scholarly journals Demotivating factors of learning second foreign language: The case of Chinese language learners in Ghana

2021 ◽  
Vol 6 (2) ◽  
pp. PRESS
Author(s):  
Bright Nkrumah
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Language Learners ◽  
Chinese Language ◽  
Teaching Style ◽  
Teacher Competence ◽  
Factors Affecting ◽  
Classroom Activities ◽  
Self Confidence ◽  
The University ◽  
University Of Ghana

Demotivation is a negative counterpart of motivation that affects student learning process and outcome. The present study attempted to determine the demotivating factors in learning a second language in Ghana using the Chinese language as a case study. A structured survey questionnaire data were collected from two hundred students learning Chinese at the University of Ghana to achieve the stated objective. The study identified the significant demotivation factors affecting students learning a second language: Teacher competence and teaching style, learning materials, crowded classroom, high competition in acquiring scholarship to China, less chance to get Chinese Ambassador Scholarship Award, and lack of self-confidence and experience of failure. Teachers should use more appropriate textbooks to improve their teaching skills. Also, students should be motivated to learn and participate in classroom activities to form lasting reminiscences.

scholarly journals Sustaining Multilingualism in Chinese Universities: Uzbekistani Students’ Demotivation While Learning Chinese

2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (18) ◽  
pp. 7570
Author(s):  
Meilan Liu ◽  
Yongyan Zheng ◽  
Xiuli Ma ◽  
Yuxin Wei
Keyword(s):  
Language Learners ◽  
Mixed Method ◽  
Learning Opportunities ◽  
Mixed Method Study ◽  
Learning Support ◽  
Chinese Universities ◽  
Factors Affecting ◽  
Self Confidence ◽  
Chinese University ◽  
Teacher Qualities

This paper reports on a mixed method study exploring demotivation among Uzbekistani students while they are learning Chinese in a Chinese university. In the study, we conducted a survey among 67 Uzbekistani students, and interviewed 30 of them about their experiences of learning Chinese. The analysis of the data revealed that a lack of self-confidence, insufficient learning opportunities, a lack of learning support, and teacher qualities were the most salient factors affecting Uzbekistani students’ demotivation while learning Chinese. In light of the findings, we put forward suggestions for language educators and educational administrators in order to enable them to enhance language learners’ interest in and enthusiasm for learning Chinese, so that they will sustain their learning efforts and Chinese universities can achieve sustainable multilingualism.

Understanding the nature of performance

2012 ◽  
Vol 35 (3) ◽  
pp. 312-338 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andrew Scrimgeour
Keyword(s):  
Student Achievement ◽  
Second Language ◽  
Language Learning ◽  
Language Learners ◽  
Chinese Language ◽  
Target Language ◽  
Test Procedures ◽  
Language Programs ◽  
The Impact ◽  
At Home

While Chinese language learning in Australian schools is characterised by predominantly second language programs for learners who have had no prior exposure to the target language, there is increasing participation by Australian-born children who speak Putonghua (Mandarin) or another dialect at home. Curriculum and assessment frameworks and syllabuses at senior secondary level have responded to the diversity in learner background through the provision of separate curricula and assessment schemes for different learner groups based on country of birth, prior educational experience and languages used at home. However the impact of learner background on learning and achievement as learners progress through Chinese language programs both in primary and secondary school remains under-researched. In particular, evidence of how the performance of second language learners differs from that of learners who a) speak the language at home and b) may have substantial community schooling experience beyond the school classroom, or c) were born and initially educated in Chinese, is very limited. This paper reports on the results of the Student Achievement in Asian Languages Education (SAALE) Project (Scarino et al., 2011; Scarino, this issue and Elder, Kim & Knoch, this issue) with regard to student achievement in Chinese. It focuses on the writing performance of Year 10 learners of Chinese and considers specifically the impact of language background by comparing performances between Australian-born students who do and do not speak Chinese at home. Scores assigned to students’ writing gathered on common test procedures confirms the expectation that background language learners perform at significantly higher levels and suggests that the two groups also differ in the nature of that performance. The implications of this data for the teaching, learning and assessment of Chinese in schools, and for the appropriate provision of programs for these different groups of learners is discussed.

scholarly journals A Cognitive Linguistics Study of the Conceptual Derivation of Word Meaning

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Raghad Fahmi Aajami
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Language Learners ◽  
Cognitive Linguistics ◽  
English Language ◽  
Second Language Learners ◽  
Word Meaning ◽  
New Horizons ◽  
New Vision ◽  
The University ◽  
Lexical Concepts

To maintain understanding, usage, and interrelations of English vocabularies by Iraqi second language learners (L2) is a challenging mission. In the current study, the cognitive linguistic theory of domains by Langacker (1987) is adopted to provide new horizons in learning vocabulary and qualify Iraqi students with a deep knowledge analysis of the meanings of lexical concepts. This paper aims to test the validity of expanding the English language vocabulary for second language learners from Iraq through domains theory. It also attempts to find how the domains theory supports L2 learners in identifying meanings related to lexical concepts. Accordingly, an experimental study is conducted on fifty-eight university students of the second year level from the University of Baghdad, Iraq. The pre and post-tests are analyzed by using the Editor for the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS). The results show the following: First, a progression of more than (0.05≤) is discovered in terms of students' understanding of the interrelationships between lexical concepts. Second, a new vision is dealt with to connect lexical concepts with their meanings according to the focus of the speakers using Langacker's theory. Third, domains theory (profile/ base organization, active zone, and the perceptual basis for knowledge representation) has proven effective in expanding Iraqi students' treatment and perception of semantic domains of English lexical concepts precisely.

scholarly journals The Attributives Comparison between Chinese and Indonesian

2019 ◽  
Vol 2 (2) ◽  
pp. 216-224
Author(s):  
Arini Junaeny
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Comparative Analysis ◽  
Language Learners ◽  
Noun Phrase ◽  
Learning Process ◽  
Word Order ◽  
Second Language Learners ◽  
Chinese Language ◽  
Important Research ◽  
Similarities And Differences

The word order comparative analysis is important research in linguistics studies. It is assisting the second language learners or teachers in learning process. The research mainly shows the word order in noun phrase. Noun phrase consists of head and attributives, the head is noun and the attributives consist of any type of the word or group of words. The attributives order and the head as a core in noun phrase, it can show similarities and differences structures between Chinese Language and Indonesian Language. This article shows relation between head and attributives order in noun phrase. The order of Chinese Language attributives is placed before the head. The order of Indonesian language attributives (except: number-classifier, negation, restriction word) is placed after the head.

scholarly journals Reflecting On The Modification Of A Summative Assessment Instrument To Redress Its Linguistic Complexity For Second-Language Learners In An ODL Context

2012 ◽  
Vol 11 (8) ◽  
pp. 895
Author(s):  
C. H. Bothma ◽  
M. C. Cant ◽  
M. N. Du Toit
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Language Learners ◽  
Second Language Learners ◽  
Positive Impact ◽  
First Language ◽  
Summative Assessment ◽  
Assessment Instrument ◽  
Linguistic Complexity ◽  
Marketing Department ◽  
The University

This study attempted to determine whether simplifying the linguistic complexity of a written summative assessment instrument would improve the examination results of second-language learners; the academic literature suggests that linguistic complexity impacts negatively on the performance of second-language learners. The module chosen for the study was the capstone module of the marketing department at the University of South Africa, an open and distance learning institution. A 2007 examination paper was modified in an attempt to make it linguistically simpler and was used again in 2009. The results of first-language learners were compared with those of second language learners, who represent a significant component of the universitys student population, across the two periods in question. The results were analysed using an independent two-sample t-test. The findings do not support the premise that simplifying the linguistic complexity of an assessment instrument would have a positive impact on the examination performance of second-language learners. The article highlights a number of issues and questions that require further research.

scholarly journals Factors affecting dental diseases presenting at the University of Ghana Hospital

SpringerPlus ◽  
2016 ◽  
Vol 5 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Joseph Nimako-Boateng ◽  
Michael Owusu-Antwi ◽  
Priscilla Nortey
Keyword(s):  
Factors Affecting ◽  
Dental Diseases ◽  
The University ◽  
University Of Ghana

scholarly journals Communicative Language Teaching in Teaching ESL for University Students

2021 ◽  
Vol 3 (6) ◽  
pp. 49-57
Author(s):  
Le Thi Ngoc Hien
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Teaching Methods ◽  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
Language Teaching ◽  
Communicative Language Teaching ◽  
Teaching English ◽  
Classroom Activities ◽  
Advantages And Disadvantages ◽  
The University ◽  
Learning Language

Although teaching and learning language is not a new topic for researchers, it always inspires educators and linguists. Among new teaching approaches, Communicative Language Teaching (CLT) is a teaching method that emphasizes communicative output. This approach has been widely known worldwide since it was first introduced in the 1970s because of the demand for communication skills of language learners. However, there are still many issues raised because teachers are not similar to this method. In terms of language competence, Chomsky (1957) mentions linguistic aspects like lexis, syntax, phonology and morphology as the central part of learning language, while Hymes (1971) concludes grammatic, semantic, sociolinguistic and pragmatic aspects. Hymes’ (1971) theory and other authors' theories lead to a new breakthrough in developing communicative language teaching in teaching and learning a second language. Compared with the Grammar-Translation method, CLT provides learners with more opportunities to develop their communicative ability and increase the role of learners in teaching and learning second language classroom activities, which is hard to find in other old teaching methods. This paper focuses on the overview of CLT in teaching English as a second language. In particular, it summarises the advantages and disadvantages of CLT comparing with old teaching methods, current trends of CLT, obstacles in applying CLT in the university context. Since then, it helps teachers have a better understanding of CLT and the article also suggests implications of teaching English with CLT in the university context, including designing classroom activities and motivating students.  

scholarly journals Culture and Second Language Aquisition: Arabic Language as a Model

2017 ◽  
Vol 13 (2) ◽  
pp. 159
Author(s):  
Tawfiq Omar
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Second Language Acquisition ◽  
Language Acquisition ◽  
Direct Interaction ◽  
Arabic Language ◽  
Native Culture ◽  
Self Confidence ◽  
The People ◽  
Second Language Aquisition ◽  
The University

This study is an examination of the role and impact of culture and culture literacy on second language acquisition. It will adopt the qualitative approach, using multiple case study design, interviews and observation, to generate somehow rich descriptions of the role of culture on second language acquisition. The study used a sample of the international students studying Arabic at the Language Center at The University of Jordan. Multiple methods of data collection over a period of four months were used. The researcher collected data through in-depth interviews and nonparticipant observations. The purpose of this study is to examine to which extent culture, with all its elements and components, helps learners of Arabic boost their language and linguistic skills. Living an Arabic culture (the Jordanian culture as an example), enriches learners’ language skills and accelerates their progress due to the direct interaction with the people and their native culture. This will enable them to interact, using the language they acquire, in complex cultural situations raising their self-confidence and encouraging them to use the language more effectively gaining new ways of thinking and widening their linguistic and cultural competence.

scholarly journals Do second language learners always know what they know about L2 collocations? Exploring the acquisition of conscious and unconscious structural knowledge of L2 collocations

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jun LU ◽  
Zoltan Dienes
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Language Learners ◽  
Undergraduate Students ◽  
Second Language Learners ◽  
Structural Knowledge ◽  
Test Results ◽  
Similar Test ◽  
Incidental Exposure ◽  
Statistical Regularities ◽  
The University

This study investigated the acquisition of conscious and unconscious structural knowledge of L2 collocations. The participants were two groups of 68 Chinese undergraduate students from the university community. The first group judged the typicality of 24 English collocations and their atypical counterparts and reported the basis of each judgment to indicate their conscious status. The second group were trained on 24 new collocations and then took a similar test. Results showed that learners acquired both conscious and unconscious structural knowledge of L2 collocations. The conscious status varied according to collocation types. Incidental exposure facilitated the development of conscious structural knowledge of incongruent collocations and unconscious structural knowledge of congruent ones. The advantage of congruent over incongruent collocations was greater for unconscious than conscious structural knowledge. The results are consistent with the theory that unconscious structural knowledge is based on acquiring statistical regularities while conscious structural knowledge codes more one-off exceptions.

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