scholarly journals Investigating the Influence of Setting on Language Learning: The Case of Bahdini Kurdish Learners of English

2017 ◽  
Vol 13 (8) ◽  
pp. 272
Author(s):  
Ivan Hasan Murad ◽  
Khalif Abdulrahman Al-Jumah ◽  
Hozan Gorgeen Othman
Keyword(s):  
Language Learning ◽  
Academic Language ◽  
Language Learner ◽  
Small Scale ◽  
Academic Setting ◽  
Colloquial Language ◽  
The One ◽  
The Uk ◽  
Observation Results ◽  
Learning English

It was argued that those learning the language while mingling with the community are better learners than those learning in the academic setting where they only opt to use the academic language. The current small scale study investigates the influence of the setting on two BahdiniKurdish learners of English living in the UK in two different contexts. One of the learners has been learning English in an academic setting, while the other has been learning English through daily interactions with the community in a non-academic setting. Data were collected through interviews and observation. Results revealed that both learn English effectively for the context where their language will be used. However, the academic language learner was capable of expressing himself more than the one learning the colloquial language. The academic leaner could use a variety of strategies to express different situations and had a clearer language than the one learning the colloquial language even though the academic language learner did not mingle with academicians like the colloquial leaner did with the community.

scholarly journals Trayectorias: A new model for online task-based learning

ReCALL ◽  
2004 ◽  
Vol 16 (1) ◽  
pp. 145-157 ◽  
Author(s):  
CRISTINA ROS i SOLÉ ◽  
RAQUEL MARDOMINGO
Keyword(s):  
New Media ◽  
Language Learning ◽  
Language Learner ◽  
Small Scale ◽  
Learning Approaches ◽  
Learning Context ◽  
New Literacy ◽  
Reading Processes ◽  
The One ◽  
The Web

This paper discusses a framework for designing online tasks that capitalizes on the possibilities that the Internet and the Web offer for language learning. To present such a framework, we draw from constructivist theories (Brooks and Brooks, 1993) and their application to educational technology (Newby, Stepich, Lehman and Russell, 1996; Jonassen, Mayes and McAleese, 1993); second language learning and learning autonomy (Benson and Voller, 1997); and distance education (Race, 1989; White, 1999). On the one hand our model balances the requirements of the need for control and learning autonomy by the independent language learner; and on the other, the possibilities that online task-based learning offer for new reading processes by taking into account new literacy models (Schetzer and Warschauer, 2000), and the effect that the new media have on students’ knowledge construction and understanding of texts. We explain how this model works in the design of reading tasks within the specific distance learning context of the Open University, UK. Trayectorias is a tool that consists of an open problem-solving Web-quest and provides students with ‘scaffolding’ that guides their navigation around the Web whilst modelling learning approaches and new learning paradigms triggered by the medium. We then discuss a small-scale trial with a cohort of students (n = 23). This trial had a double purpose: (a) to evaluate to what extent the writing task fulfilled the investigators’ intentions; and (b) to obtain some information about the students’ perceptions of the task.

scholarly journals Category building of international students as language learners in two secondary schools

2018 ◽  
Vol 27 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Anna Filipi
Keyword(s):  
Language Learning ◽  
Language Learners ◽  
International Student ◽  
English Language ◽  
English Language Development ◽  
Language Learner ◽  
Small Scale ◽  
Language Competence ◽  
Language Deficit ◽  
Membership Categorization

This paper reports on a small scale study of category building in the context of English language learning. The data for the current study is derived from the interviews with two students, one from China and the other from Mongolia, in two schools in Melbourne. The study uses Membership Categorization Analysis to give an account of identity by examining how categories of English language learner emerge and shift during the course of the interviews. The categories established by the participants in the two interviews were constructed around different sorts of attributes belonging to the category of international student. These emerged as a series of categorical binaries including international student and local student, language competence and language deficit, mainstream English and English as an Additional Language (EAL), and home country and Australia. As the participants took part in the interview, they moved towards accounts that integrated multiple viewpoints resulting in dynamically shifting categorisations. Through these categories, it was also possible to show how students were invited to display their learning and knowledge of English, and to give accounts of their English language development.

Relation between Socio-economic Status and Motivation of Learners in Learning English as a Foreign Language

2016 ◽  
Vol 6 (4) ◽  
pp. 742 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ali Akbar Khansir ◽  
Naeimeh Jafarizadegan ◽  
Fatemeh Karampoor
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Language ◽  
Language Learning ◽  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
English Language ◽  
Economic Status ◽  
Strong Relationship ◽  
Socio Economic Status ◽  
Global Language ◽  
The One ◽  
Learning English

The purpose of this article is to discuss Relation between Socio-Economic Status and Motivation of Learners in Learning English as a Foreign Language, in Iran.  Motivation has played an important role in global language activity, and it has been as one of the real strategies used in foreign language setting in general and in English language as a foreign or second language in particular. We are, English language teacher have never neglected motivation and its relation with socio-economic status in teaching and learning English language in classrooms. In this work, investigators selected two hundred and thirty Iranian learners who studying in third grade high school in Boushehr city. In this article, both female and male students of ten high schools were participated in order to collect data. The one of instruments of this study is designed based on Garnder’s AMTB (1985). The AMTB questionnaire utilized in the study consists of the sections: Integrative component; Motivation component; Orientation component. Another instrument of this paper is designed based on Bourdieu’s (1986) in order to collect data from family socio-economic status of students. The finding of this paper indicated that most of the independent variables especially economical capital has appositive relation with motivation in EFL learning. In addition, the results of the study revealed noticeable evidence of the existence of a strong relationship between socio-economic status and motivation in language learning (English as a FL).

scholarly journals Category building of international students as language learners in two secondary schools

2018 ◽  
Vol 27 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Anna Filipi
Keyword(s):  
Language Learning ◽  
Language Learners ◽  
International Student ◽  
English Language ◽  
English Language Development ◽  
Language Learner ◽  
Small Scale ◽  
Language Competence ◽  
Language Deficit ◽  
Membership Categorization

This paper reports on a small scale study of category building in the context of English language learning. The data for the current study is derived from the interviews with two students, one from China and the other from Mongolia, in two schools in Melbourne. The study uses Membership Categorization Analysis to give an account of identity by examining how categories of English language learner emerge and shift during the course of the interviews. The categories established by the participants in the two interviews were constructed around different attributes belonging to the category of international student. These emerged as a series of categorical binaries including international student and local student, language competence and language deficit, mainstream English and English as an Additional Language (EAL), and home country and Australia. As the participants took part in the interview, they moved towards accounts that integrated multiple viewpoints resulting in dynamically shifting categorisations. Through these categories, it was also possible to show how students were invited to display their learning and knowledge of English, and to give accounts of their English language development.

scholarly journals Exploring language learning and corrective feedback in an eTandem project

2021 ◽  
Vol 0 (0) ◽  
Author(s):  
Jinlan Tang ◽  
Kan Qian ◽  
Na Wang ◽  
Xiaona Hu
Keyword(s):  
University Students ◽  
Language Learning ◽  
Error Correction ◽  
Corrective Feedback ◽  
Small Scale ◽  
Intercultural Awareness ◽  
Multiple Datasets ◽  
L2 Learners ◽  
The Uk ◽  
Correction Strategies

Abstract Many studies about eTandem and language learning stem from learners in Western institutions of higher education. Unfortunately, there is a lack of research investigating the telecollaboration regarding language development between learners in the East and the West. Against this backdrop, a small-scale, six-week Chinese-English eTandem project focusing on learners’ language learning processes and experiences was undertaken between nine Chinese university students learning English in China and nine British university students learning Chinese in the UK. Multiple datasets were collected from learners’ diaries, synchronous Skype communication recordings, email exchanges, interviews and a post-project survey. This paper reports the main language error types made by Chinese L2 learners of English and error correction strategies provided by eTandem partners of competent L1 English speakers, along with how Chinese participants responded to the corrections. A thorough analysis of the research data indicated three types of linguistic errors in written tasks made by Chinese L2 learners of English: grammatical, lexical and idiomatic expressions. Another finding was that, although explicit written correction was the most commonly used strategy in email exchanges, learners preferred explanations with examples. In addition to previously established gains of eTandem learning, such as authentic communication, forging friendship and promoting intercultural awareness, positive responses to competent L1 partners’ error corrections was another major benefit indicated in our data. Our study pinpoints the importance of both pre-project training of participants on error-correction strategies with examples and how to respond to partner feedback in future eTandem projects.

scholarly journals GaeltechVR: Measuring the Impact of an Immersive Virtual Environment to Promote Situated Identity in Irish Language Learning

2019 ◽  
Vol 12 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Naoise Collins ◽  
Brian Vaughan ◽  
Charlie Cullen ◽  
Keith Gardner
Keyword(s):  
Language Learning ◽  
Best Practice ◽  
Language Learner ◽  
Small Scale ◽  
Learning Context ◽  
Irish Language ◽  
Design Based Research ◽  
Immersive Virtual Environment ◽  
Situated Identity ◽  
The Impact

This study investigates how a design-based research methodology is best suited to measuring the impact of a designed virtual reality experience to improve situated identity in Irish learners focusing on their attitudes, motivation, and confidence as Irish language learners. This paper describes the design of GaeltechVR: an immersive Irish language VR experience designed for the VIVE Pro. It also gives the results of a mixed-methods study to measure the impact in a local adult Irish language learner context. A questionnaire on situated attitudes and motivation to language learning (Ushioda & Dörnyei, 2009) was adapted for the Irish context to investigate a small scale sample of the local context’s attitudes to Irish language learning. The participant’s gameplay was recorded for analysis along with questionnaires on presence (Witmer & Singer, 1998), simulator sickness and an adapted questionnaire on their attitudes after the intervention.Using best practice in design-based research experiments (Nelson, Ketelhut, Clarke, Bowman, & Dede, 2013) the study had two main goals: To investigate the usability of the design of GaeltechVR and to measure the impact of the intervention on attitudes, identity and motivation in the local Irish language learning context.

scholarly journals Observing EFL teachers' use of formulaic language in class

2020 ◽  
Vol 15 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-20
Author(s):  
Ton Nu Linh Thoai
Keyword(s):  
Language Learning ◽  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
Classroom Interaction ◽  
Small Scale ◽  
Learning Context ◽  
Formulaic Language ◽  
Formulaic Sequences ◽  
Frequent Use ◽  
Efl Teachers ◽  
The One

Mastering formulaic language is said to be crucially important in second language (L2) learning as it showcases the L2 user’s different levels of competency: linguistic, psycholinguistic, and communicative. Frequent use of these formulaic sequences also makes an L2 speaker sound more native–like. In a language teaching and learning context where English is a foreign language (EFL), the language teacher is the one major resource of spoken language exposure. Therefore, the quality of teacher’s instructions in an EFL classroom clearly has effects on the learner’s language learning process. Mercer (2001) puts it, “[a]ll […] aspects of teacher’s responsibility are reflected in their use of language as the principal tool of their responsibilities” (p. 243). A great deal of research has been devoted to L2 learners and the acquisition of formulaic language, and classroom interaction, but very little attention has been paid to teachers’ use of formulaic sequences in their classrooms. This paper presents a descriptive study with analytical discussion of extracts from four video–recorded lessons conducted by school teachers in different South–east Asian countries. This small-scale study attempts to explore to what extent non–native EFL teachers are familiar with and use formulaic language during class time.

scholarly journals Adversity and redemption: Learning and teaching in the language learning histories of two EFL student-teachers

2015 ◽  
Vol 5 (2) ◽  
pp. 273-299 ◽  
Author(s):  
Miri Tashma Baum
Keyword(s):  
Popular Culture ◽  
Language Learning ◽  
Student Teachers ◽  
Language Learner ◽  
Imagined Community ◽  
Learning And Teaching ◽  
Narrative Structures ◽  
Close Analysis ◽  
Situated Identity ◽  
The One

A better understanding of the multifaceted, dynamic and situated identity of the language learner stands at the center of much current SLA research. One of the main ways in which it is investigated is through the examination of autobiographical language learning histories. In an effort to better understand some of the processes which lead to a motivated, confident and successful language learner and user, this article analyzes the language learning histories of two EFL student-teachers, notable for their commitment to the learning and teaching of English. A close analysis of their narratives, focusing on thematic, stylistic and performative aspects, reveals what narrative psychologist McAdams (2006) has called “redemptive” patterns, that is, narrative structures in which hardship leads to inner growth and difficulties become “springboards” (Pals, 2006) to success. The two narrators also display a similar flexibility in their evolving self-positioning in response to the difficulties they narrate, and for both, attachment to the imagined community of Anglophone popular culture is an essential component in this process. Together, the learning experiences delineated in the accounts support the call for student-focused pedagogy, which puts emphasis on creating a positive emotional atmosphere, on the one hand, and providing rich intercultural knowledge, on the other.

scholarly journals Out-of-Class English Language Learning Among Upper-Intermediate Level Students

2020 ◽  
Vol 17 (1) ◽  
pp. 124-146
Author(s):  
Aurelija Daukšaitė-Kolpakovienė
Keyword(s):  
Popular Culture ◽  
Language Learning ◽  
Online Survey ◽  
English Language ◽  
Intermediate Level ◽  
Small Scale ◽  
English Language Learning ◽  
Fall Semester ◽  
Academic Year ◽  
Learning English

SummaryThis article discusses a small scale research project that investigated how students learn and use English outside the classroom. It was conducted during the 2019–2020 academic year and completed by administering a questionnaire to 47 students enrolled in the B2-level English language course offered at Vytautas Magnus University in the fall semester of 2019. The data were collected through an online survey. The participants were asked to choose the ways which helped them to learn English outside of the classroom and to comment on them based on how useful they were in terms of learning English. The students were also asked to indicate the frequency of such out-of-classroom (OOC) activities, in other words, how often they engage in the chosen OOCs. The results showed that most of the activities that the research participants engaged in outside the classroom were related to popular culture and their free time activities that were fun and entertaining rather than consciously chosen activities with the purpose of learning English. These activities helped to expand vocabulary and listening, but they did not help to practice speaking and writing (productive skills).

scholarly journals Using Vocabulary Apps to Enhance Students’ Vocabulary Knowledge

2018 ◽  
pp. 306-323 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christian Ludwig
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Language ◽  
Language Learning ◽  
Vocabulary Learning ◽  
Learner Autonomy ◽  
Language Learner ◽  
Handheld Devices ◽  
Small Scale ◽  
Computer Assisted ◽  
School Students ◽  
The Impact

The fast and increasingly natural adoption of handheld devices such as smartphones and tablets into everyday life is a rapidly growing social phenomenon which is also believed to have vast potential for foreign language learning. The small-scale study presented in this article contributes to the discussion of whether handheld devices should be further integrated into or eliminated from the classroom by presenting part of the results of a small-scale study conducted in a German secondary English as a foreign language classroom. The study examined the impact of a mobile vocabulary learning app on secondary school students’ vocabulary performance, also giving some indications about the students’ development of foreign language learner autonomy. Although the results of the study showed an unexpectedly limited use of the app, they allow assumptions to be made about the reasons which prevented students from using the app more frequently which can influence future researchers’ and practitioners’ app choices. The first section of this article briefly outlines the theoretical framework of the study, particularly focussing on the potential of computer-assisted and mobile-assisted language learning for enhancing students’ foreign language skills and learner autonomy. The ensuing section then provides some background on investigating students’ foreign language vocabulary learning. This is followed by a presentation of the research design, including the main features of the app (Socrative) used in this study. The next section then critically discusses some of the major research results. The contribution concludes by summarising some of the outcomes of the study and outlining some gaps for further research.

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