On the Construction of College English Listening and Speaking Ecological Classroom From the Perspective of Eco-Linguistics

Ecological approaches to language learning and teaching have captured the interest of language educators as both native and non-native speakers find themselves operating in increasingly multilingual and multicultural environments. This paper builds on Kramsch & Whiteside (in press) to conceptualize what an ecological perspective on foreign language education, based on complexity theory, would look like. It first explains some of the major tenets of complexity theory, and analyzes transcriptions of exchanges taking place among multilingual individuals in multicultural settings using the ecological approach offered by complexity theory. Based on what these analyses reveal about the ability of these individuals to shape the very context in which language is learned and used, it discusses the notion of ‘symbolic competence’ recently proposed by Kramsch (2006) and explores how symbolic competence might be developed through foreign language education in institutional contexts.

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CALL from an ecological perspective: How a teacher perceives affordance and fosters learner agency in a technology-mediated language classroom

ReCALL ◽

10.1017/s0958344017000222 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 30 (1) ◽

pp. 68-87 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Qian Liu ◽

Chin-Chi Chao

Keyword(s):

Language Learning ◽

Teaching Practice ◽

Ecological Model ◽

Language Education ◽

Ecological Perspective ◽

Technology In The Classroom ◽

Learning And Teaching ◽

Pedagogical Choices ◽

Learner Agency ◽

Technological Affordances

AbstractThe possibility of exploiting technology for more robust and meaningful learning and teaching has invoked messianic responses from the language education community. Yet to be explored are teachers’ pedagogical choices based on the perceived technological affordances as well as interactions between teacher and student agency mediated by these affordances in the ecology of a classroom. This qualitative case study adopts an ecological approach, aiming to address rather than factor out the broader social context in a physical classroom. With data collected from 30 hours of classroom observation and 10 post-observation interviews with the participant teacher, the study makes an attempt to show how the ecological model of language learning can provide a theoretical lens through which to explore teachers’ practices of CALL that aim to encourage learner agency. The analysis centers on three focused extracts that illustrate interaction between and among the affordance of technology, the teacher participant’s pedagogical considerations, and her goal of encouraging learner agency. The result of the study emphasizes the teacher’s role from an ecological perspective and classroom learner agency mediated by technology, which provides useful insight that can contribute to language teaching practice with technology in the classroom.

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Didattica delle lingue in prospettiva interculturale: innovazione e potenzialità

Anuario de Letras Modernas ◽

10.22201/ffyl.01860526p.2008.14.686 ◽

2009 ◽

Vol 14 ◽

pp. 189-198

Author(s):

Manuela Derosas

Keyword(s):

Learning Environment ◽

Language Learning ◽

Communicative Competence ◽

Language Education ◽

Intercultural Communicative Competence ◽

New Paradigm ◽

Language And Culture ◽

Learning And Teaching ◽

Vast Literature ◽

The Creation

Since the early ’80s the adjective "intercultural" in language learning and teaching has seemed to acquire a remarkable importance, although its meaning is strongly debated. As a matter of fact, despite the existence of a vast literature on this topic, difficulties arise when applying it in the classroom. The aim of this work is to analyze the elements we consider to be the central pillars in this methodology, i.e. a renewed language-and culture relation, the Intercultural Communicative Competence, the intercultural speaker. These factors allow us to consider this as a new paradigm in language education; furthermore, they foster the creation of new potentialities and configure the classroom as a significant learning environment towards the discovery of Otherness.

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The Application of Computer Technology in Mongolian College English Teaching

International Journal of Emerging Technologies in Learning (iJET) ◽

10.3991/ijet.v12i02.6044 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 12 (02) ◽

pp. 52

Author(s):

Xiaojun Zhao

Keyword(s):

College Students ◽

Language Learning ◽

Cultural Development ◽

Computer Assisted ◽

Multimedia Technology ◽

English Learning ◽

College English ◽

Learning And Teaching ◽

Bilingual Teaching ◽

Assisted Instruction

Based on the demand of modern teaching, this paper researches the application of and problems faced by Mongolian information processing and computer multimedia technology in computer-assisted instruction. It also sets the teaching software content and learning goal and further designs the teaching software according to the English learning features and characteristics of choosing the medium of information of Mongolian college students. This software is suitable for use in learning and teaching bilingualism second language to Mongolian students, and teachers and can realize the independent code of bilingual characters, Mongolian input and output, Mongolian character handling and bilingual inter-translation functions. Manufacture and development of bilingual teaching software facilitates the enthusiasm of Mongolian college students to learn English, improve the language learning environment and plays a positive facilitation role in multilanguage integration and cultural development of the Mongolian area.

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An Investigation into the Benefits of the Intercultural Approach to EFL Learning and Teaching: A Case Study of Taif University, KSA

Journal of Language Teaching and Research ◽

10.17507/jltr.0801.07 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 8 (1) ◽

pp. 52 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Amir H. Abdalla

Keyword(s):

Foreign Language ◽

Language Learning ◽

Foreign Language Learning ◽

Language Education ◽

First Year ◽

Learning And Teaching ◽

Efl Students ◽

Potential Benefits ◽

Preparatory Year ◽

Study Participants

The purpose of this study is to investigate the potential benefits of using the intercultural approach to teaching English as a foreign language in the preparatory –year programme (male branch), Taif University, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. The intercultural approach is considered a viable means of foreign language education that seeks to address issues of culture in foreign language learning and teaching and how best to address them. Hence, this study intends to explore the attitudes of first year EFL Taif university students to the potential benefits of the intercultural approach to EFL. A sample of 200 EFL students participated in the study. Participants’ views on the topic of the study are collected via a questionnaire the researcher designed and administered to the participants. In addition, the views of 50 EFL instructors teaching in the preparatory programme were gathered by a questionnaire regarding the topic researched. Descriptive statistics were used to analyse the collected data.

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Didactics, methodology or post-method pedagogy. Terminological highlights in the conceptualisation of language leaning and teaching

Pedagogical Almanac ◽

10.54664/lbpg6730 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 29 (1) ◽

Author(s):

Siylvia Velikova ◽

◽

Keyword(s):

Language Learning ◽

Language Teaching ◽

Academic Discipline ◽

Language Education ◽

Theory And Practice ◽

Learning And Teaching ◽

Language Pedagogy ◽

Teaching Language ◽

Key Terms

This article investigates the meanings of key terms used to describe the theory and practice of language learning and teaching as an academic discipline and as a field of enquiry. The study discusses various manifestations of terminological variability and analyses four of the most frequent terms (methodology of language teaching, language didactics, language pedagogy, language education) which reveal the nature of language learning and teaching and its conceptualisation in the current “post-method” era.

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Language Teachers as Materials Developers

RELC Journal ◽

10.1177/00336882211061627 ◽

2021 ◽

pp. 003368822110616

Author(s):

Jiao Li ◽

Xuesong (Andy) Gao ◽

Xuehai Cui

Keyword(s):

Language Learning ◽

Research Agenda ◽

Critical Role ◽

Language Education ◽

Language Teachers ◽

Three Dimensions ◽

Teaching Materials ◽

Materials Development ◽

Materials Analysis ◽

Learning And Teaching

This report reviews studies on language teachers as materials developers in language education, particularly focusing on how language teachers act as materials users, materials analysts, and materials designers when engaging with language learning and teaching materials. We contend that the three dimensions of materials development – that is, materials use, materials analysis, and materials design – intersect with one another, and that language teachers play a critical role in all three. Therefore, this review concludes with a research agenda that centres on language teachers as materials developers to expand our understanding of their roles in materials development.

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An Ecological Perspective on University Students’ Sustainable Language Learning during the Transition from High School to University in China

Sustainability ◽

10.3390/su12187359 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 12 (18) ◽

pp. 7359

Author(s):

Chen Li ◽

Shahid Abrar-ul-Hassan ◽

Fei Gao

Keyword(s):

High School ◽

Language Learning ◽

English Language ◽

Language Education ◽

Ecological Perspective ◽

English Learning ◽

Self Regulated Learning ◽

Teaching Content ◽

Regulated Learning ◽

Transition From High School

Transitioning from high school to university presents a significant challenge for many students on multiple fronts, including language learning. This mixed-method study draws on an ecological perspective to investigate students’ English learning experiences during the transition from high school to university in China, focusing on teaching content, teaching approach, assessment and feedback, and self-regulated learning. Data is collected from six universities at three different academic levels in China, and analyzed using both statistical and thematic analysis. The research finds that there are differences between high school and university English language education in the above-mentioned four areas, and students’ ecopotentials are of critical importance for their adaptation to university English learning. These findings suggest the necessity of the continuity of teaching content, the promotion of individualized curricula, and the cultivation of self-regulated learning capacities to support students’ sustainable English learning during the transition from high school to university.

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C2+-DaF-Lernende reflektieren über eine perfekte Sprachbeherrschung – ist diese vor dem Hintergrund der postulierten funktionalen Mehrsprachigkeit in Alltag und Beruf künftig noch gefragt?

Language Learning in Higher Education ◽

10.1515/cercles-2015-0015 ◽

2015 ◽

Vol 5 (2) ◽

Author(s):

Monika Schumacher

Keyword(s):

Foreign Language ◽

Language Learning ◽

Language Learners ◽

Foreign Language Learning ◽

Language Education ◽

Foreign Language Education ◽

Third Language ◽

Learning And Teaching ◽

The Individual ◽

Oriented Approach

AbstractBy adopting “functional plurilingualism” – a recurring concept in its new curriculum, “Lehrplan 21” – Switzerland is pursuing new avenues in foreign language education. The term refers to a goal-oriented approach to foreign language learning and teaching in primary and secondary schools, and implies that barriers to communication can be overcome by exploiting the sum of the individual’s linguistic capacities. In future, language learners will be expected to build on the interrelatedness of languages instead of developing abilities in languages that they keep separate from one another. This view of foreign language education coincides with the recommendations of the Council of Europe’sHaving reached the highest level specified by the CEFR, some learners continue their studies, seeking to maintain or reinforce their competences or to address individual weaknesses. In this article, a group of C2+ learners of German as a foreign language reflect on their desire for linguistic perfection and the notion of “functional plurilingualism” against the background of their own biographies. These learners have a high awareness and knowledge of German (often their third language) and of the learning process, which allows them to make informative statements. The data was analysed qualitatively and subjective theories were reconstructed – an approach that took account both of the multiperspectivity of the topic and of the uniqueness of the individual cases.

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Podcasting as a Next Generation Teaching Resource

Handbook of Research on Web 2.0 and Second Language Learning ◽

10.4018/978-1-60566-190-2.ch019 ◽

2009 ◽

pp. 350-365 ◽

Cited By ~ 4

Author(s):

Jenny Ang Lu

Keyword(s):

Language Learning ◽

English Language ◽

Language Education ◽

Language Teachers ◽

Learning And Teaching ◽

Efl Context ◽

Wide Range ◽

Potential Applications ◽

English Language Teachers ◽

Almost All

This chapter aims to investigate how podcasts can be made to fit into the repertoire of resources utilized by teachers, especially in language education. It focuses on arming the language teacher with a fundamental knowledge of podcasting, centering on its potential applications in the classroom. Podcasts are ideal resources for language teachers, especially English language teachers, because almost all topics imaginable are now being treated in podcasts and the bulk of podcasts are recorded in English. Aside from making use of language-teaching podcasts, language teachers can also incorporate English language podcasts dealing with a wide range of issues to cater to the varying preferences of students. In addition to discussing these points, this chapter also provides suggestions for the practical incorporation of podcasts in language learning and teaching, both inside and outside the classroom. Two case studies demonstrating possible ways to use podcasts in an English as a Foreign Language (EFL) context are presented.

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