scholarly journals A Case Study of Communication Difficulties between a Chinese Advanced Learner and Native Speakers

2019 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
pp. 114
Author(s):  
Xiaoling Jin
Keyword(s):  
Native Speakers ◽  
Corrective Feedback ◽  
Real Life ◽  
Target Language ◽  
Foreign Language Anxiety ◽  
Advanced Learners ◽  
Study Approach ◽  
Communication Difficulties ◽  
L1 Influence

The paper focuses on the communication difficulties between a Chinese advanced learner and native speakers. The research is carried out through a case study approach and is grounded on the data collected from recording conversations between a Chinese participant and two native speakers. The recorded conversations are spontaneous, covering general topics encountered in real life. Three linguistic findings are: first, grammar does not usually affect advanced learners in speaking whereas the lack of appropriate vocabulary may be a bigger challenge; second, advanced learners could learn contents words and expressions without instruction but through a rich target language input; third, incorrect pronunciation can be corrected through consistent physical practice and corrective feedback. Also, the research shows that foreign language anxiety, cultural differences and L1 influence play important roles in communication with native speakers. As to the study strategy, this research emphasizes the importance of continuous language exposure for advanced learners. This case study could be applied by students and teachers in EFL classrooms and will also contribute to the study of Chinese English.

Discourse cohesion and Topic discontinuity in native and learner production

2010 ◽  
Vol 10 ◽  
pp. 92-118 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sandra Benazzo ◽  
Cecilia Andorno
Keyword(s):  
Perspective Taking ◽  
Native Speakers ◽  
Target Language ◽  
Specific Information ◽  
Advanced Learners ◽  
Source Language ◽  
L1 Influence ◽  
Text Cohesion ◽  
Discourse Organization ◽  
L1 And L2

In order to realize text cohesion, speakers have to select specific information units and mark their informational status within the discourse; this results in specific, language-particular perspective-taking, linked to typological differences (Slobin 1996). A previous study on native speakers’ production in French, Italian, German and Dutch (Dimroth et al., in press) has highlighted a “Romance way” and a “Germanic way” of marking text cohesion in narrative segments involving topic discontinuity. In this paper we analyze how text cohesion is realized in the same contexts by advanced learners of L2 French (Italian and German L1) and L2 Italian (French and German L1). Our aim is to verify the hypothesis of an L2 advanced stage where learners manage the target language utterance grammar whereas their discourse organization still reflects L1 preferences. The results confirm the persistent presence of L1 influence, but they also show learner-specific tendencies (favouring lexical means over morphosyntactic ones), which are independent of their source language.

scholarly journals Elementary English Language School Teachers Self Evaluation: A Case Study from Real Life Application

2021 ◽  
Vol 2 (1) ◽  
pp. p64
Author(s):  
Salwa H. Al Darwish
Keyword(s):  
English Language ◽  
Real Life ◽  
Target Language ◽  
Female Teacher ◽  
Self Evaluation ◽  
Teacher Trainees ◽  
Public Elementary Schools ◽  
Teacher Trainee ◽  
Central Tool

Self- evaluation is a central “tool” to express how we know what we do when we teach, and as we make decisions on our own while we teach, self- evaluation has the power to help us link knowledge and theoretical information and to use each area of expertise more professionally. This paper will discuss primary school English Language teacher trainee’s self- evaluation which will be carried out between the instructor (researcher/ mentor) and the student teacher trainees. This study aims to explore the benefits of the process of self-evaluation during the student trainees while teaching English as a foreign language in public elementary schools in the form of the practice classes (Practicum Course). Another purpose of this research will be to find out more about students’ perceptions, problems and difficulties of teaching the target language (English) to young learners in order to find the instrument that will help the teacher trainees to better prepare, monitor and evaluate their own teaching through the self-evaluation and peer evaluation. The chosen instrument for this research will be observation for each individual by the instructor (mentor) and the teacher trainees, followed by a questionnaire distributed among the teacher trainees. The sample will consist of 30 female teacher trainees. Each participant is assigned four classmates to be observed and evaluated; followed by the mentor observation and evaluation for each teacher trainee. The results were not similar between the teacher trainees and the mentor.

Putting Across Tangibility

2018 ◽  
pp. 211-225
Author(s):  
Dieu Hack-Polay
Keyword(s):  
Critical Thinking ◽  
Everyday Life ◽  
Real Life ◽  
Teaching Process ◽  
Learning And Teaching ◽  
Study Approach ◽  
Organisational Behaviour ◽  
Approach To Teaching ◽  
The Subject

This chapter examines a case study-approach to teaching organisational behaviour. It explains the effectiveness of the use of case study in teaching the subject which is often termed theoretical and complex. The chapter advocates that the use of real life organisational cases can make the learning and teaching process more tangible and contribute to the development of critical thinking. The chapter specifically supports the view that there are aspects of organisational behaviour that are visible in both everyday life of individuals and groups. If lecturers could bring this up in the delivery of the OB curriculum, the learners, who are future managers and supervisors, could connect the learning experiences to reality, which could lead them to a better academic understanding and later effective practitioners.

L1 transfer, proficiency, and the recognition of L2 verb-noun collocations: A perspective from three languages

2019 ◽  
Vol 0 (0) ◽  
Author(s):  
Senyung Lee
Keyword(s):  
Native Speakers ◽  
First Language ◽  
Judgment Task ◽  
Advanced Learners ◽  
L1 Transfer ◽  
English Only ◽  
Mixed Effects Modeling ◽  
L1 Influence ◽  
Native Speakers Of English ◽  
The Relationship

Abstract This study investigated the effect of first language (L1) transfer in the recognition of second language (L2) collocations and unacceptable word combinations across low-intermediate to advanced learners of English, and the relationship between proficiency and the recognition of L2 collocations. The study targeted learners from two different L1 backgrounds and native speakers of English in order to disentangle the effect of L1 transfer from the effect of intralingual factors. Four types of English verb-noun combinations were included: English-Korean-Mandarin, English-only, Korean-only, and Mandarin-only phrases. A phrase acceptability judgment task and a phrase recognition report were used. The performances of 92 participants were analyzed using mixed effects modeling. The results from both Korean and Mandarin groups revealed no L1 influence in the recognition of unacceptable L2 word combinations, even at low levels of proficiency. The results also showed that L2 proficiency predicts learners’ ability to rule out grammatical-but-unacceptable L2 word combinations, but not the ability to recognize L2 collocations

INSPIRE sustainability internships

2019 ◽  
Vol 20 (3) ◽  
pp. 452-469 ◽  
Author(s):  
Carolyn Susan Hayles
Keyword(s):  
Small Sample Size ◽  
Real Life ◽  
Small Sample ◽  
Multiple Sources ◽  
Student Body ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Study Approach ◽  
Life Context ◽  
The University

Purpose This paper aims to explore the outputs of an internship programme, one of a number of campus-based sustainability activities that have been introduced at the University of Wales, Trinity Saint David, to encourage student-led campus-based greening initiatives. Design/methodology/approach A case study approach was undertaken, allowing the researcher to investigate the programme in its real-life context. The researcher used multiple sources of evidence to gain as holistic a picture as possible. Findings Interns report positive changes in their behaviours towards sustainability, s well as encouraging feedback on their experiential learning, the development of their soft skills and the creation of new knowledge. Moreover, students communicated perceived benefits for their future careers. The reported outcomes reflect mutually beneficial relationships for student and institution, for example, raising the profile of campus greening activities and supporting the University’s aim to embed sustainability throughout its campus, community and culture. Research limitations/implications The researcher recognises the limitations of the research, in particular, the small sample size, which has resulted primarily in qualitative results being presented. Practical implications Feedback from previous interns will be used to shape future internships. In particular, Institute of Sustainable Practice, Innovation and Resource Effectiveness (INSPIRE) will look for opportunities to work more closely with University operations, departments, faculties and alongside University staff, both academic and support staff. Social implications Following student feedback, INSPIRE will give students opportunities for wider involvement, including an opportunity to propose their own projects to shape future internships that meet the needs of student body on campus. Originality/value Despite being one case study from one institution, the research highlights the value of such programmes for other institutions.

Linguistic structure and information organisation

2003 ◽  
Vol 3 ◽  
pp. 183-206 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christiane von Stutterheim
Keyword(s):  
Empirical Study ◽  
Learning Process ◽  
Native Speakers ◽  
Formal System ◽  
Target Language ◽  
Linguistic Knowledge ◽  
Advanced Learners ◽  
Event Time ◽  
Form Part ◽  
Time Structures

This paper addresses the factors that distinguish very advanced learners from native speakers, investigating the difficulties which arise in overcoming the final thresholds in the learning process. Firstly, it compares different linguistic systems with respect to specific grammaticised categories, showing how these categories relate to patterns of information organisation at text level, with the assumption that the principles underlying these patterns form part of the learner’s linguistic knowledge. Secondly, it demonstrates that L2-learners who master the formal system of the target language to a near-perfect degree still have problems in applying forms in context in accordance with the principles of information organisation which grammaticised forms entail in the target language. The domains investigated are event-time structures. The languages investigated in the empirical study are Algerian Arabic, English, German, Spanish, and Norwegian, and advanced learner languages (English and German).

Chat-Line interaction and negative feedback

2003 ◽  
Vol 17 ◽  
pp. 60-73 ◽  
Author(s):  
Junko Iwasaki ◽  
Rhonda Oliver
Keyword(s):  
Second Language Acquisition ◽  
Language Acquisition ◽  
Negative Feedback ◽  
Native Speakers ◽  
New Technology ◽  
Corrective Feedback ◽  
Target Language ◽  
Cultural Learning ◽  
Internet Applications ◽  
On Line

In recent years researchers have investigated the use of Internet applications for language and cultural learning. While this new technology seems to have provided an educational breakthrough, relatively little linguistic research has been conducted particularly in relation to second language acquisition. Therefore the efficacy of the Internet applications not just for cultural studies or the expansion of knowledge, but also for second/foreign language acquisition remains uncertain. This study explores communicative interactions between native speakers (NSs) and non-native speakers (NNSs) of Japanese. Internet Relay Chat (IRC) was chosen as the setting for this study, because of the resemblance of chat line interactions to verbal exchanges. The linguistic focus in this study was specifically on one form of corrective feedback, namely implicit negative feedback (NF), which provides information to language learners about what is unacceptable in target language (e.g. Long, 1996). It has been claimed that NF plays an important facilitative role in language development. Therefore, the aim of this study is to investigate whether NSs provide NF to their NNS interlocutors in interactions during chat line conversations, and whether the NNS’s used this feedback in their subsequent production. The participants were NNSs and NSs of Japanese, formed into 12 gender-matched dyads. Each pair had free on-line “conversation” in three separate sessions. The results show that the proportion of NSs’ NF to the number of NNSs’ non-target-like turns was . lower than that found in the previous studies based on face to face verbal interactions. Even so NF was provided, and it was used – however it remains unclear as to whether or not on-line interactions elicit sufficient NF for acquisition to occur.

The Free State University integrated reporting: a critical consideration

2015 ◽  
Vol 16 (2) ◽  
pp. 443-462 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stefania Veltri ◽  
Antonella Silvestri
Keyword(s):  
Real Life ◽  
State University ◽  
Integrated Reporting ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Stakeholder Relationships ◽  
Study Approach ◽  
Depth Analysis ◽  
Social Capitals ◽  
International Integrated Reporting Council

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to explore the integrated report (IR) of a South African public university (UFS), by comparing it with the International Integrated Reporting Council (IIRC) framework, to verify whether UFS IR matches the IIRC framework main aims, which is integrating IC and non-IC information into a single report for stakeholders. Design/methodology/approach – The paper employs the case study approach, which is appropriate when a researcher needs to conduct a holistic and in-depth analysis of a complex phenomenon in its real-life context. As such, this method is particularly suitable for exploring intellectual and social capitals, which is complex and context-dependent by nature. Findings – UFS IR includes the content elements of the IIRC framework as labels, but it does not deepen their meaning. As regards the IIRC guidelines principles, the analysis of the UFS IR shows that it does not seem to follow them. Briefly, the data do not have an outlook orientation, the information is not interconnected, the stakeholder relationships are not highlighted and the organisational ability to create value is not disclosed. Research limitations/implications – The implications based on the “bad” experience of UFS IR aims to extend the findings of the case study by shedding light on the levers and the barriers that managers have to face when implementing an IRing project in their organisations. Originality/value – To the best of the knowledge the research is the first investigating the IR theme in the public sector, specifically the higher education sector, dealing with disclosing IC (and non-IC) information within a new reporting mode: the IR.

scholarly journals Exploring Pharmacy Students’ Techniques in Translating Pharmaceutical Texts from English into Bahasa Indonesia

2020 ◽  
Vol 5 (1) ◽  
pp. 17-22
Author(s):  
Ahmad Kailani ◽  
Dina Rafidiyah
Keyword(s):  
Native Speakers ◽  
Target Language ◽  
Source Text ◽  
Translation Process ◽  
Specific Knowledge ◽  
Considerable Research ◽  
Daunting Task ◽  
Translation Methodology ◽  
Bahasa Indonesia

Translating an L1 (source text) into a target language would be a daunting task and time-consuming work for students who are non-native speakers. It might be more challenging when the L1 text is a discipline specific text. Many words and specific terms are difficult to translate, and often unintended meanings emerge during this translation process. Although there has been considerable research on the translation studies, there has been still little study on how translators cope with the challenges. To fill this void, this case study is aimed to describe techniques employed by students majoring pharmacy in translating direction for use texts from English into Bahasa Indonesia. Adopting Vinay’s and Darbelnet’s (1996) translation methodology, this research is aimed to describe the translation process that students already undertook in order to produce texts that appropriately work in a particular social context. There are four drug brochures taken as samples of analysis. These texts are students’ assignment for the topic of translation.  This is a group work and part of the whole assessment. The study provides detailed and specific examples of how students tackle the challenges of translating discipline specific texts into equivalent languages that are socio-culturally and linguistically acceptable. HIGHLIGHTS: Translating a text is not simply to transfer the meaning of source text into the target text, but it requires the translator to have sufficient discipline specific knowledge. The challenges and problems faced by translators would be different from one another since each discipline specific text requires different strategies.

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