activities. The involvement of native speaker increases students’ confidence and motivation to converse in Japanese. The program also provides opportunities for students to increase their Japanese language proficiency and lexical density. In addition, with the opportunity to interact with the native speakers, students and lecturers will have a better understanding of Japanese culture as they are able to observe and ask the native speakers. Involvement of native speakers is essential in teaching and learning of Japanese in UiTM.


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