scholarly journals I Meant to Say That: How Adult Language Learners Construct Positive Identities Through Nonstandard Language Use

2006 ◽  
Vol 24 (1) ◽  
pp. 21 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michelle Szabo
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Language Learning ◽  
Language Learners ◽  
Classroom Practice ◽  
Second Language Learners ◽  
Social Inequalities ◽  
Language Teachers ◽  
Adult Language Learners ◽  
Second Language Teachers ◽  
The Relationship

The aim of this article is to raise awareness in L2 education about the relationship between second-language learners' linguistic choices in the L2 and their identities. The author reviews empirical research and language-learning narratives that show that L2 learners may purposely use nonstandard L2 forms. Using a poststructuralist framework to conceptualize identity, the author argues that these second-language learners use nonstandard language in the L2 in order to create positive identities, and in some cases to resist social inequalities, in the L2 community. The implications of this research for second-language teachers are discussed and suggestions for classroom practice are offered.

The Role of Technology Acceptance Model in Constructing Unbounded Learning Environments for Second Language Learners

2021 ◽  
pp. 282-298
Author(s):  
Nurdan Kavaklı ◽  
Rabia Ölmez
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Language Learning ◽  
Technology Acceptance ◽  
Learning Environments ◽  
Language Learners ◽  
Technology Acceptance Model ◽  
Second Language Learners ◽  
Language Teachers ◽  
Second Language Teachers ◽  
Acceptance Model

This chapter provides a foundation as to why second language teaching and learning as a discipline should be refocused with caution in the world of technology, what sort of theoretical and practical implications should be in place for second language teachers to employ in unbounded learning environments, what the roles of technology acceptance model (TAM) in shaping unbounded language learning environments for second language teachers and learners are, in what ways it can be possible to provide an ecological perspective on learning to utilize web-based technologies for second language learners, which is basically different from traditional learning models. More specifically, this chapter takes an informed look at the significance of teachers' technology acceptance in constructing unbounded learning environments to teach a second language.

Multimedia learning materials for second language learners

2020 ◽  
Vol 55 (3) ◽  
pp. 175-192
Author(s):  
Xiaoling He ◽  
Haojiang Ying ◽  
Sureenate Jaratjarungkiat
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Language Learning ◽  
Language Learners ◽  
Second Language Learners ◽  
Language Teachers ◽  
Community Exposure ◽  
Beginning Learners ◽  
Human Actors ◽  
Noisy Background ◽  
Live Action

Abstract As an important form of second language input, videos have been given much attention by both language teachers and SLA researchers. Second language learning videos typically come in two forms: live-action videos (with human actors in realistic settings) and animation videos. In this paper, we report on an empirical study on the relative merits of these two kinds of videos for beginning learners of Chinese. A total of 82 participants took part in this research as students in a Beginners’ Chinese Language course at a university in Singapore. Each participant attended four learning sessions, two of which being based on live-action videos and another two on animation videos. Post-tests showed that the efficacy of the two kinds of videos differed between students who had had richer community exposure to Mandarin before attending the course and students who did not have such exposure. The former group performed significantly better than the latter after attending live-video sessions. However, students in the latter group reported a preference for animation videos during the post-interviews due to the more well-controlled quality of the soundtracks (i.e., less noisy background).

scholarly journals Parameters Inducing Motivational Surges in Second Language Learning

2017 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
pp. 24-33 ◽  
Author(s):  
Zana Ibrahim
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Language Learning ◽  
Language Learners ◽  
Second Language Learning ◽  
Negative Emotion ◽  
Language Teachers ◽  
Five Factors ◽  
New Information ◽  
Second Language Teachers ◽  
Novel Concept

Motivational surges in language learning occur when a number of personal and contextual parameters come together to induce intense and long-term motivational experiences. In the second language learning literature, this phenomenon is known as the directed motivational current (Dörnyei, Muir, & Ibrahim, 2014). As a novel concept in the field, little is known about what might induce this extraordinary motivational surge. The current study empirically examined the parameters of nine participants who provided accounts of the conditions around the initial stages of their motivational currents. The qualitative analysis found that five factors triggered the motivational currents in the participants: emergent opportunities, negative emotion, moments of realization/awakening, new information, and meeting others who shared the goal. The study also revealed two main conditions necessary for a DMC to begin: goal/ambitions and perceived feasibility. The final section of this paper presents practical implications of the current findings in relation to how second language teachers and educators might benefit from the findings to help incite motivational surges in their language learners.

scholarly journals Review and Evaluation on the Sociocultural Theory and Bottleneck Hypothesis

2020 ◽  
Vol 3 (4) ◽  
pp. 58
Author(s):  
Fan Xu
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Second Language Acquisition ◽  
Language Acquisition ◽  
Language Learning ◽  
Language Learners ◽  
Sociocultural Theory ◽  
Second Language Learners ◽  
Specific Aspect ◽  
Language Teachers ◽  
Psychology Education

Over the past three decades, a growing number of different theories in second language acquisition field have come out in an effort to provide explanations as to how language learning takes place, to figure out what variables are effective for second language acquisition as well as to offer guidance to mass second language learners and language teachers. Because behind every teaching approach exists certain kind of theory of language acquisition and good theory in turn can help students master language skills in an effective and efficient way.Each theory is considered to have contributed to the field by highlighting a specific aspect of the language acquisition process. Second language acquisition theories are intrinsically related with various disciplines such as applied linguistics, psychology, education, sociolinguistics, neurology, etc. Considering the impossibility to elaborate all second language theories, I will focus on sociocultural theory and bottleneck hypothesis in second language acquisition. There is an overview which follows the introduction to the Sociocultural Theory and Bottleneck Hypothesis and its contribution to second language acquisition respectively, and then I will evaluate them to see their contributions to the SLA disciplinary development.

Foreign and second language anxiety

2010 ◽  
Vol 43 (2) ◽  
pp. 154-167 ◽  
Author(s):  
Elaine K. Horwitz
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Foreign Language ◽  
Language Learning ◽  
Language Learners ◽  
Language Teachers ◽  
Language Anxiety ◽  
Foreign Language Anxiety ◽  
Anxiety State ◽  
Unique Form ◽  
The Relationship

The possibility that anxiety interferes with language learning has long interested scholars, language teachers, and language learners themselves. It is intuitive that anxiety would inhibit the learning and/or production of a second language (L2). The important term in the last sentence is ‘anxiety’. The concept of anxiety is itself multi-faceted, and psychologists have differentiated a number of types of anxiety including trait anxiety, state anxiety, achievement anxiety, and facilitative-debilitative anxiety. With such a wide variety of anxiety-types, it is not surprising that early studies on the relationship between ‘anxiety’ and achievement provided mixed and confusing results, and Scovel (1978 – this timeline) rightly noted that anxiety is ‘not a simple, unitary construct that can be comfortably quantified into ‘high’ or ‘low’ amounts’ (p. 137). Scovel did not, however, anticipate the identification in the mid-1980s of a unique form of anxiety that some people experience in response to learning and/or using an L2. Typically referred to as language anxiety or foreign language anxiety (FLA), this anxiety is categorized as a situation-specific anxiety, similar in type to other familiar manifestations of anxiety such as stage fright or test anxiety.

scholarly journals THE IMPACTS OF DEVELOPMENTAL DYSLEXIA ON THE PRACTICE OF SECOND LANGUAGE DYSLEXIC TEACHERS

2020 ◽  
pp. 103
Author(s):  
Aline Fay de Azevedo ◽  
Gabriela Da Cruz Gafforelli
Keyword(s):  
Learning Disabilities ◽  
Second Language ◽  
Language Learning ◽  
Learning Disability ◽  
Classroom Practice ◽  
Foreign Language Learning ◽  
Language Teachers ◽  
Learning Disorder ◽  
Second Language Teachers ◽  
The Brain

Dyslexia is a learning disorder and a neurobiological condition, which means it affects areas of the brain that process language. Dyslexic teachers carry the struggles caused by dyslexia with them to the workplace. Despite the fact that dyslexia may not be considered a positive characteristic, dyslexic teachers show more empathy towards their pupils with learning disabilities and make use of creative coping strategies, which help them overcome their own learning disability in the classroom. Taking these aspects into consideration, the present article was developed with the purpose of throwing light on dyslexic teachers and the impacts of dyslexia in their practice. The aim of this theoretical study was to define dyslexia and to present an overview of this learning disability. Furthermore, we intended to investigate through bibliographical research how dyslexia affects second language teachers in their classroom practice and workplace. To present some strategies teachers can use to cope with dyslexia. Lastly, to design a pamphlet to be used as a guideline for dyslexic teachers.Keywords: dyslexia; dyslexic teachers; foreign language learning; learning disabilities.

Language Simulations for Fostering Language Acquisition and Communicative Competence in Adult Second- Language Learners

2010 ◽  
pp. 210-222
Author(s):  
Angelene McLaren
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Language Acquisition ◽  
Language Learning ◽  
Language Learners ◽  
Second Language Learners ◽  
Communicative Competence ◽  
Language Teachers ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Teachers And Students ◽  
Traditional Language

Language teachers and students are making a mass exodus in theory and practice in the field of secondlanguage instruction. They are leaving behind boring drills, nonsensical memorizations and endless strings of grammatical rules and are demanding a shift from traditional language learning to modern language acquisition. Language acquisition means being culturally literate and commutatively competent in a language (Byrnes, 2001). This change requires finding effective ways to facilitate this paradigm shift. This chapter will try to answer the following questions: Can language simulations foster language acquisition and communicative competence in adult second-language learners? It will also explore: what language acquisition is and how it is obtained; theoretical foundations of language acquisition; learning simulations and what makes them effective; language simulations – how and why they work; what simulations can do to promote communicative competence; a practical example; future applications and importance of language simulations; and what future research is necessary to fulfill this promise.

scholarly journals EXPLORING MOBILE AS LANGUAGE LEARNING LAB FOR SECOND LANGUAGE LEARNERS

2020 ◽  
pp. 1-13
Author(s):  
Jagdish Joshi ◽  
Tapan Shah
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Language Learning ◽  
Language Learners ◽  
Second Language Learners ◽  
Language Teachers ◽  
Teachers And Students ◽  
Minimal Effort

This paper portrays the structure and improvement of a Mobile language lab system called MLab. The Mobile Lab structure hopes to displace the customary language lab which commonly has a prohibitive plan and needs correspondence with an all the more straight forward, minimal effort versatile language lab. The Mobile Lab is profitable to language teachers and Students, and the system offers them the chance to move around and use their very own contraptions at whatever point and in wherever. The Mobile Lab system has been made by using a couple of web developments to give a snappy and profitable technique for getting to required substance.

Language Simulations for Fostering Language Acquisition and Communicative Competence in Adult Second-Language Learners

2011 ◽  
pp. 1954-1966
Author(s):  
Angelene McLaren
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Language Acquisition ◽  
Language Learning ◽  
Language Learners ◽  
Second Language Learners ◽  
Communicative Competence ◽  
Language Teachers ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Teachers And Students ◽  
Traditional Language

Language teachers and students are making a mass exodus in theory and practice in the field of secondlanguage instruction. They are leaving behind boring drills, nonsensical memorizations and endless strings of grammatical rules and are demanding a shift from traditional language learning to modern language acquisition. Language acquisition means being culturally literate and commutatively competent in a language (Byrnes, 2001). This change requires finding effective ways to facilitate this paradigm shift. This chapter will try to answer the following questions: Can language simulations foster language acquisition and communicative competence in adult second-language learners? It will also explore: what language acquisition is and how it is obtained; theoretical foundations of language acquisition; learning simulations and what makes them effective; language simulations – how and why they work; what simulations can do to promote communicative competence; a practical example; future applications and importance of language simulations; and what future research is necessary to fulfill this promise.

The influence of native English-speaking environment on Akan-English bilinguals’ production of English inter-dental fricatives

2019 ◽  
Vol 24 (4) ◽  
pp. 559-571
Author(s):  
Felix Kpogo ◽  
Virginia C Mueller Gathercole
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Language Learning ◽  
Second Language Learners ◽  
Relative Length ◽  
Age Of Acquisition ◽  
Language Teachers ◽  
Second Language Teachers ◽  
The Usa ◽  
English Speaking ◽  
Native English Speaking

Aims and Objectives: This study examined how age of acquisition, immersion in a native English-speaking environment, and phonological environment influence Akan-English bilinguals’ production of English inter-dental fricatives. Design/Methodology: Forty-five Akan-English bilinguals who immigrated to the USA between the ages of 10 and 64 participated. English inter-dental fricatives occurring in word-initial, intervocalic, and word-final positions were elicited through a production task using sentence frames. Accuracy of production was analyzed relative to age of acquisition, relative length of immersion, and phonological environment. Findings/Conclusion: Performance was better overall on the voiceless than the voiced inter-dental, but the phonological environment mattered: performance was at ceiling for both in the medial position, but less good in the initial and final positions. Early age of acquisition conspired with length of residence in the USA to foster better production for both sounds. However, substitutions for target segments were still observed in the most fluent speakers. These results indicate that in determining speakers’ proficiency in the second language, we must consider all of these factors—phonological environment, age of acquisition, and length of stay—together to gain a comprehensive picture of development. Originality: Few studies have examined Ghanaian speakers’ English, even though English is the official language of Ghana. Further, previous studies on second-language speakers’ abilities with inter-dental fricatives have largely focused on word-initial environments. The present study reveals that distinct phonological environments may not show the same effect. Here, speakers were particularly accurate in intervocalic positions. Significance: This study contributes to theoretical debates concerning the roles of input and age of acquisition for second-language learning. It also provides insights on some of the possible hurdles that second-language learners face as they strive to acquire additional languages, which can assist second-language teachers in designing appropriate methodologies to help learners.

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