An Investigation of EFL Learners’ Mental Processes in L2 Writing: The Case of Iranian EFL Learners

2016 ◽  
Vol 6 (5) ◽  
pp. 1011
Author(s):  
Moussa Ahmadian ◽  
Soheil Rahimi ◽  
Abdolvahab Asefi
Keyword(s):  
Language Production ◽  
Human Communication ◽  
Efl Learners ◽  
Writing Processes ◽  
Think Aloud Protocols ◽  
Efl Students ◽  
Normal Human ◽  
Three Stages ◽  
The Given ◽  
Writing Task

Normal human communication manifests itself mostly either in written or spoken form. Examination of speech and writing processes enables psycholinguists to peek into the way people plan their language production. This article aimed to examine how EFL learners plan their writing activities. To this end, two groups of High proficiency (HPG) and Low proficiency (LPG) of 16 EFL students were asked to write an argumentative essay on the given topic. Based on the data obtained from their think-aloud protocols, retrospective interviews, and the comparisons of the two groups’ performance, it was found that both groups approached the writing task in a linear progression of three stages of Formulation, Execution, and Monitoring. However, there were differences in the ways the two groups planned their writing productions.

Writing Processes of EFL Students in argumentative Essays

2003 ◽  
Vol 139-140 ◽  
pp. 153-190 ◽  
Author(s):  
Abdessatar Mahfoudhi
Keyword(s):  
Process Analysis ◽  
Local Level ◽  
Global Level ◽  
Writing Processes ◽  
Coding Scheme ◽  
Think Aloud Protocols ◽  
Efl Students ◽  
Thesis Statement ◽  
Argumentative Essays

The paper reports on a case study of the writing processes and products of Tunisian EFL university students in an argumentative essay. The data came from (i) audio-taped think-aloud protocols followed by immediate retrospective comments, (ii) experts' comments and grades on the subjects' products, and (iii) a questionnaire administered to the students. Results of the process analysis, using an adapted version of the coding scheme used by A. RAIMES (1985;1987), corroborated by the questionnaire fmdings, showed that students wrote fluently and concerned themselves more with meaning than with granunatical correctness. However, they planned very little, rarely made notes before writing, and rarely rewrote. They faced difficulties especially in fmding the appropriate word and in organizing their ideas. At the local level, products showed inaccurate use of mechanics and granunar. At a more global level, most essays lacked clear thesis statement, substantial support of claims, adequate transitions, and hedged statements. The product problems were partially attributed to little planning, notemaking, and revising. The process strategies were themselves related to writing habits for which the classroom and the exam settings are partly responsible.

scholarly journals STRATEGIES OF TEACHING BRITISH ENGLISH AND AMERICAN ENGLISH PHONOLOGY TO EFL STUDENTS/ԲՐԻՏԱՆԱԿԱՆ ԱՆԳԼԵՐԵՆԻ ԵՎ ԱՄԵՐԻԿՅԱՆ ԱՆԳԼԵՐԵՆԻ ՀՆՉՅՈՒՆԱԲԱՆԱԿԱՆ ԱՌԱՆՁՆԱՀԱՏԿՈՒԹՅՈՒՆՆԵՐԻ ԴԱՍԱՎԱՆԴՄԱՆ ՄԵԽԱՆԻԶՄՆԵՐՆ ԱՆԳԼԵՐԵՆԸ ՈՐՊԵՍ ՕՏԱՐ ԼԵԶՈՒ ՈՒՍՈՒՄՆԱՌՈՂՆԵՐԻ ԼՍԱՐԱՆՈՒՄ/МЕХАНИЗМЫ ПРЕПОДАВАНИЯ ФОНЕТИЧЕСКИХ ОСОБЕННОСТЕЙ БРИТАНСКОГО И АМЕРИКАНСКОГО АНГЛИЙСКОГО КАК ИНОСТРАННОГО ЯЗЫКА В СТУДЕНЧЕСКОЙ АУДИТОРИИ

2019 ◽  
pp. 166-175
Author(s):  
Irina Mkhitaryan
Keyword(s):  
English Language ◽  
American English ◽  
British English ◽  
Efl Learners ◽  
Linguistic Differences ◽  
International Language ◽  
Efl Students ◽  
The Rich ◽  
The Given ◽  
Rich History

Language has always been perceived as a dynamic entity invariably being changed and adjusted to the needs of speakers. This very fact is meticulously proved by the rich history stance, in accordance of which drastic and abundant changes have been observed in the English language over time. In this day and age, English is a fairly dominant international language and correspondingly is the indispensable inkling to ever-changing world of science. Yet, these facts proven, the majority of English as a Foreign Language (hereinafter, EFL) learners are unaware of the ample linguistic differences between British English and American English (hereinafter, BrE, AmE). The given article aims at elucidating the mentioned differences mainly from the phonlological perspective. Furthermore, we attempt to outline the ways of teaching these differences to EFL students through some activities.

Rhetorical Transfer among Young EFL Learners: The First Experience of Paragraph Writing Investigated

2016 ◽  
Vol 7 (5) ◽  
pp. 876
Author(s):  
Mehrnoush Hosseini
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Language ◽  
Language Production ◽  
Negative Transfer ◽  
Research Area ◽  
Efl Learners ◽  
Long Time ◽  
L1 And L2 Writing ◽  
L1 And L2 ◽  
First Time ◽  
Writing Task

The process of language production among English as a Foreign Language (EFL) learners is a multifaceted phenomenon which has engaged EFL researchers and practitioners’ interest for a long time. For many EFL learners, producing language through writing is considered a difficult and challenging task, making it a favoured research area. However, there seems to be a dire need to investigate the way writing is mastered among young EFL learners. The present study attempted to investigate language transfer from L1 to L2 or vice versa among young EFL learners when experiencing paragraph writing for the first time. In addition, the researchers attempted to see whether the preliminary paragraph writing instruction can affect young EFL learners’ paragraph writing. A further goal was to find out whether the type of writing task can influence the paragraph organization among young EFL learners. In order to address these concerns, 34young EFL learners participated in this study. The data were gathered through full-term observation, collecting L1 and L2 writing samples, and conducting written interviews. The results revealed a negative transfer from L1 in rhetoric and paragraph development which was weakened after teaching L2 paragraph structure. It was also uncovered that the type of writing task and its topic affected the paragraph development. The study concludes with a discussion on the findings followed by suggesting some avenues for further research.

scholarly journals Learning Techniques and Writing Processes Adopted by EFL University Students in a Writing Task

2020 ◽  
Vol 7 (2) ◽  
pp. p1
Author(s):  
Dr. Mohammad Dayij Suleiman Al.qomoul
Keyword(s):  
University Students ◽  
Writing Skills ◽  
Argumentative Writing ◽  
Writing Processes ◽  
Learning Techniques ◽  
Efl Students ◽  
The Subject ◽  
Males And Females ◽  
Technical University ◽  
Writing Task

The study aimed at investigating the learning techniques and the writing processes adopted by EFL university students in a writing task. A total of sixty senior university EFL students at Tafila Technical University, 30 males and 30 females, participated in the study out of 120 students who form the subject of the study. The instrument of the study was actually a writing task given to the sample of the study. After collecting the data and analyzing it, results showed that EFL university students at Tafila Technical University have adopted learning techniques while practicing the argumentative writing task, but in a rather low percentage where the highest mean was 0.75 for the metacognitive techniques. It was also found that there were no statistically significant differences in using the learning techniques due to the gender, except for the effective techniques which were in favor of females over males. Results also showed that there were no statistically significant differences in the writing skills adopted due to the gender since all students males and females used similar writing skills to finish the writing task. It was also found that there was no statistically significant differences in the writing skills used attributed to the students’ proficiency, except for the nature of revision in which the proficient and less proficient students implemented while finishing the writing task.

scholarly journals EFL Students’ Perspectives on Their Self-efficacy in Speaking During Online Learning Process

2021 ◽  
Vol 2 (1) ◽  
pp. 28-34
Author(s):  
Rista Ananda Ningias ◽  
Lilia Indriani
Keyword(s):  
Online Learning ◽  
Learning Process ◽  
Self Efficacy ◽  
Language Skills ◽  
Positive Outcome ◽  
Survey Study ◽  
English Department ◽  
Efl Learners ◽  
Efl Students ◽  
The Given

This article illustrates the EFL students' perspectives toward self-efficacy of them in speaking during the online learning process. Self-efficacy defined as a person believes that he/she could manage the situation and get a positive outcome. It points out to the intuition in one’s capacity to execute and organize the action required in producing the given attainments. Self-efficacy is very crucial for students in studying a language, especially for the fourth language skills. To achieve the qualification of English communication, mastering the fourth integrated skills is very necessary. Speaking includes in this term. The aim of this article was to analyze the EFL students’ perspective about their self-efficacy in speaking during the online class activity. The research was conducted on 35 EFL learners of English Department Student at Tidar University. The researcher uses the descriptive quantitative method in analyzing the data. In obtaining them, the researcher employed a survey study by using a questionnaire with 20 close-ended questions. The result showed that the learners have enough self-efficacy in speaking during online learning. The high percentage of neutral option still dominate them. However, the final result of the data shows that learners have strong self-efficacy. Keywords: EFL Students, Online Learning, Speaking, Self-efficacy

Study of Consonant Pronunciations Errors Committed by EFL Learners

2019 ◽  
pp. 48-56
Author(s):  
Ali Akbar Khansir ◽  
Afsaneh Salehabadi
Keyword(s):  
English Language Learners ◽  
Foreign Language ◽  
Language Learners ◽  
English Language ◽  
Age Group ◽  
Efl Learners ◽  
Listening Skill ◽  
English Pronunciation ◽  
Efl Students ◽  
Knowledge Of Language

As the topic suggests, the research paper presents Study of Consonant Pronunciations Errors Committed by EFL Learners. Error analysis always tries to resolve language learners’ problems in acquiring second or foreign language setting. Learning to English pronunciation is perhaps as important as learning listening skill, speaking, and spelling. Errors in English pronunciation create several problems for English language learners in their works. In other words, most of the English language errors of pronunciation are due to the lack of knowledge of language learners. However, all the students in our sample are of age group (16-25) at Bushehr language institute and they are all Iranian nationals. In addition, all of them were female learners. An English pronunciation (consonant) test was used to get information about the knowledge of the learners in English pronunciation. Findings of this article indicated that the first and second hypotheses of this article were accepted, but the third hypothesis was rejected. However, the findings of this paper showed that the Iranian EFL students have problem to pronounce English sounds correctly.

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 From Instructed Writing to Free-Writing: A Study of EFL Learners

SAGE Open ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
pp. 215824402110071
Author(s):  
Saleh Alharthi
Keyword(s):  
Control Group ◽  
Writing Program ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Writing Assignments ◽  
Efl Learners ◽  
Free Writing ◽  
Efl Students ◽  
Structured Writing ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Experimental Group

Writing is an intricate process that encompasses various factors and is a key skill for English as a Foreign Language (EFL) students. Thus, writing assignments are vital for any curriculum. One of the essential aspects of effective writing includes good grammar knowledge. Advocates of process writing argue that a free-writing journal is a practical approach to teaching EFL students writing. This study is intended to examine the impact of the free-writing journal on EFL learners. This study was conducted on 80 students from a writing course at the University. Thirty-five students were randomly selected to join the free-writing program—the experimental group—and 45 students were kept in their regular structured writing program—the control group. The experimental group selected topics of interest to them and was encouraged to write in English freely without concern for errors, whereas the control group followed a regular structured writing program where the topics were selected for them and they wrote following a clear guideline. Five major areas were investigated to evaluate students’ progress: the number of words written, spelling, capitalization, subject-verb agreement, and punctuation. The researcher conducted semi-structured interviews with 10 students of the experimental group to elicit their perception of the free-writing program. According to the analysis, students in the free-writing program acquired better grammar acquisition than the control group. The researcher also observed students’ perception of free-writing at the end of the study and found that free-writing improved their writing skills.

Captions and reduced forms instruction: The impact on EFL students’ listening comprehension

ReCALL ◽  
2013 ◽  
Vol 26 (1) ◽  
pp. 44-61 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jie Chi Yang ◽  
Peichin Chang
Keyword(s):  
Language Learners ◽  
Listening Comprehension ◽  
Short Term Memory ◽  
Limited Capacity ◽  
Short Term ◽  
Term Memory ◽  
Efl Learners ◽  
Efl Students ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Reduced Forms

AbstractFor many EFL learners, listening poses a grave challenge. The difficulty in segmenting a stream of speech and limited capacity in short-term memory are common weaknesses for language learners. Specifically, reduced forms, which frequently appear in authentic informal conversations, compound the challenges in listening comprehension. Numerous interventions have been implemented to assist EFL language learners, and of these, the application of captions has been found highly effective in promoting learning. Few studies have examined how different modes of captions may enhance listening comprehension. This study proposes three modes of captions: full, keyword-only, and annotated keyword captions and investigates their contribution to the learning of reduced forms and overall listening comprehension. Forty-four EFL university students participated in the study and were randomly assigned to one of the three groups. The results revealed that all three groups exhibited improvement on the pre-test while the annotated keyword caption group exhibited the best performance with the highest mean score. Comparing performances between groups, the annotated keyword caption group also emulated both the full caption and the keyword-only caption groups, particularly in the ability to recognize reduced forms. The study sheds light on the potential of annotated keyword captions in enhancing reduced forms learning and overall listening comprehension.

scholarly journals An Analysis of Errors in Writing Skill of Adult Iranian EFL Learners Preparing for the IELTS

2017 ◽  
Vol 7 (3) ◽  
pp. 85 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nima Pouladian ◽  
Mohammad Sadegh Bagheri ◽  
Firooz Sadighi
Keyword(s):  
Lexical Item ◽  
Faculty Members ◽  
Medical Sciences ◽  
Chi Square ◽  
Male And Female ◽  
Efl Learners ◽  
British Council ◽  
Women Learners ◽  
Efl Students ◽  
Verb Tense

This study sought to examine the sort, frequency, and sources of writing wrongs committed by adult Iranian EFL students. To score the participants’ written essays and speaking interviews, the four criteria specified for the IELTS Speaking and Writing Band Scores (British Council, 2014) were taken into consideration. The study also tried to comparatively analyze the error categories made by men and women learners regarding the type and frequency of their linguistic errors. To gather the information, from the population of faculty members at Hormozgan University of Medical Sciences (HUMS) in Bandarabbas, Iran, 100 adults, both male and female, with their age ranging from 31 to 52, were selected using convenient sampling. Based on their previous IELTS band scores ranging from 4 to 6, the members are separated into three groups.The results of data analysis revealed that verb tense was the very common grammatical mistake done by members in all three groups. For the cohesion and coherence and lexical sub-categories, relative clauses and incorrect use of target lexical item were regarded as the most common categories of errors. Outcomes of Chi-Square analyses also showed substantial differences among errors committed by participants in different groups. Finally, the comparison between male and female participants’ errors revealed that male participants made both written and spoken errors more than females. According to the results, recommendations, and any suggestions that are of importance to teachers and policymakers as well as to EFL learners are presented in detail.

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