scholarly journals Improving Pronunciation of Adult ESL Students

2002 ◽  
Vol 20 (1) ◽  
pp. 83 ◽  
Author(s):  
John Van Loon
Keyword(s):  
Native Speakers ◽  
Classroom Teacher ◽  
Dramatic Improvement ◽  
Sentence Structure ◽  
Esl Students ◽  
Parts Of Speech ◽  
Adult Esl ◽  
Native Speakers Of English ◽  
Esl Learners ◽  
The Relationship

This article describes a classroom technique for improving the pronunciation of adult ESL learners. The technique is based on using stress and pausing in the same manner as native speakers of English. Dramatic improvement in pronunciation may be quickly achieved by showing learners how stress and pause are related to parts of speech and sentence structure. The article describes how a classroom teacher can develop an awareness of the relationship between grammar and pronunciation for learners.

scholarly journals On the Pedagogical Relevance of Strategic Competence

1986 ◽  
Vol 3 (2) ◽  
pp. 53 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tahereh Paribakht
Keyword(s):  
Native Speakers ◽  
Target Language ◽  
Esl Students ◽  
Negotiation Of Meaning ◽  
Identification Task ◽  
Strategic Competence ◽  
Adult Esl ◽  
Communication Situations ◽  
Native Speakers Of English ◽  
Linguistic Material

This paper is a report on a study concerned with the identification of target language linguistic material essential for the learners' use of communication strategies (CS) in survival situations. Subjects were 40 adult ESL students and 20 native speakers of English. A concept-identification task was used to elicit these speakers' CS. Given that the taxonomy of CS developed in the study was based on the type of knowledge utilized by the speakers, it was possible to identify the semantic, as well as the typical syntactic patterns, required for their implementation. These linguistic manifestations of CS can serve as a basis for developing L2 teaching materials with the aim of preparing L2 learners to function successfully in problematic communication situations. An appropriate sequence for the presentation of such material is proposed based on the frequency of their application in the negotiation of meaning by the speakers in this study.

Their Perspectives: ESL Students' Reflections On Collaborative Community Service Learning

2007 ◽  
Vol 70 (2) ◽  
pp. 147-165 ◽  
Author(s):  
Joanne M. Crossman ◽  
Stacey L. Kite
Keyword(s):  
Service Learning ◽  
Cultural Sensitivity ◽  
Native Speakers ◽  
Esl Students ◽  
Community Service Learning ◽  
Cultural Backgrounds ◽  
Collaborative Community ◽  
Pragmatic Communication ◽  
Native Speakers Of English ◽  
Esl Learners

Our business communication classes will continue to be enriched by students from various cultural backgrounds, many of them ESL learners. Among the numerous benefits of this diversity are oppor tunities for all students to develop essential life skills through course-embedded community ser vice learning (CSL) projects. This study analyzes students' guided reflections in response to qualitative probes regarding CSL projects required for all MBA candidates at the study site. Data were gathered during a 5-year period from 326 reflective repor ts. More than 80% of the reflective question responses were authored by international students; approximately 60% of those were ESL learners. The findings reveal differences not only between ESL learners and native speakers of English but also between ESL students. Key themes discussed include cultural sensitivity, teamwork, contributive roles, conflict resolution skills, and pragmatic communication skills. The findings presented are accompanied by students' comments, corroborating literature, and teaching tips.

CONSTRAINTS ON “NOTICING THE GAP”

2003 ◽  
Vol 25 (1) ◽  
pp. 99-126 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jenefer Philp
Keyword(s):  
Native Speakers ◽  
Oral Communication ◽  
Dyadic Interaction ◽  
Attentional Resources ◽  
Immediate Recall ◽  
Adult Esl ◽  
Esl Learners

Interaction has been argued to promote noticing of L2 form in a context crucial to learning—when there is a mismatch between the input and the learner's interlanguage (IL) grammar (Gass & Varonis, 1994; Long, 1996; Pica, 1994). This paper investigates the extent to which learners may notice native speakers' reformulations of their IL grammar in the context of dyadic interaction. Thirty-three adult ESL learners worked on oral communication tasks in NS-NNS pairs. During each of the five sessions of dyadic task-based interaction, learners received recasts of their nontargetlike question forms. Accurate immediate recall of recasts was taken as evidence of noticing of recasts by learners. Results indicate that learners noticed over 60–70% of recasts. However, accurate recall was constrained by the level of the learner and by the length and number of changes in the recast. The effect of these variables on noticing is discussed in terms of processing biases. It is suggested that attentional resources and processing biases of the learner may modulate the extent to which learners “notice the gap” between their nontargetlike utterances and recasts.

scholarly journals The Pragmatic Functions of Repetition in TV Discourse

2012 ◽  
Vol 10 (4) ◽  
pp. 445-460 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ghaleb Rabab'ah ◽  
Ali Farhan AbuSeileek
Keyword(s):  
Native Speakers ◽  
Natural Phenomenon ◽  
Esl Teachers ◽  
Language Functions ◽  
Pragmatic Analysis ◽  
Native Speakers Of English ◽  
Salient Features ◽  
Esl Learners ◽  
Tv Show ◽  
Interactional Discourse

Since repetition is a natural phenomenon used to perform various functions in interactional discourse, adopting a pragmatic analysis to the discourse of Dr. Phil and his guests on Dr. Phil's TV show, this study attempted to explore the pragmatic functions of such repetitions as used by English native speakers. The data were gathered from conversations between native speakers of English, and based on 7 full episodes of Dr. Phil's TV Show. The researchers watched, and studied these episodes on YouTube. The study revealed that one of the salient features of TV discourse is repetition, which is employed to perform a variety of language functions. Repetition was used to express emphasis, clarity, emotions, highlight the obvious, be questionable, express annoyance, persuasion, express surprise, give instructions, and as a filler in order to take time, when the speaker was searching for a proper word to say what would come next. The study concluded that these findings had significant implications for EFL/ESL teachers and the interlanguage development of EFL/ESL learners.

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

scholarly journals “I Need Child Care!”: Using Funds of Knowledge, Addressing Challenges, and Developing Literacies With a Classroom Community of Adult ESL Learners

2019 ◽  
Vol 68 (1) ◽  
pp. 334-354 ◽  
Author(s):  
Aijuan Cun ◽  
Mary B. McVee ◽  
Christopher Vasquez
Keyword(s):  
Everyday Life ◽  
Social Practice ◽  
Funds Of Knowledge ◽  
Video Recording ◽  
The United States ◽  
Ethnographic Study ◽  
Esl Students ◽  
Adult Esl ◽  
Life Challenge ◽  
Esl Learners

Many immigrants and refugees in the United States must confront different linguistic and cultural contexts in their everyday life. As part of a larger ethnographic study related to refugee families and literacy, this qualitative study explores how adult English as a second language (ESL) students help their classmate Htoo Eh find ways to deal with an everyday life challenge. This study utilized two supporting theoretical frameworks: funds of knowledge and literacy as a social practice. Data sources included field notes, transcripts of video recording, artifacts, as well as conservations with the teacher and welfare coordinators. Findings demonstrate that community members utilized two funds of knowledge in particular: social network and life experience to help the focal participant. Findings also showed that adult ESL students assisted their classmates in developing three types of literacies, which were finding and obtaining childcare, knowing how the system works, and communicating with the caseworker in order to deal with an everyday life challenge. These findings suggest that educators should recognize and value adult ESL learners’ funds of knowledge as well as incorporate the knowledge into instruction. Educators also should open up space for these learners to develop literacies together as a community.

The effect of phonological variation on adult learner comprehension

1981 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
pp. 75-80 ◽  
Author(s):  
Miriam Eisenstein ◽  
Diana Berkowitz
Keyword(s):  
Language Learners ◽  
Second Language Learners ◽  
Research Report ◽  
Standard English ◽  
Phonological Variation ◽  
Adult Esl ◽  
Accented English ◽  
Relationship Of ◽  
Esl Learners ◽  
The Relationship

This research report focuses on the relationship of English phonological variation to intelligibility for adult second language learners of English. Fifty-eight adult ESL learners (29 advanced beginners and 29 high intermediates) were tested' on their ability to understand working-class (New Yorkese), educated (Standard English) and foreign-accented speakers of English. Subjects were also asked to rank these speakers according to expected ease of comprehension. Findings from this study indicate Standard English to be more intelligible than either New Yorkese or foreign accented English for these learners.

scholarly journals Dependency Between Grammatical Structure of Language and Verbal Thinking Strategies

2020 ◽  
pp. 35-39
Author(s):  
Ekaterina Vladimirovna Savitskaya
Keyword(s):  
Native Speakers ◽  
Sentence Structure ◽  
Contrastive Analysis ◽  
Grammatical Structure ◽  
Grammatical Subject ◽  
Thinking Strategies ◽  
Historic Development ◽  
The Common ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Verbal Thinking

The article contains a discussion of how the grammatical structure of a language determines sentence structure and affects verbal thinking strategy. The stages of languages’ historic development (incorporative, ergative, nominative) and the relationship between sentence structure and native speakers’ thinking are characterized. The common case of the grammatical subject of a sentence does mean that Anglo-Saxons regard themselves as their own fortune’s active makers and masters. The common case equally expresses success and failure, activity and passivity, self-will and conformity. Nowadays, languages of all the three types coexist on the Globe. The languages of the first two types are used not only by primitive peoples but also by civilized nations. But this does not mean that civilized speakers think archaically. Methods and conclusions. Contrastive analysis of language material (English personal and Russian impersonal morphosyntactic constructions) enables the author to conclude: there is no direct correlation between national character and sentence structure. The connection between thinking and grammar does not consist in this; it consists in the choice of thinking strategies based on the grammatical potential of the language under discussion.

Patterns of interaction and young ESL learners

2019 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
pp. 82-102 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rhonda Oliver ◽  
Agurtzane Azkarai
Keyword(s):  
Adult Learners ◽  
English Proficiency ◽  
Native Speakers ◽  
Task Type ◽  
Cultural Perspective ◽  
Proficiency Levels ◽  
Esl Learners ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Patterns Of Interaction ◽  
The Way

Abstract Previous research carried out from a socio-cultural perspective has explored the way adult learners interact when undertaking tasks. Following the type of analysis initiated by Storch (2002) we examined the patterns of interaction of young ESL learners (ages 9–12) of different English proficiency levels, high-intermediate (H) and low-intermediate (L) as they worked with native speakers (NS) (i.e., H/NS and L/NS pairs) to carry out a one-way and a two-way task. Once the patterns of interaction were determined, we then explored the relationship between these patterns, the learners’ proficiency levels and the task type. Our findings reveal that, regardless of proficiency, these child ESL learners engaged with the tasks and with each other, most often collaboratively, but also using other patterns interaction. However, the findings also suggest that task type and learner proficiency influenced the pattern of interactions that occurred.

Plagiarism by Non-Native Speaker Student Writers

2008 ◽  
Vol 156 ◽  
pp. 91-107 ◽  
Author(s):  
Robert Lankamp
Keyword(s):  
Native Speakers ◽  
Native Speaker ◽  
Esl Students ◽  
Student Writers ◽  
Inappropriate Use ◽  
Root Cause ◽  
Student Plagiarism ◽  
Native Student ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Academic Plagiarism

Abstract Many studies have attributed plagiarism to the temptations of the Internet, teachers’ reluctance to enforce the rules, belonging to a culture where academic plagiarism is condoned, or non-native speakership. In this paper, it is first argued that none of these can be considered direct causes of plagiarism, and other studies are cited that support this position. It is further argued that non-native student plagiarism is caused by ignorance of the rules and/or authorial problems. Further support for this claim is provided by an empirical study involving inappropriate use of source texts by eight non-native speaker graduate students. This study confirms the findings in Pecorari (2003, 2006) where it is claimed that plagiarizing non-native speakers have personal, idiosyncratic views of plagiarism that demonstrate their ignorance of the generally accepted rules. This study also confirms the findings in Abasi et al. (2006) where it is claimed that authorial problems are a root cause of plagiarism by ESL students. Finally, it is investigated what the relationship is between ignorance of the rules of plagiarism and authorial problems.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document